"Lady Annalei! Lady Annalei!"

Lady Annalei slunk further against the cool stone wall at her back. The only thing blocking her from being seen was the tall plant decorating the hall in which she was hiding in. Only three metres away, her lady-in-waiting stood at the intersection of four paths, and Lady Annalei hoped that she would pick either of the three that she was presently not in.

Outwitting her maids had become a daily challenge that Lady Annalei quite enjoyed. At first, they had not realised she was doing it on purpose. Now, they were more than aware and had become more diligent and determined to not lose her, working together to keep her within their sights. Some days they succeeded, on others like today, they didn't.

Lady Annalei smiled as her lady in waiting frowned, muttering something under her breath before choosing the path in the opposite direction probably deeming the hall Lady Annalei was in to be too dark and uninviting.

Lady Annalei breathed a sigh of relief and fixed the bag she was carrying over her shoulder. After one last scan around her, she continued on her way. Her hallway, her favourite hallway since arriving at Emperor Rathner's palace during the Mid-Summer Festival, was the hallway that led to the Blue Garden.

In truth, a person had to be invited to attend, and since her arrival at the palace, she hadn't been invited to attend anywhere. So, she had taken it upon herself to go there alone. There was no way she was going to spend the rest of existence locked away from the rest of the world. She fumed once more at the thought of it, and then, her stomach ached.

Oh, the embarrassment of it! To be the only concubine not in the Purple Jade Palace. Yes, she had made it more than clear that she had absolutely no interest in entertaining the Emperor, she was merely sixteen. The thought of a man twice her age. Ugh! But the shame for her family. Her cheeks filled with a deep blush at the thought of it.

"Why do you cry?" Emperor Rathner has asked after the Empress Dowager, his mother, had presented all the three young women who had accompanied her to the Mid-summer Festival. Lady Annalei and the Emperor were alone in The Hall of Memories after he had sent the other two girls outside.

She stood there staring at ceiling, trying not to sob as the other two girls obediently followed every instruction. Lady Annalei hadn't even been able to bring herself to look at Emperor Rathner. She didn't want to offend the great leader of the Empire, but at the same time, standing in that room was the last place she wanted to be. It had been her mother's idea, all her mother's, as it had certainly not been hers or her father's. Why in the all the Gods' names would she want to spend the rest of her life living in a harem stuck inside this palace?

"Because I don't want to be here," she said timidly.

"And why would that be?" Emperor Rathner asked gently, guiding her chin so she had to look at him.

Lady Annalei cringed at the memory, the horror of it, for it was then she had broken down into howling sobs right before the Emperor. She shrugged her shoulders, shaking off the memory but unable to shake the shame of it.

The end of the hall appeared, and despite reliving her first day in the palace, a sense of ease overcame her. The hallway had brightened, and a soft glowing blue was bouncing onto the walls from the water in the underground tunnel. Here she had to be careful as sometimes guards would be on patrol.

The palace guards and soldiers liked to keep it different. On days when someone was on duty, she wouldn't risk it and would find another place to escape to. Her smile returned as she saw a guard further down the hall with his back facing her.

Today would be an exception. She watched for several seconds, and when the guard still did not move, she bolted to the stone stairs that would take her up to the pagoda in the middle of the Blue Garden.

She had no idea why Emperor Rathner had picked her, even after she had broken down and begged to be allowed to return to her family's home so she could continue to help her father in his aging years. It was her family's large farm with its roaming fields and animals that she longed for.

But no, that was not a life for a Lady, that was not a life for a girl, apparently. A girl shouldn't spend her time hunting, using her bow, or providing for her family. Instead, being a concubine would provide her family with much honor and money for her mother to hire help for the farm instead. And so, the arrangements had been made.

The other two concubines were far more suitable. Lady Annalei had seen them, all dressed up and covered in their face paint. They had sent scornful glares when they had been sent out of the hall. Lady Annalei, plain old Lady Annalei. That's what her younger sister had always said to her. Lady Annalei with her dull brown hair that never sat right when it was piled up high on her head or when it had been brushed down. Her eyes were also small, a little too close together. There was nothing special about her, nothing that made her stand out.

Lady Annalei treaded carefully up the stone stairs, her hands grazing gently over the cool stone walls. She listened for any signs that the Blue Garden might be occupied. Silence only greeted her ears. It looked like it was going to be a great day for it was empty.

She reached near the top of the stairs and slowly stood on her toes to peer over the rocks to see if her suspicions were correct. The pagoda was empty, and she ducked back down before running up the rest of the stairs to the open air.

This was certainly not the first time she had been here. On one occasion, she had even gone for a swim in the lake but that had been at night and she would not risk it during the day. She darted across the pagoda over the small bridge and towards the trees where she could climb and read her book undisturbed.

She settled onto a thick branch that was connected to the trunk of the tree and gazed at the branches surrounding her. It was the closest she had felt to nature since arriving at the palace, and she wondered how the Lombock concubine had managed adjusting to life in the palace.

