The Lady of the West and her husband stepped forward to stand beside Prince Baiyu and me in a show of support, but they did not speak.
“Come now, let the girl look,” said King Surya with a smirk.
His sons, daughters, and retainers all laughed or slapped each other in the back and made jokes or bets about the newest arrival, Prince Arjun.
We all rose, and the king introduced his son to my other guests first before turning to me and saying, “Lady Violet, meet the jewel of the royal house of the Vermillion Bird clan. If you agree to supply us with the fans, I will grant you his hand in marriage.”
Even before he came of age, the prince of the Vermillion Bird clan was famed far and wide throughout the continent for his beauty. Poets said that he was so lovely that red flowers sprang up wherever he walked.
“Baiyu,” I murmured as I pulled my boyfriend’s hand down. Looking up, I saw that his expression was one of resigned acceptance rather than pique.
Our eyes met.
Of course, this was all part of our strategy, and if King Surya hadn’t called for Prince Arjun himself, we would have asked to see him. According to Prince Baiyu, who had met him a few times, Prince Arjun was a good-natured person, known more for his looks than his brains, which was perfect for our plan.
I waited until Prince Baiyu nodded before turning to the newcomer. Cupping my hands, I bowed and said, “It’s an honor to meet you, Your Highness.”
Prince Arjun inclined his head regally and said, “Lady Violet, the honor is mine.”
I thought I detected a certain arrogance in his manner, but, to be fair, he really was quite handsome. If he were walking down a street on Earth, people would wonder if he was a movie star. He had that sort of classic good looks, with a strong jawline and chiseled features. His long red hair and red eyes were more of a reddish brown than the crimson color I had expected. I must’ve been staring at him because Prince Baiyu once again moved as though to cover my eyes with his hand, which made Prince Arjun laugh. I caught Prince Baiyu’s hand in mine and squeezed it.
Prince Arjun, with a mischievous smile, said loud enough for the entire party to hear, “Baiyu, don’t worry. When I marry Lady Violet, I promise I won’t despise or mistreat you for being a mere concubine.”
The others of the Vermillion Bird clan burst into raucous laughter.
Before I could respond to this outrageous provocation, Prince Baiyu put one arm around Prince Arjun’s shoulder and the other around mine. “Is that so? We’ll discuss this in private.”
Thus physically connected, we were hustled out of the reception room and into the western corridor by my boyfriend. Prince Muyang winked at me in a conspiratorial manner and helped out by opening the door for us. My apprentices were bewildered by this since they didn't know what was happening, but they could tell we had things under control, so they cheekily waved goodbye at me as though to say “take your time, see you much later.”
Behind us, King Surya called out, “My son, remember not to do anything with them until after the wedding!”
Prince Baiyu steered us to the room I had prepared beforehand. He let go of us and opened a door into a dark room. We both pushed Prince Arjun through it while he was still too confused to protest. I took out a torch from my inventory and lit it, revealing that the “room” was actually a cave.
“That was just a joke! And my mother hasn’t even given her permission for us to marry,” said Prince Arjun.
It seemed like he was about to say something more, but then he frowned and looked around.
The door we had through was actually a portal into the Chitinous Caverns located in the Southern lands that was in the Vermillion Bird clan’s ancestral territory.
Just as I was wondering if my plan had failed, Prince Arjun suddenly clutched his chest and fell to his knees.
His face went blank with astonishment, and then his expression slowly transformed into one of awe and ecstasy. After a few minutes of silence, he said, “Baiyu, what did you do? I feel….”
My boyfriend ignored him and said to me, “Success. I never doubted you even for a moment.”
Based on Adventure Incarnate lore, the Descent of the Demon King event heralded the return of the Vermillion Bird clan to heavenly favor. All they had to do was to return to the Southern Lands to restore their zidan. Then they were supposed to fight in the World Event to regain some of their former glory. We knew they would refuse to travel south because of the taboo, which is why I suggested tricking someone into stepping through a portal to the Southern lands as proof to the others of what they should do.
“Yes!” I said triumphantly. “They can’t refuse to join the war now.”
Prince Baiyu nodded and helped the other prince to stand. “Arjun, what you’re feeling is zidan.”
“Zidan!” He leaned against the cave wall and clutched his chest again. “Do you feel this way all the time?”
“Like what?” I asked.
