long guo A Shrouded Heart-to-Heart [Attn: Steel, Closed]

[Windwright]

The night was dark, and full of secrets. Well, full of ninjas anyway, creeping along the rafters outside of the private bedchamber of the Empress of Long Guo.  The masked figure was fairly sure there were other observers as well, hiding unseen in the eaves, but Sī Jīn was reasonably certain that any who could see her plying her art both deserved to and knew who she was anyway. She dropped, all but silent, onto Yu Yuè's balcony and glanced through the ornamental window, making sure the Empress was in the room before she slipped inside and closed the doors behind her.

"Empress Yuè." she announced, inclining her head and removing her mask in the same motion. "It's time for my weekly report." she finished. This was, of course, true, but it was also a bit of a formality that the two had only really paid lip service to. Most weeks, the 'report' was superfluous, since the Imperial Watch would have informed the empress of any major issues that warranted her attention, aside from the odd attack, political or literal, on Lián. But this week it was even more of a pretense than usual. All but nothing had actually happened with regards to the prince, which meant that Sī Jīn's paranoia and anxiety had had no real outlets except to key her up about their favorite backup subject.

[SteelEagle]

 

 

The Empress checked the time. Was it time? It was time. Time for the weekly report. She had to remind herself it was an important and official report that was invaluable to the Empress and the stations that she had to keep and not a visit from a friend that she was always excited to see again. In her line of work that seemed to come up a lot. She was raised at such a level and surrounded by lifetime servants and such high quality individuals dedicated to her service that it was hard to not become friends with them. She was mindful of the problems that could create. What if she had to order them to do something incredibly dangerous? Or unseemly? She didn't think either would happen, or at least happen easily, but it was something she had to be mindful of all the same.

 

That only got a little easier when it was roles that they willingly chose, whether that be guards or...well, ninjas in this case. The Imperial Holdings were chock full of security of one type or another. It was honestly very excessive when compared to the amount of real threats the royal family faced, but it was part of the charade. The security helped everypony feel as though the royal family was secure from threats foreign and domestic, which increased public ease. Not all deception was disagreeable, the Royal Rule that she had learned early and often.

 

Despite all that, her overriding feeling when the time came was excitement. She had prepared snacks and refreshment. The royal prerogative for a good time trumped her austere royal bearing in official matters. This time at least. She was sitting at a table not far from the balcony, staring out a nearby window into the beautiful sky. There were two chairs, a tea pot, two cups, and nice tableware. And a plate of cookies. royal prerogative
"Sī Jīn, please have a seat," she said as she motioned to the other seat. "Take a break before the report."

[Windwright]

Protocols between Yu Yuè and Sī Jīn had always been a little lax, but this was unusual even between them. Still, the ninja was never one to refuse a kind gesture just because it was unusual. Watch with deep suspicion, maybe, but never refuse. She took a seat at the table and tucked her mask between the folds of her gi, inclined her head politely and said "Thank you, Yuè." She hadn't realized these snacks were for Yuè or she'd have been more paranoid about them, but she trusted most of the kitchen staff, and they theoretically had no way of knowing who the treats were for either. Still, her ninja training all but compelled Sī Jīn to sample a little of everything. Just in case. Between nibbles, she adhered to protocol enough to mention "I don't have much to report this week, anyway."

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Sī Jīn seemed somewhat reluctant, but that was part and parcel of her role. Everything her and her kin in service did was shrouded in mystery and layered with thought. Until they leapt into action, where they moved and struck like lightning bottled for too long, she often observed even smaller questions being answered by an awkward moment's consideration. It always took time to shave those moments off, but the young Empress knew better than to dull that sensation too broadly. It had its security qualities and in Jīn's line of work it could be fatal to breed that thoughtfulness out of her. "You're welcome. Really, it is my pleasure. I rarely get to thank you, as well as the others that devote themselves to my protection, as much as you all deserve," she said as she took a sip herself. Following that, she was silent as Jīn took a nibble or sip of everything else they had to offer. Well, you could pull the security mare in for a briefing but you could never pull the security out of the more. After Jīn announced she had nothing to report, the Empress allowed a moment to breathe. "Well, officially at least. Anything to report off the record?"

