Ivan could barely keep his eyes open. Emperor Wuzhou was telling them how they should act when talking to a young woman. Or what utensils to use when dining. Even King Arthur's II lectures were much more entertaining. He looked over from his uncomfortable seat on the floor to Leon who seemed equally bored. Though it was hard to tell. His ever-still face rarely changes but his eyes contrasts to his emotionless face. Ivan had notice one's eyes show more emotion than any other feature. And now those eyes dulled with boredom.

"And that's it! Any questions?" the emperor turned and faces the two princes. Both of them remained silent. None of them wanted to hear another lecture from him.

"Well, then I trust you to pick the prefect bride next week!" the emperor smiled proudly "China is full of beautiful women and Beijing is has the most beautiful of all beauties! You'll find a bride in no time!" Thinking that bore into their minds, he left the room, pride shining brighter than the sun.

"Are you going to find a bride?" Leon muttered stoically.

"Hmm…..no. I'm not interested in marriage. You?" Ivan responded, surprised that the other actually spoke

"Maybe….I would…but probably not." With that he left the room, leaving Ivan alone.

I don't believe all of this "beauty" nonsense. I'll see these ladies myself. Ivan promised himself.

With that, he walked back to his room to change.

At the Marketplace….

"Ah…excuse me….sorry…hey!" Yao could barely walk past anyone without getting his foot stepped on. Of course many people would be here. It took a long time for the city to be decorated with lanterns and firecrackers. Especially since they had guests, the royal family wanted the capital to look like where two immortal lovers would meet after a year's separation. So of course it had to look beautiful! But Yao wasn't here to help decorate the city or his house. He had to perform for the emperor and his guests. Although he wanted to stay home at this time of year, the emperor had offer a large payment for his performance.

But Yao wasn't upset because he had to leave the sanctuary of his home; it was because he has to sing for them! Although Yao loved to sing, he only sang for his little sister only her. Unlike Mei, these foreigners might tell other rulers from the West about his talent and he might end being taken from his home and working for them! No….no….no! Yao couldn't let that happen! What if when he leaves, Mei brings a boy home? What if the boy gets her pregnant and leaves her because of that?!

Immediately, Yao shook that thought away and tugged at his cloak hood. I'll just sing quietly, they won't hear me and I'll let my voice drown in the music. Yao promised himself and held on to his erhu. With new confidence rising up, he walked head high to the palace.

Knock knock knock. Yao couldn't help but grow impatient. Didn't the emperor tell him to be here at around sunset? Yao turned to look at the setting sun. Yes he was on time. Yao turned back and continued to knock. So why wasn't the gate opening? Just as Yao was about turn around and leave, the gate swung open.

"Who are you?" the guard who opened the gate bellowed.

Whispering his name to the guard, Yao asked him to escort him to where he was supposed to perform. The guard and Yao closed the gate and Yao was lead to the dining room. Although he had been at the palace before, Yao would always marvel and it's beauty. Red columns filled the main room and the ceiling lined with gold and paintings of Dao gods. And of course in the center of it all is the gold throne of the emperor.

Yao only had a brief second to see all of this before he was pushed into the dining room. The dining room wasn't as grand as the main room but it was fit for an emperor. Yao immediately sat the chair provided for him.

"The emperor will be here soon." the guard bowed and left the room. And Yao was alone.

He carefully set his erhu next to his seat and opened folded sheets of music. Of course he knew new how to play this songs by heart, he had a bit of trouble remembering some small parts. Although the music sounded good anyway, Yao strived for perfection. Mistakes bothered him and there's no exception. Mei has made fun of his proud, over-achiever attitude but he couldn't care less. This trait runs in the family, so he'll have the last laugh anyway…..

Carefully tuning his instrument, he kept an eye away from his task and focused on walls of the hallway, making sure that there wasn't a hint of moving shadows anywhere. Yao wanted to look professional and didn't want the foreigners to think all Chinese musicians were unprepared. And that included looking like an amateur only recently learning how to tune a small instrument. Finished with his task, Yao could barely relax when the emperor and his guests arrived. Standing up from his seat and setting his instrument down, Yao kowtowed down to the royals.

"Good evening Emperor Wuzhou." he said politely.

The emperor nodded in response. As Yao stood up, he bowed towards the foreigners and Wuzhou introduced his companions.

"As you know, these young men are from the West and sons of powerful rulers. This is Prince Leon of England." the emperor gestured to the teenager. When Yao took a good look at him, he gaped in surprise. This boy doesn't look like the "white ghosts" from the West. He looked… Chinese.

"Um…sorry for asking but… Prince Leon are you Chinese?" Yao felt uneasy asking a prince such a causal question but his curiosity took control.

"Yes." Leon said bluntly "I am from China but I was orphan and adopted by my father, King Arthur."

"Oh I was wondering you looked Chinese." Yao replied.

"Gee….haven't heard that one before." Leon rolled his eyes at the comment. Everything was silent again until Wuzhou cleared his throat and continued to the other young man.

"And this… is Prince Ivan of Russia." He gestured over towards the beige-haired man.

"Ni-hao Prince Yiwan….oh I'm so sorry! I'm not very good at pronouncing names aru!" Yao tried to hide his embarrassment from not only mispronunciation but also for throwing in his occasional "aru". It was an old habit of his and like they say, "old habits die hard".

"…Aru? What does that mean?" Ivan had ignored the odd, but cute, way Yao had said his name and focused on his strange accent.

"O-oh….it's just an old habit of mine. It slips occasionally." Yao managed to stop the "aru" from slipping out again by biting his tongue.

