Gu Xiulan wondered when her chambers had become so dull.

Her bed took up most of the floor space, an edifice of expensive silk with a mattress and pillows stuffed with the finest down, harvested from the birds of the great aviary meticulously cared for by the Gu’s servant families. Yet she found herself no more comfortable laying upon it than she did the stone benches and pallets of the Sect. Her wardrobe, carved from rich red wood imported from the ebon rivers, held countless gowns and accessories. Yet they seemed dull to her eyes, less desirable than the relative handful of gowns she had commissioned herself.

On her writing desk, there sat a half finished letter to Ling Qi, the characters written on it slashed out by messy smudges of ink. She still wasn’t sure what word to put to paper, and the crumbled balls of paper strewn across the desk marked her previous attempts. But, that was not really what was bothering her.

Gu Xiulan looked into the full length mirror set against her wall and frowned.

The person who stared back at her frowned as well. She wore a gleaming breastplate, lacquered in burnished red and gilt. The weight of the mail backed shirt beneath hung strangely on her shoulders. Uncomfortably, she adjusted the gleaming gold armguards on her wrists. Each one was a talisman far stronger than her old gloves, the sparkling clear jewels that rested over the back of her hands promised to enhance any heaven or fire qi that passed through her arms.

It was even a little soothing, feeling some amount of the lightning that crackled eternally in her ruined arm drawn off into the jewel. They cinched the mail backed cloth of her sleeves tight around her wrists as well, ensuring the cloth wouldn’t get in the way.

A sturdy belt of black leather cinched her mail shirt tight around her hips and from it hung red and black tassets of hardened leather, shaped and painted like the feathers of a phoenix. It was the pants she wore beneath, tucked into high riding boots that discomfited her the most. If she put on the plumed helm that sat on the table beside her and wiped away her cosmetics, she could probably pass for an effeminate man. Armor was hardly made to accentuate the figure after all.

It was a gift from her father, to mark her first campaign beside him. She was thankful, still so thankful for his understanding, and his desire to help her. So why did she feel so uncomfortable in this armor?

“Xiulan, are you really still standing around in your room?” A voice startled her, and Gu Xiulan’s eyes darted to the side.

There in the mirror, she saw her sister reflected. Gu Huifen was the next youngest daughter of the Gu family after Yanmei. She was almost a perfect reflection of their mother. She was small and graceful, and wore a many layered gown of shimmering blue and white silks. Unlike Yanmei whose sharper features took more after their father, Huifen’s soft features and wide eyes were the image of feminine delicacy.

“Elder Sister, I’m sorry for the delay,” Gu Xiulan said, turning away from the troubling reflection.

Her older sister smiled indulgently. “It’s fine. I imagine it must have been troubling strapping all of that on yourself.”

It wasn’t as if any of the maids had any experience with this kind of garb, Xiulan thought grumpily. “I still shouldn’t have made you wait,” she dismissed airily. “Shall we be off then?”

“Certainly,” Gu Huifen tittered, stepping out of her doorway.

As they left her room, Gu Xiulan had to stop herself from toying with the straps of her bracers again. “Who all has arrived then?”

Gu Huifen’s smile narrowed her eyes. “Mother is still quite cross with you and father.”

“I see,” Gu Xiulan murmured. She had hoped Mother would at least come to this little seeing off party.

“But, Daiyu and Xiurong have made the time for it,” Huifen continued. “Naturally, Wenling and Xiuying have sent their regards, but the Tong clan’s route has them in the north and Grandfather Fortress is well out east at the moment.”

She hadn’t expected her eldest sisters to return from their homes, so Gu Xiulan wasn’t surprised. They had their husbands and families to tend too. “Naturally so. How is your engagement going, Sister?”

“Very well!” Huifen replied. “Did you know Shang slew a full grown Ashwyrm just last winter? His prowess continues to impress.”

Gu Xiulan nodded along. Huifen’s fiance had been a mere soldier, but like Ling Qi he had risen swiftly to a rank beyond his birth. Unlike Ling Qi he had not turned down the offer to marry into the Gu clan. The pulse of warmth from the pendant hidden under her armor stopped her irritation from growing too much. “Hm, he must be nearing the peak of the third realm then.”

Her sister nodded cheerfully. She herself was only two stages above Xiulan, despite being twenty years her elder. How could she be satisfied with that? Especially with her husband to be growing so quickly?

