“Where are we going, young miss?” the boy asked.

“Over to the courtyard. My family is returning today.”

“Oh,” the boy said.

She reached over and shook his hair with her hand. “Are you sad?”

“No.” He was looking at the ground, watching the seams in between the tiled floor as they walked. “Are they nice?”

“They are very nice. I wouldn't have married them if they weren't.”

He looked up, surprised. “You have more than one husband.”

She grabbed him by the wrist and lifted his arm, smacking his forearm hard.

“Owww.”

“I only have one husband.”

“But you said them,” he whimpered.

“It's a figure of speech, I married into the family.”

“I don't get it,” he said. Still whimpering and holding his arm.

She sighed. “Why don't you go to the front gate and come back to the courtyard when you see them? If you do a good job I'll give you a treat.”

“Alright,” he sprang up.

“Your arm doesn't hurt anymore?” She shouted.

He was already gone and out of earshot.

He found the large clay pot next to the gate and climbed. It was filled with dirt and there was nothing in it. Once he was on the pot he used his arm to lift himself and straddle the wall. From the wall, he could see the next gate and the road outside of it. The road was not much of a road as it was a dirt path carved by people and horses and wagons. The land to either side of the road had been cleared long ago and was all open now. Further down, the road rose and fell over small hills and he could not see what was past them.

He waited for a short while and the sun was high. It was especially hot for a spring morning and the tiled roofing of the wall was hot too. He wondered what the young miss’s family would look like. He had met many of the other servants' families. Most of their husbands were also laborers of some sort and they always looked happy. The young Miss had not seen her family in many years but she was happy now.

His thoughts were interrupted as he heard the sound of hooves and many steps hitting the ground and leaving it again in unison, echoing in the open area in front of the house. Figures appeared from over the hill, first people and then the horses they rode, and behind them were more people without horses who marched together holding spears that started from their ankles and rose high above their heads and the men looked nothing like the friendly ones he met many times in the manner and much darker and he did not know why.

He ran towards the open courtyard, “There are people on horses,” he shouted to the group of people, all waiting in the courtyard. He placed himself next to her. “I saw them…they had horses…and there were many of them.”

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“Catch your breath.”

“Is…that them?” He asked.

“So they are here, " a voice came from the distance. The madam was coming from one of the tile pathways that led to the courtyard. A group of servants scuffled around her. The boy did not dislike the madam but when she was around the young miss would change the way she talked to him and he would have to watch himself.

The young miss turned towards the boy “You must be good, okay.”

“Yes.”

“And you need to be respectful to me too.”

“Yes, Young Miss.”

“Good,” she turned towards one of her servants, grabbed a sweet, and then gave it to the boy.

He loved the young miss and she was very kind to him. She was very kind to the other servants too and everybody loved her. He overheard the other servants praise the young miss for helping run the house well the patriarch was gone with the others. But now he was going to meet the patriarch for the first time. He could no longer hear their horses and he could hear the opening of the gates. Three men entered the courtyard together.

The boy's gaze was first drawn to the man in the center. He was the oldest of the three men, with gray hair that was tied up in a bun above his head and a gray goatee on his chin. His skin was beginning to sag and turn gray and he stood upright. An old tiger is still a tiger. The boy knew he was the former patriarch. He was the most famous man in the clan. He took the position from his father at a young age and quickly grew the family's forces to over twice what it once was. This man may be old, he thought, but he could still see a flicker in his eye.

The man to his left must have been his son, the current patriarch. He was a spitting image of his father, but his hair was still black and his shoulders were square. There was a fire in this man. When the boy saw him his eyes were drawn to his right hand. It rested comfortable on the hilt of his sword, sheathed to his side.

The third man, furthest to the right, looked like a puppy in comparison. His hair did not have the splendor of the other two men. His eyes moved slowly. He kept glancing at the young miss and the boy thought knew it was her husband although he wished he was not.

“Father,” the madam bowed towards the Grand patriarch.

“How has my daughter been?"

“Good, Father.”

“And my granddaughter, how are you?”

“Good, grandfather.”

“I'm glad,” He turned towards the two men. “Spend some time with your wives. I'll leave soon.”

“Father, you should rest more,” the patriarch said

“Father, why don't you rest for a while? You were gone for so long. The maids bought some nice herbs the other day.," the madam added.

“Enough, this is important. I must go,” he turned, walking away through the gateway and towards the west garden. The patriarch and madam chased after him.

The boy stood by the young miss’s side, waiting to attend to anything he was requested. Her husband had stayed behind to talk to her.

“What happened?”

“Uhh, I don't even know where to begin. How have you been, dear.”

“I've been worrying about you.”

“I'm sure my mother didn't help with your worries.”

“Stop, she was very helpful. My husband abandoned me for glory on the battlefield.” She lowered her head to her chest and placed her hand flat against her forehead.

He jumped forward and grabbed her waist, lifting her in the air. “And now I have returned for my reward.”

She started laughing and slapped his hand. “Put me down.”

“Young Miss,” the boy shouted in panic.

“Who? Is this the baby?”

“Yes, the one grandfather sent back. I wrote to you about him.”

“He's trying to protect you, you know. It seems you taught him well.”

She gently slapped the top of the boy's head. “Stop glaring. I told you, you need to be respectful.”

“But miss.”

“He is my husband and the young Lord. Do you think you shouldn't have to show him respect?”

“But miss. I never heard you make that noise before.”

She stopped herself from smiling and the Young lord began laughing.

“Yes boy, a woman's changing face, it truly is terrifying.”

She slapped her husband hard on the arm. “You have to be careful, Chao, okay? I'm serious. If that was the patriarch or the Grand patriarch you could be punished.”

“Do they also pick you up, young miss?”

Her Husband laughed even harder now. She hit him in the arm again, hard. “Alright, Chao, why don't you go back, I would like to spend some time with my husband.”

“Alright, young miss,”

She grabbed another treat from the maid and gave it to the boy. He took the treat and quickly ran away.

She shouted at the boy. “Walk, uh, what am I going to do?” and turned back to her husband who was smiling at her.

“It seems your hands were full well I was gone.”

“Uhh,” She smiles. “Alright, so what happened? Why is grandfather so worried?”

He glanced at the servants. “Let's go somewhere private and discuss.”

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