A/N: This is the legend behind the name Kowloon. "Gao long" or "Jiu lang" – nine dragons. I was born and raised in Kowloon (though I did move to Shatin when I was eleven, my school was still in the heart of Kowloon City).
Axis Powers Hetalia belongs to Hidekaz Himaruya.
"Emperor Bing! Please wait for us, it's unsafe to go alo…"
The young boy ignored the courtier and continued running up the sandy shore. He was tired of the rules and regulations. For the past few days, he and his brother had been shuffled along through the land, without any a word explaining why. Whenever he had tried to get information out of anyone, that same patronizing smile had been flashed in front of him, smooth words of that gentle, artificial rhythm assuring him that all was in accordance to the plan.
What plan, honestly. Bing knew that the illustrious dynasty of the Song was nearly over. Having left the capital of Li'nan, he knew, even at his tender age of seven, that the Mongolian horde was closing in upon them quickly. The whispers that carried over his head and behind his back were always filled with fear and worry.
Bing could hear the harried slaps of shoes against the ground behind him. He picked up the pace, hoping that whoever was chasing him would just get the point…
Having reached a considerable distance, the child emperor stopped for a moment, panting slightly. These thick robes truly did not suit the humid air of this region. Where was it, anyway? Bing straightened up to peer all around him.
His eyes widened in surprise. The flat expanse of water and sandy soil suddenly gave way to hills covered completely in green. The air was buzzing loudly with the noise of cicadas. A hawk suddenly swooped up from the lumpy carpet of trees, soaring freely above it all. Bing could have sworn he saw a monkey crawling away through the branches.
"Your majesty!"
Oh great, he was back. Bing stiffened in readiness as the attendant ran up to him.
"Young master should not be wandering alone by himself! What if something bad had happened to you? Where would the kingdom be?"
Bing didn't reply, but continued to look around him in interest. After a few minutes of lecturing, the courtier allowed himself to relax slightly and finally noticed the boy's fixation.
"Ahh, lovely, isn't it? Mountains surely are a nice change of scenery, Emperor Bing." The man knelt next to his tiny liege. "The old tales say that within every great mountain lives a wise and powerful dragon."
Bing perked up at this. The courtier waited as the child solemnly took in his surroundings once again, and was amused when he shook his hands out of his silk sleeves to count upon his fingers.
"…wu, liu, tsi, ba." Bing turned to the attendant and spoke with the natural air of royal authority. "There are eight mountains. Eight venerable dragons live here. We shall call it the Eight Dragon place."
The older man smiled at the boy's aptitude, but didn't agree right away. "But my lord, aren't you forgetting something?"
Bing frowned in concentration, trying to remember what would have been so important.
"It is true that there are only eight mountains. But as the Emperor, you are also a dragon. The dragon of the country. Therefore, we should call this area the Nine Dragons."
He saw from the pleased look on the child's face that he had said the right thing. The courtier reached out a hand towards him and gestured back towards the boats.
"Come now, sire. We'll be having our midday meal soon. Shrimp and pork congee, I hear."
Bing nodded, satisfied, and together, they left the newly christened Nine Dragons.
That night, everyone in the royal camp slept soundly. On the other side of the mountain ridge, however, eight souls were wide awake.
The dragons' lithe bodies rippled through the hot air, growling softly as they weaved in and out through the trees. Birds and monkeys scuttled out of their way as the magical beings arrived at their meeting place.
One of them, a stout fellow with a pointed crest, grunted softly. "Royalty, eh? You heard what that kid said?"
Another, more sleek and snake-like, spoke up. "Eight dragons. Pretty perceptive for such a young one."
"But that courtier," rumbled the largest and oldest of them all. "What a sycophant. Boosting his ego by telling him he's a dragon! The nerve…"
"Don't worry," soothed his friend. "It's true that an emperor should be a dragon for his people. He's just a child, anyway."
"Where is Fei?" demanded yet another dragon. "He should have known we were meeting tonight."
No sooner had the words left his mouth when the last beast came flying through the air, scales glittering in the moonlight. The newest dragon landed without a sound, shaking back his head in a carefree manner.
"Where have you been?" Exhaled the previous speaker, blinking sternly at him in the darkness.
"The boy said nine dragons, so I had to make it so," Fei replied mysteriously. Dong noticed that his left claw was loosely curled and stepped forward to investigate.
Fei saw this action right away and chuckled. Unfurling his claws, the dragons were all revealed to a tiny baby nestled in the tough skin. Faint wisps of dark hair scarcely covered the newborn scalp. A tranquil, neutral expression was spread across his face.
"The ninth dragon," Fei announced. "May he grow in strength and intelligence. Put this place on the map, child. Let the world respect the uniqueness that you will hold. There is turmoil and trouble in store for you, but you will never have fear of becoming another mere conquest. Because you, Kowloon-Hong Kong, will have the supporting power of eight dragons, and there will never be another like you."
A/N: I know that the original treaty of Nanking said that only Hong Kong Island would be ceded to the British, but I don't want to make a Kowloon OC (as much as I find the idea endearing) because it'd get confusing. Even now, people mean the entire region when they say Hong Kong, so that should apply to the character.
Since he'd be coming in from the North, I had Bing and the royal entourage stopping at Shatin, where it would have been the side of a large bay all those years ago. We've drained it since then into what's known as the Shing Mun River (pfft, river…it's a polluted ol' canal that only daring kayakers and Dragon Boat racers willingly touch). My family lives very close to it in Fo Tan, and in high school I actually lived at its side in Sha Tin Wai.
The dragons actually correspond to a mountain in the range, but they mostly have British names which they wouldn't have used then. Fei is for Kowloon Peak's Chinese name.
Uhh, so. Back to studying for my final, which has absolutely nothing to do with Chinese history!