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THE next day, That returned to the Guidepost Tree; it had become one of her favorite spots. Outside her original charm, someone had written another charm in magical script. Her eyes sparkled with delight. The average person couldn’t read or write in magical script. Only those who’d studied at the imperial academy were privy to these special characters. Of course, That couldn’t read them, considering the lives of persecution she’d led.
This person must have rewritten my original charm in magical script, That thought. After all, the Guidepost Tree looks healthier than it did yesterday. Gah, I would kill to study magical script! Then I’d be able to read the books upstairs!
Many of the old books were written in magical script on the second floor of the storehouse. They must have belonged to the princess, who’d lived there long ago. Unfortunately, few people could read magical script. Since no one around That could make any sense of the books, they’d been left untouched.
In the past, That had longed to study magical script, but the chances of anyone granting this wish were practically nil. Marfa and the others had no knowledge of the subject. Naturally, she couldn’t enroll at the imperial academy either. She wasn’t even allowed outside the Big Dipper Garden. Even if she asked for a tutor, her request probably wouldn’t be granted.
That didn’t want to trouble Marfa with her selfishness. Her desires could wind up killing the people around her, after all. Bearing this in mind, she left a message in regular script next to the magical script.
“Please teach me magical script.”
The person who wrote the second charm wouldn’t necessarily return here. Even so, That left that message, chancing everything on a small ray of hope. If they didn’t know her identity, perhaps they would teach her.
✦ ✦ ✦
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THE next day, That raced over to the tree. Someone had left a passage in magical script and an explanation in normal script. That hurriedly copied it onto a Guidepost Tree leaf while her escort knight assumed she was drawing a picture. Once she’d copied it, she left the words “Thank you” next to the magical script.
When Feilong returned to the Guidepost Tree that evening, he found words of gratitude written beneath his magical script. Though the reply wasn’t in magical script, it still produced a faint glow, oddly enough.
Did the person who arranged the acorn charm also write this? Feilong wondered.
To his great surprise, his lips tugged into a smile, a spark of warmth igniting in his heart. After brushing aside his embarrassment, the emperor shook his head, his silver hair fluttering in the night air. He then scratched a new message into the earth in magical script.
So began the communication between father and daughter. Ironically, neither knew the other’s identity.
✦ ✦ ✦
🐅 🐅 🐅
THE balmy, early spring breeze carried the sweet and sour aroma of strawberries. Today, That was amusing herself by picking wild strawberries in the Big Dipper Garden. Since no one maintained the garden, the berries were rather small but shone as if bursting with spring sunlight all the same. Fruit was precious to That, as her diet lacked anything sweet. When she suggested taking the strawberries home to make jam, the old knight retrieved an outdated newspaper from his pocket and unfolded it.
The words on the front page startled That.
“Daddy is going on a military campaign?” she asked without thinking. “Are you going too, Mister Knight?”
The old knight regarded her as if she’d just grown a second head.
Did I say something weird? That wondered, furrowing her brow.
In a flash, the old knight folded up the strawberries in the newspaper, picked her up, and took off running. “My apologies, Princess!” he shouted.
“Huh?” That asked. “What happened? Did you see an animal?”
The old knight raced back to the storehouse without answering, his eyes as wide as saucers. He set That down in front of Marfa, who looked stunned.
“Did the emperor see her?!” Marfa cried.
The old knight shook his head, his shoulders heaving with each breath. “No, but the princess already knows how to read!”
That gaped at his words. Oh, right. A three-year-old shouldn’t be able to understand a newspaper, she thought. I accidentally blurted out the topic of that article because I was so surprised.
“Truly?” Marfa asked.
“Yes, truly,” the old knight replied, pointing to the newspaper. “She seemed to understand the contents of the front page.”
“Princess, could you read this one more time?” Marfa urged.
When That took a reflexive step backward, her back bumped against the old knight’s leg. Shaking her head fervently, she sought his help, but he merely grinned at her.
“Come now, Princess; don’t be shy,” he encouraged her. “Being able to read is a wonderful thing!”
Faced with such a genuine, pure-hearted smile, That gave up on lying. When Marfa pointed to words in the newspaper, That read them out loud in a faltering voice. Everyone stared at her as she did.
“‘The emperor… will finally… join the military campaign himself,’” That recited. “‘At last, he will end the drawn-out border conflict.’”
“Do you understand what this means?” Marfa asked.
The woman’s intensity made That’s hair stand on end. “…Daddy is going to war?” she asked hesitantly.
“We still don’t know for certain, but such a plan has been set into motion. For some reason, the emperor’s personal departure for the battlefield was postponed.”
At first, the palace ladies had regarded That with disbelief. Now, their expressions lit up with joy. “She’s a genius!” one exclaimed. “The princess is a prodigy!”
“If we report this to His Majesty, then—”
“Calm yourselves,” Marfa chided, interrupting the palace ladies as they celebrated. She then took That’s hand and asked, “Do you like books, Princess?”
“Yes,” That responded.
“Well then, I’ll bring some here tomorrow.”
As she said this, Marfa smiled, her expression somewhat conflicted. If the princess was too smart, the emperor could view her as a possible threat to the line of succession. That worried her.
Does Marfa not want me to study? That wondered.
Even so, the stars had aligned perfectly for her. She couldn’t let this opportunity slip past her, regardless of whether it pained Marfa.
“Yay!” That cried. “I love you, Marfa!”
The girl donned an exaggerated smile while hugging her wet nurse.