Long Way Home

Of all the people that Prince Qui would get a hold of, he did not think it would be this scraggly young girl. Aiguo took the child from him in a split second and covered her mouth with a firm hand.

"Quiet," Prince Qui said in a low voice, remembering the slivers of what he had learned from their language. He crouched down. "Don't scream, or I'm going to have to kill you."

And yes, those threatening phrases were the first things that were taught at the military academy.

He hated to see the fear in the little girl's eyes. But he had no choice but to look straight at them. Her eyes were dark and looked like they would shed tears in the next minute, but the child held on and nodded her head.

"How old are you?"

She held up seven of her fingers.

Prince Qui nodded. "Do you have a name?" he held out his palm for her to use as paper and put the tip of her finger on it. But she wrote nothing. "You don't know how to spell?"

She shook her head.