The Magics of Rei-Een Box Set

by Georgina Makalani

  Lis nodded, disappointed that she was alone, but thankful for the time to relax a little, and to not spend her day trying to learn everything.

  A door stood at the far end of the steamy room, the symbol of the Empire over it, and Lis followed the tutor through it. The room on the other side was almost as large as the one they had just passed through. A single bath was set in the middle of the space, larger than any of the others, and Lis wondered for a moment how many people used it.

  Several stools sat around the stone floor, which was more pink than grey. Although the floor was far more even than anything she had seen before, she was surprised that it hadn’t been polished to the same shine as every other floor in the palace.

  ‘This is the private bath of the royal household. It is closed to all on such a day that the household wishes to use it. Although this day is for you alone. U’shi will assist you with washing, including your hair.’

  Lis chanced a glance at U’shi then, who didn’t seem very comfortable with her new role.

  ‘You may remain here as long as you wish, provided you return to the palace before the evening meal.’

  Lis looked tentatively back towards the door. The freedom sounded blissful.

  ‘U’shi will tell the guard when you are ready. As you dress, they will clear the streets. That way, they shall be ready for you when you appear at the gate.’

  Lis nodded and stepped closer to the steaming pool. She couldn’t see the bottom, but it seemed inviting. She had swum off the shores of her island home her whole life.

  ‘I shall see you in the morning for class, Your Highness,’ the tutor said with a low nod of her head.

  Lis bowed before her and tried to contain her excitement.

  As the door closed behind her, U’shi was already pulling at her sash, loosening the ties and helping her from her uniform. It was a relief to stand in her undergarments as the heat of the room had already started to peel her skin.

  ‘All of it,’ U’shi muttered.

  But rather than help, she watched as Lis removed the last of her clothes to stand naked at the edge of the water. U’shi looked her up and down, all but rolling her eyes. Lis looked back at the pool and then sat gingerly on the warm tiles at the edge of the water.

  ‘A princess would have stepped in,’ U’shi muttered.

  ‘A decent servant would have assisted,’ Lis snapped back.

  U’shi hmphed as Lis lowered herself to the first step and then carefully walked down into the water, which was surprisingly deep and very warm. Much warmer than any bath her mother had drawn for her growing up. She breathed in the steam, allowing the hot water to pull the tension from her muscles, and her worries faded momentarily. U’shi glared down at her from the edge of the bath.

  ‘How can you wash my hair from there?’

  U’shi turned her back and walked away, returning with a small stool and several bottles covering it. ‘Hold out your hand,’ she said, then poured a creamy liquid from one directly onto it.

  Lis lifted it carefully to her nose. It had a hint of cherry blossom and something else she couldn’t place.

  ‘It is for your skin,’ U’shi said, stoppering the bottle and mimicking washing herself.

  Lis lathered the cream over herself, amazed at how it bubbled and foamed. Then she stepped into the centre of the pool, dropping beneath the surface and rinsing it from her skin. She emerged, running her fingers through her hair and smiling easily, to see U’shi looking more disgruntled than usual.

  ‘The red one is for your hair,’ she said.

  ‘You are to help,’ Lis said.

  ‘Not today,’ U’shi said, swinging around and marching away from the pool.

  Lis lost her in the steam, unsure if she had left the room or not. It wasn’t worth the fight, she decided. U’shi might pull her hair from her head. Lis had been washing herself since she was a small child, after all. She leant forward, pulled the stopper from the small spherical bottle and screwed up her nose. It was not the sweet smell of the soap, but if anyone questioned what she had done in the baths, the punishments would belong to U’shi.

  The dark liquid ran out of the bottle with surprising speed, and she rubbed it through her thick, long hair. It also foamed, and she ducked under the water to rinse once she had rubbed it through all of her hair. When she emerged, she didn’t think her hair smelt too bad. Once clean, she found a step to sit on that kept her shoulders below the water line.

