Li Mei, Dragonlord's Daughter

Li Mei picked up the yoke and settled the heavy load across her shoulders. She was strong for a girl, and could carry more than most men. Placing her hands carefully to balance the load, she marched across the courtyard. Even though it was still early, the day was already uncomfortably warm. From an open window in the main house she could hear her sisters complaining. They were probably being fitted with new gowns for the ball next week. She smiled as she though of them sweltering in the heavy gowns while Li Quin added a gather or a knot, or changed a seam. She’d much rather be out here instead of with them in the stuffy house.

She stepped out of the gate and was pleased to feel a slight breeze. Her soft shoes made no noise on the dusty road. As she passed the well-kept fields her family owned many of the workers looked up and waved at her. It was satisfying to look across the acres of the vigorous plants her family was famous for. Soon she left the family lands and passed farms belonging to their neighbors. Their plants were smaller and less productive. Even here, she was greeted with waves and smiles. She was a familiar sight on this road.

Reaching the gates of the town, she waited while the guard inspected the loads of the people ahead of her. She amused herself by thinking how different it would be if one of her sisters came to the gate. Everyone would clear away and the guards would bow low to the ground. Her brothers, as fully grown Dragonlords would get even more respect. She would get the same respect if she chose to wear the family colors.

She smiled as she remembered how much she hated to wear formal clothes as a child. She loved to play near the dragon den, and often played with the children of the warder. At first her parents had fought about it. Her mother was horrified that she kept ruining her dresses, and her father was upset that she wasn’t properly protected. She didn’t understand everything they were arguing about. She only remembered that they agreed to let her play outside only when she dressed as a servant.

A large family came up behind her, and she could hear a young one asking her mother question after question. “Is this the marketplace, Mama? Why is that man stopping everyone? Is that a real sword he’s wearing? Look at that strange lady in front of us. Why is she wearing that cloth over her face?”

Li Mei reached the gate and the guard smiled in recognition as he gave the sacks of fertilizer she carried a cursory glance and waved her through. She walked quickly so she wouldn’t have to hear the mother trying to explain the veil that covered most of Li Mei’s face. She had worn it all of her life, and most people had learned to ignore it. Sometimes she even forgot she was wearing it.

She turned onto the street of the noblemen. The residents of this street were too good to tolerate muddy streets during the rainy season, so cobblestones paved this road. Most of the rich landowners kept a house in town. It was useful to stay in town during the party season and during the winter, when the land was left fallow. Her family had a home here, but her father and brothers were seldom there. They had to stay near the dragons in case anything went wrong. Her mother and sisters were coming to town next week so her sisters could attend the ball. Both sisters were marriageable now, and her parents wanted to make profitable matches for them.

Each of the houses on this street had a courtyard filled with beautiful plants. The walls were built to keep people out, but to allow them to see the splendor of the plants. No one admitted it, but there was a fierce competition over who had the most beautiful yard. Every year her family won that honor.

She turned into a courtyard with a statue of a phoenix at the door, the home of the Emperor’s oracle. She was greeted at the side door by a servant girl, not much older than she was. The girl was flustered, and made Li Mei wait. An older man came and Li Mei realized she was being greeted by the Oracle himself; no small honor for one who came dressed as a servant. He came out of the house, bowed low, and motioned her to follow him. He led her around the house to another courtyard where he had refreshments waiting for her. She looked at the delicate cup holding the tea he offered her. This was no servant’s cup. He must want her merchandise very badly.

Several servants came to take her load, and the old man sat with her while they unloaded her bags.

“This is truly the secret to the Dragonlord’s amazing garden?”

“Oh yes!” Li Mei answered. “This fertilizer comes from the queen dragon herself, and is powerful magic. Mix it in the ground around your plants and they will amaze you, also.”

The man took out a small bag and counted out a few coins. “The agreed on price.” Can you deliver more today?” At her nod, he took out more coins. “This is a bonus if you can guarantee that I receive every load for the next week.”

Li Mei caught her breath. An extra gold piece just to be the only customer. He must be thinking of the ball next week. “I would be honored to fill your order before any others. Surely the Emperor’s Oracle deserves such service. But I must tell you that the magic often takes several weeks to work, and it might not make a difference by next week’s ball.”

The old man gave a chuckle, as he put a second gold piece with the first. “You’re a smart, little lady. But it isn’t next week’s ball I am thinking of. I have a party planned for the next full moon. I will be entertaining a young dragonlord from another province.”

“Is the party to be kept secret? She asked.

“Everyone should know that our town is being blessed with the visit of a dragonlord. I hope he finds one of our maidens to his liking.” He placed all the coins in her hand. She bowed low and slung her empty yoke across her back like a bow.

She couldn’t believe her good fortune. A gold coin to let the Oracle be her exclusive customer for a week, and a second coin to be sure all the noble families heard about the Oracle’s party.

