Page 23 of Empire's Curse

The guard—a young man with a mop of black hair and round eyes—shifted on his feet uneasily. “I’m not sure …” he said after another pause. “His Majesty didn’t give me any direct orders …”

“And so he didn’t explicitly say to keep me locked in here, did he?” She jerked a thumb at her door and kept a cheery expression on her face. She prayed he allowed her to leave, even if it meant he was trailing behind her the whole time. “Come now, I’m bored and there’s no one to talk to, so I’d love to wander the halls and the gardens. I’m sure His Majesty won’t mind.”

He swallowed, and finally, after another moment of awkward silence, he nodded. “I … I suppose it wouldn’t hurt.”

“Excellent! How about you lead me to the royal gardens? I’ve heard wondrous stories of how magnificent they are.” Daiyu ambled down the hall while the guard walked in front of her. He kept a tight grip on the shaft of his spear, his knuckles white with pressure. Daiyu briefly wondered if he was nervous to be with her, or if it was because he was straying from his usual duty of guarding her door.

As they continued through the halls, Daiyu kept track of where they were going and how many twists and turns they took. Her mind became jumbled with the many identical, polished corridors, but she tried to remember the intricate octagonal windows, tapestries, and different colors of each hall—something that made it stand out and would be easy to remember.

When they passed through a hallway with circular windows with delicate lattice work and, upon closer inspection, a snake and moon design around the circumference of it, Daiyu slowed in her steps. The snake and moon were the symbol of the previous MuRong dynasty, which Drakkon Muyang had overthrown. She would’ve thought that all signs of that dynasty would’ve been wiped from this palace when he took over four years ago.

The guard opened one of the doorways and more light flooded the passageway. He gave her a small nod. “This is the north entrance of the gardens. Unfortunately, you’re only allowed in this part of the gardens, unless the emperor gives direct orders to allow you to the rest of the royal gardens.”

She bobbed her head. “How many different sections of the gardens are there?”

“Four or five,” he answered with a shrug as they stepped outside.

Birds tweeted above them and Daiyu breathed in the smell of jasmine, peonies, and sweet plum blossoms. Sprawling trees heavy with fruits and pink blossoms, beds of colorful orchids, and bushes of roses and lilacs surrounded them in thickets. From afar, she could see the stone benches, ponds full of colorful koi fish, animal statues, and stone pergolas embossed with designs she couldn’t make out from the distance. For a moment, Daiyu could only pause and stare in awe. She hadn’t expected to step into something straight from a fairy tale.

“My lady?” The guard turned to her with a curious, concerned expression. At seeing her stunned look, he glanced at the garden, clearly not as impressed as she was. “Shall we continue?”

“I … Yes.” Daiyu hurried after him as they strolled deeper. She almost forgot about her escape plan as she took in the sights of butterflies, dragonflies, birds, and flora.

Between gawping at colorful fish swimming in clear streams and searching for potential routes she could take, they went through the gardens slowly. She made a mental map and kepttrack of places she could potentially hide—like behind the benches, or the thickets of trees and bushes.

“Are there many guards here?” Daiyu asked as they passed two more guards, who barely gave them a side glance.

“Ah, yes. Since this is an open courtyard, we have to be careful that spies or intruders don’t sneak in here.”

“Oh? Is there a way to get inside here?”

He gave her a strange look, and Daiyu clamped her mouth shut. Was that too on the nose?

“Well, if they can climb up to the roofs.” He shrugged and pointed to the curved roofs on one side. “The only other way is if they’re already in the palace, but I don’t see why they would want to enter here then.”

A frown tugged at her lips. If this was a courtyard-style garden, then that meant she couldn’t escape through the gardens.

“My lady, I think that’s enough of a walk for today,” the guard said, pausing as if to turn around.

She opened her mouth to protest, but something caught her attention at the edge of her vision. A trio of women were walking her way, and she recognized the woman in the middle. What was her name again? Jia?

The trio slowed when they noticed her, and the woman leading the pack tilted her head to the side at the sight of Daiyu. Her doe-like brown eyes widened and she snapped her fingers. “Oh!” the woman said. “I remember you!”

Daiyu smiled uncertainly. She was the woman who had helped lead her to the Lotus wing when she had been looking for Lanfen. “Ah, hello.”

“Good morning, Lady Jia.” The guard straightened and lowered his head in respect.

Jia nodded at him, then eyed the fine dress Daiyu was wearing, a crease forming between her painted eyebrows. “Weren’t you … a servant back then?”

Daiyu laced her hands together to keep them from fidgeting. “Actually, no. And I’m … well, I’m in a strange position, tosay the least.” She laughed uncomfortably, and the other two women with Jia leaned forward to inspect her.

“A strange position?” one of the women asked.

The other woman raised her brows. “You … You aren’t possibly the woman His Majesty chose, are you?”

Jia gasped and gave Daiyu another once-over. “Oh, you are, aren’t you?”

When Daiyu nodded, the three women exchanged surprised looks with one another. Jia stepped forward and took Daiyu’s hands in her own, an excited jitter around her. “Oh, you must tell meeverything! How did His Majesty choose you?Whydid he choose you?” She giggled and turned to one of the women to her side. “You know he hasn’t chosen anyone in years, so we’re all so very curious about what you did!”

---