  She settled back with her head against the smooth tiles at the edge of the pool, her legs floating freely before her, then closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind.

  Memories of home invaded her quiet time. Images of her mother sitting at the table telling tales of their life on the Palace Isle before the war, the excitement at moving to their own little island afterward. But there was something in her voice, something longing, as though she could have stayed in the palace and been happy.

  One of those happy memories was of the pools, chatting with her friends. Despite the sadness creeping into her heart, Lis could understand the joy her mother felt here. The quiet, peaceful harmony. It was the only place on all the islands where hot springs came to the surface. She had wondered whether they could find some if they dug deep enough on their own island, but her father had simply laughed.

  He always seemed happier on their island home, and Lis worried that it was her fault they couldn’t return—her magic, and what that might mean. For all of them, not just her.

  The splash was a surprise, and she sat up expecting to find U’shi throwing her shoes into the water. The face of a man broke the surface as he stood before her, still clothed. His black hair was plastered down over his face, his eyes were wild, and his strange, scraggy moustache hung limp over his lip, which curved up in a strange grin.

  Lis screamed, unsure what else to do, and he leapt forward pushing his hand over her mouth. She felt her magic build, but she had never used it for self-defence before, so she wasn’t sure how it would act or what the man, far too close, might do.

  ‘I know what you are,’ he whispered hoarsely, gently lifting his hand.

  But as soon as he did, she started screaming again.

  He was quick to clamp his hand back over her mouth, pushing her head back into the tiles. She blinked as the spots before her blurred the assailant.

  ‘I know what you are,’ he said again.

  She shoved back at him, but he didn’t move.

  ‘I know what you are to become, and I cannot allow it.’ He continued to push her back, and she could feel the tiles pressing into the back of her head.

  ‘You must help us,’ he said.

  She lifted her feet up between them and pushed against his chest with everything she had. He was thrown back, and Lis clambered out of the pool, trying desperately to get her footing. Now she understood why the tiles weren’t polished.

  ‘Someone help me,’ she cried as he came out of the water after her.

  She threw out her hands in a feeble attempt to prevent him reaching her again, and he slipped on the wet tiles. The panic made it hard to breathe as she shivered at the idea of what could happen. He climbed up onto his hands and knees, and she wondered if she could push him into the water with her magic when he stood slowly. The door banged open behind her, causing the steam to move around the room. In the dim light, she didn’t know how many were at the door.

  ‘Help,’ she screamed, doing what she could to raise her voice above her fear. ‘Help.’

  The man at the door stepped forward, and Lis recognised the prince. ‘I am here to help,’ he said, drawing a straight, shiny sword. ‘Are you hurt?’

  Lis shook her head and then raised a hand to it. The prince was focused on the man before him. The intruder grinned and raised his hands, but before he could do anything the prince stepped forward and ran him through the heart with his sword, which seemed so much like her father’s.

  He made a fizzle sound as he dropped to the tiles, his blood spilling across them and in
to the water.

  ‘Did he hurt you?’ the prince asked without looking from the body at his feet.

  She shook her head.

  ‘Where are your clothes?’ he asked, glancing at her face.

  Lis looked around wildly but could see nothing. She shook her head. ‘U’shi,’ she muttered.

  ‘Where is U’shi?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ she said too loudly. ‘You are asking the wrong questions. Who was he? What did he want? How did he get in?’

  ‘Magic,’ the prince whispered.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Don’t fear. He is dead now.’

  Lis’s heart stopped. ‘How did you know?’ she asked quietly, fear closing her throat.

  ‘I sensed him, and you scream very loudly.’

  ‘I was very scared,’ she said, willing the tears to stay away, but she could only shiver.

  He pulled at the belt around his waist, removing his coat from around his shoulders. He stepped purposefully towards her, and she backed away. Then he stopped and held the coat out, and she nodded slowly as he stepped forward and wrapped it around her shoulders.

