If there is one thing that Ju Li was sure of, it was that this man was exceedingly carefree.

Santiago lounged lazily in the garden on a cloth laid out for him by Pascual. The boy hadn't been told a word, but he had done it anyhow. She marveled at the devotion the boy showed his master for only a moment, deciding that dwelling on it was not of importance at this time. Instead, she thought it would be better to remember the way they both looked.

The man said he hailed from Europe, and she had no doubt of it. While his skin was tanned and his hair dark, his eyes were light and from her spot she could see that his hands were free of callouses. He must have never worked a day in his life, and if he did, it was likely nothing short of scholarly. The air about the lithe man was of nonchalance, like his visit was of nothing of great import. He made himself at home easily, though, and maybe that was for the best.

Sighing, Ju Li turned her sights to the garden. The lush flowers and blossoms peered back at her in their many colors, flooding her vision. A restlessness had settled over her, perhaps even long before Santiago had arrived. The waiting for him had only made it worse. She wrung her hands nervously, anticipating the return of her parents.

She wondered how they would take this strange visitor. He'd be the second foreigner they'd welcomed into their home without consideration, but something told her Santiago would not be staying for much longer. Her fingers danced along her bottom lip as she stood, pacing away from her visitor. This would never work, no matter how optimistically she had looked at the situation.

She would be branded a traitor for going along with them. This, she knew. When this all fell through, when his purpose here was exposed, she would be executed. Then they would come for her family. Gods above, this was the worst idea she'd ever heard and yet she went along with it. How terribly stupid she must seem. Her back to Santiago and Pascual, she seethed with the prospect of turning them both out at that very instant. She could be done with all this madness and return to the way her life had been.

No more royals, no more courts. Her life would be that of a merchant, no more or less. But would it really be the same as before? It would, in theory, be the same but not truly. There was no going back after all that had happened. Anything she might think as such would just be pretense done to spare her. Another sigh left her and she closed her eyes as it all sank in. There was no way out of this.

But, in her wallowing, she noted something she had not before. This foreigner, while he had expressed some kind of explanation for all of this, didn't appear to have a tangible connection to this. What was his purpose in all of this? What did he have to gain? There was the concept that he could be under orders, sent here by his ruler to see to it that they weren't thwarted. But that would mean he was of great import, and wouldn't he then have come with more protection than a small caravan? The only reason she could think of was for some sort of disguise, but after he left the territories of his nation, would he not be able to afford more protection?

These question stewed within her for a moment longer, her gaze and attention now turned to the older man. Their eyes met and there was a knowing in his eyes. His smile persuaded her to speak, and so she did.

"Why do this," she asked, finally seating herself after pacing for so long. Her legs felt like wet strings, something her thoughts had distracted her from.

His head tilted back, eyes flickering upwards as if the ceiling had an answer to the question. For a moment, she was tempted to look up as well. He reclined easily with his weight resting on his elbows. How at ease he was while she was a ball of frayed nerves. He considered the ceiling for a moment longer before looking back to her.

"Because this would not be good for business." The answer came so neatly, so simply. It made it seem like there was nothing more to it. Which would mean that she was about to risk her life on the whim of some man she'd only just met.

A flash of anger coursed through her, her eyes widening and her figure tensing. There was no way she was going to put herself and her family in possible harm's way just for this. He was lying. There had to be more to it than just a selfish desire. If it was just that, he would have taken it up with the emperor himself. Santiago, after all, had a place in court and thus would be able to obtain an audience with the emperor.

The emperor. How quickly she'd detached herself from him. But that was what she had meant to do. They could no longer be the same. It was just like everything else. The relationship between the two had changed. It had formed entirely out of deception, but Ju Li had already moved past that. He'd had his reasons, the key one being that if he were recognized it would have drawn far too much attention. She wrung her hands again, pressing down so hard she thought she might break something in her hands.

There was no reason to be upset by the emperor any longer. Instead, she returned her attention to the matter at hand: Santiago. He regarded her coolly, as if evaluating her response to his words. It must have been a test, but even then, what was the point? It was much too late to be putting her through trials if he had already decided she would be his spy.

