Zhenyi gazed out off the window, the beautiful koi fish pound that was recently added to the xx palace, presented a form of comfort after a long day. She just came back after training, she was already at the point where she was able to defeat General Mao and three out of the four princes. It had being eleven winters when she was offered up to be a hostage of the Yīnghuā shù empire. The Princesses still avoided her like the plague, not that she minded. She only saw them during her days at the Royal Academy and during music practice. Madam Cao greeted her with a simple nod.
“Your bath is ready, and I will inform her majesty that you have returned.” Madam Cao said. “She was here earlier, but you were still practicing archery, I believe.” Zhenyi nodded. As she walked towards the bathroom. Another maid who would help her wash up bowed deeply. The maid was a new face inside the Líng lán palace. Which didn’t happen often, but Zhenyi greeted the woman with a simple nod.
“On horseback, this time, which makes it harder. But ten times more fun, I won during the small competition we set up.” She said proudly. Madam Cao grinned and then took her leave. “You are new, welcome. I hope you enjoy your time inside my service. What is your name?”
“Ma Jie, my lady.” the new maid said. ‘My lady?’ She has never being addressed in that manner, it was always Princess. Because, well, she was still a Princess, although not from the Empire. But a neighboring kingdom, but that didn’t mean that she had changed status.
“It is, Princess, and you would do best to keep it in mind, especially around Madam Cao.” Zhenyi said with a soft smile, while she stepped in the tub.
“I am sorry, Princess. I will keep it in mind.” Ma Jie said, but Zhenyi didn’t like her tone. It is not the first time that a servant looked down on her. She has being dealing with that since birth, still it doesn’t mean that she had to take it.
“Leave the room, I can bathe on my own.” Zhenyi said. She would inform Madam Cao about this, and then she didn’t need to deal with this woman ever again. The woman left, and Zhenyi started to scrub her own skin with salt and rose petals. She might not be able to wash her hair as thoroughly, because she didn’t trust the maid for one second. And she didn’t dare to put herself in a dangerous situation. She got up and wrapped herself in a towel, she rubbed herself dry while dressing herself in a clean dress. She stepped out of the bathroom, and jumped to the side just in time. A man armed with a dao rushed towards her, he tripped and fall in the still warm water. Zhenyi didn’t think twice, behind her, hidden from everybody but her, was her own dao. She had special permission to have a few inside the palace, after a few attempts on her live. The man straighten himself, his head was drenched with her bath water. But that didn't stop him, he came at her again. This time she was prepared, she blocked his attack and kicked him in the groan. Which made him double down in pain. "Probably someone should have warned you, that I wouldn't be an easy target." She smiled, grabbed him by the hair and placed her dao against the man's throat. "So who sent you, was it my father, his queen, some noble who is scared that I get too close to the imperial princes." The man said nothing, he just smirked.
"What would you give me in return, and do not say your life. My life was for fitted when I entered this palace." he said, with a grumbling voice. She nodded, he made a good point. He pushed her off him, which was not hard. She was much lighter than he was. But she was quicker, and she used that to her advantage. She turned around and ran out of the palace on the dusty road. She has more room to move, he rushed towards her. But she simply ducked away, not only that she cut open his knees. He fell towards the ground screaming in pain, that is when Liaxaun and the Second prince Rougang turned the corner.
"Zhenyi!"
They rushed towards her aid, but the man took a chien, a smaller double-edged sword that could be used as a dagger, from somewhere and killed himself with it.
"Well, that was inconvenient." Rougang said with a smirk. While he looked at the wounds on the assassin's body. "But you got him good. But why did he attack you here, on the streets, in brought daylight?"
"First off, he was not going to talk, tried that already didn't work. Second, he attacked me inside the palace just when I finished taking a bath. Third, he was not working alone." She said, while kneeling down next to the man. Grabbing his chien and threw it passed the princes, pinning Ma Jie's clothes against a wall. The princes and she rushed towards her, Rougang pinned her against the wall so that she wouldn't kill herself. "I already suspected you had some ill intend after you mockingly called me Princess, after I reminded you of my title. So save your breath by saying that you are innocent. So please, enlighten me who sent to you?"
