The powerful Emperor stood with pride, looking down onto the silent training grounds to see his daughter in her fighting stance. Directly in front of her, on the other side of the training grounds was the Emperor's Captain of the Guard, another who was a master in Martial Arts. Now was the time for his highness to see his pride bloom with her skills. Xu spread his hands out and clapped them together, calling out in his grand, Elvish voice. "Sii!" ("Now!")
Breaking through the path of the wind, Lihua lunged forth with her powerful legs to give her an almighty speed. Her enemy spurted towards her but not as fiercely for he did not have the gift of monster strength to aid him through to his legs. Lihua threw her arms around to hit the dusty earth like a windmill in order to begin her sequence of lightning paced cartwheels. Soon those cartwheels turned into backwards somersaults and before she could collide into her enemy, the high-ranked female back flipped over the body of the male. With herself being a fair Eastern elf, she landed lightly on her feet with elegance. She straightened her right hand up so it was perpendicular to her arm and applied a vicious force to the man's back, causing his spine to rattle. He fell forwards but before his body could hit the ground, he swivelled himself round with his leg to face Lihua. He stepped forward and with quick speed, he tried to jab his enemy with both his index and middle finger; an ancient technique to hit your opponent's vital points. When on the training ground, you are considered as an equal to the other person, and it would be no different for a Princess to step onto it with a mere guard.
Left, right, up and down his hands came to hit her all over but Lihua stepped calmly away in a zigzag, lifting her forearms up from time to time to block his attacks. The stamina within the Captain was great, for he continued to do this without even breaking a sweat. He frowned however, focusing hard to try and figure out Lihua's weak point. He watched her movements closely and quickly glanced down at her feet to examine her footing but this was when Lihua took her chance to counter attack. With her lightly closed fist, she knocked it upwards into his chin making his head knock back and rotated round with her leg swinging round to kick him across his face. Before she could hit him, the Captain ducked down low onto the golden ground and swept his own foot into her leg, to knock her off her feat. As if Lihua was expecting this, she grabbed onto the elf's shoulders, cartwheeling her legs round and they landed onto his back.
Within the space of one second, she leant back and held onto his arms like reins. The Captain of the Guard winced, his nose crinkling up for he felt the mild pain his arms were in. She could quite easily, with her monster strength, pull them out of their sockets. With a fair smile of playfulness twitching up into a sinister smirk, Lihua commented. "Lle ume quel" ("You did well") She jumped off from him, seeing him collapse onto the ground from the sudden transition of pain to none. Lihua stepped in front of the Captain and gave him her hand, pulling the male to his feet. Her eyelids closed in front of her dark orbs as a pure smile took over her rose-kissed lips. "But not well enough, unfortunately" When the Princess spoke English, the language of the humans, it was clear that she was from the East. It was an accent that had been bestowed upon the East.
The sound of slow yet loud clapping echoed throughout the training grounds as the Emperor stepped down from where he was stood and walked with grace over to his daughter. "Oio naa elealla alasse'" ("Ever is thy sight a joy") Lihua turned to her father whilst his own black eyes bestowed upon her, his pride. The tips of his fingers touched his daughter's cheek whilst he smiled with all fairness he had. "Lle naa belegohtar" ("You are a mighty warrior") She nodded her head to the Emperor.
"Diola lle ada" ("Thank you, father")
"You should now rest"
Lihua shook her head, looking directly into the Emperor's eyes; something that is considered to be an act of bravery. "I am fine. I do not need to rest."
"If you do not rest, you may end up over-exerting yourself. I do not wish for that to happen to my perfect example"
The Princess used all her might to hold back her frown. She knew this from growing up. Her father wanted her to represent to his people how everyone should be; perfect. In the Emperor's eyes, she was perfect at Martial Arts, academic subjects and also in appearance. He believed that his daughter, blessed by the Goddess Yin, would bring the new Era of the Elvish Empire. In her own eyes however, she knew she was not perfect and therefore she always had pressure upon her shoulders to get things completely flawless.
Deciding that arguing would not be a wise decision against the powerful ruler, she bowed her head, agreeing with him. Once she straightened her back, she walked back into the interior of the large temple known as her home and the centre of the Empire.
Once Lihua entered her room, she slid the delicate door shut and looked down at her clothing. Rich white and black silk, made from the elves especially. The Princess appreciated her father's generosity, however, she knew all too well that the clothes in which she wore were a display upon her people. A sign of how everyone should be dressed. She wondered what it would be like to wear traditional Mirkwood robes or the precious Rivendell dresses. However, this in her opinion was something she probably would never find out. All Imperial Elves were to remain within the East and to never leave the land.
The raven-haired Princess of the East walked over to her closet, sliding it open to see the many Eastern kimonos on offer for her to wear. She pulled one of the two kimonos out that were not the colour red. Her father disapproved of anything other than red, but it is the pressure upon her shoulders which causes her to defy him at times.
Casting away the thoughts of what the Emperor would say, she undressed and put on the kimono. She did not even wear it properly; she kept it loose so it would rest past her shoulders. Her dresses were heavy which would cause her to feel uncomfortable. This was the only way in which she could wear them without having the urge to sit down every so often. But like always; her father disapproved. He wanted her to wear her clothing in the correct or 'perfect' way.
