Yuehwa really didn't know what all the fuss was about, because it was obvious to her that the king was never going to find his precious sword again. For three days straight, the king's guards turned the entire Dahai palace upside down—and they even expanded their search to the city grounds. As expected, they dug up absolutely nothing.

"Father's been furious," Princess Naying said worriedly. "I heard from the attendants that he's been so pre-occupied with the search that he hasn't even been eating these days. If only I knew what's been stolen then maybe I could help, but no one will even tell me what's going on!"

The only people who knew what to look for were the king's guard, and it was impossible to get any information out of them. They were bound to the strictest code of conduct and would probably rather die than betray the king's trust. Besides, they were a motley crew of the most gruff and unfriendly men you could possibly round up, so no one dared approach them with a question anyway.

"Don't worry, once he comes to terms with the fact that it's lost for good, he'll give up," Yuehwa remarked. Raising her chopsticks, she stared at the nine plates of food in front of her, pondering over which one she should begin with first. This was the one thing she liked about palace life, the sheer quantity and variety of kitchen delicacies available to her. She decided on the steamed bamboo clams with spring onions.

"Why do you think it's lost for good?" Naying asked curiously. "I'm sure the guards will find it sooner or later, they always do."

That's because you've never had something stolen by one of us before, Yuehwa thought.

"Just a guess," she said instead. "Anyway, we're setting off for Gi tomorrow, aren't we? Stop worrying your pretty little head with your father's problems and go sort out all the things you need to get ready for the journey. Gi isn't that far from Dahai, but it's not exactly near either. It's probably a two week journey, or more."

Naying pulled a face and walked over to where a long row of trunks had been laid out by her palace maids. "I don't know if I have everything, I keep feeling like I'm missing something," she mused to herself, carefully studying the various items that had already been packed into the trunks.

Yuehwa's sole bundle of clothes lay on one of the empty chairs, looking rather lonely beside the infinite number of trunks that the princess had.

"Princess, you're going from one palace to another, you're not packing for a famine or war. If you're missing anything, I'm sure the prince will be able to get it for you." Pointing at the plate of crabs that were directly in front of her, Yuehwa added, "I do think that you should get them to pack more seafood because you probably won't get these in Gi. The clams and crabs are especially delicious!"

Are you trying to get her to pack more seafood for her sake or for yours? Ember thought. If only birds could roll their eyes, his would probably have rolled out of their sockets eons ago.

Crabs and clams aside, Yuehwa had also been thinking quite a bit about the mysterious sword that Shoya had made off with, but she knew better than to go hunting for the answers in the wrong places. If the sword had come from Shoya's mother then it most likely had some connection with the Feng royal family, but why had Shoya and the sword been separated to begin with? And why did it matter so much to the king of Dahai? All these questions were frustrating yet exciting at the same time.

"I don't want to trouble the prince though. I don't want him to think that I'm difficult," Naying remarked. "I haven't seen him at all since the night of the banquet, and he left early that night as well. Do you think that... that he might not like me after all? Is that why he's been avoiding me?"

"Nonsense! He's probably just busy with his own packing," Yuehwa replied, her mouth full of food.

"Really?"

Nodding her head fervently (or perhaps because she felt the slightest twinge of a guilty conscience), Yuehwa said, "Of course! Don't overthink things. What's there not to like about you? You're the most beautiful woman across the five kingdoms for goodness sakes."

Seeing that the princess had gone slightly green in the face, Yuehwa burped and set down her chopsticks, walking over and leading the girl towards her bed. "You know what, why don't you just lie right down and take a nap. We've got a long journey ahead of us and you're going to be needing all the rest you can get," she said. Helping the princess settle into her bed and cover up in her blankets, Yuehwa was about to leave and continue eating when Naying reached out and caught hold of her hand.

"Yuehwa," the princess said, "thank you."

"For what?"

"For coming here and helping me with everything, and for agreeing to accompany me to Gi. You have no idea how frightened I would be if you weren't here with me."

