Yuehwa was rudely jolted awake by a sudden jerk. She rolled onto the floor with a hard thud.

"Sorry sir, ran into a slight bump on the road! We'll be arriving at the west gate very soon!" a gruff voice called out.

Picking herself off the floor, she looked around in confusion. "Where am I?" she murmured. In the back of a horse carriage evidently, but the more important question was: how did she get here? The last thing she remembered was washing down some roast chicken with jasmine tea, talking about the imminent war between Gi and Jin, and the next thing she remembered was waking up here.

She flung open the curtain of the carriage window and stuck her head out. They had emerged out of the woods and was heading towards a city that she could make out in the far distance with its forbidding city walls. It was the capital city of Gi. The carriage was making good time, and it would only be a matter of minutes before they reached the city gates.

Out of the corner of her eye she spied a ball of flaming red hiding a corner. Spinning around furiously, she glared at Ember and asked, "What happened? Where is he?"

Where is who? I have no idea what you're talking about.

Feigning ignorance wasn't really going to work with Yuehwa, but it was worth a shot. Especially when there were knives shooting out from her eyes.

"Stop pretending, Ember," Yuehwa warned. "Where did he go?"

Once she had regained her bearings, the answer was obvious. Shoya had drugged her tea, put her on this carriage and then taken off on his own. There was no one on board except Ember, the burly driver and herself. The feelings of hurt and betrayal rose up within her. Despite all that they had been through and everything that was said, he had still chosen to leave her behind and walk his path on his own. Had she not made herself perfectly clear?

Or perhaps he just didn't trust her enough.

He said he would be back, Ember chirped. He wasn't the sort to comfort others, but watching the initial anger in Yuehwa's eyes give way to disappointment could melt even the most cynical of hearts. He needed to do something on his own and he didn't want to hold you back. The princess's life is still at stake, he said.

"He needed to do something that couldn't wait?" Yuehwa laughed bitterly. "He's waited twenty-five years. What else could there be that couldn't wait a few more days?" If he didn't want her with him because he thought she would be a burden then he should have just told her straight in the face. For the first time in her life she felt foolish and naïve for having worn her heart on her sleeve and then having it callously rejected and trampled upon.

"I suppose he did warn me," she mumbled to herself. "I chose to ignore it." She stared out of the window in silence, watching the rest of the world go by.

Quit moping around like a damsel in distress, it's making me uncomfortable, Ember quipped. He'd much rather Yuehwa be venting her anger by screaming and shouting and throwing things around, instead of sitting quietly like this and keeping all her emotions bottled up. He always knew that Yuehwa had invested a little too much of her heart with Shoya, he just hadn't realised how much. He sighed. Just like that, in the blink of an eye, the little girl that used to spend hours skipping stones across the pond had already grown up.

The horse carriage rumbled through the west gate of the capital city, eventually coming to a stop in front of an ordinary looking inn. Yuehwa checked her belongings to make sure that the golden chrysanthemum was still there before she headed down the pavement in the direction of the royal palace. There was one thing that Shoya was right about—and that was that Naying's condition couldn't wait.

By the time she reached the palace the sun had already set and the moonlight was reflecting against the dark roof tiles of the palace buildings. Quietly, she flipped herself across the wall and landed softly within the palace compound. Naying's chambers were at the southern end of the palace and at this time of night, the lamps were still burning brightly as palace maids ran in and out tending to the needs of the ailing princess.

"It's a hopeless case," one of the imperial physicians shook his head and sighed to his companion. "The only thing we can do now is to try and lessen the princess's pain, and even then our medicines are failing."

"What sort of an ailment is this?" the other man grumbled, his greying brows knitted tightly in a frown. "We've never come across anything like it before and there aren't any records in the medical books!"

The royal marriage between the crown prince and the princess of Dahai was supposed to have been a joyous occasion for the kingdom, yet a mere month after she had arrived her health condition had rapidly deteriorated thanks to the effects of an extremely rare poison, one that rendered all the imperial physicians helpless. A sombre atmosphere surrounded the entire palace, and the news of the impending war against Jin only served to worsen matters.

Yuehwa waited until the physicians had left and the activity about the princess's chambers quietened down before she slipped in through one of the open windows. Using a sleeping draught, she knocked out the two palace maids who were standing watch in the princess's inner chambers and walked over to the princess's bedside.

Princess Naying was asleep, yet it was a restless sleep. Even her in her dreams her torment continued, beads of sweat lining her forehead as she clutched tightly onto the sheets. Looking down upon the princess's countenance, Yuehwa felt a pang of guilt strike her once more. Compared to when she had left, Naying's condition had indeed worsened drastically. Her once rosy cheeks were now sunken and pale, her collarbone protruding visibly from her frail frame. Yuehwa lifted her sleeve, noting that there were faint purple lines tracing out the path of her veins right down her entire arm. The poison was now running through every part of her.

Just then, the princess's eyelids fluttered open.