  The sob escaped before she could stop it, and he pulled her into his arms, holding her close, rubbing his hands up and down her back. ‘You are safe now,’ he said softly. She nodded against him, thankful for his strong arms as she thought of Peng.

  ‘You’re a hunter,’ she whispered, pulling back from him.

  He nodded once. ‘We aren’t spoken of so much now.’

  ‘But you sense the magic and kill them,’ she said, looking across at the man still leaking into the pool.

  ‘It felt very strong as I passed. I was worried it was back in the palace.’

  ‘I thought magic was stamped out.’

  ‘So my father claims.’

  He turned away then, leaving her dripping in his coat and trying hard to hold it tight in front of her. She took a deep breath and pushed her arms out through the sleeves. As she pulled it across herself, he turned back to her with the belt in his hands. Once he had tied the coat securely, it almost reached the floor. It managed to cover most of her, although the long slits up each side exposed her legs.

  ‘I want to leave,’ she whispered.

  ‘I will see if it is safe; wait here,’ he said, heading through the doorway.

  ‘No way,’ she said quickly, racing after him. Her feet slipped on the tiles, and she only just managed to stay standing. ‘No,’ she said more quietly once she had regained her composure.

  He walked her through to the front garden where a soldier stood waiting, his sword drawn. The soldier bowed to them both and then turned his back quickly.

  ‘Tell the carriage she is ready,’ the crown prince said. ‘And there is a problem inside I need you and another to deal with.’

  ‘That will leave only two guards for the hidden princess,’ the soldier said, his back still turned.

  ‘I will travel with her.’ He looked at Lis, and she nodded once.

  The man ducked through the gate, spoke to those outside and then knocked on the gate. The prince stepped forward and looked out before he motioned her forward. Lis sucked in a deep breath, wanting desperately to check behind her, but she was too scared. She was thankful that no one was watching her as she climbed awkwardly up the steps into the carriage, very aware of her own nakedness and her exposed legs.

  She almost squealed as she settled into the cushions and the curtain opened. She nodded slowly, and the prince settled in beside her, knocking on the carriage wall. She heard the steps sliding into place, and then the carriage lurched forward.

  She wanted to cry. A lump had formed in her throat and seemed to be growing. She stared towards the window, unable to see anything, her hand trying to hold the material across her legs as they folded beneath her. She closed her eyes, but the toothless grin reappeared before her, followed by his life leaking into the pool.

  She jumped as the prince rested his hand on hers.

  ‘It is safe now,’ he said softly.

  She nodded mutely. When she looked around at him, he gave her a small smile, but it was fleeting.

  ‘Where is U’shi?’ he asked.

  She shook her head. What if U’shi set me up?

  ‘She must learn her place,’ he muttered under his breath, and Lis heard a hardness there that scared her.

  ‘Are there others?’ she asked.

  ‘Do you mean servants, or possible threats in the bath house?’

  ‘Both,’ she said quickly.

  He laughed then, and she chewed her lip, unsure how she should be interacting with the prince. ‘I will talk with my mother,’ he said, the seriousness returning. ‘I will ensure more guards when you leave your palace.’

  She nodded her thanks as the carriage rocked to a stop.

  ‘I’ll go first,’ he said softly, releasing her hand.

  She was surprised by the feeling of loss as he stepped through the curtain, and how quickly her fear returned when she was left alone.

  ‘Princess,’ he called softly, and she looked out of the curtain. The two guards stood with their backs to her, their long swords drawn and pointing outward. Prince Remi stood at the bottom of the steps with his hand out, but she clutched at the sides of the coat with both hands to prevent it exposing her any further. As she stepped, he reached up and took her elbow.

  With an arm around her shoulders, he guided her through the gate and closed it behind him. The pebbled path dug into her feet and she winced, finding it harder to keep the tears at bay. Then he had her in his arms, her bare legs exposed as he carried her into the palace.

