Power when it Comes

A pop of a champagne bottle went off and a cheer followed. It's been three months since Zhōng began helping his uncle. Although they weren't there to celebrate for that instead they were there to celebrate the anniversary of the Ninja Black Market. "Cheers!" cried men as they drank and partied throughout the bar.

"Who knew you could throw a party?" commented Lord Tyron to Darrius as they watched the men celebrate.

"That's because they know when they hit their limit," said Darrius.

"Yup," burped Tony as he finished his drink with some alcohol. "All thanks to these, they drank a lot then drink this and they were back to the way they were before they drank." he said holding a bottle of a potion he created. "Want to try Dual Bladed Ninja?"

Zhōng looked at his tea, then the bottle of alcohol that was placed on the table to be poured into their drinks. "I'm good, try some more experiments on it to make sure it is that effective." he said.

"Good answer," praised Uncle Tyron.

"Because that means more for us." said Darrius as he took the bottle and poured it into his tea.

"Hey, save some for me. I'll remind you I got it for us, not for yourself." said Lord Tyron, snatching the bottle out of Darrius's hand and pouring it into his tea.

"I guess there is a fire behind that beard," said Tony to Zhōng.

"You have no idea." said Zhōng, smiling at himself for all the training he had gone through over the past two months.

The party continued to roar, then suddenly stopped and was silent. Empress Wēi stood at the door with a couple of guards as well as Captain Howin and Princess Zhen. She scanned the room to see the men gave her a shock and blank stare. "Your majesty," said Lord Tyron, standing up from his table and bowing. "What can we do for you?" Empress Wēi didn't say a word, as Captain Howin and the guards came up to Lord Tyron, grabbed him, and put him to his knees.

"Hey, what do you think you are doing?" cried one of the men.

Empress Wēi turned to the man who spoke and said, "Putting him on a shorter leash."

The guards brought Lord Tyron in front of the empress. "For what means? I showed my loyalty and respect to you." he said.

"You said to me the last time we met, 'you chose your next leader'. However, have you forgotten that I or my daughter can approve or disapprove?" said Empress Wēi, the men looked at each other confused, however, Zhōng knew what she was talking about. "I simply have the power to appoint as well if I feel a more suitable someone would be better. That said, I appoint my daughter as the next leader of this market. You will return with us to the capital to teach her the business while she is on break from school."

"You can't do that," cried Zhōng as he stood up, his cowl up so no one could see his face. "You'll break the trust that he held together."

Captain Howin stared at Zhōng as Zhōng kept his eyes focused on the empress. "I remind you Dual Bladed Ninja, speaking out of turn or improperly could have you killed." he said but Zhōng didn't remove his gaze.

"Surely, you don't think there's someone better than us in this room, your majesty." said Zhōng, euthanizing the last part.

Empress Wēi looked at the boy who stood against her. With the cowl down, his eyes were cold and lifeless yet somehow there was a fire that was barely being contained. The heat was felt as everyone around them stepped away nervously. "Lord Tyron is right about you, you are scarier than a demon." she said.

"Believe me, I'm worse than you think." thought Zhōng. She was there and he was ready and prepared to fight. He reached behind his back for the Ninja Sword, though no one could see his movements due to the cowl and the cape. He felt the hilt of it and began to get a good grip before a look from his uncle stopped him. His face was concerned and worried as if he wanted him to stand down. He looked at his uncle without changing his expression on his face, but his uncle knew what he meant. With a nod of his head, Zhōng let go of the sword and sat back down returning his stare to the empress.

Empress Wēi noticed the exchange, she looked at Lord Tyron and then the Dual Bladed Ninja. With a movement of her hand, the guards took Lord Tyron away and she followed. "If you want everything to stay the same, then find me Former Prince Zhōng." she said before leaving.

Two guards and Princess Zhen stayed behind, and the men went from partying to separate conversations as they didn't want to continue with the princess around. "News of this will spread." noted Darrius as he leaned closer to keep the conversation more private.

"Can we trust these men?" asked Zhōng, scanning the room.

"One word and…" stated Tony as he drew an invisible line across his neck, he already had loaded a crossbow in his hand.