"Yuehwa? Is it really you?" Naying whispered, her voice barely audible in the silence. She reached out and took hold of Yuehwa's hand, and a tiny smile appeared on her face. "It's really you. You're back, just like you said you would be," she said.

"The Phoenix always keeps her promise," Yuehwa replied, trying to disguise the sadness in her voice.

"Why are you dressed like that again? Every girl wants to show off her beauty to the world, but you're the exception."

"I'll leave things like that to you—you're the one who's the most beautiful across all the five kingdoms." Yuehwa reached for her bundle and pulled out the golden chrysanthemum. In the dimly lit room, the petals of the flower still continued emitting a steady glow that betrayed its magical nature, even though it had been quite some time since Yuehwa had pulled it out from the dirt. "Look, have you seen something quite like this before? It's the golden chrysanthemum from Feng. This is what's going to cure you."

"It's beautiful," Naying said, running her fingers across the soft petals of the flower. "I've never seen anything like it. Is it really going to work? The imperial physicians say that there's no cure for this poison. All they can do is try to lessen the pain, but nothing works anymore. There are times when I feel like I'm burning up, and then there'll be times when I feel so, so cold, as if the worst of winters is raging on inside of me. The prince should have reached the borders of Jin by now. Do you think I'll be able to live to see him return?"

"Don't be silly! You're going to be just fine. Do you know how difficult it was just to get this flower? Shoya says that according to Feng legend, the golden chrysanthemum is capable of curing any sort of poison, which means it'll definitely work."

"Shoya?"

"Oh, the White Scorpion I mean," Yuehwa corrected herself, forgetting that she was the only one who knew Shoya by that name. "You remember him, don't you? At the tournament? There's no one in all the five kingdoms that knows more about poisons than he does, and he says that it'll work." It was a white lie, because Shoya didn't say that it would definitely work, but she couldn't bear the sight of Naying being this way. Taking hold of the princess's hand, she said, "Tomorrow morning I need you to announce to everyone that I'm the physician that your father, the king of Dahai, has sent over, that way I'll be able to enter your chambers freely and work with the other imperial physicians on the cure. By the time the crown prince returns, I promise you'll be able to walk right up to the steps of the grand hall and be the first to greet him."

Naying smiled, closing her eyes as the weariness began to take its toll on her once again. "It's so good to have you back Yuehwa," she whispered. "Now that you're back, everything is going to be fine."

#

Two months later, the town crier rang his bell and ran down the streets of the capital when the sun had barely risen in the horizon, screaming out the news at the top of his lungs. "The crown prince has returned! The crown prince has returned!" he shouted as loudly as he could, stirring all the residents of Feng from their warm beds. Doors and windows swung open as people started emerging onto the streets, curious to hear what the commotion was all about.

The crown prince had returned.

Inside the palace the ruckus was almost as bad as it was out on the streets. Yuehwa was awoken from her deep slumber by someone knocking furiously on her door, saying, "Ma'am, ma'am, are you awake? Are you in there? Ma'am!"

Yawning, she stretched her arms and sat up on the bed, eyes still half-closed. "What is it? Is the palace burning down?" she mumbled. It had better be, or else there would be hell to pay for waking her up at this hour of the morning. Dragging her feet beneath her, she trudged over to the door and pushed it open so hard that the girl standing on the other side almost fell over. "Do you know what time it is? It's not yet lunchtime, why are you making so much noise!" she snapped.

The servant girl quickly bowed her head and said, "I'm sorry, ma'am, but the princess is asking for you."

"Now?"

"Yes, ma'am," the girl said quietly, staring down at her feet.

Two months ago, the king of Dahai had sent a healer to the palace along with a letter, beautifully forged, that claimed that the lady had a way of curing his precious daughter. Since the imperial physicians were at their wits end and Yuehwa came highly recommended, the king of Gi permitted for her to stay in the palace to treat the crown princess. Everyone in the palace who encountered the mysterious physician from Dahai thought that she was a little strange, with mannerisms that were at odds with palace decorum, so everyone kept her at arm's length. Nevertheless, odd or not, she proved her worth when the princess's illness seemed to show slow improvement after taking the medicine she brewed. Now, the princess was well on the road to recovery and no one dared to belittle the girl who had been responsible for this miracle.

The servant girl waited for Yuehwa to get dressed before leading the way over to the princess's chambers.

"Do you have any idea what time it is? I need at least twelve hours of sleep a day!" Yuehwa wailed once she stepped foot into the room.

Only she dared speak to the crown princess in this manner, which was one of the reasons why the other servants thought she was out of her mind.

Naying was sitting at her dressing table, staring into the mirror in a daze. "Yuehwa, do I look alright? Do I still look awfully pale?" she asked worriedly, touching her own cheek.

Yuehwa collapsed onto the daybed, stretching herself like a lazy cat. "Did you call me here this early in the morning just to ask me that question? You look perfectly fine. More alive than you looked two months ago." The poison would undoubtedly leave some side-effects, but if Naying continued taking her medicines regularly then there was a chance that she might get away with very little of that eventually.

