Sorry for the slightly later update – It's a good thing today was a Snow Day, or it might have been even farther delayed! The last few days have been extraordinarily busy, and there might be a few late updates in the future: applying to scholarships, financial aid, and more takes up a lot of time. If any of you are seniors, I wish you the best of luck.
So! Without further ado, I will announce that the overwhelming majority voted for "The Fates We Cannot Hear", and I quite like this title, so it has been changed! Thank you all for you votes!
ClosetFMAfan: Thanks for the politics compliment! I know that if I do too much research, I'll end up making this into way too detailed and long a project – and I really only wanted this to be a semi-short story, so I'm trying to apply the political knowledge I've gleaned from my Gov't and History classes without being too long winded. Therefore, hearing you say I've done a good job with that is really nice!
Dotdodot: As a matter of fact, this chapter IS Ling's POV! J Great minds think alike, eh? And your comment about the manga-specific battle spurred me to start reading the manga, but it might be a while before this starts actually reaping benefits. So far, everything I've read is just like Brotherhood, so in the meantime, I'll have to rely on you to be my seeing eyes as far as making this as cannon as possible goes. ;)
lupin-lunaris: Thank you for your vote! And the compliment, of course. You gave me heart fuzzies! 3
Palindrome Pen: The second title it is, then! J Looking forward to you continued conversation!
Super Sexy Saiyan: My goodness! You're reviews are a writer's dream, my friend! :D Never change. You cannot imagine how relieved I am to hear you say I got Lan Fan spot on… I am always worried about making her too out of character in some way, shape, or form. As for the Bilan-meets-Lan-Fan-scene, I'm still plagued with doubts: is the meeting too rushed? Are they acting too unrealistic? Is this how they would portray their emotions? So, again, hearing you say that this scene was testament to skill in writing truly made my day. :D As always, thank you for the typo catch. It has been altered. Finally, I was not planning on having any Elric brothers make an appearance, but now that you mentioned it, perhaps it would be a good addition… I'll just have to keep you on your toes. ;)
leena1445: Thank you so much! My biggest worry, as I've said to other reviewers, is that I won't portray a scene correctly or that my pacing isn't right, so I'm really glad you like my writing style. I'm really not even sure that I, myself, know what my writing style is… but I'm glad that you like it! Also, I truly liked both titles I put up for the vote, so it didn't matter to me which one was like the most – and considering this project is mainly for you guys anyway, I thought it was only fair to let you have a say in it! And I'm glad my story has an aura. ;) Good to meet you, and welcome to the story!
Overall Notes:
1)SSS brought up a good question: YES, Makanay is pronounced "Mah-kah-nay", not "May-kah-nay". Probably should have pointed that out sooner.
2) On a similar note, the name "Rushi" in this chapter is pronounced "Roo-shee".
3) I'm starting to run out of pre-written chapters, so they might be coming a little slower from here on. On the upside, I'll make sure they're quality on the first try from now on.
4) Writing Ling and Bilan interact was surprisingly difficult, so please tell me how you think it turned out!
5) Sorry for the ridiculously long author note. Go enjoy the story now!
The Council's impromptu meeting base became the round table at the back of the kitchen so that they could mandate what food was being prepared while tending to other business at the same time. The room was full with the sounds of clattering pots and pans, shouts across the room as chefs barked orders at busboys, and various cooking sounds like chopping and boiling water. Ling was still not entirely sure how he had managed to convince the Councilmen to hold council in the kitchens – he suspected it had to do with the fact that most of them were potbellied old men who did not relish missing a meal any more than he did. His suspicions were confirmed as he saw one of the more wizened patrons snag a dumpling from an unsuspecting cooking girl, who looked frightened by his very presence. In the end, she flushed and bowed quickly, quietly accepting the lecture of a palace chef as he reprimanded her for 'misplacing' one of his dumplings.
In the midst of the chaos, Ling was staring at a map of the palace grounds that was marked with colored flag-markers as though it held the prophecy of his untimely doom. The longer he looked at it, the more his consternation grew and he felt a thundercloud of foreboding loomed above him. He felt oddly sick to his stomach.
Shi, enthusiastic as ever, was rambling on in spite of his prince's obvious discomfort.
"So after introductions are given, you will gallantly offer to give Lady Bilan a personal tour of the palace. The first place you should go is the aviary," he pointed to a yellow flag pinned on the map. "The birds are quite lively this time of year and will undoubtedly charm her with their songs."
Cheng glanced nervously at the prince's wan expression before clearing his throat meaningfully.
"Councilman Shi, I do not think – "
"And then it would be more than an ideal to follow-up by showing her the royal music rooms."
"Honestly, is that really – " Cheng sputtered.
"A rather magnificent jewel-encrusted harp arrived not too long ago."
"There is no need to – "
" It could be that she plays the harp, I know that many young ladies do."
"Perhaps it would be better to have the prince – "
Shi tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Now what really needs to be focused on is when you visit the gardens. That's the most amorous setting of the evening, it should be – "
"Councilman Shi!" Cheng boomed, red-faced and exasperated. Startled, the boisterous man paused and looked up expectantly. "May I remind you that we are not here to play matchmaker with the prince's future, but are merely giving him the chance to meet the woman he may, or may not, wed soon? We do not wish to mislead the poor girl by wooing her the moment she lays eyes on the next Emperor!"
Shi deflated, reluctantly regaining his stately composure as one of the Elders of the Council as if he had not been blabbering like a hopeless romantic for the last ten minutes.
"I was simply trying to… expedite the process of their relationship." He defended. Turning his attention to the disconsolate young man before him, his voice became inquiring. "Prince Ling, you will not mind my asking… you do intend to marry this girl, do you not?"
In an instant, Ling was stunned out of his gloom at the serious question.
Do I intend to marry her?
