Lien's eyes snapped open. By then, she'd adjusted to the darkness enough to see a small bowl of rice on the floor in front of her. Her stomach growled and she remembered that she hadn't eaten more than an apple since the morning of her abduction. It was beneath her dignity. But the pain couldn't be ignored any longer. She leaned down, even as her back protested, and fed from the bowl like an animal. The rice was cold mush, squishing between her teeth. She struggled to swallow.
Tears streamed down her cheeks yet she forced herself to keep eating. She needed to maintain her strength for her escape. Whenever that would be. If she didn't know what lay beyond the door, she couldn't prepare for it. Not that it mattered. The worst that would happen is they would kill her a few weeks sooner.
She choked her way through the final mouthfuls of rice then leaned back on her calves. They didn't register that her weight had settled back on them. It felt like she was sitting on someone else's legs rather than her own. With a grimace, she threw herself to the side, bashing her shoulder on the stone floor. But mercifully, she managed to keep her head off the ground. The last thing she needed was a brain injury. There was still a dull throbbing where she'd hit it earlier.
Unbearable tingles shot through her legs as soon as the pressure was off of them. Ticklish and stinging and so heavy she couldn't move them on her own. She fought back the urge to cry out. Of course, she'd experienced this before – reading in her bedroom in one position for too long – but it had never been this intense. And regaining feeling only made it worse. She allowed herself a low, drawn out groan. Head tilting back, whole body tensing until the tingling finally subsided. Like a million bugs crawling out of her skin and scuttling down between the cracks in the tiles.
For a minute, she just lay there, motionless. Then she rolled onto her back. Well, she wasn't quite able to manage it with her tied hands in the way. But she took the pressure off her bruised shoulder, at least. She stretched her legs out, flexing her ankles and feet. Her knees creaked like unoiled hinges.
As she worked the strain out of her leg muscles, she let her mind wander. She didn't think about anything in particular. But she needed the distraction from her dismal odds of survival. Mind flying between revisiting memories with Jing Fei and creating scenes from a happy ending with Zhao. If she ever made it out alive… She shook herself out of her imagination.
"Come on, focus," she whispered. "I have to get out of here."
She rolled back onto her side and shoved herself into a sitting position with her elbow. The movement caused the ropes to dig into her wrists. From there, she struggled to get back to her knees, but once she did, she crawled across the room to the door. The skirt of her gown tore from sliding across the uneven ground. Its ripping sound gave her an idea.
Reaching the wall, she pressed her back to it, searching for any rough edges. It took her a few minutes, but eventually she found a section where the wall had caved in a bit. The cave-in left the edge of one of the floor tiles exposed. She pressed the rope against it and pulled it back and forth. If she was lucky, she would be able to sever her bonds. Her hands would be a vital part of her escape. But she knew she could do it with just her legs as long as no one tried to stop her. The notion made her laugh – a pitiful sound, more like a cough than an expression of joy. She had to be guarded.
What could she do about that? How would she get around them? And even if she could get by them, she had no idea where she was. She could have been taken out of the capital. Would she ever find her way home?
"Hello?" She raised her voice so it could be heard through the thick wooden door. Maybe a guard would take pity on her. "Please, I…" The idea struck her like Feng Mian's open palm. "I need to use the bathroom."
"There's a bucket in the corner." Came the gruff reply.
"Excuse me? Sir, I am a lady," she said. She stopped trying to cut through the ropes adorning her wrists and turned all of her energy towards her current strategy. "Please take me to the proper facilities."
"Can't. Lady Feng Mian's orders."
She scowled. After a few calming breaths, she persisted. "Well, I suppose the good thing about being a prisoner is that I'm not responsible for cleaning this up. Wait a minute… Do you get to empty my bucket for me? Is that why you won't let me relieve myself with dignity? Creep."
The man huffed but the door swung open. "Fine. I'll take you to the bathroom. But be quick about it." He grabbed her by her upper arm and dragged her out into the hallway.
It wasn't as bright as she'd expected; there were no windows along the corridor. She wondered if they were in an underground bunker of some sort. Yet the wooden walls ornamented with paintings suggested that this was someone's home. Perhaps Feng Mian's? She stumbled alongside her guard, scrutinizing every detail of their journey. Her legs weren't as stable as she'd hoped.
She didn't know if she would ever get this chance again. Maybe she should just attempt an escape now. What use was it to memorize the halls if she could never leave that room again? So this was it. She breathed in through her nose and held it for a few seconds. Somehow, she had to avoid all possible mistakes.
The guard led her down a narrow staircase. As soon as they reached the final step, Lien noticed the first window she'd seen in the house. She glanced through the glass pane and gulped. They were so high up. Her heart nearly burst. She could handle a fall from a second story window, maybe even a third, but this… They had to be ten levels up, at least. So unless she could break free long enough to run down seven or eight flights of stairs, she knew she wouldn't be able to escape without help.
"Here it is," the guard said, gesturing to the door nearest them.
"Thank you." She struggled to open the door with her bound hands. With a sheepish smile, she turned her back to him. "Do you think you could… loosen these ropes?"
"Don't push it, bitch."
"I… I apologize…"
Before he could say anything else, she stepped into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Trying to steady her heart, holding back fearful gasps. She had to push herself to take stock of everything in the room. If she could just get the ropes off and find something heavy to use as a weapon. A counter with a half full water basin, a rack of towels, and an empty tub. That was it. The edge of the counter looked sharp so she started there, grinding the rope against it and praying she'd frayed it in her previous attempt.
"Time's up. Get out here now."
She cursed under her breath but made no move to unlock the door. The longer it took her, the more suspicious her companion would become. "Just a moment more please, sir. The thought of you listening in is making me so nervous that I can't…"
He jiggled the knob and found it locked. His fists pounded against the door, voice raised to a higher tone to be heard above the banging. "Come out now before I kick this damn thing down."
