The Lotus Of East Palace
Chapter 4 (Shuu)

I'm not sure how many days we've been in this Ice Country. I miss my hometown. I miss Orient. I miss taking sun baths during the day and feeling the cool breeze at night. Missing the bright blue sky. I miss eating Lotus cake made by Mina, the Water Palace chef who always makes my favorite cake. In Nordhalbinsel there are no Lotus cakes. The cake is only in the Orient and can only be made by Orient people who already understand the story behind the cake.

There is an interesting story about Lotus cakes that have been around for hundreds of years. The Orient people believe that our ancestors are descendants of dragons. It was from the fairy tale Princess Yue. Or for the Han people, Princess Yeon. While in the Ilbon tribe, Kaze said they knew her as Princess Yukari. The story is hundreds of years old so all ancient texts are doubtful of its validity. But since I am from the Jung tribe, I know her by the name of Princess Yue. Princess Yue was the nineteenth princess of the Orient Emperor. Her beauty is famous all over the world. On the day of the celebration of his maturity, all the Kings, princes and nobles from all over the world went to the Orient to start applying towards Princess Yue.

A noble gave him a mountain in his country. Princess Yue refused the proposal from the noble. "I don't need a mountain. My legs are too thin and weak, I won't be able to climb them."

Then a prince gave him gold, jewels, earth, and silk. The most luxurious goods of his kingdom. Princess Yue refused it. "I already have all that. And while you gather all that for me which is a Princess from another country, the people you command to amass all that wealth are living in suffering and famine. You'd better give away all that wealth for your people."

A King from a neighboring country gave him a Palace. Princess Yue was wrathful and rejected the proposal directly before the King said anything. "You demeaned the Emperor by giving the Emperor's Daughter a palace! I have a lot!"

Until finally, an ordinary young man came. Judging from his extremely simple clothes, the young man was not a noble, not a prince and not a King. He only brought a plate of cake that was still warm. Princess Yue tasted the cake and instantly liked the cake at the first bite.

"Who are you?" Ask Princess Yue.

That young man was probably the same age as the Princess. His skin is snow white. His hair is black as night. The son of a cake man. The Princess thought at the time.

"Before I introduce myself, I must ask Your Majesty one thing. Does Your Majesty know what the cake is made of? If Your Majesty can answer it, then I will answer your question. I'll also give you all this cake, all the ingredients of this cake as much as you want, along with the recipe and I'll never make that cake again. But if you can't answer, you must be willing to marry me and we can enjoy that cake together for so on." Said the young man.

"How presumptuous! You can only answer—“ The words of one of Princess Yue's ladies-in-waiting came to a halt due to a gesture from the Princess.

Princess Yue looked thoughtful. Long she was silent and pensive. He bit the cake again, guessing the ingredients of the cake only rely on his sense of taste and sense of smell. "I was given the opportunity to answer how many times?" Ask the Princess later.

The young man smiled as if he had already guessed the question. "Just once."

The guards of the Princess advanced to prepare to arrest and imprison the sassy young man, but the Princess hurriedly restrained them. "Stop. Let me answer this arrogant young man's question."

"Please, Your Majesty."

"Sugar and sugar." The Princess replied with a proud expression of thinking she had just answered the young man's question correctly.

"Wrong."

"You lied! There is no cake that is not made of flour and sugar!"

"These cookies do not contain any flour or sugar." The young man replied calmly even though by then dozens of Princess bodyguards had already unsheathed their spearheads to him. "It's made of milk and cheese."

"No way! The two ingredients are not sold freely in this country. Only imperial chefs could use the two ingredients and only for the Emperor's food and the emperor's family at certain ceremonies because the ingredients were hard to obtain. Then, tell me, did you steal the ingredients from the palace's kitchen warehouse?"

"No, Your Grace. Both materials I got from my house. And I myself made the cake with both hands and with my recipe after repeatedly trying. I'm making it in my own house, and then I'll send it straight to you. May my sincerity be felt." explained the young man.

"But this cake is still warm. What area are you from?"

"Negry far north. In the place where eternal snow covered the ground, and water froze into ice."

"Boaster!"

"If I can prove it, will His Majesty accept my proposal?"

"of course. Because you won't be able to prove it."

And so the young man finally took the Princess to his home in the Land of Ice. They teleported and arrived at a palace kitchen. Nordhalbinsel Main Palace. The young man immediately practiced making the cake from milk and cheese and let the Princess taste the cake while it was still warm. The cake was then known as Lotus cake because the shape is similar to a lotus flower. As well as because the cake was an offering for the Princess nicknamed Lotus Flower from the Eastern Palace.

