14 One Too Many Royals 1 : The Sneaky General (1/2)

”Xiaojie...”

”Shh!” Sam shushed, quickly looking over her shoulder at the very distraught, very fidgety maid following on her footsteps.

”Bu-But XiaoJie...” Ah Mei tried again, her entire body glued to the Southern Hall's outer wall ”Is this really all right...?”.

Sam crossed her arms, turning back just enough so that Ah Mei could see her crocked eyebrow and mischievous smile.

”Right or wrong, this was YOUR idea, hum?” she challenged in a whispered voice, trying to hide a grin ”Anyway, it'll be just for a few hours... We will be in and out before anyone notices”, she added reassuringly, seeing all the blood drain from the younger girl's face.

”Xiaojie... This is not right!” she whined ”Let's go back and talk to Third Young Miss! She will definitely grant you permission to go out”.

”Yeah, tailed by at least two thugs!” she mumbled at herself, her eyes focusing once more on the pair of guards on duty passing by the always-deserted Southern Entrance. The best way to get out unnoticed.

The thing is... Sam was bored out of her mind!!

For the past five days,after running off from her room in the middle of the night, she had been having more and more trouble finding sleep. The nights were too dark, the hours too long, even the shadows that danced on the floor would suddenly shape-shift into those terrible images she seemed unable to forget.

The smell of blood and sweat hung in the air, just waiting for her eyes to close...

She didn't know whether it was only her overstimulated imagination working an extra shift or Ying Yue's old memories finding a way out, but truth be told, she was getting to a point where it didn't matter anymore! Her body ached, her eyes stung and the dark shadows marring her face were becoming hard to pass as nothing of importance.

At first, as word got out that she had been waking up screaming and sweating, Qing Shan had wanted to call for the doctor, but Sam simply wouldn't hear of it.

She didn't need an old quack messing with her head! She just needed time to adjust – and maybe some cold medicine, as it always seemed to nock her right out.

Fei Hong hadn't been all too keen either about her decision, but to her utter surprise, he just pursed his lips, sighed deeply... And took a strong stand by her side, letting everyone know she had his entire support.

It seemed that, whatever bond he and the real Ying Yue had in the past, it was indeed a strong one. Strong enough that Sam couldn't help being curious... And maybe just a tiny bit jealous.

The thing is, even though she didn't want doctors involved, to simply stay on her bed, turning over and over around the mattress, wasn't all that charming an idea either.

If it were back on her own time, she would have tried reading a book, watching some old Grey's Anatomy's episodes... Even playing Candy Crush on her cellphone...!

But here?

She couldn'tread. She didn't have electricity. And the only game available at the moment would just end up giving her a headache.

So, she did the only thing she could: redecorate.

It was a bad habit she had her mom to thank for. Whenever she felt restless, her mother would start moving the furniture, washing the silverware, organizing wardrobes... Even hitting the rugs!

So, on a particularly long night, Sam had taken out every single thing the last Fifth Young Miss owned and put it elsewhere. It was a dirty, dusty work, but kept her hands occupied.

Books, clothes, jewelry, scrolls, furniture, she had scattered everything on the floor all around her.

She had been in the middle of organizing a particularly stuffy shelf, with some embossed jade carvings, when she started missing a particularly beautiful engraved box she had been toying with just a moment ago.

Her head had told her it was only a stupid box.

But her obsessive heart made her nervous. It would fit perfectly there! And Sam knew, she simply KNEW if she didn't find the blasted box, she'd be thinking about it for the rest of her days!

”Where is that thing...!” she mumbled, looking around ”I'm sure I put them right here, somewhere...”

It was then that it happened. Sam had tried wobbling through the room, her eyes scanning the ground trying to look for a missing jewelry box.

”Where... Where... AHH!” she screamed, feeling her foot slip under her and trying desperately to grab at anything, really anything she could find.

For the briefest of seconds, her fingers grasped at the smooth surface of a particular jade emblem connected to the wall...Just before the thing gave way, making her hand slip and she land painfully on a hip on the ground.

”Outch!” Sam complained, looking resentfully at the wall ”Stupid carv...” she stopped mid sentence, her eyes widening as she saw what looked like a secret compartment etched to the wall opening.

”What... The hell” she mumbled, ignoring the pain on her hip and getting up once more, her eyes unmoving, etched to the hidden drawer. When she was close enough to touch, Sam finally understood what she was seeing.

Curious, she took everything out, her hands touching the blue covers only lightly.

”But... These are all... Books?” she whispered with a frown, flipping through the pages and studying the symbols, written with a slight inclination to the right ”Why would anyone want to hide books in a safe?”.

It didn't make sense to her! Jewels, treasure maps, family secrets maybe... But books? Of course, she couldn't read them for her life, but they didn't look anything out of the ordinary. Those volumes were just like any other volume she had seen around that place.

Weighting the three tomes in her hands, Sam left her eyes to roam around, her thoughts scattering.

”Ying Yue, Ying Yue... What is it that you were truly hiding?” she whispered ”What exactly happened to you on the day I came here?”.

She didn't have answers yet, and whenever she tried to breach the topic with her sister, Qing Shan looked so uncomfortable she couldn't bring herself to keep probing.

Since she had started interacting with the Jiang family, Sam felt like she was trying to play a game without being told the rules. She was always just observing, just going with the flow. Stuck on her rooms, having breakfast, having half-answered questions... It was fine when she thought she could go back home at anytime.

But now it was almost a month. Twenty eight days since she had landed on that place, and there was no indication her current situation was going to change anytime soon.

Sam was tired of just waiting, of knowing nothing, of not doing anything! So, instead of keep sulking everyday on her stuffy quarters, she decided to take matters on her own hands!

And Ah Mei had given her just the way to start...

”Xiaojie, you are already up!” the maid had greeted her enthusiastically just that morning, instructing the other girls to put the hot water and hygiene items aside as per usual.

”Leave, leave, leave!” Sam singsonged, putting a single hand out of the covers and in the air, motioning for the two girls to get out. She didn't feel particularly happy that morning, and having scared maids all around her would definitely not improve her mood. ”Ah Mei, get rid of them!” she asked in a muffled voice ”I'm not getting up today!”

Trying to control the urge to roll her eyes in face of her mistress's overly dramatic antics, Ah Mei simply gestured for the servants to leave before closing the door and start preparing Sam's matinal routine.

”You can stop. I'm not going. Really” Sam insisted, listening her maid going over her stuff ”You can have the day free. Like paid vacations. What do you think?” she tried sounding more persuasive.

”Xiaojie, Third Young Miss will be waiting for you in the gardens” she reminded her dutifully ”It is a particularly beautiful day outside”.

”Urgh! I know, I know!” she complained. Why couldn't anyone respect her desire to feel grumpy and gloomy for once?