He was caught off guard and felt rather uncomfortable at the question. Ling's mouth formed a grim line, and he answered evasively. "I thought that such was the goal of this banquet, Councilman Shi - that I would be deciding the answer to that question after meeting Lady Bilan."
The newest member of the Council, a man in his late twenties, snorted lightly but not offensively.
"With all due respect, Your Highness, this arrangement is already more gracious than any Emperor's marriage has been in the past. The Council is accustomed to simply choosing a wife that is best-fit for political reasons from each of the fifty clans, and the Emperor has nearly no say in the matter. The least you can do is offer us the course of action that you are most likely to take, based off of the needs of your country."
A moment of silence spread across the table as Councilmen either nodded their heads in agreement or looked grave. Ling was one of the latter.
Damn! They're really trying to push me into this. What am I supposed to say?
It turned out he did not have to say anything. Cheng spoke up once more on his behalf.
"Councilman Soto has a point. This is likely the greatest measure of choice in this matter that any Emperor has been given in the history of Xing. The reason for this is simple. When it comes to the tradition sharing one's life with another in marriage, romantic ideals are bound to follow," he paused to give a pointed look at Shi, who had the good sense to look bashful. "Love before matrimony is not a privilege that has ever been allowed to an Emperor. Love makes bright men make foolish mistakes, and turns strong men into blinded weaklings. And in order to rule fifty clans with a steady hand, the Emperor and his Council can have no such distraction." Cheng stated. Ling listened to the man with mixed emotions. He knew that what the Elder said was true, but for some reason, was reluctant to admit it.
"However," the Elder continued with a wry smile. Ling's mood lifted at the hope in that 'however'. "Our prince has already decided to change history. There will no longer be fifty tiresome clans to juggle, but one mighty nation to lead. We have already come to the agreement that the prince need only marry once. Would it not be unwise to rush the prince into marriage with a single woman that he does not care for, and who he will be forced to share his life with, until the end of her days? Love can be distracting, but, as I am sure some of us can agree, an unhappy marriage can be more so."
A few Councilmen shifted in their seats at his last insinuation. Another Councilman spoke up.
"Emperors in the past have managed to live with the Council's choices well enough. Why should this choice be any different?"
The question was met with murmurs of agreement, but Cheng only laughed dryly.
"Councilmen, you must realize that the Emperor's harem is an escape within itself." He pointed out. "When the Emperor tires of one wife, he can move on to the next, and do so fifty times over. Our prince will not have such an opportunity. Unless…" He looked at Ling with a foxy gleam in his eye. "… the Young Lord wishes to alter the commitments of the Emperor's marriage to his liking?"
It was law that the Emperor could not take on mistresses outside of his harem, to avoid the additional complications of illegitimate children in an already tangled web of rightful heirs. The Council agreed that this law would remain even after the harem was dissolved, but obviously Cheng wanted to clarify the matter.
Ling blinked in bafflement, feeling the blood rush to his face at what Cheng was suggesting. Only after attempting to swallow several times did he realize that the Council was actually waiting for his answer.
"N-no!" he croaked. "Of course I won't… marriage is… no. I will not alter the laws of the Emperor's marriage concerning… mistresses."
Cheng looked amused. "Good. Now that that is settled…" He turned his attention to the rest of the Council. "… is the Council agreed that Prince Ling will decide for himself if he can commit to marriage with Lady Bilan Xu after the course of due time?"
Mutters of agreement were heard around the table, some willing and some begrudging. Ling breathed a sigh of relief. Crisis averted.
The prince consulted the time. The servants must have made their rounds to wake their lords and ladies by now. Bilan was probably rested and ready to roam the palace. Ling felt his uneasiness return at the thought of accompanying the girl that he was likely to marry soon. Then again, it was not like he had much of a choice.
The Council had agreed that it was best if Ling married sooner rather than later – 'sooner' meaning within the next few years. In order for the arrangements, documents, and celebrations to be prepared within that time, they said that he should be at least ready to draw up a list of the most suitable matches after mingling during the feast. If things did not work well with Bilan, he should be ready with other courtiers to fall back on.
Love, indeed.
Ling stood. "Since we're all in agreement, I see no reason to waste any time. If you will excuse me, I have a guest to meet. I am sure you can handle the banquet arrangements without me." He added with an ironic smile. Shi grumbled something about shirking duties before he bent his head over Ling's previously made list of foods to be served. Without another word, he left the Councilmen and headed toward the kitchen doors. As much as he liked the snack foods that were readily available in the kitchens, it would be nice to breathe air that was not saturated with cooking smells.
His mind, after all, was for once not occupied with his next meal.
Seeing as Bilan was the only noblewoman he knew of who was his age, who both did not hold a grudge against him since birth, and was not a pampered royal with no clue of how to handle politics, the 'choice' that he was being presented was more than a little misleading.
Ling dodged servants who were running platters of uncooked food from one end of the kitchens to the other. He shook his head in wonder at the frantic bustle that most of the palace's servants were going through to get this banquet prepared by the evening. It was astounding. And all because some Councilmen calculated that he wouldn't be respected as such a young Emperor unless he had a wife, then decided to play matchmaker with a beautiful, kind, and charitable non-heiress of the Xu clan. It could not exactly be surprising that he hadn't even glanced once at the cooked foods.
This banquet was less of an opportunity for Ling to get to know Bilan, and more of an opportunity for him to propose to her outside the boundaries of an actual 'arranged marriage'.
How did it come to this? Ling wondered. He was no fool. He knew that becoming Emperor would mean marriage. He just… it was… this was not what he had been expecting. He had not been prepared to make such a big life decision in such a short span of time. Rather, he had not been prepared to be making his life decisions: he had always assumed that, as Emperor, he would be too focused on his country to handle personal affairs. He now realized the flaw in that way of thinking, though it was a little late. How could he handle a whole nation if he could not even take care of his own love life?
