C H A P T E R N I N E
R I T U A L
Walking up the grand steps to his own house, Tao pushed open the gold embossed front door, and as he ascended the staircase to return to his bedroom, he lost himself along his flow of thought. After the passing events of recent days, it seemed impossible to relax his mind and get along with his usual day to day activities. Entering the bedroom, he noticed an envelope on his bedside table, resting on the foot of his lamp. Addressed to him, he noticed immediately the elegantly curling writing which spelled out his name. It was his mother's handwriting. Why did his mother decide to write a letter to him? Was it not more convenient to simply approach him in person and say anything that had to be said? Whatever the cause, it meant that something serious had happened and had happened while he was away. Tao was puzzled as he picked up the envelope, broke the seal and began to read:
Dearest Tao;
I have left your brothers letters too, informing them of our sudden leave. We were not to speak to anybody about this, but I feel that my heart will not be at rest without telling even my own sons. Do not do anything rash after reading this letter, your father does not know I have written to you three.
First off, I am aware that Tao you have been staying with a friend for the past two days, and so may be reading this letter later than your brothers, however I can assure you that even your brothers were not aware of your father and I's departure. We left in the dark of the night, as to not disturb any of you and the fact that leaving during the day with all of our luggage would be cause of much questioning from your brothers. It may sound suspicious, but I assure you that this is most likely only a business (you know what I mean by business I presume) matter.
We had been summoned a few days ago by the organisation in charge of our society, as part of a regular reporting scheme. It however, has always been done in the traditional method of their stay with the families. For some reason unknown to us also, the families have in turn been summoned for extended stay at their estate. Quite strange, is it not?
I think that Tao, you must be very careful in the coming future, times are changing, they are evolving. In order for evolution to take part, there must be revolution. For us, especially for our family and those involved in procedures such as ours, revolution may not always be for the better good.
It may or may not prove detrimental for you to hold too much knowledge of this issue within your head, and so I will not take the risk and place you in further danger. All I wanted you three to know is that things will be different from how they were before. I hope you all learn to see through the surface to the heart, it will be an important ability and may even end up saving your lives sometime.
I cannot write anymore, I might even have said too much already. So I leave you three now, with this letter. Your father and I will be absent for up to 18 weeks at the most, I know it seems like a long time, but you three are all grown up now, responsible and capable too. I have no doubt that our duties will be undertaken as required.
Hopefully we will be able to write home while we are away, however it will be difficult as security seems unnecessarily tight this year. They will be examining all that enters and leaves the premises.
With Love,
Mother
'So, mother left you a letter too?'
Tao's head shot up. Engrossed in reading the letter, he had noticed his brother's entry.
'Well, yes. I only returned and discovered it on my bedside upon entry just now. You two have both received the same thing?'
As a response, Yun and Wei both held up their letters for him to see. Wei then said
'It's quite suspicious though, is it not? Why would regular visits to the families -carried out through so many generations- suddenly reverse? I mean, I know nothing about the Higher Society, but if it is as mother has told us through these letters, then something has happened. Possibly a threat, so that the Higher Society wishes to maintain its own safety?'
Yun briefly, yet darkly said
'Or it could be the other way around. That they, the Higher Society themselves are the threat.'
It was silent in the room for a while. If things were playing out as Wei had suggested, then there would be nothing to worry about. After all, it was only instinct to want to protect oneself, and in this bigger scale, one's own close society. However, if things were playing out as Yun suggested, it would be difficult to imagine what could happen to their parents. It had always been known that the Higher Society was strict, and only acted upon the set rules - which were bent for no one, under no circumstance. Nonetheless, neither of the three brothers had thought of the society as ruthless, even less so as a threat.
'What did mother mean by telling us that things will be different to how they were before? What exactly will be different?'
Tao questioned
'What was with the talk of evolution and revolution? What worries me is that she mentioned this 'revolution' may not even be for the better.'
Wei added
'Are neither of you concerned by the fact that mother specifically warned us to learn to see through the surface and to the heart. Simply put, I think she is telling us not to trust anyone. But under what conditions though? Mother has always been one to easily trust people, this sort of message is very unlike her. It means whatever things she is talking about must be extremely, extremely serious.'
Was Yun's contribution
Once again, the blanket of silence lay itself over the room as the hands of speculation held the three of them in its grip. Without a warning, the bubble of silence was interrupted by knocks at their front door. Wei stood up almost immediately, however he was stopped by Yun
'Remember mother's warning? What if it's someone unexpected? Not in a good way.'
Hesitating, but composing himself confidently once more, he replied with
'It's okay, I will check who they are before letting them in.'