[Windwright]

The kunoichi sipped her tea during that quiet moment, and was about to think about her words again after the Empress spoke, but her training was a hard thing to buck, and Yu Yuè had asked for a report. "Off the record? Frankly the security around you is too good at protecting the wrong things. It's hard to keep up the Sī Jīn facade and still do my job when every second guard is trying to keep the provincial doll on Liàn's arm and out of the places where work is done for the household. The mask has its uses, but it feels like there are more eyes on the kitchen and the throne room than you, sometimes." she said, frowning. It was an observation she'd had mulling in her head for a while, having cut her statecraft teeth by learning the inner workings of the shogunate.

 

She glanced out the window again and sighed, reining in her emotions before she continued. "There's something else, though. Those things are important but certainly things you already know." she said, preparing to move on to her suspicions collected between overheard gossip and tactical knowledge. She knew the Empress probably suspected there were more than a few conspiracies around the palace, but it wouldn't hurt to make sure. That wasn't really what had been bothering her most lately, but there was no way she could just come out and say what she wanted to about her relationship to the prince, "There are rumors about 'a stallion thinking more about wuxia than his station'."

Sī Jīn blinked and covered her muzzle in embarrassment. She hadn't let her thoughts slip out outside of Liàn's presence since she was a filly. Kami preserve, that stallion flustered her.

[SteelEagle]

 

 

It was very difficult to not tell Sī Jīn that she preferred fewer eyes on her. She was already often lost in the mire of the mask of the Empress, already felt small in the presence of so many. Every pair of eyes turned away from her was a relief, not a point of concern. Of course she understood logically that it was likely unwise. Personal comfort came after the station and never before, as much as she often raged internally against it. "I guess that is the price of having had such good security for so long. There are so few real threats placed against the throne that it makes sense that security would start looking elsewhere to find issues," she said as she looked outside and sighed theatrically before turning back in. "What do you propose?"

 

She started to drink when the topic of stallions acting above their station and being all manner of dramatic came up, which caused her to momentarily choke. Who had spoken? Who? When? The Gardeners! Damn the gardeners and their gossip. Were they spies? The guards needed to- no! No then they'd know too! Damn gardeners! She didn't allow it to infiltrate her face, this crumbling realization, as she wiped her mouth.  "Wha-! Wuxia, you say? Well, well! I'd, I'd certainly hope these rumors aren't well-founded. I expect all of us to have our attentions turned to what is best and proper, not what strikes the heart with passions."

[Windwright]

Propose. There was a loaded word for this context. Sī Jīn sighed and stood up to pace to the window. At this distance, most of the Empress's subjects would just assume that she was Yu Yuè so she wasn't worried about being seen. Precisely. "The two situations are at odds. Obviously the best thing to discourage the rumors would be s-separation." she advised after a moment, blushing and plowing on to cover her hesitation and stutter over the idea of being separated from Liàn, "But I cannot advise either you or the prince being left with no guards at all." 

Kami preserve, the idea of Liàn being left alone was bad enough, but if someone came after Yu Yuè while she was unguarded, it would devastate him. Especially if he found out it was on her advice. She pondered that for a moment, then added, attempting to moderate her tone to keep how nervous she was out of it, "Fu Feng is, for you at least, an option that will allow you to have a publicly known guardstallion, who is loyal to you personally over your throne. I wish I knew more about his combat capabilities, he and the prince often choose the same times to train, and I can't observe his training while helping Liàn's.
 

"But that leaves Prince Liàn with only me, and your opponents at court would see that as an opportunity that would end up exposing me for what I am." She added, privately thinking 'A foolish girl putting her heart before his head.' but saying "A hidden blade now left in the open, and likely to be bypassed or eliminated." and letting the Empress realize how exposed that left him as she resumed her seat.

[SteelEagle]

 

"Si, you speak as if assassinations and death are common occurrences in court. While there are dangers, there is not really so much threat that taking one from the other would leave them naked, undefended, and inevitably to be destroyed," she laughed as she looked around, trying to look everywhere but her friend. It was good that Si had suggested so insane, gave her a reason to laugh! Ha! Ha ha ha! "Mind you I don't think anypony needs to be separated from anypony because why would we want to do that, that seems like a bad idea and that would hurt so why do it, right? It wouldn't, uhh, wouldn't improve anything," she said quickly as she tugged at an invisible collar. "No, that wouldn't do. No, that wouldn't do at all. And it wouldn't even solve the problem! Not really, not at all," she said as she slowly regained herself.

 

She took a deep breath.

