The Queen's Honor Guard
by Nyohah
VII.
Two days later, the arena overflowed as the sun blazed unsympathetically. Each fighter had been invited; they stood in random order around the perimeter of the field, each holding his weapon.
Jer Rod stepped from the blessed shade, folding his hands and nodding his head to the crowd, which hushed rapidly, eager to hear the announcement of members.
"The weather does not smile upon us today, does it? Yet we should smile upon every fighter that has gathered. Even if he was eliminated, or if he was not chosen to be a member of the Queen's Honor Guard, he is an admirable representative of his people, and he should forever be proud of his participation." The emperor began the applause and the crowd joined him, complete with cheers and encouragement to individual fighters from those who knew them.
"Now, I present, in the order of rank, the Queen's Honor Guard. Kei Sa!"
She stepped forward, crossing the twin short swords she carried and bowing when she took her place in the center of the arena. The crowd was divided in their reaction: prejudice preventing some from acknowledging her, shock at a woman earning the primary spot distracting others, and wild applause erupting from those who appreciated the efforts of the former slave and recognized her skill.
Hua Quy Ling couldn't help but smile.
"Li Wei Yong!"
The general waved his sword, a smile gracing his face. He stood beside Kei Sa, good-naturedly murmuring a congratulation to the woman, who reciprocated it.
Standing in his place in line, Captain Lan Yiao Nih rolled his eyes. "Obviously," he muttered.
"Yuen Ming!"
She smiled cordially and took her place next to her husband.
The crowd and some fighters lacked understanding or were resentful that she had taken a spot that she did not deserve, and the cheers were awkward.
Her smile faltered.
"Tieh Chen Yi!"
The fighter from Sapphire Coast stepped out of line.
Standing a few places to the left, Lian nudged Zhen, who was, naturally, standing beside him. He loudly called, "Oh, it's our yokel friend!"
Tieh Chen Yi whirled in provocation. He narrowed his eyes and shot a look that proclaimed, That name is not better!
The friends laughed as Chen Yi took his place in line.
"Ta Lian Shi!"
Lian, still laughing, raised his hands in triumph, each bearing one of his unique weapons. Curved knives were joined at the handle, turned in opposite directions to form an s. He spun them like propellers, the metal blades of his real weapons reflecting the sun in vicious flashes.
Tieh Chen Yi shook his head slowly. "Oh, great," he uttered, sarcasm tainting his voice.
Lian smiled fiendishly as he stepped beside Chen Yi.
"Hua Quy Ling!"
He blinked a few times, then stepped forward, shocked by his high ranking. His katana hung limply by his side as he took his place, until Lian motioned with his weapons for Quy to demonstrate. He slashed through a few moves with his weapons, and Lian nodded.
"Rah Cai Yue!"
Ever the showman, he embraced the crowd with a grin and a salute with his sword. His cheers were somewhat higher-pitched than the others' had been...
"Vendetta!"
He smiled shallowly, demonstrating his proficiency with the sword, but the crowd sensed that he was not as friendly a person, and his cheers were half-hearted.
"Lan Yiao Nih!"
He smirked, taking his place in line.
Li Wei Yong groaned, covering his eyes with one hand. Ming narrowed hers and kicked him in the ankle. He grunted, lifting his foot of the ground.
The queen turned to her other side, and smiled sweetly at Tieh Chen Yi. He raised his eyebrows, disturbed, wondering if his girlfriend would suddenly begin to treat him in such a manner if they were married.
"Tempest!"
He sent his nanchaku through a few moves that were second nature as he walked to his spot.
Nai Do Xian swallowed, trying to convince himself that he wasn't disappointed. "Getting pretty low on chances," he said to himself, his lips scarcely moving and no one else hearing him. "I knew the general was wrong."
"Zhen Feng Qui!"
"Finally," he said, not having been the least bit worried. "Congratulations, self."
He left his sword sheathed, juggling darts to the delight of the crowd.
