Yuan continues forward on his ebony mare, wind striking his face and forcing his hair back. His younger brother, Liu, follows him and after a short time they stop, and he turns to face the younger, “Shouldn’t you be practicing your fighting? You did horrible against me this morning.” “I can…
Y..Yuan? *gulps and tucks loose hair behind her ear before bowing*
I look at her and shake my head, not sure why she was bowing to me when she was clearly of higher status, “There’s no need for that,” I speak a little quickly, “But what are you doing here..and out in the forest alone..how did you get so far from the main palace..aren’t you with escorts?” I ask feeling my eyebrows furrow with worry and a million questions flying through my head
Ah…Not exactly. *she laughs nervously*
He looks at her, “Then..what are you doing around here..? Is something wrong..? and you can straighten up you know,” he notes her still folded form, “You’re not supposed to bow to me, it should be the other way,” he speaks realizing he didn’t bow when he should’ve.
Well, I found out that…Her Majesty is not my mother. And so Hotaru and I are trying to find her. *she gestures to Hotaru* She’s a woman from the Southern Kingdom, so we’re headed that way.
“Not your..” he shakes his head, “I’m sure if that were the case I’d have known..secrets are hard to keep within family..and why keep you then and declare you princess if you weren’t hers..you’d have been tossed out of the castle the moment you let loose your first scream..” he speaks, “Come on, there must be some misunderstanding..why don’t you spend the night with me and your uncle, I’m sure everyone would be glad to see you since its been who knows how many seasons since we last saw each other”
It won’t make a difference, Yuan. They have a son now. They don’t need an illegitimate daughter. I need to find my mother.
“Well do you know what she looks like..? Do you have any leads? Do you have any idea how large the Southern Kingdom is? How will you find one person? Any one could claim to be your mother. Not to mention how will she know what you look like, I doubt she’s the one who named you.” he points out.
I’ve had visions of her in my dreams, but…I’ve really no other clue except her name.
“So you know what she looks like and her name..” he speaks, “how long have you been out searching now..? Tell you what, you return with me to the palace, rest up for a day or two, and you can get a map and we can go look for your mother, its not right for you to travel with a stranger,” he glances at Hotaru, “not to mention shames the royal family since I’m sure the country doesn’t know you’re not really the queens daughter,” He speaks, “and its improper to be travelling as you are”
You know something, Yuan? I appreciate you trying to help me. But Hotaru's no longer a stranger, and I'm long past the point of impropriety. Either you come and help, or we'll just be on our way. *she crosses her arms*
