Once they had gotten back to camp, Xinyue had immediately bathed and scrubbed and scrubbed at the soot marks on her body until her skin had turned a bright red. What they had learned at the village kept echoing and replaying in her head. The image of General Yichen and the Magistrate close together, talking about something adamantly. The meeting at the temple with the Master, the disappearing bandits, the flames; all of these things haunted her.

  Even after the bath, the thoughts played over and over, taunting her. What could the bandits be searching for? What was worth the wrath of two kingdoms? Why had the King of Wu sent her here? He insisted she needed to drop everything and come here, but for what? What did General Yichen know that he wasn’t sharing with her? She could feel that he was holding something back.

  The thoughts wouldn’t go away, and Xinyue dressed without thought. Almost like she wasn’t in control of herself, she reached down into one of her pieces of luggage and pulled out a leather case. Smoothing her hands over it, she opened it to reveal her bow, old and worn. She grabbed it and made her way out of the tent to the training grounds, the one place where she could lose herself to action, not just in her thoughts.

  Xinyue pulled back on the string of the bow, her thumb ring allowed the string to glide back without straining her thumb, the arrow notched, and she let herself have a brief respite in the position. The slight sting of the string pinching her fingers brought her back to reality, it forced the ghosts of the day away. The feather of the arrow brushed her cheek lightly like a kiss. With an exhale, she released the arrow.

  It hit its target on the other side of the open space that made up the training area in camp. There was hardly a breeze, making it the perfect weather for shooting. It was quiet at the camp; most soldiers were either resting or at the dining hall. They had all had a hectic day of putting out fires and rounding up lost villagers.

  Xinyue didn’t have a large audience, and she found peace in the absence of company. She hadn’t let Haoran or Zixin know where she was going, and had snuck away with her bow in her hand, driven away by her own thoughts.

  “You’re a good shot.” Xinyue closed her eyes for a moment, relaxing her body so as not to show any sign of distress or surprise at the sound of his voice. She opened her eyes a second later and turned to face one of her many ghosts. Xinyue still hadn’t forgotten how he cut off the Master’s story in the temple.

  “General Yichen, have you come to train?” Xinyue dropped her bow to her side and turned to face Yichen. Like her, he wasn’t in full armor, instead in deep blue robes without much embroidery or adornment. There was only a dagger in a simple sheath at his waist, the hilt a shiny gold with a dragon engraved on it, its round top reflecting the light of the sinking sun.

  “Yes, similar to you.” Yichen smiled and nodded. He was more solemn than he normally was, his eyes faraway even as he looked at her.

  “Archery?” Xinyue nodded to the hay targets on the other side of the area. She looked at his empty hands; no bow to be found. It was a hint for him to continue to the section of the training grounds where men were practicing with spears or hand-to-hand combat.

  “Yes.” Yichen shrugged, and a glimmer came to his eyes. He refused to take the hint; in fact, Xinyue could say he positively ignored her hint. “Shall we compete again?”

  “In archery? I must warn you, I am quite adept at the bow.” While on one hand, she wished that General Yichen would leave her alone, on the other, she was grateful for the company. Xinyue almost felt a sense of relief from the distraction. Anything that would distract her from the day, from the destruction of the village and the cloud of ash. A way to keep her mind from her racing thoughts and the gaps in her knowledge.

  “I will take that challenge.” General Yichen chuckled, and his dimple appeared. One of his hands lay naturally on the hilt of his knife. “I haven’t lost to anyone in archery yet.”

  “Were they all members of your court?”

  “Are you implying that they let me win?” Yichen raised an eyebrow, he almost sounded affronted. Almost, but not entirely. The playfulness was still present.

  “I would never do such a thing.” Xinyue raised an eyebrow back at him.

  “Of course, the General of Wu would never.” Yichen smiled, amused at their banter. “Let me go get my bow.”

  Xinyue waited as Yichen went over to get a bow from the weapons that were in the armory near the training area. She wasn’t surprised when she saw that his bow was made of beautiful smooth wood and engraved with different sea creatures. Rather than look gaudy, it looked natural for him to be holding such finery, even with his simple clothing. Xinyue tamped down on the jealousy that threatened to rise. If she were also born legitimate, things would also be different for her, she could have also had access to such wonderful things. Xinyue bit down a bit on the inside of her cheek and reminded herself that there was no use in wishing to change what had already happened.

  “Are you going to start, or shall I?” Xinyue asked. She shifted the quiver a bit on her back and fiddled with her thumb ring. Looking at General Yichen’s hand, she saw his ring was made of a brilliant, clear jade.

  “Well, should we make a bet?”

  “A bet?” Xinyue tilted her head to the side.

  “Last time I won, and you had to give in and let us be equals in title.” Yichen shrugged. “As I said, I’ve never lost before, and want to make the most of the situation.”