Still, he thought. If the general opinion is anything to go by, I'll have no problem wanting to marry her. In fact, the more difficult thing will probably be getting her to want me.
So why did he still feel like he was walking towards a guillotine?
Ling huffed at the ridiculous thought. He most definitely was not walking towards the guillotine. He was walking towards an innocent pair of kitchen doors that would lead to the only speck of normalcy that had remained in his life since Amestris. Lan Fan was just beyond that door, monitoring his qi presence with every step he took. Ling smiled at the mental image of Lan Fan's concentrated frown, feeling instantly comforted at the familiarity of his friend.
Ling strode through the threshold and automatically started eyeing the shadows of the palace pillars – Lan Fan was ever-conscious about being overly visible.
His eyes squinted some more. There was… no Lan Fan.
No… Lan Fan.
The thought did not process correctly. She just must have gotten better at hiding.
"Ah, greetings Your Highness!"
Ling turned, only realizing that the voice did not belong to Lan Fan when he registered the casual form of a different palace guard. She looked familiar, so Ling knew he must have seen her before. Such a character would be hard to forget. She bore a rather unique face that was distinctly non-Xingese, with an eye patch and copper-colored hair. Nevertheless, she bowed low to him as was Xing custom, but maintained an unusual amount of eye contact. Familiar with Xingese custom, but still a foreigner.
"Excuse me, Your Highness. My name is Makanay. I just received notice from Lan Fan that I would be taking over her guard today," she informed.
Ling's eyebrows lifted in surprise. Was this… Lan Fan taking the day off? But why? She seemed fine just this morning.
He tried not to sound overly-concerned when he asked. "Is Lan Fan well? It isn't like her to hand over her guard so readily."
The girl – Makanay – seemed to smile knowingly, and Ling tried not to notice. "Physically, she is fine, Your Highness. Lan Fan simply seemed to need a break."
The prince ignored the irrational pang of guilt that made him grimace, forcing his features to regain his characteristic care-free smile. He should not feel guilty; he himself was the one who often suggested that Lan Fan take a break. Although it was usually because he just wanted to pull pranks without her watching…
"Oh, well good for her! I always tell her that she should find some company other than me to hang around." Ling smiled still, but why did he feel so damn awkward? He hoped that the guard's piercing eyes would look past it, but instinctively knew there was no chance. Somehow, he had the feeling that she knew more than he did.
Makanay just stared at him and snorted. His expression faltered and he cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Actually, I was planning on meeting a guest that has arrived at the palace. First, we have to see if she's awake, but I plan to show her around." He turned on his heel and began walking, reminded of his original task. He continued talking to the rather unnerving bodyguard without turning to face her fully, feeling more at ease now that her all-seeing-eye was not peering into his soul.
"So you'll actually be able to enjoy a free tour and some nice scenery while on guard duty. Lan Fan has it rough. Sometimes I'm sitting in one conference for hours and she has nothing to do but wait for imaginary assassins," he chatted.
"Assassins or no, I can assure you that Lan Fan is never bored in your company," the girl murmured quietly.
Ling's step faltered, once again caught off-guard by some hidden message in the foreigner's words that he was sure was there but could not quite make sense of. When he glanced back at her and she looked completely nonplussed, he decided to shrug it off. She had spoken softly, so maybe she hadn't even intended him to hear at all… even though he had the feeling that nothing coming out of her mouth was superfluous.
They continued walking in silence after that, with Ling leading and Makanay trailing behind him to his left. The placement seemed off to him, and it was only after trekking through about a dozen tapestries worth of palace corridor that he realized what was bothering him – Lan Fan always walked directly beside him to his right. Without her by his side he felt oddly… unbalanced.
The realization puzzled him more than anything. After all, it was not as if they were never apart. When Fu was alive, the two bodyguards would often take shifts and Ling would not see Lan Fan for hours, or even days, on end. Even now, she had her own generic palace guard shifts to attend to, or he would want to be alone, and he would walk the palace halls unattended. Lan Fan (much to his friend's obvious chagrin) was not always attached to Ling's shadow.
But for some reason, he felt her absence keenly now in a way that made him constantly check from the corner of his eye to make sure she actually wasn't there. And sure enough, every time he checked, he found no Lan Fan. Lan Fan, with her quiet, yet strong and responsive presence. Instead, if he looked out of the opposite corner of his eye, he found a stranger with loud hair and a rather thorny, defensive demeanor.
Once again, Ling shook off his odd feelings in favor of focusing on the task at hand. By now they had reached the guest rooms, where servants were bustling to and fro, delivering breakfasts, and changing sheets for the various court officials that were staying in the palace for the upcoming festivities. Just as he was about to stop one and ask for Lady Bilan, he saw her.
She was walking down the hall while talking to a servant, who was gesturing purposefully to a scroll of paper held in front of her. Both were rather absorbed in the conversation, giving Ling the perfect chance to see what he was up against.
Already his apprehension about the task at hand was returning. He could accept a homunculus into his body, he could become the youngest Emperor of Xing, but it seemed that he was rather in over his head on this one.
The girl was a natural beauty, a perfect balance of dark and light with an almost palpable energy of feminine kindness and tranquility. Her robes were elegant but simple, fitting her both tastefully and modestly. Her earnest brown eyes held a potent vitality in them that had been lost in his photograph of her, lending her a life that showed no sign of flagging. She listened to the servant attentively as the handmaid showed her the contours of what Ling saw to be a map of the palace. It was evident in the way that she held herself while talking to the servant that she did not look down upon those below her station. All in all, she looked like the pinnacle of female aptitude. She looked like an Empress.
The thought lodged itself like a heavy hot-stone in his chest.
