“General, the Crown Prince has asked for your presence.”

  Xinyue sighed and put down the document she was reading over. It had been two days since the banquet, and she had been given the false hope that the Crown Prince would have forgotten about her promise to give him her gift privately.

  “Understood. I shall prepare.”

  “General, will you be okay?” Xiaobo stood to the side of the desk in Xinyue’s room, he couldn’t forget those pale blue eyes from the other night. When they fell on him in the banquet hall, they were all-seeing and all-knowing.

  “The General will be fine.” Haoran stacked reports into Xiaobo’s hands that the General would have to leave behind while she visited the Crown Prince. “Worry about yourself. Look at all this work we need to do.”

  Xiaobo pouted a bit, his lower lip jutting forward and his brows furrowed. “I’m just worried.”

  “More worried about this work that we have to do since the General has an appointment.” Xiaobo shrugged off Haoran’s response. His face was disgruntled, and his shoulders slouched. The older soldier was correct, he didn’t want to do the General’s work. Xiaobo had been talking for the past two days about wanting to go out and explore or to release some energy by training. But his hopes were dashed with the servant’s appearance.

  “There isn’t anything to worry about.” Xinyue got up from the desk and picked up the cape that she had draped on the chair.

  “Did you get the Crown Prince a present?” Haoran glanced with his eyebrows raised at the General. He hadn’t heard about her procuring any new jewels, art, or artifacts that would be fit for someone of His Highness’s standing, and he doubted the Wu Royal family had gifted her anything of significance.

  “Yes, I did.”

  “What is it?” Xiaobo was instantly curious. What would one legendary general gift another? It must be grand and spectacular beyond imagination.

  “A bow.”

  “A bow?” Xiaobo deflated, his shoulders slouched, and his curiosity was replaced with disappointment.

  “He needs to work on his archery.” The General walked over to a carton that lay on the side of her bed and opened it to reveal a fine leather case that housed the bow that she would gift the Crown Prince. The leather was nothing extraordinary and was weathered.

  “I see.” Haoran nodded. “The Crown Prince will like the gift.”

  “Really?” Xiaobo’s shock was evident, his voice high-pitched and his mouth agape.

  Xinyue’s laughter lingered in the air as she walked out of her quarters and to the eunuch who waited to take her to the Crown Prince.

  The eunuch led her down walkways that twisted and turned. The palace was a labyrinth, and anyone who was not given a guide would be confused.

  Upon entering the Crown Prince’s inner palace where his quarters were, Xinyue could hear the bubbling of water and the sounds of metal on metal. The courtyard in front of the building that housed his bedroom had a lovely fountain and a calm lake. Similar to the Crown Prince of Wu’s palace, lotuses bloomed from the muddy waters. There was no pagoda, however, and instead, there was a stone bridge that went from one side of the pond to another. Trees of blooming magnolias and wisteria that crept up the walls of the building filled the air with a delightful fragrance. There was a large open area covered in stone with targets of hay on one side and various weapons on the other where the Crown Prince stood with another man.

  “Your Highness, General Xinyue.” The eunuch announced her, quickly bowing and dismissing himself from the inner palace of the Crown Prince.

  His Highness held a spear in his hand and smiled over as Xinyue bowed and saluted. Even in the early morning and covered in dust and sweat, he looked the part of a prince, dignified and elegant. Compared to him, his partner was wholly inadequate. Hongyi gasped for air, his chest heaving, and he clutched at the spear to hold himself up. His clothing was disheveled, and his hair was everywhere. When he saw Xinyue, a red flush stained his cheeks. For someone who took great pride in his appearance, Hongyi was upset that anyone would see him in such a state.

  Before Xinyue could offer greetings, Hongyi abruptly dropped the spear onto the ground with a clang and started fixing his hair.

  “Thank the gods you have arrived, General.” Hongyi excused himself, almost tripping over himself with his haste, and tried to make a run for it to leave the courtyard. Unfortunately for the man, the Crown Prince caught him before he could escape.

  “Hongyi, go to the barracks and train with the soldiers there.” The Crown Prince smiled as he said it, the dimple in his right cheek appearing. Hongyi’s back was facing them. He reached down to snatch the spear from the stone floor, and his shoulders slumped in defeat.

