A/N: This is more of a drabble than a story but it feels complete…so there.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own anything. Except the plot maybe.
Lan Fan woke up sick that morning and did not get better as the day progressed. This was inconvenient, as this was the first day of Emperor Yao's holiday trip to the Zhang clan's ancestral hot springs. As it was expected that the twenty-six year old emperor would finally choose his first wife during this trip, and that outside of the Imperial Palace was the best time for assassins to strike, it was imperative that Lan Fan be in her best form. It was just too bad that her body was not cooperating.
Dressing for the trip that morning had been a nightmare. She had been nauseous and dizzy, so that the room spun as she sat up. This she forced herself to ignore, knowing well that she could not take the day off, but she had never known before how far her bed was from the bathroom. Twice as she applied her chest bindings she nearly threw up, and only a quick lie down managed to quell the storm in her stomach. Then, when she was finally dressed she realised that she was overheated and rather tired and had to remove her chest armour for a minute to let her body cool. But still, Emperor Yao's trip was today and no matter how unpleasantly the day began, Lan Fan's had her duties to attend.
Skipping breakfast, not that she would have been able to keep any of it down in the first place, Lan Fan arrived at the emperor's chambers just in time to greet him at the door, already surrounded by advisors and servants and other guards. Usually she would be in the room with him as soon as he awoke. This was an exception he made only for her, and she would remain at his side until late in the evening. This morning she slipped into position at the rear of the procession with a muttered, "Good morning, Your Majesty."
Against all the odds, he heard her and returned, "Lan Fan." And so their journey would begin.
The caravan that would take Emperor Yao to the Zhang lands was already awaiting his arrival at the steps of the palace entrance. Lan Fan went ahead to ensure that the guards were in position and scanned the servants' chi for any signs of unusual behaviour. Only when she was satisfied that all was well that did they begin to observe the protocol that would see the emperor off: wishing him good health and fortune, praying for a safe journey and, most important, that he would return with his first royal wife. Lan Fan was hit then with a wave of nausea so intense she had to clench her hands into fists, put her head back and take a series of deep breaths to stop herself from falling. But she did not disturb the ceremony and soon they were off.
It was nearly an hour later that it simply got too much.
Lan Fan had decided to ride at the side of the emperor's carriage, while he dined on fruit and complained loudly that it was quite hot and maybe they had better turn back. Emperor Yao knew well the expectations that he return with a wife, now in the tenth year of his reign he did not even have a concubine. The harem was instead filled with women offered by their clans to sway him in their favour, especially after he began his reign in an unorthodox fashion by not attempting to murder his siblings. They were treated quite well too. Emperor Yao was nothing if not generous, so that the women lived quite luxuriously even if he never once went to their chambers for the night. No. Instead the emperor spent quite a lot of his time in his own quarters drawing up his plans for the "New Xing", as he called it; with no one for company most nights save Lan Fan or his sister, Mei Chang. These two were closest to him than any other in the Imperial Palace and the new emperor took pains not to be parted from them for very long. And that was where the trouble started.
Lan Fan had been regretting her decision to ride the moment she got up on the horse. It was simply too high for her today, and though it was easy to conceal her flushed, sweat-drenched skin and laboured breathing under her uniform, the heat wasn't helping matters. Her fellow guard, a tall, quiet and serious young man named Guo had been slipping glances all the while so he noticed the first time she swayed in her seat.
He shifted his mount closer to hers to whisper, "Are you okay?"
Servants close by shifted away from them for privacy. As an unwritten rule, no one spoke to the emperor's guards and especially not the one in the Yin mask. He never spoke anyway and that automail arm was rumoured to have been the result of an epic battle against thirty assassins while the young emperor was a baby.
"Yes," said Lan Fan, after a moment to settle her stomach. Then she slumped over and fell out of the saddle.
Guo caught her by the hood and pulled her back up. A servant girl screamed as Lan Fan's now guide-less mount nearly ran her over, which in turn spooked the other horses and brought the entire caravan to an abrupt halt as servants and soldiers alike tried to settle them and avoid toppling the emperor's carriage. Guo dragged Lan Fan from her saddle entirely and then slid out of his to set them down. Lan Fan pushed away from him as soon as they were down and began staggering towards the bushes, first unlacing her chest armour then, when out of sight of most, slipping off her hood. She could not remove her mask, not in the presence of so many people and certainly not in front of the emperor unless he ordered her to. Or at least, that was what she kept telling herself.
