Engagement

Chapter One:

"Li! Li, where are you?" called Mai Jin as he wandered through the streets in search of his wayward daughter. "Excuse me," he said, stopping by an old woman who was making baskets on the side of the street, "you haven't by chance seen my daughter, have you?" The woman looked up at him, a brow raised. "She is wearing calf-length pants, her hair is down and she's barefoot...she's with the Qiao sisters..." he trailed off as the woman nodded profusely. She pointed down the street.

"Thank you!" Mai Jin said, then he tossed a coin to the woman and ran off down the street. The old woman shook her head as she watched him.


"Da! Xiao! This way!" Mai Li called, leading Qiao Da and Qiao Xiao into a shop filled with fans of all kinds.

"Wow!" Xiao exclaimed upon entering. Her older sister, Da, smiled at her younger sister's exuberance.

"These are such beautiful fans, Li, how did you ever find this shop?" Da asked her friend.

"I just sort of stumbled on it one day when Father let me explore the marketplace while he was selling his goods," Li replied, shrugging. "I knew you two would love it, and thought maybe you could get some really nice fans to use. I asked the shop owner and he said that he could easily make some that would befit the beautiful Qiao sisters."

Mai Li and the Qiao sisters had become fast friends at a young age when Li's father had brought her to the Qiao residence to become a companion to the lonely girls. Li was an only child of a fairly wealthy farmer, and her mother had died when she was very young. Being the only thing left of his beloved wife, Mai Jin had allowed his daughter much freedom. Now that she was sixteen, however, Mai Jin somewhat regretted the freedom he had allowed his daughter, for she was wild and impulsive, never one to settle down into the quieter ways of women.

In fact, she had quickly developed a fascination for swordplay through displays seen at the market when Mai Jin delivered his goods. In order to keep her away from the dangerous weapons, he had been forced to allow her to take up knife fighting at the Qiao residence. Since the Qiao sisters were themselves learning to be proficient with weapons–their weapon of choice being twin fans–it hadn't seemed to be such a bad thing. It kept her out of trouble, at least.

Alas that Li was very quick to learn and soon became expert at close combat, throwing, and anything else the tutors could teach her. She was a very strong girl, and comfortable in her skin (so long as she was in leggings and not a dress), which made her movements sure and graceful. She was forced to leave combat with fans to her friends, however, when it was discovered that she had no aptitude with those weapons. It was highly recommended that she take up a sword, but Mai Jin would not let her, thinking swordplay much too masculine for his daughter. Since when did girls use swords, anyway?

When the Qiao sisters had ordered themselves each a new pair of fans out of their allowance, the trio of girls left the shop and nearly ran into Mai Jin. "Father!" Li exclaimed. "What's going on?"

"Ah, Li, I've finally found you! Qiao Da, Qiao Xiao," he said, bowing to the sisters. "Your father wants you home immediately–there is an envoy from Lord Sun Jian."

"A royal envoy?" Li asked, excited at the thought. There would be soldiers in that caravan!

"Yes," her father replied, "and don't think I don't know what you're thinking! You are to be clothed like a proper lady before any of Sun Jian's people gets a glimpse of you!"

"Mai Li can borrow one of my dresses, Mai Jin," Da said, bowing slightly to Jin. "We are close enough in size. Xiao and I would be honored if you would allow your daughter to meet the envoy with us."

Mai Jin was torn, but the calm words of Qiao Da swayed him in the end. Knowing what the envoy's purpose was, he realized that he might never see his daughter again, but she would have a better life if she were to go live in the capitol. With any luck, she would even learn to be a lady.

He bowed, and then led the way back to the market where they had left their horses. The Qiao sisters mounted their shared horse, and Mai Li mounted her father's old war horse. Though the horse hadn't seen battle in several years, he still had fire in him. She bade her father farewell, and the trio rode off.

They took the trail that led to the rear of the Qiao residence rather than the more straightforward road so that the caravan would not see them before they were ready. None of them wanted to be seen by the royal envoy dusty from the ride and the market–except, perhaps, Mai Li.

When they came within sight of the Qiao residence, they dismounted and walked the two horses quietly up to the back gate where a steward was always posted in case of just such an event. The man immediately took the horses to be fed and watered, and the girls slipped into a servants' entryway and hurried up to the Qiao sisters' chambers.

"Oh, Da," Xiao said excitedly, "what if Lord Sun Jian wants you to marry one of his sons?"

Da was very quiet, and Li could see that her friend's skin was paler than usual. Xiao, being younger and more immature, seemed not to notice and kept talking about marriage and royalty as they all cleaned up and Da picked out a dress that would fit Li, who was slightly taller than Da herself.

"Do you think you can handle these?" Da asked, her voice barely above a whisper as she held out a pair of slippers. "They were made a little too big for me, but they shouldn't be too bad a fit for you."

Li made a face, bringing a tiny smile to Da's lips. Li hated wearing girly clothes, and they all knew it.

Though she hated getting dressed up, she understood the necessity of it now, so she took the slippers and put them on. They only pinched her toes a little, thank the good gods, and she thought she could walk in them.

"There's no time to fix your hair," Xiao said, and handed Li a brush, "so this is the best we're going to be able to do."

Li smiled at the exuberant Xiao and brushed out her long glossy black hair until it shone blue in the light. Once brushed, Li quickly tied it in a knot at the nape of her neck to keep the wealth of it out of her face. Da then handed her a fan that complemented her dress and eyes. Unlike Da and Xiao, whose eyes were a beautiful amber hue, Li's eyes were so dark they looked black.

Finally, they were all ready. Flipping their fans open, they filed out of the room with Da in the lead and Li at the rear.


Alrighty, prequel begun...This will almost definitely not be very long...5 chapters at most, I think, but what do I know? I'm only the writer, after all...the story will decide how long it needs to be. Hopefully this helps some of the confusion with the other story. Some feedback would VERY much be appreciated, and any reviews I do get I will reply to in the next chapter. So, any questions any of you have will be answered, and comments replied to. Thanks!