"Nai Do Xian!"
He raised his head, smiling inwardly, but his calm sniper exterior didn't flinch. He left his crossbow prominently strapped to his back, and pulled out his curved sword.
"Yen Sa!"
He sighed, disappointed. "Last." Carrying his sword without flourish, he stepped to the end of the line.
The crowd rose to their feet, claiming their long-needed heroes with unbridled ovation.
Kei Sa looked down the row, seeing brilliantly talented fighters, but instead of a group, they were thirteen individuals, prejudiced against even each other. A lot of work waited in the near future.
Scattered about the council's conference room, the newly formed honor guard's members seemed as individual as any ever could. The temperaments and mannerisms of each were evoked in the short wait they'd had until the top three entered to call their first meeting to order.
Vendetta, legendarily choleric with two witnesses of his temper in the very room, had been left alone to stand against the wall. Nai Do Xian and Tempest sat silently waiting, which prompted Lan Yiao Nih to smirk at them amusedly, chewing the end of his pen.
Yen Sa stood, glancing around awkwardly; he hadn't met any of his new colleagues prior to the tournament. Hua Quy Ling also stood, his arms crossed, teeth clenched, and eyes slit, brooding for a reason no others could guess.
Rah Cai Yue had commandeered the emperor's chair and listened as Zhen Feng Qui recounted some humorous, likely exaggerated incident. Zhen leaned on the table, his ankles crossed, leaving a handprint on the frosted glass that Che Sa would not be happy to clean.
However, if Che Sa had seen Ta Lian Shi, she would have had a conniption. He slouched in one mahogany chair, his booted foot resting upon the table, flecks of dried mud from its sole dusting the surface. Having the fit in Che Sa's place was Tieh Chen Yi.
"Has no one explained to anyone in Onyx Coast the concept of manners?" he asked as Kei Sa, Li Wei Yong and Li Yuen Ming entered.
He stopped his lecture and turned toward them. "Ma'am, sir, my queen," he said in greeting.
The three took their customary seats. Ming turned to Cai Yue, who sat beside her, still in her brother's chair. "You don't sit there," she said, wiping at Zhen's hand print.
"Actually," clarified Wei Yong to all the room's occupants, "we'd like you to sit in order across the table."
They found their seats quickly, Cai Yue circling the table to reach his. "I have been relegated," he said to Quy Ling as he sat.
"Yeah," Quy said softly, his attention not fixed on those who sat beside him.
"You sit in the order you have been assigned," said Ming, "but each of you is only subordinate to three. Kei Sa's orders fall first, then General Li's, then mine. Though the council ranked you based upon their determination of your worth, you are not subordinate to those ranked above you. You are, however, to treat each other with the utmost respect." At her last sentence, Ming directed her gaze toward Zhen Feng Qui. He simulated a shocked expression, then purposely avoided her meaning and stood.
"As the eldest of us young ones, as the two former Lin Kuei are my only elders here, I deserve the most respect besides them, and I demand that you all refrain from petty squabbling amongst yourselves."
"Zhen," Ming said, her voice weary.
"What? That's not what you meant?" He melodramatically sank back into his chair. "I don't know if I will ever recover from such a hurtful accusation."
Ming sighed and ignored him. "You all know who I am, and who General Li is, and therefore why we have authority over you. It was decided before the tournament that the Honor Guard would need a leader, and that Wei Yong and I would be second and third, completing the hierarchy of the group. However, Kei Sa earned her spot as much as each of you earned yours. She used to be my handmaiden, and she is the person on this planet that I trust the most. More importantly, she outclassed you all with her fighting skills."
Captain Lan tapped his pen against his cheekbone. "So she really is the best fighter on all of Mandalore. I suppose those she's whipped in the past don't feel quite so bad anymore."
"She's the best who entered the tournament, undoubtedly," agreed Ming. "If there's a better, she did not show herself."
"She?" asked Lian.
"Herself?" questioned Do Xian.