Yuehwa smiled and replied, "There's nothing to thank me for, because I didn't do any of this for you. I'm doing it for myself. Don't forget, Princess, I'm the Phoenix, and I don't run a charity organisation." Giving the girl a parting wink, Yuehwa strolled out of the inner chambers and shut the doors behind her with a sigh.

Maybe one day you'll regret ever thanking me for anything...

#

Prince Baixun had requested that the entire entourage travelling to Gi be dressed in plainclothes just so that they didn't attract too much attention along the way. He also rejected the offer of having the king's guard escort them all the way back to Gi, insisting that it wasn't necessary and that he had enough men of his own to ensure that their safety was well looked after on the way back.

Yuehwa wondered how many decoys he was going to toss out this time, and how many of them would successfully make it back to Gi in one piece.

Before the entourage even boarded the ship, Yuehwa had already snuck in and made herself comfortable within the princess's designated room, not wanting to be a part of the fake tears and farewells that would undoubtedly be put on show. Lying on the bed and looking up at the wooden beams that held up the ceiling, a single thought popped to mind.

She leapt up and landed on the beam in one swift move.

"I wonder why he likes lying up here, it's hardly comfortable," she said to herself, leaning back so she was lying flat along the beam. Using her hands to prop up her head, she kept her balance and closed her eyes, wondering whether or not it was actually possible to fall asleep in this position.

Stop trying to pretend to be Shoya, Ember remarked. Just because he can do it doesn't mean you can.

"Shut up, Ember," Yuehwa quipped. "I'm not trying to be him, I just want to be able to figure him out because not being able to irritates me. Such a strange boy..." There were so many things she didn't know about Shoya and that fact constantly grated on her nerves. He came and went like a shadow, leaving no trail of where he came from and where he was headed—for a second, she wondered if that was what people thought of her.

Lying up on the wooden beam didn't really give her much inspiration.

Minutes later, unable to attain any revelations and unable to get to sleep either, Yuehwa leapt back off the beam and left the cabin in search of something more exciting to occupy her time with. She could still hear the ruckus going on above deck and the people that she brushed past along the corridors were all too busy with their own chores to bother noticing her. Dressed in the plain, light-blue frock that the palace maids had been assigned with, Yuehwa wound her way down the corridors in search of the kitchen.

This ship was much larger than the one she had arrived in, so she hoped that its stock of food would be better as well.

"They're casting off in a few minutes and the prince will be wanting his afternoon tea! What do you mean it's not ready yet?" an irate voice bellowed from within one of the rooms.

Yuehwa curiously peeked around the doorway, shaking her head when she saw who was within. Maroo, the prince's advisor, was giving the poor cook and his assistant a tongue-lashing for not having prepared the prince's tea on time—which was a complete overreaction on his part, in Yuehwa's opinion. The two men were standing with their heads bowed down, looking terrified and apologetic at the same time, nodding fervently at everything that Maroo was saying.

"Seriously, it's tea. A grown man won't die if he doesn't get his tea," Yuehwa whispered to Ember, rolling her eyes. Glancing at the little bottle of cooking oil that sat on one of the kitchen tabletops, she nudged her feathered friend and gave him a knowing wink.

Ember immediately flew towards the bottle, hooking the handle of the bottle with one of his claws. Without anyone noticing, he flew quietly under the tables until he was stood at Maroo's feet, before he calmly emptied the entire bottle of oil around the man's shoes. When his job was done, he politely replaced the bottle where he had found it and flew back to Yuehwa.

They waited eagerly for what would happen next.

"All of the prince's meals need to be prepared on time, according to the exact menu that I've given you, is that clear? If anything is the slightest bit out of order, the prince could have your head! I don't want to see mistakes like these happening again, or else you can be sure that you'll be washing dirty dishes for the rest of your life!" Maroo ended his lecture triumphantly, his nose stuck high in the air.

