The portal was located in a clearing in the middle of the forest. Trees surrounded the circular clearing along with river rocks and small crystals. Along the path were bustling cultivators, their pastel robes rustling as they moved from place to place, setting up the portal for use. A woman in gray robes, a symbol of her affiliation with the Kingdom of Wu, came forward to escort the party to where they needed to stand in the portal.

  “General, it’s been a long time.” The woman bowed, her hands folded over each other on her waist. Her long black hair flowed down her back, and her long limbs made her look elegant and almost otherworldly.

  “Chunhua.” The General bowed a bit to acknowledge her. She was delighted to see at least one familiar face in charge of their portal. “How is the Master?”

  When Xinyue was first sent to the temple at eight years old, she met Chunhua and other children her age. Chunhua was one of the first people Xinyue met outside of her family and servants. She was an orphan, left at the temple by her parents. Most of the children who grew to be cultivators were abandoned, raised by the temples, with the choice to become cultivators if they had the talent for magic. They lived a hard life, working for the temple and their kingdoms, but the other choice would be to be left on the streets.

  “Wow, an actual cultivator.” Xiaobo thought he whispered it and no one would hear, but it came out far louder than he anticipated. His lips snapped shut, and a blush covered his cheeks.

  “The General is a cultivator as well.” Haoran shook his head and bowed his head in apology to Chunhua.

  Chunhua smiled in response, amused. “The Master is well, he occasionally reads the papers that feature you and your meritorious deeds.”

  “Probably to gain more information to scold me when he sees me next.” Xinyue’s eyes crinkled above the black cloth as she thought about her time at the temple. She had numerous scars from climbing trees and falling onto the stone walkways. She could almost feel the Master’s glare as she and the other students ravaged the garden for extra snacks and bits of food, tearing apart and trampling the plants as they went.

  “Possibly.” Chunhua smiled back. She went along with all of Xinyue’s schemes when they were children, up until they were fourteen and Xinyue was summoned to the battlefield under His Majesty’s orders. “I will tell the others that you have been well. Including the Master.”

  Xinyue nodded, homesickness made her heartstrings tug. She glanced at Chunhua and saw bruises on her wrists.

  “How long until the portal is ready?”

  “We have been preparing for the last few days once we received the inventory and personal lists,” Chunhua turned to glance at the large clearing, “It shouldn’t take much time at all.”

  “That’s good to hear. We need to be in the Long Kingdom’s palace by tonight, according to their invitation.” Xinyue followed Chunhua as the woman led them down the trail and lined them up in the clearing. Robes of lemon yellow, sky blue, dusky purple, and pale orange mixed with the gray of the Wu Kingdom, helping each soldier into the best position for the cultivation to work effectively.

  “There are a lot of unaffiliated cultivators at the portal site.” Xinyue watched as one of the yellow-robed cultivators moved the princess’s carriages into the middle of the circle. A prime position that would be the safest to transport across the length of the kingdom.

  “A lot of cultivators have been giving up their affiliations to their kingdoms.” Chunhua fixed the horse’s bit and walked along Xinyue’s side, petting the horse lovingly as she went.

  “Xinyue,” She lowered her voice so only Xinyue could hear, pretending to adjust her saddle, “There’s a lot of discontent these days with the royals. More and more refugees are using the portals from the Feng Kingdom, not to mention citizens from the Mu Kingdom.”

  “What about Wu?” Xinyue wasn’t surprised by the news, Zixin had been sending updates, but to see it was different than to read about it.

  “I won’t lie to you,” Chunhua sighed, “the royal spending and extravagance, not to mention the never-ending wars and battles, have led to a lot of unsatisfied citizens. They don’t blame His Majesty, but they aren’t as considerate of the other royal family members. Not many have left the kingdom, yet.” Chunhua dragged out the last word, leaving the meaning unsaid. Once the King died, when the corrupt officials and the court rose to power, the citizens of the Wu Kingdom would start to leave. “Not to mention the temple’s disciples.” Chunhua shared a long look with Xinyue.