The sound of an Elvish horn was heard. An unfamiliar one to Lihua's ears. She walked out onto the balcony, lifting her dress up past her ankles so they may walk faster. The sun was setting, causing the scenery below her to be that of warm colours such as orange and yellow. Autumn colours. The sound of clanging horseshoes drew nearer and heading towards the temple was a foreign elf upon a horse. From the stories her academic teachers told her, the foreign elf appeared to be an elf from Rivendell, ruled by Lord Elrond. This caught the Princess's attention and she quickly fled from her balcony and to the throne room to greet the rider. 'An elf from Rivendell. Never have my eyes fallen upon someone different to us' She thought to herself, picking up her pace as she trotted down the wooden stairs. Before long, she entered the throne room to see the elf dismount his white mare and approach the Emperor. Not wanting her father to know that she was not resting, she hid behind one of the grand red pillars where even the guards could not see her. She listened carefully with her elven ears as her father spoke.
"Mankoi naa lle sinome?" ("Why are you here?") The Emperor stood up in rage but also in his stubborn pride. The messenger stepped forward, looking at Xu directly into his eyes.
"Heruamin. Amin merna quen" ("My Lord. I wish to speak")
Xu remained silent and put his arms behind his back despite not wishing to listen anyhow.
"I have a message from Lord Elrond of Rivendell. He seeks for you or someone to represent you, to attend the council"
"What council? The council of my downfall?"
"No, my Lord" The messenger took one more step forward, not daring to go any further to the powerful Emperor. "The council in which to decide the fate of... the ring."
The Princess's eyes opened at the mention of the ring. She knew the story all too well of it and to know that the ring was now in Rivendell interested her greatly. Xu turned around sharply to look at the messenger, almost in disbelief.
"The one ring, is in Rivendell? It's been missing ever since Isildur died. How did it come to be in Rivendell?"
"A Hobbit named Frodo Baggins was the bearer and was brought to Rivendell"
"A peredhil? Extraordinary..." ("A halfling? Extraordinary...")
"Please, Lord Elrond wishes for you to attend-" Before the messenger could finish, Xu interrupted him with an almost infuriated voice.
"Lá. Kela... An ngell nîn" ("No. Please... Go away") The Emperor politely requested in selfish fury. Lihua frowned at her father's choice and stepped out from behind the pillar, speaking up.
"Father! You should not turn this request down! Rivendell was once our ally."
Xu turned his head to see his daughter and almost sighed in annoyance that she was defying him by not resting.
"Lihua..."
"Please, father. This could be our chance to finally set aside our differences with the three Elvish Kingdoms and finally be whole again"
"I refuse. They always requested for my army to fight in their wars. I lost so many of my people because of them"
"But father-"
His voice then roared through the grand hallway of the throne room. "Know your place, iellig!" ("Know your place, my daughter!") The Princess stepped back in almost shock of her father's sudden burst of anger, like a sparking firework. He frowned upon her. "You bring shame to this Empire if you side with them. Now... retire to your room this instant."
Lihua did not say another word and obeyed. People were watching and she did not wish to embarrass herself any further. What hurt her was not her father's scolding, but the very fact that she was scolded in front of an elf from outside the Eastern Empire. Her first impression would now be that of a negative one.
Lihua slid her bedroom door shut behind her once more, sighing with her dark eyebrows almost knitting together. Her temper was ill and quick to lose when angered and that was exactly what activated her monster strength.
"Hey, get back here you little rat!" A male elf yelled from outside and it was followed by the sound of smashing. This caused Lihua to snap out of her thoughts and walk outside onto the balcony where she spoke her thoughts.
"What on earth-" Suddenly, a capuchin monkey climbed her balcony railings and jumped into her arms with an apple in its hands. She laughed very lightly, holding the monkey out in front of her a little so she could see his face more clearly. "Lee, I thought I told you not to steal that poor elf's fruit?" Lee, her small and friendly companion, replied in his monkey language and sat upon her shoulder, munching into the ripe apple. She smiled, walking back inside to sit upon the edge of her bed to speak her thoughts out loud to Lee. She spoke to him as a friend which he was ever since she found him hungry next to a banana stall as a baby.
"He still treats me as a child. Wanting me to be his "new perfect era example". I cannot wear anything other than red or those training robes. He despises it when I leave the temple and hates it when I bring up the past. He barely allowed me to keep you, Lee" Lee looked up at the Princess whilst he sucked the juice out of the apple. He pulled his teeth away and picked out the bits that were stuck in his gums. Lihua rested her head in her hand, looking at him with a faint smile. "He doesn't even wish to help Rivendell... But what can I do? I am an Emperor's daughter. I am powerless to do anything about it" She turned her head, looking out to the sky. It was now dusk, the night sky beginning to invade the dark pink colour already placed in the sky. Her eyes connected with the bright stars already shining through the battle between the colours. Her eyes light up. "He said he wished for either my father or someone to represent him to attend the council" Lee tilted his head and the Princess smirked, turning her head back to the monkey, stroking his head.
"Let's see if the council can handle the Elvish Empire's very own monster in strength, shall we?"