Cherry Blossoms and Hellfire Ch. 05

She pouted again. "But that's ten years away!"

I ruffled her hair. "Sorry. But, Petal, right now you're just too young. Focus on school, and your dancing, poetry, and music lessons."

Petal sighed. "Ok, Blossom."

That evening, I left her in the care of my mother and went to work. I had several clients booked this evening. I wouldn't have a minute to myself all night.

As I was going down on my first client of the evening, I heard screaming. I immediately jerked upright. "Petal!"

I looked at the woman I was with, one of my regulars. "Please, forgive me, miss. I think that's my sister." And then I raced out of the room.

I reached Petal as the man struck her with his knife a second time. As he raised his other hand to strike her, I grabbed his wrist. The man glared at me, and gestured with the knife. A burst of wind slammed me into the wall. I fought to remain conscious, but everything went dark.

I awoke to the anxious face of my client. Hazily, I looked around the room. "What- Where's Petal?" I tried to rise.

The woman placed a hand on my shoulder, keeping me on the floor. "Wait. The doctor needs to take a look at you."

I continued to struggle to rise. "Petal!"

The woman gestured, and roots rose out of the ground to restrain me. "She's going to be ok," the woman assured me. "The doctor is with her now." She bit her lip, and looked away.

Picking up on her unease, I asked her, "What's wrong?"

"She's going to be ok," the woman assured me again. She hesitated. "But..." She shook her head. "You should wait for the doctor." And I couldn't get her to say another word.

Back in the present, I shook my head. "When I went to see her... She was missing an eye, and her face was covered in scars."

Egra leaned forward. "Did they ever find the man who did it?"

I sighed. "The man who did it, Jade Cat, was a noble and an Elemental. The Graceful Nightingale House. It was his word against mine and my sister's. He never even went to trial." I shook my head. "And poor Petal blamed herself, because she followed me to work when she was supposed to stay home."

Storm frowned. "Couldn't you have convinced one of your other clients to help?"

I shrugged. "I wasn't Chosen back then. I doubt I could have convinced anyone. And, frankly, I was afraid to ask. We needed the money to pay Petal's medical bills." My face hardened. "So I took matters into my own hands."

First I'd asked around, looking into Jade Cat's history. This was far from the only time he'd done something like this. He'd made a habit of hurting members of the lower class and denying it. Since he was not just a noble, but an Elemental, he always got away with it.

As Petal healed, I began to plan. When she was well again, when I knew I'd saved up enough money to help her and my mother through times to come, I made my move. By then, Petal was 12.

I stood by the servant's entrance to Jade Cat's house, smiling charmingly. The man who answered the door looked me up and down. "The master didn't order a whore."

My smile widened. "I know. I was sent by the matriarch of the Red Lion House. My night, and this bottle of sake, is a gift to your master." I held out the bottle for his inspection.

The Red Lion House was higher up the social ladder than the Graceful Nightingale House. To refuse a gift from them would be in poor taste. And to refuse a gift as fine as me, and this sake... I grinned.

The man looked me over. "Come in, then."

When I was brought before Jade Cat, he showed no sign of recognition. I hadn't expected him to. It wasn't like I was important. I was just a lowly whore, one of many lower class peons who'd accused him of things he'd never been punished for. He had no reason to remember me.

I held out the sake, which, unbeknownst to him, contained a potent and slow acting poison. "Complements of Red Lion House," I said with a smile.

He nodded, looking me over. "Undress," he ordered me. To a servant he said, "Bring two glasses for the sake. Then leave us."

I started. I hadn't expected him to share the fine sake with me. When he offered me a glass, I did not refuse. To refuse would be suspicious. Anyways, even if I survived the night, I'd likely be executed for this plot. We drank. My face betrayed nothing.

As he fell to the floor, writhing in agony, I felt the poison start to take effect on me. Despite the pain, I smiled. Jade Cat would ruin no more lives. "I regret nothing," I murmured, closing my eyes. And then...

Agony shot through me, far worse than I'd expected. I screamed, the sound drowned out by a thundering roar. Through my closed eyelids, I saw brilliant light. Was this death? Somehow, I knew it wasn't. I knew, as the Sun's power coursed through me, what I was becoming.

When I opened my eyes, I saw the remains of Jade Cat's house around me, illuminated by my own glow. People were already coming out of the nearby houses to investigate. So I ran.

I looked from Charok to Storm to Egra and shrugged. "I made it out of the city before the Hunt started after me," I told them. "And I've been on my way north ever since."