Ji Min's anxieties were reaching new heights. Everything, from dealing with that Reyn person to just being home for the first time in almost a year, was all rolling into a massive ball of nerves and worries. Ji Min missed serenity. She missed the Espallans. Most of all, she missed Lita.

Oh dear, Ji Min thought in a sudden panic. If Father finds out I sought to be courted without his authorization, he would be justified in taking away every measure of Glory I have.

An executor should not have been wringing her hands as she walked through the palace halls, but Ji Min did it anyway. It was possible the Glorious Emperor would forgive Ji Min's indiscretion. The courtship in question was, after all, sought from one of the Most Revered Defenders. That had to count for something.

Perhaps it would be best for Ji Min if she composed a letter to her father at once, requested an audience, deliberated upon the proper phrasing, and then presented it in such a way that the emperor would have no choice but to laugh in his doting way and proclaim that there was nothing to forgive. Yes, that was what Ji Min needed to do. She took the next turn in the hallways that would lead back to her quarters where her ink brushes waited.

Ji Min was halfway through mentally composing her audience request when she spotted a black-clad figure in the corridor ahead. His headdress and black veil obscured all features, but Ji Min recognized Kwon Dae Sung at once by the gold embroidered patterns on his hanbok. Blind, the old man leaned upon the arm of a brown-clad attendant, his grandson Kwon Jae Soon. Ji Min stepped to the side of the corridor and bowed over her clasped fist as Consular Dae Sung passed her by.

"Reeds sway, river flows," Dae Sung recited as his stride lessened to a languid pace. His voice shook with his venerable age, and he came to a stop a few steps past where Ji Min stood. "Thunder rises overhead. I must embrace life."

Politely, Ji Min straightened and turned her back on the consular and his attendant. "An old poem of Glory comes to my mind," she said as if to herself. "I hear the wisdom spoken by Our Glorious Emperor in a life long past."

"I recite this old poem," Dae Sung sighed, "as I worry for my dearest friend. His heart yearns for his divine progeny. I wonder of when his most accomplished of children may lay her eyes upon him, but she is the eastern executor and burdened with great works she must carry out in my friend's name."

Behind her veil, Ji Min smiled and lowered her eyes. Dear, old Dae Sung. He truly was her favorite of the emperor's advisors. Just when she was worrying over how to see her father, here Dae Sung came with an invitation to do just that. "Thinking on Our Glorious Emperor's words instills within me the desire to seek his presence. This is something I have wished for and sought the words to request for myself. Perhaps I will not delay and impose upon his forbearance."

Dae Sung gave a soft laugh and patted the hand of his attending grandson. "My heart swells with joy. It must be a good day. Come, young man. Take me to my chambers, if you please."

As her father's oldest friend strolled away down the corridor, Ji Min dared to turn around and watch him leave. Dae Sung could not see her, so Ji Min felt confident in bowing to his back. Unseemly to so blatantly acknowledge a man's presence, but Ji Min felt it necessary to show her thanks even if she was the only one aware of it.

If the emperor was expressing his wishes to see Ji Min, a letter was unneeded. She changed course once again and headed in the direction of where she assumed he would be. Far from where the acquainting with the Aleesh delegation had taken place, in the emperor's private wing of the palace.

Only the most trusted attendants, all of them mutes, and the highest officials were allowed entry into this part of the palace. Not even the imperial family was permitted to go there. Fortunately, Ji Min's position as the eastern executor afforded her greater privilege than she would ever receive for being the Glorious Emperor's eldest child. The guards keeping watch over the entry into the emperor's wing stood perfectly still as she passed them by, their eyes seeming to miss her very presence.

Ji Min did not need to stop any of the present attendants to find her way to her father. She could feel him ahead of her. The light of his Glory pulled at her innermost soul, guiding her onward.

So focused on finding her way, Ji Min nearly missed the small boy sitting alone in a corridor with his back against a wall. He had his face buried in the knees of his blue hanbok, and Ji Min could hear his weeping. Her heart clenched at the sight. It'd been a year, but Ji Soo hadn't grown much larger in that time. The young prince was still a puny thing and among the dearest of all to Ji Min's heart.

