The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set Page 2

  ‘Magic has been destroyed in the Empire,’ Advisor Gan said. ‘Your father has seen to it.’

  ‘Many years ago. What if it has returned?’

  ‘When you have your bride hidden,’ his father said sternly, ‘you may use your gifts to find the killer. But not until she is hidden. One more week is all you must wait.’

  Remi bowed low before his father and stood slowly. A week might as well be a lifetime. He strode out from the throne room, too angry to think of where to go or what to do. He would have to wait as his father instructed, and then he might get the freedom to do what was needed.

  As he strode through the palace, he found his mother standing by a channel of water that flowed across the island. Large golden fish swam in the murky water, between the lilies and beneath the red painted-bridges that crossed the many channels. She stared unseeing into the water, and he took her hand as he stepped up slowly beside her.

  ‘You will be present for the Choosing, my love?’ she asked, her gaze still on the water, and he nodded as he squeezed her hand. ‘It is important.’

  ‘I will,’ he said.

  ‘She must be to your liking.’

  ‘Must she? Did Ta-Sho have a say?’

  ‘He did, although he was a child. Traditions are turned around, and I worry she will not have the time to train as required. But you are a man, and you must find in her what a man wants.’

  He gulped down his surprise, staring at the usually distant woman and what she was offering him. She turned slowly and lifted a hand to his face. Her eyes were wet although she did not appear to have been crying, and she left her hand on his face as she stared into his eyes.

  ‘Your brother chose a beautiful girl because he thought she would be beautiful on the inside as well as the out. She may not have been best for the Empire, but she was the best of what was offered in the Choosing. You may consider differently, for they will not be girls standing before you, but women.’

  ‘I thought it was your choice,’ he whispered, placing his hand over hers.

  ‘It is, although I may take your choice into consideration. It is you who must live with her.’

  ‘Did father have a say in your Choosing?’

  ‘I do not know.’ She pulled her hand from beneath his and turned back to the water. ‘He has never told me, and it is something I cannot ask. I miss Ta-Sho,’ she said.

  ‘Would you like me to pray with you?’ Remi asked.

  She shook her head. ‘I have prayed all night and no peace has found me yet.’

  ‘What will happen to U’shi?’

  She turned back to him with a questioning look. ‘You cannot have her.’

  ‘I do not want her,’ he said quickly. ‘But I want to know what will become of her.’

  ‘She will assist with the training of the next hidden princess. She will watch over her, serve her.’

  ‘I don’t think she’ll like that,’ he said quietly.

  ‘She was trained to be of use to the future emperor. That man is now you,’ his mother said softly, her voice catching in her throat. ‘Her use to you will be to watch over your bride.’

  He nodded and kissed her quickly on the cheek before turning back towards his room. Only a week, and he had no idea how many women of the Empire he would have the chance to choose from. Advisor Gan had only mentioned the two out of the running, one already wed and the other promised.

  He didn’t care for the bride, but the sooner she was hidden away to train, the sooner he could hunt out the magic he was sure still survived within the Empire.

  Chapter 3

  Lis stepped into the boat and, as it swayed beneath her feet, she stretched out a hand to her father to steady her. It had been some time since she had left their island home, and a nervousness crawled over her skin, making her shiver. She took the bag handed to her by her sister and then her sister’s bag, and despite the sick feeling welling in her stomach, she moved slowly to the front of the boat to add the bags to those already there.

  She straightened, looking over the world around them, and wondered just how long they would be away. Her mother gently ran a hand over Lis’s cheek as she passed her to stand beside her father. Lis tried to prepare herself for the hours they would be spending on the small boat, her father at the helm.

  ‘It will be nice to see the palace again,’ her mother said softly, but her father only nodded.

  ‘You are going to love it,’ Ting said. ‘It is so beautiful.’

