Prologue: 13 years ago

 

Prologue

13 years ago

 

Fire Lily Tsao tripped over the long kirtle of her yellow silk kimono, strands of her long black hair falling in front of her eyes. She gasped, pushing her hair out of her eyes as she hugged her bundle, running. She was secretly glad that she wore the soft, cloth shoes instead of the hardened lotus shoes as she raced away from the house that was burning to the ground.

 

"Come back, Lady Tsao! Come back!"

 

She gulped in the fresh morning air, huddling her bundle before taking off again.

 

"Lady Tsao! We won't hurt you or your daughter! Just come back."

 

But she wasn't going to be fooled by that. The soldier was calling her back, calling her back because he'd want to kill her. Of course, the whole kingdom would now. The dratted king had offered a thousand yang as a reward for their heads. Money did wonders, she thought bitterly. She could feel that the soldiers were near. her feet were sore, her breath ragged.

 

For a moment she stopped, unwrapping her bundle. She could hear the distant pounding of armor on the ground, hear the shouting of the soldiers, hear the brandishing of the swords. Her baby stared up at her, mumbling incoherently. 

 

Tears ran down her cheeks as she set the baby in the hollow of a tree. "Goodbye, baby," she stroke her cheek, tucking the note into her bundle, "Mommy has to go now. At least...at least you'll be safe."

 

And then she turned and ran, leaving the little girl in the tree hollow.

 

 

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Trin Lee bent, picking mushrooms, grumbling as she went. As the daughter of a teashop owner she really was expected to do a lot of things, picking mushrooms included. Oh, that vile, smelly, old place, she thought to herself, stamping about as she hunted for the mushrooms. She wore a green tunic that reached her knees and a pair of brown, deerskin moccasins.

 

"Oh, balderdash," she muttered, "Blasted, bloody old--"

 

Suddenly she stopped, her senses alert as she listened intently. She swore she heard a howl---and there it was again! That very same howl! Chills went up her spine. It couldn't possibly be a wolf, could it? Or a dog?

 

And then something howled again, and Trin shuddered. And yet the howl wasn't quite inhuman....

 

Trin crept forward silently, telling herself that she would turn and bolt immediately if it was a wolf. After all, if she had a good head start, the wolf wouldn't catch her. Right?

 

And then she gasped. Her gaze had rested upon the small, plump thing in the hollow of a tree. The baby's round, rosy cheeks glistened with tears as Trin approached, howling.

 

"There, there," Trin muttered, gathering the baby to her, "It's alright. Don't cry." She looked around, trying to find the child's mother. "Oh, where's your mother?" she cooed to the baby, "Where is she? Did she leave you here? Aw, don't cry. I'll take care of you."

 

She slipped the baby and her bundle into her basket, turning to leave. I wonder what happened to her mother, she thought grimly as she walked  to the road that would take her back to town, my parents can afford to raise her. After all, it's not like Mother doesn't adore children.  At this, she smiled, her confidence renewed, and she continued.

 

 

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The little girl bounced into the room, her straight, long black hair cascading down to her elbows, running around in her red kimono. "Papa, papa!" She shouted with glee, running in, throwing her arms around her father.

 

General Hsia smiled down at her daughter, stroking her hair affectionately.

 

"Sir!" A man in black came rushing in, "An imperial edict has arrived!"

 

The royal messenger came in with the yellow scroll. Hsia knelt.

 

"Lord Tsao and his family has been tracked down and killed upon orders of His Imperial Majesty. Tsao was reported to have been planning to battle against His Imperial Majesty by General Hsia. As a reward, General Hsia, from now on, you are the lord of Luk."

 

"Oooh! Papa, Papa! Did you hear that? You've been made a lord!"

 

And of course, General--no, Lord Hsia heard that.

 

He grinned. So Lord Tsao had finally been tracked down and killed. He had wanted to teach him Tsao a lesson himself personally, but Tsao had been taken care of by His Imperial Majesty. Well, Hsia caught himself before he shrugged, Tsao should've learned not to get in my way earlier. After all, this was what happened to someone who stood in my way.

 

"Do you accept, General Hsia?" The royal messenger was asking sharply, apparently impatient.

 

"Yes," Hsia grinned, "Of course I do. I accept. Yes."

Reviews

[Tamelia Jade]

OMG! This is awesome :) I'm loving it. You introduced this perfectly and used beautiful descriptions to illustrate this story. Can't wait to see where this goes. You've got me hooked! Thanks for a great chapter! :)

[Freeminded]

this is a really good chapter, brilliant detail, with a good storyteller behind it! Well done!!

[rae52]

really good i love it