Chapter 117: Piper

The world spun. 

Her heart dropped.

She could hear nothing but the roar of blood in her ears. 

I cannot find Prince Xu!

She could not breathe. 

Panic clawed her throat, a visceral fear that she had not felt since that day when she’d lost Ayden making itself known. Her head was ringing as the thought of losing Manu - of a world without her son - bounced around.

She did not even realize what she was doing until her hands were holding Chen Zhongqing’s arms in a death grip. 

“What do you mean, you can’t find him?” Her words resembled the garbled growl of a wounded animal more than anything. “You were supposed to keep an eye on him!”

“I … I was!” The boy stuttered out, struggling to breathe. “We were playing a shell game, and he was right beside me, along with the princesses! After a few rounds, I didn’t hear his voice and turned and … he wasn’t there!”

“WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?” The words ripped out of her throat in a guttural scream, uncaring of her surroundings, unaware that with the fading of music, her voice had reverberated throughout the arena. 

Chen Zhongqing opened his mouth to answer, but Samaya - realizing that she was wasting time - pushed him away and turned, intent on finding her son herself, her entire body trembling and jittery with utter rage and panic.

Black and gold flashed in front of her. 

She barely held herself back from crashing into the broad chest in front of her. 

“Ya’er,” the man’s voice was tight, “Calm down.”

She looked up at him, looking more like a cornered, wild, and angry animal than the dangerous fae she was supposed to be cosplaying as. 

“Do not,” she hissed, “tell me to calm down. My son is missing!”

She began to move around him, only for the man to hold out a hand. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” She asked through gritted teeth, struggling to keep her voice low. She did not need people seeing her ‘disrespecting’ the Emperor and encumbering her with their stupid fucking schemes when her son could be in mortal danger.  

“Get out of my way.”

“We already have both the Imperial and the Shadow Guards looking for him,” He said. “They’ll find him.”

“And if they can’t?”

“They will.”

The man spoke with such insistence as if he were trying to convince himself as well. 

“Ya’er, you are a concubine,” he said, his voice low. “And the mother of the First Imperial Prince. There are new eyes on you, hounds scenting for weaknesses. You cannot lose control here. It will only harm you and Our son. The Guards know his qi, they will find him.”

Her nerves burned with rage. Her hands itched to grab the man by the collar and shake him. Qi could be cloaked. Manu could be dead or dying, and this man was worrying about looks?

“Your Majesty,” she growled, “My son is missing. Nothing will stop me from finding him. Not even you.” 

She pressed his hand down and pushed past him, only to find Ai and Mei, along with their maid and Shadow Guard behind them, running up to them, tears on their faces as they both crashed into Fu Caiyi, who collapsed on the ground as she held them tightly to her chest.

Samaya’s chest tightened. She had been so damn panicked about Manu that she had forgotten about Ai and Mei. They had been there too. She couldn’t quite blame herself, and watching them only made her sense of urgency rise. 

She turned, absently noting the Emperor whispering something to the Shadow Guard. She ignored them and began to move towards the entertainment stalls, intending to use her full speed, the audience and consequences be damned. 

The Shadow Guard blurred in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. 

“Lady Qing,” the Emperor's voice resounded across the arena. “Perhaps We have been too lenient on you, for you to think you could disobey Us so openly!”

She froze and turned, disbelief etched onto her face. 

“What?” 

Her voice was tight with barely restrained anger - ‘I better not be hearing what I think I’m hearing’ practically written on her face. 

The Emperor’s expression was cold as he looked down at her. 

“You are the mother of Our first child. That is why, We have always indulged you. But there is a limit to Our patience, Lady Qing. When We give an order, We expect them obeyed.”

“Are you serious? My son is -”

“And that is exactly why We are not punishing you severely. You will be confined to your courtyard for the rest of the night. The Palace has been shut down. No one can come in or go out. Our Guards are scouring the Palace and the City inside out. The First Prince shall be found. You need not worry.” He turned to the guard. “Escort the Lady back to her courtyard.”

A growl formed in her throat. The man could not be serious. He knew the only thing it would do was delay her damn search. 

“You-”

Before she could get more than a word out, there was a hand on her shoulder and her stomach dropped. Her head spun as the world around her blurred for a moment, as if she were spinning mid-air. She felt whatever she ate rising up her throat. And then her feet hit solid ground. She let out a loud gasp, finding her balance pretty quickly, pushing down the bile that threatened to rise out of her throat. She whipped around, determined to give the guard a piece of her mind and, if need be, incapacitate and get out of the damn courtyard to find her son. 

Except… she was not in the courtyard. 

She was standing behind what seemed like a large cloth held up by pillars of bamboo. A stall. She could hear the crowd, the vendors, and entertainers screaming to get attention, laughter, and the sound of all sorts of things hitting each other. 

There was a thud. And she turned to find the Shadow Guard kneeling on the ground, head bowed. 

“Begging the Lady’s forgiveness for my insolence. I was instructed by the Emperor to get you away from there and to the place where Prince Xu was seen last.”

She exhaled harshly. An act. Thank fuck. She would have slaughtered the man if he had truly kept her from looking for her son. 

Thinking quickly, she quickly took off the crimson robe and turned it inside out before tying it on, almost like a masculine version of the thing. It was dark red on the inside, with none of the embellishments that were on the outside. It still looked luxurious but nowhere near as eye-catching. 

“Come. Take me where he was.”

