Rise of the Golden Princess of Ai

Alas, three days of sailing was coming to a close, Prince Xue exasperated by the constant waves beating against the ship he moves to the front of the ship to escape Eunuch Li persistent talking. While his brow was still furrowed thoughts continued to rush back to his head. "What is she like?" "Will I love her?" "Can I do this?" His head slightly drops as he continues to ponder thoughts of possible mayhem because of the marriage his Father the Emperor arranged for him. Determined he slowly lifts his head to face the profuse fog ahead as they get closer to reaching the shore.

The ship suddenly stops causing everyone on deck to jar forward. Prince Xue grabs the rope tied to the edge in order to brace himself, as he steadies himself he glances backward at the Captain who is supposed to be highly trained for such a complicated situation. The Captain fearful of the sharp glare the Prince is giving him quickly hides behind the Helm. Xue recollects himself taking a deep breath to relieve himself of the new anxiety and old fatigue of the trip.

Looking for a way to center himself he stares into the lifeless fog as if it were a blank canvas. "A Canvas," he says with a delusive chuckle, reflecting on his life thus far in his own Kingdom. His face completely expressionless as if he were waiting for an Artist to place color on his life. " Jeoha-" Eunuch Li utters in a hesitant tone trying to reach his Master who seems to be trapped in thought. "Jeoha, the Captian would like to be permitted a quick word with you." After seeing that the Prince regains his attention, the Eunuch then motions for the Captain to step forward. The Captain slowly shuffles forward with his head down trying to escape the impassive look on the Prince's face. "S-s-Seja," the captain declares with a low voice. "W-w-We seem to have a problem, the--." In a split second, the Prince pushes the captain out of the way of an arrow whistling toward them. He and the Eunuch draw their sword from its sheath waiting for more hostilities.

Xue looks toward the direction the arrow came from, peering ever assiduously to make out the features of a shadowy figure standing on the stern and looming in the fog as a cover. As the fog evaporates into a mist the image becomes every more clearer. The figure appears to be wearing white with eyes like golden crescent moons and skin like coffee. The figure steps forward even more revealing its true form in the form of a woman. She scans the ship's faces with an eager attempt to make out the faces of its passengers and crew until finally resting her striking eyes on the front of the ship. The Prince gazes more intently at the woman and relaxes his stance as if an artist heard his silent cries for a more lustrous canvas.

The woman removes her mask and head covering causing her raven hair to trickle down like waves. The men all gasp at the beauty of the woman causing the Prince to wake from his trance.”Drop your weapons!” he says with assertion causing all the men to lower their guard. The woman shifts her weight in a cocky manner. “Why do you tell them to lower their guard?” she says in a mocking tone. “I could be an assassin,” she smirks. The Prince returns his sword to his sheath not breaking eye contact with her. “Yes, you could be but your not.” Am I right Princess?” The woman drops her smirk to a frown, “How can you be so sure? You can never be too careful these days,” she says. “That is true but judging by the direction of where that arrow came from I’d say there are more of you. You being a natural born leader lets me know you are not one to stay back and let someone else have all the fun.” With that the prince jumps to the top of the ship while removing his sword once again, once up in the air his sword releases a strong wind as he spins the speed of a cyclone causing the fog to disappear completely. Standing on top go the lookout he smile at the woman still standing, “See?” All the crew members look around to see a swarm of Ai Navy ships surrounding them. Then they look to the woman and immediately they bow, some out of concern and other in fear of the vast amount of ships that keep appearing with the fog. “People of Ai and Shan Xi, Soldiers and Royalty in attendance! I give you my future wife Princess of Golden castles and White Sands of Ai, Highness of my Kingdom of Shan Xi.” The prince looked down to see the reaction of his future wife.

She tried hard not to blush but the color of her heart being moved by him rushed to her cheeks. She smiled at him in slight adoration of his heartfelt speech. He jumped down from the sails he had rested upon and walked slowly toward her. The prince grabbed her forearms and pulled her toward him not breaking eye contact. He smiled most gently and she in turn met the gaze of his onyx colored eyes. ‘Ahem—-your Highness!” Eunuch Li said in a uneasy tone. “ We must press forward, the men are tired from the journey.” They both turned their attention to a ship full of men who are visibly worn out from long days and nights of travel. Moremii wiggled out of the Xue arms in order to give the captain direction. She looked back to see the him still smiling at her, but immediately her mood shifted into a modest one. Of course she could not help but sneak a glance at him with her aureate eyes which gave him even though brief, a moment of happiness.

As the Ship approach the watery gates and docked at the port she could no longer focus on him. Her worry was for an approval of him from her Queen Mother and her willingness to uphold the match she made with current Emperor Xi. She worried for her future in in a decision that only she could make. Most importantly, the question that back of her loomed in the back of her mind was, Could I leave my comfortable life behind and join the harsh fight of another?