  Lis looked out across the ocean, so vast and empty. She longed to remain at home, waiting for Peng and news of someone else being chosen. The sound of the wind hitting the sail made her jump, and suddenly they were moving through the water.

  ‘Can we pass Peng’s home?’ she asked.

  When there was no response, she turned to her serious father staring out beyond her, across the water. The red family seal shimmered in the morning light as wind pushed against the sail. Lis’s hand tightened around the railing. Their little island was already disappearing into the distance behind them, and Fourth seemed larger than she remembered as they drew closer. Fifth was hazy in the distance to the east, with the sun rising behind it. Lis was sure she could see other sails moving towards them on their way to the Palace Isle.

  As a child, she had been so scared that her sister wouldn’t return from the Palace Isle. That she would be chosen for the young prince and become the Hidden Princess of Rei-Een. It would be a great honour, she had been told by her mother, but they had returned home in silent relief that they had kept her for themselves. The girl chosen had been quiet and very beautiful, Ting had said, and despite the relief that she could keep her sister, Lis was sure Ting would have been a much better choice.

  ‘What has happened to the hidden princess?’ Lis asked. Her mother shook her head and returned her gaze to the water. ‘But she was trained to be the wife of one prince; surely she could marry the other.’

  ‘There are strict traditions,’ her father reminded her.

  ‘What if something happens to this prince?’

  ‘Lis, enough,’ her father scolded, and she turned to look across the boat at Fourth. She wanted to ask again about passing Peng’s home, somewhere amongst the tall trees, steep hills and red-tile rooves. But they wouldn’t. They would skirt past the island on the way to the palace.

  It took much longer to sail beyond the island than she imagined. The steep hills smoothed out to rolling plains, and a beach stretched along the shoreline with people lining the sands. When a child amongst the group waved, Lis held her hand up high and waved back. They were too far away to see faces. Lis wondered if she would ever get the chance to know these people once she married and lived with Peng’s family on the large island.

  Tradition dictated that she would move to his home, although her father had made promises of his land and that Peng should live with them. The adventure would be exciting. But as they passed the shore and Lis tried to count the number of people watching the boats carry possible princesses towards the capital, she longed for the quiet isolation of their little island.

  The Palace Isle, when it came into view, took her breath away. Long, high, grey walls grew out of the rocks along the island, covering the entire shoreline. Soldiers lined the tops of the walls, their silver armour glinting in the fading sunlight. Lis wasn’t tempted to wave at them.

  More boats than she imagined sailed slowly along the wall, looking for a place they could dock. Her father seemed to know what he was doing, but he had said very little on the journey. Several men pointed towards them from the wall, some saluting, and she remembered her father hadn’t always been the man she knew at home. She tried to visualise him in the armour of the Empire, but she couldn’t.

  As they rounded the Palace Isle, a large dock came into view with many more boats than Lis had anticipated already tied up, bobbing slowly in the water as people disembarked. With so many visitors, so many potential princesses, her chances of going home again were increasing every moment.

&nb
sp; ‘You must be careful,’ her father whispered in her ear.

  She took a deep breath and nodded as their boat joined the many others at the dock.

  Lis and her sister stood with their bags in hand while her father tied up the boat. A soldier marched quickly towards them, determined in his step, and a sudden fear grabbed Lis. The man stopped, pulled her father into a rough embrace and then slapped him on the back.

  ‘Do you not bring servants?’ he asked, waving a young man onto the boat. ‘You leave your wife to carry her own luggage,’ he chastised, holding out his hand for Lis’s mother, who smiled at him and took it. He led her down the plank and then bowed low before her. ‘If you had married me, dear woman, you would be waited on hand and foot.’

  She laughed easily with the soldier, and Ting was quick to hand over her bag to the young man and follow their mother to shore. A shiver ran through Lis before she too handed her bag to the young man, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to leave the boat. Her family stood talking and laughing on the dock, yet she couldn’t make her legs move.

  ‘Do you need assistance?’ the young man asked.