"Then all we have to do is find a way to buy more time." said Zhōng as he stared at the table where Princess Zhen sat by herself with two guards by her. Tony was about to grab the alcohol bottle before Zhōng took it from him and put it into his drink. "I'm going to need some of those," he said as he took a drink.

Two weeks went by as Zhōng and Tony went to a bar in School Town. They were meeting with some boys their age that Tony recruited. They opened the door and five boys were waiting for them inside. "I'm glad you all could make it." stated Tony as he locked the door behind them.

Zhōng flipped his cowl off, and all of them marveled at who he actually was, however, two Zhōng recognized had seen him before. "Can I trust you with this?" he asked.

"As you did during the Eight-Year War when you played with us, so shall now." said one of the two who recognized him.

"Then, I can trust you all to do this task." began Zhōng as the others got comfortable listening to him. "I need eyes and ears in the capital and all around for any traces of a rebellion. If there's a sniff, they're doing it for me, I know." The others looked confused as to why he asked for their help. "That's why I need you, barely any of you have ties to the black market or anywhere else. You could begin sparking interest and that will tell us where to look. If you hear anything, investigate it yourself." the five boys nodded with understanding and acknowledgment.

"When do we meet again?" asked one.

"All the details of our next meeting is in here," said Tony holding up a scroll. "Follow the instructions carefully and burn it once read and understood. From then on, it will be the last thing to discuss."

"Then you can count on us." said the first.

Zhōng and Tony went back to 'Old Mech? New Springs' blacksmith shop where Darrius was organizing papers as Xing was finishing making dinner. "I understand your uncle was behind but wow, he's really behind." exclaimed Darrius as Zhōng and Tony came upstairs and walked towards the table where Darrius worked.

"You should have seen it when I first started working." stated Zhōng as he took off his cloak and swords. He hung his cloak behind his chair and his swords were by him as he sat down.

"I bet you wish you were back with us." stated Tony as he looked into Lord Tyron's office.

Zhōng said nothing and went to sign the paperwork that needed to be done. "How are we doing?" he asked.

Darrius stopped organizing and rubbed his eyes. "Well this shop isn't closing anytime soon, Xing and I were able to have a very successful day. However, there's an off feeling of where this market stands." he said.

"What makes you say that, mentor?" asked Tony as he sat down.

"Well," began Darrius as he gathered his thoughts. "Our market was designed similarly to the Egyptian one. The only difference is we select our leader while the Egyptians have to rebel and place a new pharaoh if they want to change the black market. We have Zhōng's parents to thank for the details."

Tony looked at Zhōng confused, Zhōng took a sigh and said, "My mother was Egyptian, although she adapted to our customs and courtesies very quickly, I've been told she hardly was Egyptian. But I hate to think that was the reason why they arranged the marriage."

Darrius just shrugged and said, "It probably wasn't, but her death perhaps was the reason for the war." Zhōng shot his cold look as his fingertips touched the pommel of one of his swords. Darrius looked at Xing and saw her shaking then back at Zhōng. "If you kill me, you might lose more men to being secretive." he threatened.

"Don't talk about our mother that way again." threatened Zhōng back as he withdrew. "And you better be careful next time."

"Why?" asked Tony.

"Dinner is served." said Xing as she put down Tony and Zhōng's plates. The boys made room on the table as she came back with hers and Darrius' plate. Seeing how Zhōng's, Tony's, and Xing's came out, Darrius was disappointed when his plate looked a little burnt.

"Looks like no freebie." said Zhōng, Tony looked at his mentor's plate then at his. With his right arm, he put a wall up and used his utensils with his left. "Clearly you should have burnt his as well." he said to his sister as they watched Tony defend his meal. Xing snickers as they watch the two of them fight for good food. "Hopefully he gets one," said Zhōng as he signed another piece of paper.

Lord Tyron open up another letter, saw his nephew sign it and signed underneath his. "He must have help," he thought. He was in a study room with a bedroom off to the side. There were guards outside his study room and a messenger guard inside at his disposal. The door opened and entered Empress Wēi. "Your majesty," Lord Tyron stated as he stood up and bowed when she entered.

"I see you have a lot of work to do." stated Empress Wēi.

