沉魚落雁
chényú-luòyàn
'Make fish sink and birds alight'
Beauty so great it can captivate even the birds and beasts.
*~*~*~*~*~*

Beauty is a powerful weapon.

I saw it in the seamstress's face when I put on her creation and stood, twirling the bright vermillion skirts. Even she was surprised. I saw it in Zakhar's face when I descended and he first set eyes on me in my gown. He looked pained, as though wounded by my appearance.

Beauty is a powerful, dangerous weapon. It can change men's hearts faster than any sword or other instrument of war and oppression.

I saw it in Kageyama, in his gruffness towards me, in the way he drew a line between us. I got the feeling he had experienced the power of beauty as a weapon before.

He even called it as such. "Any weapon to win a war, huh?" he had commented begrudgingly while watching me apply my makeup.

Beauty is a powerful weapon. And tonight, I was well armed.

Perhaps that was why, sitting across from the Second Prince, I felt so composed. This was the employer of the man who had tortured me, thoughtlessly, for hours. Yet no matter how much I reminded myself of this fact, before me I saw only a handsome man, composed in expression and confident in bearing.

I admit, I have always had a weakness for good looking men, and Prince Zhangyu was very good looking. His dark, arching eyebrows, the slight smile playing about his lips. His jet hair, cut even shorter than his uncle's and slicked back like water, with just a few strands escaping and falling across his forehead in a manner much too roguish for a prince.

My eyes roved, savoring his straight, muscular shoulders, and the way his uniform fit him just the way it should. To put it in a word, he was beautiful, his features more masculine than Sanli's, yet still with an elegance that set him apart from most men.

I found all of him very pleasing, but particularly the way his bright, copper eyes met mine, challenging me to unveil my secrets. In a way, he too wielded his beauty like a weapon.

I decided to let the Second Prince make his move first. I knew he would, if given long enough.

The coach had just left the long causeway from Chuanfang, the sound of the horses' hooves changing as the road went from stone to pressed dirt, when the prince spoke.

"I noticed before you wore many rings, but nothing about your neck," Zhangyu said, reaching into the breast pocket of his uniform jacket. He drew out a thin chain of rose gold, on the end of which dangled a fruit-red stone, a ruby or garnet. "If it is something you like, I wanted to offer you this, to wear tonight."

I held out my hand, and he let the gem and its chain trickle into it like water.

I quickly searched for any hidden zih or inscribed spells, pretending as if I was admiring the necklace. Finding none, I lifted the chain over my head. The color of the gem actually matched my dress well, the stone coming to rest on my chest just between where the swell of my breasts began. The Prince's eyes lingered on the necklace he had given me a little too long before returning to my face.

"What are the rings for, if you don't mind me inquiring?" Zhangyu asked, sitting back.

"For?" I asked innocently. "Why, for fashion, of course. Whatever else would they be for?"

"I thought perhaps they were scribed, for protection, or concealment," he said, watching me carefully and stroking the faint stubble on his chin.

He suspects something, I thought. The snake must have told him I should be dead.

"Ah, now that you mention it, these two are scribed," I said, holding up my thumbs to show the matching silver rings Sanli had just presented me with yesterday, freshly carved with zih by the royal scribes. "Protection against poison and paralysis," I said smugly.

"I see," said Zhangyu, perfect grin growing broader. "It's a good idea to protect yourself against such things. You never know what might happen."

We stared at each other a moment longer, smiles firmly in place.

Finally, the Second Prince started his offensive. "I feel it is my responsibility to warn you, Lady Yunyou,' he began, his tone grave. "My uncle is not a good man."

I frowned, surprised at the obviousness of his attack. Seeing my frown Zhangyu changed tack, shifting slightly on the padded bench he sat on. "He's not a bad man. He just has had too many tragic things happen to him in his life that, unfortunately, have caused him to lose sight of what's right. What's real."

The rumble of the carriage wheels was solemn in the background. We were once again on a stone road, somewhere within Zhanghai's more crowded middle class residential area. Outside the carriage windows I saw rows of buildings, their windows reflecting back the orange of the setting sun as it sank below the sea. The glass panes looked like glowing eyes. Glowing, copper eyes.

"For example, I believe, despite his... humble origins, my uncle has designs to make himself the next Green King," said Zhangyu.

I frowned, confused. "Do you mean he wishes to become the next Regent?" I asked. This I already suspected.