  “Yes, General.” Hongyi kicked a rock as he trudged out of the Crown Prince’s inner palace toward the barracks. He acted like a child with the spear, dragging along the stone ground as he left.

  “Greetings to the Crown Prince.” Xinyue bowed, putting the leather case next to her on the ground as she did.

  The Crown Prince waved it off, his tone dismissive. “That is not necessary, I am not the Crown Prince right now, but the general of the Long State.” The Crown Prince moved the spear from hand to hand, letting it whip and flow through the air.

  Xinyue came up from her bow and sighed. “So, you’re choosing to be a general today, Your Highness.”

  “One of the many benefits of being me.” He shrugged cheekily, but his eyes had a faraway look.

  “Greetings to General Yichen of the State of Long.” Xinyue saluted.

  The Crown Prince copied her salute, but on him it seemed less than formal and almost mocking. “Greetings to General Xinyue of the State of Wu.”

  “It seems as if not much has changed from when we last met.” Xinyue eyed the spear in his calloused hands. It was a regular spear, but in his hands, it appeared to be a weapon forged by the gods, special and blessed. “I am glad to see that you are well, Your Highness.”

  “Honestly, I’ve become better at the spear.” He smiled, his whole face lit up. “Before I was good, better than most, of course. But now, well, no one could best me.” He swung the spear in a wide arc, twisting it in the air. He ignored the second part of her greeting, not addressing the last time they saw each other or his injury.

  “Hm.” Xinyue was more annoyed that he was right than anything else. She could call it fruitless bragging, but he wasn’t wrong; he was the best in all of the kingdoms at the spear.

  “I heard you have also gotten better at the bow?” He raised a black eyebrow.

  “I’m adequate. I have kept training.”

  He let out a laugh, his head thrown back to the sky. “Always the same, humble and modest. I bet you’re the best in all the kingdoms at archery, especially if you’re skills have improved.”

  “Possibly, but I haven’t fought or competed with everyone in all the kingdoms just yet.”

  “But with your Court of Wu, it’s quite possible you will.” He raised an eyebrow, and memories Xinyue had buried came flowing to the forefront of her mind.

  With this one sentence, Xinyue went quiet. She would love to dismiss or contradict his comment, but what he said wasn’t wrong. Ever since Xinyue went to the battlefield, the wars and fighting didn’t seem to end. If it wasn’t a kingdom, it was bandits, if it wasn’t bandits, it was some other group.

  “Ah, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

  “Didn’t you?”

  “Well, maybe a little.” He was always like this, quick to cause anger but also quick to apologize. It made it infuriating that Xinyue couldn’t remain angry at him, nor could she tell what exactly he wanted. “Is that present for me?”

  “Ah, yes, to the Crown Prince of Long, I, General Xinyue of the Wu Kingdom, present a gift.” Xinyue bowed with perfect etiquette.

  “Yes, yes, I accept.” He waved it off and walked over to a nearby rack to put his spear down. “Now, let me see what you got me.”

  Xinyue smiled behind the cloth. He walked back over to Xinyue and reached out impatiently.

  “Patience is a virtue that many temples advocate for.”

  “Yes, yes, and we both know Hongyi and I were kicked out of several temples while going through the training period.” He emphasized Hongyi’s name slightly more.

  “Don’t put the blame on Hongyi, I heard that most of it was your doing.” Xinyue reached for the gift at her feet and pulled the leather case up to hand it to him.

  “Is that what he told you?” He gasped. “I would never, I am an expert general, a man of legend, and the Crown Prince of the Long Kingdom.”

  “Hm.” Xinyue made another noncommittal sound and handed over the leather case. She reminded herself not to fall for his act and to remain calm.

  He took it with both hands and chuckled. “Besides I heard you were also a troublemaker in your temple as well.”

  “But I was never kicked out.”

  “Allegedly.” He turned on his heel and walked up the stairs to his quarters. He called over his shoulder, “Allegedly kicked out.”

  “I heard it from a legit source.” Xinyue followed after him, patting the head of the dragon statue that stood on either side of the stairway as she passed by.