  Lis shook her head, but she remained where she was until her father caught her eye and nodded slowly. ‘No, thank you,’ she said, stepping off the boat. She had the strangest feeling when she stood on the dock, swaying slightly from the hours on the boat as she watched the people and sails around her.

  ‘The Emperor has prepared the Kai Palace for you and your family,’ the soldier was saying to her father. ‘I will show you the way.’ He clapped and a number of young men appeared, taking their luggage and then disappearing again.

  ‘It is exciting,’ Ting said as she took Lis’s arm and pulled her along behind their parents.

  ‘I wish Peng were here,’ Lis murmured when they passed beneath a huge, shiny red gateway. ‘The Empire of Rei-Een’ and ‘Emperor Rei Shoashu’ were painted in golden symbols above it. Thick, studded doors stood open for them to enter, but Lis was sure they would be secured of a night as she took in the number of people and soldiers around her.

  Although the sun was starting to dip low in the sky, the city before her was alight with lanterns and torches. The white stone of the temple reflected the orange lights, making the world around it glow. She stopped and smiled. It was just as beautiful as her mother had described. High rooves dominated the space, with flags of the Empire fluttering in the wind from towers along the wall and against the pillars of some of the larger buildings. She had no idea what any of them were, or what business went on within them.

  ‘There are so many people,’ she murmured.

  ‘There aren’t usually this many,’ the soldier with them said kindly, and she turned to him. ‘Many have come to the Palace Isle to see who the next hidden princess will be.’

  ‘Will we have a chance to visit the baths?’ Lis asked.

  Her mother smiled but shook her head. ‘There will be much to do,’ she said, following after her husband. Lis tried not to sigh as she allowed the soldier to lead them towards where they were to stay. It was further from the main buildings of the palace, and she wondered if there was any greenery at all amongst all the stone and tiles.

  When they entered a walled section, Lis realised just how vast this island was. But as they walked, she thought it didn’t look quite as shiny as her mother had described; many of the walls were simple grey stone, and the rooves she could make out were faded.

  Despite the tired appearance of the palace and the fact that she was wearing her best skirt, Lis felt like the country girl she was. They had seen so many people, yet she couldn’t tell who was here to look and who was here to present a daughter. She could understand just what her father had meant more and more with every girl they saw—how much more presentable they were. But no matter what her father said, this was not going to be as easy as she’d hoped.

  They stopped at an old wooden gate, its red lacquer even more faded than other parts of the palace.

  ‘This is perfect,’ her father said. He pushed it open with a squeak to reveal a small building with the prettiest garden Lis had ever seen.

  Every flower was pink, blossoms on the trees, flowers in pots and between the perfect lawn. She disappeared for a moment between the trees and found a small pond, smiling when large white fish appeared from its depths. Perhaps this visit wouldn’t be so bad after all. She worked her way back through the garden to find a soldier standing outside the house. She nodded once, but he didn’t move.

  The house had been described as a palace, yet it still appeared to Lis to be a house. A small, covered veranda ran the front of the small dwelling. Two simple chairs sat side by side and Ting stood beside them, taking in the garden. Lis entered the house to find it light and bright. A maid waiting by the door bowed to her, and she found a simple room with a low table and cushions, her father already sitting at it with the soldier, raising a cup of rice wine.

  ‘Lis?’ her mother called, and Lis followed her voice through to a smaller room beyond. A bed was built into the far wall of the room, the pulled-back curtains revealing exquisite silk bedding in the same pinks as the garden. ‘We will not be here long, but let’s enjoy the comfort.’

  Lis nodded. ‘Shall I prepare the meal? I feel as though we have been travelling all day.’

  ‘There is no need,’ her mother said. ‘We have a maid to assist, and the food will be…’

  A small bell sounded, and Lis and her mother entered the main space to find several maids placing food on the table. The soldier made to stand up, but her father took his arm. ‘Join us,’ he said, and the other man sat quickly.

