Temptation of the Butterfly, page 14
Pointing at the long building that she was staring at, Haun said, “That will be the school Francesca is starting.”
“Is that where they live?” Fen asked, motioning toward the imperial palace-looking structure. She was oddly jealous of Jin and Francesca because they got to live amongst such beauty.
“Shi,” Haun answered, turning the land craft so they approached the house along the side.
As they neared, Fen saw a figure in black standing before three rows of students. There looked to be about two dozen total. They were doing martial arts exercises.
Fen was jealous of Francesca’s talent as well. Though she could defend herself, Fen would never have that woman’s capacity for martial arts and self-defense. Glancing back the way they’d come, she was unable to see any sign of the palace. Fen was torn. Part of her really wanted to go back and another part of her wanted to stay on the land craft and keep sailing.
“I should get my disguise,” Fen said, glancing around for her cloak.
“Don’t bother,” Haun answered, slowing them even more. Francesca saw them and waved the children away from her. They ran in the opposite direction, away from the house. “The children will not know you and there are no others here. Francesca has refused to hire servants or guards.”
Okay, now that thought was a little frightening. How did Jin do it? They’d been surrounded by people and guards their whole lives. How did he live in such quiet solitude? Didn’t he get scared?
“I can’t believe our mother agreed to let Francesca live without servants.”
“The empress doesn’t know.” Haun laughed.
“Ah, then…?”
“No. She doesn’t know it’s just the five of us.” Haun didn’t look at her as he pulled the craft to a stop.,
“Five?” Fen asked. “Is Francesca pregnant?”
Haun’s mouth opened but no sound came out.
“Not that anyone knows of,” Francesca said, coming from around the side of the tall house. Her wavy dark brown hair was pulled back from her face, tangled into a mess of curls on top of her head. She had green eyes and strong features.
“Not yet,” Jin corrected, walking behind her. Her brother was handsome, like all her brothers, but his hair was longer than she remembered and he looked happier. His shirt was simple, more suited to a middle-class businessman than a prince. The loose-fitting material of both shirt and breeches suited him. He looked relaxed.
“You sound like your mother,” Francesca teased through gritted teeth.
Jin held out his hands, coming down the stairs. “Fen, Haun, I’m so glad you’re here.”
Fen hugged her brother. “What’s this about another guest? Do you have someone staying with you?”
“Oh, ah, one of the children is living with us for a short time,” Francesca said. “He doesn’t have any family.”
“Oh, and where are the children? They’re not all staying here?” Fen asked, motioning to where Francesca had been training them.
“The rest live in the nearby village of Tan jau dern. I sent them home for the night.”
Fen knew her sister-by-marriage was an orphan and the news she took care of many children didn’t surprise her.
“Come in, food is almost ready,” Jin said.
Having seen Francesca out training the children, she asked in surprise, “You cooked?”
“I bought a food simulator,” Francesca explained. “It does all the cooking. So technically, food is always almost ready. And before you get alarmed by the metal things crawling around the floor, they’re cleaning droids, not an invading threat from space pirates.”
“Hey,” Jin said, stopping to point at her. “That happened one time. It was late, and you didn’t tell me you had bought the cleaning droids.”
“Yeah,” Francesca said sarcastically. “Like I was really going to do all the cooking and cleaning for your lazy royal butt.”
Fen watched her brother and his wife, envious of what they had in their marriage, even as she was happy for them. She thought of Shing. He would never be without servants.
Ugh, why did she have to pick his name?
Well, who else would she have chosen?
“Fen?” Francesca asked.
Fen blinked, seeing her brothers disappear inside the house.
“Are you all right?” Francesca asked. “You spaced for a second.”
“Mm-hmm,” Fen nodded. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Yeah, that was convincing,” Francesca drawled sarcastically. She hooked Fen’s arm in hers and pulled, “All right, come for a walk with me.”
“But the house…” Fen tried to motion toward the front door.
