Chapter 1: This Princess Is Only Trying to Live!

The Empress Dowager’s birthday banquet came to a close just before sunset. Guests in elegant robes dispersed in their carriages one after another, until only a single palanquin remained. As minutes turned to an hour, the sun finally sank below the horizon. The half moon shone brightly between the clouds, and the chill of early spring caused the servants and guards stationed around the palanquin to shiver.

The maids exchanged worried glances as an hour passed. But they soon sighed in relief as a raucous voice echoed across the courtyard.

“Don’t worry, everyone! I’m coming!”

A slight figure hurried down the steps of Langtliv Palace, her shoes barely touching the ground with each step. Long, chestnut colored hair bounced behind her in soft waves, having come free of the intricate style her maids had prepared for her just hours before. The young woman’s cheeks were flushed by the time she leapt from the bottom step.

The waiting entourage bowed and greeted the woman: “Your Highness.”

“We’re going to the ancestral hall,” Princess Aeli panted as she stepped onto the palanquin. She sat down, clutching a small, lacquered box in her lap. The sweet smell of baked goods wafted out of the box, making the palanquin bearers’ mouths water as they exited the gates of the Empress Dowager’s residence.

Aeli parted the curtains to look out over the palace grounds. She knew every bit of it by heart, from the well-manicured plum trees to the quiet ponds and pavilions. But every so often, her eyes couldn’t help but wander past the flowering tree branches to the grand wall lurking in the distance. Past the palace gates was a world she was wholly unfamiliar with, but one which she would soon come to know.

The ancestral hall wasn’t far from the Empress Dowager’s residence. Aeli stepped down from the palanquin and called for her maids to light the lanterns. The dark hall became spotted with soft yellow light, casting tall shadows against the walls as Aeli flitted down the rows of memorial plaques.

“Mother! Father!” she called lightheartedly, stopping in front of a pair of wooden plaques at the back of the hall. Her maids came forward to light a stick of incense while she placed the lacquered box on the altar.

“I’ve brought you some treats from grandmother’s birthday banquet,” she said, opening the box to reveal an assortment of delicate pastries and candies. “I partook in a few of them on the way here, but this daughter is reliable and remembered to save some for her elders!”

The maids sighed internally, thinking the Empress Dowager had indeed spoiled this granddaughter of hers.

Aeli knelt on a prayer cushion laid out before the altar, bowing her head until her nose touched the cold marble floor. The hall was silent, the scent of sandalwood slowly permeating the air. It had been a few days since the cicadas had crawled out of the thawed earth, and their sharp song could be heard rising up outside.

Minutes passed and the princess remained kneeling properly, painting an image of a beautiful and pious daughter. The maids stood behind her with their heads bowed, hearts swelling with an unexpected pride.

It seemed this princess of theirs was finally growing up!

But soon enough, the maids’ joyful expressions melted into those of suspicion. A few more minutes went by before they could take it no longer. They stepped forward and gently tapped the princess’s shoulder.

“Your Highness?”

Upon being prodded, the young woman fell over onto her side with a light groan. Her eyes were shut, breaths long and even as her maids stared down at her with twitching eyebrows.

Sure enough, this princess had fallen asleep!

“Your Highness, you mustn’t sleep here.” One of the maids shook her a bit more forcefully, rousing the shameless loafer from her slumber. Aeli’s eyes fluttered open and she lifted her head to look around.

“Ah, I must’ve knelt for so long that I fainted,” she said, genuinely impressed with herself.

The maids were dumbfounded.

Fainted?! Is it possible to faint from kneeling for just a handful of minutes?!

Aeli yawned lazily before motioning for the maids to help her stand. As they guided the princess out of the hall, her head suddenly snapped up.

“Wait!” Aeli said, pulling them to a stop. “Go back and collect the pastries. They’re cold already, so Mother and Father won’t enjoy them. You can share them amongst yourselves when we return.”

The maids were stunned by this, hesitating even as they exchanged tempted glances. Seeing they weren’t going to move, Aeli began to sway on her feet dramatically.

