Lights filled the air like gentle butterflies, flashes of vibrance to enrich the deep, fierce red of the throne room as they reflected off the glimmering ornaments. Bold scarlet pillars rose from the dark tiles lining the floor, delicate streams of gold etching dragons and lotus beneath their glossy surfaces. A pair of thrones sat at the end of the room, the larger occupied by a pepper-haired man, a majestic robe draped around his shoulders as he regarded the three figures before him through narrowed eyes. His brows drew low with wordless anger, his presence brimming with coiled wrath.

“A maid,” he started slowly, “tried to poison Mai?”

Chau took a deep breath, but her voice still trembled with emotion. “Yes, my lord.”

“She is safe now, Lord Nirin.” Beside her, Master Sinh spoke hurriedly in his attempt to calm the lord’s temper. He pressed his forehead against the ground in a bow. “Your timely generosity allowed Mai to be in possession of the Tessen, and she was able to isolate the poison quickly. She had not drunk from the cup, nor was she harmed.”

Lord Nirin ignored the flattery. "What did the maid want?"

"She was insane with jealousy," Lady Chau hissed. "When a Holy Weapon is bestowed upon someone younger than you—a mere child who you’ve been forced to care for, a child who isn’t your own—who wouldn't be? I want to know why she had to resort to such crude tactics. My poor daughter did nothing wrong and did nothing to deserve such blasphemous treachery!"

Her last two words rang passionately, but Lord Nirin's expression hardly changed.

Chau pressed on. "Lord Nirin, this repulsive maid almost killed my daughter—our daughter! That woman doesn't deserve to breathe another-"

"Enough."

His voice rumbled like distant thunder, a roiling promise of calamity upon any that disobeyed his command. Shreds of objections died with a growl between Chau's teeth. She bowed obediently.

Lord Nirin rose and swept an arm before him. "Leave. I will decide the maid's punishment by sunset. Before then, I must speak with Mai."

Head snapping in outrage, Lady Chau opened her mouth.

"Alone."

And her mouth clamped shut.

Without a pause, Nirin flicked his finger, and guards filed forward. Elder Sinh left first, spared only enough time to blink in Mai's direction before the Lord’s men ushered out the old master. Lady Chau soon followed with a huff, fending off the guards' guidance with a smoldering glare. The heavy double doors slammed shut at her heels.

Mai remained knelt as the room quickly emptied, air paused in her chest. Although breathing felt easier without Lady Chau's burning ferocity, bitter tension still clogged the atmosphere like smoke. She felt her parched throat throb but didn't dare move, much less swallow.

Her father cleared his throat. Mai turned her face upward.

"Was everything they told me true?"

Hesitantly, she nodded. Lord Nirin swore under his breath, his fingers digging into the throne's arms. "Do you truly believe she gave you poison because of her jealousy?" he asked.

Mai frowned. "I don't want to believe that she gave me the poison at all, but I'm not sure who else would be behind this or why."

Seconds stretched into decades as her father tapped his chin in thought. Slowly, Lord Nirin stood up. He approached the window, hands clasped behind his back as he gazed at the courtyard. Outside, a bird twittered above the garden, its song faintly reaching the lord's ears. He cocked his head to listen.

"Do you believe the maid should die?"

Mai blinked, surprised by the bluntness of the question. "No, sir."

Lord Nirin turned his face from the sun to beckon to his daughter. Without hesitation, Mai climbed to her feet and stood by his side. The quietness didn't stretch long before her curiosity broke through.

"What will you do to the maid? Do you not believe Mother's story?" she asked.

"I do believe her, Little One," he answered immediately. "I believe her story, but I do not believe her reasoning."

The bird sang again, and Lord Nirin once again turned his attention to the peaceful scenery outside. A cloud drifted across the sun, temporarily dowsing the garden in cool shade.

Finally, Lord Nirin sighed deeply, shaking his head.

"This was my fault," he grumbled. "Perhaps Elder Sinh was right. I should have waited until you were stronger, at least strong enough to protect yourself without the help of a Holy Weapon."

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Mai's jaw dropped open. "Father, you aren't regretting your decision, are you?"

"It is too early for you to-"

"I can handle it!"

Her father’s eyes flickered. “Little Mai, you are not ready.”

“But-”

“Your body is not ready,” Nirin continued. He tapped a gnarled finger on her shoulder. Before Mai could protest, he tapped her chest and forehead. “Your soul, your mind—neither are ready.”