"Well my apprentice seems to be busy like always." said Lord Tyron.

"How's training my daughter?" asked Empress Wēi ignoring Lord Tyron's comment.

"She's getting it, slowly. We've finished managing the allowance given to the market."

"She doesn't need to know that, I'll have someone more suitable."

"With all due respect your majesty, having the leader do it will keep the market loyal to you."

"Otherwise they will follow the person paying them." asked Empress Wēi.

Lord Tyron nodded his head in confirmation. "The way my brother set up the black market is the market is only loyal to the person paying them while that person is loyal to the throne."

"And we both know what happened to him," said Empress Wēi. "His last idea began the civil war. Do you honestly think we can trust the rest of his ideas?"

"Our families always had conflicts that increased the gap even more. Destroy all your predecessor's work instead of reading them and deciding whether these laws are good or not, and you will have another civil war."

Empress Wēi looked at Lord Tyron in shock. "You're trying to defend him are you?" she asked. Lord Tyron said nothing and stood there in silence. "You are trying to defend your pupil, the one you took under your wing and hope he takes over for you. But I've ruined that, have I?"

"Your majesty, no one knows the black market better than me and him. We both started at the bottom and worked our way to the top. Teaching your daughter the things I've seen and done, is hard to relate to."

"And you believe he is the better choice than my daughter, someone who has experienced it? Did you not say the one who pays controls the market?" asked Empress Wēi as Lord Tyron said nothing. "I am the empress, my choices are final."

"That's the same thing my brother said to me when I gave him advice," said Lord Tyron. Empress Wēi said nothing and stormed out of the room.

Thud, thud, another half-split apple hit the ground. Zhōng spun around just in time to slice another apple in half. Tony was pulling on the strings to release the apples as Zhōng continued to practice his sword skills. While his techniques were unorthodox, they were effective. A week before the party, Zhōng challenged a swordsman to a duel. The fight lasted for an hour and ended up being a loss for Zhōng; however, no one expected the fight to last that long. Thud, thud, the last apple hit the ground as Zhōng twirled and hit something else. In front of him was the tree, it leaned to one side and fell over. "Well, twenty-six out of thirty apples slice in half. As well as your tree." stated Tony as they looked around the pile of cut apples.

"And those four were barely cut," said Zhōng, picking up a chipped apple.

"I take it we're going to need to find a replacement for the tree." said Tony as looked at the perfectly sliced-off tree.

"Yeah we should go there, I hardly broke a sweat." said Zhōng.

"Great, more apples for your sister to use." said Tony as he fished the broken strings out of the fallen tree.

"Tony, I need you to run something over to the bar on the other side of town. Truman, they need you to give them a hand." said Darrius at the backdoor.

"Can we switch roles?" groaned Tony as he knows he'll have to walk there and back.

"Are you the assistant to the leader?" asked Darrius.

"No," said Tony as they headed inside.

"Just to let you know, if I didn't have to do this, I would gladly switch." said Zhōng before he ran upstairs to get his cloak. Later that night, Zhōng was helping men with cargo transportation again. "Don't you even think about giving all this time, different guards but the same applies, give part then the rest and make sure you make it look like you are empty after that." said Zhōng as he gave one of the transport men the money. "Screw up this time, and I'll personally have your heads, got it?" he threatened. The men nodded their heads in understanding, they went to the gate and did exactly what he told them to do and they were on their way. "Better keep them on this gate for a while." he said to himself as he walked back to the shop. He pulled his cowl down just to feel the breeze of the streets better. He looked up to the dark sky and saw only one star in the black void. "It hurts being the only one." he groaned.

"What makes you think you are on your own?" asked a stranger behind him. Quickly, Zhōng pulled his cowl up, turned around and revealed his Longus as he grabbed the handle. "I'm not here to kill you." the stranger assured him.

Zhōng released his grip but his killer look didn't change. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Just someone who shares your hatred." explained the stranger.

"You don't know me." stated Zhōng.

"No, but it will be a shame if something happens to the new royal family." stated the stranger.

Zhōng looked at him confused, the news surprised him, even he wouldn't dare to storm the palace. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

The mist suddenly rolled in and the stranger began to disappear into it. "You will soon hear about it. I'll look forward to our next meeting, your majesty." he said and completely disappeared.