"They are sent by the Shān lóng kingdom," the voice of the emperor echoed through the street. "They are currently at war with the Móhú de kingdom. Your homeland, Zhenya, and you are what connects your homeland with the mighty army of my empire. Take you out, and that connecting is nothing but empty words on a piece of yellowed paper." He walked towards them, his hands behind his back. "But by attacking you, on this soil, angers the Yīnghuā shù empires, and now we are going to reply in kind. Rougang, Liaxaun, report to General Mao."
"Yes, Fùqīn," they said in unison. With a slight bow, and they rushed away.
"Princess Zhenya, you are a guest. But you are trained enough to join this war, do you want to fight for your home and country?" the emperor said. "Knowing that the man, you call Fùqīn, is there." She nodded, soldiers rushed to the captured maid and took her of Zhenya's hands.
"The empire is more my home than the Móhú de kingdom. But my mother still lives there, and I will not lose her because of a pity war." Zhenyi said. The emperor nodded in agreement. "I only do not have an armor, horse and weapons and the rest of the stuff I need to go into battle." She was thinking out loud, that made the emperor chuckle.
"Do you really think that I would ask you to join us, if I didn't prepare that stuff for you. Silly, silly Princess." he said. She grinned, this was true, the emperor was a man who planned things in the more finer details. "Also, from now on do not call me emperor, just call me Huáng fù. I believe you have being here long enough to call me that." She bowed towards him, knowing full well that this was an honor.
"I will report to General Mao, Huáng fù." she said, and she could see him beam with pride and joy when she said it. She came up and rushed into the same direction as the young princes. Only sixteen and was allowed to join the war, all because she has proven herself. She entered the training ground where the soldiers were lined up, not yet in armor, which probably would happen after the General's speech. She walked over to where the princes lined up, which earned her surprised expressions. But General Mao greeted her with a simple nod.
"Alright, now that all of you have gathered here, it is time for me to give this speech." General Mao started loudly enough so that everyone on the field could hear him. Zhenyi quickly glanced around, this was of course not the whole army. These men were currently present inside the palace walls, the others are preparing at home. Because the drums that were mounted on the palace walls were beaten in a nice, slow, but foreboding rhythm. "The homeland of Princess Zhenyi is currently at war with the Shān lóng kingdom. We were going to ignore that, until they sent an assassin to attack the Princess in the heart of our beloved empire. And we can't overlook that, so the Shān lóng kingdom have called us to battle. Princess, do you want some words, it is your country we are going to fight for." Zhenyi nodded, she was not sure what to say. Other than what she already told the Emperor. She stepped forward, and placed her arms behind her back. Taking a soldiers' stance.
"The Móhú de kingdom, is no longer my home. It stopped being that when my father sent me here, inside a cage. The empire is my home, but their enemy attacked me nonetheless. This is something we can't forgive nor forget, this empire is our home, and they tried to damage it. I will ride with you to fight for my home, for the empire." She said, pumping her fist in the air. "For the empire."
"For the empire!" all the soldiers called out. General Mao nodded in agreement, beaming in pride. She turned towards him when he laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Princess Zhenyi will be in command of the archers, in other words she is a commanding officer inside this army, treat her as such." General Mao said, "you all have being dismissed. Prepare for battle, we will ride out at sunset." He then turned to face her. "Now we need you to get dressed. Madam Cao is waiting for you to help with your armor, you know where we keep the training supplies. No men are allowed in there until I order that they are." she nodded and was about to thank him. "Do not thank me, princess. If it was up to me, you wouldn't get dressed in armor at all. That is not why I trained you, I trained you to survive the palace life. But although some compare that with a battlefield, it doesn't compare with one that we are about to face. Did I make myself clear?" She nodded, but why did he give her a commanding position if he didn't want her to be part of this. But she already knew the answer, it was not his decision, it was the emperor's.