"Really?" Naying stared at her reflection in disbelief. She walked in front of Yuehwa and spun around. "Is this outfit pretty enough? Or do you think I should wear the blue one with the silver trim? Or maybe the yellow one with embroidered blossoms, which has a brighter feel?" she asked, pointing at the other two dresses her palace maids were holding up for her. She was wearing a dusty pink dress with white cloud embroidery, which looked fine by Yuehwa.

"You're asking the wrong person for advice."

"Yuehwa, the prince is coming back to the palace today," Naying finally explained the real reason why she had summoned Yuehwa so early in the morning. "He'll be reaching the city gates anytime now. I haven't seen him for months. Do you think he'll still remember what I look like? Do I still look sickly?"

"Ah."

Yuehwa had been hoping that she would be gone before Baixun returned, but his campaign against Jin seemed to have gone more smoothly than she had expected and he was already back in Gi even before Naying had fully recovered. Looking at the excitement in Naying's eyes as she spoke of the prince, Yuehwa felt like a bad person for hiding what had previously transpired between Baixun and herself, although she justified it by telling herself that none of this was her fault whatsoever given that Baixun was the one who had been badgering her. She was not at all pleased to be hearing that he was back.

"Your Highness!" A palace maid came rushing into the room, panting as she tried to catch her breath. "The crown prince, the crown prince has arrived at the city gates. The entourage will be entering the palace in about half an hour."

Naying flew into a panic, running back to the mirror to give herself the once over. After cycling through about a dozen hairpins and finally deciding on two with butterfly motifs, the princess headed out of her chambers for the grand hall, where the rest of the royal family would be awaiting the crown prince's victorious arrival. Rather reluctantly, Yuehwa followed along behind her, hoping that Baixun had grown some common sense after having fought his war.

This being the first time that the crown princess was seen outside her chambers ever since she had taken ill, all eyes were on her as she walked slowly towards the steps of the grand hall. Princess Naying bowed respectfully to the king and the queen, taking her place by their side.

"I'm glad to see you looking so well, my dear," the king said with a benevolent smile. "The queen told me that your recovery process was going smoothly, but now I see that she spoke the truth. The physician that your father sent must have worked miracles." Looking over the princess's shoulders, he caught sight of Yuehwa skulking in the background. "I will see to it that she is rewarded as she should be," he said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty," the princess said in return. "Congratulations on your victory."

The king laughed, though his laugh was peppered by several violent coughs. "The victory belongs to Baixun, not I," he said. "All that I did was to produce a son like him, and I consider myself very blessed because of that."

There was little time for idle chatter, because the next minute the heavy palace gates swung open with a deep groan and the prince's entourage entered the compound, heading straight for the grand hall. Crown Prince Baixun was riding at the front of the line, flanked by his two deputy generals. Although each one of them looked weary from the long journey home, everyone was in high spirits and the flags of Gi flew triumphantly in the air.

Charged with the crime of attempted assassination of the crown prince and princess of Gi, the kingdom of Jin was besieged on two fronts by the armies of Gi and Dahai, making it close to impossible for them to win the fight. The king of Jin had sent out letters of distress to the remaining two kingdoms of Hwa and Feng, but his cries for help received no reply. All evidence pointed towards Jin being at fault—who would dare come to the rescue under those circumstances? After three months of fierce fighting, the walls of the capital city of Jin were finally breached by the enemy and with that, the war was over.

Now, only four kingdoms remained.

Baixun slid off his horse. He walked over to the king and knelt down in front of him, with the rest of his men following suit. "Father, I have returned," he said. "Forgive me for taking so long."

The king smiled and helped Baixun back up to his feet. Patting his son on the shoulder, he said, "There is nothing to forgive, my son. You have done what no one else in this kingdom has ever been able to achieve, and I am certain that you will achieve even more in due course. Has everything been settled in Jin?"

"General Lu is staying behind to settle the administration until we send a permanent governor to the capital. The king of Jin," he paused for a moment to correct himself, "—the former king of Jin has been placed under house arrest, along with the rest of the royal family. As long as they are willing to acquiesce, no harm will come to them. The Dahai army was a little harder to tame, but the king has agreed to recall his troops and station them only on the outer fringes. Only our men are left in the capital city." He signalled to one of his deputies, who stepped forward with a jade seal in his hands. "Your Majesty, may I present to you the royal seal of Jin."

The king ran his fingers across the cold jade, before looking up at Baixun with pride welling up in his eyes. "You were meant for great things, Baixun, and this is only the first of it," he said. "The path from here will not be easy and you will face opponents far stronger than what you encountered in Jin. You must be ready for all of that when the time comes."

Yuehwa couldn't hear Baixun's reply but what she did see was that look in his eyes after he was done speaking—a look of confidence and self-assuredness that told her that he was already ready, and that the time was now.

Baixun had already made his first move, and perhaps the kingdom of Feng might cease to exist even before Shoya managed to make his.