Yuehwa didn't see any sign of Shoya for the next few days, right up till the eve of the sparring championships.

On the eve of the tournament, Yuehwa was sitting in the princess's chambers, popping grape after grape into her mouth. She had just run through a brief plan with the princess (most of it made up within the past couple of minutes), who was now looking pensive as she thought through what she had just been told.

"Are you sure this will work?" the princess asked hesitantly.

"Do you have a better idea?" Yuehwa asked. It was a rhetorical question, because if the princess had some inkling of what to do, she wouldn't have spent hours crying in a corner of her room. The dress that the palace tailors had made especially for the princess's appearance at the tournament was now hanging from its wooden rack, having been brought over personally by Lady Kang's palace maids a while ago.

"What if someone sees through the act? If Father or Lady Kang realise what we're doing, then they'll use it as a reason to ship me off to Gi or Feng on the next available boat!" Princess Naying wailed, her confidence visibly faltering with every passing moment.

Still eating her grapes nonchalantly, Yuehwa replied, "You'll just be watching the tournament from behind a veil because you're not supposed to be publicly showing your face to the rest of the world. If we pull a switch halfway, no one will even realise that you're not you. I'm smart enough to know how to avoid Lady Kang and the king when I need to. Take a good look at all the fellows that are competing and see if anyone catches your fancy. Who knows, maybe you'll end up falling head over heels for one of the two crown princes anyway."

Suddenly, the loud sounds of explosions going off in a distance rang out, almost making Yuehwa choke on one of her grapes. "What the hell was that!" she exclaimed, spitting the grape out of her mouth.

"That's the fireworks," Princess Naying replied miserably, still looking mildly apprehensive about what they were planning to do. "On the eve of the annual sparring championships, the entire capital celebrates with a city-wide street festival, complete with fireworks."

Yuehwa immediately ran out into the front garden, eagerly peering up at the sky. To her dismay, she couldn't see a single thing, even though the sounds of the fireworks were still ringing out.

"You can't see them from here," the princess came out to join her, "I've never seen them either."

"What? You mean you've never been out to see the fireworks?"

Shaking her head, the princess replied, "I'm not allowed to leave the palace grounds. Father says it's not safe out there."

Yuehwa snorted in disapproval, although she was not the least bit surprised. Princesses were typically treated like delicate flowers and assumed to be incapable of withstanding the "harsh" outside environment. Especially for a princess like Naying who was heralded as the most beautiful rose of them all, it was not surprising in the least that the king refused to let her out of his sight.

Grabbing the princess by the arm, she dragged the girl back indoors, saying, "Never been outside the palace before? Well there's always a first time for everything."

#

Disguised in men's outfits, two girls slipped out of the palace masquerading as guards who were running errands on behalf of the princess.

As she watched the palace gates close behind her, Princess Naying's fingers clenched tightly around Yuehwa's arm, beads of sweat seeping through the fabric of the latter's sleeve.

"We still can't get a good view of the fireworks from here," Yuehwa murmured, oblivious to her companion's anxiety. "Come on, we probably need to get a little closer to the pier."

The princess kept a tight grip on Yuehwa's sleeve as they wound their way through the crowd, frightened at the prospect of being separated from the only familiar face she knew. Yuehwa had refused to let any of her palace maids come along, insisting that they would just be excess baggage. In the end, the princess caved in and dismissed all of them, lying that she needed an early night and it would suffice to have Yuehwa keep watch for the night.

Minutes later, the girls found themselves jostling with throngs of excited people at the main pier, all trying to get the best spot to view the ongoing fireworks. Above them, the riotous display of colours and patterns was still going on, and would continue to do so throughout the night.

The princess stood enthralled by the sight before her eyes, mouth gaping wide as she watched the fireworks explode in the air in all shades of the rainbow.

"I didn't know palace maids were allowed to leave the palace at night!" a voice suddenly came shouting over the noise of the crowd.

Yuehwa turned to her left, scowling when she realised who it was. "How did you manage to recognise me?" she yelled back. "What are you doing here then? The prince gave you a day off?"

The guard from Gi was standing beside her, though he was not in his usual black outfit. This time he was decked in navy blue, though his looks made it difficult for him to blend in with the rest of the crowd no matter how hard he tried. Smiling at her, he said, "It's not too difficult to spot you in a crowd."