"I hope that I will not be too much of a burden," she said, but the General shook his head.
"I never said you would be, I am simply preparing you for what is out there. Not that I can do, but I need to try. I have done that with the princes too," he explained. Which made sense, she smiled at him.
Zhenyi walked towards the shed where they kept the training supplies. Like General Mao already said, Madam Cao was waiting for her. Together with the metal armor, and her purple tunic. She took off the dress herself and put on the purple tunic, while Madam Cao folded the silk dress neatly.
"Watch carefully, Princess, I will show you how to put it on yourself. Because there are no maids on the battlefield, and we do not want a man to see you indecent. Not unless you want to marry the guy after the war, but you are a bit young for that." Madam Cao said, Zhenyi nodded, and she paid close attention to every step Madam Cao took. She also explained it as well, which made it all so much easier to understand it as well. The armor was heavy, but not heavy enough to slow her down. "Please, lower yourself so that this old lady can do your hair." Zhenyi snorted playfully.
"You are not old, Madam Cao. But I will do as you asked, because you are shorter than I am." she said, while kneeling down on the floor.
"A simple ponytail, you are not a man, and not married." Zhenyi wanted to nod, but Madam Cao pulled on her hair with a jade comb. Untangling her very dark brown hair, it almost seems to be black, but the true color always showed itself in the sunlight. "I am done." Zhenyi stood up and turned towards the woman. Who had tears streaming down her cheeks, Zhenyi didn't need to ask why. General Mao already made it clear that she would ride into mortal danger, and it was a possibility that she wouldn't come back. Zhenyi looked around, knowing that the General promised her privacy. But she still wanted to make sure, and then wrapped Madam Cao into a tight huge. Something that is not done, according to protocol. But this woman practically raised her, and was now scared that she would lose her charge.
"I promise that I would be careful," she said. Madam Cao nodded, and cried in silence. "You have a kind heart, Madam. I want to thank you for taking care of me. I wouldn't have survived the first attempt on my life if it wasn't for you. Or without your support, so again thank you." Madam Cao nodded once again, and pushed her away.
"You need to go, you do not want to be late for your first war." Madam Cao said. Zhenyi nodded and left the woman and the shed behind.
********
The horse that was selected for her was a young black stallion, but one she has used during practice. She checked the saddle, bit and everything else before she climbed on his back. She also counted the arrows, and made sure that the holders were filled to the brim. The bow hung on her back, together with an extra quiver that was filled with enough arrows. Around her, other soldiers did the same thing. General Mao taught her to do this type of control herself, and apparently he taught others the same thing. Which was a good thing, once she finally sat down inside the saddle she glanced over to Laixaun who was already in his saddle. She drove her horse towards him, and took a deep breath. Ready to be scolded by him, she knew that he was not able to see her as a teenager. In his eyes, she was still the helpless five-year-old that needed his protection.
"You shouldn't be here," he said. He didn't even look at her when speaking to her. "War is not a game, not glorious as in the songs or fairytales my mother loved to tell when we were younger. It is bloody, messy, and a nightmare." She nodded, she had heard enough stories from General Mao to know that this is true.
"I know all of this, but I want to fight. It might not be my home anymore, but my mother still lives there and I can't forsake her. It was not her fault that my father wanted her. It was not her fault that she didn't hold any power to keep me at her side." She said. He slowly nodded if he understood her, but she could see his expression. "I will be careful, Liaxaun. I can promise you that." He again nodded, then they were joined by his brothers.
"Don't worry too much about it, first brother," Fourth Prince Shuren said. "She is a good fighter, pretty good horsewoman and the best of us with a bow and arrow. Besides, she had us to protect her."
