The Birth of the Phoenix
Chapter 5
It had been three months. The Emperor chose this time to fall ill. The Empress was incapable and the Emperor's mother had died several weeks ago.
The princes mourned for their grandmother's passing as was expected, but none more than Julan, being that he was the Crowned Prince, had to take over the court until his father recuperated.
Yue, whose life was leisurely, was taking care of the Emperor, using various western medicines to bring the Emperor back to health. It was one of those cases where Clow Reed's journal finally proved itself useful to the guardian. Yue had a hunch that Clow knew this when he wrote it in his will.
From the accounts of the eunuchs and several lords that Yue had the privilege to be acquainted with, the cabinet cooperated well with the Crowned Prince despite his age. The prince was a natural leader, treating his subjects with the respect required and also with the dignity and power that was very becoming for a future Emperor.
Yue saw nothing of the prince for several weeks. The Emperor, steadily getting better, brought him to his chambers to talk with him. Occasionally, the Emperor would ask Yue to give him a reading with his cards. Yue never found out whether his readings came true or not.
The hunt was a special occasion. The entire court gathered in the grand hills and several small deer
were released. The Emperor, sitting at his ' throne', watched as his sons took turns shooting arrows.
Xiao Lang was not the best at firing arrows. The real gifted archer was Che, who was able to catch each deer through the neck while Xiao Lang sometimes shot into the side.
" You aim for the neck, shagua." Che whispered. " It's the fastest way to kill them."
" First, I'm not an idiot, second, I am aiming for the neck, third, I know it's the fastest way to kill
them."
" Yeah. Sure."
" Hey, not everyone has your sharp eyes."
Che didn't answer.
" Huh?" Julan looked ahead. Then he saw it.
She was the strangest creature. And there were others with her. She was tall and slim, with dark, deep green eyes without any whites. Her hair was golden, yellow as corn, and her skin was fair. She was clothed in green, green satin, and there were leaf wreaths around her hair and neck.
" That's a fairy."
" You sure that's a fairy."
" She's not Chang'e after all. Too green."
Julan studied the strainge creatures. He could sense something odd about them. He frowned.
" That's no fairy." He whispered to Che.
" Then what is she? And the others with her?"
The creature, whatever she was, suddenly lunged towards the princes. Julan dodged and hit her with his bow. She dodged with lightning speed and attacked him. Julan, faster than he had ever moved before, leaped over the rail and into the grass, rolling over to his feet. He heard a twanging of a bow and the creature stumbled. Blood, the color of green tea, oozed out of her wound where the feathered arrow had struck.
Suddenly there was a rain of arrows. Julan cursed, hoping that he would be lucky enough so that he wouldn't be shot as well. Someone shouted his name and Julan rapidly turned. It was a general. There were soldiers about him. Julan did a somersault and landed within the circle of soldiers. They all had their swords out.
The girl, or whatever she was, remained standing, though unsteady, and her comrades, whatever they were, circled around her. They began waving their arms, a most amusing and fascinating spectacle if it weren't for the fact that branches and vines were coming out of the ground in the direction of their movements. And all of them were directed at Xiao Lang.
Julan dodged the scattering green vines and prayed deep in his heart that Lao Tian Ye, if he exists, would have pity on him.
" Did you sense that?"
Of course Yue sensed it. The aura, green with a smell of rainforests mixed with the salt of the sea, was as apparent as the sun in the sky. He wasn't sure what to make of this new introduction at first.
" Perhaps we should check it out."
" Stay in your false form."
" I'm not an idiot, Yue." Kero looked almost indignant. " Come, we never know if there could be
danger."
Li was in panic. His son, his most beloved son, was attacked by she-demons, and there was no
obvious way to stop it. So far his son had done a good job of dodging the vines, and running to
safety, but safety was not permanent. In fact, there was no safety. Li almost wanted to run out there
himself to protect his child.
Then...there he was. That prophet, that card reader. He paused, staring at the scene, before hurrying over in front of the prince. Li frowned. What was he doing?
Yue held the book tightly in his hands, the stuffed animal behind his back, hidden from view. He
concentrated on his aura, allowing it to expand to its full power. The nymphs hesitated, obviously
surprised to find a magician in this area.
" I am Yue, Guardian of the Cards of Clow Reed, also called Angel of the Moon, also called the Ultamite Judge of Masters. You have trespassed land that is not yours. Leave peacefully, or your doom is at hand."