  Tutor Na was in the classroom and appeared with a smile, saying, ‘I expected you to take the day…’ She stopped, her mouth agape as she took them in, and Lis squeezed her eyes closed as she buried her head in the prince’s shoulder.

  He pushed his way into her chamber and sat her gently on the edge of the bed.

  ‘Send word to my mother and General Zho-Hou that I will meet with them before my father,’ he said, and the older woman rushed away.

  He squatted down before Lis and sighed.

  She looked into his dark eyes and bit her lip.

  ‘I will not allow this to happen again,’ he said, more gently than she expected. ‘I tried to tell my father that the Palace Isle was not as safe as he thought,’ he said, and Lis swallowed hard. ‘Now for U’shi.’

  ‘She doesn’t want me here,’ she whispered.

  ‘It doesn’t matter what she wants. This is the way it is.’ He stood quickly, and Lis flinched before she could stop herself.

  He looked at the coat rather than her and sighed again.

  ‘I’ll return for that another time,’ he said, turning for the door. Lis nodded at his back.

  Chapter 10

  The prince entered his father’s study to find General Zho-Hou present, but not his mother.

  ‘She does not appreciate being summoned,’ his father said before he could comment on her absence. ‘Not even by you.’

  ‘I understand you have been filled in on what has happened,’ Remi said to the general, ignoring his father’s comment. ‘The hidden princess and her education are my mother’s domain. She also insisted on placing U’shi with there. The princess was in serious danger, and neither U’shi nor my mother appear to be able to explain this. Is it that this hidden princess is not of the same importance as those who came before her?’

  ‘It may be that she will never be ready to be crowned as your wife,’ his mother said, entering the room behind him.

  ‘Then release the girl to the world she lived in before and allow me to choose my own bride when I am ready.’

  ‘That is not the way it is done,’ she said.

  ‘If you insist that she is the only option, why not prepare and protect her? If I had not been in the area, had not felt the magic, we may be trying to explain to her father how she ended up drowned in the royal bath.’

  The empress pursed her lips and glared at her son.

>   ‘We have doubled the guards on the carriage and on the palace,’ the general said. ‘We have included a hunter amongst their number, hidden from the others so that it is not obvious what we do.’

  The prince nodded his thanks and turned back to his mother. ‘U’shi,’ he said.

  His mother sighed and shook her head. ‘The girl is having trouble adjusting to her new position.’

  ‘She left the princess unattended. And when I arrived, there was no sign even of the princess’s clothes.’

  ‘Her clothes?’ his mother asked.

  ‘I wrapped her in my coat,’ he said softly.

  ‘You do realise what you have done, don’t you?’ she asked.

  ‘Do you suggest that because of her nakedness, I should have left her to die rather than see her?’

  The empress paused, opened her mouth and then shut it. He took a deep breath.

  ‘It isn’t right,’ she murmured.

  ‘Neither was the chance for a scoundrel with magic to drown her in the waters of the private royal bath. It could just as well have been her blood running into the hot springs, rather than his.’

  The empress sighed again.

  ‘What is to be done with U’shi?’ he asked, stepping closer to his mother.

  ‘She is to remain where she is,’ the emperor interrupted. ‘She shall be punished for her negligence of duty. Perhaps that will remind her of her new place. Twenty paddles,’ he said with a nod to the general.

  The general bowed in return and left.

  ‘That seems somewhat extreme,’ the empress said.

  ‘She abandoned her post and her princess,’ the emperor said, looking at his son rather than his wife. ‘She left her exposed and she shall be punished accordingly. Especially in light of a lack of explanation, for the girl hasn’t offered any reasonable excuse for her lapse.’

  His mother shook her head more reluctantly.

  ‘Then let that be the end of it.’

  ‘What of the magic in the palace?’ Remi pressed.

  The emperor glared at him, and he knew that if he said any more, the investigations he had undertaken would be stopped.

  He bowed low before the emperor and then his mother. ‘I thank you for your wisdom,’ he said and then backed out of the room.