Private Willows do not break under snow

Misora felt the breath still somewhere in her chest before her head whipped to look at him. His face was so open, cheeks tinged with colour as he waited for the Intendant to speak.

She almost wanted to tell him she did not need him defending her, for him to help her, but the Intendant hummed. The sound made Misora sink in her seat a little. Her eyes flicked up to her mother, who gave a gentle expression as her brow quirked upwards. To Misora, her mother was beautiful. She had the brown skin that those of their heritage possessed, but due to her father being someone with a fairer complexion, Misora had inherited that. Other than that, Misora and Intendant Nuyen looked strikingly similar.

"How kind of you. Remind me, again, of your name?" The Intendant's gaze moved sharply back to Misora, and she knew then that this did not appease her mother. "I was not aware you two have had met. Mimi only resides here in Sonshan." Then her mother's face fell to a frown.

"Are you two sneaking out to see each other? Is that why this is the second time in three days you have slipped away from your guard?"

Although posed as an innocent question, Misora knew her mother did not like dishonesty.

"No, Mama. No, we have never—"

"We have rules about this. There is an etiquette to be followed. Anyone wishing the court the Princess Intendant has to introduce themselves to me and to the family. Three meals with the family and then you both can spend time together, under guard escort."

Misora wanted to melt. This was not... she had no words for this moment. Mortified, but too scared to upset her mother to tell her she was incorrect. And all of this happening before Enkai? What if he thought she fancied him?!

Did he make it worse? Somehow he felt like he had. Biting his lower lip he looked back to Misora before realizing how it must have made him look like a guilty liar. Good intentions gone wrong, he should've kept his mouth shut and let Misora handle it. Why even butt in? Enkai was as good with words as he was at making friends. Clammy palms stained his knees with sweat. He either backed out now or kept up the charade.

"It's my fault!" Enkai shouted, shocking even himself. A shiver of fear iced through his spine. "I didn't understand your customs." That was true, wasn't it? He was a country boy in the city, a shaman if he acted like some street magician in the street. His culture was different then Misora's.

"But I will follow them if you'd accept it?" A strange thought crept into his head, did Misora have men like him come in all the time. Maybe not shamans, but adults, men who thought about marrying her. Did she really have to have meals with them, under the watchful eye of her mother?

His offer was tame wasn't it? He'd join in on a meal, hopefully dinner as he was starting to feel a bit famished, and then return home, never to see Misora and her creepily calm mother. He had heard of Go masters, people who never showed a lick of fear towards their opponent because they ruled the entire board. Intendant Nuyen reminded Enkai exactlly of that, even if he gave it his all he would lose in the game that was what was presented before him. Enkai thought he could win enough to escape, after all, it was Shaman way. Do the least amount of work as possible.

And yet... and yet... could he really leave Misora behind to face her Mother's wrath all alone?

"I've been ignorant. Lady Misora tried to tell me and I didn't listen. Forgive me, please. I deserve punishment for such negligence."

Suddenly, Misora's cheeks were so red she was sure there would be flames kissing them.

Intendant Nuyen gave a gracious chuckle as she dipped her head towards the tea cup being brought up to her lips. When she set it back down on the table, she looked to the excited young man with humour. "You are forgiven."

Misora coughed. She cleared her throat and stared at the idiot making this so much worse. "Enkai, please. Stop. You do not ha—"

"Enkai, is it? Ah... yes, I remember the name now. Would you like to join us for dinner tonight, or reschedule for a night the rest of the family were here?"

Misora gawked at her mother. "Mama!" She protested.

"You agreed to this, anak. We have traditions, and we all abide by them. Your sister will go through the same when she finds someone. Your brothers have courted back home too. Mimi, you will be the next Intendant, and it is up to you to continue teaching our traditions to your future children." Intendant Nuyen shrugged, a hand sweeping is a dismissive manner. "If Enkai wishes to learn to, that only benefits you in the long run."

"Oh my goodness." She groaned, hands coming up to hide her face. Misora could not bear to see this, to watch Enkai dig them both into a deeper hole. "He does not want to court me, Mama!"