  Her mother sat slowly beside her father, and Lis found herself beside the soldier.

  ‘Lis, this is an old friend, General Zho-Hou. Although he wasn’t so highly ranked last time I saw him.’

  The man laughed comfortably. ‘I hear you are promised to another,’ he said to her.

  She nodded slowly as she looked over the plates before her. A maid poured wine into a cup for her, and she felt surrounded.

  ‘Peng,’ she managed, wondering where to start.

  ‘May I?’ the small maid behind her asked, reaching beyond her with chopsticks to place meats and an unknown vegetable in her bowl.

  ‘Thank you,’ she whispered.

  ‘It is a shock for you to be off your island,’ General Zho-Hou said as Ting joined them. ‘The old general should bring you girls to visit more often. The Palace Isle is not what it was. Not as many visit from the other islands, unless they need to. I fear once the Choosing is complete, he will take you away again.’

  Lis smiled then. Feeling a little more relaxed, she picked up her chopsticks and started to eat. It was very good, and she lost herself for a moment in the simple joy of good food.

  ‘How long will we be here?’ Ting asked.

  ‘Do you not like it?’ he asked her.

  ‘Oh yes, I am happy to stay as long as we can, with food such as this.’

  Lis smiled in agreement and gulped at the wine, which made her head buzz.

  ‘It depends on the Choosing. If it is an easy choice, it may be over in a day. If not, it may take weeks.’

  ‘How long were we here before?’ Ting asked.

  ‘Five days,’ her father answered.

  ‘There will be some small variations from tradition,’ the general said.

  ‘What kind of variations?’ her mother asked. Lis could hear the fear in her voice.

  ‘Given the age and smaller number of girls to choose from, as well as the lack of time for training, the empress wishes to talk with each girl in private to ensure the correct choice is made.’

  Lis gulped again at her wine. ‘How many girls will line up?’

  ‘Fifteen,’ he said, his voice solemn.

  ‘So few?’ Ting asked.

  ‘It is an honour to be selected, and many families would have tried to produce a daughter for the crown prince.’

  ‘Only he died, and no one was prepared for this one,’
Lis whispered.

  The general smiled kindly. ‘No, they weren’t.’

  ‘Fifteen is not many,’ she said, looking at her father, and he nodded slowly.

  She would need to be careful. But then, she was already promised to Peng; hopefully she would be out of the running before the race started.

  General Long knew before he had even opened his mouth to ask that the emperor would deny his request. It had been twelve years since he had stood in this throne room, and nothing but the colour of the emperor’s hair had changed. Emperor Rei Shoashu sat before him on the wide, low, golden throne; bright yellow fabrics highlighting the opulence of it. The emperor himself was dressed in the deepest blue robes with silver trim. The general looked down over his own attire and brushed absently at the rough cloth of his sleeve. It was much finer material than he would have worn as a soldier, yet he felt inadequate before his emperor.

  The emperor, his hair greying by his temples, glanced across at the general but did not speak nor beckon him forth. The others in regal dress were all seen to first, and for a moment the general was tempted to step back out into the courtyard and check the sun. It would not be long before their daughters would be called to stand before the royal family. He had hoped for a quiet word, to have his daughter excused before the proceedings began. Once she was lined up with the others, he wasn’t sure what he would be able to do.

  ‘General Long,’ the emperor finally called, and the general knelt quickly on the floor before him, bowing low. ‘It has been so long, old friend. Tell me, how is your island?’

  ‘It is perfect, Your Eminence,’ General Long said softly, his eyes still focused on the highly polished boards before him.

  ‘Do not stand on ceremony,’ the emperor said. ‘Let me look you over and see which of us has aged better.’

  ‘That is certainly your luck,’ the general said, standing slowly, his knees creaking. Has it been so long since I have knelt before the emperor?

  ‘You have a daughter to present to me,’ the emperor said.