“I’ll give you a tour later.” Francesca made her walk beside her toward a higher part of the hill. “It’ll wait. Jin tells me you need a woman to talk to. Why he thinks I’ll fit the role, I have no idea, but since Mei’s gone, I’m all you apparently have. So shoot.”
“Shoot what?” Fen looked around.
“It means speak,” Francesca explained with a small laugh. “I’ve met your mother. I doubt she’d let you come here for a visit without a full entourage unless she had no choice. I know that the emperor has final say, but a woman can always control a man. Not to mention that your brothers are worried about you. They said you’ve engaged yourself twice? Believe me, I understand wanting to escape the palace, but marriage isn’t the answer.”
“My escape is not the reason,” Fen said softly. She didn’t meet her sister-by-marriage’s eyes as she looked over the valley below. From the height, the roofs of the nearby village showed. Fen looked for the children running home but couldn’t see them. It was getting late and the sun radiated off the surrounding landscape with an orange-red glow. Mist rose from the ground, shadowing the yellow grasses with a light fog.
“Let me guess. The empress caught you in a compromising position and then blackmailed you into marriage by threatening something you hold dear.” Francesca arched a brow.
Fen gaped at her in surprise. How could she possibly know that?
“I spent most of my adult life learning how to read people, but in this case, it’s pretty simple to see.”
“Why?” Fen asked, surprised that Francesca was making her feel better. “Because I’m easy to read?”
“No,” Francesca glanced over her shoulder toward the house, “because I scared a confession out of your boyfriend.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“I want you to understand something, Piers Aaron,” Prince Haun said, placing his hands on Jin’s dining table. “Hurt her, and you disappear forever. And I’m not talking being shipped across the Satlyun. I mean gone. Forever.”
Prince Jin’s home was strangely decorated for a Lintianese prince, with buzzing metallic units rolling along the floor, thick furry rugs and interior doors that all swung open and shut instead of sliding. Outside, it looked just like the building was lifted from the palace. Inside was like stepping into a new universe. Aaron vaguely remembered some of the more rustic furniture elements being like those in his father’s home. Considering that Princess Francesca wasn’t from their planet, it made sense that she would choose alien elements to decorate her home.
“I understand,” Aaron said. After the planned engagement was called off two days before, Aaron hadn’t expected much else to come of his fate when it came to Fen. But, somehow, fate had intervened, and he was ordered to be taken away by Prince Haun, only to be dropped off with a note to Prince Jin. He’d been sure he was going to be executed, but instead, he was interrogated about Fen. Once he discovered the brothers and Princess Francesca were concerned over her well-being, and not out to harm him, he’d relaxed. Somehow, they’d guessed his involvement with Fen, but he didn’t get the impression it was from Fen herself.
“She’s promised herself to Ye Shing,” Haun said, “but it’s not official.”
“We want our sister to be happy,” Jin said. “But for her to do that, she needs to enter her marriage with a clean heart. She can’t do that if she is pining for you.”
Aaron knew what they wanted from him before they even said it. Foolishly, part of him had hoped that the princes were on his side, since Jin was married to Francesca. The woman obviously wasn’t born royalty. Was that why they lived out of the palace? Was Jin’s wife unacceptable? There was much speculation among the common folk as to why the two had left the palace walls.
“You are asking me to end it with her,” Aaron said. He closed his eyes, suddenly very tired. First, he wasn’t good enough to be in his own family, and now he wasn’t good enough to love Fen. The worst part was he couldn’t do anything to change the circumstance of his birth. No matter how hard he worked, how much he learned, he’d still be who he was at this moment—unworthy. “I understand.”
“Fen chose her path,” Haun said. “And she must walk it. She knows her duty to her family.”
“Shi.” Aaron nodded once, a hard, curt movement. It was all he could manage.
“Aaron?”
