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Chapter Twenty Nine

Dancing of Multicolored Fish

General Rhun, on a leisurely walk around the castle defenses, was surprised to be flagged down by a harried looking servant. In Fou-Lu's incapacitated state, the emperor had assigned Rhun to run things, much to the malcontent of numerous noble families. When the general stopped to hear the nondescript man's message, he was further startled to hear the messenger exclaim, "General, we've lost the emperor!"

Finding their conversation suddenly the center of attention of the group of soldiers the general had been inspecting, Rhun took the servant aside. "What do you mean, you lost the emperor?" he demanded sternly, suddenly feeling his stress level rise.

The other human gulped, replying nervously, "Well…The doctor and his staff went… to check on His Majesty this morning. And…the doctor told me to find you, General!"

"The doctor thought I would know something about this, then?" Rhun asked, irritated. He and the man in question had clashed often enough in the past few days that the general wanted as little to do with the other as possible.
"I…sir…" the messenger faltered, his verbal skills rapidly abandoning him.
Ignoring the stuttering messenger, Rhun made his way quickly to the sickroom that his friend had recently inhabited. The doctor and one of the castle personnel were arguing loudly outside the door. Upon seeing Rhun, the doctor abandoned his current conversation and turned upon him. "You! What do you know of this, general!?" he demanded angrily, his tone immediately rubbing Rhun the wrong way.

"I assure you, nothing," the general snapped, glaring down at the shorter male. "Fou-Lu hardly informs me of his every move. He left of his own power?" While Rhun doubted anyone would be able to kidnap the dragon, his subconscious planted the worry in his mind and left it to fester until more evidence of the emperor could be uncovered.

"Yes, damn it!" the doctor exclaimed noisily, "There is no sign of anyone else having entered, and there were guards on the door! How he even managed this I don't know! I told him, he is not to leave this room, or even to stand! His injuries are too dire to make light of!"

Rhun carelessly interrupted the doctor's rant, a headache starting to form at his temples as a result of the other man, "No doubt he has merely holed himself up somewhere he finds more comfortable."

"General, would you please take this seriously!?" the doctor yelled, his voice jumping up an octave. The shrill noise echoed off the surrounding walls and made Rhun wince and put a hand to his head.

Both ears ringing in the aftermath, the general conceded grudgingly, "And what would you have me do?"

His hands waving dramatically, the physician expounded noisily, "Send out search parties! Find him! He shouldn't be active yet! He shouldn't even be able to walk! And he didn't even bring any clothes with him!"

"Fine, but if you would, I'd like to see the room." Curious, the general couldn't help but attempt to see if he could figure out how his clever friend escaped without alerting his nursemaids. Whether or not the tales of gods being able to spirit themselves about with a though were true, Rhun doubted the divine emperor was capable of doing much more than crawl at the moment.

The general pushed past the doctor and stepped into the open door, his eyes briefly surveying the scene. He noticed after a moment that one of the tapestries on the hung vaguely different from its prior position. Easing the decorative cloth aside, Rhun revealed… a perfectly ordinary wall. Although…The stones of the room held a fine layer dust, but there was one stone behind the wall hanging that appeared the exception. The dust from that stone was gone, as if a sudden movement had displaced it. Rhun leaned in and pressed it, gathering no reaction. It was only when he pulled on the cemented stone that the wall groaned and swung inwards on perfectly hidden hinges.

"Well," Rhun commented cheerfully, pleased at his own success. "We know how he got out." Seeing the doctor's open-mouthed gape, Rhun chided, "Now, now, doctor. He did build the entire palace, after all. I imagine he can get out of just about any place we put him. …I'm sure his escape doesn't reflect on your abilities at all."

Another servant passed through the gardens, calling out futilely, "Majesty? My Lord?" His footsteps sounded heavily as he crossed the small bridge and headed to search another section of the castle.

Those footsteps disturbed the colorful fish that swam peacefully under the surface of the water and sent them darting to the far side of the stream. Another form stirred and buried itself deeper among the decorative water plants lining one of the deeper pools. Effectively hidden from anyone on the surface, the dragon rolled over in the water and drifted back to sleep. The water-aligned god was perfectly comfortable in the depths and here he was also saved from the annoying attention of his subjects. The cool water soothed his wounds and accelerated his healing. Much as Yahla could draw strength from the life forces of other creatures, he gained strength from his own element. The pain that was his constant companion on land was reduced to a mere shadow in the water. Infirm as he was, it would still be weeks before he was entirely recovered, but that was better than the months he would spend under the care of the human doctors. Now, if the humans would only allow him time to rest and heal his battered body…

His keen ears picked up vibrations in the water that translated into the footsteps of numerous humans and the murmur of their voices. Unconcerned with discovery, Fou-Lu did not bother moving until a deep voice, muffled by the water, reached his ears. "Alright, my friend. I know you're somewhere down there." He knew that voice, and turn his head to look up at the silhouettes of the water lilies overhead. "Fou-Lu? I don't swim that well. Would you mind coming up here instead of the other way around?"

Rhun…The dragon-god reminded himself that there were sacrifices to make in the sake of friendship and surfaced reluctantly. Framed by water plants, the humans could see only his head and shoulders. He took a leisurely moment to remove a decorative lily from his hair before shamelessly granting the humans on the bank a look that dared them to make anything of it. His indifferent gaze eventually passed over the rest of the astonished humans and settled on Rhun, who was obviously amused.

"A good day to you, my friend," the general said, bowing from the waist. "Decided to take up skinny-dipping, have you?" Not understanding his friend's question, the dragon settled on his usual routine of looking too important to answer such a lowly question. Rhun chuckled as Fou-Lu tossed his wet hair back from his face and looked down his nose at the assembled mortals.

