“Oi, Tao, we’ve been summoned.” Kris was the first to reach the stables and he smelt it before he saw the horses. Scrunching up his nose, he ventured into the main stable and called out the youngest’s name. “Taooooo-” he cupped his hands around his mouth.

Luhan and Lay stood a while away, arms still around each other’s shoulders looking at the night sky. It wasn’t often that they strolled outside at night.

“I’m over here!” came a voice and Kris tiptoed into the dark. He found a lantern lit in a corner and walked towards it. Tao was brushing the mane of a foal that was just standing in the corner with another horse, Kris assumed to be its mother.

“Tao, we’ve been called by Old man Sun-ye. Luhan says he wants to tell us about a harem or something.” Tao didn’t respond and continued to brush the horse.

“We’ve gotta go. Now.” Kris folded his arms.

“Alright, alright.” Tao got up from his stool and grimaced at his brother. He returned the brush to a shelf and then grabbed the lantern from the floor. “I’ll be back old girl” he patted the larger horse on the nose and she whinnied and shook her head.

“It’s getting late!” Lay yelled out from outside the stables. “Hurry up, it’s cold!” chimed Luhan.

“We get it!” Kris shouted back at them. “Let’s go.” He looked to Tao who was closing the stable doors. “Why is a harem so important anyway,” Tao scoffed, annoyed he’d been interrupted.

“God knows.” Kris shrugged. After reaching the other two, the four proceeding to Lord Sun-ye’s hall.

“OW! A*^&*g^$SD#GF#@RTE$g$@GBF@d@#TR#@%$#%^&^HG!!!!”

The maid laughed as she pulled a brush through your hair. “I might need to wash out your mouth too.”

“Mother of meat buns!” you corrected yourself as you struggled away from her, the water splashing out of the tub, rose petals falling out of the water onto the floor.

The washing order was in terms of age and being elder than most of the other girls, you were 4^th in turn. “The other girls didn’t yell as much as this. They actually enjoyed it.” She ran the brush again, through all your knots and you winced.

Despite all the pain, being pampered like this wasn’t half bad. Having lived in poverty – or close enough at least, you understood why anyone would enjoy this life, even if it made your hair fall out in clumps. After the bath, the maids dressed you in silk robes, nothing too fancy and each girl wore a respective colour: yours being navy blue to compliment your pale skin and obsidian eyes.

Dinner was some vegetables with rice. Even though the meal was meagre, it was clear that the chef put effort into the arrangement of the dishes, carrots cut into heart shapes and black sesame seeds sprinkled almost perfectly in place upon the rice. The girls ate heartily, though some masked their eagerness for food with shyness. It was brought in on lacquered trays and the girls sat around the room on floor cushions and tried to take in reality.

“I don’t think I can sleep tonight.” One girl sighed.

“Yeah, I’m worried I’ll get too homesick.”

You knew nothing of homesickness, never really belonging anywhere. You didn’t even know who your parents were. Your Um-ma had picked you up on the side of the street; you were starving and squatting beside a pile of leaves. You don’t remember what the two of you conversed about, but she decided to care for you as her own and thus, were recruited into the Crimson Lotus as a result. Trained from a very young age, there was not really enough room for love. For you, it was more a mutual respect.

You were snapped out of your trance when a maid tapped you on the shoulder – and you paused mid-mouthful to turn around and look at her. Her familiar face you had seen somewhere before, almost in a dream and she knowingly nodded her head before shoving you a note. “Read it in private.” She whispered before pretending to dust off your shoulders and then scurrying off out of the room. It was one of those moments when the world around you slowed down and looking at the neatly folded paper, it was as if the note and you were the only things that existed in the room.

“Anise?” you snapped your head back to look at the voice that spoke. “You’re not touching your food. Are you alright?”

You nodded swiftly and shoved two more mouthfuls of rice into your mouth. “Yeah, yeah, I’m great!” you grinned at Zi-Yu through your teeth and she giggled. She reprimanded you for being cheeky and then left you alone again to turn to the girl next to her and resume her conversation.

You wished everyone in the room would just disappear. Your fingers itched to open up the note to read.