“Ah, it really is a shame that Fan boy turned out to be such a disappointment for you though,” Huifen sighed. They were passing through the well appointed halls now, the ceiling of glittering glass bathing them in rays of comforting heat.

“A shame indeed,” Xiulan replied tersely.

“Still, you could have lived in the luxury of Fanjian sister,” Huifen sighed, shaking her head. “I really don’t understand how you could give such a thing up.”

“There are things more valuable than luxury sister,” Gu Xiulan sniffed. Things like not being bound to an insufferable weakling with no ambition.

“You always were an odd one Xiulan,” Huifen laughed. “I still remember you being dragged before mother all covered in stable muck and made to explain yourself.”

Gu Xiulan felt her cheeks heat with remembered embarrassment and looked away. “It is not unladylike to have an interest in riding.”

“Riding is one thing, playing in the stables is another,” Huifen replied.

She felt a warm breeze from ahead as they approached the open doors to the balcony where they were gathering. It opened to the air, overlooking the city below. The polished glass of the exterior rose into a waist high wall which cupped the balcony floor, flowers and vines were planted in beds atop the wall, dangling over the edge. Around the space were set plush couches and seats which could fit a dozen odd people. Right now there were only two.

Her sisters were almost polar opposites of each other in appearance. Gu Daiyu was a tall, whip thin woman in a deep red gown, and her midnight black hair jangled with the elaborate ornamentation woven into it. Her expression and posture were stern and impeccable. Gu Xiurong on the other hand, was no taller than Huifen or their mother, and had the same soft, pretty features. Unlike them however, Xiurong’s figure was a touch more plush. Her pale green gown was a simpler affair with only a few layers and her hair was a dark brown, bound in a simple braid.

She also had a baby cradled in her arms, and was cooing soothingly to him.

“Xiulan,” Daiyu greeted her with a small tip of her head. “It is good to see you again, little sister.”

Before she could say anything Xiurong had looked up as well. “It is! And don’t you look dashing.”

Xiulan smiled, despite the condescending feel of those words. She was hardly some child playing dress up. “Greetings to you as well sisters. I see that your delivery went well Xiurong. What is his name?”

Coming out onto the balcony, she peered down at the child. If she was honest he looked like a pink wriggling lump like any other baby. Only his dark hair and the red band of silk around his belly marked with formations to help endure the heat of Phoenixhome marked him a Gu. She had known that her fourth elder sister was expecting when she had left for the Sect, but it still felt strange to see it.

“I’ve named him Jinhai. Say hello to your little Auntie Jinhai!” Xiurong cooed, shifting her hold to let the child look up at her.

Jinhai made an incoherent little noise, a bubble of spit popping on his lips. Xiulan supposed that would have to count.

Xiulan smiled awkwardly, and offered the fingers of her good hand for him to grasp at. “Hello nephew.”

At her side Huifen covered her mouth with her sleeve and laughed. Xiulan shot her a dirty look. It wasn’t as if she knew what to do with a baby.

“Your health is better than I expected, given everything I have heard,” Daiyu’s even tone broke through the little tableau, dimming the mood.

Gu Xiulan straightened her shoulders as she looked up at her third eldest sister. She could feel the faint static of her perception arts as Daiyu traced the lines of her scars and lightning filled meridians. Gu Daiyu was both a physician and pillmaker, fully licensed at the age of thirty. She was the next highest in cultivation after Yanmei and their eldest sister, but had no interest in competing to be their father’s heir.

“I have adjusted well enough to my condition, and the gains were worth what small pain I have suffered,” Gu Xiulan replied waspishly.

Xiurong’s smile faded. “Oh Xiulan, you don’t have to put on a strong face.”

“I’m not,” Gu Xiulan replied hotly.

Daiyu raised her hands in surrender. “Let us not argue sisters. I apologize for bringing the matter up. Xiulan, I am pleased to see you in passing good health.”

Gu Xiulan forced the defensive words that wanted to spill out down. “I appreciate your concern sister, but I am happy with my choice.”

Was she though? Gu Xiulan had to wonder as their talk turned to lighter things. It felt strange, standing here with her sisters discussing fashions and gossip from court, catching up on events at home. It came back to the armor Gu Xiulan thought, contrasting against their colorful gowns. Her sisters discussed their husbands, fiancees and children and she had nothing at all to say.

She had gotten everything she wanted, so why did she still feel so discontent?