Kingdom of Moutan

Present, 5th Year of Fangbei, Late Autumn, 1471

Feiyan's breath hissed silently out her mouth when she arrived at the great audience chamber of the Royal court, dressed as the Crown Prince. Waiting only a moment, a eunuch announced her presence as she strode into the hall with dignified and purposeful strides, emulating Feiyu's normal pace to perfection. Behind her, dressed as a Shadow guard, Feiyu smiled into his silver mask and followed, taking his place beside a column next to the wall. Feiyan noticed that he had purposefully made his steps silent.

Our martial arts skills are probably on par now...how we go around with this mirror game...

Moving to the spot reserved for the heir designate, Feiyan turned towards the King, who only briefly acknowledge her presence with a flick of his eyes. Feiyan sensed his tension even from where she was standing when the Shoban envoy was announced, but then she had to hold back her own gasp as rush of feeling filled her chest with a suffocating pressure.

The man striding down the line of officials was ornately dressed in a vibrant peacock coloured silk that was heavily patterned, the pleated outer vest forming wings over his shoulders, making him seem broader in the chest than he actually was.

She could already hear the murmuring: The fine quality of the cloth only served to highlight the austerity and muted colours of the Moutan court around him.

As he came closer, Feiyan noted that the envoy wore his dual swords openly in the presence of the King and was looked upon with great hostility for this breach in etiquette, but it was not this that had made Feiyan's stomach roil. Although there was now a long sword scar that marred his features and left him with only one working eye, she had not forgotten their narrow, tilted shape or the brushy eyebrows, the brown hair sharply pulled back from the face into a top knot, or that unusually luxurious beard that he had always worn, though it was now tightly trimmed. The damaged eye was covered with a leather flap, giving the man a rakish look.

"Furusawa Ranmaru, Tribute Envoy of the Shobu Kingdom, greets his Majesty Xiao Jing Feng of the defeated Moutan Kingdom," said the man who was striding in with the arrogance of one who had seen their enemy yield to them on the field.

The entire court froze at the deliberately provocative words, but Xiao Jing Feng's expression didn't change.

"Furusawa Ranmaru, Tribute Envoy of Shobu, you are welcome to the court of Moutan," he said calmly. "It's been a long time. You are looking as lively as you did so many years ago, though I think I prefer you better with a sword in your side."

Xiao Jing Feng smiled, and Furusawa actually laughed in response.

The corner of Feiyan's mouth lifted very slightly at the King's words. She had heard from her father that Furusawa had very bravely stepped in front of his unit's battle commander and taken Xiao Jing Feng's sword to protect the man's back. That loyalty had turned the tide of that particular battle, but Furusawa did not return to fight for Shobu and spent the rest of the war at his family compound convalescing. Since the men of Shobu had a reputation for fighting to the death, Xiao Jing Feng's words showed his praise and contempt equally.

How is it that people thought Xiao Jing Feng was useless and untalented before he became King? That was a clever barb...but I suppose he hid himself well back then...only Lord Mu knew it and chose him from amongst the other Princes.

Feiyan thought she heard a muffled snort coming from direction of the pillar where Xiao Feiyu was keeping watch and it snapped her back to attention. Obviously, her Prince was also carefully taking everything in.

Furusawa Ranmaru was speaking again:

"Though your sword is no longer as sharp as your words, it's always a pleasure to witness the elegant demeanor of the King of Moutan," said Furusawa, reverting to a more gracious tone, but of course this was no more than the attitude of a cat toying with a mouse.

The officials shifted uneasily as everyone knew that the Xiao Jing Feng's prized sword was sitting on display in the court of Shobu.

Feiyan had to rein herself in, feeling her blood slowly rise. Unlike Feiyu, she was not actually good at concealing her thoughts and feelings, though she pretended otherwise. It was probably a terrible weakness for a Shadow to have, and yet her Father had never really chastised her for it. Turning her gaze slightly, she looked to the lower dais and her father stood on the step below the King. The silver mask glinted over his face. She felt like her father's lips pursed just slightly as if in warning, so she shifted her gaze back to the proceedings.

It had been eight years now since the end of the war and for those eight years the tribute selection had been held in the palace. Any person between the ages of nineteen and twenty-five were subject to the tribute selection and had to present themselves annually for that period.

It had led to many families falsifying birth registrations or avoiding the birth registrations altogether if they could, but since the Inspectorate was strict about the registries and their management, especially with the nobility, it couldn't always be avoided.

