Fortunately, the guards who had been keeping Byakko at bay with their spears also panicked and fled and the white tiger was able to pull Yuelan, her entourage, the emperor, and Guangfeng to safety before the fire reached any of them. In the clean air of the empress’ garden, the five humans started to wake. The emperor and Guangfeng were the first to open their eyes and sit up and Byakko shifted into his human form to speak with them. The white tiger, now in the form of a human man dressed all in white with white hair, glared at the emperor.

“Your empress has caused too many problems. The priestess was nearly killed to fill her ambitions! Without the priestess, this world will not survive much longer. If you do not wish me to tear her to shreds then deal with her before the day is out,” Byakko snapped.

The emperor bowed. His face also showed anger. “Do not worry, Lord Byakko. The empress will not survive the day.”

“She is probably going to insist that it was me trying to assassinate you, father emperor,” Guangfeng mused. “We could use that against her.”

“That will take too long. Let us go.” The emperor brushed off his robes, straightened his crown, and headed toward the front of the empress’ palace.

Guangfeng bowed and looked over at Yuelan. He sighed and took off his outer robe to wrap around her before picking her up and carrying her with him.

“I will stay with my priestess’ servants until they wake. Then I will bring them to you.” Byakko shifted back into his tiger form and settled himself beside Willow and Leila.

***

In front of the empress’ palace was chaos. The empress was sobbing into the arms of a maid about how the emperor was dead and Guangfeng had killed him before starting the fire. Servants and guards were working to put out the fire, but it seemed to be larger than it should have been and some of the fire had already reached the front. Nobody noticed the emperor and Guangfeng arrive at first. The first one to do so was a palace maid who was so shocked she fell to the ground and cried out, “Your Majesty! The emperor is alive!”

The empress stopped sobbing immediately and turned to glare at the emperor and then at Guangfeng, who was carrying the still unconscious Yuelan. Everyone else paused their efforts to put out the fire to look and stared with wide eyes.

“Continue to put out the fire. Do not let it spread to the other buildings of the palace,” the emperor commanded. “The empress is lacking in compassion, modesty, sincerity, humility, and every other way. She has attempted to murder the Dragon Priestess and bring ruin on the entire world. Remove her head at once then arrest his highness the first prince and her nine generations. They are to remain under house arrest until the evidence has been presented to the court. I hereby remove the empress’ title and demote her to the rank of commoner. Throw her headless body in a mass grave.”

The guards and maids stared for a moment, until a head guard bellowed for them to carry out their orders, walked over to the empress, and cut off her head himself with the sword he drew from his belt before she even had time to scream.

Yuelan was just starting to wake up and opened her eyes in time to witness the empress’ decapitation. She paled, turned green, then started to vomit. She really did try to avoid getting any on Guangfeng, who quickly set her down, but still got quite a lot on his lower robes and shoes. Her eyes filled with tears and her entire body trembled.

Guangfeng anxiously held her up. “What’s wrong? Are you alright? She can’t hurt you anymore. There’s no need to be so afraid.”

The emperor looked over and frowned. “Take the priestess to rest. She has had a trying day and must be shocked.”

Yuelan continued to vomit until there was nothing left in her stomach and by then Byakko, Willow, and Leila had arrived. The latter two looked like they were still recovering from the effects of the incense.

“Take her to the Peony Palace,” the emperor instructed Guangfeng.

The third prince nodded and lifted Yuelan onto Byakko’s back then led the way to the Peony Palace, which was closest to the emperor’s own palace.

They were halfway there when Yuelan finally spoke. “Horrible.” She shuddered.

“I’m sorry, Yuelan. I should have arrived sooner.” Guangfeng reached up to gently squeeze her hand. “I’m so sorry.”

Yuelan shook her head. “No. I’ve never seen someone die before.” Her hand was trembling and there were still tears in her eyes. “It was horrible.”

Guangfeng’s eyes widened in sudden comprehension. The empress’ death had made his fiance uncomfortable. “Don’t think about it any more. After all the things she had done, she got better than she deserved.”

“How can you say that? She was still a person, Guangfeng. Even if she wasn’t a very good person.” Yuelan’s voice trembled and she started to cry again.

“She killed my mother. She had you kidnapped more than once and tried to kill you. She tried to kill me and my father. The former empress was a vicious woman. Even if she had been granted a trial before her death the outcome would have been the same.”

Yuelan looked over at Guangfeng. “What about her family? The innocent people who had nothing at all to do with it?”

Guangfeng looked confused. “What are you talking about? Of course the family of a traitor such as her will be killed.”

“NO!” Yuelan sounded horrified and angry. “No, you cannot kill innocents because of one person’s actions! Especially not children! I won’t allow it!” She looked down at Byakko. “Take me back to the emperor!”

“Wait,” Guangfeng pleaded. “There is still time for you to plead on their behalf, Yuelan. The evidence will be presented to the court over the next few days. Clean yourself up and get some rest first. Then you will have a clearer head to think about how to convince the courts to show mercy.”

Yuelan hesitated, then looked over at Guangfeng. She studied his earnest and worried expression before slowly nodding. “Alright.”