  “An opportunist.”

  “As most generals are.” Yichen laughed and shrugged. Xinyue could place him as reckless and carefree, but that didn’t quite suit him. He was confusing and not easily boxed into one characteristic. The more time Xinyue spent with him, the more she grew confused by his behavior.

  “What would you like to bet on this time?”

  “How about for a favor?”

  “When can it be exchanged?”

  Yichen shrugged. “Whenever.”

  “Hm.” Xinyue thought about it. It would be nice to have a favor that she could ask of the Crown Prince of Long. It wouldn’t be a bad thing for her to accept the challenge. She glanced down at the simple wooden bow in her hands. There were scars and notch marks in the wood; it had seen the battlefield numerous times and never let her down.

  “It can be anything, except for something that would put either of our kingdoms in danger.” General Yichen strung his bow, his muscles flexing as he pulled the wood into place to attach the string to either end of the weapon. Xinyue was impressed that he did it himself; she thought he would have had a subordinate or another soldier do it, but she would never say such a thing out loud.

  “Or the other person.” Xinyue nodded; she began to see how beneficial this could be for her. What if, one day, the King grew tired of her? Or the Queen stopped trying to kill her on the battlefield and decided to send an assassin after her instead? It would be beneficial to be able to ask a favor from the Crown Prince of Long; maybe for a new identity or a home in the Long Kingdom? If none of those things, she could always ask for money. She could use that to build a new life, a life away from war and the royal court. Try as she may, the treasonous thoughts kept playing in her head. Xinyue shook them away and thought of other things; less selfish things: aid from droughts, access to medicine, trade. The guilt rose up as soon as she realized how selfish her first thoughts had been. She was a servant of the people, the weight of their trust on her shoulders.

  “Acceptable.” General Yichen nodded his assent. “So, a favor?”

  “What would you gain out of having a favor from me?” Xinyue tilted her head to the side, trying to think about what he would gain from this bet. There must be something since he suggested it.

  Yichen shrugged. “At the least, I would have bragging rights from having a boon from the God of War.” Yichen threw the moniker at Xinyue, his eyes full of laughter.

  Xinyue sighed and shook her head. “Let’s start.”

  Yichen drew back his bow and grabbed an arrow from where he had slung the quiver over his shoulder. In a quick, smooth motion, he released the arrow.

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  It hit the target right in the center.

  Xinyue drew her own bow and focused on her target. She breathed and, with an exhale, released the arrow to hit her target. With a thud, it hit dead in the center.

  “One for one.” Yichen notched another arrow, the ghost of a smile still on his face.

  Released. Another target hit.

  Xinyue notched and let the arrow glide through the air.

  “Two for two,” Xinyue responded as her target hit the target again.

  “We’ve covered that we’re both good shots.” Yichen shrugged; the smile had completely fallen from his face. “Why don’t we increase the difficulty?”

  Yichen dropped his bow to the ground, leaning it against his legs, and unraveled the fabric that was wrapped around his right wrist, which cuffed his sleeves and pulled them back from his hands. The long strip of blue fabric was opaque.

  He smirked at Xinyue before tying it over his near white eyes. With his eyes covered, he was no longer the Crown Prince of Long. He could have been any normal man that she was having an archery contest with. It felt strange not to see those eyes and be reminded of his status.

  He picked up the bow again, adjusting his grip and feeling the length of the wood before he took his arrow from the quiver. He notched his arrow and let it fly.

  It hit its target, but just a little to the left of the bullseye.

  He untied the blue makeshift blindfold and smiled as he saw his target. Even without the blindfold, it would have been considered a solid shot, a shot that would win during hunts or festivals. With a cocky grin he turned to gaze as Xinyue and tilted his head to the target.

  Xinyue took a moment to meet his proud gaze. His snake-like eyes once again uncovered, reminding Xinyue just whom she was dealing with and betting against. Xinyue copied Yichen and leaned her bow on her legs and unraveled the black fabric on her wrist.

  She tied the strip of fabric over her eyes and picked up her bow, allowing her hands to explore the scars and notches on the wood. She felt along the familiar weapon until she found the grip, reached back for the arrow, and notched her bow. She took a breath and let muscle memory guide her. She focused on the sounds around her, on her breathing that echoed in her ears and the thud of her heartbeat. She felt the kiss of the feathers on her cheek and the sting of the string on her fingers.

  Then she released the arrow.

  She heard the arrow thud and knew that it had hit the target.

  With another swoop of her hands, Xinyue deftly notched two arrows in her bow and turned it sideways at the targets. With another exhale, she released both arrows simultaneously.

  A loud thud echoed back from where the targets were set up.