He approached a few more steps, and the servant was the first to notice him. She looked a little startled at first, but then quickly rolled up the map she had been decoding for her lady and bowed low in respect and recognition. Bilan, who did not recognize him, took her cue from the servant and bowed in greeting. He stiffly returned the gesture.
The servant, sensing Bilan's confusion, tactfully greeted him for her benefit. "Good morning, Your Highness. My Lady Bilan Xu is becoming acquainted with the palace. Do you have any suggestions, Your Highness?"
Bilan's almond eyes cleared in understanding, and she bowed once more. "I would be honored to accept advice from Prince Ling."
Bilan tried to look collected and graceful, but being in the anxious state that he was, Ling was quick to pick up on her own apparent nervousness. It made him relax a bit, suddenly aware of how silly it was for them both to be uneasy (albeit for different reasons). He smiled.
"Actually, since it is to my understanding that Lady Bilan is the only courtier who does not know her way around, I would be honored to given her a tour myself," he stated with an easiness he did not feel. This was probably only because the Councilmen had rehearsed with him the excuse he should use to spend time with the lady. Bilan blinked in surprise, but then smiled with a blooming excitement. The plan was set in motion.
He felt like he was going to war.
"That would be wonderful!"
And so the helpful servant with the palace map was allowed to return to her other chores as Bilan took Ling's left arm and he began her tour. As Makanay followed them both with discreet efficiency, Ling tried to keep his gaze from wandering to the shadows on his right whenever the conversation found a lull.
Maybe it was the fact that she was almost always with him at this time of day… or maybe it was even because he was meeting one the most potentially important people in his life. All Ling Yao knew was that he wished he could know what Lan Fan was doing right now.
The first impression that Bilan had of the Future Emperor was… youth. He was little older than she was, and she was baffled by the fact that this was the renowned prince who had returned from the strange land to the West with the title of Immortal Prince. It was hard to imagine that he, with his easy grin and amiable words, could have fought the battles that he had and lived to tell the tale.
However, Bilan was, if nothing else, perceptive. It did not take her long to realize that there was far more beneath the surface of this young man than she had realized.
First of all, he seemed distracted. He kept discretely looking to his right as if he expected something – or someone – to be lurking there. Whenever she caught his eye after he had glanced backwards, he acted as though nothing of import had happened. Perhaps nothing of import had happened, but it was a curious tick that made Bilan wonder. She wondered vaguely if he had been attacked from the right in one of his battles, and now was paranoid. Or perhaps he was still afraid of assassins, even though he was supposedly Immortal.
Ling did not seem paranoid, however – whenever he was not glancing over his shoulder, he was extremely attentive, witty, kind, and even goofy. He certainly did not seem to be the kind of man to succumb to unfounded worries and to be deathly afraid of shadows in stark daylight, especially with guardsmen posted all about the palace, and a personal guard trailing them the entire time.
The descriptor of "Immortal" was a different story. Bilan supposed that she would not know how to tell if someone seemed immortal, since she had never met a person who was such before. Somehow she simply thought he would be more… impressive. Important.
Bilan blushed suddenly at the thought that she had just insulted the most important man in Xing in her thoughts. If he had been anything like the more ruthless Emperors in their history, she could possibly pay with her life if she had uttered such words out loud.
A nervous glance to her right confirmed that Ling had not, in fact, discerned her thoughts – 'Immortal' was not synonymous with 'telepathic', then. For some reason, she found that thought incredibly reassuring. With a quick glance behind her to the red-haired guardswoman who was never far, she started when she met the other women's gaze and blushed at her knowing smirk. Quickly turning her head, she suddenly felt much less reassured on the point of 'telepathy'.
Spending time with Ling was not as she had expected it to be. On one hand, he was incredibly easy to get along with… but on the other, his presence was oddly disconcerting. He was taller than her, but a little shorter than Zhou; more slender and with narrower eyes that seemed to catch everything. Zhou, too, never missed a thing, of course – he just always looked around him with eyes wide open, deep and black and fathomless. She could always see his eyes, unlike with Ling, but that did not necessarily mean that she could discern his thoughts. With Ling, it was the opposite – whenever he did meet her eyes with his own, she felt confident that she could tell what he was feeling… even if those feelings did not make much sense to her.
The more time they spent walking around the palace with Ling giving her a forced-sounding tour and obviously trying to entertain her, the more she became certain that he was incredibly uneasy about something. The only thing she could not imagine was about what.
Perhaps he is secretly introverted, she pondered. And he does not know how to act socially.
If this was true then he was going to have a difficult time as an Emperor. She grimaced.
Unfortunately, Ling seemed to notice that time. He stopped in the middle of advertising some new jewel encrusted instrument called a 'harp', the likes of which she had only ever seen pictures of, and rubbed his neck awkwardly. "I am boring you, aren't I."
It was not a question. Bilan thought it was prudent not to answer it as if it had been one. In her corner, the guardswoman snickered quietly, and the Lady blushed in answer instead.
Now it was Ling's turn to grimace. "I am sorry, really. I promise I am usually much more… dashing. Perhaps it's the…" he looked uncomfortably at the door, for some reason. "… the upcoming festivities that have me so tied up in knots."
So he is unsocial then. Poor man.
This time Ling seemed to catch on to her poorly veiled pity, and tried to change the subject.
"Is there anything you wanted to see or do in the palace in particular? I know that the first thing I wanted to do once I came here was have a dish of each of my favorite foods delivered to my room, simply because I could. Granted, I was only ten the first time I got to visit my father, so there were more sweets involved than anything, but…" Ling trailed off as he realized he was rambling, and cleared his throat, awkwardly placing his hands in his robes so that he would not toy with them.