"I think any changes to protections and stations would just invite more issues. I think the problem lies with too many eyes and ears and wagging tongues in the royalty. Not around certain mares and stallions, but in general. And all these eyes and ears are searching for things to justify their vigilance and this incessant need for gossip. I think we need to lessen the staffing in general, or otherwise move a lot of the more unnecessary elements away. We have a lot of holdings that are understaffed due to this desire to be staffed among the mighty. But too many eyes, too many ears, too many tongues. Those who are close a- uhh, closely PLACED, I mean, don't need to change. It is that secondary layer and on that must be trimmed, don't you think?"

[Windwright]

Sī Jīn frowned. She much preferred having the extended imperial family where an eye could be kept on them. She knew better than to bring up any of the attempts to harm the prince she'd personally stopped. Liàn didn't like his sister to be worried, and she'd probably insist on tighter security in spite of the fact that, aside from a few nights where she'd worked to exhaustion, she had a handle on things. Instead, she hummed thoughtfully and said "Perhaps, but your siblings all have their own retinues, and the civil service is, of course, also run from the palace by tradition. It would be easier to move the Imperial Court to another palace at this point than to move the Servants, even though we'd need to keep spies to prevent power from going to their heads."

 

She chuckled at her own joke, sipping some tea and letting the warmth ease through her. "There's something to that idea though. Keeping your siblings stationed at the Imperial Castles and Keeps through the nation. Tell them each they're being honoured and asked to oversee their upkeep..." she conceded, her minds' eye full of puffed up stallions and powdered mares being all but exiled to administrative dead-zones. "That might allow certain...attachments to go on unnoticed. Except by those whose opinions actually matter, I mean." she added in a dreamy voice as she imagined moving with Liàn into one of the now vacated Royal suites. One with an attached room for her, and a private bath. Maybe space for foalsNo, stupid girl, there are no foals in your future. Sī Jīn doesn't have sufficient rank or breeding to be a good match, and Liàn would need to be married for politics to some Equestrian or Neighponese royal. Even if she technically was really the daughter of the clan heads nobody here in Long Guo knew that. COULD know that. Only the Prince even knew her name, really.

 

She dunked a tea cake into her saucer and, before her dread could kill the question, she asked, in the tone of someone changing the subject, "I don't suppose you've given any thought to settling Liàn with some pretty foreign mare?"

[SteelEagle]

 

"All of this is very true. We have a lot of staffing here because the royal family is centered here, and a lot of that cannot be reasonably removed. But then again, the problem we have exists because of idle hooves and wagging tongues. Clearly, we have staff here who aren't being kept busy enough. So either we manufacture work for them so they don't get into their hearts that their duty is to shadow us needlessly and report on matters of the heart that do not concern them," she began quickly and even angrily. She pulled herself back and took a deep breath. That other idea did tickle her. She smiled. "Oh, imagine this though: The scandal of the Empress deciding to shakeup the Imperial Court, scattering them to the Keeps. It would be presented as an honor, like you said, but we know what that would mean- 'The Empress is seeking to banish all critical thought!'. 'Is she mad?', 'Is she evil?', 'is she in love?'," she pantomimed these questions before falling dramatically on a nearby couch for dramatic effect. After a moment she laughed.

 

"I suppose there isn't much we can do about it. We'll simply have to remain vigilant and make sure errant eyes and ears are put to better use," she said as she got up, pondering the question she was asked. "You know, I really haven't. That should be Lian's decision. Our royal duties take so much of us from ourselves already. No reason he should give his heart over to it as well," she said as she dunked a cake. "I expect he'll keep his wits about him. Why? Did you have any potential suitress in mind? What was the one that was a relative of one of those heroines? Or maybe Princess Twilight Sparkle," She asked playfully. "I mean, he'd be kept chaste then, since her first and only love would be books. And tax codes. Sweet Dragon, do you know she once sent me a letter detailing the ineffectual nature of our tax collecting and suggested methods of improving it?" She rolled her eyes. "I checked the time. She had sent it when it was four in the morning there. Four, and she is reviewing foreign tax codes!"

[Windwright]

"I didn't." Sī Jīn said, almost suspiciously quickly. In the privacy of her own shaking head, she thought "Kami preserve you, girl! You are a kunoichi, not some blushing maiden in a manhu-wait." then started running the conversation back through her head again. While she was connecting dots, she said, her tone clearly distracted, "Reports suggest she may be in the process of revising her own tax laws. She may have been comparing hers to yours and discovered some method of improving efficiency in a moment of clarity or mania."