No one followed her, and so Lan Fan bent over and retched. Last night's dinner, she could not remember what it was, and some wine that Emperor Yao had received from Alphonse and insisted that she taste. It was all sour and awful now, but for a few moments after she felt considerably better.
Then she heard, "Lan Fan, are you alright?"
Emperor Yao had come out of his carriage and followed her into the woods. Lan Fan spun around, surprised, and was rewarded for this move with the sight of the world spinning so that she had to grasp a nearby tree for support.
Alarmed, the emperor took a step towards her and asked, "Lan Fan?"
Lan Fan put her hand up to stop him. There were protocols to be observed at all times. No one was to touch the emperor without his permission and it would not do for him to be seen aiding one, a bodyguard for that matter, as well.
"I'm fine, Your Majesty. I just need a moment… we have to get Your Majesty to the Zhang lands," she replied.
"Lan Fan," said the emperor, suddenly stern. "You are not well. Arrangements should have been made for your replacement while you recovered at home."
Lan Fan wanted to say that it was not that bad and that she was already feeling better, but from the emperor's expression it was clear that he would not accept such a response. Instead she replied, "Your humble servant begs a thousand apologies, for my failure… and for not bowing to Your Majesty now, but I don't think I'll be able to…"
Emperor Yao studied his retainer for a long, silent moment before calling over a shoulder, "Prepare a space in one of the carriages, with a bed and water and a maid."
There was no response but immediate compliance. Lan Fan watched the servants scramble to rearrange the luggage in one of the carriages to prepare a makeshift sick bed for her. They even took care to create a screen so that she could be tended to away from view until they could get to Lady Chang, now the official Imperial Alkahestrist, personal physician to Emperor Yao, who was already in the Zhang lands awaiting their arrival.
When the carriage was ready, Emperor Yao summoned Guo to lead Lan Fan to it and followed them to see her put inside. A number of the servants around were already silently praying. It was bad luck to have one of the emperor's caravan fall ill at the start of their journey, and with no alkahestrist around to tend to her, it would be an uncomfortable journey until they got to the Zhang lands. Emperor Yao did not look so distraught; instead he looked rather contemplative as he watched, without really focussing, as Lan Fan settled into the caravan. She settled in seiza style and looked back at him and only then did he focus in the manner of someone coming to a decision. Then he summoned Guo again and said, "Do not allow anyone near this carriage until we are in the Zhang lands. If we are attacked, do not leave this position. Kill anyone who gets too close."
If Guo was surprised and confused by this, for Lan Fan and a number of others clearly were he did not show it. Instead he replied, "Your Majesty," and stepped back beside the carriage as the emperor went back to his so that they could resume their journey. Lan Fan was secretly relieved at not having to get back up on horseback again but not at all thrilled. She was the emperor's personal retainer. Her place was at his side, not in a carriage with a maid like a noblewoman. And when the carriage lurched to a start she felt her stomach roil again and would not settle until she was lying on her makeshift silk sickbed.
This was no way to greet the Zhang clan. While normally no one would care about a sick guard, they would care that she was brought to their lands instead of returned home and especially if her illness was contagious. Emperor Yao's decision to put her up in a carriage would not be looked at kindly either, though he certainly would not care about that. If anything, Lan Fan was sure that this was now part of some plan of his to manipulate the Zhang in his favour. It was not something she liked, being a pawn in the emperor's schemes, but as his servant it was her duty to serve him. Of course, at the moment she had greater concerns than being a pawn. Her sudden illness was easing, she did not feel nearly as sick as she had that morning and she was even discovering that she was rather hungry.
Taking a moment to steel her nerves, Lan Fan forced herself to sit upright. The maid reached over to assist her but Lan Fan dismissed the girl's efforts with a wave. Perhaps she'd had food poisoning, something she ate the night before not agreeing with her system though she did not make a habit of altering her diet. Situations like these were why she could not afford to. How horrible it would be if someone managed to get to Emperor Yao because his bodyguard was on the toilet!
There was not much to eat in the carriage though. In addition to the maid and the bed, Lan Fan had been left with a pitcher of water and not much else. This carriage had been chosen for it was shaded, useful for someone with an automail arm and feeling unwell but not for much else. The maid helpfully poured her cup of water right then, and Lan Fan drank it down gratefully, ignoring the taste of bile that accompanied it. Maybe when they stopped for lunch, Lan Fan would be able to get something to eat, and out of the carriage and back to her post as she was supposed to be. If her grandfather could have seen her at the moment, she certainly would be in for it. This was the second time she had His Majesty tending to her instead of the other way around.