  After entering the large paneled doors, Xinyue took a moment to take in the beauty of everything that she was seeing. Mother of pearl crushed into designs and lacquered into a black, shiny desk and drawer set. High columns of deep blue with gold dancing dragons painted on them and a paneled screen made of green silk and gold embroidery separating his study from his bedchamber. It was truly a representation of the wealthy and prosperous Long Kingdom and their future king. Some may call the use of all the colors and gold tacky, but it was harmonious how well they worked in the room.

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  “Now what could this be?” Prince Yichen changed the subject from what they were talking about earlier and leaned over the desk where he set the leather case. Xinyue joined him on the other side of the large black lacquered desk. “Artwork wouldn’t suit you, and neither would any carving.”

  Xinyue kept her face expression neutral as he tried to guess. His head tilted to the side as he curiously looked at the leather case. Xinyue had chosen this case on purpose so it wouldn’t immediately be seen as a bow when first looked at.

  Prince Yichen opened it, grabbed the bow in the case and took it out. Laughing, he stroked the etched wood of the bow, tigers chasing each other down the length of the wood, and the silver tips where the string was tied.

  “I heard you have been practicing your archery.” Xinyue knew that he wanted to be a better archer, comparable to her. It was the same with her and the spear. Ever since their competition, she didn’t just focus on her sword work but also her skills with the spear.

  “I was wondering what lovely gift you had prepared for me. I didn’t know you would actually have one.” He looked down at the bow, the dimple in his cheek flashed.

  “So you did call me forward on purpose.” Xinyue didn’t say it with anger, but with acknowledgment. Her guess was correct, he did expect something to happen when he had asked her to step forward in the hall.

  “I wanted to see what you would come up with. Plus, you are here as a guest, you should have the opportunity to be seen as someone with honor.” If Xinyue didn’t have the opportunity to come forward to greet the Crown Prince, she would not be seen as a guest, but as lesser than all the others she came with. By acknowledging her, Prince Yichen gave her more standing in the palace of Long for the length of their trip. He made her almost equal to the other royal families who were here as guests.

  “And if I had floundered?” She raised an eyebrow.

  “You?” Prince Yichen looked at her in disbelief. His eyes widened a bit. “You would never have floundered.” There was no room for question in his statement. He believed in her abilities to the fullest. It was rare for someone such as himself to believe so strongly in another person, but he knew she was more than capable of handling herself in various situations.

  He reached further into the leather case and found the other gift she had left there. A jade thumb ring with a strip of silver metal around its center. He slipped it on and lifted the bow. Prince Yichen drew the string back, the thumb ring protecting the delicate skin on his hand.

  “I think this is the best offering.” He nodded and pursed his lips, satisfied with what she had given him.

  “We can call ourselves equal now.”

  “Equal? What do you mean?” His brows scrunched. For someone in such a precarious position as a crown prince, Prince Yichen wore all his emotions on his sleeve. He was only able to freely express himself when he was relaxed and took solace in the friendship he had built with the general of Wu.

  “For the knife.”

  Prince Yichen’s eyes immediately went to Xinyue’s waist. “Where is the knife by the way?”

  “You are the Crown Prince of the Long Kingdom. How could I carry a weapon in front of you?”

  “Ah, you can bring it to the hunt.”

  “The hunt?”

  “Yes, I’m hosting a hunt with all the guests. My sister decided to get involved in finding my future bride, so there will be contests galore.”

  “Contests?”

  He laughed again. “How can someone be this amusing?” He said it to himself, not expecting an answer.

  “Only you find me to be humorous.”

  “That would be the case, wouldn’t it?” He leaned on the desks, his palms flat and his fingers splaying outward. “Yes, there will be contests.”

  “I will not participate.” Xinyue was on a diplomatic mission, and it wouldn’t look right to take part in a contest where she could beat another royal family member. “I will only participate in the hunt itself.”

  “Oh?” The Crown Prince pushed himself upright and crossed his arms over his chest. He was not much taller than Xinyue and, while muscular, had a smaller frame so he could continue to handle a sword and spear without issue. Even when he leaned toward her, he did not tower over her as to be intimidating. “But it would be a shame if you didn’t join in on the other festivities. I heard the Prince of the Feng Kingdom and some of the representatives of the Mu Kingdom would be accepting the challenge.”

  Xinyue nodded. “I appreciate the invitation, but I must decline.”

  He sighed and nodded in understanding. “Even if you were to participate, they would never have been able to beat you.”