And suddenly, she understood something. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks went scarlet. "Oh. Oh, kami. You...think the servants' chatter is about you. Oh, kami preserve me, it probably is, at that." she said, standing to pace and rub at her temple. How could she be so blind about that. Of course the staff wouldn't care about Liàn's dalliances, his reputation was already that of a rake even if he didn't deserve it. She let out a string of minor oaths in her native tongue just barely audible to anyone but herself, then bowed to Yu Yuè and said "I had overlooked that possibility, my own worries...No matter, it's inexcusable. My role as the Prince's protector shouldn't blind me to your troubles. Give me a moment, I hadn't thought...well, give me a moment."

[SteelEagle]

 

The Empress was lost in her own head for a few moments more. The intersection of love affairs and trists, of hidden agendas and royal preorogatives egged on the smaller parts of her soul that casted reflected self-doubt back on her. She was constantly overwhelmed by the demands of her position and caught in between desires and expectations. She had been raked over the coals on account of that once openly, but did she commonly, and critically, all the time in her own mind. So it took more time than she would like to admit to fully understand what was happening with her friend and guardian.

 

When she did though, well, she felt like a foal. She turned to her friend with a blank, then quizzical, expression as she tried to work through the puzzle pieces in her mind. One by one the pieces came together. It wasn't the quickest process as she had not been too keen on looking into the personal affairs of those she was close with. It seemed to her to be a breech of trust, and betrayal of sorts, and while a part of her could never fully deny the gossipy wonders of secret relationships and forbidden loves, her involvement in just such a setup had taught her well the anxiety of the relationship dynamics involved.

 

She put her hoof to her head and then found herself a seat. "Oh, I've been so blind. Uggh, now we're both acting like foals," she said as she rubbed her temples, her blush showing wide. Still, despite all of it she didn't really want to discuss her feelings. She was bad at it. Besides, she was the Empress and she wouldn't talk about it if she didn't want to. "So...Prince Lian, is it?"

[Windwright]

Aiyaaaa. There was no way to avoid the subject if it was being asked directly. Sī Jīn blushed like a schoolfilly and sat back in her place, giving a soft nod of confirmation. She followed it almost immediately with "Kami preserve us both, hai. Half the court knows he and I have dalliances, of course. Everyone expects that to be what Prince Liàn keeps vapid, clumsy Sī Jīn around to do for him. Why he keeps her close. For a time, I had convinced myself of the same." while rolling a pair of chopsticks under her hoof. "It is his mask, as much as mine. Part of what helps me keep him safe. If they suspected I was by half, they would start working their plans around me. But wearing that mask is difficult when I want to believe in it. Dangerous. It causes pain when another pretty mare catches his eye. Because Sī Jīn should not care. Sī Jīn is arm candy. A distraction from that which the Prince should be about, and a complication to be discarded when he is matched to some pretty foreign princess, or daughter of a noble house here in Long Guo. A good match will secure your influence, show your power, and prevent your detractors from using Prince Liàn as a potential puppet usurper. It is only sense, and his affection for Sī Jīn, a nothing filly of no breeding from a nowhere village no one can even find on a map, is just flouting your authority. They cannot know what I do, and my mask is no fit for him. And clan Chiyo has exiled me for it! A working exile, though kami know how they even learned I had been watching him instead of you, or that I wanted to keep doing it, but I'm not going to check a gifted gown for its seams."

As she keeps speaking, she slowly loses control over the tone and speed of her voice, her words coming out in a rush of hopeless resignation that was apparently a long time coming. By the end of it, her head is on the table and she takes a distracted nibble of a teacake by her snout while she tries to compose herself again. "I don't know what to do about it except keep on as things are, and return to my clan when-...when he no longer has a use for me."

[SteelEagle]

 

It was tough to be trapped as sovereign and agent. Their roles were similar if not in power than in being pieces on a board not of their choosing. Was it a sin to say there were times she wished she was born a peasant, some grimy farmer whose loftiest ambition was to have a litter of children and marry the local strong stallion? Perhaps, for she was destined for her role. And just as she was destined for her role, so were Sī Jīn and Prince Liàn. Yet their roles were not hers. Structures existed that constrained them of course, but the lower one existed the greater freedom of choice one had. Real choice, not the false ones presented to her.