"Uh-oh, my friends," said Zhen, raising his hands, palms outward, in a gesture of caution. "We've pledged ourselves to a sexist."
"Feminist," corrected the queen haughtily, raising her chin. "Kei Sa, Edenia's Kitsune, Yuen Po...what would become of us without such women?" She glanced sideways at Quy and waved her finger at him. "You would be headless," she said matter-of-factly.
He shrugged, acquiescing.
"The finest instructor on our planet is also a female: the Oracle."
"You called dear," said a rich, melodious voice.
They jumped, their voices and arguments lost as they turned to stare at the doorway in which she stood.
The pale light that had enveloped her upon her arrival faded quickly; even without it, and masked in her assorted mortal raiment, her aura of divine power was unmistakable.
"You thought I would entirely miss the formation of such an important group, featuring even two of my students?"
She stepped forward, and every eye was fixed upon her demanding presence. "You are our finest hope for the protection of this galaxy from evil. You will learn the ways of evil, you will learn to counteract the ways of evil, and you will oppress evil in every way. They will set their sights upon you, but you will not only evade, you will conquer them. You will foil their every attempt at dominion, and you will be revered throughout the planets because of it. The temptations and the challenges will be unbelievable, but you must stay strong. You must do what is righteous; you must not be tainted in any way.
"It is my hope that you will serve our Creator and spread his ways with every step, that all those you encounter will strive to emulate your every way and belief.
"Kei Sa, you have begun to breach the wall that separates you from understanding. Never before have you had such opportunities to make things the way they should be, and use your powers to the fullest. Ming, I warn you again to avoid the errors of pride. You are capable of all that shall be required of you. Doubt shall help you to succeed only in ruin.
"To all of you, the best wishes and love of myself and those I represent." With a deep bow and a glimmer of light, she was gone, as startlingly as she had appeared.
"You don't see that every day," said Zhen, rubbing his chin.
"You cannot be fazed, can you?" Tempest commented.
"Well," he said, "I grew up on Onyx Coast." He shrugged. "And around this guy," he added, pointing at Lian, "who finds a new way to try to kill himself every other day."
Lian shrugged, and the ten lower-ranking members laughed. Then, turning their attention back to their superiors, they saw Ming had shielded her face with one hand, apparently lacking the will to continue the meeting or their debate.
"Following such a guest, I suggest we adjourn this meeting," said Kei Sa. "Tomorrow, two hours after dawn, assemble on the beach and we shall begin training."
The Honor Guard began to leave, filing out while sharing their impressions of the visitor. Passing Rah Cai Yue, who remained seated, Lian waved his hand in front of the other's unfocused eyes. Getting no reaction, he said, "Cai Yue!"
The priest started, then looked up. "Oh, are we leaving?"
Stepping out of the conference room, Hua Quy Ling leaned against the wall and sulked, a resentful frown darkening his face.
"Quy," said Zhen lightly, passing him as he left. "You just made the most elite group of fighters in this galaxy. You're supposed to be happy. Smile."
"He is happy," Lian defended jovially. "He's just confused. See, he thought frowning was the way to express joy."
"What's his problem, anyway," said Lan Yiao Nih scornfully.
Quy Ling crossed his arms. "I can't believe they let them in."
"Who?" asked Lian.
"The Lin Kuei."
"Oh," groaned Zhen. "Look, we've all had some problems with the Lin Kuei. You don't see us brooding about it. I trust the council's judgment."
"My problem is not with the Lin Kuei. It's with Vendetta and Tempest specifically."
"So they were the top two, and they've probably done more than the others. Does that mean we should all have grudges?"
Hua Quy Ling sighed angrily. "They killed my parents."
Zhen raised his eyebrows and self-consciously ran his fingers through his short dark hair. "Oh...sorry."
The three that had been grilling him turned to leave but found themselves facing one of the Lin Kuei in question, Tempest. They backed away, fleeing the confrontation.