"Little Brother," she said as she came upon Ji Soo and knelt at his side, "why do you cry?"

Ji Soo did not answer. Instead, he threw himself into Ji Min's arms without showing her his face. He was still quite young, not yet ten years old when he would finally be acknowledged as a man. His young age precluded him from the segregation of sexes, and he could interact with either the men or the women as much as he wished.

Ji Min ran her hand beneath the tassels of his hat to stroke his silky dark hair. "Dearest Brother," she murmured soothingly. Ji Soo started crying harder now that she held him, as if her presence granted him leave to release all his tears.

"Appa," Ji Soo sobbed.

"I know," Ji Min whispered, her heart sinking.

There were words that would be proper to say. She should have told Ji Soo that their father was merely transcending his current incarnation. His soul would remain and be incarnated in another, bringing his divine wisdom to whomever it chose. The Glorious Emperor never truly died, for he was a living god.

This was what Ji Min should have said, but she knew it would bring no comfort to Ji Soo, just as it brought little to her. The Glorious Emperor was infinite and eternal, but his next incarnation would no longer be their appa. There was no shame in mourning the mortal body he would soon leave behind.

Ji Min held her brother until his tears were spent. He wiped at his cheeks and nose with the enveloping sleeve of his hanbok and pulled away from her. Ji Min kept her hand on his shoulder to assure him that she was with him.

"Forgive me," Ji Soo muttered. "This is unseemly."

"I will demand your apology when it is required," Ji Min said.

It was a surprise to hear Ji Soo using formal tone, which was a new thing for Ji Min to hear out of him. She found herself to be proud of his maturity yet also saddened that he was maturing at all.

Ji Soo gave a little nod before looking towards her. With family, Ji Min no longer felt the need to wear a veil, so she unfastened it and let it hang off her shoulder. As soon as she did, Ji Soo's eyes widened.

"Sister," he gasped.

"Eh?" Ji Min fretted with her face, wondering if she left an ink spot on her cheek the last time she relaxed with some calligraphy. "What? What is it?"

Ji Soo narrowed his eyes and peered at her, slack-jawed. "You do not look old."

"Excuse me?"

"You no longer appear so venerable," Ji Soo said, his mouth quirking into an infuriating grin.

"I am twenty-nine," Ji Min said, defensive, "not ninety-two."

"Old," Ji Soo said, as if he were justified in saying so. "How is it you appear so youthful? Did you find new methods of skin care among the Most Revered Defenders?"

Ji Min frowned as she straightened her back and held her hands in her lap. "I most certainly did not," she huffed. Ji Min neglected to mention the wonderful lotion she received from the Dragon Empress as a gift. Empress Enfri was something of a genius when it came to herbs, and easily the most considerate person Ji Min had ever had the pleasure of meeting.

"It must be something else, then," Ji Soo said. "Did you find your time in the east to be pleasant?"

"Exceedingly so," Ji Min replied honestly. "One will find that their heart grows lighter in the holdfasts."

"I want to see it," Ji Soo murmured as if to himself. "Espalla, Althandor, and Gaulatia. I want to see them all."

"Perhaps you may," Ji Min said. "Should you be chosen as the next incarnation of Our Glorious Emperor, you may travel to any land you wish. Soon, the east will be pacified, and no part of the Continent will be beyond the reach of our airships." Ji Min pursed her lips and looked off to the side. "Except, perhaps, the north. Oh dear, but the molten men make the easterners appear downright civilized in comparison."

Ji Soo shrugged. "I like them."

"I imagine so," Ji Min chuckled. "Their way of life sounds attractive up until you meet them in person."

"Have you?" Ji Soo asked excitedly, his eyes shining with eagerness.

"I have. They came on occassion to the Amak'talan holdfast where I oversaw the caravans." Ji Min leaned in and spoke in a conspiratorial tone. "They clean themselves with volcanic ash, the reason for the name the Most Revered Defenders have given them."

Ji Soo scrunched up his face dubiously. "Does that work?"

"Marginally."

"Do they not have rivers to bathe in?"

"Not the sort you would want to submerge yourself in. They boil."

Ji Soo looked away and frowned. "I would still wish to see them."

