Suddenly, she wasn’t so sure she could expect any protection from White Mask.
Oh, well, she shrugged mentally, brushing off the sudden unfamiliar fear that crept into her chest. I’ll just have to get myself out of whatever comes, or take it. Doesn’t make much of a difference…right?
But she still held onto a small sliver of hope. She opened her mouth to test the waters some more:
“…So you really don’t think the Emperor is a murderer? He killed so many magicians with the Scarlet Plague that they say their bodies piled together would make a mountain higher than Mount Zuigao! And his nickname is The Cold-Blooded Master of Torture and Murder! He sounds like some kind of blood-sucking demon from what I’ve — mrph!”
Like the string of a money pouch, Abrial’s mouth pulled shut with a flick of White Mask’s finger. His eyes flashed with a fury so terrible and cold that Abrial actually shrank back a little, an effect even Finley’s terrible and cold glare could never have on her. But the dead, frozen landscape in his eyes passed by quickly, replaced with a calm resembling how he had looked before. There was less warmth in his eyes behind his jade mask now, but they were at least as calm as two puddles of cool water. He looked almost…distant.
“I am His Majesty the Emperor’s confidant. You dare to speak in this way of him in front of me?” It was less of an accusation, and more of an observation. White Mask sighed. “Since you are naive, I will excuse you this time. If we meet again after this trip, do not speak so rashly again. You know very little of the Emperor. It is not good to speak so carelessly about someone you have never met.”
Abrial went silent. She stared at this man with wide, glittering black eyes that saw everything about him in a new light: that warm gleam in his brown eyes looked more tired than warm, didn’t it? And the gentle curve of his lips — they looked more like they were pursed with weariness, didn’t they? Had she really interpreted him wrongly from the start? Had he always looked this exhausted?
Whatever! Whatever, whatever!
What was the use in trying to figure out the strange personality of the Emperor’s right-hand man? If he reacted like that to an insult to the Emperor, then fine! She’d assume he wasn’t on her side. That was all! No more to it!
Abrial mumbled with her mouth zipped shut for a while, making random noises and being reminded suddenly and distastefully of the welcome Bi Chanjuan had given her at the Wei camp, when she’d sealed her lips in the same way. When White Mask ignored her entirely and maintained a cool, distant gaze out the window, Abrial made up her mind.
Finley had told her not to try and perform shadow magic at any cost…but they hadn’t been thinking about a situation like this at the time, had they? As long as she didn’t push herself too far, she should be fine.
She closed her eyes tightly. Realizing she didn’t know what kind of magic was necessary to break the spell paralyzing her limbs, she tried to will it to break as hard as she could:
Move, arms.
Move, legs!
Move, you stupid feet, c’mon! Seriously?
Why’re you still sitting there like that! Lift up! Roll over! Get up and dance, whatever! Just move! Seriously…
A sharp pain pulsed in Abrial’s chest, causing her to inhale sharply through her nose. The red-hot pain shot up her throat like a bead of fire and, without being able to escape through her mouth, shot out her nose instead. Two streams of red-tinged steam burst from Abrial’s nostrils like she was a great dragon, which would have been cool and majestic in a way, only the heat seared her throat dry and made her eyes spill over with involuntary tears.
White Mask noticed, and pity flitted through his eyes. With a wave of his hand, Abrial’s lips burst open with a gasp and her limbs sprang free. Like acorn jelly, she flopped to the floor of the carriage and lay there for a moment, her arms and legs feeling like gel appendages that didn’t belong to her.
“What was that for?” She pushed herself wobblingly back up to the seat, frowning at White Mask. “Aren’t you mad I insulted the Emperor? Why’d you free me?”
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White Mask returned his quiet gaze to the space between the curtain and window. “You were in pain.”
Abrial gaped at him in utter confusion.
What was going on in this man’s head?!?!
He looked like he wanted to throw her out of the carriage a couple minutes ago, but now he was letting me sit free here just because she was in some pain? Seriously, what a confusing guy! Was he good, or evil? Kind, or cold? Seriously, so unreadable…
Pushing White Mask’s inexplicable behavior aside, there was a more pressing issue. Now that she felt like she couldn’t rely on him for any help, the question of making an escape was more urgent.
I want to see the Imperial Capital and all the golden buildings in the city…but…
Considering the circumstances, escape was more important.
Once she got inside those giant city walls, it would probably be much harder to get out or in. Not only would it be harder for her to escape…but Finley and the others would have a much harder time getting in. She could bet there are a shit ton more guards inside those walls…which means it would be much more dangerous for Finley and anyone else to try and get her from inside of the city walls.
I can’t let that happen. I’ll make it easier and safer for them to find me by escaping right here, right now.
All right. It was decided. Great! Abrial nearly clapped her hands together.
Now all she had to do was look for a good opening.
As White Mask was sitting facing her with his face turned toward the window, this was a fairly good position for her to attack him. He wasn’t watching her directly, so she had a tiny margin of time to flash forward and hit him in the neck at a critical point. But…it was still risky. If she could just get a teensy, tiny bit more of an opening, that would be perfect…
As an easily distractible person, Abrial was distracted suddenly by a gleam of pearly white on White Mask’s clothes. When he had shifted to free her from the paralyzing spells, something had come loose from his belt and was now lying over the folds of his pale blue robes. What an interesting object! Abrial gazed at it with interest while trying to formulate a plan.
It looked like a coin-shaped disc of pearly white jade, strung through with pale blue thread and tied to his belt as an accessory. How funny! Men didn’t usually wear things like that, did they? It was jewelry for women!
Hold on…what was that, though?
Abrial’s eyes widened with curiosity. Tied to the small hole in the base of the jade disc was a tassel. But it was a strange-looking tassel, indeed. Instead of being woven from strands of dark string, it looked like it was…
“Is that hair?”
“Mm?”
“That thing. Is that tassel made of hair?”
White Mask paled like he’d seen a ghost. Or no — like he was one. Frantically, he stuffed the peculiar, pretty accessory back into his belt.
Abrial was filled with wonder at his nervousness, when it struck her —
He’s distracted. It’s the perfect time!
Like a panther, she pounced forward, aiming for the kill. Or a knockout, at least. It was pretty hard to kill someone by striking a critical point on the neck.
However, the moment she touched him, it was like a shock of lightning reverberated through her body, searing her blood and frying her alive. An ear-splitting boom sounded in her ears, and suddenly she was a rag doll, flying backward toward the other end of the carriage.
Crack!
The well-constructed and magnificently polished carriage seat cracked under the force of her collision with it, leaving her sprawled painfully and in a state of fried shock in a heap of splintered wood and satinous pillows.
Across the carriage, White Mask put a palm to his forehead and sighed.
“I thought you might try something. Truthfully, it is no use to attack. I could have stopped you, and my protection charm is not breakable. You will only hurt yourself like this.”
Abrial groaned, lying in the ruins of the seat like melted sugar. Eventually, she crawled out of the mess and opted to just sit on the also reasonably comfortable ground, leaning against the wall with a scowl on her face.
“Don’t try leaving through the windows, either. You’ll only burn yourself.”
“Aish!” Abrial hissed, retracting her already-burnt hand from the window curtain.
How irritating! It seemed there really was no way for her to escape, for now, at least. That was so…frustrating! Abrial hugged her knees in a seething, pouting manner and wouldn’t say a word for the next few minutes. That was fine with White Mask. He gazed out the window peacefully, watching the hills fly by as they were drawn closer to the capital.
Abrial’s back hurt, so she shifted to lean against the wall away from White Mask. A sharp inhale came from behind her.
“Where did you get that robe?”