“Hurry, before I faint again!” she groaned. “Oh, I can feel it coming on…”

At this, two of the maids stepped forward to support the princess while the other hurried back into the hall to retrieve the box of pastries.

Once back on the palanquin, Aeli’s eyelids truly couldn’t stay open. Her head kept falling forward, and each time she barely managed to catch herself before her face met the front panel.

She was considering curling up in a ball on the floor when one of the guards’ voices called her from outside.

“Your Highness,” he said. “It seems the prime minister’s son sent a letter earlier today.”

Aeli’s eyes snapped open at this. She sat up straight, wondering if she’d fallen asleep and gotten caught up in a dream.

Her betrothed had sent a letter?

The man hadn’t given her so much as a glance since the emperor had announced their engagement several months ago. Each time Aeli sent him a letter, the messenger had returned empty handed. She’d begun to think the man was unhappy with his engagement to her, but she knew that couldn’t be the case. She was the emperor’s only niece and the Empress Dowager’s beloved granddaughter.

And she was a beauty at that!

Could it be that the prime minister’s son had finally realized his love for her? Had he been impressed by the poems she’d sent? Or the flower arrangements she’d made for him?

Aeli clasped her hands together with a grin.

“Quickly, bring me the letter!” she ordered. “Lower us down, and someone bring a candle!”

But those outside didn’t seem to hear her, as the palanquin remained frozen in place. Aeli lifted a hand to part the curtain when suddenly a violent jolt shook the palanquin and nearly threw her from her seat. She managed to catch herself, bracing both hands against the wooden panels on either side.

“W-what’s going on?” she cried as the palanquin lurched to the side once more. Chilling screams could be heard just outside the curtain, and her heart began to pound against her ribs. The sharp sound of metal clashing surrounded the palanquin on all sides.

Then, all at once, the world forcefully pitched to the right. The side of the palanquin crashed against the ground in a mess of splintering wood. Aeli’s head struck the side panel with a crack. Pain exploded behind her eyes, and the taste of iron coated her tongue. Her vision blurred as she lifted her head to scan the darkness.

The palanquin’s only exit had landed face-down against the stone walkway. There was no way for her to escape. A small whimper escaped her throat as she pushed and kicked at the opposite wall.

“Help me!” she cried, feeling as if the walls were beginning to close in around her. Her lungs couldn't take in enough air, and her heart felt like it was going to burst through her chest.

Aeli gasped for breath, continuing to kick weakly. The screams outside had died down, as had the sound of clashing metal. The night was still once more, and even the cicadas’ song had fallen silent. All Aeli could hear was her own heartbeat in her ears.

She strained her neck to look through a gap in the wood, but her view was blocked by a heap of coarse fabric. It took her a moment to register the form of a person within those familiar robes. The moon just barely illuminated the smooth surface of a small, lacquered box tucked into one of their blood-soaked sleeves. Aeli covered her mouth, trembling as she fought the urge to vomit.

Moments later, another crash came from above, raining splinters of wood down on her head. Yellow light spilled into the palanquin, illuminating the small space and the young woman curled up within. Her originally rosy complexion was now deathly pale, a stark contrast to the vivid red blood smeared across the side of her face.

Aeli blinked up at the light above her, making out a blood-spattered hand holding a paper lantern with a strange symbol inked onto the side. No matter how much she squinted, she couldn’t make out the face of the person staring down at her.

The man spoke, his voice low and unfamiliar.

“My apologies, Princess.” His words were punctuated by the sound of a blade being drawn from its sheath. “You can blame the Empress Dowager for this night.”

“Please!” Aeli wept, her tears creating trails through the blood on her face. She was trembling so hard it shook the palanquin around her, the wood groaning pitifully. “Please. I’m so scared–”

Her plea was cut short by a flash of steel, cold and swift across her throat.

Warm blood flowed, then quickly turned cold.

And the world fell away.

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Author’s Note:

First time writing a main character with approximately three brain cells. Wish me luck!

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