The Ushitora Mountain range

Present: Late Spring, 1472

The reddish glow in Furusawa's eyes was fleeting and if Feiyan had not been paying strict attention, she would have missed it. She was sure now that there was something wrong with him.

"Your Highness, I am given to understand that many of the tribute slaves were selected from your Lord Mu's precious Shadow guard. Strange how that happened this year...." he smirked.

"Lord Mu did not interfere with the selection," responded Feiyan with a bald-face lie. "It's just a coincidence."

Feiyan was well aware that her father had done everything he could to ensure that the commoners carried the least of the burden. How they had ended up with so many nobles this year...perhaps that was just their fate...

"Well, since that's the case, perhaps this year it will be more interesting to pass through the gates."

"What do you mean?" asked Feiyan, unease stirring in her stomach at the look of anticipation on Furusawa's face.

"It's been a long time since the mountain has received offerings. The guardians sometimes grow weak if their appetites are not appeased..."

"Lord Furusawa, you would dare use my people to feed the Ushitora?" Feiyan asked softly.

"You're only here as sacrifices...whether it's to the gate guardians or to the great beast who awaits in Shuto, does it really matter?" he scoffed.

Does the person behind him truly want to prevent our entry into Shobu? But why? she wondered. As far as she was concerned, tribute candidates had never been used as sacrifices to the Ushitora. This was highly unusual. With this, it was almost certain that Furusawa was not acting under the direction of the Shoban King. Thus, this could only come from someone who was hiding in the shadow of the Shoban court...Sakurako.

Why does she want to prevent our entry this year? What's changed?

Keeping her voice steady, Feiyan tried to sound pragmatic:

"Lord Furusawa, even I'm not ignorant of the proper rites for offerings to the gate guardians. If you throw us in without preparation, the mountain may swallow your men as well."

"Well then, it's a good thing he is accompanied by a guide, isn't it?" said a woman's voice from behind them.

"Ah, it's you, my Lady Kana," said Furusawa, bowing to the person moving gracefully toward them. It was a young woman, wearing the dark coloured and elaborate robes of a higher sorcerer.

Hajoon's face instantly darkened.

Even in the wind and snow, the woman's clothes did not seem to move as if she had coated herself with protective magics. Unfazed by the elements and making no imprints in the snow, the woman called Kana appeared untouched and eternal. Feiyan, looking into her slit-pupiled eyes, realized that the woman only had the appearance of youth because of her dark practices. It was likely that she was much, much older...and potentially not human.

"A sorcerer?" Hajoon asked, tone brimming with contempt, but the woman's smile caused some of the young men and women behind him to recoil in fright.

The woman tilted her head coquettishly.

"You need not look at me so," she snickered. "The goals and the method of practice are not so very different from your inner cultivation in Moutan....We also seek power and immortality...."

Her smile widened as she hooked a long nailed finger under Hajoon's chin. Sucking in a breath, she poked her nose close to his throat. "Mmmmn! Your soul has the smell of the Byakko* my handsome one. How...irresistible!"

"Get off me!" Hajoon glared, shrugging away.

The woman only laughed in delight.

"I can't believe I found something so good in this barren place. What a shame that you will be fodder for the mountain," she said, red lips forming into a sensual pout.

Feiyan eyed her intently.

"We'll camp here for the night," said Furusawa, waving a hand at his men. "Xiao Feiyu, you may join the other prisoners for your rest. We won't lock you away tonight," he chuckled, "since it will be the last time you see the stars."

"As you wish," she said, shrugging off his insinuations.

Furusawa's condition...I wonder if that sorceress Kana has something to do with it...but that black wraith around him had a much deeper aura...something bestial...

"What do we do now, your Highness?" asked a young man named Usa, as they were escorted back to the cage carts. Beside him, his brother Uta, looked anxious.

"Be quiet!" grumbled a Shoban soldier, prodding Usa with the butt end of a spear.

Feiyan's lips flattened.

Both Uta and Usa were commoners, but the fact that they'd been selected was tragically ironic. In fact, their parents had been immigrants from Shobu, poor farmers who had lived on the border in front of the Ushitora mountains and decided to leave their villages to travel south for a better life, but those who left Shobu forfeited their citizenship and they were treated no better than those from Moutan.

They had originally formed a fighting triad with a girl named Xiangmei, but thankfully she hadn't been selected. However, the centre of a triad was the hinge that held the group together. Without their center, the two young men looked a little lost. Feiyan had already decided that this would not do. The fighting triads would have to be reorganized if they were to stand any chance against the gate guardians.

Nibbling her lower lip, she looked at each of the eight faces gathered around her, and considered her next steps.

"We have to save our strength for now, but even before that, we need to reorganize. So, let's start with you, Usa...what can you do?" she asked.

Understanding immediately what she intended, the commoners quickly told her about their training, what weapons they preferred, and their fighting capabilities. The Shadows she already knew about, so that was easy enough, but she would have to leave the nobles for now.

Hajoon watched her but said very little, knowing that she was perfectly capable of judging things for herself. He was not at all surprised when she perfectly reorganized the triads.

"Well...it's settled..." Feiyan sighed.

"The problem now will be the nobles..." said Hajoon quietly, arms folded over his broad chest.

"You're reading my mind again..." she whispered back as she eyed them.

He had seen the stony look that Feiyan had given them as they sat in their own corner, muttering amongst themselves. Unwilling to participate in the reassignment or listen to reason, they were determined to do things their own way.

How did the great kingdom of Moutan end up with such arrogant nobles? We'll see how far that will get them, he thought, pushing down his disdain.

He sighed.

It can't be helped...I can only be more vigilant for her sake.

"What is it?" asked Feiyan. Although his expression looked the same as always, she had always been able to pick up even the minutest change in his face since childhood. Concerned, she dropped down next to him.

Hajoon only shook his head and smiled.

She still cares about me...I suppose I should be grateful even for that bit of her affection.

The brief flicker of concern flitting over her features had warmed his heart, but it would be foolish to think too much of it. They were in a dangerous situation and the only thing he could do was to stay in the background and prioritize her safety.

After things had been settled, the others had gone to get some rest, leaving Feiyan and Hajoon alone.

The Shobans had not allowed a campfire and Feiyan shifted, sneakily trying to catch his warmth without getting too close. Guilty for drawing the line between them, even in this circumstance, she refused to impose on him. His heart softened and he pulled her flush against his side despite her squeak of protest.

"It's alright. No one will think you lacking in propriety with how cold it is right now. The others are doing the same. However, it is very weird to look at the Prince's face and know that it's your body under that...did the Lord do that...?" he teased, referring to the concealment spell her father had put on her.

Feiyan clapped a hand over his mouth to silence him, but he made her blush by kissing her palm. Taking her hand in his own, he rubbed her fingers to keep them warm. She snatched them back, burying them in her lap though they throbbed with cold as well as her embarrassment.

Hajoon smirked, but didn't try to reclaim them.

"I haven't talked to you for a few days and you turned into a flirt," she sniffed, still a bit pink.

"Says who?" he retorted gently.

"Your Prince," she shot back, lips twitching.

"If the Prince says so, then of course it must be true," he responded, looking very serious.

Feiyan made a "pffft" noise and hid her face against her knees so he wouldn't see her smile, but he could still tell.

I need her to keep smiling...he thought, filled with deep regret. The small poison vial and his mother's hairpin felt like lead in the hidden pocket on his chest. It weighed him down.

Even if she smiles for someone else, that's all I can do now.