"Tempest," growled Quy. "I wish I could apologize for talking about you behind your back, but it wouldn't be sincere."
Tempest lowered his head. "Hua Quy Ling." He breathed deeply. "You have my deepest regrets and apologies. No excuse could ever be sufficient for my actions in the past. This is my only hope of restitution: to protect the queen and aid the people I have formerly wronged. You shall likely never believe me, but I feel true remorse for the things I have done.
"Don't expect an apology from Vendetta. He has no regrets. He never will. It cannot be comforting to you that I, the only of the three with guilt or the desire to apologize, am the only of the three that did not lay a hand on your parents."
"Actually," Quy said, relaxing slightly, "it does help somewhat. Thank you."
Tempest bowed slightly, and Quy Ling respectfully reciprocated it, a slight portion of his anger subsiding.
"Ming," said Kei Sa. "Are you well?"
"She had to chastise me in front of everyone, didn't she?" The queen's eyes were narrowed in anger.
"Ming, she meant no harm," soothed Kei Sa. "It would be wise to heed her words."
"I know to listen to her, Kei Sa. But in front of everyone?"
"They think no less of you."
Ming stared at the table.
"Ladies," cut in Wei Yong. "Perhaps we should focus on the task at hand?"
"You're right," Ming said, rubbing her face. "What do you think of them?"
"I think we have a better chance of getting the washouts from the army to work as a team," the general said.
"Don't be so harsh or quick to judge," reprimanded Kei Sa.
"Of course, the washouts would never have a fraction of the talent," he continued as though Kei Sa hadn't spoken. "In all honesty, we've gathered the most brilliant skill and potential, but it's going to be excruciating to get them to cooperate." He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Maybe I'm just leery of the Lin Kuei."
"Aren't we all?" asked Ming. "I did fight their inclusion, but I had no one to fill the ranks who could have ever worked."
"I sense no duplicity about them," said Kei Sa. "Some of the others in the tournament were obviously participating only for their own glory. The two from Onyx Coast and Captain Lan in particular had some selfishness about them, but they're not bad people, not charlatans using this for fame. The Lin Kuei seem to want to use their powers for the good of the people, at last. Tempest especially. Even Vendetta..."
"I just find it hard to believe. He's a little more than caustic," said Wei Yong.
"Kei Sa, is there any chance they could be hiding their deceit?" asked Ming.
The leader of the Honor Guard shook her head slowly, reflecting. "Not without the help of something tremendously powerful."
"Even so," said Wei Yong. "Let's not let our guard down."
"Absolutely not," agreed Kei Sa.
Ming nodded.
"Well," said Wei Yong, standing and stretching. "We have a lot to do tomorrow, and nothing more we can do now."
Wei Yong and Ming walked out, she still in a resentful mood, he pushing their anxiety to the back of his mind and trying to make her laugh. Kei Sa sat for a moment longer, staring at her reflection in the glass and searching her senses once more for any sign of treachery. Finding none, she stood, shaking her head.
She was lost in thought as she exited the room, her mind so intently focused on her worries and her attempts to confirm or debunk them that she did not notice the figure who waited just outside the door until he called her name in a sullen voice. Although she was startled, she was hardly surprised, and her stoic composure did not falter as she faced Hua Quy Ling.
He inclined his head toward the passage, indicating a long-gone member. "So that's this Yen Sa," he said bitterly, spitting the name.
Kei Sa glanced at the ground, slightly perplexed. "Is there a problem?"
"Why him? What's this astounding quality of his that makes him so much better than I?"
Kei Sa raised her eyebrows. "Unparalleled electronic expertise?"
"What?" he exclaimed, his voice involuntarily rising to a volume that rang through the hall and embarrassed both of them. He blinked, looking away from Kei Sa in chagrin. "So he's not...you know..."
"He's a friend, helping me with a project. It is not my fault that the ideas you conjured in your paranoia have caused you such inexcusable rancor." Kei Sa shook her head and began to leave.