"No, Shuren she hasn't us to protect her. Because we ourselves are responsilbe for our own units." Liaxaun snapped at him. Shuren was the same age as she was. As was the Third Prince, Zexian, although there were a couple of months between them. Still, he didn't have a problem with them joining the army, because they were boys and she was a girl. "But there is nothing we can do about it now. She is here, and we are going to leave. So get in line." Zhenyi narrowed her eyes, but she stirred her horse so that she was besides Shuren. They had practiced it multiple times, and it was also her spot when they would ride in a procession. Which this kind of was, they marched through the imperial village until they were at the gates. There, the Emperor took the lead, as they stepped through the gates. The villagers outside the gate waved them goodbye, and once outside the city, the rest of the army followed behind them.
******
They rode through the night to get to the border between the empire, the Móhú de kingdom and Shān lóng kingdom. The plums of smoke were already visible from a couple of miles away. The sound of an ongoing battle followed suit. She tensed slightly when she first heard it, but quickly got some kind of used to it.
"Get in formation!" General Mao said. She looked beside her towards Shuren, they nodded each other for good luck, and she drove towards the back. Where the archers were, she took her own bow from it place on her back and cocked the first arrow. Ready to let it fly when needed. They reached a hill and halted until they were spread out, Zhenyi was able to see the battle down there. "Archers take position." She reached her hand, and the archers took their position. She looked over her shoulder, as General Mao and the Empor both nodded towards her. From this point forward she was in command, and it was up to her to give the fire salute. She cleared her throat, and watched as the army of both her father and the Shān lóng kingdom noticed them. Her father's army quickly retreated towards them, as they were followed by the army of the Shān lóng kingdom.
"Take aim!" she shouted, she already had her arrow ready, so she took aim as well. "Wait for my command!" The army of her father reached them, and the Shān lóng kingdom's army was now close enough. "Fire!" The rain of arrows was released, but there was no time to wait to see if their attack landed. "Take aim!" She yelled, and again they took aim. "Fire." this was repeated several times. Before the first soldiers of the Shān lóng kingdom reached them. Now it was up to the others to show their force. "Take aim, and shoot anybody that is not on our side!" She already released two arrows, while she gave that command. Both were to protect Liaxaun, because an enemy soldier tried to attack him from the back. He looked at the two dead men, then at her. She gave him a polite nod, and he bowed his head in shame. Still, there was no time to feel good about this, they were in the midst of a battle. She kept shooting her arrows until there were no more left, now she needed to rely on her sword. She jumped off her horse, who run towards the other horses who were dismounted. Which they were trained to do. She killed the first man that came too close to her.
"Are you crazy?" Laixaun shouted at her. She shock her head, and turned her back towards him. Ready to fight the next one that came to close, knowing that Laixaun had her back. The battle didn't last long after that, still she felt tired, which was not strange they have being fighting like lions and without a decent night of sleep. The Shān lóng kingdom's army retreated, she sighed and smiled at Laixaun. Who nodded to her. "Are you alright?" he asked. She simply put her thumps up, and looked out over the field. It was a large grassy plain, surrounded by hills and a forest on the side of the Shān lóng kingdom. But there was something on that hill that caught her attention, she pointed at them. Laixaun gazed at them as well.
"Good job, the two of you, I have kept an eye on the both of you." General Mao said, placing his hands on their shoulders. "What are the two of you looking at? Ohh, those seem like catapult marks, if those are not on our side than we are in big trouble." She slowly nodded and then turned around. She saw the person that hunted her nightmares, her father. Walking towards the emperor, he was followed by some men with white clocks. Generals of his army, but then there was a man rushing towards him with his Dao raised. She quickly plucked an arrow out of a fallen soldier's quiver, cocked it and shot it to the man. Her father and his general turned towards the now fallen man, and then their gazes so her. "Nice shot, but the emperor wanted to see us inside the war tent." General Mao turned towards Zhenyi, who wanted to walk away. She really didn't want to be in the same room as the man that calls himself her father. "You too, Princess. You are a commanding officer, after all. " She lowered her head, but followed them with saying anything. The large round tent was filled with generals of both the empire with black cloaks and those of her father. The princes who wore purple clocks, just like her. And Zhenyi's first brother and the crown prince of the Móhú de kingdom, who was wearing a red clock. In other words, it was a colorful bunch. She took her place next to the brothers, quickly making eye contact with her own brother. But he didn't seem to recognize her, which was not surprising. But he was probably wondering who she was, because she was standing beside the princes. And it was widely known that the emperor had four sons. The emperor and her father entered the tent, and he looked straight at her.
