The Lotus Of East Palace
Chapter 1 (Yeon-Hwa)

I'm not going back to Westeria.

Notnot now. Not while the wolves were still following me wherever I went.

How many days is it? I'm running out of ideas. Where else can I go now? All my hiding places have been revealed. Wherever I went, the wolves found me. I want to go home to Westeria, see my father and abuela. And mother. But if I go home now, those wolves could tail me and trouble my father. I can't risk it even though I'm actually sure you can kill all those wolves without looking. I just didn't want you to worry and forbid me from going back to Nordhalbinsel, preventing me from being what I wanted to be. I finally got to that goal. I've managed to become one of the female knights under General Arianne Montreux and I won't let go of any of this just because of those damn wolves.

The howls of wolves haunt me everywhere I go. The leader of the wolf, the largest and most white like his entire fur was covered by snow, ran very fast. I'm starting to run out of breath. My heart pumps faster. I force my feet to keep running, but it's free. The wolf won. He's a lot faster than me.

Now he's in front of me. His long fangs sticking out. That fang could tear my throat if I blinked just once. My heart is racing, my breath is hunting. I looked around me, there was no way. No matter how many, dozens maybe hundreds of wolves stood on their four legs each, forming a circle around me. There's no way out for me.

The wolf leader slowly walked towards me. He knew he had won. Know that I can't run from him. He growls. Snowstorms were raging around us.

Here's time. I'm gonna die. At least I'll die a knight. I'm not running anymore.

I clasped my sword tightly, smoothing it towards the Snow Wolf.

The wolf grinned, revealing its fangs. So horrible that I tried to take my eyes off me. Towards his ice-blue eyes. In those eyes, I could see my own face. White pale, scared, desperate. Those eyes showed me a figure I never wanted to see. The figure of the girl who lived in hiding for a lifetime. The girl who never fits anywhere. The girl who was far from where she should have been. Those icy blue eyes remind me of who I really am. Show me my identity.

If I'm going to die now, those wolf eyes are the last beautiful thing I see. And I won't regret it.

...****************...

I opened my eyes when I heard the voice of Feodora Rozhdestvenskiy, my senior, my roommate, and fellow bodyguard of Queen Eleanor. Never have I felt this relieved to hear his annoying voice. He pulled me from the death I almost met in a dream.

It was just a dream. Maybe because the last few days I've always been chased by real wolves, I dreamt of it. It was a real nightmare.

"You wanna keep lazing around, Welsh? The queen's awake, when you're still asleep!" Feodora snaps.

I forced myself to get up from my comfortable bed in the Palace. As the Queen's bodyguard, we all got rooms and beds that were incredibly comfortable and I never dreamed of in my entire life. I can't imagine how comfortable the mattress that Queen Eleanor is in the Crown Prince's Palace. He should have occupied the Main Palace or at least the Queen's Palace, but he insisted on remaining in the Crown Prince's Palace. Perhaps because he still could not accept the death of Crown Prince Xavier. It's romantic and tragic.

But... For the sake of the Dragon and his sons! Why is the Queen awake? The bed must be very uncomfortable. It's still dark. The sun has not yet awakened. I bet Queen Eleanor never sleeps.

I didn't mean to protest. It is a great honor to be the Queen's bodyguard. This is my dream job. These are my ideals. This is what I always wanted to do, I convinced myself. So I got up and got ready to get to work.

"I heard the Queen gave Prince Yi's fleet permission to enter our waters. The prince and his army may arrive today, or tomorrow." Natasha explained as we were having breakfast before starting work. Breakfast at Nordhalbinsel Main Palace is always excellent. Abundant meat. There's plenty of cheese and milk bread. And endless desserts. And no one will protest as much as anything I add to the portion. Less is just one. There was never a lotus cake.

"So that's why the Queen woke up so early? To prepare to welcome the Prince of the Orient?"

Thats odd. Though I heard the Queen is still mourning the death of Crown Prince Xavier. But the Queen has already begun to open up opportunities for suitors? It was possible that he would allow a Prince from the Orient empire to come to this Palace. Next what? Nobility Westeria? Lion from the South?

"The lion of the South is here." Natasha's words just made me choke. Natasha hurriedly gave me some drinking water. "Come right, then swallow. Jesus, Honey! You're still so sloppy."

"thank you. I don't need a reminder from you, Natasha." But I obeyed the words of my colleague. Chew, chew, swallow. Natasha and I were in the same batch at the recruitment of Montreux troops led by General Arianne. And no matter what luck I had, we were both recruited to be the Queen's bodyguards at the request of General Elias. At the very least I won't be a complete stranger in the Palace. "So it seems I misheard you mention the Lion of the South."

"Misheard what? General Leon came last night. He occupied one of the rooms in the Main Palace. He's coming with General Elias Winterthur."

"General Leon is not dead?"

This time Natasha laughed. "You really think someone like General Leon could die that easily?"

Natasha and I can fit in for one thing. We are both fans of General Leon. He is our role model. Unfortunately, since being abandoned by their female General many years ago, Schiereiland did not accept female knights. So we served Nordhalbinsel under General Arianne.

Natasha looked glanced around. Make sure all the queen's bodyguards are busy with breakfast each so that our conversation is not heard. Then he hinted me to get closer to him. I opened my ears wide. Natasha always knows the latest gossip. "I heard General Leon will serve Queen Eleanor."

"That's crazy! It's totally impossible. Impossible!"

