The Last Dahlia

016

Sitting on the rooftop at midnight was one of Yuehwa's favourite past-times. Sitting on a rooftop with wine that she pilfered from the innkeeper's secret stash in the cellar was even better.

As she slowly savoured the delectable plum afternotes of the wine and looked up at the full moon hanging in the night sky, she pondered upon a million and one nonsensical things ranging from what it would be like if pigs could fly like Ember ("would I have preferred an intelligent flying piglet?") and what would happen if people could breathe underwater instead ("then we wouldn't have a need for ships anymore would we?"). Ember was used to her illogical questions and ramblings, so he had mastered the skill of ignoring her and minding his own business being perched on a nearby tree.

"It's a full moon tonight," Yuehwa remarked. "What do you think my block of wood of a brother is up to right this moment?"

Ember glanced sideways at her and shrugged his feathers.

"He probably has his head buried in the books. It's a marvel he even has a son, considering how much more time he spends with his books than with his wife. I wonder what the little cottonball looks like now, do you reckon he still remembers he has an aunt?"

If I were him, I'd rather not remember, the bird replied.

Yuehwa threw her head back and laughed, taking another swig of her wine. "You're absolutely right! Neither would I!" she said. "How long have I been away from home now?"

Three years and twenty-two days.

"Has it only been three years?" Yuehwa exclaimed, turning to Ember in shock. "It feels like it's been so much longer! In that case, I should continue wandering for a couple more years. When I finally get bored of exploring then maybe I'll pop home for a visit."

"And where might home be?"

Yuehwa scowled when she saw an unwelcome face spring up from the edge of the roof—she was already regretting having agreed to escort Naying all the way to Gi.

"Go away, Baixun, don't ruin my mood."

"Oh, are we on first name terms now? Whatever happened to 'Your Highness'?" he teased. Ignoring her blatant displeasure, he made his way over and sat himself down beside her. "No matter, you can call me whatever you want."

Yuehwa rolled her eyes and continues chugging her wine, wishing she actually had the ability to get drunk like any other person. Maybe then she could pretend that Baixun was a hallucination.

"So did Maroo tell you who I was?" she asked. "And to think I had him as a scaredy-cat. Looks like he's less afraid of death than I thought."

Shaking his head, Baixun replied, "He hasn't told me anything. Thinking about it now, I should probably punish him for it, but looking at how frightened he was earlier I think that's punishment enough. It's not too difficult to put two and two together if you know what to look out for."

"So when did you find out?"

"From the moment I realised the princess was someone else, I had my suspicions. But it was probably when I saw you with the White Scorpion that I put the puzzle pieces together. Maroo did tell me about his run-in with the assassins on the way to Dahai and the rescue by two rather unlikely characters. Quite extraordinary really."

Yuehwa sighed and took a big gulp of wine. She did a mental count of how many people now knew what the Phoenix looked like and concluded that it was far too many. She would need to find herself a new identity soon.

"To be honest, I'm surprised that I didn't think of it sooner. No princess would have half your sass and attitude," Baixun laughed. "Although I am still curious about your relationship with Princess Naying. Why are you helping her?"