Zhōng's eyes widened, he knew the voice but he couldn't figure out who he was. "His cowl was up, I couldn't see his face." he said to Darrius and Xing when he got back.

"Did you recognize his voice?" asked Darrius.

"It's familiar but I don't remember who." stated Zhōng.

"Could it be a guard that protected you?" asked Xing.

"I had only one guard, very rarely did he leave my side and I had another. All of them are either dead or guards for her." said Zhōng.

"Maybe it could be," started Darrius before a slam of a door and feet running up the stairs came in.

"I found a way to get Lord Tyron." stated Tony.

"Really?" said Xing.

"How?" asked Darrius.

"A bounty on the princess's head, way more than our normal salary," said Tony.

"So why does her head… Oh, you want to bargain Lord Tyron's freedom for the protection of her daughter." said Darrius.

"Not what I had in mind, but yes that can work. Give this to the next delivery and…" started Tony.

"By then it'll be too late." interrupted Zhōng.

"But Zhōng, this is big pay." said Tony.

"Do you remember the last time?"

"Yes, I'm sorry I assume, but I didn't assume this time, we can't get Lord Tyron out with it being chaotic."

"I'm not going to let them kill her," said Zhōng.

"Zhōng, it isn't your duty to disapprove anything, that's for the empress. Your duty is to make sure it runs through. If you withhold it, you will split this black market trust more."

"Whether succeeds or fails, I have a better one." said Zhōng as he stood up and grabbed his cloak, and ran downstairs.

"Where are you going?" shouted Tony from behind.

"To beat that bird," said Zhōng, grabbing his saddle and heading out to the stable in the back.

While it may be three days by foot and stopping for short breaks and nights. On Yáo, Zhōng rode all the way, through the night and day and when evening came, the capital gates were hundreds of yards away. "Good boy," he patted his horse as he neighed to his master's praise.

Zhōng hurdled the outer wall of the capitol building he dash through the garden and across the dojo where soldiers trained. As he got to the wall of the palace he reached around his belt for a trigger. When fired, a torpedo launched with a string attached all the way up to the secondary balcony. "Thank you, Tony," he thought to himself. Swiftly he climbed the palace, passing the first deck with haste, and was halfway up when guards entered the balcony underneath him. He froze and watched as the guards scanned the area and then looked up to the palace walls. Luckily, his cloak blends into the walls of the palace. Satisfied with their search, they went back inside and Zhōng continued to climb.

He reached the secondary balcony, he scanned around to see guards were posted on the corners of the story. Using his upper muscle strength, he pulled himself up and hurdle to the roof of the balcony as he scampered carefully to the wall. He continued to climb to the third balcony, once he reached the third, he scanned again to see guards were posted on the same corners. "Too easy." he thought. He crawled over and used the shadows as his hiding place. He reached for the door using a thin-bladed knife, he cut the lock and entered the room, closing the door behind him quietly.

Inside was a bedroom, a bed off to his left with curtains, a desk just opposite of it. The door to enter was just in front of Zhōng and a door leading to the bathroom was between the main door and the bed. Inside it appeared to be lit and Zhōng heard water dripping. "Better make this fast," he thought. He dashed to the door before seeing ink and pen and paper on the desk, quickly he ran to it and started writing. "You are in danger," he wrote before hearing a faint hiss of a sword drawn.

Quickly he drew his Longus and spun around pointing the tip of the blade with one hand at the attacker. Looking at her, he noticed she had some knowledge of a sword but was caught by surprise by his movements. "Your majesty, pardon for my intrusion." he said, putting his sword down and bowed. Princess Zhen recovered quickly and pointed her tip at him as well. "You sure you want to do that, your majesty?" he asked, she said nothing, only glared. Zhōng shook his head, then with lightning speed, he used his Longus to push the tip down on the ground and with his foot pried the grip from the princess to let go as the guard hit the floor. "I did warn you."