Ivan looked at the petite Chinese man. Eyeing him from head to toe, he found this "Yao" person very intriguing. With his small frame and politeness, he was much different than the men Russia. Although he had seen his people with black hair and brown eyes, it wasn't very often. It made Yao seem all more exotic. And his eyes weren't brown either. They glowed with an amber light and had a kind shine to them. And Yao's skin is pale as the snow in his home. But not like in an ill way. The smooth skin canvas shone in the moonlight that seeped through small, ancient cracks in the palace.

If all people in China were like this, maybe this marriage thing wouldn't be too bad.

"Um… is there something wrong?" Ivan snapped out of his thoughts when Yao spoke.

"Ah… no. I was thinking about how pretty you look!" Ivan smiled in amusement as Yao's eyes widen in shock. Not taking this lying down, Yao snapped at the prince's "compliment".

"Well I assure you I am a man!" realizing what he done, Yao bowed in apology "I'm sorry….I'll just go back to my seat…."

As Yao played his erhu the royals began their dinner. Piles of food arrived and kept them fed while Yao could only sit and watch them eat to their hearts' content. Yao envied them. While they probably never even worried about not having enough to eat, Yao and Mei would face the threat of starving. This was why he would always take any offer of extra money but only if it was enough to keep him and Mei fed.

Shaking his head and focusing back on his job, Yao started playing a song he memorized. The words buried in his heart and the song was all too similar….

Xiǎo báicài ya, dì li huáng ya

Sān liǎng suì shàng ya méiliǎo niang ya

Gēnzhe diēdiē, hái hǎoguò ya

Jiù pà diēdiē qǔ hòu niáng ya

Qīn niang ya, qīn niang ya

Qǔle hòu niáng, sān nián bàn ya

Shēng gè dìdì bǐ wǒ qiáng ya

Dìdì chuān yī língluó duàn ya

Wǒ yào chuān yī cū bùyī ya

Dìdì chī miàn, wǒ hē tāng ya

Duān qǐ wǎn lái lèi wāngwāng ya

Qīn niang ya, qīn niang ya

Barely concealing his tears, Yao stood to leave.

"Excuse me. I must leave now."

"Oh wait!" the emperor stood "I forgot your payment! Please stay and feel free to take some leftovers home!" Wuzhou left, leaving Yao and Ivan alone. Leon had left earlier so no one was around to break the awkward silence in the air.

As Yao began taking some leftovers, a weird feeling passed over him. Looking up, violet and amber clashed.

"Excuse me, is there something you need?" Finally breaking the silence, Yao continued to pack, hoping for the emperor come in and dismiss him….. No luck.

"You're interesting. I never met anyone who took one look at me and didn't shrink away…well my little sister is an exception."

"Well I'm not your subject or will I ever be. So I won't submit to you." Yao kept his head up high and didn't show any sign of intimidation.

"Aw…Yao-Yao is so mean~."

"Who said you can call me Yao-Yao?"

"I'm a prince I can do what~" Ivan's child-like demeanor annoyed Yao. Doesn't he know this isn't going help him? Yao ignored him and continued finishing taking the meal.

An odd sound echoed through the halls. Nervous, Yao looked around hoping it was just someone walking into the dining room. The sound got louder….and louder….and louder.

"Y-Yiwan….do you hear that?" Yao looked over at the prince, who didn't seem to be affected by the noise.

"Da."

Before Yao could start panicking, a woman came into the room. She had a bag with her and carried a letter in her hand.

"Little brother!" the woman ran towards Ivan and the sound came. Uncomfortably, Yao noticed to the source of the noise came from the woman's unusually large chest. Ignoring it, Yao unintentionally eavesdropped on their conservation.

"This letter is for you…it's from…" her widened as she leaned in and whispered the sender's name in Ivan's ear. A look of fear passed on both of their faces. Now who could be terrifying enough to wipe Ivan's childish smile off his face?

Eventually, the woman turned and gave Yao the bag. It was heavy with coins.

"Wuzhou wanted me to give you your payment since I was heading here anyway. You must be Yao. I look forward to hearing you play again. I heard your music from my room and you are very talented." the woman smiled kindly. She was nice and had a motherly aura around her, unlike her brother who seemed cruel.

Yao couldn't help but smile at the woman. He immediately liked her, she reminded him of his mother. Ivan cleared his throat and both turned to look at him.

"Katyusha, can you see if there was anything else for me?"

"B-But there wasn't an-"

"Now." Ivan's voice hid an annoyed tone.

"…A-Alright" Turning around, she smiled at Yao; "I hope to see you again." Then she left.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Yao turned and began scolding Ivan.

"You shouldn't treat your sister like that. She's a very nice lady and you shouldn't call her by her name." although he knew he shouldn't boss a prince around, Yao's big brother attitude took over his logic.

"Katyusha doesn't mind. She doesn't care."

"But still she may not always be with you." Yao always valued family and didn't like it when people took their families for granted.

"What are you talking about? She left her husband in Ukraine to help me. She's always there for me."

"That is why you should care for her more. I must leave now. Goodbye." Yao left with his chin up.

Holding on to his erhu, Yao hoped this is the last time he will ever see Ivan ever again….

Author's Note: The song Yao was singing is called "Little Cabbage". Basically it's about a girl who lost her mother. Here's the English translation(note that this isn't perfect):

Little yellow cabbage

Lost mother at two or three

Dear Mother! Mother!

Peach flowers blooming,

Almond flowers falling,

Tears coming down,

Mother, how I miss you!

Dear Mother! Mother!