Instead of going straight home, she headed over to the marketplace. Everyone stopped at the Red Sun Tea and Sweets, so it was the best place to announce the Oracle’s party. The shop was as crowded as she expected. As she waited in line, she told everyone around her about the coming dragonlord visit. When she reached the proprietor, he scolded her gently.

“My little veiled one, why do you tell such news to my customers before telling it to me. Kuan Ti has a reputation to uphold.” The twinkle in his eye and the extra cookie he placed in her hand let her know he was joking.

“Everyone knows the Red Sun is the best place to hear the latest news. I swear I kept silent until I was here. They heard it first at your place.”

A thousand blessings on you, Veiled One, and may you have many strong sons.” Kuan Ti slipped her another cookie, then turned to the next customer.

Li Mei left right away, uncomfortable at the kind merchant’s words. Strong sons, that was a joke. No one would ever want to marry her. Her thoughts distracted her, and she accidentally bumped into a passerby. She looked up -- it was a minor official. That was the worst luck possible. Servants would simply forgive her, and most of the noblemen would ignore such a slight bump. But a minor official usually felt the need to act important.

“You there, slave! Stop right now. Don’t you know that I am Yeng-Wang-Yeh, fourth steward of the mayor. Are you aware that you have dishonored me?”

Li Mei prostrated herself before him, hoping to placate his fragile ego. She wished one of her brothers was around to protect her. “Oh great and mighty one, this slave has wronged you and begs forgiveness. Surely one as exalted as you can find it in your heart to forgive a poor little girl who meant you no harm.”

The official grabbed her cloak and lifted her to her feet. “You meant no harm? You are telling me this was an accident. That perhaps you didn’t see me. That I am not worthy of your notice.” His voice was loud now and he was addressing the crowd. “The little manure seller says I wasn’t worthy of her notice.” He turned his attention to her veil. ”How dare you hide your face from me. When I speak, you will face me.”

She put up her hand to hold the veil against her face. “No sir. I mean no disrespect. It is a vow I have taken, not to show my face.” She looked around the gathering crowd, hoping to see a member of her family, or even one of the servants from her house. She was alone.

“A vow you say? A child’s vow means nothing to me. Would you refuse to show your face to the emperor? Of course not. I am one of his officials. When you refuse me it is the same as refusing him.”

He jerked her hand away and tore the veil from her face. A look of horror filled his eyes as he saw the scar the veil hid. Then he got a cunning look that scared Li Mei. This was the worst kind of man to cross, a man that enjoyed causing pain.

The crowd that had gathered reacted in different ways to seeing her scar. Most looked away in horror, and quickly left. Others caught the gleam in the official’s eye and drew closer. They wanted in on the fun.

She wrenched herself free and tried to run, but the men surrounding her grabbed her easily and returned her to the official. “You need to learn respect, slave. What other scars do you hide? He reached over and tore her cloak from her shoulder, exposing her to the waist. She started to scream as she tried to cover herself with her arms. One man grabbed her arms and held them away from her body, exposing her budding womanhood. “Not such a little girl, now.” Yeng-Wang-Yeh said with an unpleasant look on his face.

“No scars here, do you want to see more?” Said the man holding Li Mei. The look in his eyes scared her. He held her loosely as he looked at the fourth steward for instructions. Seeing her chance, Li Mei wrenched herself from his grasp and grabbed the sturdy yoke from her back. Using it as a club, she tried to hit the men who were reaching for her.

The men enjoyed her attempt at self defense. They surrounded her and danced just out of the reach of her weapon, daring her to hit them. She did her best and managed to knock three of them senseless before someone grabbed her from behind and disarmed her.

Yeng-Wang-Yeh reached over and took her from the man who held her. “This is obviously a dangerous runaway slave who needs to be taught a lesson.”

Li Mei tried to cover herself, and this time the fourth steward helped, though he kept a tight grip on her arm.

“You will come to my house until I find where you ran away from. I’ll teach you how to treat your betters.” He started to drag her away from the crowd. She struggled to escape his grasp. Once locked in his house, her chances of escape were slim. She was relieved when she heard a familiar voice telling the fourth steward to stop.

“Halt! Your name and business.” Li Mei recognized the voice and turned to see her oldest brother, Ushi. He didn’t meet her eyes, so she waited quietly to see what he would do. He wasn’t likely to acknowledge her publicly as his sister without their father’s permission.

The official turned. “Who dares to speak to me in that tone of voice?” He blanched when he saw the young dragonlord with his honor guard. The only people who outranked a dragonlord were the emperor and his personal guard. He bowed so low when he answered that his face almost touched the ground. “Yeng-Wang-Yeh, fourth steward. It is nothing to bother your lordship about, just a disobedient slave that needs disciplining.”

“Is that so? Whose slave is she? Yours?”

The official stuttered a few syllables, then fell silent. The Dragonlord smiled. It wasn’t a nice smile. “Surely you read the slave mark and know whose slave she is.”

“Well, no. There really hasn’t been time. She ran into me and then attacked me. It’s obvious she’s very dangerous, so I wanted to get her out of the marketplace right away.”