She took a moment to order her words, eyes narrowing as she stared back at him. Any trace of anger had left her face, disappearing into a blank mask.

"No," she declared, "That's not it. If you truly needed something for a business practice, you would have gone elsewhere. You already hold the chance to speak with the emperor; you don't need a silly little girl to help you with that. If this was really just for business, you would have found a much better way to do it. Quicker than this, perhaps even more boldly done. This is for someone else."

A beat of silence passed between them, Pascual watching on with wide eyes and a wandering gaze. Ju Li's heart pounded anxiously against her chest, threatening to break through with the anticipation. She suspected they could hear her breathing, slowly and firmly as if she were trying not to blow away in some wind. She thought she might break eye contact with the man, but then a smile lifted up his cheeks and she was rewarded with laughter from him

"How clever," he drawled, exchanging a glance with Pascual.

"But am I right," she asked, looking between the two men.

Santiago rubbed the back of his hand against his chin for a moment, then lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "Who knows," he responded.

"Certainly, I hope you would know," Ju Li retorted.

Surely, he could not be playing games with her. This was a serious matter they were dealing with. The weight of her decision rested heavily on her shoulders, holding her in place. Her vision, for just a second, swam. She blinked and the world righted. It must have had to do with all the anxiety. Maybe she had not yet fully recovered as she'd suspected.

"To be fair, I wouldn't risk your family for nothing," Santiago offered, as if it were consolation enough.

The trio exchanged looks of varying spectrums, though Ju Li held domain over disbelief and hurt. She had known it before, but it must not have hit her as hard. She was a pawn. No more than a bargaining chip or a coin. She was to be used and traded, no matter where she was. The first person to make her see this had been the emperor. It hadn't set in then, she realized. It hadn't made sense. But her parents had affirmed it and she'd denied it.

It seemed that whatever way she turned, there would be someone willing to use her. It was simply how it was. She snorted, turning away once more from the two men. Her shoulders drooped, her head rolling to the side. She found no point in carrying on a conversation with them. After all, everything had been decided. She'd stupidly gone along with it already. How foolish she'd been.

What had even compelled her to agree to this? Was it the idea of being a national hero? No, there was something else. It wasn't her family. She could have spared them by saying no, but that wasn't truly guaranteed. The emperor might have been done with her, but with the childish qualities she'd seen in him, she suspected he might take his anger out on her family. They were a perfect target. Had she thought she was protecting them? There was no possibility of that, not anymore.

She pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes, letting loose a shaky breath. The powers that be, way up above, were likely laughing at her foolishness. This was a game to them, and she was losing. What had been a promising future was slowly turning into a never ending nightmare. But, it could be saved. All she needed to do was get these two men out of her home.

But this thought came much too late, as the voices of her parents drifted through the garden. Her parents sounded, to her surprise, happy. Perhaps they had found a small delight in working as they once did, or maybe something had made them jovial on their way home. But they hadn't sounded that way for some time.

Her mother's smiling visage was the first to enter the room. The smile was ripped from her face at the sight of Santiago, stopped full in her tracks. It was not recognition that passed on her face, but it certainly wasn't pleasure to see him that took hold of her features. Why would she be pleased? This was a strange man she had never seen before. It was only natural. Or, Ju Li thought it to be. She stood immediately, crossing the room to her mother. Eyes wide and words urgent, she pleaded for her mother to take a seat. The pregnant woman obeyed, likely out of shock or mental absence.

Her father was not so absent. His presence was made clear through the bulging of his eyes and the tremor in his lips. His own face was reddening beyond a shade she'd ever seen before. His anger was as much of a shock as Santiago's lounging there in the room. A tension hung in the air, leaving no room for words as all parties examined the other.

// I haven't written for this story in a few months, mostly because I had lost a full chapter the last time I wrote it. kind of discouraging, in my book. hopefully, this is up to some of the standards y'all have set for this story. I'll try to update the glossary and add in the pinyin when I have time. please support it by voting, commenting, and sharing with others. let's see if we can get it into the top fifty. cheers, rem