The First Lord

"Is that the emperor's painting?" he asked awestruck.

"Hmmm..."

She rubbed the surface as if she wanted to see it clearly.

"No, it's the First's portrait. But I found what I was looking for."

"Here, take a look. Do you see anything that catches your eye?"

He took the polished portrait in his hand and scrutinized it.

He was looking at a very handsome man in his early 20's. He had soft turquoise eyes. And strong cheekbones which complemented his regal posture. He was wearing royal blue robes making his eyes look kind and honest. He looked like a wise ruler. He had seen some wall paintings and some old bust of the First but he had never seen such a life-like miniature portrait. He felt as if he was looking at a miniature version of the real person. The eyes also did not look lifeless. It was full of intelligence.

"Who drew this portrait? And what is it made of? This is the most realistic painting I have ever seen!"

"Hmm... Didn't you notice anything else that was different? Look again," she ordered.

He looked at the portrait again. But this time he saw something odd. Earlier he was distracted by the eyes and life-likeness of the portrait. But now he saw it. The man in the portrait had dark plaited hair and it was lying along his chest and there was something cylindrical clasped upon his hair. It looked like the artifact he had been inspecting! He could not mistake it!

The artifact may look old and worn out but it was unmistakable. It was identical. But the one in the picture had a sparkly silver hue with some carvings on it. It did not look unbecoming at all on the hair of the First. But it looked like one of a kind like it was royalty.

Seeing his comprehending look, Imsong said, "The hair accessory, right? Yes, it is the same thing. It does not only look similar but it is the same thing. I wonder how it got out there. It should have been here."

"But I thought you said it belonged to the Emperor!" he exclaimed, clearly bemused.

"Yes, I did. And who was the son of the Emperor?" she asked a rhetorical question.

"The First Lord," whispered Lord Bai Hua. He could not believe that legends were coming true that night!

"Wait for a moment, did you show this to Bai Hua? Or did he came into any proximity of this object?" she asked suddenly.

"He did not touch it," he confirmed and also admitted, "but he was in the same room when I brought in the artifact to his study."

"Ah, we're in some trouble. The Fire Witch must have been alerted. That means Roland might know soon too. Hopefully, she likes him enough to not betray him. There is some hope in that."

Bai Hua couldn't understand what she was saying. The Fire Witch? Roland? What did that have to do anything with Bai Hua? He was bewildered. True, Bai Yur was not an immortal but he was a strong mortal with strong spiritual powers. Yet he felt hopeless right now.

"Tell Bai Hua to come and see me at the grove tomorrow. I have something to discuss with him. I'll keep this with me." She said these words and disappeared with the hair accessory-artifact.

Bai Yur was speechless. He truly felt that the Head Shaman was showing favoritism towards his son. He hardly spent time with her or received gifts from her or even get to meet with her often. But Bai Hua seemed to enjoy all these privileges. And he was not even the Lord yet!

He was a young boy who seemed to have been favored by everyone. Bai Hua even had a "godly" soul.

For the first time in his life, Bai Yur was jealous of his own son!