Xiao Jing Feng had secretly made it mandatory for all young people to be given a minimum of five years martial arts training. Although Shobu had not allowed the raising of armies, he had camouflaged it all under the workings of the Royal Academy. Thus even if the tribute candidate were chosen from the general populace, at the very least they were given a chance to survive in the maze rather than strictly being sent as fodder. Even so, some didn't make it into the maze as they were either taken as slaves by noble Shoban families, by the King as handmaidens or servants or simply made to fight for sport. In reality, very few of those chosen actually made it to the royal palace of Shobu. As the maze monster only required a meal once a month, he could easily be fed by condemned criminals, though Shobu preferred to keep quiet about this practice.

Xiao Jing Feng did his best to avoid scrutiny from the Shoban inspectorate who had officials posted to strategic areas all over his kingdom to ensure compliance, but over the last few years he had slowly managed to dig his claws into almost all of them. Perhaps this would be the last year that Moutan would willingly submit to Shobu, as Xiao Jing Feng had been patiently waiting for the right opportunity.

Farming implements were restricted and were only handed out at harvesting or planting time, and the men of Moutan were not allowed to carry swords openly except in the palace, though many families had hidden their weapons stocks so that they would not be confiscated. Even the Shadows had to be careful about their hidden weapons manufacturing as the mines were heavily regulated and what materials went in and out were heavily monitored. And yet Lord Mu was never without and not only did he design all the weapons, he spent a great deal of time (no one knew exactly when) smithing.

"Well since we have seen to the pleasantries, shall we get on with the year's review and then the tribute selection?" Furusawa asked, pleasantly.

"Do we have a choice about that?" asked Xiao Jing Feng in an equally pleasant voice.

Furusawa only smirked.

***

The annual review of the inspectorate normally lasted two months. The Shoban envoy would winter in Moutan and then return with their tribute in the spring.

Over the next two months, Furusawa met with all the Shoban officials who were responsible for administrating the inspectorate and he and his people went through the various records submitted for the year. Only when Furusawa was completely satisfied was the review deemed complete, and only then did the final and worst part of the ordeal occur...that of the human tribute selection.

There was a great deal of ill feeling amongst Moutan's nobility, as they had suffered many years now, helplessly watching their children being taken, along with the commoners, to serve and die in Shobu. Full of resentment and anticipation, they watched with embittered eyes as it was only just this year that the Crown Prince Xiao Feiyu had come of age and would participate in this year's selection.

Standing together in what had once been the gathering hall of the Royal Academy it was now a place used to herd tribute candidates together. Although life was heavily regulated by the Inspectorate outside the palace walls, except for these last two months of the year, the palace had always been insulated from Shoban control and Feiyan's experiences of it were thankfully shallow.

Heeding her Prince's warning, Feiyan had avoided most of the direct dealings with Furusawa and she now only had to wait out the selection process. She was tense from having kept her mouth shut, feeling her emotions seething under her skin. As a candidate, she could not sit with the King, but she had been allowed to be seated on the raised dais next to the officials handling the selection tokens. She sat stiffly, as the Shoban officials, overseen by Furusawa, began to draw the tokens out of a large box.

At first the selection went as expected. However as Feiyan sat, drawing her eyes over the faces below her, it became clearer that there was a higher percentage of Shadows mixed in amongst the candidates this year...Feiyan swallowed the dry lump in her throat and twitched her body up, but was quite unceremoniously shoved back down by the Prince who stood at her elbow, still pretending to be her guard. He gripped her shoulder and when she glanced up at him, he shook his head in warning.

Leaning slightly, she frowned and tried to crane around to search for her father.

The Prince tapped her on the shoulder, directing her gaze to the balcony above them where the King and her father sat with Furusawa. Both Lord Mu and the King had attended the selection every year since the beginning out of respect for the sacrifice of the candidates and their families. As the first token was pulled, the entire room collectively held its breath.

"Li Molan..." was called out and there was a general outcry as the young man, holding the small rectangular token detached himself from the fourth row and slowly walked to the front, head held high. The Li family's sons had been in the selection for the last six years; Li Molan had had the great fortune to survive four of those without leaving Moutan, but this time his luck had run out. However, as a son of a general, he did not show any trepidation as the official at the table matched his token to the one that had been drawn. Following the direction of the official, he stood to the side and waited with an inscrutable face.

The next token was drawn and another name was called, until there were four people standing at the side.

Li Molan, Zhu Yunfeng, Song Juqing, Su Qian Qian... Feiyan thought with a mixture of pity and distaste. Although she hadn't seen those four in eight years, she had not forgotten the Lotus pond incident and yet, somehow they all managed to be gathered here today.

It's truly my fate to meet you four again, she thought. But I did not wish it to be under these circumstances...

"So far, the first four are from Moutan nobility...such pleasing young faces," said Furusawa, without bothering to keep the gloat out of his tone.

It seems that Lady Sakurako is having fun today...

Seeing from afar through Furusawa's eye, Lady Sakurako laughed softly.

Once again, the former right general of the Firebird Palace, Lord Mu Shan, has tried to influence the token selection with some paltry tricks...she thought to herself.