Yuehwa rolled her eyes, wondering why she was only surrounded by bizarre individuals.

On her other side, Princess Naying was now staring wide-eyed at the man who had appeared. When he caught her looking at him, the guard simply gave her a cheeky wink that made her blush a bright shade of pink.

Yuehwa couldn't even be bothered with introductions. For one, she wouldn't know how to introduce them since she didn't know what alternate identity to bestow upon the princess and she didn't even know the fellow's name either, even though this was the third time they were meeting. Instead, she linked her arm with the princess's and began to lead her away.

"Let's go take a look at the street stalls they've set up all around," she declared.

"Who was that?" the princess whispered into her ear as they walked.

"No one important, some guard from Gi. He's here with the crown prince. I just happened to bump into him in the palace gardens before."

The princess nodded in acknowledgement, though Yuehwa noticed that the girl couldn't help but keep looking back to see if the guard was still with them. Sure enough, he continued trailing along, although he made sure to keep a safe distance.

At least he has some degree of self-awareness, she thought. If he came any closer, she would give him a good kick on the shin.

The first stall they stopped at was one that gave out beautifully painted lanterns as prizes if you could successfully throw glass marbles into small ceramic tubs that were placed five metres away. Fishing out a couple of bronze coins from her pouch, Yuehwa handed them over to the stall owner in exchange for ten marbles.

Ten marbles later, she only managed to score three on target, which was not sufficient to even win her the tiniest of lanterns.

"This is ridiculous," she exclaimed, after paying for another two rounds and still coming out empty-handed. "How is it that it's so difficult to win one stupid lantern!" There was already a small crowd gathered, all eagerly watching her attempts at winning a prize. It wasn't every day that the Phoenix was defeated by something, much less a seemingly easy carnival game.

"I'll buy one of those lanterns from you," she demanded, fishing for a gold coin out of her pouch.

To her dismay, the stall owner shook his head. "Sorry, they aren't for sale," he said. "If you want a lantern, you'll need to win them through the game, fair and square."

Yuehwa was about to kick up a fuss and wreck the smug man's entire stall when someone stepped in front of her and said, "I'll have a go." The handsome guard turned to smile at the two girls, before accepting the ten marbles from the stall owner.

Folding her arms, Yuehwa stepped aside. "It's not as easy as it looks," she quipped.

To her dismay, what she hadn't managed to achieve with thirty marbles, he achieved with merely ten. All ten marbles flew precisely into the ceramic tubs, to the "oohs" and "ahs" of the adoring crowd. When the last marble hit its mark, the crowd erupted into loud cheers, and the princess, too, clapped her hands together in excitement.

"Which lantern do you want?" the man turned to Yuehwa and asked, gesturing at the entire rack that stood in front of them.

"I don't want it anymore," Yuehwa replied snootily, before turning on her heels and walking away.

"What about you then?" he asked the princess, who was standing shyly but the side. When she realised that he was speaking to her, she blushed an even deeper shade of red. After a short moment of deliberation, she pointed to a paper lantern that was painted with cherry blossoms.

Lantern in hand, Princess Naying and Yuehwa continued on their way, with Yuehwa continuing to ignore the person who had just shown her up in a game of marbles. It was a full two hours later before they finally tired of festivities and headed back towards the palace.

"Are you going to stop following us?" Yuehwa finally spun around and stared pointedly at the young man.

Still smiling warmly, he replied, "It's not safe for two young ladies to be wandering around the streets in the night. I wouldn't be able to answer to the king if something happened to either of you. Besides, I need to return to the palace too. The crown prince is a guest of the king and has been granted accommodation within the palace walls."

Not wanting to argue with him any further, Yuehwa simply flashed her entry token and marched in through the palace gates, wanting to rid herself of this leech as quickly as possible.

"Have a good night!" he shouted to them, allowing them to continue on their way.

Still clutching tightly at the lantern in her hand, Princess Naying turned around one final time and asked, "What's your name?"

"Baixun, at your service." The young man bowed, before he stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away, disappearing into the night.

#

In the blink of an eye, the annual sparring championships had arrived at the doorstep.