Bilan was suddenly struck with how hard he seemed to be trying, and could not catch the bubble of laughter that fought its way out of her chest. What truly got to her was that this was the future Emperor. She was talking to one of the most experienced, traveled, learned men this country knew of, and he seemed to not know what to do with himself around… her. She was nothing but a distant relation to a harem wife. Her only purpose in life was to maybe relieve the hardships of the clans around her. All of this was true, and yet he,the Immortal Prince for crying out loud, had this uncomfortable, rambling way of trying to be friendly... for her! It was endearing and ridiculous, and she found that all of this tension was completely unneeded. If he could somehow find a reason to be unsure of himself around her, of all people, then she was surely not going to encourage such behavior.
Ling, however, had completely misinterpreted her reaction, and subsequently had very red ears around this time.
"You are laughing at me."
Bilan laughed again, but only at the additional ridiculousness. "I promise, I am not!"
Despite himself, he snorted a little at that and gave a begrudging smile. "Well, I must say, you are a very convincing liar. Completely fooled me."
In the end, his unexpected, witty sense of humor was what did her in. The unfathomable tension of the situation paired with the ironic banter made her giggles turn into hearty laughs, the likes of which she had not had in a long time. She could not stop at this point even if she wanted to – even if there was nothing funny happening, because now, everything was funny – and she supposed it was a good thing that Ling eventually joined in, because otherwise it would have been immensely rude of her.
They laughed together until they both had nothing to laugh at besides the image of the other person laughing, which consequently made the cycle of uproarious laughter endless. It was also a good thing everyone was preparing for the festival because this was all quite an improper display. The tension and decorum melted away as the Future Emperor and Lady Bilan doubled over in their fine silks and shared a good, long laugh simply for the sake of it. Bilan caught herself leaning on his shoulder for support as she felt light headed, and attempted to regain some semblance of composure.
Forcing several deep, shuddering breaths into her aching stomach, Bilan wiped tears from her sore cheeks. Mirth bubbled forth and her chest vibrated with it, but she muffled her chuckles as Ling tried to do the same. Somehow, she found the breath enough to speak.
"It just so happens, good Emperor, that laughter makes me quite ravenous. Suppose you could accompany me to find a good meal?"
Ling almost lost it at her unnecessarily hoity-toity tone of voice, but struggled to follow her lead.
Gravely, he leaned in. "My Lady, it may have escaped your notice, but the kitchens are currently preparing for a three-day feast."
She arched an eyebrow. "Oh?"
He nodded, "Indeed. Thusly, should we venture towards the kitchens without caution, we may find our necks in mortal peril." He glanced surreptitiously towards his bodyguard – who looked both amused and bemused at their antics – and leaned in closer, as if to tell a secret. "Rumor has it, two kitchen hands have been dispatched by the fury of the Head Chef for stealing a few carrots."
"Oh my!"
"Yes. Nasty business."
Bilan could not help but give an unladylike sound of ill-concealed laughter, which inadvertently turned out very snort-like, and broke the play acting. Ling also straightened, smiling, and seemed much more natural.
Perhaps not so antisocial after all.
"But truly, I am hungry." She began again. In thought, she bit her lip, knowing that there was a grain of truth in his jest. The kitchens were sure to be absolute chaos right about now, what with the stress of providing food for all of the current guests as well as preparing for the feast. She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "You know, I remember passing a promising-looking eatery on my here. It cannot be far from the palace – just in the marketplace. Perhaps we could try there?"
Ling raised his eyebrows and looked behind him, askance of the bodyguard. The nonchalant woman shrugged her shoulders.
"Wherever you wish to risk your royal neck is up to you." The woman spoke with a strange accent, but with otherwise flawless Xingese.
"It's settled then!" Ling smiled. "To the marketplace we go."
Ling and Bilan rode to the eatery she remembered on horseback by her request, which was how he discovered that she was an excellent equestrian. She had explained that her family often had to ride on horseback without carriages for the sake of time to travel from one clan to another, and it had been second nature to her ever since she was large enough to maintain her own horse. Furthermore, her uncle dabbled in the breeding of horses, so she knew a good deal about the origins of different horses, as well as how each is best taken care of. Ling found the topic fascinating, as he himself had only had exposure to the beasts after he had visited the palace for the first time. He had since become accustomed to riding, and even did it for pleasure sometimes, but it was nothing to the way Bilan looked as if she had been born in a saddle. Makanay, on the other hand, had grumbled a bit at having to ride a horse of her own, but had managed well enough. In a strange way, the woman looked almost like Lieutenant Hawkeye, watching them from atop a black mare with a demeanor as sharp as her own.
Now that he was not trying to give some flowery, forced speech that Shi was sure to be proud of, Ling found Bilan's company… enjoyable. He was quickly forgetting the discomforting amount of his future that rode on this outing and was remembering the fun that went into getting to know another person.
It did not take the two long to discover that they had a shared passion in food.
Even as they rode to their prospective meal, the two began chatting about all of their favorite dishes, and all the talk of duck in plum sauce, pork and noodles, and fresh spring rolls, among other things, was making both their mouths water. When they entered the marketplace and the atmosphere dominated by cooking foods, it was all both could do to not run to the nearest vendor and buy the whole lot.
"Oh, there it is!" Bilan cried excitedly, pointing. The establishment was small but well kept, with windows alight and glowing invitingly. The sign above the door looked freshly painted and clean, and proudly bore the words "The Destiny of Dumplings".
As they neared and dismounted to tie up their horses, Ling had to admit that the smell wafting out of the place was heavenly. "I can see why this place got your attention".
Bilan hummed and looked pensive as she rubbed her mare's nose and produced a few sugar cubes to give her from her robes. "It was actually the name of the place that caught my eye first." She stepped away from her horse and smiled at him. "Then the smell, of course."
They waited for Makanay to dismount and join them before stepping up to enter the cookery.