"I imagine you would find it to be... an experience to be remembered." Ji Min smiled now that it appeared Ji Soo had been cheered some. He had always been a curious boy, fascinated by the many cultures that existed beyond the Li Lung Mountains. He read the Gray Lotus Society's reports on foreign lands as if they were the Canticles of Glory.

It distressed Ji Min, then, when her brother fell back into his melancholy. "I do not want to be incarnated."

"You are a marked son of Ku," Ji Min gasped. "It is your privilege to be considered. Your duty. There is no higher Glory."

"Appa told me I will have to marry."

Ji Min sighed. So, that was the issue. True, it may have been somewhat premature to tell Ji Soo about it— the betrothal had not yet been accepted, technically— but since he was aware, it would be best to settle his hesitation.

"If it helps, I met the Dragon Empress and her betrothed who will..." Ji Min blinked in bewilderment. She did not understand the mechanisms which allowed two women to conceive. Shaking the confusion out of her head, Ji Min moved on. "Both are lovely. Enviable bone structure. There is no question their daughter will make for the most beautiful bride in the world."

"I do not care if she is beautiful!" Ji Soo shouted suddenly. He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "She will be... a baby."

"Not when you marry her."

"Relatively!" Ji Soo exclaimed.

"Eight or nine years difference is not so vast," Ji Min said. "Need I remind you that our mother is ten years our father's senior?"

"Let Kwang Su marry her," Ji Soo declared, stubborn. "He is a baby."

"Our nephew is older than you," Ji Min said in a flat tone. "Furthermore, we do not yet know for certain if he is marked. Or Jae Suk, for that matter."

"They could be. They could be incarnated instead of me. I hope one of them is."

Ji Min furrowed her brow. "Little Brother, why are you so adamant that you do not wish to become Our Glorious Emperor?"

Ji Soo tucked his knees up to his chin and buried his face in them. "I want to stay me. I like me. I do not want to become anyone else."

"That is not how it works," Ji Min said to reassure him.

"It is."

"Not... fully."

"Why are women not marked?" Ji Soo demanded. He met her eyes even though his own held more tears. His expression was angry, or perhaps frustrated. "You would be a better Glorious Emperor than I would be."

Without thinking, Ji Min touched either of her shoulders with her right hand. It was one of the landless' superstitions said to ward away the sort of evil spirits conjured by blasphemy. "What has gotten into you?" she gasped, scandalized.

Ji Soo remained defiant. "You would be. Other elder bloodlines mark women. They even say marked women are immortal."

"An exaggeration," Ji Min said, making placating gestures. "They age more slowly but are not granted a significantly longer lifespan."

"You could benefit from that long youth they get."

Ji Min took a sharp breath in through her nose, and her eyes widened, incensed. Her brother shot to his feet and bolted away before she had a chance to retaliate. Ji Min had forgotten this most bothersome of idiosyncrasies her brother displayed. He ended conversations he found uncomfortable by tossing out a cutting remark and running for the hills.

Well, if Ji Soo thought he had escaped the wrath of his eldest sister, he was sorely mistaken. Ji Min knew of a koi pond that was home to a clan of especially large and slimy frogs. Ji Soo was utterly revolted by frogs. It would serve him right to find one of them lounging on his pillow.

As she stood back up— and her knees made traitorous popping sounds as if to agree with Ji Soo— she brushed at her robe and continued on her way. She could not help but wonder about Ji Soo's final question. It did seem unusual that only the Ku elder bloodline excluded women. Well, there had been one past life of the Glorious Emperor who could possibly qualify, but he had been what the eastern fey would term "newly red", and so he was not a woman at all. From this, Ji Min deduced that the bloodline recognized the soul if not the plumbing. As for what this meant for her younger brother, when it became time for a new incarnation to be recognized, the Glorious Emperor would recognize himself.

Then, become himself.

Ji Min sighed as she refastened her veil and walked on. Her nephews aside, there were simply no other potential vessels to be incarnated as the next emperor. Well, perhaps one other, but that was the longest of long shots, and Ji Min doubted the universe worked in such serendipitous ways.