The two men nodded their heads obediently, quickly rushing off to continue with their work. After having delivered his piece, Maroo turned to leave the kitchen... and landed on the floor in a resounding splat. The cook and his assistant spun around in surprise, eyes widening when they saw the advisor floundering about on the floor, trying desperately to pick himself up.

"Who the hell spilled oil all over the floor!" Maroo screeched, his baritone voice rising up a couple of octaves as it typically did when he was agitated. "Help me up, you imbeciles!"

Outside the kitchen, Yuehwa and Ember were laughing so hard that their sides were splitting. The sight of the tall man flopping about on the floor like a fish out of water was far too hilarious for either of them to take. They gave each other a high five for the good work they had done (or for Ember, a high four).

The three men fumbled about for the longest time trying to get Maroo off the floor, but just when they thought they were about to succeed, he would simply slide back down again, landing even harder than he did the first time round.

"Need a hand?" Yuehwa called out, standing by the doorway innocently as she tried to stifle her laughter.

Maroo's face immediately drained of all its colour when he saw her. Stammering, he said, "W-w-what are you doing h-h-here?"

Reaching out a hand, she first yanked up the cook, and then his assistant, leaving Maroo still sitting on the floor in shock and bewilderment.

Turning to the two men, she said, "Why don't you go and get your clothes changed? I'll attend to the adviser."

Maroo was vehemently shaking his head in response to this, but no one got his message. Bobbing their heads respectfully, the cook and his assistant hurried out of the kitchen, thankful for the excuse to leave so that they could avoid getting another earful from Maroo.

When they were gone, Yuehwa turned back to Maroo and smiled. It was a sickly sweet sort of smile that made you doubt the intentions of the person wearing it.

"Long time no see, Adviser Park," she said languidly.

Maroo let out an awkward laugh. "Why are you here?" he asked. "This is the royal ship, you shouldn't be on board. If the guards find you they'll—"

"They'll what?" Yuehwa chuckled. "Surely you of all people must know what I'm capable of." She perched herself on one of the tabletops and glanced down at the man on the floor, her eyes folding into the shape of crescent moons as she smiled at him.

Maroo shuddered. This was the very same girl who had snapped the necks of grown men and left a trail of dead bodies in her wake.

He pressed his palms together and cried, "Please let me go! I'm a nobody. I'm a lowly servant. My life isn't worth anything. If you let me go, I'll pretend I never saw you here today. I swear!"

"Is that so? Well if you're as insignificant as you claim, then why did I see you bossing the cook around earlier? These people work hard to earn a living, sometimes we should be more generous with others."

"You're absolutely right!" Maroo immediately nodded his head vigorously in agreement. "I should not have raised my voice to them. It was entirely my fault. I'll go apologise to them right away." He scrambled to pick himself off the floor, floundering about for a couple more minutes before he finally managed to get himself upright. He was about to beat a hasty retreat when Yuehwa coughed lightly.

He froze.

"I trust you'll not alert anyone about my presence here?" Yuehwa said. "Wouldn't want to create any unnecessary alarm you know. You don't have to worry, I'm not here to create trouble. Let's just say my reasons for being here are more chivalrous this time round. As long as you stay out of my way, I'll stay out of yours. In particular, you are not to breathe a word of this to your prince, or else." She picked up a knife that was lying on the kitchen table and flung it straight across the room—it landed right smack in the middle of a pumpkin.

Maroo got the message. Nodding furiously, he gave her a respectful bow and hurriedly ran out of the room, coming pretty close to tripping all over himself in his haste.

"Funny fellow," Yuehwa laughed. "Did you see how white his face went? You would have thought he'd seen a ghost!"

Seeing you is more terrifying than seeing a ghost, Ember scoffed. Why did you think Shoya escaped so quickly?