I was getting tired of holding the torch, so I took out a floor lamp. Unlike the torch, it looked out of place in the cave, but it gave off more light. I put the torch away with a glad sigh.
While I was doing that, Prince Arjun answered my question by muttering a series of increasingly enthusiastic sentences.
“Like I’m where I belong. Like I was born with a purpose. Like the god himself came down from heaven and told me to live. Like I’m invincible. Like everything will be alright, always.” By the end of this little recitation, his smile became wider and wider, and he looked like the cat who had swallowed the cream and was looking for more.
“Congratulations, King Arjun,” said Prince Baiyu. “You’re the first of your clan to regain your zidan.”
I detached Mr. Bear from my belt and made him grow to human size. He was dressed in fancy red and silver court robes embroidered with cute chibi bears. We bowed to the new monarch in unison, and I took out a crown made of red gold, intricately wrought with a design of feathers and flame, on a velvet cushion which I offered to him. “All hail King Arjun!”
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
Was it a little over the top? Not at all. The way I figured it, a little flattery never hurt anyone. By virtue of being the only one with zidan, at least until the others went south and regained theirs, Arjun was now effectively the ruler of the Vermillion Bird clan.
King Arjun straightened up and took the crown with trembling hands. “How did this happen?”
Prince Baiyu explained it all to him.
At the end of their discussion, King Arjun put the crown on and bowed deeply to me. “Lady Violet, thank you! I am forever in your debt.”
I smiled. He was, wasn’t he?
“Your whole clan is in her debt,” Prince Baiyu corrected him. “And now we must return and tell your family the good news.”
I took out a +9 [War Fan] and gave it to King Arjun. “Everyone will be overjoyed.”
“Return? I can’t leave. This is where I belong now,” said King Arjun.
“What?!” I exclaimed.
We needed him to return with us through the portal to persuade the others to travel south and fight the Demon Boss with the rest of the clans.
“Arjun…” Prince Baiyu gave him a disappointed look. “What about your mother?”
His mother was another reason we had chosen Arjun for our plan. She was one of King Surya’s wives, known to all as the most ambitious one who was always jockeying for position with the others of his harem.
“Mother?” King Arjun sighed. “I could write her a letter for you to take to her.”
“What seems to be the problem?” I asked.
“My zidan is here!” said King Arjun. “I can’t leave. What if… what if my zidan disappears if I go back through the portal?”
“That won’t happen,” said Prince Baiyu. “Extend your senses to me. You should be able to feel my zidan. Leaving your territory won’t affect your zidan.”
“Well…” He seemed only half-convinced.
“Just think, if you return with us in person, you can order the others to stay in the north for a few days to prepare food and other supplies,” I said. “Your mother can join us on my ship, and I’ll fly you both to the southern camps. She’ll be the first woman of the Vermillion Bird clan to regain her zidan.”
Prince Baiyu took his clue from me and said, “You’ll both go down in history as the first of the new monarchs. Think of everyone in your family calling your mother Queen Chandra.”
Only King Surya’s first wife, the mother of his heir, was given the title of “Queen.” The others, such as Arjun's mother, were called “Noble Consorts.”
King Arjun cursed under his breath then asked with a worried frown on his face, “Are you sure I’ll be fine?”
“Don’t make me shove you through the portal by force.”
“How dare you! I’m a king now.”
The two of them playfully punched each other, and King Arjun allowed Prince Baiyu to gently push him through the portal. I shrank Mr. Bear back to his palm-sized form and attached him to my belt before following behind them.
Back at the ship, King Arjun unexpectedly fell to his knees and kowtowed three times to me. “Lady Violet, you are my savior. Words cannot express my gratitude. I and my family are eternally indebted to you. Please call on me or any member of the Vermillion Bird clan if you are ever in need.”
I bowed back to him and said, “You’re welcome, Your Majesty. Now let’s go and show the rest of the clan their future.”
He stood up and said, “Please call me Arjun.”
With that, we returned to the reception room which immediately erupted in pandemonium.
“What is that?”
“It can’t be!”
“How?”
“I can feel it. I don’t know how, but I can feel it.”
“It’s zidan.”
“Zidan…”
“Zidan…”
One by one, the Vermillion Bird clan members, including King Surya, fell to their knees and pressed their foreheads to the floor. The room echoed with the words “King Arjun!” and “Long Live the King!”
“Rise,” said Arjun.
