Cherry Blossom

Chapter 5-Uprooted

It was a long ride to the Imperial city, two or three days at least. I rode in the litter with the prince; all he did was stare at me throughout the journey. He would watch me when I fell asleep and would still be watching me when I awoke, he would watch me when we ate. They only time his eyes did not burn holes in me was when either of us had to relieve ourselves but by then I had grown so accustomed to feeling his eyes on me that I could still feel the ghost of his gaze even in my most intimate of moments. His piercing eyes went so deep as to haunt my dreams, it was unnerving. I swear that he devoured me with nothing more than a gaze; I shuddered to think what would happen to me if we were to touch.

"What is your name? Your real one" he had asked me near the beginning of the ride so I told him that it was Cherry Blossom. He just stared at me all the more intensely after that. It was as though he enjoyed watching the effect he had on me.

When the Forbidden City came into view my breath was snatched from my lungs by its beauty. There were beautiful carvings on every building with jade inlays accenting the most prominent of them but the most breath-taking of all the building was the imperial palace itself. It was enormous and commanded the attention of the entire city. It was made of mainly of cherry and pine woods but there were many buildings of brick and stone. There were intricate designs engraved into pieces of either green or white jade with gold or silver emphasizing the etchings. I was rendered speechless by the sheer amount of wealth that stared me in the face. I only remembered where I was and what company I was keeping when I felt the now familiar sensation of the prince's eyes boring twin holes into me, I snapped my mouth closed and collected my wits. However when I stole a glance at the prince I saw something akin to pride in his eyes.

He gave the signal to the litter-bearers to lower us so that we could rise and make our own way into the palace. The prince strode forward silently but he was obviously ordering me to follow him. I obeyed, following after him up the stone steps and through the massive mother of pearl doors. As I took my first steps into his palace, I thought that I had died and gone to paradise. There were carpets thicker than any I had ever seen with striking patterns of vines, flowers and animals; tapestries of similar themes coursed down nearly every wall flowing from ceiling to floor in streams of brightly coloured fabrics that had obviously been painstakingly woven over a great many years. What could be seen of the walls was heavily decorated with intricate carvings and precious gems such as emeralds and amethysts while the floors appeared to be made of quartz or perhaps moonstone.

As I was gazing around in wonderment at the extravagance that engulfed me in its marvelously soft embrace, I barely took notice of the prince gauging my reaction to his home or the look of smug satisfaction that came over his handsome features when he saw my eyes widen and my lips part slightly in amazement. I was however, forced to take notice of the swinging motion of his queue as he jerked his head for me to follow him down the massive hall.

We continued down the hall, not pausing again until we reached a door of perfect cherry wood, carved if possibly, more intricately than anything else I had yet seen. He turned the handle, opening the door and gesturing for me to enter. My knees went weak at the sight within, the room that was to be mine was positively breath-taking. An enormous canopy bed with delicate latticework enclosing it at the head and foot, as I looked closer I saw that the lattice formed designs and patterns, which seemed to become more intricate the longer I studied them, the effect was mesmerizing.

There was also a traditional tea table complete with a tea set, exquisitely enameled with a pair of horses, a black stallion, and a white mare; sitting next to it was the most perfect of bonsai's.

In the room there were more tapestries and rugs, there was even a precious polished bronze mirror and a massive walk-in wardrobe, filled with more robes than I would be able to wear in my stay here; unless I lived here for the rest of my life and changed every five minutes, though at this point in time I would count myself lucky if I see another sunrise.

I was so preoccupied with the opulent room that at first I did not realise the prince was speaking, I shook my head to clear it in time to hear the prince when he told me that this was where I was to stay. I caught his bemused expression from the corner of my eye as I gaped at the lavish furnishings. He told me that he would send a servant to care for my needs and later bring me my supper before taking his leave. I spent the rest of that first day adjusting to my sumptuous surroundings. I felt unready for everything and off balance even more so than when I first found out that the prince would be attending the tournament. I had to prepare myself mentally as well as physically and thankfully my room was the perfect place for me to regain my inner peace.

I breathed deeply, imagining my cherry tree, my mistress and the place that had been my home for the last 12 years. I let the sights and scents of my home fill me and give me much needed peace. I envisioned my mistress returning home safely, she would worry for me but the thought of her being able to worry for me in safety calmed me. I finally returned my inner balance with the thought of her smile. If my mistress could believe that as a malnourished six-year-old girl I might be worthy of learning her craft, I could believe that I might survive this. All that was left for me to do after I had calmed my inner turmoil was wait and wait I did.