"Kei Sa, please." He sounded uncharacteristically plaintive. "Don't walk away from me."
"What do you want, Hua Quy Ling?" she asked, turning.
"I want you to listen to me." He squeezed his eyes shut, mentally chiding himself for the amount of whine in his voice.
"I am," she said, folding her hands and lifting her head to form direct eye contact.
"I—" he said, then choked on his words. He pulled his eyes away and she tilted her head, waiting.
"I...I..."
Kei Sa turned and again began to walk away.
"I want you to have dinner with me." Quy blinked, far more stunned than Kei Sa at the words that had forced their way out his mouth.
Whirling back around, Kei Sa almost smiled. "Details?"
Once again, a hidden stroke of genius rescued Quy Ling. "On the beach, an hour before sunset. I'll bring the food. You just bring yourself."
She smiled amusedly, though it seemed to be sincere. "It's a promise."
She finally left, and he stared after her, until the shock from his success and her enchanting presence began to fade.
He stomped his foot and slapped himself on the forehead. "Where am I going to get this food?" he asked himself aloud.
Just more than an hour before dusk, Hua Quy Ling was a tiny figure pacing on the beach, oblivious to the eager spies that peered down at him from the tower's highest window.
"Oh, I can't hold it anymore!" Li Yuen Ming cried, fidgeting. "I have to go now. Yell at me if she comes."
She darted off toward the bathroom, and Wei Yong laughed at her departing form. He rested his elbows on the middle of the windowsill, leaning over to rest his chin on his wrists and hogging the space. Below, Quy circled the basket of food he had acquired.
Seconds later, Ming returned, looking much refreshed. Wei Yong, glanced at her, then down at Quy, then back to her again. "Ming, you seem to be using the restroom frequently lately."
She bit her lip and avoided his gaze. "Yeah, that. Let's discuss it later."
"Ming, is it important?"
"Oh, look." She pointed out the window, craning her neck. "Kei Sa has arrived!"
He turned his attention back to the scene unfolding below them. Hua Quy Ling's gestures were hilariously nervous, and the general stifled his laughter, both at him and their excitement at the inevitable finally becoming a reality.
"He looks like a fool," commented Wei Yong, not derisively. "She looks as though she's finally encountered a situation that flusters her."
"I want to see," Ming said, trying to crowd her way to the windowsill, but Wei Yong shifted his body subtly, refusing to surrender. "Move your hulk over," Ming commanded. "I can't see." She kicked his shin, and he stumbled aside, grimacing with pain but too stubborn to acknowledge her strength with any sound. "Do you think she'll like the food?" she said, triumphantly claiming her space at the window.
"Of course," Wei Yong said, holding his throbbing ankle off the ground tenderly. "I suggested it to the boy; therefore, it has been affected by my manly charm."
"Oh great. She'll run screaming."
Wei Yong scowled and shoved her; she nearly fell, lurching away from the window. She regained her balance and aimed a swift slap. He grabbed her arm as it swung out of the apex of her windup, twisting her around and wrapping one hand around her stomach, pulling her into a backward embrace. He leaned down his head and kissed her on the cheek. Then, a sudden observation struck him and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously, purposefully poking at her abdomen.
"...You're getting fat."
"Thanks," she said sarcastically.
"No, really. Ming..."
"Later."
"No," he said firmly, spinning her out of the embrace to face him and clutching her wrists. "Not later. Now."
"It's nothing, Wei Yong," she pleaded, suddenly frantic.
"Nothing? You're not acting as if it's nothing!"
Ming tugged her wrists, trying to free them, but Wei Yong only tightened his grip. "Tell me," he demanded.
She stopped her struggle and hung her head.
"Ming," he said sternly. "Are you pregnant?"
She didn't answer; stray hairs floated across her face as she studied the ground.
"Ming," he emphasized.
"Yes!" she yelled. "Yes, I am. Are you satisfied now?"