The thuds grew louder and louder as she struggled with her bonds. Her heartbeat was so fast, she couldn't feel its individual pulses. They thumped along in pairs or sets of three. She wasn't sure but had no time to spare for counting. The door burst open. Brown eyes met coal black ones. Just as she registered her own shock, the rope snapped. She spun, grabbing the water basin. The rock was so heavy she almost couldn't lift it.
By then, the guard realized what she was doing. He sent a spear of fire flying toward her back.
Kiran sat on her cushion, head in her hands. Zhao knelt beside her while Fan Li paced by the front door. They'd searched most of the night without any new leads. No one had seen Lien that day and they had yet to find any physical evidence of where she'd gone. A sense of defeat hung heavy over the group. It seemed like they'd searched the entire capitol and the harbor village. Yet they'd come up with nothing. Right then, they had no idea how to proceed.
"We should get some rest," Zhao said at last. He placed a hand on Kiran's shoulder, rousing her from her thoughts. She nodded and rose wordlessly. "Reconvene here around noon."
"That's it?" Fan Li demanded. Her pacing stopped for half a moment before she resumed it. "You're just giving up on her? This is ridiculous. One would think that you of all people would be the most willing to give everything you have to find her."
"I'm not giving up." He scowled at her as he stood up. "I have finite energy to waste on aimless searching."
Fan Li's face reddened and she clenched her fists. "Then I must have more stamina than you." She took a few calming breaths, struggling with her emotions. "I can't go home until I know she's safe. It's like you don't even care about her."
The room turned hot as fire burst to life in Zhao's hands. He hadn't noticed it, focused as he was on Fan Li's smirking face. She formed her own knife blade flames and stood ready. Breaking free of her exhaustion, Kiran jumped between the pair. Her arms flung wide, voice raised.
"No firebending inside!"
Zhao extinguished his flame first, even as Fan Li seemed to debate whether or not she should follow Kiran's rules. In the end, she sighed and let her fire die. They continued to glare at each other but neither said a word. Kiran dropped her arms back to her sides. She knew the conflict wasn't over, yet she found herself stepping away. Maybe they could work it out peacefully if she gave them space. The thought almost made her laugh aloud.
"Well then." Kiran's normal, overly cheery tone returned as she clasped her hands behind her back. "I think it's time for me to get some sleep. You two dears know the way out, don't you?" And without waiting for a reply, she twirled around, heading for the stairs.
Zhao walked past Fan Li but before he could reach the door, she grabbed his arm. Before he could react, she fixed him with a stern look then released him. She turned pointedly back to the staircase. He crossed his arms and waited. Though he wasn't sure exactly what Fan Li had in mind, he knew she couldn't say it with Kiran within earshot. Perhaps she shared his suspicions. But then again, he recognized his inclination towards cynicism and not everyone understood. Even friendships turned threatening in an instant. Even Lien could… He couldn't complete the thought.
When the sound of Kiran's footsteps disappeared, Fan Li said, "You know, I find it odd that we've looked everywhere but here."
A kindred spirit after all. But he maintained his guard. "How do you mean?"
She rolled her eyes. "We've searched your home and mine, just in case Lien left anything behind. You offered unprompted. Kiran, on the other hand… She seemed uncomfortable with the suggestion and only let us look in Lien's room. Suspicious, isn't it?"
"And you want to go through the rest of the rooms without her permission, correct?"
"Yes." The determined glint in her eyes faded a bit. "Well… not all the other rooms. Just her study and anywhere else she might store valuable information. What if she arranged for Lien to be kidnapped then lied to us about everything?"
Zhao wanted to disagree, but he couldn't. Kiran could have taken advantage of their perceived friendship to further her own agenda. Even if he didn't know how abducting Lien would help her, he had to admit that it was a possibility. He planned to do the same one day. Plunge a knife into their turned backs at the right time and he'd have everything he'd ever wanted.
"Are you coming?" Fan Li was already at the staircase.
"Fine. I'll help you." He crossed the room to join her.
The pair crept up the stairs, wary of any old planks that could creak and give them away. Neither knew the layout of Kiran's home so they relied on opening each door they passed. With luck, they wouldn't stumble upon the bedroom before they located the study.
Fan Li hesitated at the last door, listening. She wondered if she would be able to hear the soft breaths of a sleeping woman through the wood. But all was silent and she couldn't just sit there all night, afraid of being caught. What was the worst thing that could happen, anyway? Zhao would lose a friend and a political advantage, sure. But Fan Li couldn't think of anything at stake for herself. She took a deep breath and turned the knob. It didn't move.
"It's locked," she whispered to Zhao. "If we break it…"
"Doesn't matter," he said, pushing her aside to get to the door. He examined the lock quickly then melted it with a small jet of flame from his fingertip. "We'll blame it on a servant if she asks us."
She nodded, more to herself than to him and followed him into the room. It didn't look like a traditional study. There was no desk or chair and only one bookshelf. She set aside her feeling of dread and began flipping through books. Some were filled with notes scrawled out across the pages in a free-flowing hand. Others were utterly empty. She read through some of the books, but they all seemed to be records of transactions. Though what items were exchanged, she could only imagine.
A page fell out of the book she'd been examining. She glanced over at Zhao before she picked it up. He was fully engrossed in his own investigation. Leaning down, she grasped the page and flipped it over. An ink portrait of a man. She didn't know who he was but something deep within her told her to keep it. So she folded it carefully and tucked it into her dress.
"Find anything?"
She jolted at the sound of Zhao's voice. "N-no…"
"Me neither. Let's get out of here before our luck runs out."
