5 Odd Sisters

Dragon exhaled a deep sigh of relief as he leaned against the bath wall and lowered his head back comfortably. On second thought, he may just get used to the grandeur of the royal exclusive bath.

Closing his eyes for only a few seconds, Dragon heard muffled giggles.

"Who's there? Come out," he ordered.

His suspicions came true when the giggling maids gathered before him from all directions—behind the curtains, behind the basin, behind the partitions, and behind the doors.

"Holy…were you ALL here the entire time?" Dragon asked bashfully, shying himself to the corner where the steam hopefully hid his bare body a little better.

To his dismay, they all nodded.

[Oh General Teng, how shameful to not even notice four palace girls watching you bathe.]

"If there's nothing, please leave."

"Dragonfly ordered us to help you bathe," the prettiest one spoke up.

"We will get punished if we don't listen," the cute one chimed in.

[That's an awful big smile you have on your face while mentioning punishment.]

Now that made it even more awkward.

"I'm a grown man. I do not need help bathing," Dragon spat out curtly before pretending to ignore them. "If I see any of you still standing there when I open my eyes…you'll regret it."

Closing his eyes once more, the flustered emperor distracted himself by thinking back of his not-so distant warring days. It was a common thing to bathe naked with a bunch of his men. No shame when they were all men. But somehow…in front of the opposite gender… it wasn't comfortable to say the least.

In all irony, the nation's hero was only well-versed in martial arts and war. His measly nineteen years of living were not enough to account for anything else before his unfortunate demise.

And thus it's safe to conclude, the most interaction he ever had with a girl was Dragonfly helping him change into his royal robes.

Normally a gentleman like himself would never allow a young maiden to dress him, but those who have been in the presence of said headstrong girl would understand why he would make occasional exceptions.

With further consideration, perhaps taking out his anger on the maids ordered by the strict Dragonfly was a bit harsh and short of chivalrous. Allowing the guilt to get the best of him, Dragon peeked open one eye.

"Why haven't any of you left?" he asked hopelessly, finally giving in to his current state of helplessness. "Do you not respect the words of your king?" Dragon's tone was much too gentle to even come off as a serious warning. "Are you not afraid of me?"

"Dragonfly is scarier," the youngest one answered innocently.

On the battlefield, enemy soldiers and generals alike have silenced at the mention of his name, quaked in his presence, and bowed at his mercy. He was Jin's rising war god, impressed by the emperor, acknowledged by his superiors, and respected by his soldiers.

But as the emperor…he can't even instill the amount of fear that Dragonfly can? Fearing his conclusion to be true, Dragon's shoulders drooped for the first time since he had been born.

Correctly assuming the king's moment of weakness as their opening, the girls proceeded on their task with haste and impeccable efficiency.

To his embarrassment, not only had Dragon been out-feared by Dragonfly, but also taken advantage of by four maidens who he easily learned the names of: "One" was pretty, "Three" was cute, "Five" was young, and "Seven" was plain.

"Odd Sisters," Dragon un-tactfully said aloud, earning him a few punches from Three and Five.

[What hidden talent the palace walls harbored! If they were men, they could have potential to surpass myself as general!]

"I meant it in the literal way," the king tried to amend his original wrongdoing only to realize that he only dug a bigger grave.

This time, One and Seven didn't even bother to stop the other two when they added a few bonus kicks.

Despite their reaction, the nickname stuck and the four sisters actually came to like it very much, even protesting strongly when Dragon teasingly offered to change it to something much more sweet-sounding.

Dragon did well to befriend these four. At the sacrifice of exposing some skin, he found out he could get things in exchange.

"Dragon Dragon! Look what I got you!" Five blurted right when she barged into the emperor showering.

It has become a usual thing for Dragon and so he beckoned her over.

"Let's give it a look."

Gracefully unfolding the handkerchief, Five unveiled some white powder, a few bottles, and a little box.

"As requested, this one can knock someone out cold for an entire day. This one can make you appear ill. This liquid one, that's undetectable poison. And this little one in the box can make you hallucinate."

"Nice work you little rascal!" Dragon grabbed Five and started rubbing her head. As mischievous as she was, she was extremely resourceful when it came to importing and exporting drugs and herbs in and out the palace walls.

"Say, why'd you need these anyway?" Three crawled out of the basin, not failing to shock Dragon.

"There are more enemies than there are allies right now. Better prepared than not."

The two sisters looked at each other and then burst out into laughter.

"Oh Dragon! Everyone thinks you're still pretty much useless. No one would attempt assassinating you!" the two continued to hold their stomachs.

"Actually, Lord Dragon is right to be on his toes," One stepped in. "Rumors have been going around lately that Pan Yue is manipulating the emperor in court. If the prime ministers can't control Emperor anymore, they may do something to our king."

[As expected of the eldest! One has a large social network with the eunuchs and maids of the court.]

A little knock sounded from the door before it was creeped open by Seven, the only one who still practiced some mannerisms in front of the emperor.

"Um…Your Highness. Pardon the intrusion, but I wanted to remind you that Lady Hazel has requested audience with you this afternoon."

Lady Hazel was a benevolent beauty, known to be humble and kind to those around her. She had a heart of gold and often donated her jewelry to the military to aid with their struggles. At least that was what had been said about her before she entered the palace.

"Why would she want an audience with me?" Dragon asked dumbfounded, only to be given disapproving stares.

"Dragon. Lady Hazel is your childhood friend and favorite concubine. You used to see her everyday until you guys had the big argument. Then soon after, you fell off the balcony and haven't seen her since."

"Oh really…" Dragon said nervously. "I guess I can't say no?"

[Since technically, her status is still above mine…]