"No," said Zhangyu, shaking his head, the curtains and tapestries inside the carriage swaying with the motion of the carriage around him. "What I am about to tell you is not widely known, so please keep it to yourself. My ancestor, the Green King, when he made himself human, also created a method by which one of his descendents, if worthy, could take his place as among the Five Colored Gods. As the next Green King."

I blinked. That Lu could do such thing did not surprise me. That he had never mentioned his intention to do so did.

I felt as though cold water had been poured into my stomach. Had Lu trusted me so little toward the end?

Zhangyu was watching my reactions to his words very carefully, and seeing my surprise, he looked triumphant. "As you can tell from his extravagant ambitions, my uncle is not an entirely sane man." Zhangyu waited for me to speak, and when I said nothing, continued. "For example, my uncle's obsession with finding The Sixth God. He spoke of it often when we were children, but then as we grew, he could not let go of his fantasy."

Dully, I interjected, "I suppose he thinks she will support his bid for the throne."

"Exactly. He imagines stumbling upon this woman, this fallen god, who he will of course convince to sympathize with him and take up his standard." Zhangyu gave a dismissive gesture with one hand. "Do these sound like the thoughts of a man who has a firm grip on his own mind?" he asked me.

"Not at all," I concurred, staring distantly at Zhangyu's handsome face and thinking of another.

As he said his next words in his carefully chosen monologue, the Second Prince's copper eyes watched me very, very closely. "In fact, I think he imagines YOU the Sixth God."

He finished speaking as the carriage crested the ridge of one of the largest bridges in Zhanghai. The light from the sinking sun swept through the carriage briefly, shining on the silk curtains of the windows, the elegant tapestries hung on the inside, and illuminating the Second Prince's face. Then the carriage began its descent, the sun light disappeared, and the inside of the cabin was once again in semi-darkness.  But In that flash of light, I had seen the knowing smile on Zhangyu's face.

He thinks he knows who I am. Or who I was.

Now the Second Prince's surprise at my 'uncommonly pretty' appearance when he had first met me made sense. The words of my old story echoed back to me: '...The Golden Emperor sealed her into a hideous, deformed form, mimicking the monster she had betrayed him to, and cursed her to wander the kingdom for all eternity...'

He had expected a monster. That I was, but not outwardly.

"Ermi has already told me second hand the tale of how you met my Uncle and his men. I'm afraid my uncle has thrust you into the role of this 'fallen goddess', and dragged you into his insanity."

"Utter madness" I agreed calmly, playing my part, but my mind was turning over a thousand thoughts at once, spinning faster than the carriage wheels beneath us.

Outside both the carriage windows, I could see nothing but water. I realized we were rolling across a long, stone causeway, even longer than the one that led to Chuanfang. The place where the banquet was being held must be far out in the bay. The white foam flying from the tips of waves turned pink in the sunset.

The prince followed my gaze, then leaned toward me earnestly, taking one of my hands in his own. I had expected his touch to be cool like metal, but it was warm. I shivered.

"If you ever feel in danger, or threatened by my uncle and his ambitions, come to me. I can offer you protection. And much more." As he said this Zhangyu's eyes lingered on the precious gem about my neck.

Such an obvious bribe.

I understood now his true aim. Not simply to turn me away from his uncle, but to gain my allegiance in the process. I remembered what Sanli had told me of Zhangyu promoting himself to the position of Second Prince. I wondered if Zhangyu's own ambitions were not similar to those he had just accused his uncle of.

The Second Prince was searching my face carefully to see how his words had been received, and I sensed his well scripted performance drawing to a close. "I just wanted to warn you, Lady Yunyou." He stroked the back of my hand with his thumb, as though to soothe the distress I was no doubt experiencing after his revelations. "My Uncle is a desperate man, and desperate men will do just about anything."

I sensed I needed to speak my lines to end this little farce we were carrying on, so I smiled sweetly and said: "I do so appreciate your words, my Prince." I squeezed the hand wrapped around mine lightly, briefly, before letting it drop and tucking my hands into my lap.

"You are so kind to think to warn me," I continued, "and I agree: A desperate man will do, and say, just about anything."

I looked at him cooly.

To his credit, the Second Prince caught my meaning immediately. He is clever. His smile, which up until now had been a mask of earnestness, slipped.

He is not half as good an actor as he thinks he is, I thought. Not when compared to Sanli.

As if reading my mind, the Second Prince's smile returned, but not before I saw something cold and metallic gleam underneath. An iron like ambition.

He'll do just about anything to satisfy that ambition. How wonderful. How dangerous.