"You are the man that saved my life," he walked up to her and stretched out his hand. But then he frowned, "wait, why is there a woman inside your army? And in a commanding position no less." She straightened her back, she didn't need to take this.
"A woman that has saved your royal ass." she said, which earned her a warm laugh from the emperor.
"That woman over there is talented with a bow, sword, martial arts and spear. Her only problem is her temper and sharp tongue, but those are threats she has inherited from her father, it seems." The emperor said, she rose up her chin. "But now let's talk business." The emperor pointed towards a map that was laid down on a table right here in the center. Zhenyi leaned towards Lauxian.
"Don't say anything about the catapults, I want to know if they bring it up. If not, then there are two options, and neither are pleasant." she said. Lauxian nodded in agreement and General Mao who also heard it nodded as well. The two leaders brought up various strategies, then the emperor turned towards his sons.
"What do you four make of this?" he asked. Which earned a scoffing sound from Zhenyi's father.
"This is a war council, not a classroom." he snapped. Which earned him a disapproving look from the emperor, and the four princes.
"I can't see why this can't be a learning opportunity for them. My oldest will one day sit upon my throne, and his brothers will be commanders inside this army. So one day they are the ones that need to make the decisions. So boys take the floor." the emperor said, and the five princes, this included Zhenyi's brother, started to discuss some point that were not being discussed before. She listened to all of them, and nodded when she agreed with some points. "And that is why I invited them to speak up. They are young and might seem things from a different angle." But there was still one thing that was not discussed, the catapults. So she raised up her hand.
"Do I have permission to speak?" she asked, her own father was ready to deny her this right. But the emperor nodded in agreement. "King Tang Zhelan," it was strange to call her father by his full name. "Do you have any catapults?" Her father frowned and shook his head, she gazed upwards at her brother and he did the same thing. "Alright then we have a big problem, right after the battle I saw large tracks. Leading towards the border, tracks that General Mao classified as catapult tracks."
"That is nonsence," her father shouted. "That is why a woman should anly be seen and not heard. You have raised your daughter to be..."
"I recommand you do not finish that sentence," Zhenyi snapped. "Because the emperor is not my father. Not that is not more deserving to that title then my own father. A man that I only have seen once, and that was when he threw me inside a cage without any windows. To be shipped of to a foreing country with a bunch on incompitant eunches." Her father's face was drained from any color when she finished her teriade. "Besides that, I saved your ass. Do not make me regret that action. Because right now, my first brother is acting more like a king then you do, father." This earned her some whispers, once again she looked up to her brother who was grinning from ear to ear.
"I though that you looked similiar to concubine Yazhu," he said. Did he say concubine, her mother was no longer a concort? So after her father took her away from her and shipped her off to the empire. He lowered her status as well, now she indeed regretted saving him. "It is good to see my sixth sister in good health, and so strong."
"Thank you, first brother. It is good to see you as well. But alright now that we know who I am, let we get back to the matter at hand. Because like I stated, I was not the only one who has seen those tracks. General Mao is the one who told me what they were, and do you call General Mao a liar. Father." he shook his head. "Well now that we know that they are prepared of the imperial army, let us prepare how to deal with this."
"Do you have any sugestions?" the emperor asked. She nodded.
"As a matter of fact I have, Huáng fù." she said, it was the first time that she used the petname he had chosen for himself. And some where shocked when they heard her say it."We can sent a small force behind enemy lines to deal with the treath." she looked at the emperor who nodded.
"Good idea, General Mao and Prince Tang x. I am giving you both the task of selecting this group." he said. They nodded and left the tent. "Now it is time for my sons, and my royal geust to get some rest as well." But Zhenyi's father grabbed his arm.
"You are letting my daughter fight inside your army?" he asked.