The smell of good food instantly intensified and the comforting sounds of merriment and conversation tumbled over them with the welcoming atmosphere. A matronly woman behind a cooking counter noticed their entrance, and bustled over while wiping her hands on her apron. On the way she checked on several people and greeted patrons like they were old friends, ushering them to find any free tables. The place was not overly packed, but was by no means deserted – the business was definitely good, and for good reason, if the food stuffs Ling could see were anything to go by.
It was only when the woman was right in front of them that she made direct eye contact. "Good evening! My name is Madame Fen. You two seem to be new faces around here; may I escort you to – "
The woman – Madame Fen – stopped short and her eyes widened with a flicker of recognition. Ling felt some of his earlier discomfort creeping back, realizing that he had not even considered the chance of being recognized. He had been hoping to spend an uneventful meal with Bilan, but now the chances of that seemed slim, as Madame Fen seemed to almost shake with her discovery.
In a moment, however, it became clear that Ling needn't have worried – for it was Bilan's hands that the woman was clasping in the kind of joyful fervor of two old friends reuniting.
Ling, surprised, looked at Bilan and became even more surprised when she seemed to know exactly what was going on. She smiled at the woman fondly. "I had a feeling that you might be the owner of this wonderful kitchen, but I had to be sure. It is so good to see you again, Madame Fen."
The woman looked close to tears. "I cannot believe it's you! After all this time, I – " she sniffed with emotion, and seemed to remember herself, catching the bewildered look of Ling. "Oh, but I forget myself. And you came with a young man! Come, come – you two shall have the best seats in the house, I will settle for nothing less."
"Actually, Madame," Bilan put in. "I was hoping I could see the conditions of the kitchen, and perhaps… meet your son?"
If Madame Fen had been emotional before, now she seemed simply overwhelmed. Seemingly shocked with some kind of emotion that Ling could not begin to understand the cause of, the woman pressed a hand to her chest and nodded, once again tearful. "Of course! But of course… come right this way."
As the woman began weaving her way between patrons towards what seemed to be the entryway to the kitchens, Ling caught Bilan's elbow as they followed. Although he was brimming with questions, the only one that made to the surface was, "Do you know each other?" He grimaced, realizing how stupid that question was. Immediately he felt like a fool – of course they knew each other. How could they not have, with such a reunion scene as that?
Bilan, however, did not seem to notice the redundancy of the question and blushed, as if remembering herself. "I'm so sorry… I promise I will explain shortly. I would have warned you, but I wasn't sure that there was anything to warn you about." She grimaced herself, looking apologetic. "I'm afraid that was terribly rude of me."
Ling frowned but accepted her answer, shrugging off her apology. He supposed he was simply not used to feeling so out of the loop.
As they neared the kitchen entrance, Ling also noticed something else – the lack of stares they were attracting. Whenever he did catch someone looking, they seemed to be focused more on Ling and Bilan's fine robes (though they had had the sense to change into something less rich before leaving the palace, there was still an obvious difference between the quality of fabrics). No one seemed to realize that the young man in their midst was the future Emperor of Xing. Ling frowned thoughtfully, understanding now why the Councilmen were so concerned about his public image. It was because he had none. He had been so absorbed with learning how to be an Emperor and preparing his people for the future that he had neglected making sure the people knew him – as a result, he could walk into the marketplace that was closest to the very palace he lived in, and no one even knew his face. It was an unsettling conclusion.
Meanwhile, the woman leading them cleared the way to let them enter a kitchen that was just as lively as the kitchens in the palace – perhaps more so, due to the smaller space. Unaffected by the flurry of activity, Madame Fen navigated the area expertly, even calling out a few pieces of advice and warning as she passed cooks chopping, searing, and serving out dishes.
It soon became obvious as to where the woman was leading them. A boy of about ten years old sat in the back with arms immersed in soapy water up to the elbows, chatting with fellow maids and smiling. He looked up when Madame Fen approached, and smiled a toothy grin. Ling noticed that the boy was scrawny and pale, with shadows in his face that implied weak health, but had rare light blue eyes that shone with animation.
"It's so busy today, Mama! My fingers are all shriveled like a witch's from the water!" He gestured to his current chore, showing his wrinkled hands proudly.
Madame Fen smiled fondly and kissed the boy on the head. Ling did not really know what to do with himself, and so tried his best to melt into the background as Makanay had done, playing the part of silent observer. Lan Fan would be proud.
"Just a bit longer, dear, and then I'll see if I can find you another job." Madame Fen consoled her son. With one hand on his back, she gestured to a smiling Bilan. "Tell me, Rushi, do you recognize who this is?"
Bilan's smile grew as Rushi stared hard at her, as if with deep concentration. Slowly, the boy's face lit up with recognition, and he stood up excitedly, inadvertently splashing water from his bucket.
"You're that Lady! I remember you for your smile!" He looked with wondering eyes at his mother. "What is she doing here?"
While his mother pinched his ear for sounding so tactless and rude, Bilan laughed. "We actually came to find a meal. I saw this place as I was traveling to the palace and the name struck a cord with me. I had to see if my intuition was right."
"Oh, of course!" Madame Fen gushed. "You two must be so hungry, and I am just a sentimental old woman. You can catch up with Rushi later – for now, you must eat!"
Without delay, the two were hurried out of the kitchens to a quiet corner of the cooking house, where Madame Fen personally took their orders and hurried back to the kitchens. Their food arrived in record time, and he had to admit, it was exceptionally good. Despite the distraction, however, Ling found that he could not contain his curiosity any longer.
"Though the food is delicious, I have the distinct impression that there is another reason why you were interested in this place," he hinted.
Bilan sighed, setting down her aromatic tea (which was also, Ling noticed, masterfully brewed). "I know. That all must have been incredibly awkward for you, but like I said earlier, I did not want to warn you about anything until I knew for sure. You could say Madame Fen and I are… old friends." She smiled softly, taking another sip of her tea.
Ling arched an eyebrow. "Old friends? She looked at you as if you were a deity sent from the heavens."