"This game of houses and power and affections derived not from the heart but tradition is not a game I wish we played. And it isn't one you must play. It is right for you to reach for him," she took a deep sip, emptying her cup. She stood up and looked out the window and the beautiful night that presented itself, with shadows and light dancing and shimmering in view.

"It will then be up to him whether he chooses to play the game. For many of the same reasons you have discussed, I am forced to play the game despite what I would rather be doing with myself and my affections. Prince Liàn is not the same. He has more freedom. Sī Jīn may be where his heart lies. The real one, not the vapid mask she wears," she said as she turned around with a crooked, impish smile. "Or maybe it is that Apple filly. Apple Blooming is it?"

[Windwright]

"Bloom. The flower, not the act. She would not be a horrible match for him for political gain. A tie to Equestria, a rising power." the kunoichi answered, choosing to engage with that point while she worked through the other. "Jiyūna Soyokaze might be better, once she comes of age. Or perhaps a caribou clanwife." she continued, it was a train of thought she'd pursued in many sleepless nights. She took a deep breath and lifted her head from the table to look at Yu Yue, really look at her, for the first time since they'd both been little more than fillies.

 

"You and he are not so different, really. Your father took more than one wife. And he had his favorites in his harem...if I recall my reading correctly, your mother was in that position. A court songstress." she pointed out, her look calculating. "It would not be such a departure from tradition if one were to find a certain foreign celebrity athlete in yours. And goodness, what a surprise to find out he was actually a local guardstallion."

 

Sī Jīn returned the empress's smile with one of her own, her eyes sparkling with a mischief Sī Jīn shouldn't be clever enough to manage. "And I can think of a few ways a Watcher might gain the approval of the court, should you wish to make him more than a mere consort. Some of them not only legal but entirely above-the-board, even."

[SteelEagle]

 

 

Those wives all had something pertinent to add to his rank, she supposed, but not enough to make it worth more than other factors. Apple Bloom brought the least. While she was the sister of a vaunted Equestrian heroine, Applejack herself was little more than a large land owner. A marriage to Applejack herself would have value, but her extended family didn't bring much to the table. It was not as if this was Twilight's extended family. Kaze would be a good match politically but based on what she knew of Liàn he would not be all that fond of her. Not enough for marriage. And a caribou clanwife? There was little political influence to be gained by marrying a caribou. Their nation was one of chaos and their power structure was always in turmoil. And sadly, many viewed caribou unwell. None of them would vastly increase his power and prestige. Indeed, he would be the one raising her influence. Not necessarily a reason not to marry somepony, however. It just meant that what would come first is his heart.

 

Easy to say, hard to do. She knew the irony in her saying that, the hypocrisy. Their stations were different, however. Their expectations were different. It was different for an empress. "Yes, my father did have a harem, multiple wives, favorites.  My brother may choose to live that life. Or he may not. His position is itself filled with troubles, but has more freedom in it. A Prince is not an Emperor, after all. He may or may not pursue the same life," she looked out and sighed. She didn't enjoy that aspect of her life. She wasn't raised to. She knew it was his divine right, but she embodied something different. "He was the embodiment of our nation's glory, our empire's success. Treasure and power alike came to roost around him as evidence of this truth. This included my mother. She left for that reason among many," she said before turning back. 

 

"But I am the embodiment of something different. I am an Anointed Follower of the Harmonious Path. To become an Anointed Follower is to understand one's place in our Empire, and to understand how small you are. Your actions are what help you derive meaning, and through that meaning you will define your actions. You come to understand, in time, that there is but one thing that is important for an Empire to prosper. I am Empress not because I have a divine right, not because of what I have done or could do, but because of what I represent as a result of what I know. I represent the virtue of our nation. I cannot partake in a harem, share my love as freely as the wind, or break the virtues that I embody. I may...struggle," she said, doing much the same as she tried to find the word for it, "with it. But I know what I must return to, and as a result I cannot pursue my own selfish desires. I will be the mountain that stands and I will try to shut my mind to the whispers that make me move against virtue."  

 

She turned back, looking out once again as her friend spoke again. She could feel the sparkle in her eyes! The empress sat back down finally and smiled. "Well, truth be told I am all ears. I already have sent him to start a journey, one that is filled with danger but will certainly see him successful. Upon his success, he will gain in virtue and standing. In time, he will finally have everything that is necessary for the Empire to allow us to be joined. So feel free to tell me your ideas, while I think of ways to ensure my brother has eyes for only you."