"Fine," he answered slowly. "But why didn't you tell me?"
She averted her verdant eyes, and he clenched his teeth.
"Ming, you knew before the tournament, didn't you?"
"Maybe," she whispered.
"You knew you were pregnant, and you fought in the tournament. You didn't tell me so that I wouldn't stop you. Senseless, Ming."
"I had to fight," she defended. "What would they have said if I hadn't? I'm struggling for respect and my very right to rule every day. I had to fight."
"I don't care. What if the child has been damaged?"
"I was careful," she said.
"'Careful'? You were 'careful'? If that was you being 'careful' then you should be able to beat Kei Sa into the ground under normal circumstances, right?"
Ming turned her head away.
"You're going to the doctor now." He marched toward the door, pulling her behind him.
"Now?"
"Now."
"But...what about Kei Sa and Quy Ling?"
He glanced at the ceiling and sighed, then dropped her wrists. "You're right. Later."
They darted back to the window.
Chewing on his cheek as Kei Sa chewed on her bread, Hua Quy Ling felt the oppressing silence suffocate him. Sweat trickled down his forehead and he desperately hoped she didn't notice, but with the scrutinizing stare she had fixed upon him, he was certain she did.
He had carefully emphasized every detail, leaving neither wrinkle nor grain of sand on the blanket, eternally grateful to the general for securing the food. He'd wrung his hands with anxiety, and prepared fastidiously until everything had been absolutely impeccable.
Then Kei Sa had come, and he'd frozen.
He frantically tapped his fingers on the ground. She seemed content to continue eating and staring at him in the silence, as though she didn't feel its smothering emptiness.
She finished her bread and pulled up her knees, wrapping her arms around them. The tide washed in with its nightly lullaby, and the sun began to fade, spraying its dying rays across the water. Quy Ling squeezed his eyes shut and searched through his memory for something—anything—that sat on common ground between them.
"Kei Sa," he said, then halted, tension biting back his chosen words.
"Yes?" she asked, tilting her head slightly back to look at him once again.
"You were a slave before I was, born one. What about your parents? Did you know them well?"
She lowered her head, speaking into her knees. "I'm sure no one knows who my father is. My mother I knew quite well. She reared me as much as she could. When they felt she no longer had worth, they exterminated her. I was nine. Yours?"
"I was ten. Vendetta killed my mother; Emperor Yuen killed my father. They were rebels, I think."
"Must be hard for you to accept Vendetta as an ally and colleague."
"Yes, but I'll try to trust the judgment of the council."
"That would be wise. Vendetta taught you to fight, did he not?" She sipped a glass of water.
"Unfortunately," he growled.
"Unfortunate that you can fight and are now the sixth member of a most honored group?" Her eyes smiled, though her mouth did not. Quy Ling didn't notice her mirth, only her typical distance.
"Unfortunate that I didn't have a less severe teacher. Unfortunate that I owe my talent to his temper."
"We hope he'll control it."
"We're in for trouble if he can't."
Their conversation continued, focusing on shallow topics and the sun set as they talked. When the last light faded, Kei Sa stood.
"I must go now," she said.
"Yeah," he said, standing. She had answered his questions pleasantly, fleshing out a lengthy but mainly polite conversation, and with her continual aloof attitude. He sighed and fidgeted, his hopes that she would come to like him once she knew him crushed. "I've wanted this day to come for years, but you always just ignored me, and now that it has..."
"Hua Quy Ling," she said firmly, "I am grateful that you persevered. I shall see you again soon?"
"Well, we'll see each other every day, now," he said bitterly, certain she was merely polite.
"Not that kind of 'see'," she corrected.
With a start, he looked down into her eyes, the deep cerulean of the ocean and the darkest emerald of the rainforest together sparkling in the declaration of every essence of life above her timidly smiling lips. His disappointment and weariness disappeared in a flash as realization and joy burst forth with all the energy of a supernova.
He smiled.