  “I see, thank you, Chunhua.” Xinyue could assume that an empire wouldn’t necessarily be unwelcome to the Kingdom of Wu, at least for the citizens; this changed a lot about what they spoke of in the tent the other night. “What about the Long Kingdom?”

  Chunhua chuckled under her breath, “They have the most affiliated cultivators.”

  “I see.”

  “Are we all set?” A cultivator is a dusky purple robe called out, an affiliate of the Mu Kingdom.

  “Yes, all set over here!” Chunhua called out then whispered, “Live well and be at peace.”

  “Live well and be at peace.” Xinyue pressed her palms together in front of her chest and bowed her head.

  Chunhua returned the bow, the traditional farewell of the temple. Xinyue choked back the emotions that wanted to come forward and locked them away deep inside for another day.

  Chunhua moved to her position in the circle surrounding the convoy. All the cultivators stood together, hands raised to the heavens. Xinyue felt their call to the magic around them and within their bodies, unlike the stream that Xinyue had let flow through her the other night, the cultivators were creating a waterfall. The magic crashed around them, spilling into the clearing and swirling into a portal. It was a bright pure yellow that clouded the soldiers’ vision and made their stomachs roll. Just as quickly as it had encompassed them, the wave of magic ebbed.

  The first thing Xinyue saw was the ocean. The portal site of the Long Kingdom was up on a clearing on a cliff above the sea. Sparkling and bright, the waves threw themselves against the rocks, welcoming the portal takers to the rulers of the sea, the Long Kingdom.

  “Greetings.” In front of Xinyue was a cultivator in sky blue robes. He greeted them with a smile, but Xinyue knew that if they were not careful, their caravan would be pushed down the cliff into the waiting sea; the Crown Prince must have come up with this tactic to deter anyone who would sneak into the Long Kingdom.

  “Greetings, we are from the Wu Kingdom escorting the princesses to the palace.” Xinyue saluted and kept her speech polite.

  “State your name.” The cultivator held a shimmering scroll in front of him.

  “General Xinyue.”

  “Ah, yes. Just wait one moment.” The magic flowed over everyone in the clearing, moving and flowing from person to person, checking their identities. The scroll glowed one more time before snapping shut.

  “You’re clear, thank you for your patience. Welcome to the Long Kingdom.” The cultivator saluted the General and led them from the portal site to the path to the capital of Long.

  “Why are there so many people at this portal site?” Xinyue looked around there were people everywhere. Some of the people were wearing rags and carrying young children. One small girl, who could barely be seven years old, clutched a tattered rabbit doll in one hand while holding onto her mother’s hand with the other. Others were opulently dressed and had wagons full of goods. Their robes dragging against the ground as they looked over their belongings, their distrustful eyes shifting to look at the commoners.

  “Ah, they are newly admitted people to the Long Kingdom.” The cultivator’s voice held some sympathy, a tinge of sadness in his words.

  Refugees. These must be the refugees and immigrants that Chunhua had told Xinyue about before they left the Wu Kingdom. Most of them must be from the Feng Kingdom, the royals didn’t care about who was impacted by their fights for the throne.

  Carrying on, the caravan set off for the capital city. The Long Kingdom had scenery straight from a painting; the silt dirt road they walked along had reeds on either side of it that swayed pleasantly, and the smell of the ocean was carried by the breeze. The ocean to the right of them was expansive, with small boats and a few ships that bobbed invitingly on its waves. Xiaobo kept looking around wildly, he was curious about everything around him.

  “If you keep moving like that, you’ll fall off your horse,” Haoran smirked at the younger soldier.

  “I’m an expert rider, worry about yourself.” Xiaobo didn’t spare the older soldier a glance as he craned his neck to look at the ocean that could be seen over the reeds. The Long Kingdom was expansive and took up the whole Eastern Coast. The Feng Kingdom to the South had some access to the sea, although not much, but the South Sea was far less prosperous than the East Sea.