"Guards!" cried Princess Zhen, five guards entered the room puzzled as to why. "Arrest him," she ordered. But the guards had other plans, all five were in the black market and they discovered someone wanted the princess' head for a massive price. Seeing Zhōng there, told them he was after the same reward. They launched their attack on the princess, seeing this, Zhōng grabbed the princess's hand and pulled her back behind. Within milliseconds a black blade revealed itself from his cloak as Zhōng took on all five of them and killed them all.

They fell to the floor, Princess Zhen was shocked and in awe. "You scream for guards and five just happen to be marching by with assassination tools." took a note of Dual Bladed Ninja. "Do you want to scream again or can I go?"

Princess Zhen recovered from her shock and said, "you're coming with me to speak with my mother."

"As you wish," said Dual Blade Ninja. Princess Zhen was shocked he was willing to follow her orders.

Moments later, Zhōng, Princess Zhen, and two guards enter the throne room. Empress Wēi sat on the throne that was meant to be his, he stared at her as his cold eyes began to glow. "Take his weapons," ordered Empress Wēi.

The guards began to do so before the cold stare of the Dual Bladed Ninja stopped them. "Do you want to end up like your friends?" he asked, the guards backed away, for they escorted him from Princess Zhen's room to here and saw the bodies on the floor. Empress Wēi was going to give them another order before the Dual Bladed Ninja said, "If I came here to kill, wouldn't your daughter be dead already and you be perhaps seconds away as well?"

"You came to rescue him." concluded Empress Wēi.

"As a matter of fact, yes." confirmed the Dual Bladed Ninja.

"You know, there was an easier way, considering you were able to cross both walls."

"But that way if I took it, there would be a lot more guards preventing me from escaping. The way I took, I could have your guards running around the top floors while I'll be down here freeing Lord Tyron." stated Dual Bladed Ninja.

"And if you were caught, you'll have something that could have you be let go." said Empress Wēi as she took in the details of his plan.

"The reason was not meant to be my escape."

"And yet you intrude into my daughter's room, kill five of your men and surrender so willingly. Why?" asked Empress Wēi, the events that came to be was confusing for her knowing he could still put his plan to action.

"Because I'm following her orders, to show where the loyalty lies within the black market which perhaps will disappear soon." explain the Dual Bladed Ninja.

"What do you mean?"

"Your majesty," entered Captain Howin, "we found this on one of the men." he said, handing the empress a letter with a blood stain on a corner.

Empress Wēi took it and scanned the letter reading about the reward for her daughter's death. "Guards, get my daughter back to her room and wait there until the captain and someone else relieves you."

"Wait, mother, what does it say?" demanded Princess Zhen as the guards escorted her back the way they came, leaving the Dual Bladed Ninja, Captain Howin and Empress Wēi the only ones in the throne room.

"Why did you kill your men?" asked Empress Wēi when they were gone.

"Do I need to give the explanation again? I saved her life, my reasons are my business."

"All of you will go for the gold." accused Captain Howin.

"You think all of us are for the gold?" asked Dual Bladed Ninja.

"You want something bigger for gratitude?" asked Empress Wēi.

"Let Lord Tyron go and have the black market be free to choose their next leader." demanded Dual Bladed Ninja.

"Go back the way it was before our empress orders. Her words are final and both of us heard them as with a handful of your people." stated Captain Howin, he glared at him.

"Like I said, if you don't the market to turn, then accept my demands." said Dual Bladed Ninja, returning the stare. The tension between the two men increased as the room could be warmed up just by them.

"Enough, if what you say is true, then here is your mission for you Dual Bladed Ninja." said Empress Wēi. Both Captain Howin and Dual Bladed Ninja stopped the stares and looked at her puzzled.

"You didn't have to do that." stated Lord Tyron the next morning at the stables as he prepared his horse while Zhōng helped him.

"You need to be out to prepare for the waves to come, you are the only one that has the men's trust." stated Zhōng.

"But what about you?" asked Lord Tyron, as Zhōng shot a confused and glared look. "You are at risk, don't think the captain won't keep a close eye on you."

"Even you couldn't do that." gloated Zhōng, Lord Tyron shook his head. He was set with the course of action.

"Very well," he said as he got on his horse. "Be safe."

"I will," said Zhōng and moments later, Lord Tyron took off back home. Now the days of a personal bodyguard have begun.