"Shayue."
A familiar voice interrupted the silence breaking the peace of a few seconds she had. She turned around, at the entrance of the courtyard she saw, stood two figures staring at her, the Emperor and beside him—the Empress, the woman who held the title of empress before the court and in the mansion as mother, though she never had within Shayue's heart. Several attendants followed at a respectful manner from the distance. The Emperor dismissed them with a hand wave, soon only the three of them remained in the courtyard. The late spring breeze stirred softly between them, but for a few moments no one spoke, as if no one wants to speak. But after a few moments, the Emperor's gaze rested upon Shayue than on the courtyard and all over the place, a complicated emotion flashed through his eyes, as of pride, regret, perhaps both. Today was the day his daughter would leave her homeland for good. Even emperors were not immune to such moments,
"It has been a while since I last came here," he said, glancing around the courtyard of her mansion. "To this place." Shayue's fingers tightened slightly, almost imperceptibly, around the silk of her sleeves, "It has been years, Your Majesty."
The words fell between them like stones into still water. The Emperor's expression shifted slightly, just enough, a tightening at the jaw, a flicker in his gaze. The weight of her correction settled upon him, uncomfortable and undeniable. He had not been a father to her. He had not had even been present. And now, on the day of departure, the distance between them grew even more not in affection but in years of absence.
He cleared his throat, the sound too loud in the quiet courtyard.
"You look worthy of the title you will carry from now on," he finally said, with his calm and steady voice. Yet noticeably softer than usual, beside him the Empress smiled gently.
"His Majesty speaks truthfully. The entire palace has been praising your appearance since dawn."
Her smile appeared flawlessly, elegant and perfect, as always, but Shayue merely inclined her head politely. "Your Majesty, Your Highness."
The Emperor stepped closer, for a moment, he simply looked at her. As though seeing not the Crown Princess before him, but the daughter he rarely had time to know. But for him it was too late to consider it.
"The road ahead will not be easy as it is now." His voice grew lower, "Longlin is not Fengyu. The people, the customs, and the court are different, once you leave today, you will represent not only yourself but also this empire as well."
Shayue met his gaze calmly, she answered in a distant tone, "This subject understands, Your Majesty."
The Emperor nodded slowly, with slight irritation. Something in her answer seemed to reassure him… or perhaps it simply confirmed what he already knew. She was not his daughter speaking to him but was a subject addressing her sovereign. Beside him, the Empress finally spoke.
"Shayue." Her tone was warm, almost maternal, "You are entering a powerful empire. Regardless of the circumstances, you must learn when to endure and when to advance." Her eyes rested upon Shayue carefully. "A woman cannot rely solely upon strength, sometimes patience achieves what power cannot."
Then her lips curved, and there was something almost mischievous in the tilt of her smile, something sharp underneath the silk. The Empress said lightly.
"After all, a bird that flies too far from its cage often forgets it was ever been caged at all, one would wonders if it remembers who had opened the door for it."
Shayue did not blink, she let out the silence stretch long enough for the words to hang in the air like a blade suspended by a thread. Then she smiled at the Empress, it was a small, polite, perfectly measured smile, and utterly without warmth.
"Your Highness speaks wisely," Shayue spoke with her soft voice as the breeze, each word placed like a stone on a chessboard. "But this subject has always found that the bird who knows the cage was never truly a cage to understand something that the keeper did not."
She paused before continuing, her gaze unwavering. "The door was never opened, Your Highness, the bird simply grew wings that the keeper could not see." The Empress's smile froze, "And as of forgetting," Shayue continued, inclining her head with exquisite deference, "this subject remembers every shadow that fell across the bars. One does not forget the dark when one has learned to see within it."
The courtyard became even more, quieter than before. The Empress's eyes narrowed, just barely, before she recovered her grace. But the mask had cracked, if only for a moment, and something cold flickered behind that earlier fake warmth.
"A sharp tongue for a departing bird," the Empress murmured softly covering her mouth with a lace.
"Only as sharp as the cage was small, Your Highness," Shayue replied, her tone still gentle and respectful, still a blade wrapped in silk. "This subject thanks Your Highness for the counsel."
The Emperor glanced towards the palace gates, where the morning light had already shifted past its zenith. The sun hung high and warm over-head, it was already the Wei Shi hour, when the sun begins its descent toward the west, when the day had begun its slow turn toward evening. He straightened his posture it was the gesture of a man reclaiming his distance, his throne and his walls.
"Shayue I won't be able to accompany you when you will depart," he said, with his returning to its original and familiar voice, steady, distant, the voice of an Emperor rather than a father. "Matters of state are demanding for my attention, the court does not pause just because of farewells."
Shayue looked at him, at the man who had given her blood but never his shadow, who had given her the title of Crown Princess but never his hand, something uncurled in her chest, not grief nor anger, merely the quiet settling of an old wound that had been long since scarred over. She had stopped imagining him as her father long ago, for her he was merely the Emperor of Fengyu Empire. After the silence, after the absence, after the betrayal that had thought her that, thrones had no room for daughters, only for heirs and hostages. She had learned not to expect warmth from a stone, and so his departure cost her nothing, she had not surrendered already.
"This subject understands, Your Majesty, the Empire's affairs are more important than a single departure of a daughter. They always have been."
She said, her voice smooth and untroubled as still water. Something in her tone made him pause. He searched her face, trying to find the little child who had once waited for him at the windows, perhaps looking for the child who was hurt, but he had never bothered to witness, or neither found it.
"Shayue." His voice was quieter than before almost hesitant, as though the word were unfamiliar on his tongue,
Before Shayue could spoke he continued, "Shayue, you have done a great for Fengyu Empire this past years. You have strengthened our empire's armies, stabilizing the northern borders, and have earned the respect of both officials and soldiers. Your contribution and hard work shall never be forgotten by this Empire." He spoke with a softer voice, carrying an unfamiliar yet almost measured. His eyes remained fixed on Shayue.
"After you arrive in Longlin Empire, remember one thing clearly," he cleared his throat than continued, "Continue to think about Fengyu Empire and keep sending letters regularly, inform this Emperor of the affairs going on within the Longlin court, their movements of its officials, their customs, disposition of their armies, and whatever may concern the future of Fengyu. Everything, after all we had put so much effort for this Empire."
His tone was calm as of speaking, matter-of-facts. As though entrusting an important duty to a capable daughter, Shayue listened without interrupting, a gentle smile appeared on her lips. It was a small smile, demure, the smile of a daughter grateful for her father's trust, the smile of a subject honored by her emperor's confidence.
"Of course, Your Majesty, this subject will write everything that will concern our future of Empire, their court, their customs, movements and their armies, all of it, this subject would write. She said with her warm, earnest, perfectly obedient smile, she lowered her gaze, the picture of dutiful humility, "This subject would not disappoint Your Majesty."
The Emperor nodded, satisfied, the corner of his lips raising with pride, a craftsman pleased with his work, a general pleased with his soldier.
"Good," he murmured, "You have always been… practical Shayue. I am glad that one thing of yours did not change."
He did not see what moved behind her smile and eyes, he did not see the way her fingers, hidden in her sleeves were curled in resolve, he did not see the wall that had risen in her chest, stone upon other stone, making them even more distant from each other, the moment he had started speaking, he did not see that the daughter he had abandoned had learned to read people as others read scrolls, that she had parsed his every word.
To Be Continued...