Her destination was not much further. It was easy to pick out from the many rooms in the palace, because this one had a large contingent of the imperial guard standing watch outside. Thirty men, all with straight backs and intimidating faces, stood in an orderly row to bar entry. For Ji Min, they bowed their heads and parted for her.

I must be expected, Ji Min thought. Normally, she would be required to present written authorization for an audience with the Glorious Emperor. The guards must have been given orders to allow her through. Convenient, because Ji Min was eager to see her father and did not wish to wait on protocol.

Guards opened the doors for her, and Ji Min entered into an audience chamber much like the one where the Aleesh had acquainted themselves with the emperor. A dais, the blue flame that was the symbol of imperial power, and an obscuring veil to separate divinity from the mortal. Only, the veil was pulled away, allowing an unobstructed line of sight to Ku Jun Seo.

He sat upon a cushion in the lotus position, his hands resting on his knees. The emperor was dressed in a golden hanbok, his head crowned by a tall headdress lacking veil or tassels, and silver rings fashioned into claws were on each finger.

Ku Jun Seo had a handsome and distinguished face. His skin bore a deep and healthy tan, as he preferred the outdoors to being shut inside. Black hair was cut short and regular, the rest of his face was clean-shaven, which afforded him the appearance of a man half his age. His chin and jaw were bold, his eyes were narrow and piercing despite his blindness, and his chest was broad and athletic. In his youth, before his incarnation, he was often likened to a tiger for his strength and the ferocity in which he pursued the sporting events he once enjoyed. It was often said that he had been competitive to a fault in his teens, twenties, and even into his forties as his eyesight began to fail him.

Middle age had mellowed his temperament somewhat. Age and, presumably, his ransom. Though he was known to still take pleasure from simple sports— distance throwing, wrestling, and foot racing— it was always against the wishes of the imperial physicians. His health was deteriorating at a rapid pace, and though one would hardly know from looking at him, he was liable to cough up blood after he exerted himself too much. Also, his knees were prone to injury, but that was not related to his cancer.

Ji Min knew of the pain in his chest and abdomen, the dry coughing that could bring up blood, the shortness of breath, the night sweats, and the bouts of weakness and fatigue. The physicians estimated that the Glorious Emperor had no more than three months before his lungs could no longer take in air.

But, seeing him now, Ji Min could almost believe that her father was still the tiger of his youth.

Jun Seo did not acknowledge her as she entered. His attention was fixed upon the two men kneeling with bowed heads before him.

Their simple gray uniform made them unmistakable. Faces were shrouded by a black silk covering that Ji Min was only marginally certain they could see through. For all she knew, they were as blind as her father underneath those things.

"I will not accept this!" Jun Seo declared, punctuating himself with a sharp gesture. "My words were spoken, and so it must be. By whatever means necessary, my armada must be prepared."

"The means are beyond Our Glorious Emperor's mortal servants," one of the agents replied. "As it stands, imperial technology is unable to match the steam engines of the east."

Jun Seo leaned forward. "By whatever means necessary," he repeated, his tone menacing. "If you must rip apart half of the foreign engines we possess to learn their secrets, then that is what you must do. The Aleesh are too reticent. The Dragon Empress is not the warmonger her forebears were. I cannot rely upon her to supply what is needed in the coming war."

"We conclude they truly do seek an alliance," the other agent said. "We know them to be wise to do so. Without the Jade Empire's trade, the Dragon Empress will not be able to garner the support she requires from the east."

Jun Seo pulled his lips into a line before responding. His nostrils flared. "I have named her reticent. She does not seek war with her enemies as was hoped. The Dragon Empress sues for peace, and all that she does is intended to draw us into negotiations with our eastern antagonists." He leaned back and placed a clawed fingertip against his brow. His voice softened. "I would name this a pleasant thing to learn in lives past. Her heart is of jade, a welcome thing in our land. She is one who seeks the peaceful order your emperor aspires to. However, she has not the infallible wisdom of Glory. She is as blind to what must be as I am to the sky. There can be no peace with the Highest Kings. I do not require her jade heart. I would see it burn with the fire of her forebears."