Fen’s voice fell over his soul like rain, cleansing him even as it flooded his heart. Instantly, he opened his eyes and stood, moving toward the front door of the home. She stood in the entryway, her body silhouetted by a sharp orange. He couldn’t see all the details of her face, but the slim outline of her figure was unmistakable. His body responded, stirring naturally toward her. The mass between his thighs became heavy.
“Aaron,” she said, her voice softer than before.
“Come on, brother,” Jin said behind him. “Let me show you what we have planned for the grounds.”
Fen nodded, giving her brothers a small smile as they passed her. Jin touched her shoulder, leaning over to kiss her cheek before leaving. When they were alone, she said, “I didn’t think I’d have a chance to speak to you again. I was sure it was goodbye in the library.”
“As did I,” Aaron admitted.
“Aaron, I’m sorry for all that has happened, but—”
“Shh, no.” Shaking his head, he stepped toward her. Her pretty face became clearer as the orange behind her started to dissipate into night. A breeze swept over her, carrying the smell of flowers to him. “I’m not. I’m only sorry you were shamed by me.”
“I admit I was upset at first that you didn’t tell me of your past, but I came to realize you were never really given a chance.” Fen closed the distance, reaching for his cheek only to hesitate and pull back. She stepped past him, looking around the house. “This is a strange home, isn’t it?”
“Princess Francesca,” Aaron said. “She designed it from the influence of other humanoid cultures. They call this style early lodge.”
“That would make sense,” Fen agreed.
“Princess—”
“Fen,” she interrupted. “You may call me Fen.”
He nodded but didn’t say her name.
“Who are you, Aaron?” she asked, her eyes burning as she forgot the house and turned to him. “You have a trade in silk, you design clothes, design material for those clothes, you make tapestries, and yet you know of humanoid décor?”
“I am all those things.” He longed to hold her; how his arms ached just to touch her, but he kept himself back. Her brothers were right. He would give her peace in her upcoming marriage. He would answer her questions and then he’d walk away from her life, from this entire life, this planet and these people. He’d make his way in space. He wasn’t sure what he’d do, but he’d find something.
“How? I want to understand you.”
“After I was orphaned, Lady Hsin taught me the silk trade.” Aaron paused. It was a gross understatement. She’d forced him into the silk trade, for he had little other choice in the matter, being as he was so young. “Before that, I lived with my Lintianese mother, Genji, and my human father, Randall Aaron Piers—or translated, Piers Randall. My mother wished to learn all she could about my father’s culture so she could understand and know his extraordinary ways. She collected downloads and, when she was done with them, she gave them to me as a young child, wishing to fill my head with knowledge. She was fascinated by human culture outside Lintian.”
“And how did they meet? Your parents?” Fen gave him a meek smile and he felt his heart flip. She was so beautiful, so delicate, and yet when she touched him it was pure, intense fire.
“It was an arranged marriage.”
“Hmm, arranged marriages.” She gave a short, unhappy laugh.
“My parents had love, Fen,” he said, though it tore at him to give her the encouragement. “You will as well in yours. How could a man not love you?”
Her expression fell. “You know that I must choose again?”
“Shi.”
“And do you know who?”
“Ye Shing.”
Fen turned her back on him, pacing toward the doorway leading to a dining area, only to turn back around.
“Ask what it is you want to know but have refused to ask of me,” he said.
She didn’t even pretend not to know what he was speaking of. “Why did your family disown you?”
The words were more painful to hear from her lips than he’d imagined. Telling Fen his shame, laying it bare for her, was one of the hardest things he’d ever done. People did not talk about such things as this. He’d never said the words aloud before. And even as he didn’t blame himself in private, telling her, making it known, was difficult.
“Before I was born, Lady Hsin gave her daughter in an arranged marriage to the owner of an outpost that dealt in the silk exports of Lintian.”
“Your father,” Fen concluded. When he nodded, she gasped. “Lady Hsin is your grandmother?”
“Shi.” Aaron answered. “She was my grandmother.”
“What happened?”
