Priestess of The Moon

Chapter 2

Mornings are the most dreaded time of my day. Every morning, the maidservants come to my room, undress me, dress me up again, wash my face, comb and braid up my hair, and then bring me my breakfast.

It's a tedious process that takes around an hour and during that time I would close my eyes and try to get some extra rest.

It was something I despised, but could not fight against. Every female in the Palace and Emperor's presence had to always be dressed and dolled up. Even me, a Priestess, while I was expected to be a virgin and modest, I still had to be presentable.

At times the Emperor and the council would bring guests and visitors, sometimes noblemen and other distant relatives of the Emperor, and in such cases I would be dressed up even more than usual. My accessories were either jade or stone, not gold and flashy as the consorts. Yet the more I was kept away from it, the more I desired to maybe dress up, to be an 'adult' woman. 

By the time the silent routine was over I was left alone in my room again. Breakfast was always plain porridge with some vegetables, after giving my thanks to the farmers who grew them, I picked up chopsticks, and heard a tapping at my veranda door.

"Who is it?" I shouted, standing up and stepping away from the table. "I'll call for the guards!"

"Lady Li Xiang, it's me!"

The familiar voice could only belong to one person and I could hardly believe it.

"Rui? Is that you, Rui?"

I touched my hair, wondering if he'd laugh seeing me dressed up in flashy colors. 

"Yes, it's Rui. Would you unlock the veranda door so I can come in?"

Why in the world, especially during the morning? I chewed on my lips, hesitating, but then decided letting him stay outside was too dangerous. I unlocked the door and opened it, and as he said, there he was, smiling a cheeky smile.

"Hey!"

He looked completely unfazed by the fact that he was sneaking into a female's room, not to mention the Priestess's room, which was forbidden for anyone but those authorized by the Emperor to enter, and I was a female.

The breeze brushed back loose strands of my hair and I inhaled the spring wind. I was suddenly aware of the situation I was in.

My heart was beating like it never had, like I had committed a crime, and I ushered him in and then quickly closed the door behind him. 

"Why are you here? You can't be here!"

"I promised to come back, didn't I?"

I stared at him in shock. Truth to be told, I didn't dare believe in his words in fear I'd be let down. But I was glad he remembered.

"How did you even get to the veranda? It's three stories high—did you perhaps climb a tree? What if you fell?"

He laughed as I scolded him, making me frown.

"How could I possibly? I simply went to the room next door and then climbed from that veranda to yours. It wasn't that hard, nor dangerous, for all your fussing." Then he noticed my stormy expression and patted my head. I stopped arguing in surprise at the touch. "But thank you for caring about me. It's being a long time since that happened, since my mother died."

I didn't know how to reply, so I simply stood there, feeling strange both from the head-pat and his sudden serious confession.

"I'm sorry about your mother," I finally mustered.

"No, don't feel sorry." He was still wearing that warm smile, like he wasn't bothered by her death at all. "She was a wonderful person and I'm glad I was able to be with her. There's a great deal of kids who can't, after all." I wondered if he was talking about me.