She turned around and walked, taking off some of her jewelry, not only because they were too heavy but also because they would bring attention to her that she did not need right now. 

She stuffed them, along with her veil, into the inside of her robe. 

“Here,” he said as they reached a spot where there seemed to be an abundance of street games, each played on a small, flimsy table as people surrounded them. “Wei and I were keeping an eye on the princes and princesses. They were roaming around and polaying the games when the Prince disappeared suddenly. We… could not even notice it.” 

She looked around and spotted what she was looking for. The shell game.

“Come one, come all!” The man called jovially. “Whoever guesses right gets all the money I’ve earned for the night.”

Obviously, no one would be able to guess which cup the stone was under. Because it was in his sleeve. 

Clearly a damn scam. One she’d played quite a few times. 

Oh well, none of her business.  

She walked up to the man. “Excuse me, have you-”

“Are you here to play, lady?” The man asked, beaming up at her like a cat that got the canary. The man might as well have ‘easy prey’ written all over his damn face. 

“No,” she replied. “I just need to ask you something.”

The man’s face dropped for a moment before he waved his hand with a smile. “Ah, I apologize, I do not have time to entertain you, lady. I have other customers lining up.” 

She rolled her eyes, pulling out a gold coin and throwing it into his bowl, which dropped square in the middle of the coppers and handful of silvers. She could threaten and intimidate him, but she did not trust herself to rein in her bloodlust, and this was the fastest way. 

“Do you have time now?” 

The man changed his tune instantly, bowing his head. “Of course, of course, my lady.”

“A while ago, a group came to play. A boy, two girls, a man, and a young woman. Did you notice the boy go somewhere?” 

His eyes flickered for a moment before the man shook his head. “Lady, I’ve had lots of customers today. There is no way I could remember all of them.”

She could feel her anger rising. “Think carefully.”

He did not even pause before saying, “Lady, I have. I cannot help you. I do not remember. I have answered your question. Now, please let me get back to my customers. Unless…” He trailed off, eyeing her pouch. 

She felt the final thread of her patience snap.

She would be lying if she said she had not wanted to do this. Her hands were craving violence.

Stepping around the table, she knelt on the ground, pressing the dagger that was suddenly in her hand against his throat. 

“Listen here, you greedy bastard,” she growled, “my son is missing. I am trying to find him. I do not have the patience for your little games. Now, speak before I slit your damn throat.”

The man’s eyes were blown wide with fear. She could hear gasps and murmurs around her. They would not recognize her like this, but still, she was drawing attention. She had to wrap this up quickly. 

“You… you … you can’t do that! This is the Imperial Palace!”

“Can’t I?” She hissed. “Do you think anyone will care about the life of a peasant who doesn’t know his place?”

Before he could say anything, she pressed the dagger harder, breaking his skin ever so slightly. Blood beaded on its tip. 

“I am at the end of my patience. Speak.”

‘Or die’ was left unsaid. 

But not unheard. 

The man started blabbering immediately. 

“The boy… the boy was here, playing the game. But then … then he moved away, over there,” he pointed towards a spot a few feet away, opposite to him, “someone was playing a flute! A bard! Many of the kids were gathering there. He went too! That’s all I know, I swear!”

The cave closed behind them, and the children were never seen again.

For some reason, that familiar children’s story came to her mind unbidden. She shivered. 

“Who was playing the flute? What did they look like?”

The man blinked. “I… I can’t remember.” 

Samaya growled, her hand tightening around the hilt of the dagger.

Panic bloomed in his eyes. “I don’t remember, I really don’t!” He shook his head. “I only remember that he was wearing a blue robe and … and a straw hat! And a white veil! That’s all!” 

She exhaled harshly and pushed him away. A small crowd had gathered. She pushed on the balls of her feet and blurred past them, not stopping until she was back on the same spot where they had first landed.

The Guard - bless him - was right behind her. 

“Did you hear that?” She asked. 

He nodded. 

“Go. Inform as many of the guards as you can. Find that man.”

He blinked. “What about you, my lady?”

“I’ll look on my own. Go.”

He hesitated only for a moment before disappearing. 

She stood, sensing his qi signature moving away. Only when she was sure there was no one did she pull out the talisman in her sleeve and tear it. 

Ah-Liu appeared before her. 

“Jiejie.” He sounded as panicked as she felt. “I’m sorry. I was … I was keeping an eye on you, because of… I never thought… Jiejie, I felt his qi signature disappear! I have been looking for him all over. I can’t… I can’t…”

Samaya could see his chest rising and falling rapidly, eyes dilated. 

“Ah-Liu.” She grabbed his arms tightly, pushing down her own panic. “Breathe. Come on, breathe with me. One, two, one two.”

She was in as much of a hurry and panic as he was, but he needed to calm down before he could do anything. 

The boy breathed with her, just like she’d taught him when she had brought him back, and he would spiral into panic attacks. 

Sure enough, he calmed down soon. 

“Better?”

“Okay, listen to me.” She told him what the shell game vendor said. “Do you think you can find that man? I suspect he used some sort of qi technique to lure the kids. I don’t know if he’s gone out yet, but with the guards looking all over, it is unlikely. He must be hiding.”

Ah-Jiu nodded. “What about you, Jiejie?”

She gave him the same answer that she gave the Guard.

“I’ll look on my own.”

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Author's Note: I agonized over this chapter title but ultimately decided to keep it simple lol.

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