“Though arranged, my mother melted my father’s heart and they fell in love. It was out of that love that I was born.”
“And why did Lady Hsin arrange the marriage? Just for exports?” Fen moved closer. Even as his thoughts became lost in the past, he could still detect her every movement as if it were his own.
“The match assured an alliance, furthering the wealth of Lady Hsin, then widowed and securing her station in life. Lady Hsin had a direct link to market her silk to the rest of the galaxy and my father supplied her with certain luxuries she’d not be able to get on Lintian.”
Aaron slowly walked to a thick sofa. He didn’t take a seat, as he waited for Fen to follow his lead. She did, sitting in a chair.
Lowering himself, he continued, “My parents were killed in space. Just a random accident on a glider. With no family on my father’s side, and me too young to take care of his affairs, the creditors came like pirates to pick apart my family home. In the end, I was sent to live with a grandmother who wasn’t happy to see the foreign reminder of her daughter’s death. Her son had died as well, leaving my cousin in her care. She already had one child and a daughter-by-marriage to look after and groom to be her heir.”
“How awful,” she sighed, shaking her head.
“My mother taught me plenty of my father’s people, raised me to walk and eat and talk like them, but she never said anything about her own. When I came here, all I knew was the language. I didn’t understand Lintianese customs. I didn’t even know how to eat with kuay tzu. I thought they were like forks and I stabbed my meat with them.”
“That’s understandable,” Fen interjected.
“Not to Lady Hsin, who had dutifully invited others to see me, her orphaned grandchild. I blundered my way through the evening, scared and not really caring or understanding at the time that I was being rude. In a fit of anger, Lady Hsin announced that I was disinherited. That same night, I was moved to servant quarters, and a week later, she put me in the field to help the mulberry crop.
“At first, I was angry, but then I found I liked watching the crops grow. Before I knew it, I was helping with the butterflies, then with the weaving, until I knew every job in the place. She also gave me an education. Years later, Lady Hsin allowed me to run the business, as I know more than anyone about it. When her grandson, Hsin Wang, inherits the land and title, I’ve been guaranteed my current place.”
Aaron stopped talking. Fen had paled. He waited for her rejection of him, but it never came. Slowly, she stood, moving to sit beside him. She slid her small, delicate hand in his and squeezed. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head forward, drinking in the small comfort.
“It’s not your fault,” she whispered. “Your fate was the pain of others. I know Lady Hsin, and I do not find her to be a cruel woman.”
“I never called her cruel,” Aaron defended, though why he was defending the old woman was beyond him. It didn’t matter now. He couldn’t stay on the same planet as Fen, watching her marry another man, knowing that mere miles separated them. Before, when he only fantasized about her, he was one of a million men who saw her and worshiped from afar. But now he was special. He’d tasted her kiss, felt her skin, knew the tight clasp of her sex in orgasm. Those memories did not fade with time.
“It’s funny,” Fen said.
Aaron looked at her, frowning.
“Well, not funny so much as ironic. If Lady Hsin had not disowned you, you would now be a noble at the palace as one of my suitors.”
No. Not funny at all.
A tear came to her eye. “Maybe cruel is the right word for her.”
Aaron remembered what he’d been brought before her to do. He wasn’t supposed to make her cry, he was supposed to give her closure so she could be happy. If he had any hope, any plausible dream to offer her, he would. But princesses couldn’t live on dreams. “Don’t dwell on what can’t be changed.”
Fen swiped her tear.
“Ye Shing seems like a fine nobleman,” he lied. In truth, Ye Shing seemed as spoiled and as arrogant as the rest of them.
“He is,” she answered.
“I’m sure you’ll find happiness.”
“I’m sure I will.” She didn’t sound convinced, but he admired her brave front.
Aaron wished he knew whether the feelings inside him, the instincts were real, or if they were just hopeful pleas from his heart. Since that first spoken word, that first intense look, he felt as if he’d found part of his soul. And now he had to set his soul free.
