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1333 Words
The first venture to the new kingdom.
The sun blazed mercilessly over the endless desert.
Waves of heat shimmered across the golden sands as a woman and a little girl struggled forward beneath the scorching sky.
The woman, Yuri, was a maid in her late twenties. Dust covered her simple robes, and exhaustion showed in her tired eyes. Several bags hung from her shoulders, yet her attention remained fixed on the little girl walking beside her.
For three years they had wandered across distant lands.
As she walked, Yuri's thoughts drifted to the past.
Three years had passed since they fled their homeland.
Three years since Lian had sacrificed herself to buy them time.
Three years since they had escaped the palace under the cover of darkness.
The journey itself should have taken only a few months.
Instead, fear had stretched it into years.
Whenever rumors of soldiers reached them, they changed direction. Whenever harsh winters arrived, they hid in remote villages. During storms, droughts, and conflicts between local warlords, they remained in hiding until it was safe to travel again.
They spent months living among strangers under false names.
Months working for food and shelter.
Months waiting for danger to pass.
Only then would they continue onward.
Yet despite all their efforts, Yuri never truly knew where they were going.
The strange celestial locket Jing carried always seemed to draw them onward, leading them toward distant horizons neither of them understood.
More than once, Yuri had attempted to follow established trade routes.
Each time, circumstances somehow pushed them away from them.
Eventually, they found themselves crossing a vast desert that appeared on no map she possessed.
Weeks passed without finding a single settlement.
At times Yuri wondered whether they had become completely lost.
Little did she know that the locket had been guiding them toward a destination hidden from the rest of the world.
Yuri glanced at the nearly empty water skin hanging from her belt. Only a few drops remained.
Their supplies had run dangerously low.
"Young Miss, drink some water."
She knelt and offered the water skin to the child.
Jing looked at it before shaking her head.
"What about you?"
Yuri smiled gently.
"I already drank."
The little girl accepted the water and took a small sip.
Only after Jing finished did Yuri secretly allow herself the last remaining drops.
The desert stretched endlessly before them.
No villages.
No travelers.
No signs of life.
As she walked, Yuri's thoughts drifted to the past.
Three years had passed since they fled their homeland.
Three years since Lian had sacrificed herself to buy them time.
Three years since they had escaped the palace under the cover of darkness.
They had crossed stormy seas aboard merchant ships, hidden among caravans traveling through foreign kingdoms, and survived countless dangers along the way.
Sometimes Yuri wondered whether the people hunting them had finally given up.
Or perhaps they were still searching.
Waiting.
Looking for the last surviving remnant of a fallen royal family.
Her hand unconsciously tightened around one of the bags.
No matter what happened, she could never allow them to find Jing.
Not after everything that had been sacrificed.
"Yuri!"
Jing's voice interrupted her thoughts.
The little girl pointed excitedly toward a rocky cliff ahead.
"Look! It's so high!"
Before Yuri could react, Jing ran forward.
"Young Miss Jing! Wait!"
The child laughed and climbed onto a rocky ledge overlooking the desert.
For a brief moment, she stood proudly upon the stone.
Then a sharp c***k echoed through the air.
The rock beneath her feet shifted.
Jing's smile disappeared.
The ledge collapsed.
The little girl screamed as the ground gave way beneath her.
"Young Miss!"
Yuri ran forward.
Sand and stones broke loose around the cliff.
The entire slope began to crumble.
Jing tumbled downward, disappearing beneath a cloud of dust.
Without hesitation, Yuri lunged after her.
She reached out desperately.
Her fingers missed the child by mere inches.
Then the collapsing earth gave way beneath her own feet.
"No!"
The world spun violently.
Sand filled the air.
Loose rocks crashed around them.
Down and down they fell as the cliff continued to collapse.
Then everything went dark.
When Yuri opened her eyes, she found herself lying on soft grass.
Grass?
Confused, she slowly sat up.
The desert was gone.
Towering trees surrounded her.
Sunlight filtered through emerald leaves overhead. Strange flowers bloomed along the forest floor, and unfamiliar birds sang from the branches.
The cool air felt almost unreal after the relentless heat of the desert.
"Yuri!"
A familiar voice called out.
Relief flooded through her as she turned.
Jing sat nearby, covered in dirt but otherwise unharmed.
Yuri immediately rushed to her side.
"Young Miss! Are you hurt?"
Jing shook her head.
"I'm fine."
Yuri let out a long breath she hadn't realized she was holding.
Before she could say another word, distant voices echoed through the forest.
Men.
Several of them.
The sounds of horses and rustling leaves followed.
Yuri's expression immediately changed.
Hunters.
Or perhaps soldiers.
She could not be sure.
Quickly, she pulled Jing behind a thick bush.
"Stay quiet."
The little girl nodded.
The voices grew closer.
"I heard someone shouting," one man said.
Another replied, "This forest is full of wild animals. It was probably a bear or a wolf."
"No," the first voice insisted. "That wasn't an animal. Let's check."
The sound of steel leaving its sheath echoed through the trees.
Yuri's heart raced.
She covered Jing's mouth and prayed they would pass by.
The footsteps drew nearer.
Closer.
Closer.
Then—
Crack.
A twig snapped beneath Jing's foot.
The forest fell silent.
Yuri closed her eyes.
They had been discovered.
Moments later, several armed men emerged from the trees.
Their leader was a tall warrior dressed in dark armor.
The hunters froze.
A woman and a child?
Here?
In the deepest part of the forest?
Slowly, the leader lowered his sword.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Yuri hesitated.
"We mean no harm."
The hunters exchanged confused glances.
"No one enters this forest," one of them muttered.
The leader studied them carefully.
Their clothes were worn from years of travel.
The child looked exhausted.
The woman's explanation seemed incomplete.
There was something unusual about them.
Something hidden.
A lone woman and a small child appearing in a forbidden forest made little sense.
Yet whatever secrets they carried, they clearly posed no threat.
The child looked barely old enough to walk long distances, and the woman seemed more concerned about protecting her than herself.
After a moment, the leader lowered his guard.
"You look lost."
"We are," Yuri admitted.
The little girl peeked out from behind her.
The hunters' expressions softened.
After a long silence, the leader nodded.
"Then come with us."
Yuri remained cautious.
"Where?"
The man pointed through the trees.
"To our kingdom."
"To Xuanhe."
Hours later, the forest began to thin.
The moment they stepped beyond the trees, Jing stopped walking.
Her eyes widened.
"It's beautiful..."
Before them stood enormous stone walls stretching toward the horizon.
Towering watchtowers rose above the city, their banners of silver and blue fluttering proudly in the wind.
Massive gates guarded the entrance while countless people moved in and out beneath the watchful eyes of soldiers.
Yuri stared in disbelief.
For three years they had searched for safety.
For three years they had wandered without a home.
Across seas, mountains, forests, and deserts, they had continued moving forward with no certainty of what awaited them.
Now, at last, a kingdom stood before them.
Tears gathered in her eyes.
Perhaps...
Perhaps they could finally stop running.
Hidden beneath Jing's simple clothing, the celestial locket resting against her chest emitted a faint glow.
Neither Yuri nor Jing noticed.
Nor did they know that their arrival in Xuanhe Kingdom would soon attract the attention of princes, ministers, and even the Emperor himself.
And hidden within little Jing was a secret powerful enough to change the fate of an entire kingdom.
- Writer
