“I’ll go next,” said Rin. He stood up and paced around the table. “I was once the night-blooming cereus, as I served the emperor in the dark, gathering underground intelli—er, nourishment. But now I think I’m rather more like the undergrowth in a forest of tall trees.”
The silence that followed made it clear that others were rather befuddled by this comparison.
“Um…,” Mün tentatively said. “Are you also quoting from the Ano Classics or something? I know you went to school—”
Rin laughed and slapped him on the back. “I meant only that I get to enjoy the shade while the rest of you are exposed to the fiery sun and punishing rain! I’ve been lucky, I know that. I haven’t had to risk my life or work as hard as the rest of you, and I’m thankful to be among your company.”
“A gracious comparison,” said Gin. “But not apt. You’re a pillar of the House of Dandelion as much as the rest of us. You must drink.”
Pleased, Rin drank.
Luan frowned. Rin might have made it seem like a joke, but there was a hint of insecure bitterness to his comparison. He was looking for reassurance from Gin.
“How about we hear from Luan next?” said Gin, interrupting his reverie.
“Hmmm.” Luan stroked his chin thoughtfully. “I think I’m the pelagic anemone. I drift over the sea, riding on waves and drinking wind. All I need is a bit of sunlight, and I need not compete with the Hundred Flowers in color or fragrance.”
“Sounds a little lonely,” said Naro wistfully. Then he bowed to Luan quickly. “I meant no offense.”
“Sounds like the ideal life for a man who has refused all titles at court,” said a smiling Cogo. “I’ll drink to that.”
“You prefer to have no attachment?” asked Gin.
Luan looked at her. What is she really asking? “I prefer to live a life independent of the gardener’s judgment.”
Gin gazed at him steadily for a few moments, nodded, and drank. The other guests followed suit.
“I’ll go next,” said Théca Kimo. “I came to serve the emperor later than most of you, but I think I’ve done my share. I certainly have the scars to prove it.” He got up on his knees and straightened his back to make himself look taller. “These days, I suppose I feel like that old apple tree in the courtyard that no longer bears fruit. My use, if any, is to be chopped down for firewood.”
Like the hounds that are leashed after all the rabbits have been caught, and like the bows that are packed away after all the wild geese have been bagged. Luan recalled his conversation with Gin years ago. He looked over at the marshal, expecting a reprimand for these near-treasonous words.
The other generals looked at Gin as well, their cups a few inches from their lips. Luan noticed that most of them seemed to hold looks of sympathy rather than shock.
“I won’t agree with that,” said Gin.
And Luan let out a held breath.
But Gin went on, “That old apple tree was here before Mün built his house, and it will be here probably after the house is gone. Your loyalty is written in your scars, which are more lasting than any wax logogram carved by the busy bureaucrats. The emperor has not forgotten your service or the need for sword and armor to defend this precious peace. You will not be chopped down as long as I’m the Marshal of Dara.”
Luan closed his eyes. What are you doing, Gin?
Théca bowed gratefully. “But Marshal, have you not heard rumors of the empress acting against the hereditary nobles, even those who founded the dynasty with the emperor himself? Several barons have already had their fiefs confiscated on pretextual charges of treason or disobedience. I fear—”
He wasn’t able to finish his sentence, however. The steward of the house came into the dining room then and announced, “Her Highness, the Imperial Consort Risana, has arrived!”
Risana swooped in with a retinue of porters and maids bearing gifts for the new baby and the happy couple: carved jade horses so that the young boy could play soldiers and rebels; bolts of high-quality silk for clothes and the nursery; delicacies shipped in from all corners of Dara by airship, including some that were ordinarily reserved for the Imperial household….
She cooed over the baby held in Naro’s arms and assured Mün that it was perfectly fine for him to be dressed only in a towel and a loosely draped robe.
“Don’t forget I was in the camps with you during the wars!” she said, and to show that she meant it, took off her own formal robe so that she was dressed only in a simple underdress.
She moved around the room like a graceful spring swallow, nodding and smiling. “Théca! How’s the fishing back on Arulugi? You must stay longer this time and go fishing on Lake Tututika with me. Puma! You haven’t changed one bit. Phyro was just asking me the other day about visiting you for riding lessons. Both of you need to bring your families to the capital more often. Than! How are the children? Péingo! You need to come to visit me at the palace….”
She stopped in front of Gin, who was already standing up. The two embraced warmly.
“Sometimes I miss the days we were at war,” said Risana. “We got to see a lot more of each other.”
“We did, Lady Risana. We did.”
Finally, she came to Luan, and bowed to him deeply in jiri. Luan bowed back.
“You haven’t changed one bit since the last time I saw you,” said Risana, as she looked Luan up and down, a grin on her face. “I think you’ve discovered the secret of eternal youth!”
Luan chuckled. “Your Highness is far too kind.” He did not pay her a compliment, though her beauty had only changed, but not diminished, over the years. Instinctively, he wanted to keep his distance.
“Actually, there is something…. I think you’ve found a new puzzle to solve.”
Luan was only slightly surprised. Risana’s talent was to intuit what people really desired, though it didn’t work on everyone. “I have indeed found something that occupies my mind.”
He took out a small piece of irregularly shaped white material. “What do you think this is?”
Risana examined the piece carefully. It seemed to be bone or ivory, and the design of a strange long-necked beast with two feet and a pair of wings was carved into it. “I remember seeing something like this a long time ago, when we were in Dasu. It washed onshore, didn’t it?”
Luan nodded. “I’ve been collecting pieces like it—I bought this one in the markets of Pan. Though I can’t be sure of their origin, every confirmed sighting seems to suggest that they are found on the northern shores of the Islands. I think there’s a mystery up north worth investigating. It’s part of the reason I’ve come to the capital, to speak to the emperor.”
“You never want to stop learning, do you?”
As Luan and Risana conversed further, Luan realized how much he was enjoying the conversation. That was Risana’s talent as welclass="underline" She had a way of paying attention to people that made them feel as though they were the only one in the room. People liked her before they even knew it.
While Risana was catching up with everyone, her retinue set out incense burners and portable silk screens. Then Risana clapped her hands. “To celebrate Mün and Naro’s new baby, I’ve brought some entertainment!”
The incense burners were lit, and lights erected behind the screens. Risana began to dance and sing to the accompaniment of the coconut lute and the nine-stringed zither: