The Last Dahlia

014

Yuehwa really didn't know what all the fuss was about, because it was obvious to her that the king was never going to find his precious sword again. For three days straight, the king's guards turned the entire Dahai palace upside down—and they even expanded their search to the city grounds. As expected, they dug up absolutely nothing.

"Father's been furious," Princess Naying said worriedly. "I heard from the attendants that he's been so pre-occupied with the search that he hasn't even been eating these days. If only I knew what's been stolen then maybe I could help, but no one will even tell me what's going on!"

The only people who knew what to look for were the king's guard, and it was impossible to get any information out of them. They were bound to the strictest code of conduct and would probably rather die than betray the king's trust. Besides, they were a motley crew of the most gruff and unfriendly men you could possibly round up, so no one dared approach them with a question anyway.

"Don't worry, once he comes to terms with the fact that it's lost for good, he'll give up," Yuehwa remarked. Raising her chopsticks, she stared at the nine plates of food in front of her, pondering over which one she should begin with first. This was the one thing she liked about palace life, the sheer quantity and variety of kitchen delicacies available to her. She decided on the steamed bamboo clams with spring onions.

"Why do you think it's lost for good?" Naying asked curiously. "I'm sure the guards will find it sooner or later, they always do."

That's because you've never had something stolen by one of us before, Yuehwa thought.

"Just a guess," she said instead. "Anyway, we're setting off for Gi tomorrow, aren't we? Stop worrying your pretty little head with your father's problems and go sort out all the things you need to get ready for the journey. Gi isn't that far from Dahai, but it's not exactly near either. It's probably a two week journey, or more."

Naying pulled a face and walked over to where a long row of trunks had been laid out by her palace maids. "I don't know if I have everything, I keep feeling like I'm missing something," she mused to herself, carefully studying the various items that had already been packed into the trunks.

Yuehwa's sole bundle of clothes lay on one of the empty chairs, looking rather lonely beside the infinite number of trunks that the princess had.

"Princess, you're going from one palace to another, you're not packing for a famine or war. If you're missing anything, I'm sure the prince will be able to get it for you." Pointing at the plate of crabs that were directly in front of her, Yuehwa added, "I do think that you should get them to pack more seafood because you probably won't get these in Gi. The clams and crabs are especially delicious!"

Are you trying to get her to pack more seafood for her sake or for yours? Ember thought. If only birds could roll their eyes, his would probably have rolled out of their sockets eons ago.

Crabs and clams aside, Yuehwa had also been thinking quite a bit about the mysterious sword that Shoya had made off with, but she knew better than to go hunting for the answers in the wrong places. If the sword had come from Shoya's mother then it most likely had some connection with the Feng royal family, but why had Shoya and the sword been separated to begin with? And why did it matter so much to the king of Dahai? All these questions were frustrating yet exciting at the same time.

"I don't want to trouble the prince though. I don't want him to think that I'm difficult," Naying remarked. "I haven't seen him at all since the night of the banquet, and he left early that night as well. Do you think that... that he might not like me after all? Is that why he's been avoiding me?"

"Nonsense! He's probably just busy with his own packing," Yuehwa replied, her mouth full of food.

"Really?"