The knocking sounded once again, this time more urgent, desperate almost. With a nod, Wei left the room. Tao sighed,
'Let's hope he doesn't bring disaster upon our house.'
Before long, Wei returned and following closely behind him was none other than a slightly flustered, but still beautiful
'Mei!'
'Mei Xiang!'
Wei smirked
'What was that about someone unexpected not in a good way, hmm?'
Yun defended his argument by sharply replying
'Shut up, as I always say; it is better safe than sorry.'
Feeling his body pulse upon eye contact with her, Tao now noticed the letter which Mei had clutched tightly in her long fingers.
'Mei, what is that letter you have there?'
Glancing at the letter in her hand once, she handed the envelope over to him.
'My parents were called away by the Higher Society. They told me in this letter that all families like ours had been summoned to their estates, I came here to confirm if it was true. Is it?'
Tao nodded once before slowly replying
'Yes...ours too...'
Unfolding the letter, and with Wei and Yun over either shoulder, Tao scanned through her letter. Soon enough, their eye brows furrowed deeply and upon noticing the change in facial expression, Mei asked
'Is something wrong?'
She was greeted with silence, as the three brothers exchanged glances. Yun was the first to speak
'Mei Xiang, nothing is wrong exactly. However there is something strange.'
Tilting her head to the side, she enquired
'Strange? What is it?'
Wei was the one who answered her question this time
'Well you see Mei Xiang, what your parents have written to you is almost exactly what our mother wrote to us.'
In fact, is was as if the letters had been written based on a set template. That the three of their letters had been very similar in execution was easy to excuse, merely based on the fact that it had been written by the same hand. However, now that Mei's letter had contained the same information and same warning, the whole situation had become much more suspicious.
'It is too bad that we are not acquainted with the other family's heirs around here. That way we could have more comparison, it would be stupid to come to conclusions without sufficient evidence.'
Tao said
Wei had silently collected all the letters and stalked over to the round table, laying them out beside each other. Tao, Yun and Mei approached the table to study the letters. Reading through each one carefully again, it was obvious that their parent's had all written to them the same message and word of caution. Out of nowhere, Mei asked
'Tao, how is the wound on your back? I haven't checked on it since last night.'
Wei and Yun exchanged wide eyed glances. Tao was injured? But then...last night? The words replayed in their minds as their lips lifted up into smirks. Tao noticed this and immediately sent them both deathly glares before replying with
'Well, it still stings, and I can't quite twist around yet without feeling stabs of pain. It should heal over time though, thank you again Mei.'
'Tao, how bad is your injury?'
Yun immediately dropped his playful mood once he heard his younger brother mention the stabbing pain he experienced while moving. Now that it was mentioned, Tao had been sitting and walking quite stiffly.
'Well...Mei has patched it up and observed it for two days and it is healing.'
It sounded as if he left his explanation half unfinished, yet he still closed his mouth, not wanting to be a cause of worry.
'But? What else is there to it?'
Wei pushed the answer out of Tao, but before he could answer, Mei spoke
'I have a suspicion that he was not cut by an average blade.'
Tao looked to the floor as Yun asked
'What do you mean by regular blade?'
Mei continued
'What I mean is that, the treatment which I gave Tao was not the same as the treatment which I give to victims of a normal sword cut. The one which he received involved much more of extracting a sort of venom from the skin and flesh that had come in contact with the blade. From that I had reached the conclusion that the blade was not forged by humans.'
Puzzlement clearly present in his voice, Wei then asked
'Not forged by human? Then by what exactly was it made?'
Mei herself was not able to answer that, her head drooped as she quietly answered with a soft I don't know, I'm sorry.
Tao spoke up now
'I am really okay now. Mei's done a great job and I was more than lucky to have stumbled across her when I was bleeding like a waterfall. There is something that I myself would like to ask though. Has Professor Jang acted suspicious or strange around the household when you interacted at all?'
Thinking back to their encounters, Yun replied
'Not so much as to be considered suspicious, but somewhat more cheery and lively than he usually is? We are not in the right position to speak though, Tao, he is your mentor, not ours. You know him better than anyone would.'
Tao's eyes narrowed, and at this moment, the words of his mother's letter flowed to mind
"I hope you all learn to see through the surface to the heart, it will be an important ability and may even end up saving your lives."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: So just to clear things up, Tao's family is around about the most powerful and influencial amongst their society, but it might be easier to think of it as similar to Elizabethan society. So the Higher Society would be the Queen and the royals, while Tao and Mei's families (and others too) would make up the upper nobility.
I think things will start to pick up pace after this chapter (:
Comments