The royal palace of Dahai was abuzz with activity, with a crowd gathering at the grand courtyard, a wide expanse of space that sat in front of the main hall where the king held his court. Stands had been set up on all four sides of the courtyard where spectators would be able to watch the sparring that was to take place, and these stands were now filled with nobles that had come from all across the land to participate in the tournament.

At the grandstand, the royal guests from the five kingdoms were already seated with the flags of the five kingdoms in the background, flying proudly in the wind.

The princess of Dahai remained safely behind her veiled curtain, through which the crowd could only make out her mysterious silhouette and had to leave the rest to their imagination.

"Which ones are the crown princes of Gi and Feng?" the princess whispered to the girl standing beside her.

"How would I know?" Yuehwa shrugged her shoulders, glancing over at the royal guests.

To her surprise, one rather strange sight caught her attention.

Where she would have expected the crown prince of Gi to be seated, flanked by his two guards in black, was someone that she actually recognised: Park Maroo. To his left stood the guard that she was vaguely acquainted with, the one who called himself Baixun; to his right, another surly looking fellow with thick, bushy eyebrows that she had never seen before.

"Surely that can't be right," she mumbled under her breath. When they rescued him on board the ship, Maroo had clearly told them that he was the adviser to the crown prince. Judging from the way he regaled upon them stories of the prince, it seemed unlikely that he could be the prince himself, unless he was truly narcissistic. Why then would he be sitting in the crown prince's seat?

"Look! It's him!" Princess Naying had also caught sight of Baixun and was pointing excitedly in his direction. "Do you think he's participating in the tournament today?"

It didn't take a genius to figure out that the princess was attracted to the prince's handsome guard. Although Yuehwa didn't share the same sentiments, she could appreciate why other girls might think otherwise. Already she could see several ladies in the crowd gesturing towards him, showing more interest than they were towards the "prince" himself.

Yuehwa's eyes drifted towards the left, settling upon the young gentleman seated to Maroo's right. He was wearing robes of sky blue and silver, while the guards that flanked his sides were decked in white, a sharp contrast to the black of the guards from Gi.

That must be the crown prince of Feng, she observed. He was also a good looker, but she decided that she didn't like the arrogant expression on his face and the condescending look in his hawk-like eyes.

"Welcome one and all, to the annual sparring championships!" the king stood up and greeted the crowd. The king of Dahai was a tall, lanky man, and though his voice still had a measure of strength, his sunken eyes and sallow cheeks gave Yuehwa the impression that the man was in ailing health. "It is my greatest pleasure to welcome to Dahai our guests from all across the five kingdoms, I hope you will have a pleasant stay with us. This year, we have the largest number of contestants in history, with a grand total of one hundred brave young men signing up to vie for not just the title of the champion, but also for the hand of my one and only daughter! May the best man win!"

Yuehwa yawned. Looking at the men who were lined up along the sides of the courtyard, eagerly waiting for their chance to shine, she had already concluded that this tournament was really not worth watching. Still, she had given the princess her word, so there was no other option but to suffer through this mediocrity.

The princes from the other kingdoms had come to fight for the princess's hand in marriage, yet they were unable to participate in the tournament themselves due to the dangerous nature of the competition. As such, each prince was allowed to send a champion to act as their representative. Naturally, these chosen few were everyone's best bet to win the competition.

Standing comfortably in the shade, Yuehwa watched leisurely as the designated umpire announced the names of the contestants one by one. Beside her, the princess was nervously wringing the sides of her skirt, fearing that any one of these unfamiliar faces would become the man she would have to marry.

The only moment the princess's eyes lit up was when the umpire announced the name "Baixun", and the young man in black with the smiling eyes took a couple of steps up front. But in the next moment, the light in them faded once more.

Even if Baixun won, he was only representing the crown prince of Gi. The king of Dahai wanted the future king of Gi as his son-in-law, not a lowly guard.

Sensing her disappointment, Yuehwa remarked, "Don't worry, if you don't like any of them, just let me know. I'll make sure you get to remain in the Dahai palace for a couple more years." Scaring off a prince or two was not difficult, and she could always resort to incapacitation as a last resort.

Yuehwa was nonplussed about Baixun stepping forth, but the final name that was announced made her choke.

"Representing the kingdom of Feng—the White Scorpion."

All at once, the crowd fell silent.