A blush colored the tips of Bilan's ears and she looked suddenly bashful. "Madame Fen makes too much of my involvement with her situation. You see, two years ago, her husband died with an incredible amount of gambling debt, leaving her and her son destitute and with a soiled name and reputation."
Frowning, Ling leaned forward. "That's another thing – her son. Is he sickly?"
Bilan nodded. "Yes. That was part of the reason why their situation as so desperate. In one fell swoop, Madame Fen lost her husband and all the means with which she could pay for medicine for her son. As his health declined more and more, she was forced to resort to supporting herself and her son in the only way that was open to her." She looked sadly at her noodles. Ling understood the implication – prostitution was not an uncommon profession for struggling women, nor was it a kind one. Ling found a new kind of sympathy for the woman who seemed so motherly and kind.
"But… how did you two meet if she was in such conditions?"
Bilan looked up then, a small smile tugging at her pretty mouth. "That's where the story gets interesting. Madame Fen found that she still did not have enough money to support herself, her son, and his medical expenses, so she also began selling hot meals to any passerby or to any of her other… customers." She cleared her throat. "Well, in any case, one day my mother and I were traveling through the district she lived in for negotiation purposes with one of the known elites who resided there, leeching off of the dirty money that came to him by monopolizing the trade there, both legal and illegal. Despicable man. I was only fourteen but I could tell even then that he was the kind of scum who would sell anything and anyone to make profit." She shuddered. Ling felt the strong desire to comfort her or, at the very least, land a good punch on the man in question, but refrained himself from interrupting. It bothered him that he was so little aware of the things taking place in his own country. Of course he knew of the existence of the black market, and he even knew the names of some of the top drug lords who were being hunted, but it occurred to him that he had had precious little hands-on experience with these matters since his return to Xing.
"Anyways, it happened one day that I got separated from my mother and was left to fend for myself in the streets." She gave a little laugh. "I was terrified! I had seen places like this, mind you, but I had always had someone with me. There I was, stranded with no money in my purse and in clothes that stuck out like a beacon amid the squalor, a sitting duck waiting to be attacked by some bandit or another. Besides that, I hadn't eaten since the day before because we had been in such a hurry, and was practically starving!
"I remember I was just on the verge of tears when I suddenly caught the smell of one of my favorite dishes being cooked in the air. The ginger was strong and it smelled so good that I nearly forgot about my worry at being separated from my mother. I followed the scent as best I could, trying to ignore the part of town I was entering, and the woman who was cooking it turned out to be none other than Madame Fen."
Of course, Ling thought. It's all coming together. Bilan was fascinating to watch as she told her story, her eyes glazed over with remembrance and cheeks flushed with the animation of reliving the tale.
"Well, like I said, I had no money on me – I had given it to my mother, who was to be the financial manager of the trip. So when I found Madame Fen, I had nothing to give her, and was just as good as any other beggar. She seemed so kind and motherly, however, that I pleaded with her anyway to at least let me stay with her until I could think of some way to contact my mother. She agreed and, as my hunger grew, I asked her if I could help her cook in order to pay for a meal."
Ling raised his eyebrows. "You can cook?"
Bilan blinked, surprised from being taken from her narrative, but smiled. "Yes! I have learned to cook from a young age. Usually the situation is turned around, after all – when my family makes visits to other villages, often it is me who cooks meals and gives them to the hungry. Imagine how embarrassed I was to be on the other side of the bowl this time!"
Ling could only half imagine her embarrassment. During his time in Amestris, he had had no qualms about accepting the (albeit forced) charity from a certain State Alchemist. He smirked to himself, but decided to keep his thoughts private. Bilan continued, oblivious to his reaction.
"Madame Fen, the saint that she was, agreed and let me have a meal basically for free, despite the intense lack of resources she had to sustain charity." She shook her head to herself, lost in her own thoughts. "It was truly the most incredible and kind act I had ever witnessed. She had no way of knowing whether or not I was telling the truth about my family's wealth, or even if I was lying through my teeth about my mother in order to gain her sympathies. All she knew was that I seemed like a lost, hungry girl who had been unintentionally abandoned. Despite all of her hardships, her heart was big enough to give me some of the food that would have otherwise gone towards supporting her own son.
"Needless to say, I felt incredibly indebted to her and wanted to help her in any way I could. Because I had no money and could not go out and buy her ingredients, I instead spent time with her son for the hours that I was in her care. He was terribly ill, but he also was surrounded by the filth of his environment. Poor Madame Fen never had enough time to clean up properly between cooking for patrons, entertaining them, and buying ingredients and medicine. I decided to help by cleaning everything to the best of my ability." Here she looked a little proud of herself. "I imagine that those floorboards and bedclothes were never quite so clean as they were after I was through with them. I ended up hauling buckets of water from the district's well so that I could give Rushi, who was only eight or so at the time, a much needed bath and lending him my outer cloak so that he could be in clean clothes for once." She smiled a little ruefully. "He was always a small boy, but he's grown so much – back then, he was stunted by his illness and poor conditions, and he practically swam in the thing."
She took a deep breath. "Well, by the time dusk rolled around, my mother somehow found her way to me, all panicked, and there I was – sleeves rolled up and tending to a sickly child as Madame Fen used the ingredients I had helped her chop earlier to cook up meals for a low fee. My mother was sick with worry, and ended up giving Madame Fen most of her purse in gratitude. The poor woman was so surprised at being repaid for something that she had been so sure would be charity that she practically kissed my mother right then and there!"
Bilan burst out laughing, as if at an inside joke, and Ling cocked his head in askance. Noticing his look, she cleared her throat. "My mother is a very imposing woman, Your Highness. It was comical, to say the least."
Ling nodded. "So is that the end of the story?"