Since then, in Orient, we men commemorate the day of affection by giving Lotus cakes to women we like. The Orient men imitated the way the young man in the tale could steal Princess Yue's heart with his Lotus cake. Actually it is more because women in the Orient are given less food rations than their brothers. Parents in Orient want their daughters to meet the standards of beauty in our country, namely clean whites and slim bodies. And it is our duty to the men of the Orient to make sure the women eat right, which is why in the Orient feeding women is a sign of love.

That said, the young man in the story of Princess Yue was the King of Nordlijk. And Princess Yue was his first love as well as his first wife. Before Princess Yue died, they were blessed with three daughters which later became the origins of the three tribes in the Orient, while their first daughter became the first Empress of the Orient.

Based on the story, Lotus cake is actually arguably derived from Nordhalbinsel. Ingredients of Nordhalbinsel. The first to make it was King Nordlijk. So why isn't that cake in this land of ice? Should I make it myself?

"You don't like the snacks, Water Dragon?" Queen Eleanor asked in perfect Orient language. "If you're willing to mention your favorite snack, I'll ask the Palace's chef to make it for you."

The question brought me straight to reality. We were in the dining room of the mansion for an afternoon tea that was somehow with the Queen. Queen Eleanor took time out in the middle of her busy schedule to have tea with us.

"Shuu is not feeling well, Your Majesty. Please forgive my twin brother." Kaze tried to save me. Again. He's always good at talking. Opposite me.

"I understand. I also have a twin brother. I'll know if he's sick or sad, and vice versa. Isn't it amazing to have someone who can know you better than anyone." The Queen replied with a friendly smile. What a beautiful woman with impeccable manners. I can understand why Prince Yi fell in love with her.

But I was rewarded with Prince Yi's fierce gaze. He wanted me to seem to enjoy this tea. He was worried that Queen Eleanor would not be interested in drinking tea with us anymore and finally his attempt to win the Queen's heart and seize the Ice Country failed miserably.

We can't waste any more time. We have to do it now.

That was the mind of Prince Yi. All this time he was patient. He tried many times to approach Queen Eleanor slowly, but usually he did not use these methods. But only the invitation to drink tea is granted by the Queen. It wasn't every day either because Queen Eleanor was very busy.

The rumors circulating among the nobles made the Prince fret. Many say that Queen Eleanor took a foreign man to her house. A man from Schiereiland. Of course the rumor made Prince Yi angry. She was willing to wait patiently for the Queen to be content to grieve the death of her husband, but the Queen instead invited a man to stay at her house and meet her every night. Or at least that's what people say. I know that noble scandals have always been an interesting topic, and usually not everything is true.

The impatient Prince Yi wanted us to show the power of the Twin Dragons by bringing a storm. A storm big enough to destroy a part of the population settlement near the sea that would certainly make the Queen afraid and subjugated to the Prince so that he had no choice but to accept the proposal of Prince Yi. The mind of the Prince was his message.

I don't want to do it... It's so sorry that Queen. Kaze said as I told him the thoughts of the Prince. Although he sounded very scared, he could look relaxed as he sipped tea and stuffed the strange snack into his mouth using a fork that seemed to be made of crystal. I have no taste at all, especially after hearing the Prince's thoughts.

We have no other choice, Kaze.

The queen is pregnant, Shuu. Human baby without sin. I remember the Great Queen when we first met her. At that time, she was pregnant too.

She's not the Great Queen. And there is no King here. We must follow the Prince's orders.

Kaze stopped chewing. He placed his fork neatly according to the manners he had learned since he entered the Wind Palace. I could see from the side that his eyes had turned bright red. Suddenly the air around us was thinning. The fog enveloped the Palace. Cloudy clouds covered the blue-gray sky. Kaze angry.

I don't want to be a monster! If you want, you're the one who's flooding this whole ice country! You may have forgotten, but I clearly remember that it was us who made this land covered in ice. By your water and my cold wind. I don't want to destroy the land I saved!

Hearing my words, his anger subsided. The cloud is gone and the air is back to normal. Kaze is a Wind Dragon. Storm manifestation. Another name for destruction. I didn't even dare to make him angry.

I look around me. Prince Yi seemed to be hiding his smile as if he had managed to have us scare the Queen. Meanwhile, before him, Queen Eleanor looked calm. He is really good at hiding his heart.

But not with his mind.

Was that the act of one of you?

I'm appalled. It was the mind of Queen Eleanor. I glanced at him, not daring to blatantly look at his two ice-coloured eyes. But the Queen was not looking at me. He seemed to be smiling kindly at Prince Yi who was talking about the sunny weather and warm climate in the Orient.

I know one of you can read minds. At least that's what I know after the last few nights of searching and reading hundreds of years old ancient manuscripts. You can create storms and giant waves that can destroy my country.

I froze at the thought of Queen Eleanor. He learned about us. How much does he know?