Instantly, the girl felt her face burn with frustration, the spots her father prodded flaring even warmer. “I’ve been training as hard as I could,” she objected lamely. “No one thinks I’m ready yet, but I know-”

“You are eighteen years old,” Lord Nirin interrupted. His voice reverberated with disappointment and impatience. “You do not know anything. You do not know of your own limits, of the struggles of those around you, nor of the Tessen itself. You cannot even begin to comprehend the difficulties we have all gone through just because of this Holy Weapon—no, just because of the Holy Weapon’s lack of a capable wielder.”

As she suppressed the stabbing pangs in her chest, Mai could only glare. She pressed her trembling lips shut, trying to seal away the water in her eyes more than the anguished question in her mouth. "If I'm not a capable Soulbound, then why would you give me the Tessen in the first place?"

“I didn’t mean that, little one, and you know it.” Exasperation hid under his calm guise. He tugged at his beard. “Your brother-”

“Khanh is no longer here, and no one knows where he is,” Mai responded stiffly. “I wonder why. Don’t you?”

Neither looked at the other. Silence fell.

“Look, Father,” she said finally, “I know you mean well, but maybe the issue isn’t us.”

She paused, turning to face him at last. Her heart panged; her father’s once-bright brown eyes now only drooped with weariness, and stress folded into his skin like cracks in stone. Before she could smother them, her words were already diving from the tip of her tongue.

“Maybe the issue is you.”

The wounded look on his face should have stopped her. It didn’t.

“Even though it's a Holy Weapon, the Tessen isn’t some kind of mandate or something worth more than our lives,” Mai went on. She turned her eyes to the clouds, blinking hard. Her voice caught on her throat. “There was no need to push him so hard.”

Suddenly, the sunlight felt too bright, the wind too sharp, and her vision blurred. Her lungs felt empty. The thoughts spinning inside her for so long had finally left her body, leaving only fear and uncertainty towards the consequences of their departure. Did she go too far? What happens now?

Mai sighed. After a pause, she dug into her pockets, withdrawing the Tessen and its case. She placed them on the windowsill before her father. “I need to rest.”

Nirin whirled. “Mai, wait-”

But as he stumbled to latch a desperate hand to her shoulder, Mai was already walking away.

----------------------------------------

“Mai Au, you have shown dedication and commitment to the Tessen of the Snake.” Lord Nirin’s voice rumbled through the crowded throne room. Beside him, Lady Chau sat on a smaller throne, her eyes gleaming with pride as her gaze fixed upon her daughter. The audience, the occupants of the Lord's residence, sat in awe before him as he began the Ceremony of Ascension. “Master Sinh has provided; your body and spirit have been fortified, and your skills sharpened. Your destiny, from here on forth, will be intertwined with the Snake’s, and you will serve and protect the Tessen to your fullest extent.”

The anointment speech continued, but Mai could only process a handful of the oaths and praises as she sat knelt before her parents. Yesterday’s conversation echoed in between her ears; she remembered her reluctance as she pushed the weapon and its velvet box from her grasp, her father’s pained gaze peeling the skin from her back, and the resentment filling her eyes after the blinding, rugged anger subsided. Now, where her emotions burned hours ago, sat only confusion. What changed his mind?

Finally, the words she had spent years waiting for rang in her ears.

“By the power that resides within me, I hereby declare you the Soulbound of the Snake.”

Before she could react, the crowd around her exploded with cheers. Her heart thrummed with their energy, thumping in time to the beating drums.

“Now, Mai, I have a favor to ask of you.”

The crowd fell silent. Mai blinked. “So soon?”

“I’m afraid I’ve been overestimating my own capabilities.” Avoiding her eyes, her father chuckled awkwardly. “I’ll have to rely on you for the Moon Festival this year.”

All at once, her heart which thumped passionately moments before, froze to a complete stop. Blood drained from her face. Excited whispers fluttered to life behind her.

Lord Nirin caught her reaction. “Are you not pleased?”

“I am!” Mai responded much too quickly. Although still bewildered, she bowed deeply. “I am honored.”

“Then you will set off tomorrow morning.” Lord Nirin smiled, his cheeks never reaching his eyes. “As a final test to prove your worth, you will travel alone to the Golden City. You are to report to the Palace as soon as you arrive; this year belongs to the Rooster, so the Rooster’s Soulbound will assign you tasks to prepare for the Moon Festival.”

Mai nodded diligently, but her mind tumbled with unanswered questions.

Lady Chau caught her eye, not even bothering to hide the expectancy on her face. She nodded once: accept the test.

The girl turned her attention back to her father. Pressing her head against the floor, Mai sealed her fate with her own words.

"I would be honored, Lord Nirin."