"What's that supposed to mean!" Yuehwa exclaimed, giving her friend a flick. "How am I terrifying? I'm so friendly. I'm just misunderstood most of the time—occupational hazard. Maybe we should follow him and see if he keeps his word. The last thing I want is to have to deal with unwanted attention before dinner." Hopping off the table, she strolled out of the kitchen.

#

Maroo was far too timid to dare sound any alarm bells, in fear that if he did so he would be diced into cubes and fed to the fishes. He still remembered the feeling of hanging off the side of the boat, fearing that a shark would leap out of the waters any minute. After escaping from Yuehwa, he headed back to where he felt would be the safest—by his prince's side.

After a quick change of clothes, he slipped quietly back into the prince's cabin, trying his best to calm his nerves down so that Prince Baixun wouldn't sense anything amiss.

"Where have you been Maroo?" Baixun asked when he saw his adviser enter the room. "I thought you said you went to the kitchen to check on afternoon tea, but you've been gone quite a while. I was expecting you to return before the ship cast off."

"I'm sorry, Your Highness," Maroo bobbed his head apologetically. "The cook wasn't doing his work properly so I had to spend some time teaching him the ropes, that's why I was delayed." Also, one of the most deadly assassins across the five kingdoms is on our ship and goodness knows what she might be up to. Shuffling his feet nervously from side to side, Maroo contemplated about whether or not to tell Baixun the truth, just in case the Phoenix was lying and she did have something more insidious up her sleeve. It was a toss up between guaranteeing his own safety and that of his prince—that had got to be the biggest dilemma he had ever faced in his life.

Taking a deep breath, he made up his mind and said, "Your Highness, there's something I need to tell—"

"Maroo, come here and take a look at this," Baixun suddenly interrupted him, beckoning for him to come over to the desk. He pointed at a letter he had laid out on the table, neat handwriting squeezed onto the page. "It's from the king of Dahai. He secretly handed this to me just before we boarded the ship. What do you make of it?"

Moment lost, Maroo had no choice but to abandon his confession and do as he was told. He walked over and scrutinised the contents of the letter carefully. When he was done, he looked up at the prince in surprise. "We always knew that the king of Dahai was ambitious, but surely this is too brazen? He's not even trying to mask his intentions in the slightest!"

"He's not a stupid man. He knows that we'll see through his intentions anyway, so there's no point in beating around the bush. Father already predicted this before, which was why it was absolutely critical for us to have won that tournament. If we had lost, then Dahai's ally would have been Feng and not us, and we would be the ones needing to defend against this."

Maroo heaved a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness things worked on the way we wanted them to. When the White Scorpion showed up as Feng's representative, do you know how frightened I was?" He didn't know why he had been so fortunate (or unfortunate) to have been able to encounter both the Phoenix and the White Scorpion at the same time—it was an honour that not many people had in a lifetime. "But where is the king of Dahai intending to begin? The letter doesn't say anything about his plans."

Baixun smiled, reaching for a brush. Dipping it into an ink pot, he carefully circled the first letter on each line, revealing yet another message that the king had meant for them to find.

"Jin? He wants to start with Jin?" Maroo frowned.

"In order to win a war, the most important thing an army needs is..."

"Money. And the kingdom of Jin is the most wealthy of the five kingdoms. He could have started with Feng, but of the three remaining kingdoms, Feng is the weakest and the most easy to overcome, while Hwa has the greatest military strength and would be the most difficult. If he goes for the easy kill, then he would be alerting Jin and Hwa to his plans and there would be no chance of victory if those two joined hands. However, conquering Jin first would give his army unlimited access to funds for the campaign and also increase the chances of success; who knows, Feng might even surrender without a fight. But what happens when it's all over?"

Baixun patted Maroo on the back, strolling over to the window with his hands in his pockets. Looking out towards the open sea, he said, "The king of Dahai wants to be the king of the five kingdoms. It's a pity there can only be one king..."

High up in a shadowy corner of the room, perched on one of the ceiling beams, a tiny red canary was listening thoughtfully to their every word.