No one could possibly have understood what Yue just said except the nymphs, hopefully, because first they don't look Chinese, Mongol, Manchu, or otherwise, and second, he wasn't speaking in Chinese, very obviously.
The nymphs hesitated again. Yue almost wanted to smirk. His master was well-known, then. Perhaps he could use it to his advantage.
The prince, who was behind him, moved to his side.
" Yue, who are they?" He whispered. Yue gently ushered him back. Nymphs were always notoriously unpredictable.
The nymphs shifted. Yue recognized that move.
Damn. He thought, and even that curse wasn't enough. The nymphs attacked.
The first thing Yue did was raise a shield. It's a dumb thing to do, because soon the vines began wrapping around it, trapping him and the child inside. Yue wondered what he should do. Fire. Fire fire fire fire fire fire-
" Firey!" He shouted. The card, without a true master, listened to the guardian, and burned at the vines and the nymphs, who screeched. The water nymphs drowned out the flames. Yue, realizing he had no time, decided to just risk it all, and grabbing the prince he took to the air.
Xiao Lang clung on to the man in dear life. Yue chuckled at the child's fear, and wrapped his arms
tighter around the boy to give him a feeling of security.
" What in the world are you?" Xiao Lang asked.
" I am the Spirit of the Moon." There were no angels in Chinese myths, Yue recalled, and if there
were they would surely be demons. He hoped he wouldn't get himself killed through this.
" Yue, are you mad?!" Kero shouted at his shoulder. " Taking off just like that? You'll hear the talk
of everyone in the country!"
" Those were nymphs, Kerberus." Yue flapped his wings. " I'm taking him into the deserts. He
should be fine there."
" The deserts? Are you mad?"
" I'm not mad. They're nymphs! And there were twelve of them at least. Do you really expect me to
deal with them all? And if you appear, there would be the same results. I might as well prove myself
to take better care of the child."
The prince, having no idea who Yue was talking to or what he just said, thought the guardian had gone mad and looked beneath him in horror. Yue looked back.
" Devils Eye," He muttered in his own language, " I never knew nymphs could fly."
" They never needed to." Kero answered. " But I think this is persistent, even for them. Why would
they want the prince so much?"
" Remember his aura?"
" Still, it's not like-"
" He's a child, he lacks training, he lacks protection. Only now, I'm his protector, and they don't like
it."
" Yue, who are you talking to?" Julan finally couldn't stand it. Yue looked at Kero.
" Ni hao ma?" Kero grinned. The prince, shocked, paled miserably, and Yue rubbed the boy's back briefly before diving.
This earned him a scream. The child clung onto Yue as if someone was torturing him. Yue heard whimpers and sobs and held the child's head with his right hand, doing whatever he could to offer some feeling of security.
" You might want to burrow a little into the sand." Kero suggested. " They don't like sand-it's too
hot for them in the desert, and after about an hour of circling where you're buried they should
leave."
" An hour of circling?" Yue asked, bewildered, while still diving sharply. " What is the child going
to breath? Sand? He'll suffocate, and I'll expose myself for nothing."
" Use the cards, Yue. You're always so cocky about how smart you are. What happened today?"
Yue dove.
" The trouble is, we can't hurt them-they're nymphs. They can hurt us, we're guardians. The child
can't stay down there forever-he's a boy."
" How about this?" Kero suggested, " I go somewhere else and look for allies. You stay until I
come."
" And just how will I know you're back?" Yue asked.
" You'll know." Kero darted off. Yue pulled out a card and he saw the sand part beneath him as he
dove in. The sand closed over him, but it did not cover him or the child.
The tunnel was cool. Yue pulled out a card and the place was dimly lit by the Light Card, who studied the child curiously. Julan, just as curious, stared back at her, and the card laughed, delighted with the child. The prince looked at Yue, obviously shakened, but manage to recover some of his dignity to ask " What just happened?" without trembling.
Secretly respecting the child for his courage and steady mind, Yue sighed.
" The creatures that were attacking you were called nymphs."
" Nymphs."
" They are old creatures, the bringers of life on this planet. They cannot be killed, but they were
always rather simple. I don't know why they're after you." I'm not sure why they're after you.
" They were using magic."
" They were."
" Why did you bring me here?"
