1 Chapter 1 Realisation

Among the Four League Kingdoms of the East, the most prominent and powerful one was The Moonlit White Lotus Kingdom. Other than its strong young, strong and capable King, it was also well known for its three diligent Sects- the Black Dragon Clan, the White Lotus Clan and lastly, the Silver Moon Clan.

The Black Dragon Clan had been founded by a poor butcher's son who had once been saved by an ancestor of the present King. The Clan was known for its strong, well-built and hardworking men and mainly indulged in protecting their kingdom by fighting. It was the most powerful and respected clan. The White Lotus Clan had been founded by a pair of monks who were twin brothers. This Clan mainly focused on obtaining knowledge, prayer, peace, harmony among all beings and lived disciplined lives. However, they did learn warfare for self-preservation. Lastly, was The Silver Moon Clan. This clan was founded by a wandering performer or singer, naturally making all of its members of the same occupation. Amongst the three clans, this clan was the most insulted and belittled one as its members excelled in no other skill except singing and dancing.

Other than its power, The Black Dragon Clan was also the most respected one as the Queen of The Moonlit White Lotus Kingdom was the daughter of the Sect's Leader. Yin was her name and she had been well-known, even before her marriage with the King, for her blinding beauty and graceful nature. As the daughter of the Black Dragon Sect, she was a born warrior. Other than being well-versed in swordsmanship, she was also a great sculptor, artist, writer, singer and dancer. She was the kind of woman every man would die for. The Leader of the Sect had voluntarily offered his daughter to the King in marriage. By doing so, he wanted to portray his absolute loyalty to the ruler. Although the King, who had obviously heard a lot about the young maiden and was never interested in her for her beauty or skills, but had decided to accept the marriage proposal as a mark of his respect to the great Clan.

On the Full Moon night of the Silver Lantern Festival, the King of The Moonlight Lotus Kingdom married Yin of the Black Dragon Sect. It was a grand wedding with the new Queen dressed in a one-piece dress which was deep red in colour and was beautifully embroidered with elaborate gold and silver designs. She had golden hairpins and jewellery. Her gorgeous face that had been painted with beautifully done make-up was hidden behind a red veil. The King was dressed equally well. His clothing consisted of red, golden and dark blue robes and his hair was tied behind his back with a red ribbon. Although his clothing was not as sophisticated as Yin's, his handsomeness was evident.

The marriage was a marriage of convenience, nonetheless, the King was determined to be a good, loving husband. He wanted to make his wife happy and satisfied in their marriage, although they had begun with having no feelings for each other. He was unexpectedly loyal and caring. In spite of his busy schedules and responsibilities, he would always invest enough of his time in his wife. He was an ideal husband whose consideration of his wife's feelings and thoughts even surprised his ministers.

~

It was the night of the 25th day of the year's second month. It was the day of the Annual Silver Lanter Festival as well as the King's One Year Marriage Anniversary. The day was a much-awaited and celebrated day for the people of The Moonlit White Lotus Kingdom. The people had decorated their homes with large lanterns, flowers and oil lamps. They had drawn patterns made with ground rice in their courtyards and some in front of their doorstep. They were dressed in their finest clothes and sweets were being exchanged amongst neighbours and friends.

The Imperial Palace had been equally enthusiastic towards the occasion. The servants had beautified the residence of the King and the Queen with glass Lotus candles, silver oil lamps, fine cloth and paper lanterns and large, fragrant flowers. Everyone was eager for the night's celebrations when they would release their lanterns, make wishes and enjoy the festivities.

That day, the King had been especially cheery. He had completed one year of his married life and was eager to celebrate this achievement with his beloved wife. In the hassle of the night, when only an hour was left for the grand celebrations from the Palace to begin, the King was carrying in his hands, a brown casket as he walked towards his wife's chamber with quick steps. On arriving, his gaze softened and twinkled with affection. His wife was seated at her dressing table, surrounded by many servants who were beautifying her with glistening accessories and dressing her up in a grandiose red dress for the celebration. She was looking as beautiful as she had on their wedding day and with a gentle smile on his face, he entered his wife's room. He signalled the servants to leave and once they had all left, he approached his wife who remained in her former position with an unchanged expression. The King stood behind his wife and glanced at her reflection in the mirror.

"I did not expect you to be here," Yin said in a monotone, to which the King chuckled.

"The Moon is glittering with as brightly as you are, here in front of your mirror, my lovely Queen," the King whispered his cheeky, flattering words to his wife as he leaned close to her ear. The words of her husband brought a light pink tint to her soft cheeks. She cleared her throat to hide her flustered self.

In a demanding voice, she began, "Tell me the real reason you are here."

The King placed the casket on the table, before his wife, in response. With slight confusion, the Queen took opened the casket and found within it, wrapped carefully in a red velvet cloth, the most beautiful ruby and gold hairpin she had ever seen. It had glistening precious stones, shimmering gold and strings of pearls. Thin strands of ribbons had been folded to make delicate roses that made the piece of jewellery further attractive.

"If you may like, then please wear this in your hair for tonight's festival," the King kindly requested as he quietly left without another word. The look of astonishment and joy in his wife's coffee brown eyes and the small smile on her red painted lips was enough for him to feel satisfied.

