Hiroko bowed in the doorway as the Dowager Pearl looked up from her work. "Ah, yes, my dear. How are you?"

"I'm fine," Hiroko said as she entered. “How may I serve your eminence?”

The Dowager gestured at the man seated across from her. "Hiroko, this is Grandmaster Noren of the Morning Mist sect."

Hiroko took in his robes, which were in the Morning Mist's pattern, and the ring on his finger with a symbol matching that which Joshi wore.

She entered and knelt beside the Dowager, confused and trying not to show it. The Morning Mist sect didn't have a Grandmaster because they weren't a real sect. They were a scheme Joshi and Chang-li had come up with between them. So now they had roped in a high-level cultivator to play the role of Grandmaster. Very well, she'd play along. Hiroko bent her head.

"I am pleased to meet you, Grandmaster."

"And I you, Princess Hiroko." His voice was unexpectedly rich.

She considered the man. He had a strengthened reserve about him that impressed her.

"I have been speaking with the Dowager about the upcoming marriage between yourself and my disciple Joshi."

Hiroko felt her face flush. "Oh, yes?”

“The Dowager and I have agreed that while we do not wish to distract from the festivities coming up, this wedding is a matter of import. We shall be working the details out over the coming days, but I wished a chance to meet you first."

Hiroko was annoyed. She had been trying to meet with the Dowager for days now, only to be brushed off with the claim that the Dowager had other tasks to attend to. This charlatan had merely requested her presence and the Dowager had sent for her.

"Dowager Pearl, may I speak?"

"Yes, of course, Hiroko," the Dowager said fondly.

Hiroko folded her hands into fists and focused. She had spent several sleepless nights thinking about the mess she had gotten herself into, how Joshi had responded to their betrothal. What really stung wasn't the betrayed look he had when the betrothal was announced, but the words he'd said a few minutes before, that she was throwing away her potential, neglecting her own cultivation.

Joshi had, in that brief moment, shown that he saw her as more than just a princess or a potential tool for his own success. He saw her as having strengths and abilities of her own. And he was right. She had neglected her cultivating, allowing the Dowager's excuses to stand in her way.

Hiroko took a deep breath. "Dowager Pearl, I will be ruled by you in all matters of ceremony, but I wish to return to my own cultivation again at once."

The Dowager blinked at her. "What's that?"

"I am near the Peak of Bodily Refinement. I have been near the peak since the last tower. You told me then that I shouldn't neglect my own cultivation, but I haven't even set foot inside this tower. I cycle, but I have no lux remaining to me, so it doesn't do me any good. I wish to advance. I wish to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement before I wed, so that my sect knows I can stand on my own two feet and be an asset to them."

"Hiroko, you'd be an asset to them if you had crippled lux channels and couldn't tell red lux from violet,” the Dowager Pearl said. "Why now? We have so many other matters to attend to, and as you know, my resources are stretched thin working the bridal competition."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

That was another thing bothering Hiroko. She had thought the Dowager meant her to assist with the bridal tournament. That was why she had come along to this tower, after all. But after weeks of being pushed aside and told to stay out of matters, Hiroko knew the Dowager was just keeping her close.

Whatever schemes the Dowager had, Hiroko wanted no part of them. If she did marry Joshi and join the sect of Morning Mists, she wouldn't have to.

Grandmaster Noren looked Hiroko up and down. He nodded. "I like her spirit," he said to the Dowager, which nettled Hiroko. They were talking about her as though she weren't even here. Though a grandmaster of a sect was important, and a Dowager Pearl was one of the officials who kept the empire running, Hiroko was still an indigo princess. There were a lot fewer indigo royalty than there were grandmasters or even Dowager Pearls.

Hiroko raised her chin. "I will not be underestimated," she declared. "Grandmaster Noren, if you wish me to join your sect as a cultivator spouse, then here is my demand. I wish to reach the Peak of Bodily Refinement. I know how to do it. All I need is time in the tower and blue lux to cultivate," she added quickly, knowing that not every floor had enough blue lux.

"Blue's not a problem," Noren said. "Indigo and violet are scarcer."

"Grandmaster," the Dowager's eyes widened. "You can't be thinking of taking the princess into the tower yourself. It would be unseemly."

He tilted his head to the side. "How so? She is betrothed to one of my disciples, which makes her by extension more or less a disciple. But it certainly won't be alone, your eminence," he assured the Pearl. "I need to take some of my juniors in hand. They are not progressing as fast as they should. Why don't I plan an extended training session for them? Yes," he told Hiroko. "I shall send details of when and where. You may bring any escort you like," he added carelessly. "Dowager, if you wish to have her accompanied by your own cultivators, feel free."

"The princess's safety — “

“Will be on my head," Noren said, cutting her off.

As the Dowager seemed to be at a loss for words, he leaned toward her. "Dowager Pearl, either my sect is strong and reputable enough to welcome an indigo princess into our midst as a spouse, or we are not. This will allow you to demonstrate to all that this betrothal is not, as I have heard rumors from certain quarters, merely an excuse to keep the indigo princess under wraps."

"Where have you heard that?" the Dowager demanded sharply.

"It's going around. I believe it can be traced back to members of Prism Eri’s sect.”

The Dowager muttered something under her breath.

"Dowager, I assure you, we are on the same page here. The indigo princess's safety is my highest concern. Don't worry. She'll be in good hands here. Is there anything else I can do for you today?"

"Oh, you've done enough," the Dowager sighed. "Very well."

The Grandmaster rose. He bowed to the Dowager, then to Hiroko. "I look forward to your presence again soon, Your Highness."

When the door slid shut behind him, the Dowager turned to Hiroko. "Do you have any idea what you are doing?"

"I need to cultivate," Hiroko said stubbornly.

"You need to get married, and anything that threatens that is a problem."

"How would my cultivating threaten my marriage?" Hiroko asked. "And why is it so desperate now? A few days ago you were telling me I should wait and take my time, that the Young Masters here were hardly worthy of me.”

“That was before—" The Dowager checked herself. She leaned forward, nearly whispering. "That was before Prism —” She stopped herself short of saying the name. “--a woman arrived who hated your mother bitterly, and who clearly has her own designs. I don't know what they are, but I don't want you part of them. Marrying you off, even into a somewhat obscure sect, will keep you safe. Your grandmother was a friend of mine. That's why I've been trying to keep an eye on you. I would rather have you less advantageously married than risk being a part of her games." The Dowager's voice gave no doubt who she meant.

"But surely she can't have known I was here," Hiroko said. "She came for the competition, not for me.”

“If she only has one scheme going here, then I am a monkey's maiden aunt," the Dowager said. "Just because I don't know what it is, doesn't mean she hasn't got one. I have been neglecting your cultivation, though. I don't know this Grandmaster Noren personally, but his cultivation records are unimpeachable. And he certainly is interested in having you join his sect. I suppose it can't hurt. I will try to arrange for an escort, at least to take you down to the tower entrance, but it might be difficult to get any guards who are capable of cultivating."

"It's all right," Hiroko assured the Dowager. "I can take care of myself."

The Dowager eyed her. "Yes," she said. "I would hope you can, or else your mother and father would be very disappointed in both of us."