I hope what I read is true. If one of you can read my mind, and is willing to listen more, please drop one of your forks on the floor. Make the effect unintentional.

I dropped my fork, surprised that the crystal-like fork was not destroyed when it hit the marble floor. A servant immediately came forward to take the fork and replace it with a new and clean one. "I'm sorry. I don't seem to be feeling well." I said.

Queen Eleanor tried to hide her smile, "It must be the weather. Our cold climate is the worst. I-i understand. You can rest in your room. I'll ask my ladies to bring in a trusted doctor."

"He's fine, Your Queen. Shuu is a Water Dragon. He can heal himself." Said Prince Yi.

Shuu. That's yourname? Can the little girl next to you tell me anything I'm gonna say? Is it true that you can telepathize? If the answer is 'yes', tell me that Prince Yi is right and you're fine.

"His Highness the Prince is right, Sire. I can heal myself. I'm fine." I said to the Queen. The look we met. For a few seconds that felt like a long time, Queen Eleanor did not take her eyes off me. It was as if he was reading my mind. It's like he can read minds, not me.

"All right, then." Queen Eleanor said with a smile. Victory smile. I have to admit, he's quite smart.

Queen Eleanor returned to her conversation with Prince Yi. He looked as if he was devoting all his attention to the Prince so that the Prince would not catch a suspicious glare from me. In her mind, Queen Eleanor said to me, Shuu, listen to me. You and your twin sister must be looking for your King and Queen. The Great Fire Dragon and the reborn Great Queen Zhenra. I know them both in this life. The two of them are currently in Schiereiland and I can bring you together with them. So please, don't attack our country. We will not be able to fight you and your thousands of soldiers. In exchange, I will help you find your King and Queen.

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

After the event, I hurried back to my room on the grounds that I needed time to heal myself. Prince Yi trusted me. So I went back to the room to telepathize with Kaze while she accompanied the Prince on an afternoon walk downtown.

Kaze, Queen Eleanor promised to help us meet our King and Queen as long as we promised not to invade her land.

Did ya? Are his words trustworthy?

Yep. I think he's honest.

All right, be—

Kaze's words were cut off just like that. He decided on our telepathy. I'll just ask why when I feel it myself.

Something terrible has happened to one of the four dragons. I felt like my heart had just been stabbed with fire and embers. My whole body hurts not play like it's burned from the inside. And the temperature around me was so hot that I was sweating. How strange! I was sweating in the freezing air of Noord City in Nordhalbinsel!

"They're out." I heard the whispers of some people outside my room. While enduring the pain, I hid behind the door of my room, worried they entered to make sure that there was no one in this room. Although in truth, I am a Water Dragon. I can be anything water. It was even a glass of water in this room.

Whoever was talking, it was the thick log of the Ilbon tribe. It's like Kaze's way of talking when he hasn't been able to use the capital's accent. They are our soldiers who are from the Ilbon tribe.

"In that case, quickly take the poison."

Poison. When they mentioned poison, I tried to sharpen my hearing.

"Prince Haru ordered to use only a little. Is this really gonna work?"

"She said it was a new poison created by a witch. If the prince puts it that way, then we must obey him."

"But what if it doesn't work? What if Prince Yi is already immune to this poison?"

"Alright, then put a lot of poison. We have to succeed in one try."

When their steps were very far away, I only dared to breathe a sigh of relief as if I had held my breath since. The pain I felt did not last long, but my feelings became unpleasant. When one of us gets hurt, the other dragon will find out. It's like being in pain or feeling unsettled.

Kaze returned to telepathize with me. Shuu? You felt? Barusan—

Yep. I-i know. Our king is probably wounded.

We have to find him soon! The words of Queen Eleanor. We follow the Queen's plan to bring us to our King and Queen.

Sure do. I said directly. I paused for a moment, wondering if I should tell Kaze this. But we're Twin Dragons. We don't keep secrets from each other. There's something more urgent at the moment, Kaze.

Whahuh?

Someone wanted to poison Prince Yi. They were the men of Prince Haru of the Ilbon tribe.

Kaze did not respond immediately. Both Prince Yi and Prince Haru were sons of the Emperor. And we don't side with either of them. We are the Emperor's weapons. We belong to the Emperor. If we tell Prince Yi this, it means we betrayed Prince Haru. If we don't tell Prince Yi, it means we betrayed Prince Yi. But whichever one we choose, we end up betraying the Emperor by betraying one of his sons.

Let it. Kaze said at last.

Whahuh?

Don't interfere. It could be dangerous for us. Let it. If Prince Yi dies, then no one will force us to make a storm and become a slaughter monster of innocent people. If Prince Yi dies, we can go on the run to find our King and Queen.

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