Her current plan involved her finding a way to escape. She would disappear, into oblivion. Lady Annalei sighed. If she disappeared, her family would not receive money, and if she simply turned up back at the family home, her mortified mother would send her straight back to the palace. Fighting back frustrated tears, Lady Annalei pulled out the book that was in her small bag. At least she had reading. That always helped her to escape her current world.

Sometime later, when the sun had shifted further across the sky, Lady Annalei startled awake in the tree. She took a moment to gain her bearings, to allow the unexpected nap to leave her. Slowly, she glanced around trying to determine what had woken her. As she blinked and stretched, the sight of two soldiers several meters away near the pagoda caught her eye. Not wanting to be seen, she slunk her back against the trunk of the tree and dared not to move.

"The men are nearly finished packing. We should be on our way in two hours," Lady Annalei heard one of the soldiers say. Keglan soldiers she surmised, at least they wouldn't know who she was, and she would be able to scoot away if they spied her.

"It's about time," the other soldier replied. "I'm sick of Talbecan food."

"The death of the King," the first soldier commented, shaking his head. "This is sure going to cause some inner fighting amongst the Princes."

"I know who I want to take the throne," the second solider stated gruffly. "Would be good to get some action in the Keglar Kingdom again. We always said the King was too soft especially to the Talbecan Empire, letting them get their way all the time." The man spat on the ground, and Lady Annalei recoiled in disgust.

The first soldier grunted in agreement and then, he leaned his sandy hair in close to the second soldier as if to say something privately, but when he spoke, his voice was still loud enough to hear.

"Apparently, Prince Yernal's still going to go ahead with it."

"Really?" the second soldier asked, seeming surprised by whatever they were referring to.

"This afternoon, if he can get the opportunity. His plan was put into jeopardy with the Empress going into labor. The Lombock had to cancel his meeting with Prince Yernal this morning."

"Curse the Gods!" the second soldier said. "We better be able to get back to the Keglar Kingdom quickly. This is going to cause a storm."

"Yeah, and what is Emperor Rathner going to do about it?" the first soldier argued. "He's off trying to catch some guy up in one of his labor camps from what I've heard. Can't even control the men he's imprisoned. What a joke. By the time he hears about it, he will be so far away, it'll take him a month to even reach his own palace."

The second soldier laughed, but then, his tone changed to concern. "I'm worried about what the Emperor's favorite concubine is going to do when he finds out. Sounds like that Jale guy has a real thing for the Lombock."

Lady Annalei held her breath, her heart pounding, unsure of what she was hearing but knowing that it did not sound good. It was strange to hear talk so directly about the Emperor and those who worked so closely to him. She leaned forward as far as possible so as to not lose her balance, with the hope of hearing more.

"Heck, who cares about Jale? I'm more concerned that Prince Yernal can keep the Lombock controlled. Didn't he tear Prince Tolder’s assassin to shreds at their Summer Palace? I don't want to be ripped into pieces on our return back to Keglar, do you?"

The second man shook his head gravely. "Apparently, Ashkin darts can knock him out for a good while. Let's just hope they have enough to knock him out and keep him out. When is Prince Yernal going to do it?"

"Soon apparently, when the Lombock does his afternoon rounds," the first soldier informed him. "Everyone is distracted by the Empress giving birth and celebrating. No one will even notice until we're long gone."

Lady Annalei's fingers dug into the branch beneath her so hard her knuckles turned white and cuts began to form under her finely shaped nails. A small bead of perspiration began to tickle its way down the side of her face, but she didn't move, so scared that if she made a sound, she would be discovered.

She had never met the Lombock concubine before, but she knew who he was. She had seen him in the distance while he'd gone about his duties, always walking around the palace grounds with a young man since the Emperor had left. Were the Keglans really going to try and kidnap the Lombock right out of the palace? Were they really that crazy? Who could she go to tell? Who would believe her?

Come to think of it, she was aware of the Lombock's rounds. She could tell him herself! If she could get out of this tree, she could climb down and find the Lombock.

Lady Annalei looked up at the sky trying to judge how much time had passed. It was past midday. The Lombock usually completed three rounds during the day. What he did and where he went in between those times, Lady Annalei didn't know and finding him would most certainly be impossible throughout the spacious palace grounds. Impatience began to drum through her body.

About half an hour later, the two guards moved on, leaving the Blue Garden to get ready to leave. Trying to steady her breathing, Lady Annalei waited an extra couple of minutes to ensure no one was there, and then she started to ease her way down the tree.

Her feet landed squarely. She secured her bag over her shoulder and decided on the best route to take. No doubt her ladies-in-waiting would be frantic and angry by now. They would have notified the guards to keep an eye out for her. Lady Annalei chewed on her bottom lip and gazed at the wall that circled around the Blue Garden, an idea springing to mind. Hadn't the Lombock made his way easily around the palace grounds by using the walls of the palace when he first arrived?