Ji Min reached the burning brazier in the center of the room. She went to her knees and bowed, waiting for her turn to be addressed. The Glorious Emperor must have heard the rustling of her robe, and his head tilted in her direction.

"The Aleesh have made their intentions clear," Jun Seo continued. "The joining of our empires must be sought, for we cannot allow Shan Alee to side with the east in the coming war. One legion could be swept from the world in a day, however, they possess far more than a single legion. They possess the mighty. To win this war, I cannot be opposed by a power equal to my own."

One of the agents spoke up. "To end any threat the Dragon Empress poses, it could be beneficial to remove it permanently."

"She is beyond our reach at the moment," the other said, "however, it would be a simple task once she is returned to her empire. First, her dragon must be eliminated. Then, her black hound. The Lord of Rubies no longer guards her now that he is to be destroyed by Melcia. She is vulnerable."

Ji Min felt her heart clench. She had long known the Gray Lotus Society to be ruthless— she even accepted the necessity of that ruthlessness for the order of the empire— but it still shocked her to hear murder suggested so casually. Furthermore, she did not want any harm to befall the Dragon Empress. Ji Min had grown fond of her.

To Ji Min's relief, the emperor dismissed the suggestion with a gesture. "She will not be harmed by any hand I command. Her presence in the east keeps the Highest King off-balance. He fears her. It will be far more beneficial to join her bloodline to mine. Whether she sees reason and pursues our war alongside us or not, I will hold to the infallible words I have given. The world we make anew will be stronger once her new Shan Alee is a part of it. The Glorious Emperor will wed the Dragon Empress in this life or the next. Our empires, joined by such bonds, will form the unassailable core of the world to come. Jade Order and Aleesh Might shall be invincible. Bound to one another, the chaos that has seeped into the world will no longer threaten the peace we seek."

"And should she oppose us?" one of the agents dared to ask.

Ku Jun Seo's face hardened. His voice became as jade. "This is my infallible word. She will not." He made a beckoning gesture in Ji Min's direction. "My Gray Lotus Society is dismissed. I look forward to favorable news of your pressing task."

The two agents stood, offered final bows to the emperor, and withdrew from the room. Neither glanced towards Ji Min as they walked out, yet somehow, she felt as if she had their full attention.

Their task. The emperor surely meant preparing the armada for war, but Ji Min did not understand why this would be a job for the Gray Lotus. They were watchers and listeners, not engineers. Though, the Glorious Emperor had been granting them broader responsibilities as of late. Perhaps their new function included overseeing anything pertaining to the military.

Once the agents were gone, Ji Min pressed her forehead to the ground to await being acknowledged.

"All goes as was said in lives past," Jun Seo said. His voice remained hard and commanding. "I would hear of the work carried out by my executor."

"Our Glorious Emperor would wish to hear of the work I do," Ji Min stated. "To him I would speak of the Aleesh delegation and the foe they wish us to hold."

"Enough!" Jun Seo said, raising his voice suddenly. "There is no time for pointless ceremony. Ku Ji Min, from this moment onward, you are a man."

Ji Min blinked and jerked her head up in surprise. A man? Oh dear, she did not feel as if she were a man, but if the emperor said it was so... She shook her head. Obviously, she was not, and he was only saying so to expedite the conversation, but it was difficult to think of what he said as anything but an absolute truth.

"Now," Jun Seo said, "speak to me."

Ji Min let out a shaking breath. She could not help but wonder if the Gray Lotus agents were still nearby and about to burst in to accuse her of impertinence. "I am to escort the First Minister of Shan Alee into the Canticles."

Jun Seo laughed. "Ah. The bold woman who cares not for protocol."

"I must beg forgiveness," Ji Min said with a wince. "I fear I gave her insult by mistake and she grew angry. That is what led to..."

The emperor waved her apology away. "No apology is required. As I said then, I found it refreshing. The woman was..." He leaned forward. "Is she lovely? She sounds lovely."

Ji Min blushed from just thinking about Reyn and the hold her Voice had on her. "I would agree that she is a beautiful woman."

"A shame, then, that I cannot see her for myself."

Ji Min was rather relieved that he could not. If he had, Reyn may have been sent back through World's End Gate. A selkie could expect no better and a great deal worse, so it was imperative for Ji Min to keep Reyn's shifter nature hidden.