However, the look of happiness on Yin's face had only been a mere act. As soon as her husband left, her smile faltered and her expressions burned down to utter seriousness. She grabbed the hairpin from its box and threw it onto the ground. In her fit of anger, she grabbed the box of accessories that sat on her dressing table. All of the bracelets, earrings and necklaces that sat in it had been gifts from her husband. She rose from the stool she sat on and thrust the box onto the cold, hard ground, screaming in anger. She panted heavily and clenched her fists. Her anger was nowhere close to calming down, so she called for her servants.

"Prepare the palanquin. I wish to leave immediately. Right now, go! And yes, the King must not know that I have left!" she yelled her orders at her servants angrily who chose to follow them quietly without any protests.

The palanquin was prepared and forty-five minutes before the Silver Lantern Festival's celebrations were to begin, the Queen had left to see another man she considered as her special someone.

~

The King was getting dressed in his royal robes as the time for him to appear before the public was approaching. He was dressed like the way he had when he was marrying his wife. He was an exceptionally handsome man in a manner that he was considered a beautiful man. He had fair skin and black hair. The outlines of his waist and back were smooth and graceful, yet strong. He had dark, black irises and long eyelashes. He had natural beauty and had a very gentle nature although he looked like a very firm, stiff and arrogant man.

Just as he was getting dressed, the King's subordinate barged into his room, panic evident on his face.

"What is wrong?" was the King's immediate response.

"Your Majesty, the Queen! I saw her leave in her palanquin!" he reported.

"Are you sure?" the King asked calmly.

"Yes, my Lord! I saw her getting into it too! She is going somewhere! Should we not follow her?" the subordinate shouted in a panic.

"Why should we? Her Highness is free to do what she likes," the King brushed off the topic as normal.

"Your Highness, the festival is about to begin! Her Majesty needs to be present!"

The King paused for a moment and looked at the other for a few seconds while not saying a single word. He seemed to be thinking for a while before he chose to make a decision. A minute or two later he spoke.

"Get my horse ready along with ten others. Ask close by guards to follow the palanquin," was the order the King gave.

~

Among the lined up residence houses of the people of the Black Dragon Clan, one was a simple house made of grey tiles and wood. It was the only house that had not been heavily decorated for the festival but only had fire pillars set up at regular intervals to illuminate the premises surrounding the house and the long pathways within it. The gates were unguarded and the residence's owner seemed like the type of person who was not very particular about the way his house looked. He was probably a careless person. Ignoring all these facts as things she already was aware of, the Queen had her servants push open the black steel doors and entered. It was relatively dark within, however, Yin walked around with no difficulty like she was well-versed with the area. With no hesitation. she made her way straight to a courtyard where, according to her expectations, she found a young man standing in a corner, staring at the glowing Moon in the dark night sky. With no more servants following her, she walked straight to the man and wrapped her arms around his waist and embraced him. She rested her chin on his shoulder and her arms slithered up and down his toned torso. The young man was clad only in a pair of black harem trousers and a black robe that was open from the front. He had long black hair with a white streak and had a very toned body. The feeling of the lady's hands touching him made his solemn face crack into a satisfied smile.

"You are here?" he whispered in a husky voice and the Queen hummed in response.

"How could I resist coming to meet, my love?" Yin mumbled with affection outpouring from her words.

Yin grabbed the man's broad shoulders and spun him around to have him face her. As soon as she did so, she connected their lips in a kiss. From the feeling of the overwhelming love he was receiving, the young man grabbed Yin's thin waist and kissed her back. The kiss slowly turned more and more and passionate as the two of them got lost in the taste of each other's lips that they had been yearning for since the Queen's last visit to her lover which was about a week ago. Yin slipped her hands onto her lover's chest and ran her thin fingers along the crests and troughs of his perfectly chiselled abs. They stuck their tongues into each other's mouths and deepened their kisses. All this while, they were so lost in themselves that they were completely oblivious to what was going around them. This feeling of euphoria that they had enjoyed for quite a while now, was crashed by a loud voice.

"Your Majesty!"

This made them break off their kiss immediately and they looked to their side, the sight making the Queen stumble a few steps behind.

It was the sight of her own husband, the King. Other than him, his subordinate and ten other soldiers were also gathered at the entrance of the courtyard, staring at the pair of lovers with disgust and contempt. However, the King had an expressionless face. He only looked at his wife who had been discovered to have been a cheater. The only reaction he gave was that of his tightening grip on the hairpin he had gifted his wife the previous time he had seen her that day. Other than that, he looked calm and unbothered, although the Queen knew that he was probably furious.

A few minutes later, the King turned around and began to walk off from the site. His subordinate kept calling to him, asking him if he had any intentions of punishing his wife or her lover, however, the King ignored all the queries and chose to return to his palace. Having no other choice as the most appropriate one in her situation, Yin decided to return to the palace too. With her head hung down in shame, but no regret, and without another glance or word to her lover, Yin went away with the King's party, leaving the young man alone.

However, in contrast to the reaction of the Queen, the young man of the Black Dragon Clan had a very different outlook of the whole situation. Covering his face with his hand, he chuckled to himself dryly. He had had a peculiar realisation that he would not have never thought of.