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  “General, I will leave you here. Please continue down this road to the capital city.” The cultivator once again saluted and left the caravan to continue forward. His blue robes whipped a bit in the breeze, and he smiled as he left them. As he passed by, Xinyue noticed his tired eyes and worn face; the portal site must be fairly busy, so the cultivators have had little time to rest.

  The sound of the horses’ hooves was muffled by the dirt that mixed with sand beneath them. The carriages occasionally got stuck as they made their way to the capital, but the soldiers were able to push and tug them forward. Just as the sun was about to set, they made it to the capital city of Long.

  “Wow.” Xiaobo’s eyes were huge as he took in the architecture of the Eastern Kingdom. The walls of the city were painted a swirling blue and green, with the large gate into the city made of gold. Painted gold dragon statues were placed on either side of the watchtowers that lined the city walls.

  “Halt.” The soldiers guarding the city’s doors stopped the party before they could enter the city. “Name and reason for entry.”

  “General Xinyue, escorting the princesses of the Wu Kingdom under invitation of the Royal Family of Long.” The horses pawed the ground restlessly behind Xinyue. It had taken almost a day of travel from the portal site to reach the capital’s gates, and the soldiers were tired and worn down.

  “Greetings, General.” Upon hearing who was entering the city, the guard’s mannerisms became polite but guarded. He saluted the General, his hands shaking a bit as he held them out in front of him. “Do you have the invitation from the Long Royal family to confirm your credentials and identification?”

  “Haoran, get the invitation from the princesses.” Xinyue nodded to her second-in-command. He got off his horse and went to the servants of the princess. The carriages were just behind the General, the wagons of goods and presents for the Kingdom of Long, as well as the rest of the soldiers, waited behind them.

  Xinyue heard Haoran’s loud voice as well as the voices of servants arguing before he came back to where the horses waited.

  “General.” Haoran came back, his face grave. “Both princesses told me they did not carry the invitation.”

  Xiaobo made a sound of surprise. They wouldn’t be let into the capital city without an invitation.

  “I don’t see why I need the invitation. The flag of the State of Wu waves from our carriage.” Princess Yuyan’s voice could be heard outside the window of her carriage. She purposefully made it loud enough for everyone in the vicinity to hear. The guards at the gate shifted in their boots, and their hands tightened on the handles of the spears they held in their left hands.

  “General, even if the Kingdom of Wu’s flag is attached to all of the wagons in the caravan, we cannot let you into the capital without an invitation.” The guard’s voice shook, and his face flushed. Although he was scared of the God of War, he wouldn’t let go of proper etiquette, especially under such circumstances.

  “I understand.” Xinyue nodded.

  “Make way!” A soldier wearing a uniform of bright orange and a red belt called out from beside their party. “The Royal family of the Feng Kingdom requests entrance to the capital city of Long.”

  Xinyue moved her horse to the side, and the others followed suit.

  “Why are we moving? Why do we have to move?” Princess Yuyan’s shrill voice called from the carriage. Her servants were pouting with their arms crossed over their chests. They refused to move, standing in the way of the red-clothed servants and soldiers of the Feng Kingdom.

  “Your Highness, we don’t have the invitation. Without proper documentation, they can’t let us into the city.” Xinyue’s voice carried throughout the party, making the soldiers grit their teeth with discontent, but they didn’t say anything. Xiaobo bit his lip until it cracked and bled, frustrated with the situation but unable to say anything. As not an official member of the royal family, General Xinyue was not allowed to handle an invitation directly addressed to a member of the Wu Royal Family unless under orders. The princesses had refused to give the invitation to the General, and the Queen had agreed with their decision. In this situation, the only thing they could do was send a messenger back through the portal and be late to greet the Royal Family of Long.