“My guards are here now. I’m sure they are capable of controlling such a powerful child.” He nodded his head, and two of the guards came over and took her from the fourth stewards grasp. One of them picked up her yoke from the street.

“You can’t do that.” Yeng-Wang-Yeh protested. “She offended me! I have the right to take her.”

The dragonlord came over and gently moved Li Mei’s cloak off of her left shoulder. “I don’t see a slave mark there, do you?”

Yeng-Wang-Yeh glanced at the unmarked flesh. He looked around for someone to corroborate his story, but all his supporters vanished once the dragonlord appeared. There was no way he could even pretend there was a mark. His voice quavered as he spoke. “There was no time, so much happened. I would have noticed once I was home.”

“You have accosted a free woman in the lawful pursuit of her daily tasks, and attempted to kidnap her. Her family has the right to demand compensation from you.”

“Not a woman, but an ugly child. Look at her, dragonlord. What family would demand reparations for taking such a repulsive one? No one will ever marry her. They should thank me for being willing to take her into my house under any conditions.”

As Li Mei watched her brother’s face, she knew the officious bureaucrat had gone too far, even if he spoke the truth. Up until that point Ushi would probably have let the man off with a beating. The official noticed the change, too, though he didn’t know the reason for it. He started edging away.

Ushi motioned his guards, and two more came over and grabbed Yeng-Wang-Yeh firmly. Ushi conferred with the last two guards and they disappeared.

Yeng-Wang-Yeh tried to placate Ushi,“ Surely there is no need to detain me, Great Lord. You have the girl and can do with her as you please. I would be happy to go home and send whatever reparations you feel are necessary.

The dragonlord ignored the odious little man and turned instead to Li Mei. “Were you hurt.”

“Not really, just scared.”

The two guards returned with a sedan chair, and Ushi lifted his sister gently into it. Just before he pulled the curtains, he leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Then we will be sure to scare him.” She heard him give the guards orders to carry her home.

She wasn’t used to being carried like a grand lady, though her mother and sisters traveled this way all of the time. Today, she was glad of the privacy the curtains gave. No one could see her torn clothes or the scar that disfigured her face. But she found the chair uncomfortably hot and stuffy, and longed to stretch her legs and feel the wind in her hair again.

She often wondered what her life would have been like if her nurse hadn’t dropped her as a baby, if she hadn’t rolled onto the fire. Her parents called the finest doctors in the land. They healed the little baby, but none of them could remove the scar that stretched from below her eye to her chin.

Her parents never mentioned the scar, but one day she heard one of the nannies talking to a maid. “What a shameful thing for a dragonlord to have a child with such a visible scar. I’m sure he’s ashamed to let anyone see her. They would think he couldn’t control his dragons.”

“I wouldn’t let the master hear you talking that way. They love that child.”

“Of course they love their daughter. But if I had a child like that I’d never let her be seen in public.” That nanny had left soon after.

The family didn’t display her publicly, but she had every privilege of her noble birthright. She was introduced to the Queen dragon at age five just like her father’s other children. She could still remember that day, the musty smell of the dragon and the gentle touch of these claws. Li Mei hadn’t felt any fear when the queen picked her up in huge claws sharp enough to tear a man to shreds. She remembered looking up at the massive head, with a mouth large enough to eat a full grown man with one bite, and noticing that the dragon’s eyes were large and kind of a purple color, and her skin had a silver sheen to it.

Li Mei had been coached for weeks to offer the traditional greeting to the old dragon. She made her parents proud when she recited the words perfectly. As the dragon looked into her eyes, she stared at the dragon’s face and mouth. Her parent’s still told the story of how she burst out, “Your teeth are awfully big. Do you eat people?”

Her parents were horrified, and fearful of the queen’s reaction. But the queen laughed and said, “Only when necessary.” Then she prophesied that Li Mei was destined to be a great dragonlord when she grew up. No one understood what that was supposed to mean, since dragonlords had to be men, but her family knew better than to argue with a queen dragon, or even question her. They knew it was important to be careful when speaking to a dragon because people are tasty and don’t need to be basted before serving. Even dragonlords were careful not to insult the great beasts.

She had more freedom than her sisters. As she grew older, she was allowed to go to town unchaperoned as long as she wore her veil. She was also permitted to work outside with her brothers. She enjoyed being near the dragons and helping raise the dragonets. She even learned to train the fighting dragons. She discovered (quite by accident) that dragon mews made excellent fertilizer. Her parents were glad to see her busy, and supported her in her desire to sell the mews. She had a good head for business, and soon had nice nest egg stashed away.

She recognized the voices of the people greeting the bodyguards who were carrying her, and knew she was home. Her brother’s guards personally carried the chair to her chambers before letting her disembark. After she changed clothes, she took her veil to Li Quin to be repaired. Then she had to go to the main hall where Ushi waited with a very upset Yeng-Wang-Yeh.