~Yuka's POV~

I came to consciousness, my head resting on Zui's shoulder, before the carriage had even reached the Royal Pavilion. At least it had been a quick one. Wearily, I sat upright. I felt a little unsteady. Zui reached out, gently holding my arm to keep me from toppling over as I waited for the dizzy feeling to pass.

"Sorry." I rubbed my temples, hoping to get my vision to clear faster.

"Nothing to apologize for, you can't exactly control it. What happened? You usually get more warning than that. That's twice now in the past week where there hasn't been much warning." He frowned, his mask no longer covering his face. He wasn't wrong and in both of those instances I'd been stressed about something.

"That man from the Board of Rites said father was now considering candidates for my marriage." I shivered.

Zui looked like he'd been about to admonish me for saying father in reference to The Emperor in case someone misunderstood and found out he was truly my brother and not my uncle. He thought better of it, sparing me since I'd had a stressful evening already. "He's not seriously considering anyone, he just said he was open to considering candidates to appease them a little." He reassured me. "I probably should have mentioned something sooner so you weren't blindsided like that." He frowned.

"I don't want to marry anyone." I grumbled.

"As a Princess I'm afraid you don't get a lot of say in the matter." Zui offered me a sympathetic look.

"I refuse to marry anyone who can't at least beat me in combat or chess." I huffed.

Zui chuckled at this. "Glad it's one or the other and not both or I'm afraid you'd be alone forever."

I rolled my eyes at this.

"Are you feeling alright?" He asked.

"Back to normal." I sighed. This condition was frustrating but I had to be grateful as it wasn't exactly life threatening. It could have been so much worse.

"I meant your injuries from the tournament." Zui noted.

I scoffed at this, "injuries? They're bruises. They'll go away."

"I'm tempted to give Basen a bunch of menial tasks tomorrow anyway." Zui huffed.

"That wouldn't be very fair." I frowned.

The carriage came to a stop and Zui shielded his face before helping me from the carriage. We both jumped as something flopped to the ground beside us. I turned to see Ming panting and gasping for breath, collapsed in a heap from exhaustion. Did she run after the carriage the whole way here?

"Ming?" I asked unsure.

"S-Sorry, Princess. I was unaware of your strict bedtime, I'll help you prepare for bed." She panted and struggled to get to her feet, swaying slightly.

Zui threw me a questioning look.

I couldn't help but laugh. "Oh. Ming. That's not necessary, it was just an excuse for me to leave early. You didn't have to run all this way."

"OH." Ming sighed and collapsed back to the ground.

Zui took his leave and I helped Ming to her feet with a laugh.

"Sorry for deceiving you." I smiled, "how about I make it up to you. We can sneak into the kitchen and get mooncakes."

"Mooncakes?" Ming had stars in her eyes.

"Will that suffice as an apology?" I asked.

"Yes!" Ming cheered.

I clasped her hand in mine and pulled her to the kitchens. The cooks spotted us and already knowing what I was here for handed a plate of mooncakes to Ming with a chuckle. We escaped to the rock garden to eat them in peace.

"Why'd you have to leave the banquet early?" Ming asked with her mouth full of sweet cake.

I giggled at her lack of manners. It was refreshing. Perhaps she came from the countryside. "Can you keep a secret?" I pondered.

"Oh gosh, is it a secret that's going to get me killed?" Ming paled.

"I don't think so. My father probably wouldn't be happy if a lot of people found out about it but I don't think it would come back to you." I shrugged.

"I won't tell a soul." Ming vowed.

"I have a condition. I don't think it's life threatening or anything, I've had it for as long as I can remember. Sometimes I fall asleep in the middle of the day and I can't stop it. Usually I get enough warning to get somewhere safe until it passes, sometimes I don't and it can lead to me collapsing wherever I'm at." I explained as best I could.

"That sounds really scary. That must have been terrifying for you when it first happened." Ming's navy blue eyes filled with compassion.

"I think it was more scary for my father." The first time it happened was when Father, Lady Ah-Duo, Zui and I were together. We took a day trip to enjoy a nice boat ride on the river. I was only four at the time and had climbed up onto the railing to look out at the water since I was too short to see. Once I'd gotten atop the railing I felt strange and my vision blurred. I fell asleep and fell into the water. Father leapt in after me to save me and after that I was seen by nearly every physician in the country. None of them had any explanation or knowledge of any such affliction.

Ming and I snacked on mooncakes and talked for most of the night. She was the oldest of ten children and her father was recently injured while working on their farm. At sixteen she left for the capital in search of work to support her family. She was thrilled when she learned her salary as a lady in waiting nearly tripled compared to her salary as a palace servant. It also came with additional benefits, like time off and gifts from me. I made a mental note to ask Zui's attendant, Gaoshun, to assist me in sending a care package to Ming's family.

Ming insisted on taking her lady in waiting duties seriously and escorted me to my chambers to assist me with getting ready for bed. She carefully deconstructed the artistry she'd done with my hair before assisting me with the outer robe of my gown. A gasp escaped her lips as she pulled the outer robe away.

"Yuka?! What happened?!" She gaped at me.

"Huh?" I looked down and realized the welt across my shoulder and lower neck had grown uglier in color, it was a dark purple with black in the center of the raised welt. "Oh..." I laughed nervously, "want to know some more secrets?"

"Are they life threatening?" She asked.

"Maybe?" I shrugged.

"I'd like to remain ignorant on that one then." She grimaced.

"Fair."

"Do I need to report this to someone? Is it not a crime to harm someone of Imperial Blood?" She was growing paler by the second.

"It's alright, my father is already aware of it and it was something I volunteered for." I beamed.

"That's more concerning!" Ming cried. As I was changing into my night gown she nearly fainted when she saw the bruising on my stomach.

I giggled, "regretting signing up for this?"

"Are you going to make my life difficult?" She pouted.

"Most assuredly." I grinned.

Ming finally laughed at this, "at least you're honest."

It was true. I was a horrible liar. It was honestly amazing I'd managed to have an alternate persona for an entire year without being found out. I thought of Lahan and the puzzling look on his face when he'd seen me as Princess Yuka for the first time. Perhaps I had been found out. Lahan was brilliant, there was a reason the Master Tactician adopted him, he wouldn't waste time on someone talentless.

"Goodnight, Yuka." Ming smiled as I climbed into bed.

"Goodnight Ming." I beamed, "don't panic when I'm not here in the morning."

"What?!" Ming paled. "I'm panicking now!"

I giggled at this. "Sweet dreams!"

"Yuka!" Ming cried.