  “Halt. Name and reason for entry.” The same guard addressed the Feng Royal family’s representative. Copper threads were embroidered down the collar and sleeves of his orange outerwear, the crimson inner wear peeked through from the collar and bottom of his uniform.

  “Representative and servant of the Feng Royal family. I represent Prince Jianhong, Princess Mengyao, and Princess Jingshu.” The servant bowed and saluted the guard.

  “Greetings. Do you have the invitation from the Long Royal family to confirm your credentials and identification?” The guard recited his lines.

  “Yes.” The servant presented the scroll sealed with a golden dragon figurine to the guard.

  After checking it, the guard waved Feng’s party inside. “Go ahead.”

  “This is unacceptable!” Princess Yuyan’s high-pitched voice split the area as the carriages of the Feng Royal Family wheeled forward into the city’s gates.

  With a screech, the red carriages halted, and the red banners with the copper phoenix embroidered on them whipped with the breeze.

  “Who forgets an invitation?” A sickly sweet voice oozed out of the red carriage.

  “I know, sister, such an important document.” A deeper female voice answered from the same carriage. “We should offer alms and prayers to the gods to help that person.”

  “Oh, sister, what a good person you are.”

  The two Feng princesses spoke loud enough to be heard by all those outside the gate.

  “Sisters, we should feel nothing but pity for those who would miss the chance to greet the Royal Family of Long. After all, they are miserable souls.” The masculine voice slithered from the other carriage behind the first. The Prince of Feng joined in on capitalizing on the State of Wu’s misfortune.

  “Thank you for your prayers and alms, Your Highnesses. We appreciate your kindness.” Xinyue spoke. “If you continue to linger here in our misfortune, the God of Luck may not smile so fondly on you.”

  “Thank you for your concern, General. We will be on our way.” The Prince of Feng responded quickly to Xinyue, his voice had a slight tremble to it.

  As soon as he finished his sentence, the Feng Kingdom caravan moved past the Wu’s party and into the city.

  “What shall we do, General?” Without the Feng Royal family breathing down their necks, Xiaobo spoke freely. He looked worriedly up at the golden dragons of the city like they would pounce on him at any second. “We can’t stay here, but it may take a long time before the portal can be used again.”

  Xinyue remembered the faces of the refugees they passed and the people coming from the portal into the kingdom of Long. The image of a stuffed bunny at the forefront of her thoughts. It would be impossible to get the invitation today.

  “Why would it take a long time? We are royalty, are we not?” Princess Yuyan again spoke up, her voice grating on Xinyue’s nerves.

  “It doesn’t matter if you are or not, Your Highness,” Xinyue explained, her face flat and expressionless. “This is the Long Kingdom, and we have no power here.”

  “Well-“

  “Also, we don’t have a royal order like we did in the Kingdom of Wu. We can’t use the portal freely, we would have to apply to the Long Kingdom and have our request granted to both use the portal to go to Wu and to come back to Long… Your Highness.”

  The Princess huffed, and her servants shuffled from foot to foot.

  “What should we do?” Princess Lihua sounded choked and like she was holding back tears.

  “Excuse me,” Xinyue spoke to the guard who waited for them to make a decision. His face was pulled into a grimace, and he looked uncomfortable to be put into this situation.

  “We would like to submit a request for portal use. Could you send someone our request to the administration office?” Although polite, the request didn’t sound like a request at all. Xinyue’s voice was short and held her impatience.

  “Um, well,” The guard glanced behind him at another soldier who nodded encouragingly, Xinyue didn’t see him arrive, “Your identity has been cleared.”

  The General rested her hand on the hilt of her sword. “By whom?”

  “That isn’t the way to greet an old friend.” The voice that came from up above them was warm and friendly, almost teasing. Xinyue sighed internally and apologized to whatever gods she offended to make her fortune so twisted. “I could leave you outside the gate in the dark.”

  General Xinyue looked up at the large watchtower on the gate, where stood the Second in Command of the Crown Prince of Long, Hongyi.