Bilan shook her head, looking wistful again. "Not quite. Even as we were walking away from Madame Fen and her son, it didn't seem right to me. In the end, I pleaded with my mother to give her finances enough to take her out of this squalor. She said she would bring the matter up with my father, who would arrive the next day. When he finally came, I told him about the woman who had taken care of me and how amazing her food was even in such conditions." She grimaced again. "I might have exaggerated a bit, but I had been so hungry and I was so thankful for her kindness that I couldn't help it. In the end, he told me that if he ate some of her food and thought that it lived up to my description, he would pay off her more immediate debts, give the woman enough money to travel to a better city and set up a respectable establishment and support herself and her son, and pay off the rest of her debt herself."
He was impressed. Try as he might, he could not imagine his own father, the Emperor himself, being so giving with his subjects. "What happened?"
Bilan rolled her eyes. "Of course, my father probably knew I was exaggerating, but he has always been indulgent of me. He ended up eating some of Madame Fen's best food and making a humongous ruckus as so how delicious it was. He did as he said he would, and even though Madame Fen said she would be forever indebted to me and my family, I am almost positive he did it more for my benefit than for hers. Still," she pensively swirled the dregs of her tea. "I had always wondered what had become of Madame Fen and her son. We saw them off the day they departed to head here, to the capital, and they have sent us letters occasionally, but it was usually just evidence that they were spending my father's money well and paying off their debts. When I got the invitation to come to the palace, I knew I wanted to keep my eye out for them." She took a final bite from her dish, as if to signal the close of her narrative.
Ling sat back in his seat, the spell of Bilan's story now broken. He hadn't even realized that he was leaning forward on his elbows, engrossed in her tale. He felt a bevy of conflicting emotions, but foremost was the discomfort that this one girl, who did not even know that her future was invested in the throne, had had such personal connections with the people that he had sworn to protect. It was made painfully obvious to him now that, sometime between his declaration in Amestris to the present day, he had become disconnected from his people. Not his nation, per se, but his people.
Another factor of his discomfort came from the fact that this girl was obviously proving the Councilmen right. Not even a full day into her acquaintance, and she was already making him think critically about his relationship with his people and the consequences of his future actions. Already the ideas he had for his nation's future were expanding and morphing into something more close and personal, instead of simply making it into a 'nation unified and easier to protect'. Not to mention that he enjoyed her company.
They were right. She would make a perfect Empress. But why did that thought sit like a sword above his head waiting to drop?
Taking a thoughtful bite from a red bean paste dumpling, he switched to a different subject.
"One last question," he began, swallowing. "How did you know that this place, of all places, was likely to be Madame Fen's establishment?"
Bilan looked a little startled at the question, and let out a little burst of laughter. "It's a simple thing, really. Madame Fen's nickname for me was 'Dumpling'."
Ling nearly choked on his bite. His incredulous look made her laugh more and flush pink.
"I know, it's a little embarrassing. But she always said that my light skin and round face reminded her of a dumpling. During my time spent with her, she began rambling on about the strange destiny of her 'little Dumpling', and when I saw the name of this place, I couldn't help but remember her." She smiled to herself. "I'm glad I followed my instincts."
Ling chuckled again and agreed. He savored the last few bites of his meal, thinking that it truly was some of the best he had had in a while – not that he would tell the palace chef as much.
I have to take Lan Fan here.
The thought came from nowhere, but Ling was struck with how much he missed his friend's presence. Though she would never have admitted as much, he knew she would have loved the romanticism of Bilan's story, not to mention the good food. That was when he realized that he had unwittingly ordered Lan Fan's favorite spicy pork dish… and somehow, it did not taste as full of flavor without her there. He felt a pang of some emotion – Worry? Guilt? – when he looked into the shadows and did not sense her presence. Despite the hot meal and comforting atmosphere, he felt… alone.
Ling shook himself off and rose, holding out a hand to help Bilan up as he paid for their meal. There was no reason to feel alone. Lan Fan was safe and spending time on herself, just like he always told her to. Ling was enjoying the company of the woman who might be his future wife and Empress of the nation, just like his Councilmen had told him to. Makanay was keeping a watchful and capable eye on him, just as Lan Fan had told her to. Everyone had permission to do whatever it was they were doing.
Nothing was out of place. This was what he tried to convince himself of, even as Bilan went back to the kitchens and they exchanged some last goodbyes with Madame Fen and her son. They never told them exactly who Ling was.
He tried to convince himself of this even as they wandered the market, buying different fruits and snacks to munch on the way back to the palace. Even as he led Bilan back to their horses and they began a leisurely ride back to the royal grounds, he could not shake the feeling that all of this convincing was unsuccessful. By this time, the sun was getting lower in the sky and the light was turning a rich amber color. He shared a few laughs with Bilan, telling her stories about the outlandish food he ate in Amestris, including an odd dessert pastry called 'apple pie'. For some reason or other, he stayed clear of stories including the pranks he pulled with – or on – his bodyguards, or the times that he and Lan Fan would go off on their own to leave Fu driven out of his mind with worry. Somehow, it all felt off. Wrong.
It was only when he left Bilan outside her rooms with a promise to save a dance for her during the feast that he began to narrow down the source of the pit that was in his stomach. He could still not understand why, but he had a feeling he was beginning to understand the what. Distractedly, he retired to his own rooms and dismissed Makanay. Picking up a book about politics and flopping onto his bed, he stared unseeingly at the pages. He went over the events of the day, forced to acknowledge the fact that the only thing wrong with anything was in his head. To anyone else, the day was perfect. Escaping the pressures of the Councilmen, he had actually learned something about the state of things with his people, and how much more he needed to learn. He had made a new friend, possibly an opening to a future romance, and his best friend had gotten a day off out of the deal. Ling snapped his book shut irritably and began pacing about his room, unable to sit still, like a prisoner in a cage.
Why did it feel like betrayal?