The Second Prince sat back, leaning against the cushioned carriage wall. He placed his hands on his knees, watching me coldy, carefully.

Not desperate. Calculating.

"Perhaps. But he just has to make sure he says the right things," he said.

Oh yes, this cold calculating look suits you much better, little Copper Prince.

*~*~*~*~*~*

We sat the remainder of the ride in a silence rife with unsaid words. At last the carriage left the causeway and rolled onto land again. I realized from the amount of time we had spent on the open causeway we must be on an island far out into the bay. We passed through a gigantic archway, designed for decoration rather than security. Great carved dragons curved around the stone beams of the arch.

The carriage squeaked to a stop. Zhangyu reached forward, opening the latch of the door before pushing it open and gesturing. "After you, Lady Yunyou."

Disembarking from the carriage, I carefully placed my silk slippers onto the gravel drive, then looked up.

Before me towered a manor, immense and impressive. It was styled like a fortress from Wa, the pointing towers and curved roof designed not only for appearances but also for defense. However, the wood of the building was painted a bright red, and gayly contrasted with the whitewashed walls of the manor, lending the whole structure a feeling of contrived flamboyance.

Hundreds of servants and guards stood before the manor, waiting to greet guests and escort them inside. As Zhangyu stepped down from the carriage and stood beside me, servants hurried forward, bowing to us and chiming out a greeting. "Welcome to the Second Prince!" Then they lined themselves up in two rows to form an aisle leading to their master's home, holding torches to light the ever growing dark. I noticed they were all dressed in brown and gold livery, with a red dragon pinned on their lapel or for the guards the clasp of their uniform cape. The emblem of the master of the house.

Despite the showy architecture, and the excessive number of servants, the most ostentatious aspect of the manor was the dragon statues that came roaring out of the wall about the main entrance. Their carved mouths were agape, and porcelain teeth grinned in the torchlight. Their brightly plated scales, yellows and golds and bronzes and silvers, glinted with the deep sheen only real precious metals have.

It was often said that based on strength and power alone, dragons were the strongest of all mu'ren, (though ask any tiger and they'd argue differently). When I had been a dragon, I had taken great pride in my nature, but had never felt the need to display my stature so... materially.

"I gather that this Guang Han is a dragon," I said.

"He is," said Zhangyu, standing beside me with his arms behind his back in military fashion as we waited for Kageyama. The rows of servants stood frozen, still waiting on us, their torches crackling and spitting pitch.

"Is he a true dragon?" I asked quietly. Views varied, but most were of the opinion that four clawed dragons and below were nothing but overgrown lizards. To be considered a true Dalong, you needed to have five claws, and a human form.

"My sources say he is indeed five clawed. A true dragon," confirmed Zhangyu. "Worried, Lady Yunyou?" His copper eyes flashed in the torchlight.

I ignored him. I had indeed felt a tremor of unease when I had noticed the dragon emblem on the servants livery, but it was because I worried this Guang Han was someone I had once known. I had many enemies, even among my own kind. Especially among my own kind. They would love to find me now, weakened as I was.

But, I reminded myself, most who had known me before were now dead. And even if this Guang Han was someone known to me, it did not matter. I was no longer recognizable as what I had been before. My power, my true body, none of it remained. The body I was now trapped in resembled nothing of my previous human form. Even my name was no longer my own.

Only my soul was the same. Sometimes, I wondered if even that had changed.

I looked down at my ringed hands, before looking up at the great manor we now stood before.

Hoof beats sounded behind us, and I turned just as Kageyama rode up on Makabe. He slid from the saddle and strode toward us, throwing the reins to a servant who hurried forward.

"Forgive me, Kageyama Sensei. I was enjoying talking to Lady Yunyou so much I completely forgot to tell our driver to wait for you," Zhangyu said as the man stopped beside us.

"Not at all," said Kageyama, doing up the top button of his dark uniform coat before straightening it out. His questioning eyes tried to find mine, but I ignored them, turning instead to the prince.

"Shall we, my lord?" I held out an arm for him to place on his own.

Zhangyu glanced down at my arm with something akin to distaste. "Forgive me, Lady Yunyou. I do not think it would be appropriate to enter together."

"Why? Because I have no name, no title?" Zhangyu said nothing, frown deepening, but I knew that was the reason. "I will be the most beautiful woman in the room. Trust me, it will not be my name people will be thinking about."

Behind us I heard Kageyama shift on the gravel. Zhangyu hesitated.