Natasha hastily stepped on my foot. I screamed in pain. "Deflect your voice!"

I looked around us and saw our colleagues and seniors just shaking their heads when they saw us. We are indeed known as the Noisy Duo among the queen's bodyguards. Fortunately Feodora had already left early to escort the Queen to the Crown Prince's Palace. Otherwise, he would have nagged us already.

There's a reason I'm saying that General Leon can't possibly serve the queens of Eleanor. I know something that no one else knows. I know Princess Anastasia. The daughter who the people said was dead from Nordhalbinsel's attack on Schiereiland. The princess is still alive. And if General Leon is still alive, he should not serve our Queen. He would have preferred to be loyal to his country and to Princess Anastasia. Or maybe Princess Anastasia is dead and she came here planning revenge for the destruction of her country and the death of the Princess. He probably intended to pretend to serve Queen Eleanor and then kill her? Ah, I really don't know.

Anna's. That's the name that the Princess of Schiereiland used to infiltrate Nordhalbinsel. From the very beginning of seeing her, I already knew that she was Princess Anastasia because I had been a spy in Schiereiland before entering the Montreux Army. I had seen the Princess in her Palace a few years ago even though she had now cut her beautiful red hair. But I pretend I don't know. He must have planned something by coming to Nordhalbinsel and following the selection of the Crown Prince's personal bodyguard. He and I both participated in the selection of Crown Prince Xavier's personal bodyguard. He got away, I didn't. But he's a very nice guy. He took care of me when I was injured in Montreux. She even cried for me. I gave her my home address even though I was sure she would never go there or mail me a letter, but she was polite enough to still accept it. I think we were best friends during our time in Montreux. He then goes with Crown Prince Xavier to search for the two missing prisoners of war. Then they both died. Or at least that's what people say. Actually I still suspect that they both haven't died because their bodies weren't found.

I believe Princess Anastasia is still alive.

"Welsh, the General is calling you. He's waiting in the meeting room." Feodora's voice in the doorway was truly like thunder in the morning. Not only because of his thunderous voice, his sudden presence when I had not finished my second portion, but because of what he said.

In the past, before I became the queen's bodyguard and I was still on duty at Montreux, I would be very happy when someone said that the General called me. It means living legend, the toughest woman I ever knew, General Arianne Montreux called me. Even if the General just called to take me for tea with him, or had me put a thread in a needle to help him sew his wound, I would have quickly come to him. But here, when someone says 'General calls you', it means Elias Winterthur called me.

And usually that's not a good sign.

Everyone is waiting for me to move on. Each one looked at me savagely. They have great respect for the Winterthur Clan because our Queen is a Winterthur and they are envious because I am often sought after by the Generals of their pride. If asked to choose, between spending the second portion of my breakfast and starting my third portion or going to General Elias Winterthur this early, of course I prefer the first option.

"Quick go before Rozhdestvenskiy starts nagging." Brief Natasha. I too immediately left.

...****************...

I'm lucky. General Elias was very busy. So when I got to the meeting room to see him, he was gone. One of the soldiers of the Winterthur family I met said that the General was accompanying Queen Eleanor in her meeting with a guest from the South.

That guest must be General Leon. Not wrong anymore. How much I wanted to meet him. But then what am I gonna say? I'm not even sure I can breathe properly if I can finally meet him.

"You are amazing." He certainly knows that. Must have said a lot. "I admire you.", "You are my role model.", "May I ask for a signature?" Holy hooch! so suck! Maybe I shouldn't have met him. Maybe just looking at it from a distance is enough.

So that's what I'm doing. Without meaning to stalk, or without looking like I was waiting for him to pass, I wandered around the meeting room. If anyone asks, I just need to reason that General Elias called me and I was just trying to keep his call. I just want to see General Leon from a distance and prove with my own two eyes that he really is alive and is in this Palace.

While waiting, I looked at the vast expanse of eternal snow in this land through the window. In Westeria it must have started spring. I imagined the purple Wisteria flowers that were encroaching on the walls of our house were now in bloom. Imagine Blue Iris lined up along the blue hill path to my house. I suddenly thought of my father. In the letter I received a few days ago, he called me by my birth name. Lee Yeon-Hwa's. That alone is no good. Then he wrote that he was sick and wanted me to go home to Westeria. I know he's lying. If she was really sick, she would keep it a secret from me and not tell me until she was cured, only then will he tell me that a week ago or a month ago he was seriously ill but has now healed. That's my dad's habit. Don't want me to worry about him.

I know my father lied so I could go home for the memorial service of my mother's death. Though the Westerians did not perform the ceremony, it was only a hundred year old custom belonging to the Orient people. Even though my own father said that we are now pure Westerian. That I can't let my kids say I'm 'yellow' or 'Fake polyester'. Though we are 'yellow', that's what Westerians call Orient people. Even if I use the name Westeria and speak Westernia eloquently, the shape of my eyes, the color of my eyes and the color of my skin cannot lie. I am an Orient.

I don't hate him. But my whole life was a lie. The series of hideouts for the sake of hiding. I don't know what we're hiding from or who. Not particularly. Maybe I already know, but I still can't accept that fact.

"Miss Welsh, General Elias is out of the room." The voice of one of the Winterthur warriors.

At least I know now who to hide from.

I saw it from a distance. Not General Leon, but the Mad Wolf from the North. I had just seen her blond hair from a distance, and I immediately ran away before her icy blue eyes caught my sight.

...****************...