"Now," Jun Seo went on, "why is she to be shown the Canticles of Glory?"

"Minister Reyn has expressed an interest in reading the words Our Glorious Emperor spoke in lives past."

"To what end?" Jun Seo asked.

"To understand our ways," Ji Min said. "It is my hope that she will see the truth of our hearts in your words. Perhaps learning of our traditions, perhaps even of the Great Sage..."

"I can think of no reason to reveal the sage to a foreigner," Jun Seo interrupted. "If she learns of him in her readings, so be it, but do not offer this knowledge unsolicited. The east is not yet ready for his wisdoms."

"If that is your will, it shall be," Ji Min replied.

"I am more curious of what the minister hopes to glean from the Canticles. Perhaps she seeks an escape from betrothing her empress' unborn daughter to me."

"It is my belief that this is so," Ji Min admitted. "The Aleesh seek to add a clause to our alliance, one that will grant Empress Enfri's heir the right to refuse marriage once she comes of age."

Jun Seo clucked his tongue. "And so we give all they wish and receive nothing?"

"The easterners are familiar with such clauses," Ji Min continued. "Should such a refusal take place, a recompense can be agreed upon when the contract is made."

Jun Seo stroked his chin with his silver claws. "I see. Interesting. The easterners are proving cunning with their contracts. They have taken on a semblance of civilization since I expelled them from our lands a century ago."

"Am I to assist the minister, then?" Ji Min asked.

"It matters not," Jun Seo said. "Do so, if it will set the Aleesh at their ease. A Dragon Empress shall marry the Glorious Emperor. There will be no refusal, no matter what agreements are made."

Ji Min furrowed her brow. Did that mean Enfri's daughter would be forced to accept the marriage? Ji Min did not see that as a moral or ethical decision, but perhaps her father meant something else with his words. It could have simply been that he felt it was a certainty Enfri's daughter would agree to marry.

As was her habit, Ji Min sought out all interpretations of any statement given to her.

"Proceed with my blessing. Now, you are a woman again." Jun Seo beckoned. "Approach, my daughter. Show me your face"

Ji Min obeyed. She rose to her feet, unfastened her veil, and came to stand at the foot of the emperor's dais.

"Approach." The emperor's words softened, as did his expression. "I would feel the warmth of my daughter at my side."

She hesitated to place a foot upon the dais. It was reserved solely for the divine, yet her emperor had given a command. What was more, her father needed her. Ji Min hurried to be near him. She knelt down on his left and faced towards him.

Jun Seo reached out for her. Ji Min took his hand and enfolded it in both of hers. Her father exhaled heavily, as if that small touch removed a great weight from his shoulders.

He did not face her as he spoke, but his blind eyes remained open. "Are you well?" he asked, his tone timid. It was far different from the one he had moments earlier, almost as if he were a different person.

"I am well." Ji Min had to take a moment before the right words came to her. It had been so long since she addressed her father directly. Years. More than a decade. "I... I missed you, appa."

He smiled, and moisture appeared in his eyes. "As I missed you. I hope you are not angry with me. For sending you so far away."

"I could never be," Ji Min protested. She was aghast. Angry with the emperor? It was unthinkable!

"I am not the Glorious Emperor," Jun Seo declared. "You are not the eastern executor. I am a father, and you are my daughter. That is all you must remember for now."

Ji Min lowered her eyes and blushed, but that could not stop her from smiling. "I do not resent my position. Not when it has brought me such joy."

"Oh?"

"I have grown close to the Most Revered Defenders. Their ways, they are so different."

Jun Seo nodded sagely.

"And, so beautiful," Ji Min added. "There is much warmth among them. So much happiness. I learned the truth of their hearts, that what they defend more than anything else is their family."

"I hoped you would appreciate their ways," Jun Seo chuckled.

"I suspected this was so."

"You have always been such a diligent child," he laughed. "Studious. So serious. I confess that much of the reason behind your appointment came from a selfish desire of mine."

Ji Min cocked her head to the side.

"It was my hope you might... lighten up a little?"

"Oh dear. Does everyone believe me to be a joyless busybody?"