" They don't like areas of little life."
Xiao Lang sat down silently.
" Are you afraid?" Yue asked gently.
" Of course I'm afraid."
" Don't be."
Xiao Lang looked up at him. " I barely know you."
" I don't know you either."
" What are you?"
" My name's Yue. I'm a guardian."
" A guardian?"
" Of a magic item. Or items." Yue pulled out the book.
Xiao Lang stared at the book. " I think I'm overwhelmed. Don't tell me anything until we get back.
If we get back."
" Of course we will." Yue answered. If worst comes to worst, chances are you might be the one to
get us out.
The palace was in complete chaos. The Emperor fainted from shock, the Empress had a nervous
breakdown, and the princes and princesses, lords and ladies, soldiers and staff were in complete
confusion.
There were legends, many legends, of demons and warriors, immortals and deities, but even if they were believers, it's hard to believe it when they saw it with their own eyes.
Lin, completely not understanding what was going on, had a sense that something had happened to his little brother. He was too simple to understand what the others were saying, but he knew, deep in his heart, that all the fuss, all the commotion, was because of his Xiao Lang.
Yujin frowned and growled at the servants, having little option to do anything else to express his frustration. He knew he was simple. He knew everyone was smarter than him. He loved Julan and he knew he was in trouble, but he also knew he was powerless to help him. Then a thought came to him. That white haired albino.
All of the sudden everything became clear for him. Yujin stood up. It was that man. That man stole his brother away, it has to be it, because his brother's not here and neither was that foreigner. Then, he sat down, depressed. Being mentally disabled had caused him to have nearly no power at all. He would not be able to retrieve his brother nor punish his kidnapper.
His mind a complete blank, his heart filled with hate and grief, he broke to weeping.
" Yue."
The guardian turned to the child sitting at the wall. " Yes?"
" I'm thirsty."
The child said it very calmly, but Yue knew he had endured the thirst for a long time.
How long had they been down here? Two days? Of course the child would be thirsty. Yue was reluctant to leave the boy here though.
" Can you hang on for a moment longer?" Yue asked softly. " Is it really bad?"
Xiao Lang nodded.
Yue sighed. Now what was he going to do? Kero was taking a long time. Then he thought for a moment.
" Water Card."
Xiao Lang sank back, having drank the magic water. Yue watched the boy fall into an exhausted slumber. The Light Card had dimmed for the child, giving him a frail look.
Yue picked up Xiao Lang's bow and examined it. It was light, made for the prince's age, and slightly smaller than a normal bow, but the prince was stronger than most children, so it was rather heavy.
Yue studied the sleeping child. One day this boy will become an Emperor. He will wear the black dragon robes and the crown with dangling beads. The royal stamp will be in his hand. He will stand tall at the court, intimidating the selfish lords. When he fails all lords would reach to him, beg him to remain well.
One day this child would rule the Earth beneath the Sky.
It's ironic, because there were incompetent princes, but there were no ugly princes, or retarded princes, physically handicapped princes, in all of history that Yue had known of China. The various Emperors were always blessed with many sons, some dying, some executed, but never was there such a ridiculous situation as this. All the princes, including Liu Che, who the adults of the court knew would not survive many years because of some mysterious spiritual disease, had some problems that prevent them from the throne. All save Xiao Lang.
It seemed Fate had placed the royal stamp in his hands even before he was born.
The child was destined for greatness anyway, Emperor or not. Even if he had been a peasant, he would still have accomplished great deeds. Yue marveled at the child. It seemed for the first time he had set eyes on a true idol of a child. For the first time he was able to see the fate of another person as Clow Reed had. He had no idea it was so clear.
What is taking Kero so long?
" You want us to go with you against nymphs? Don't get us wrong, but nymphs are
pretty...difficult. They're not powerful, they're just hard to get rid of, and we guardians won't stand a
chance."
" Yue's under sand with the prince. Literally. And if we don't hurry up, the prince might die of thirst,
even if Yue grows enough brains to use the water card." Kero hoffed at Ruby Moon.
" What do you want us to do?" Spinel asked. " We can't hold them off. We can't intimidate them."
" Don't you know any magicians around here?" Kero asked breathlessly. Time was running short.
Ruby and Spinel glanced at each other. There was a long silence.
" Take me to them." Ruby said to Kero, as Spinel transformed and flew out into the open air.