Two figures stand guard outside the library doors in the middle of the night. One of them, a male, stands straight and alert. His bow is in one hand and his arrows in a quiver at his back. Although hair seems to cover the man's eyes, his eyesight is sharp. He is an archer, after all.
The other figure is a female. Her pale pink hair is almost white in the moonlight and the ends of her hair tickles the skin along her jaw. She leans comfortably against the wall, with her spear resting lazily against her shoulder. Her eyelids droop as she stares at the wall in front, sleepiness threatening to take her at any moment.
"Hua, it wouldn't be wise to fall asleep now." The archer says to the spearwoman. Hua scowls and lets her hand drift to the handle of her spear, gripping it tightly in her hand.
"Shut it, Chuu'un. I'll slice your head off if you say another word." She hisses. Chuu'un opens his mouth to reply, then recalls something Lady Wang had said about her household member a while ago.
"Hua gets especially grumpy when she's tired, so it wouldn't be wise to provoke her."
Chuu'un then promptly shuts his mouth. Hua shifts her weight from foot to foot and yawns.
"I hope Lady Wang comes out soon." Hua huffs, "She's been going to the library late at night quite often to discuss things with Prince Koumei. It's as if those two are attached at the hip or something. I know that Lady Wang has taken interest in Prince Koumei's research, but is it really necessary for them to meet almost every night? It's been a year!"
"You haven't noticed?" Chuu'un pipes up, he turns his head to look at Hua. Hua stares at him with a curious look.
"No…?" She says, curiosity laces her voice. Chuu'un lets out a sigh.
"You really are all brawn aren't you?" He muses. The clanking of metal is enough to put Chuu'un's hands up in defense as Hua raises her spear. "Sorry."
Hua gives Chuu'un a dirty look as she lowers her weapon, letting it rest against her arm once again, "Continue." She says plainly as her gaze rests back on the wall.
"Think hard. Don't you notice something going on between them?"
Hua stays silent for a moment. She does remember hearing bits of gossip from servants while wandering through the halls on the days she wasn't doing anything. The servants would mention the familiarity between Koumei and Yueying and the hours spent in the garden and library together, talking about anything and everything.
Hua also recalls the subtle interactions between the two. She thinks back to past months and remembers fleeting looks of admiration they would give each other while the other person wasn't paying attention, as well as the little tasks they would go out of their way to do for each other. The encouraging words exchanged to gentle scoldings and the bright eyes and gentle smiles after every meeting. As she listed off their interactions, it suddenly dawned on her.
"...Oh." Hua murmurs. "It's so obvious." There's a silence between the two before Hua says something again.
"Don't you think they suit each other though?" She asks as a silly grin spreads across her face. Before Chuu'un can reply, the doors to the library open.
The two household members straighten their backs immediately. Yueying steps out with an armful of scrolls with Koumei following closely behind.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Hua. You must be very tired." Yueying says, looking apologetic.
"Not at all, Lady Wang! I'm not the least bit tired!" Hua exclaims. Yueying stares at her for a moment with a questioning look.
"You're quite energetic tonight, Hua, although your drooping eyelids tell me otherwise." Yueying teases. She then turns to Koumei and bows her head.
"Thank you for the scrolls about magic, Koumei."
"You're welcome, Yueying. Have a good night." Koumei replies, a small smile forming on his lips.
"Yes, good night to you too." Yueying answers, then makes her way down the hall in the opposite direction. Hua trails behind her, taking note of the tone of familiarity between the pair.
"Lady Wang, you seem incredibly familiar with Prince Koumei nowadays." Hua blurts out.
"W-what? We're just friends!" Yueying explains frantically and her cheeks flush a deep shade of red.
Hua fights back the laughter bubbling up in her throat.
"Whatever you say, Lady Wang."
In this chapter, Yueying is 19 while Koumei is 21.
Hua is 18 and comes from a family of blacksmiths that craft weapons for the royal palace. She is the youngest of three and has two older brothers.