"I would not say joyless. Perhaps... someone who could stand to learn to appreciate joy when it finds her." He squeezed her hand. "When I served as an executor for my father, I grew willing to remain in Espalla for the rest of my life. There were more than a few women I thought might welcome me into their sortha."

Ji Min bit her lower lip. "I feel much the same."

"Oh?" A sly grin split Jun Seo's face. "Which part?"

"The part in which..." Ji Min clutched at her heart in an effort to stop her anxious trembling. "I, too, have thought one may claim me."

Jun Seo clapped his hands together, his expression joyful. That his eldest daughter remained unmarried as she neared her thirtieth year was a source of some consternation. "Who is this fortunate man? Hagen? I remember a young boy and his foreign mother. He must have grown into a strong man to be chosen to bear his tribe's ancestral sword."

The trembling grew worse with each word. "Not Hagen, though I hold him dear. No, the one I... The one I tried to lure into courting me was... Lita of the Harkh'alash."

Ji Min braced for her father's disappointment. While it was true no one would ever look down on a person for seeking love with someone of their own sex, marriage was a trickier matter. A marriage preserved the family, and a fruitless marriage was of little worth to the Jade Empire.

It came as a surprise, then, when her father smiled. "A woman for my daughter? I did not expect that."

"I would not think of marriage without your blessing!" Ji Min said hurriedly.

"As well you should not," he replied. "My daughter wed to a woman? A woman I have not yet met? Unthinkable!" His tone became one of mock severity. "Just the one?"

"Appa!"

"You were in Espalla for quite some time. It is only natural that some of their ways might start to look..." He gestured flippantly in the air. "Attractive?"

"I do not have it in me to marry more than once," Ji Min said to assure him. "And... Lita is quite attractive."

"How sad," he lamented. "I cannot see for myself."

She shared an unguarded moment with her father. She giggled like the mischievous, little terror she had turned into in Espalla, and he was as Ji Min remembered him before his incarnation. Jun Seo was understanding, supportive, loving, and so terribly wonderful. Ji Min loved him with all her heart.

They talked at length of Ji Min's time among the Espallans. Tales of their experiences in the desert were shared. Ji Min told him of Hagen's sortha, of Ibi, Akar, Yanla, and little Ashé. Jun Seo told her of his long stay with the Sha'shara, back when Rohsh was still a young man. They also, of course, spent a long time talking about Lita. Jun Seo was most intrigued about what drew Ji Min to her. It went on for a long time, perhaps hours, but it could never be enough.

The moment could not last forever, no matter how much Ji Min wished it to. All too soon, Jun Seo brought the conversation back to the present, and to the future.

"There is another matter I wish to speak to you of," Jun Seo said, solemn. "This man the Aleesh brought with them, did you know of who he is?"

"No," Ji Min said, lowering her eyes. "They named him Master Deveaux, and so I did not realize his paternal lineage. At his trial, I was not familiar enough with the language to understand his true name, and the Most Revered Defenders did not realize the connection between the Jade Empire and House Merovech."

"Merovech," Jun Seo growled. "A name I had long thought would never curse my ears again." His silver claws dug small furrows in the wood floor. "In a life long past, I expelled Althandor from our lands because of the insult they gave. Their ambassador..." His lip curled. "Hierarch Antoine the Merovech sullied a daughter of a life past and stole her from our empire."

"I have since learned through questioning the Aleesh," Ji Min said softly, "the man we hold for the Dragon Empress is the greatson of the man who dishonored you. His father was the grandson of Lord Antoine and Ku Ji Hyo, who he absconded with."

Jun Seo made a fist and struck it against the floor. His jaw was clenched with anger. "It is well, then, that the Dragon Empress saw fit to return our blood to us."

"Shall I prepare a dungeon cell for when he is given into our custody?" Ji Min asked. "Will you exact revenge upon House Merovech?"

"There is no need to wait," Jun Seo said.

His eyes hardened. The kindly sparkle they held, the one Ji Min loved so dearly, faded away. In its place was jade and Glory. The Glorious Emperor had returned.

"My Gray Lotus Society will see to it that this Garret the Merovech will be brought before me."