  She untied the blindfold and let the strip of fabric hang down from her fingers. It fluttered a bit as her eyes once again adjusted to the sunlight.

  The first thing she saw was General Yichen’s shocked face. His wide eyes and mouth that was slightly parted. Then she turned her head to look at the targets themselves. She had hit both the targets she had aimed for; both her own and General Yichen’s. The arrows had split the arrow she had shot just before, as well as General Yichen’s, slightly to the left of the bullseye.

  Xinyue released her tight grip on the bow, brushing the wood with her thumb as she let it fall to the side of her body in her left hand. She had succeeded in the bet and had won the challenge.

  Xinyue looked past General Yichen and could finally acknowledge the other things happening around them. The few soldiers that were in the training yard had lined up to watch their two generals once face off against each other. They were whispering amongst themselves and nudging each other. One took off in a jog towards the dining hall. Another toward the tents of the Long soldiers. Both are probably on their way to spread the news about General Xinyue winning at archery against General Yichen.

  She raised an eyebrow at him again, her small smile hidden behind her black veil.

  “I will concede.” General Yichen nodded to her, his eyes still wide. He tapped the knife on his hip. There was respect in those icy eyes, an acknowledgment that she succeeded in not only impressing him as she had done with the sword, but besting him. General Yichen shook his head and chuckled, almost in disbelief.

  “General!” Hongyi rushed into the training ground, his hands flapping about as he adjusted his hair and clothing while he walked. It was the first time Xinyue had seen him not fully put together. His hair was tied sloppily into a topknot, and the belt at his waist was tied improperly. He was also missing his signature fan. It seemed as if he had been awoken from his rest after they had gotten back from the village.

  “You missed it, Hongyi.” General Yichen turned a bit toward the man who ran over to them.

  “I missed what, General?” Hongyi’s cheeks were a bit red, and his eyes bloodshot and bleary. He hadn’t gotten enough rest after coming back from the village.

  “Well, the thing you rushed here to see.” Yichen handed his bow to the frazzled Hongyi, who took it without question.

  “Did she really- I mean- were you, well…” Hongyi stuttered over his words, trying to find the best way to say what he never had said before.

  “I was defeated.” Yichen chuckled. “If you look over there at the targets, you’ll notice the two arrows with the black feathers. She took the shot blindfolded.”

  Hongyi stared at the targets for a good few seconds. “You’ve never lost at hunting or archery before, General.” Hongyi’s voice was light and seemed to fade away toward the end of the sentence. By the time he reached Yichen’s title, it almost came out in a whisper.

  “This is true.” Everything Hongyi said was a fact. This had never happened to Yichen before. He had always won at every hunt and every archery contest.

  Xinyue watched the two as they went back and forth, and cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to interrupt General Yichen.”

  “Yes, go ahead.” Yichen cocked his head to the side and furrowed his brow a bit. Xinyue’s tone of address had become more formal in an instant.

  “I would like to remind the General, in front of a witness, that he owes me a favor that I can collect at any time due to my winning of this archery contest.”

  “Ah, yes, General Xinyue.” Yichen matched Xinyue’s tone and formal behavior. He nodded to Hongyi, who looked between the two of them in confusion, his head moving from side to side as he tried to connect what exactly had happened while he had been resting. “As long as it is not harmful to the kingdom or myself, I will grant you a favor of your choosing.”

  “Thank you for keeping your promise, General.” Xinyue bowed a bit in acceptance that their challenge was over.

  Yichen returned her bow, and Hongyi’s mouth popped open. He stood there like a fish, his mouth aghast, his hands still clutching General Yichen’s bow.

  “Well, now that you are awake, Hongyi, we should discuss the bandits and the census you took at the village earlier.” Yichen nodded to Xinyue, and she could feel the thoughts and questions come tumbling back from where they had disappeared to earlier.

  “Yes, General Yichen, I agree.” After winning this competition, Xinyue felt a certain level of camaraderie and mutual respect with Yichen. She didn’t think he was treating her that differently, and it could all be in her head, but she felt almost like he was waiting for her to agree to his plans before he made them.

  “Wait-what?” Hongyi shook his head a bit, still trying to wrap his head around everything.

  “You did complete your work before resting?” General Yichen sighed.

  “Yes, of course, General.” Hongyi snapped out of whatever stupor he was in.

  “Then it’s time for your report. Let’s meet in my tent after you inform Haoran and Zixin, General Xinyue.” General Yichen looked to Xinyue again. She hadn’t been imagining it. What had been orders just earlier in the day were now being said as suggestions.

  “I agree. I will meet you there to receive the report.” Xinyue nodded and walked away from the training grounds, her bow still in her hand. She rubbed at the wood with her thumb, tracing the dents in the wood. It was time to fill in some gaps and to get some of her questions answered.