Before the two friends could continue their conversation, the doctor, who had accompanied Rhun, interrupted. "You Majesty! You…You simply must return to your room, Majesty! You aren't well enough to be out of bed!" The dragon's eyes narrowed dangerously and he sank down in the pool till the water lapped at his chin. By what stupidity dare he order me thus? No mere mortal doth decide mine path! The human continued, oblivious to the emperor's mounting displeasure. "And the water! My Lord, you aren't supposed to get your wounds wet! They won't heal underwater, they're supposed to be kept dry at all times! Come out of there now, let us dry you off and carry you back to your room!" By this point Fou-Lu was truly wroth. The arrogance of this mortal combined with the threat of being ousted from his comfortable refuge blinded considerations of tactful resolutions.

The doctor reached down to help the dragon from the water and fell back with a cry of pain, clutching his bloody hand. Fou-Lu, swimming farther from the bank, spat a mouthful of blood into the water and hissed at the human. Several of the other servants caught the doctor as he glanced down at the revealed bone of his own hand and fainted.

"That really wasn't very nice, Your Majesty," Rhun commented dryly. The dragon growled at him and submerged, dropping rapidly out of sight. Through his rage and exhaustion he knew he was acting unreasonably, but he had, at some point, stopped caring.

Rhun glanced back at the other palace inhabitants who had followed him on his search for Fou-Lu. His gaze lingered a moment on the unconscious doctor before he told them, "You can return to your duties. I'll see if I can't speak to the emperor." He expected the proud immortal would refuse to speak with him unless he disposed of his companions.

One of the attendants trying to tend to the unconscious doctor looked up at him and stated timorously, "But, General Rhun…the emperor, may he be revered forever, clearly isn't…in his right mind…Are you sure you want to…" he trailed off, glancing back at the others for reassurance.

Rhun shook his head. "True, were he not…in the state he is, I doubt he would be biting people. He," the general said, nodding to the prone doctor, "Would be without use of his head, not his hand." The memory of Soenil's decapitation rose in his mind, along with the fates of some of the more corrupt officials in the military.

The attendant paled, and after a whispered conference with his fellows, departed the garden, the physician carried with them. After they had left, Rhun knelt by the water's edge and tried to spot the dragon in the depths. But everything was still and the plants obscured Rhun's gaze. "Fou-Lu?" the general murmured, not expecting a response. Still, when a pale face peered up at him he couldn't help but smile.

After a moment, the Endless asked quietly, "By what means didst thou know I wouldst come hither?" Rhun, still examining his friend's wan face, couldn't help but notice Fou-Lu's voice seemed stronger than it had been when he had last spoke with the emperor.

"I guessed," the human admitted, resting his weight on his knees, "What I know of dragons is little indeed, but I seemed to recall you were of a water alignment. I know that makes you weak to fire, and thought possibly that water would strengthen you. I also knew you couldn't stand the sickroom, and expected you to seek out somewhere more comfortable. And as the gardens contain the only waterway in the palace…"

"Thou sought me here," the dragon finished with a look of approval. "Perceptive, Rhun. Though…I wouldst thou hadst been unaccompanied." Fou-Lu's expression soured slightly.

"I didn't exactly invite them along," the human said dryly, taking a more comfortable seated position as he spoke, "As I'm sure you've noticed, that doctor isn't particularly easy to get rid of." The comment surprised a chuckle out of the emperor, which pleased Rhun immensely. The last few days since Fou-Lu's emotional breakdown had seen little improvement in the dragon's mood, and Rhun was heartened to see his friend's spirits lifted.

"Aye, one near must send him onward with the tip of a sword," the dragon agreed blithely, making the general wonder whether it was the return to his proper element that had given him heart or the opportunity to chomp the arrogant bastard. The latter had certainly made the general's day.

"Or the tips of your teeth, in this case," the general said wryly, provoking a smirk from the god-emperor.

"I be sure that there existeth numerous sharp implements that wouldeth have the intended impression on the man," the dragon allowed, smiling toothily at the thought.

"How long do you intend to stay in there?" Rhun asked at last, dispersing some of Fou-Lu's good mood. The human hated to disrupt the his cheer, but as Rhun had been left in charge of the Empire while Fou-Lu recovered, he felt he needed to know Fou-Lu's plans.

"Till mine bones hath knit and mine wounds mend themselves," the dragon replied firmly, leaving no room for argument, "I heal with great speed here, in mine element. And…the pain be not so great."

Rhun nodded, understanding the question in Fou-Lu's eyes. "I'll try to see that they leave you alone, then. Though I'm afraid some will insist on checking on you. Do you need us to bring you food, or did you intend to eat the decorative fish?" The latter thought brought a smile to the mortal's lips and made the immortal sniff disdainfully.

"Thou mayest visit, if thou dost wish," the emperor asserted, his voice indicating what he thought of the rest of the court, "The remainder of mine subjects would do well to leaveth me to mine rest, for 'tis rest that I needs must have most desperately and not food nor drink. Mine element will sustain me."

"Very well, then, my friend." Rhun stood slowly, reminded by aching joints that he wasn't as young as he used to be, and bowed slightly to the emperor. "Sleep well, Fou-Lu." He turned and departed the garden, his soft footsteps masked in the sound of running water.

The dragon sighed and slipped back under the surface of the water, only a ripple marking where he had been a moment earlier. In a moment the ripple stilled, and the only movement was of the running stream and the dancing of multicolored fish.