She ignored the sound of Emperor Yao's voice in her head admonishing, "A king is nothing without his people."
And then Lan Fan felt her stomach roiling again.
She tried to ignore it at first. Lying down made it settle but it did not last long. The light-headedness returned, movement made the world spin and Lan Fan finally ripped off her mask and hood and started clutching desperately at the remaining loops to her chest armour to take it off. If her maid was surprised at the discovery that the Yin-masked guard was in fact a woman about His Majesty's age, she did not show it. Instead she helped Lan Fan free herself and loosen her hair. Lan Fan barely noticed her though, feeling very much instead as if she was going to die if she did not get out of the carriage. She simply could not stand it anymore. She needed fresh air and she needed it now.
As the maid attempted to get her lie back down, Lan Fan shrugged the girl off and reached for the curtains. The carriage came to an abrupt halt, followed by alarmed gasps and then something heavy landed on the roof and tore the curtain away to reveal the emperor peering in upside down. The maid screamed, Lan Fan started and then ducked over the back of the carriage to throw up the water she'd just consumed. A moment later though, she was up and out of the carriage and after a brief moment suspended in the air, was put to rest in a shady spot near a tree.
The emperor had broken protocol again, though no one present would speak of it if asked it was still something that he should not done. Lan Fan guessed though, that he had been monitoring her chi since she'd fallen off the horse, possibly even before that and so had sensed the moment she'd taken a turn for the worse. Then he leapt from his carriage, over the heads of his guards and the others and gotten to hers in time to spare the curtains from being washed in her vomit. If nothing else, Emperor Yao was much more athletic than his late father and though it had been ten years since the last time he was forced to display it, he had clearly not allowed himself to decline. Lan Fan could personally attest to that given she was typically the emperor's fortnightly sparring partner.
When she was finally able to speak, Lan Fan kowtowed as best she could, appealing, "Your Majesty, please forgive my insolence. I am grateful for your attention, but please, remember that we are in public and that Your Majesty has a reputation that must not be touched by scandal."
Emperor Yao sat back on a tree root as casually as if they were on a picnic and replied, "There's going to be a scandal regardless."
Lan Fan knew as much, but the attention he was giving her at the moment was only going to make it worse. And then he continued, "Especially when it starts to show and I have to pull you off duty."
Lan Fan turned around to look at the emperor wide-eyed. "M-my Lord?"
He was grinning from ear-to-ear, the happiest Lan Fan had seen him since his father announced him as Heir Apparent, as he replied, "You're pregnant."
If Lan Fan had to guess, she could figure out when it had happened.
Emperor Yao, busy with the reforms and agreements that would transform the Empire of Xing into the great nation he envisioned, had very little time for his harem or the business of finding a wife. In fact, since he had returned from Amestris and ascended the throne he'd spent much of his time keeping long hours drawing up plans and making deals. From a very young age he had developed a knack for political manipulation and he used his skills at every opportunity. If he wanted something he knew just how much pressure to apply to get it, whether it meant through violence or bribery. It was his whole life, figuring out how to make his dreams come true, and so the only time he had to relax was on rare evenings when by some divine intervention, he found himself with time to spare.
Well, that and the days when Mei Chang came in and forced him to rest, taking just that bit more pleasure out of it than she was supposed to.
On those evenings when he retired to his chambers, the young emperor of Xing had only his dutiful guard and childhood friend, Lan Fan, for company. Most of the time, the emperor was so exhausted that Lan Fan would simply watch over him until he fell asleep. Other times, he would convince her to play various games with him until he had enough and decided to go to sleep. And then there were those nights.
The first time, it was shortly after they had returned to Xing and Prince Ling Yao had been named Heir Apparent. While the entire Yao Clan had celebrated his triumph, Lan Fan had gone to her grandfather's modest home to mourn. As the retainers of the Yao Clan her family had lived comfortably on the grounds of the main estate, but their mourning was private even amidst the celebrations. Lan Fan kept to herself during the formal funeral ceremony and cremation. Her parents were already long dead and her last close relative had been her grandfather, but there were cousins, an uncle and an aunt and other relatives who now looked to her with expectations. As personal retainer of the future emperor she was to carry the family's honour with her wherever she went. When she fully realised what this meant the night after the funeral she retreated to her room and tried to shut them out, but neglecting the bedroom window she'd often used to sneak out on Young Master's insistence as a child. This was how he came in.
