Before I knew it, two weeks had passed.

I should've known. No matter how fun it is to play with a bird in a cage, there are much more birds outside. Better, more interesting, prettier birds who you didn't have to beg to leave their cage.

In fact, those birds had no cage.

"You look down these days," one of my maidservants, a younger girl named Mei, said. "Is anything the matter, Priestess?"

"Nothing," I said, uneasy. "But do you know what happened to the messenger?"

"You mean Guan? He's well, why?"

"Not him—the other messenger." She frowned, and I blushed. "Never mind, please forget it."

"Your hair is done now."

I picked up the mirror on my wooden vanity table to look at my hair. This time Mei had fixed it into a fancy high pompadour.

"The Emperor wants you to be dressed up because he'll be bringing over a guest this evening, so I'll get out your azure robe," she said.

"I see." I placed down the mirror as she turned around to get my clothing. I was poking at my scalp, which was uncomfortable due to how tight my hair was pulled, when there was a knock on my door. Both of us stopped what we were doing and turned to the door.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"It's me." It was Rui. I immediately stood up, by reflex.

Mei turned to look at me with confusion. She mouthed me something but I couldn't tell. I was busy racking my brain for an excuse.

"He's the messenger's helper," I said.

"Oh, the one you were asking about!" she said, loudly. I gestured for her to quiet down in embarrassment and then walked to the door. When I was close enough I opened it a crack and whispered through it. "Did you bring your friends?"

"No, I just learned you will be meeting one of them tonight, so I came to tell you."

One of them was the Emperor's guest? It wasn't a lie?

"Which one is it—the warrior or the scholar?"

"The warrior. I hope you two get along well. They'll come with me to meet you again at night, after dinner. Is that good with you?"

I quickly thought it over. I'll be meeting with the warrior and the Emperor at around noon, for tea, then after dinner Rui, the warrior, and the scholar will come. My heart was pounding again. I couldn't believe it was actually happening. Not to mention this time it wasn't simply one secret guest, but three.

"I understand. Thank you for the message." I was about to close the door when he suddenly called my name.

"Lady Li Xiang-"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I haven't visited in a long time. I've been busy. I'm sorry."

I stood there dumbly. I didn't know how to to respond to his apology, which, frankly, had taken me by surprise.

"It's fine," I finally said at last. "Goodbye."

I closed the door and turned back. Mei stood there with my azure robe and a lighter outer garment.

"Is something the matter, Priestess?"

"No, no," I said quickly. "They just wanted me to know the guest is a warrior from the Hu clan."

"I see." I walked to her and she began undressing me, peeling each layer by layer, sash by sash, until I was in my undergarments.

"Mei, do you know anything about the Hu clan?" If I ever wanted to know anything about the outside world, I asked her. She was knowledgeable for her age and a good teacher.

"Me?" She sounded surprised. "Well, nothing but the usual. They came from the far ends of the kingdom and were comprised of nomadic clans until they formed an alliance with the late Emperor to lead the army of the Tang Kingdom. In return they received plenty of land and some settled down and stopped living as nomads."

"Do you know who is the strongest warrior?"

"That I don't know, I'm sorry, Priestess."

"No, it's fine."

Before I knew it, I was finished getting dressed.

"Look in the mirror. You look beautiful." Mei removed the red cloth that covered the standing mirror on the side of my room. I looked into the mirror to see the blurry figure that was me. It looked like I was looking into a river with ripples because of the shade of my dress. My face was contorted, so I couldn't tell anything neither. However, I smiled.

"Thank you, Mei. You may leave now."

***

When it was evening, as always during a meeting with a guest, all the maidservants came, carrying tea and platters of intricately made desserts, fruits, and other snacks. They were dressed up too, in fancier and brighter clothes, with more makeup. I, however, was forbidden to have on any makeup.

The colorful girls lined up the entrance to my room, chin held up and back straight, and then I heard voices start to drift in from the hallways.

"...the last invasion you had of the town near the sea was spectacular. That village truly proved to be useful, our army immediately gained morale from the victory and the economy of the fishing business was better than I imagined."

"I'm glad I could be of help, Your Majesty, but it was thanks to your well-trained army and the Hu clan's elders's wisdom. I hardly deserve your compliment."

"Possibly, but there is no doubt that with you as the future leader of the Hu clan the future expansion and safety of the Tang Kingdom is secured."

"Only the Priestess can tell..."

The voices drew closer until they finally reached right outside my room. There the Emperor parted with his guards. Guards weren't allowed into my room, unlike the maidservants, because they were male. When the King and the warrior opened the door I stood up and held my head down.

"Greetings, Your Majesty," I said, bowing before him.

"Good evening, Priestess. You may hold your head up now."

The Emperor, who was nearing his sixties, was still dressed in bold golden robes with his tall beaded headpiece on his black, although grey-streaked, hair, but his beard was maintaining its color. He had a sullen face with thick brows, always ready for business, and I remember being scared of it even when I was a child, knowing he saw me as nothing but a tool at his disposal.

I turned to look at the man standing next to the Emperor.

I tried to not let surprise show on my face.

I had expected a warrior, maybe older than me, tall and built like a bull, but I was met with an androgynous beauty instead.

He was perhaps one of the most feminine and beautiful man I've ever seen, with high, wide cheekbones, a defined nose, and sharp eyes with pointed corners. There was a certain look he had about him too, that matched the voice I heard outside when he was talking to the Emperor, neither gruff nor haughty, but dignified.

His hair, a black so dark like a raven's coat, and heavy too, was held back in a high ponytail, showing off his sharp jawline and broad shoulders. He was almost as tall as the Emperor and he wasn't short by any means.

In a way he looked like a stallion. I supposed he had a stallion just like him, with a dark and glossy coat, long mane, and dark eyes, and rode him out to battle.

"This is Lady Li Xiang, Priestess of of the Moon," the King said, gesturing to me, "and Priestess, this is Lady Zhu Hua of the Hu clan."

Lady Zhu Hua?

The surprise must've showed on my face, because she smirked, a reminiscent of Rui's smirk when he teased me.

Embarrassed, and suddenly aware of my constant staring and daydreaming, I snapped out of it and quickly bowed to her too.

"Greetings, Lady Zhu Hua."

"Greetings to you too, Priestess." She gently lifted my face up, surprising me. She smiled down at me, looking amused. "I've heard a lot about your fortunes, so accurate they send chills up one's spine."

"Oh," I found my voice faltering, "I see."

"Today I've brought Lady Zhu Hua over because we wish to discuss the matter of her being the successor of her clan."

To 'discuss a matter' meant he was hoping for me to read the stars and tell him whether the choice was advisable or not.

"The stars haven't been bright recently, Your Majesty, I suggest we should wait until the next full moon to look into the matter."

"Very well. In the meantime if you have anytime to ask of Lady Zhu Hua, please do."

"Yes, Your Majesty," I whispered. "Please be seated as I read her palm, and Lady Zhu Hua, please sit here."

I directed her towards a different chair. Instead of sitting, though, she walked to me and then leaned down to whisper into my neck.

"Rui wasn't lying, after all," she whispered, "You really are a beauty."

Then she sat down and smiled.

I couldn't tell whether or not I was being made a fool of.