"Don't you want the attention and envy of every man there?" I prodded, smiling slyly up at him. He sought to use me? Well I would use him as well. I would not follow meekly behind, like a maid. I was no one's servant.

Zhangyu's eyebrow quirked. "You sound like you have experience with these sort of events."

"Not so much. But I have experience with men."

Kageyama scoffed. Zhangyu raised his eyebrow further at my shamelessness, but took my hand and tucked it into the crook of his elbow.

Good choice, Copper Prince.

The Second Prince and I walked down the aisle created by the torch holding servants, Kageyama following close behind.

*~*~*~*~*~*

When I had been a god, I had loved the effect the mere mention of my name could have.

A crier would call out my arrival, and the ensemble would freeze. Those assembled would crane to get a look at my face, but without success. The Sixth God never appeared without a veil hiding her visage.

Whispers would spread across the crowd like ripples from a stone thrown into still water.

"Is that her?"

"The Sixth God? The Golden Emperor's Beloved?"

"Is she mu'ren? I heard she was a human?"

Then the prayer would begin, for health, or rain or prosperity, and the whispers would unite into one voice, stuttering over phrases led by the lead priest or priestess, until at last reaching the well known ending phrase that finished all prayers:

"—All that I am, all that I have, everything of my heart is yours."

Those last words would echo off the walls of the temple or hall or, more often than not, spread up to the open sky.

Then, the prayer completed, the whispers would began again.

"Why does she always wear a veil?"

"Perhaps the Golden Emperor couldn't stand the thought of anyone but himself looking on her, so he forbade her from showing her face."

"Perhaps it's because she's actually quite ugly."

I was always amused by the speculations.

The truth was, the reason 'The Sixth God' always wore a veil was because The Sixth God herself was rarely in attendance. After the initial charm of being worshiped had worn thin, I lost interest in the responsibilities that came with godhood. I started avoiding tedious ceremonies and rituals, and my part was played by a priestess from my order or an actress hired to pose as me.

Occasionally, when I craved the feeling of having everyone's eyes, everyone's attention, I would attend as myself, but the majority of the time I watched my own worship from the crowd, posing as another follower.

I did so enjoy the irony.

Now, standing beside the Second Prince and the top of the stair with the grand hall filled with guests spread out before us, I was overcome by nostalgia.

"His royal highness, Second Prince Lu Zhangyu, and... Lady Yunyou?" announced the herald.

The question in the herald's voice was clear as he announced my name. My unknown name, paired with the Second Prince's, fell upon the crowd like pebbles on a stream, and the whispers started.

"Who is that with the Prince?"

"Yunyou? Is that a family name? I've never heard of her before."

"Look at what she's wearing!"

The Prince and I descended the stairs side by side, and I could feel him radiating doubt at his decision to enter with me on his arm as all attention in the hall turned to us. I was indifferent, and took time to study our surroundings. The hall was vast, one side nothing but high arches opening out onto a stone veranda that looked out toward the eastern sea. Above marble columns stretched up to a high ceiling painted prettily with blue skies and soaring birds.

Real birds seemed to have entered the hall and were flying about the columns, perching on vines carved into the marble. There was a huge number of them, and I wondered how the guests in the hall below avoided being fouled on, before I realized the birds were just illusions. I saw the way the light played upon the feathers of a blue bird that swept over head, and how it became momentarily translucent when it passed before a light source. I saw another fade from existence entirely, the zih that had made it give one last flicker before dying. There must be a team of scribes working endlessly to create these illusions simply for the pleasure of the guests.

What extravagance.

The guests themselves stretched out before us like a sea of pretty pastel flowers, a few dark colors sprinkled in between. It had been the fashion some years prior to wear a lighter version of the color of the God one owed allegiance to, and I saw many shades of pale green, sprinkled with some pink and a few yellows. But there were many other colors as well, and I could tell that just like all fashion trends, that trend was on the wane.

The whispers continued as we descended. As we got closer I could pair the whispers to mouths.

"She's too skinny, and her dress too tight. I can see her navel," said a young woman with an overly ornate headpiece.

"Look at her shoulders, exposed like that. Some whore from the flower district," sniffed an older woman, dressed all in lavender, the color far too young for her.

"Another conquest of the prince's, no doubt," a stiff looking gentleman added, his eyes tracing the curves of my body with lust loosely disguised as disapproval.

"But which prince?" speculated a younger man beside the old gentleman with envy.

