2 Dagger

Zhi Lan made it to a village the next morning after consecutively traveling and resting southward of the forest. The girl no longer held the image of a princess but of a child beggar. Some villagers took pity and gave her small portions of food and water--it wasn't enough.

Zhi Lan ran out of tears to cry for the loss of her family, and mindlessly drags her miserable self down the busy street. People pushed her tiny body left and right. She then accidentally bumps into a drunkard who is holding a big jug of wine. He dropped it and yells at the 'runt' for spilling his gold. Zhi Lan gets flustered as she has never encountered such an unpleasant man who reeks of alcohol before. He angrily grabbed her arm and started to drag her, which frightens Zhi Lan even more. 'Where is he taking me? Is he going to kill me?' She tries to resist, but the body of a six-year-old is no match to a man like him.

Just then, Zhi Lan remembers the item in her dress and took out the dagger to slice the man's fingers that were latched onto her wrist. As soon as the man registered the pain on his fingers, his reflex made him let go. Using this chance, Zhi Lan ran as fast as she could again--this time, through the crowd.

After a safe enough distance, Zhi Lan finds an ally in between two shops and sat there. 'Why are there so many scary people?' Her tears refilled and she started to sob until fatigue takes over allowing her to sleep.

In the imperial garden, Zhi Lan is playing with the flowers as her parents and grandfather converse over tea. She called out for them to see the orchid she found because it reminded her of her's and her mother's name. But when she turns back, she sees her father and grandfather bleeding on the floor. They slowly disappeared into thin air. Then, her mother who went to hug her started to disappear too. "No--come back!" Zhi Lan is alone in the darkness.

Zhi Lan woke up hyperventilating, crying, and tries to calm herself from the nightmare.

The sky is dark now. Seeing that the streets are empty, Zhi Lan walks and contemplates on what she should do now without her family. But all of a sudden, two shadows of bulky men came to view--drunkards again. "Hey hey, her face is pretty enough for a high price", one said pointing at Zhi Lan. Zhi Lan froze in fear. "Bring her to master, and we'll have her sent with the rest", the other said, laughing. When Zhi Lan could finally move, it was too late. They surrounded her.

Zhi Lan quickly takes out her dagger again and tries to defend herself. But it was not enough to scare two hefty men like them. They seized her dagger, then her.

Zhi Lan screams and kicks and punches, but her efforts seem useless. They walked as she continues to try to escape. And all of a sudden, she fell, and the man carrying her toppled over her. The weight of him was crushing. "What do two grown men like yourselves have to do with a tiny defenseless girl", a grunting new voice claimed. Zhi Lan hears a thud and saw that the other captor fell too.

Zhi Lan quickly shoves the man aside to look for her dagger. She spots it in his pocket, and swiftly grabbed it to point it towards the voice. The voice came from an old man sitting on a majestic white horse. He had long, black hair with variants of gray, in a half bun that is held together by a silver pin. In armor with a silver tiger emblem which only meant he is of high rank. Behind him were three more men--younger, duller, and also in armor. 'Are they Uncle's soldiers? They found me. They're going to kill me.' She points the dagger and glares. She must continue to live. She is not giving up. She promised. The old man just stares while his men wait for a command. Zhi Lan backs up. Without leaving them out of her sight, she is waiting for the chance to run.

Little did she realize two more men showed up behind her. They grabbed her and immediately pushed the acupuncture point to keep her temporarily unconscious.

"This girl isn't from here. We don't know her purpose. Bring her back to camp and the Commander", the old man commanded. "Yes, sir."

Prepping to head back, a flicker of light caught the old man's attention--her dagger. He picked it up from the floor, 'ZDLH?' He puts in the satchel under his armor and followed his men who already took a head start back to camp.