Threads 204-Opening Day 2

The Bai delegation’s arrival point was less attention catching than the grand pavilion being set up by the Cai but no less ostentatious. A coach house worth of carriages and black furred horses tended to by a small army of servants was set out to one side of a literal mansion that had certainly not been there the previous day.

The mansion was three stories high with tiered, elegantly curved roofs tiled in a midnight blue that seemed to ripple like the gentle surface of the lake. The soldiers arrayed outside were not garbed like their Emerald Seas counterparts, favoring instead looser robes worn under a curraise of metal arranged like scales and well fitted armored gloves.

Renxiang and Ling Qi were not left to wait outside for very long. News of their arrival was carried by a blank-faced doorman in robes of deepest black, his face marked by patches of black scale. Passing through the door of that mansion, it was all Ling Qi could do not to visibly shudder. There was death carved into these walls and the doorway itself, thrumming in the very air. Death and unwavering eyes. Ling Qi would not care to enter this place uninvited, even with all the time in the world to prepare.

Inside, the mansion was well appointed despite the low threat in the air that kept the hairs on the back of her neck up. The halls were wide and well lit, the walls grown over with some kind of carefully cultured flowering ivy which gave off a soothing scent. The sound of softly running water filled her ears, and she saw in glimpses of side rooms many small fountains and artificial waterfalls.

The room they were shown to was a spacious chamber lit from above by warm, bright light. The light was cast by a single large stone affixed to the ceiling, glowing like a miniature sun. It put out as much heat as light, and combined with the artificial waterfall built into the rear of the room, it filled the room with a sticky summer heat more intense than what Ling Qi was used to. In front of the churning pool into which the water fell was a long polished table lined with many seats.

Ling Qi’s gaze flicked to Meizhen and Xiao Fen first, the two of them seated to the left side of the table. Well, Meizhen was seated, wearing her Cai gown and the sash that had been gifted to her by Bao Qingling. Xiao Fen stood at attention behind her seat. The younger girl had achieved the third realm since Ling Qi had seen her last.

At the center of the table in a high back seat was a white caste Bai woman she did not recognize. She wore a glimmering pale blue gown that seemed almost liquid in texture, and her white hair was gathered in a series of elaborate looping braids which fell over her shoulders and down her back. Yellow eyes peered down at them from a face rounder than Meizhen’s more angular features.

Ling Qi remembered the advice Meizhen had given her in their planning for this.

“It is important among my kin,” Meizhen had said, “even more than the rest of the Empire to show the proper deference to one’s superiors in rank and strength. However, it is just as important to not allow deference to become subservience, at least among nobles. If you act like a servant, you will be treated as a servant.”

So Ling Qi cast her eyes down, fixing her gaze on the Bai ambassador’s thin, unpainted lips. However, she did not bend her neck any further nor shudder at the wave of animal terror that clawed at her subconscious. That, at least, she was well practiced with.

<You’re the only one who would think that,> Sixiang grumbled, sounding rattled.

“Ambassador Bai Xilai,” Cai Renxiang greeted. Ling Qi made her bows alongside her liege. “It is my honor to welcome you to the Argent Peak Sect. I regret only that my mother’s arrival was delayed. I hope you will accept my company in her place until this is rectified.”

Under half-lidded eyes, Ling Qi scanned the others present at the table. Directly to Bai Xilai’s left was a calmly smiling man with deep violet hair, airy gray robes, and a wispy figure. He looked at them with indulgent curiosity, adjusting the small glass lenses that sat on his nose.

Behind him, a tall figure in black silks stood, yellow eyes peering at her from behind an opaque black veil. She could make out no more than that about them. Their features were shrouded in shadow. Just looking at them made Ling Qi feel like a knife’s edge was being run across her skin. They were death wrapped in silk.

“It is unfortunate, but matters of governance must come before the indulgence of outsiders,” Bai Xilai said. “As Her Grace’s heir, you are an acceptable substitute until this evening.”

“Thank you for your indulgence, Lady Bai,” Cai Renxiang said, keeping her head bowed for another beat.

On Bai Xilai’s right past several Bai functionaries sat a man Ling Qi struggled for a moment to place. It was only when the man glanced her way did his plain, tired features snap into focus. This was Hou Zhuang, Meizhen’s father, who she had met at last year’s tournament.

“For our good allies, the people of the Emerald Seas, such a small thing does not require thanks, but please, sit. We intend to enjoy a small meal before the day’s activities. You and your second are welcome at my table.”

Ling Qi felt the Bai matron’s gaze briefly flick toward her, and for a moment, she felt as if she were sinking deep into a dark lake, pulled down by the current, water spilling into her lungs. She mastered herself, not allowing a single visible twitch in her stance. The feeling faded. There was no approval or even acknowledgement in the woman’s gaze, but neither was there any disdain.

She chose her seat to the left of Cai Renxiang, who sat down across from the ambassador. Here, too, she remembered Meizhen’s words.

“The seat directly to the left of a lord is the most honored, indicating great trust and admiration for martial ability,” Bai Meizhen had explained. “Sitting to the left in general is a sign of favor. In this, we favor the great Yao, whose left hand was his favored one.”

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Ling Qi stole another glance at the man seated to the ambassador’s left, who had turned to quietly speak with Meizhen. The chilling shadow behind him still watched the two of them with unblinking eyes.

Bai Xilai rang the delicate crystal handbell which sat on the table in front of her, subtly signaling hidden side doors in the room to open and begin disgorging servants. “Allow me to make further introductions. To my left is the Master Scholar Xia Lushen, husband to Heiress Bai Suzhen.”

The thin man’s gaze turned back to them, and he smiled good-naturedly. “Young Lady Cai, Baroness, it pleases me to meet you.”

Ling Qi returned the pleasantries. Xia was the Violet Coral caste, sometimes referred to as sea snakes. They were the Bai clan’s scholars and astronomers as well as their shipbuilders and navigators. They were obviously different from the local Xia, who were a hill tribe before General Xia Ren took an imperial name.

“It gladdens me that Lady Bai trusts our province so,” Cai Renxiang said politely.