A shaman and intendant princess would never work. Shamans needed to work in the shadows, shamans needed to go out and handle raakguis. Sometimes they had to go and get things done that meant they'd never come back home the same. Sometimes it meant that they never come back at all. Enkai knew that all the Intendants might answer to the Divine Peer, but they were royalty all the same. They were always in the public eye, being watched in their own home or in Sonshan. Enkai would never get to live out his dream, to follow his calling.

And yet, all of Misora's complaining and backtracking just somehow irked him in ways he couldn't explain.

"Well it sure sounds like you don't want me to." Enkai said to Misora with a gritted smile, words dripping with the venom, eyebrow twitching in irritation. Was it because he when he joked about her name earlier? Not his fault she was some uptight princess that couldn't take a joke. Or did she just think she was too good for him? He chuckled, swinging over his leg from behind him to in front, unwrapping his ankle with her gift from earlier.

He held up the long stretch of fancy silk, as if they were in a courtroom and this was the final piece of evidence to prove his own innocence. The end of it hardly fluttered, the silk of high-quality. Must have been Canshen silk for it to feel this heavy yet cool in his hands.

"Despite giving me this. In my culture this means you want me to take a piece of you with me on all my travels and missions, so if I die we're still together." Usually, it wasn't a length of silk to help keep an ankle sturdy. It was often a hair pin or a comb, something small and easily hidden, something kept close to the heart. The rogue Shaman Hesmou Tarahaya, perhaps a poet in his own right, had made the act popular among all the Storied Clans.

Misora stared, stunned at the silk making an appearance. She had not known if he was lying out of his arse or not, there was nothing Misora could do when her mother turned her gaze upon her daughter.

"Is that right, anak?" Behind the pleasantries, Misora could hear the amusement and bemusement.

"He hurt himself... I... knew how to help him." She hung her head, staring down at her tea. She was waiting, braced for the reprimand, but none came.

Instead, shuffling could be heard and her mother had moved slightly to face Enkai.

"Dinner, tonight. I will write a letter to your mother in thanks for the safe delivery of this raakgui, and of the courting between you and my daughter. Now, let me see this gift, hm?"

Misora schooled her expression, lifting her head lest her mother accuse her of being rude. Her fists, hidden beneath the table, tightened until she felt the crescents of her nails dig into her palms. She looked to Enkai, feeling sorry to have brought him into this and the lie being woven, but for the briefest moment... she imagined.

What would courting Enkai would look like? Of course, she knew he would be under scrutiny, even amongst her brothers. Her sister would poke her for answers to the many questions she no doubt will hear. And her cousins, they would tease Misora endlessly.

He... he was pretty. Too bad being pretty did not make someone's personality not be... less than desirable.

"Can we see a raakgui?" Misora asked, feigning innocence and nonchalance.

Enkai looked victorious as Intendant Nuyen looked to her daughter. Is that right, anak? Yeah, it was right, Enkai thought, proud as can be, eyes blazing black stardust. He was sitting straight, chin held high. All the bravado sunk into a empty, gut-sickening feeling like a poorly made lantern sinking to the bottom of the lake during the Lantern Festival. It felt like he had just swallowed a rock and it sat there uncomfortably in his stomach when she mentioned his mother.

His mother was going to find out? Enkai did his best to keep his smile as Misora's Mother turned towards him. Warmth settled over his cheeks and he hung his head, nodding in agreement though he bit his lower lip. It was one thing to proclaim such a lie to the Intendant, she was a stranger. It was another for his mother to find out, most likely well before he got home. Even if he ran as fast as he could, if the message was delivered by a falcon, Enkai would only arrive early to his punishment.

Busying himself with undoing the cage, the moth-cat growling at him and showing its fangs, the young man wondered if it might be better to arrive home at a later time. Would his mother's anger cool down until there was nothing but smoke? Or would he be faced with red-hot coals that wouldn't go out until she kicked him into the middle of next month?