  “I am sure they are skilled.”

  “But just not as skilled.” The Crown Prince raised an eyebrow. They both knew it was true; however much Xinyue protested in the sake of being polite.

  “Will you compete?” Xinyue’s voice was steady, but her mind raced. She would be able to analyze the skills of several different kingdoms, not to mention watching as the royal families interacted. This opportunity would tell who would want an empire and how much reliance they already had on the Long Kingdom.

  “Naturally I should, but if you don’t compete, there’s no reason for me to.” He picked up a paperweight that was lying on his desk, a large pearl that gleamed in the daylight that streamed through the open windows into his quarters.

  Xinyue cocked her head to the side, pretending as if she didn’t understand his meaning. “I don’t understand.”

  “There will be no real competition for me there.”

  “Hm. I see.” Xinyue had no desire to take part in this competition as a spectacle of the royal families. Although she did want to test her skills against the Crown Prince again, she would not do so under these circumstances.

  Silence filled the room.

  “Do you not have anything to ask me? To say to me?” The Crown Prince broke the silence, again changing the subject. He tinkered with the pearl, tossing it and catching it with one hand. “After all, we are acquaintances.”

  “What would I have to ask you?” Xinyue didn’t drop her mask of indifference.

  He sighed. “I’m sure Zixin has filled you in about the state of the Long Kingdom. About my father and his sickness, as well as about the situations in the other kingdoms.”

  He waited for her to answer, but she didn’t say anything.

  “You don’t need to do this. You could just ask.” Those unnervingly bright colored eyes looked deep into hers as he placed the paperweight back down onto the desk with a thud.

  Again, Xinyue said nothing. She stared into his eyes, the same ones that are said to belong to dragons.

  “Unless you are too scared of my answer?” He spoke softly, and it wasn’t a question that needed an answer.

  He let the silence wrap over them for a few seconds more before he continued, the moment gone.

  “Well, I guess that’s how it is.” He chuckled, but it didn’t sound mean-spirited or out of anger. The Crown Prince truly did have an understanding of the General of Wu. After fighting against each other and then working together, the two strategists understood each other more deeply than most. They had almost been the reason for each other’s deaths, on more than one occasion, as they fought. But they had also saved each other’s lives, and at some points they had been each other’s reason for living. “I have missed you, Xinyue. And I have plenty of questions for you.” His eyes had a desperation in them, a feeling of familiarity that made Xinyue want to run away from.

  “I have missed you too, Your Highness.” Xinyue reverted to his title, startled by the level of closeness. They had called each other by their names before, but that was in a different time and a different place. This was the Long Kingdom’s palace, and he was the crown prince. Her gaze flitted away then back to his, ignoring the second part of his sentence.

  “Ah, yes, General Xinyue of the State of Wu.” His eyes became cold for a brief second before it passed, and he went back to his teasing self. “I will treasure your gift. As an old acquaintance, I mean.”

  Xinyue nodded, pleased for the brief second of awkwardness to be over.

  “Xinyue,” He dropped her title. His eyes became sorrowful, full of memories and pain. The facade of a glorious prince full of humor was gone. “Will you keep ignoring the past? Are you not going to tell me? How you escaped death?”

  Xinyue paused. She wondered how she could get out of the situation. She had known she would day have to confront what had happened, but she had always hoped for more time.

  “Your Highness! Your Highness!” A eunuch came rushing and paused just outside of the quarters. Out of breath, he rested his hands on his knees for a second before bowing, his chest heaving.

  The Crown Prince stared into Xinyue’s eyes for a little while longer. The mask back in place, he smiled.

  “Ah, I guess we will have to have a conversation on a different day, General.” The Crown Prince was back to being the polite and outstanding man that she had met in the Hall of Ceremonies. Cold and indifferent to the world. His posture straight and his eyes cold, he acknowledged the eunuch with a small nod. “I will see you soon for the hunt.”

  “Yes, thank you, Your Highness.” With a brief bow and after being dismissed, Xinyue followed another eunuch from the prince’s palace back to her own quarters. Xinyue had anticipated seeing him again after two years, but a lot hadn’t been said between the two of them. She was relieved that he seemed okay after all this time; that was all she could have wished for. It was the only favor she had asked of him before they had parted last.