Lan Fan had started, genuinely surprised to see him when he should have been celebrating with the rest of the clan in the great banquet they were holding in his honour. She also should have thrown him out. The distance between them was now even greater than ever, and since she had grown into so pretty a young woman it would not do for them to be alone together anymore. Ironic really, considering how often Fu had left them to their own devices, first as children at play, and later as his confidence grew in Lan Fan's abilities and determination.
Ling had quietly stepped into the room and, taking care to keep to the shadows cast by the faint lamplight, walked over to her and hugged her. She had cried so many times before but this time felt the most desperate. Ling had said nothing all this while, just let her cry, and when she had stopped, having fallen asleep in his arms, he'd carried her to her bed. He was still there when she awoke in the middle of the night, fast asleep in a moonbeam that silvered his long, black hair and traced the outline of his jaw. When she followed it with her fingers he opened his eyes and grasped her hand to keep it there. Then, his gaze never once leaving hers, he leaned forward and kissed her.
Lan Fan had sworn to herself that she would never forget that moment, or what followed. Even if she was eventually married off to some fellow guard or low-ranked noble of the clan, she wanted to always remember the night she was simply a woman with the man she loved. It didn't even matter that he could not be there when the sun rose, or that they'd never be together again as anything more than lord and servant, just that they had been together that once.
And then it happened again after his coronation, though Lan Fan liked to attribute that to all the alcohol that had been freely flowing at the celebratory banquet. Then after that there had been a sparring session in the old training grounds of the Yao Clan on a family trip back home. He had trapped her in a corner and she had dared to try a creative distraction to get free. Before she knew it, years had passed and Emperor Yao had not yet chosen a wife, citing his heavy work schedule and any suitor arranged by her family or daring enough to approach her would find himself diverted. They had developed a pattern without having one, a relationship that neither truly acknowledged and now all of that was about to change.
"What?" Lan Fan asked, stunned, not quite sure that she had heard the emperor correctly.
"Your chi is funny," he replied. "It's not just you anymore… there's another soul there and unless we missed one, I'm pretty sure that there are no more homunculi running around. Not to mention that you're sick."
"I think that homunculus might have scrambled your senses, Your Majesty. It is not possible, I have been very careful," she replied, and blushed a deeper shade of red with each word. It had been difficult, though not impossible, to be discreet. It helped considerably though that very few knew her face.
The emperor was still grinning, confident in his assessment. He said, "We can confirm it if you like when we get to the Mei, but I know what I'm saying. You're carrying my child."
Suddenly, Lan Fan remembered that they were in a public space and that the commotion had drawn everyone's attention and she hastened to get him to lower his volume. With pointed glances back at the roadway, Lan Fan said, "M-my Lord, perhaps we can have this conversation another time…"
"Perhaps," said the emperor. "But allow me a moment to revel in the fact that I'm to become a father." Then after a moment his grin fell away and he added, "When I felt your distressed chi, I couldn't get to your side fast enough. The thought that the moment of my greatest joy could be snatched away in an instant… I could not bear it." Lan Fan looked up at him in awe, completely stunned. He continued, "All at once I could imagine a thousand terrible things, each one worse than the last. I cannot lose your or our child. I will not survive it."
This statement drew a horrified gasp from her and at the same moment she grasped protectively at her stomach. Even if neither she nor the child would be around for it, she did not want to think of losing the emperor. She made a decision then.
"You will not lose us," she replied. "I will not allow it."
He stared at her in surprise, and then grinned, "Very good." Then he stood up, clasped his hands together and said, "Well then, there's no more need for this trip!"
"What?" Lan Fan exclaimed, standing with him.
The emperor started back to the caravan, and Lan Fan hastened behind him, dropping her hand away from her stomach. He replied, "If you're carrying my heir I hardly need to marry into the Zhang clan… though I suspect they will not be pleased about this development."
"My lord… I don't think anyone should find out about this right now," said Lan Fan in a low voice.
He paused, considering, and then replied, "Perhaps not, but I have no intention of going to the Zhang lands now. It was unlucky that a vassal fell ill, we must return to the palace and choose another day."
She could not keep the scowl off her face as she said, "You will choose another day."
"Is that an order?" he asked, lifting an eyebrow at her, smiling broadly.
She ducked her head, but said anyway, "It's a condition."
He gave a loud, barking laugh at that, one that startled a bird overhead and drew more than a few curious gazes though no one moved. Then he said, "Your wish is my command, my lady."
Well, eventually anyway…