Screams and scrambling, spluttered cries and coughed pleas. Tears and gasps and desperate struggle.
She never moved. She never blinked. She watched silently until the very end.
After a quarter of an hour, only silence remained.
The second tray was gently set at her feet.
"Madam, take the Scattering Kung Fu Pill and dress." The Golden Feather Guard said quietly. "His Majesty awaits in the Ning An Palace."
Madam Feng quietly stood and turned, walking over to where Feng Hao lay.
The spoiled, lawless, domineering child that she had pampered and indulged, never to utter another sound on this earthly plane.
Madam Feng fell to her knees on the cold, hard iron floor and hugged her child one last time.
She gently wiped Feng Hao's cooling face, carefully cleaning away the mud and dirt.
Feng Hao's ruddy face was no more, paling and blue. Wind swept through the empty halls of the cold prison, deep and mournful whispers in the dark.