The women spoke words of venom, and the men spoke with their eyes. I drank it all up, the admiration, the envy, the hate. The attention. It only made me smile all the wider.

"See," I said to Zhangyu, squeezing his arm beneath my hand slightly. "Everyone in the room." Like pale peach flowers, all the faces in the crowd were turned to us.

Zhangyu heard the whispers. "It is you they are looking at with envy," he commented.

"As well they should." I replied, matter of fact. "I'm on the arm of one of the most handsome and powerful men in the kingdom."

We had reached the bottom of the staircase and Zhangyu let my hand drop. I stood beside him as people began to flock toward us to pay their respects to the Second Prince. "Are you trying to flatter your way back into my esteem, Lady Yunyou?" Zhangyu asked quietly, a small smile tugging at the corner of the frown which had been fixed on his face since our carriage ride.

"Is it working?"

He laughed, a real laugh, and it surprised me. It sounded unsteady, as though he did not know how to use it.

Then the throng of eager subjects was upon us, greeting the prince and exchanging strictly regulated social pleasantries with far too much enthusiasm to sound sincere. I was reduced to standing silently and watching, smiling prettily when necessary and inclining my head when someone was introduced to me. The Second Prince introduced me simply as 'Lady Yunyou', and those who greeted me had the good sense to not question further my standing or origin.

I noticed that Kageyama had disappeared from behind us, no doubt before our conspicuous entrance. I caught a glimpse of black among the bright pastels of the crowd, and I briefly saw the fox slipping through the edges of the crowd, watching the assembly around him, before he vanished from my line of vision.

When we had been descending I had estimated that there were close to 800 people present. It felt like half that number had to decided to greet Prince Zhangyu, and after ten minutes we still hadn't moved from the base of the stairs. My attention soon wandered, the faces blurring together into a monotony of features.

The chattering crowd around Zhangyu and I parted somewhat and a familiar face appeared among the unfamiliar. I blinked as I realized it was Sanli, dressed all in formal court robes in varying shades of dark green. His eyes were on mine, and he raised his eyebrow at the look on my face. Bored already? his expression said.

I laughed outwardly at his attire. Lu always wore robes like that. But Lu had looked natural in them, even before he had been a king, and then a god. Sanli looked very uncomfortable, like a child made to dress up for a special occasion. I thought back to Zhangyu's words in the carriage with disbelief. Does this man really aspire to be a god?

Sanli smiled as he approached, blushing slightly on hearing my laugh. "What, you don't think the look of a noble suits me?" he said, skirting around a group of men waiting to greet Zhangyu. The glanced at Sanli, and I saw they recognized him, but none greeted him.

"You look more like a scholar," I said. The long, formal robes, such as Sanli was wearing now, were a sign of the leisure class, and usually only worn by nobility or scholars. It made sense, considering how difficult movement was in the them.

"I am a scholar," he said, stopping before me. Somehow he seemed taller. It must be the robes.

"Oh, and what is your field of study?" I asked flirtatiously.

"You should know that by now," he said, taking my hand. Instead of pressing his lips to it, as I had expected, he pressed it to his forehead as he bowed. A gesture of extreme respect and reverence.

Sanli's gesture did not go unnoticed by those around him, including Zhangyu, who was standing talking to a plump man dressed in plum and gold robes. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Zhangyu excuse himself and approach us.

"Uncle, you look well."

"As do you, Zhangyu."

There was an awkward pause, during which I could almost feel the eyes of the crowd slipping past us, pretending not to look, but really we were the focal point of the room. I heard a woman speculate which of the princes was more handsome, another, to whom I 'belonged'.

Why, to myself, of course.

"Might I borrow your charming companion?" Sanli asked, placing my hand on his arm.

"Lady Yunyou and I have a meeting shortly with our host and the delegation from Wa."

"Well, I'll just borrow her until then. Ermi wanted to speak to her. To consult her on a matter of propriety."

Zhangyu's pleasant smile grew tight, but he said nothing. He nodded and turned away to speak to another group of people.

Sanli turned and led me away, the crowd parting to let us pass, like petals on a stream part around a rock in the flow. We were the rock.

"Pleasant ride?" Were the words Sanli said casually, yet I heard it as: 'What did you talk about with Zhangyu?'

"It was very informative," I said evasively.

Sanli didn't miss a beat. "Well you look..." he searched for a word, then settled on one. "Divine."

I laughed.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Not art, but an amazing poem by PearlAkin ! Love love love it!