The Calm

For the first time, Tianshi Xue woke up without thinking that she wanted to murder the third prince. And for the first time, he was still in the room.

"It's early, go back to sleep," he said as he was buttoning his uniform. He was on his way out of the closet when he spotted her with her eyes open.

"I don't think I can sleep more. The emperor said that today's activities will start early."

Prince Qui's Linker flashed through the screen and confirmed what the princess said. "Well, I'm off to a meeting. I'll see you in a couple of hours."

She didn't answer and went to the bathroom. She was already done with her bath when Howin came in. Her dress for the day closely hugged her figure. It was tight like a second skin before it bellows into a long skirt and train by her knees.

"Breathe in, Your Highness," Howin said and pulled at the laces on the back.

"I really hate this," she muttered but held her breath. "I can barely move in this dress."

"We have a lot of foreign visitors today. It's the latest fashion in some of their land."

Tianshi Xue only rolled her eyes before leaning on her table to apply some light make-up on her face. "I look like a bird," she remarked as she noticed that the side of her dress had the design of feathers. The rest of it was in blue.

"Why, a crane, of course, Princess." Howin beamed. "It's the symbol of the Yang family."

She was about to comment that the royals were absorbing her too much in the family that even her clothes meant that she represented them. But then Howin pulled a few boxes from the side and when she opened them, she saw the small stones on the inside in the color of Shanmai Empire.

Howin wrapped the long strands of beads on her arms, her wrists, then her ankles.

Alright, she told herself. It's going to be hard to move around today.

Howin then pulled her hair and tied some of it on the back. "May I, Your Highness?" She was holding the pin that Prince Qui had given her.

Tianshi Xue only nodded and Howin pinned it to her hair.

====

"You seem to be in a good mood," said the prince when she entered his field of vision. When he saw the small smile on her face, he knew that he did the right thing the night before. She just needed to know that there were people on her side.

The princess finally realized that he was not the enemy here. That they could be friends—no, not friends… ALLIES! That they could be allies in this situation.

"I'm really hungry actually," she said. 

As the emperor promised, the festivities started early. Breakfast was an event with multiple courses. They greeted their guests with as much energy they could muster before they were allowed to eat.

They were asked to supervise an archery competition afterwards. They sat in the shades while the rest of the people suffered under the sun—not that they noticed when they were so engrossed with the competition.

"Do you think you can teach me to do just that?"

Prince Qui's head faced the princess. Her eyes were intent on the game. As far as his knowledge goes, the princess had never been fond of any sport. She preferred to be indoors and be amongst her books and teas.

"Sure," he answered.

"Do you think you can do better than them?"

Prince Qui's mouth opened wide with a laugh. "When I'm done teaching you, you'll be able to hit your target while you're on a galloping horse."

The princess seemed to be satisfied with his answer as she smiled widely at him before turning her attention back to the archers. Prince Qui hated that her smile sent a warm feeling on his chest. Like he had just drank hot water on a snowy day. He cleared his throat, convincing himself that it was just the heat.

After lunch, along with some of their visitors, they walked around the temporary market. A guide had been with them who told their rich history to their guests.  Before dinner, they were allowed a few hours of rest away from the people. 

"Don't you have anything better to do?" she asked him as she climbed on the bed.

"I don't want to walk around and get stopped asking where you are," he replied, already looking through his Linker on the couch. His had a function that let him receive reports from security. They were still expecting a lot of guests. "Are you sleeping in that?"

"I'll be very still," the princess answered still clad in her long gown. "It's too much of a hassle to remove everything and put them back on again."

"Suit yourself," he said and examined the list of people. Their gates had been open since dawn. Everyone had been accounted for in their system.

But if Prince Qui knew anything, it was in these moments that he should keep a closer eye on everything.

He was going to hope for a night filled with champagne and good food, laughter and just good times, but he knew that it was impossible.

It was always in the calm where chaos starts.