---

Nor could Yue sleep, but it was not nightmares that plagued her.

Once in her life, grand festivals were commonplace. They seemed to be the way to celebrate anyone who had come to visit – a banquet, gifts, dances, performances – and to be so suddenly submerged in all of the things she had once held so dear, had nearly put her under a spell.

It was like being home once more, and not in Verdant’s Grace, and not Tianlong of old. It was like home-home, the Liangqiu palace, where she was raised. It was all so different, of course, but in so many ways it was the same.

No, Yue could not sleep when all was so thrilling!

She tried not to be open about how amazed she was, wondering if it would make her seem too inexperienced and virginal in the ways of the world. And, in many ways, yes it was true! She knew her court and she knew the ways of Tianlong, but anything beyond the threshold of her palace was unfamiliar.

The woman broadened her worldview with every step she took.

The Eastern Empress walked the grounds, having missed her communion with the moon. It was dreadful that so much endless travel could afford the nighttime to be spent sleeping; and those nights she could not find sleep, she knew that she must at least feign rest, knowing it would be all that fueled the next day of walking.

But with their stay with Ravorn, came several days and nights of rest and gaiety. The prey and other foods were all but chewed for her, and there were many others to take the attention off of her own gravid self.

On this night, when sleep evaded her, she knew she could do far more than lay in bed, inert and eyes closed, hoping that meditation could be a good replacement for dreams. She had so much to tell the moon; and the moon was waiting for her.

Near the outskirts of the territory, she found someone else – she called herself Empress, and adorned herself in wisteria. It was all she knew of the woman, the most surface details; but it seemed that their surface details reflected one another so clearly. It was most intriguing. Probably part of the spell of this place...

“Salutations, Empress," the orchid greeted, believing she had heard notes of Lady Kaede's own language passed amongst others at the formal celebration. Fur gleaming bright, her head dipped in deference; this was not the first time she had greeted one who led another dynasty, and it would not be the last.

“What a pleasure it is to know you. I am Téng Yuè, Empress of Tianlong Dynasty."

---

༻❁༺

---

The Empress was a stunning beauty. In these moments, Yue found it necessary to reckon with her oh-so-haughty preference for those of royal birth. Yes, commoners were similarly lovely in their dazzling variety – Batu, for instance, had become one of her most valued constituents – she felt seen and understood by other Royals, even if they did not hail from the same culture as she.

Was that true though, Yue wondered placidly as she looked upon the woman’s white face, with stark black features that were expressive and interesting to watch. Immediately, the orchid was struck with a feeling that Empress Izumi likely had an education similar to hers. Needed to put her dynasty before her own wants. Must marry for political advantage, rather than love.

It put Yue at ease, to think that both she and Empress Izumi were kept awake late at night, and likely not because they had feted until the wee hours. No, their minds were busy ones, shouldering so much weight of their family’s pride.

No, she and Izumi were not so different. Even their languages, though not similar, held the same lilting qualities that were disparate between Mandarin and Common. Yue knew it well, almost as well as Mandarin. “I have practiced it since I was a child,” she accepted the compliment with grace, returning a beaming smile that could only result from a fine mind being recognized by another.

“Now, it is the native tongue of one of the most learned ladies of my court.” Yue had always been fascinated by Lady Kaede, who had become one of her closest confidants over time. She then wondered how difficult it was for the woman to abandon her language for that of another, and thought that she should introduce these two.

Kaede had traveled across the continent, and deserved to reap the rewards as well.

In truth, Yue assumed that Izumi had close to no idea of Tianlong. Yue, however – Yue knew. Besides what Teng Yue had seen at the celebration, there were latent memories that were clouding her awareness, providing more familiarity with that wisteria-adorned woman than was rightly deserved.

“Empress Izumi, please… allow me a moment…”

And her eyes closed, to permit such information to rise to the surface of her cognition; memories willing to fill the sudden, small void. It came to her after a matter of moments. “You have a brother, named Taro? A prince, yes?” Yes! The one who had befriended the gruff Keshan as well as the lovely Lian, and had even stewarded the wayward Princess home safely.

If this was a true blood relation, then Yue could not have enough compliments for the Fujiwara bloodline.

The empress from Tianlong too glanced towards the moon, knowing from its high position that it was near midnight, and wondered if Yuèzhuō 's eye was upon it, too.

---

༻❁༺