The royal family rose and stepped forward to kiss Arjun’s hands. Most of them were openly sobbing or had tears in their eyes.
The first thing he did was to ask the fastest flyer among his brothers to send a message to his mother. Then, as we had discussed, he ordered the others to disperse and spend three days gathering as much food and camping supplies as they could for the upcoming demon extermination campaign before joining him in the Southerlands.
All of Arjun’s subjects left, and I made sure they took the [War Fans] with them. They would be needed later for the war.
Arjun’s brother arrived with a message from his mother.
“My king, your mother said she’ll be here as soon as she fixes her makeup,” he said.
“What?” Arjun was flabbergasted. “Didn’t you tell her about my zidan?”
He shrugged. “I told her, but she said she never goes out without looking her best.”
Arjun lowered his face into his hand. “Why is she so vain? Alright, thank you. I guess I’ll just have to wait.”
The messenger grinned and left.
“Is this going to take long?” I whispered to Prince Baiyu.
Arjun overheard me and said, “Hopefully it will only take an hour.”
I laughed and gestured to Fengying who directed the maids to bring fresh snacks and drinks.
This time, the mood was far more relaxed when we sat down with the others. Arjun regaled everyone with the tale of how he had regained his zidan. I hadn’t seen a chorus of heavenly beings in the cave, but maybe Arjun had had a vision that Baiyu and I hadn’t been privy to.
Two hours later, a beautiful lady with bright red hair and red-brown eyes, clad in the finest silk brocade and laden with ropes and ropes of pearls and jade beads around her neck, shoulders, and hips, arrived. Noble Consort Chandra, unlike the others, didn’t bow down to Arjun. Instead, she simply nodded and said, “I knew from the first moment I held you in my arms that you would bring the greatest glory to the clan.”
“Mom.” Arjun embraced her and formally introduced her to everyone.
After the usual polite chit-chat, I excused myself, went to the control panel at the viewing platform, and set course for the White Tiger clan’s main camp in the Southerlands. With the ship going at full speed, it took less than an hour for us to get there.
While the rest of us either flew down to land or used the escalators, Lady Chandra had to be coaxed down by her son.
“She must be afraid she won’t be blessed with zidan when she steps foot on the Southerlands,” said Lady Yuying.
“One can’t blame her. What happened to King Arjun was a miracle. It’s hard to believe it will happen twice.” Lord Yulin put a hand on his chin and gave me a thoughtful look. “But since Violet says it will happen, I’m sure we’ll witness the birth of a queen today.”
Prince Baiyu put an arm around my waist. “I’m so proud of my lady.”
“I thought her finding the Blessed Isles for us was amazing, but what she did today is beyond incredible,” said Prince Muyang.
King Arjun must have been feeling exasperated because he suddenly grabbed his mother and flew her down. The moment her feet touched the ground, her expression transformed into one of pure joy.
I couldn’t feel the change myself, but it must have been evident to the clan members because they all bowed to her and said either “Congratulations, Your Majesty” or “Hail, Queen Chandra.”
That was my cue to take out another crown and step forward to offer to her.
Arjun took it and placed it on her head. “Long live Queen Chandra!”
We all cheered.
Moments later, the White Tiger clan’s elders appeared with an invitation to Arjun and his mother to rest at the camp. At my request, a magnificent tent had been set up for them the day before. There they could wait for the others to join them.
“Mission accomplished,” I said to Prince Baiyu. “I’ll return to the ship.”
“This day will surely go down in history, and you'll soon be hailed as the greatest benefactor of the Vermillion Bird clan,” said Prince Baiyu.
“Hmm? Is that all you have to say?” I raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. “Babe, this girl just rejected two princes and the title of queen for you. You are going to reward me, right?”
“My dear, once we have the time, I'll show you exactly why you made the right choice.”
Alas, since we were in public, all he could do was to kiss me on the forehead and give me a look promising all sorts of nice rewards.
"Oh my, I would certainly enjoy that," I said.
“I wish I could escort you back to your farm, but I have a lot to do now that we know we’ll be training with Arjun and the others.”
He kissed my forehead again and we bid each other goodbye.
When I was walking away, Queen Chandra called out to me, so I went to her to see what she wanted.
She looked me up and down then nodded to herself as though she had decided something. “Lady Violet, where are you going? There’s no time to lose. You must marry Arjun today and become the queen of the Vermillion Bird clan.”