Drakkon

Drakkon 2 (Black Jade) - ten

"Lord Haoran, correct?" I asked the man who had just entered the west side of the gardens where I was seated. My maidservants sat a few feet away from me on stone benches carved with moon and snake symbols—a relic from the previous MuRong dynasty that Meilin likely didn't care to change at this point. I sat on a similar bench, admiring the white jasmine flowers near me.

Lord Haoran bowed lowly. "I'm honored you remembered my name, Your Highness."

"I was surprised to hear I had a visitor," I said with a hesitant smile. Truthfully, when I was told I had a visitor, I had thought it would be Jia, who I hadn't seen in weeks—I kept making a mental note to visit her soon, but it kept slipping my mind between taking care of Nuo, my thoughts on Yanlin, and my relationship with Meilin.

"You don't get many visitors, Your Highness?" He lifted his head to stare at me with glittering, dark eyes.

I nodded, my gaze drifting to the canopy of flowers and vegetation surrounding us. Sweet fragrance pervaded the space between us. "No, I don't really have visitors. Save for the peccata and Jia. Or my sister Lanfen."

"Ah, I see." He motioned to the area beside me. "Do you mind if I sit?"

"Ah ..." I scooted to the edge of the bench and waved to the other side of it. "Certainly."

"I hope I'm not disturbing you in any manner."

"Oh, no—you're not disturbing or interrupting me. I was just taking a small break here while my daughter naps."

Haoran took the seat beside me. "Your Highness, I'm very honored that you accepted me coming here."

"Of course," I said. "Now, Lord Haoran, what business do you have with me?"

Haoran's eyebrows pulled together in confusion at my question and he raised his hands innocently. "Business? No, I don't have any intentions like that. I just figured you might need a friend." He folded his hands on his lap. "I know it's lonely in the palace ... And Jia was telling me you want to expand your circle."

"Jia said that?" I didn't remember mentioning to Jia that the palace was lonely; I didn't actually feel lonely when I had so many people surrounding me—the peccata, Meilin, Lanfen, to name a few. But maybe Jia thought I was lonely? I definitely was lonely in the beginning when I first came to the palace.

The corner of Haoran's lips lifted into a smile. "Yes. She's told me many things about you. I couldn't wait to meet you myself. Though, we did meet briefly at Wang Yanlin's party a few weeks ago, but I wanted to meet you more formally."

"I hope I don't disappoint you too much," I said with a chuckle. "I'm not anything special."

"Oh, you can't say that! You were chosen by His Majesty—of course you're special! And you're the empress! That means a lot, Your Highness."

"Please, call me Daiyu," I said. "And thank you for that."

Birds chirped and flew in the afternoon sky; my gaze was drawn to the nature all around us. At the trees canopying us, to the sweet smell of jasmine, and to the hum of nature breathing and thriving. Coming to the gardens really had a way of calming me down. This morning had been tough with Nuo crying and being crabby, so it was nice to finally breathe a little.

"How are you, lady Daiyu?" Haoran's question broke me from my reverie. He was all smiles across his handsome face—the epitome of a kind man. "Iknow it must be a huge adjustment being here in the palace. You've only been here for over a year, correct?"