"A rare raakgui," Enkai said, opening up the cage and turning it so the big blue eyes of the raakgui could land on the Intendant. "Never seen in public," he winced at the lie. Well, it was mostly the truth. "The only one in Sonshan." He added, just in case. "My mother named it Achara, and though she looked for others like it, this was the only one she could find. She tamed it for you and your family. Anyone with Nuyen blood will be a friend."

For a long moment it looked like the Achara wouldn't leave it's cage. All puffed out, it looked like a cloud, dwarfing it's small wings even more. It's feathery looking antennas above it's round eyes shifted curiously, white whiskers twitching before it decided to step out. Slowly, it's silky fur would begin lay down, nose twitching with every sniff. Enkai waited for it to go to the Intendant. His eyes widened when it chose Misora first instead, meowing up at her expectantly, awaiting to be pet.

It rubbed it's cheek against the sharp edge of her elbow, sliding down her forearm until licked with a rough tongue the back of her hand.

Eyes never quite leaving Misora, Enkai bowed when he was expected to, or at least he hoped he did. He wouldn't tell his mother that he regretted not paying more attention to her lessons about etiquette and manners, but right now he did wish he had paid more attention. Enkai had begun raising his head too early, glancing at Misora and bowing once again. His dark gaze remained low and on the ground. He didn't raise his head again until Misora started talking.

Enkai stood up, looking down at Misora and the raakgui. He wondered if the raakgui was actually supposed to like Misora as much as it did or if it were to be far more affectionate with the Intendant. With a hand on his hip he rolled his eyes, his other hand was used to sweep away the fringe that had fallen into his sight.

"Calm down, Soup Princess," Enkai said without much humor. "I have no plans to be a live-in husband for you. Although... it's good to know even your mother isn't impervious to my good looks. It's my jawline, isn't it?" He held his chin in the palm of his hand, a thumb tracing over a sharp edge as now he grinned mischievously.

"I hope it does bite you." Enkai doubted it would with how it was bumping its fluffy head against her, mewing for attention. Greedy little raakgui. It was no longer his problem, now that it was delivered and presented to the Intendant. His stomach growled, a small reminder that he really shouldn't miss breakfast. "Are we gonna be eating those quail out there? They're kinda bite-size but you know what they say, the smaller the bird the more tender it is."

Her gaze fell on him, unimpressed and very much done with his presence here.

"You did this. All of this! She thinks we are courting, when I would never even think about being courted by the likes of you." Misora scoffed, and even the raakgui seemed to give him a disgruntled look.

When she moved to stand, the raakgui fluttered to perch at her shoulder. She turned her head to give it a look, but at this moment it did not deserve her annoyance. Her dark eyes fell on Enkai again. "Those quails are button quails and they are my pets. The only thing from them you will be eating tonight is their eggs."

She stepped closer to him, scowling and not at all amused by anything he said.

"You will stay for dinner, and then the rest of this week I will make up an excuse as to why we cannot meet. At the end, I will fake crying over you and inform my mother that you ended things with me, and then I will make up some big deal about her looking for a future husband for me so that something like this does not happen again." Her finger lifted, pointing inches from his nose.

It was instinct that smacked Misora's finger out of his face, brows settling low over his dark eyes with a glare that could rival Misora's. It was instinct again when he stepped back from her. If she got close to his face again, he wasn't sure if he could fight the urge to not shove her back. She was the Intendant Princess, and he was just some hot-headed shaman apprentice who's mother happened to be in good standing with Intendent Nuyen.

"You don't want this to happen again? Then stay inside like you're supposed to." Vitriol was back in his voice, every word like a bee sting. "You crashed into me, you followed after me - it's not my fault you were sneaking about like a vagabond to do what? Jump over some sticks? You can do that here in your big ole fancy palace." Enkai crossed his arms over his chest.

"And I can't be the one to break things off, it has to be you. My mom would kill me. She's going to kill me when I return anyways for letting the raakgui out of the cage!" He still wasn't sure what would happen, nothing bad had happened yet but his mother definitely made it seem like it was dangerous. Had she lied to him about it?