Both parties had played this silent game for years, battling for control over the token box, but this year, she felt like she had the upper hand. With the seals in Shuto and Ushitora weakening, the demonic energy that had been held back would soon be released. She could feel its power seeping out and trickling into her. It would now only be a matter of time before that trickle became a raging flood that heralded Lord Akuma's return.

Whispering across the distance in a voice that only Mu Shan could hear, Sakurako laughed quietly:

'Right General...have you enjoyed your time in the mortal realm? I sense that your divine energy has weakened greatly. Now is our time. You can't stop Akuma's destined return.'

'So what?' was the bored response, echoing in her ears. 'Come with all you've got...as long as even one person from the Firebird palace remains, they will oppose you.'

Sensitive to the undercurrents of power, but unaware of what was going on in the shadows, Feiyan shifted uncomfortably, feeling a strange pressure in the air as the selection continued. As the battle of energies continued on, her eyes were slowly drawn up to the balcony and her father's masked face.

The next three were candidates from the common people and the four that came after that were all from Lord Mu's Shadow guard. Feiyan's heart sunk lower and lower as the names of her companions were called one after the other.

"Mu Hajoon."

No!!

When his name was called Feiyan felt like she'd been struck by lightning. Feeling her heart stutter, she couldn't draw the breath that she'd been about to take.

Xiao Feiyu's hand had not left her shoulder and his fingers spasmed, tightening in warning, but her eyes had already found Hajoon's across the space. The dark purple eyes bored into hers. They were sparkling as his lips formed into a smile. She watched as he and Gen exchanged a slap on the back. Then, without betraying any emotions that he might have felt, he simply walked to the front and casually handed over his token.

Still frozen, Feiyan did not register it when the final name was called.

"Xiao Feiyu, Crown Prince of Moutan."

Beside her, Feiyu stiffened.

No, no, no! he thought, filling with sorrow.

As Feiyan slowly stood up, she gripped the token so hard her knuckles showed white.

"Oh ho, ho..." chuckled Furusawa. "No worries...no worries," he said, walking down to the front of the hall and patting the official holding the gold token. "The Crown Prince can be exempt this year...we can make this exception for royalty...after all, your Father chose seventeen years of tribute over handing you over in the first place...but that's alright. We can choose another person..."

Furusawa smile's was filled with malice.

Feiyan ground her teeth, and momentarily closed her eyes.

Furusawa and his wicked tongue! With this, if I don't accept, it will make things hard for the King and neither the nobility nor the common people will forgive him. Father is close to completing the preparations against Shobu...I cannot let all our efforts be wasted...

"No need, my Lord. This Prince will go to Shobu with the others."

It was not clear when Lord Mu stood up from his seat, but when he heard the words his daughter spoke, his heart crashed in his chest and his eyes closed briefly against the pain that he felt. As the declaration echoed in the silence, she stood defiant and beautiful, but it was like a thousand needles were being pushed into his body hearing the words that he had hoped never to hear. Calmly, he sighed out and then carefully turned to face her. She looked up at him, but her expression remained calm. Seeing her stubbornness, his stormy blue eyes bored into her, willing her to take it back. Even though he had known her destiny from the moment she'd been born, he still wished for her to remain a child under his care.

My beloved daughter...

"Your Highness, should we take these bold words as truth?" he asked, letting himself sound derisive. Some of the officials followed suit, laughing uneasily into the awkwardly silent hall.

Xiao Jing Feng, who had risen to his feet, looked stricken.

"Grand Chancellor, thank you for your concern, but I am no longer a child," she answered quietly. "I will not retract my words."

Furusawa Ranmaru guffawed.

"So, there is still such courage left in the halls of Moutan! Very well done, Your Highness! Shobu welcomes you."

"You overpraise me. Am I not the same as the other young people of Moutan? Is my life more precious than theirs?" she asked. "It is not. Thus, I will also go to Shobu as tribute."

Her voice was steady, and her eyes held no fear as they regarded Furusawa Ranmaru.

Even though this boy still seems newly weaned...hah...there's still something there, he thought to himself, disliking the look in the tilted black eyes. Their softness was deceiving, hiding something deep and unmoving within them.

Feiyu...if it's for you, then I'll go. I want you to live in safety and rule Moutan...and I will avenge Xing and Haruka, thought Feiyan.

"So be it. The last selected tribute to the Shobu kingdom is his Highness the Crown Prince Xiao Feiyu of Moutan," said Xiao Jing Feng, in an icy cold voice. Sitting down, he allowed Furusawa to dismiss the proceedings without another word.

Some Moutan officials, unbelieving of what had just happened hit their foreheads to the ground and pounded their fists, until blood was splattered everywhere. Some wailed, while others swept out of the hall brimming with satisfaction.