Beatrice: Helping Black Dog search for his Empress

 

(Beatrice’s Account)

I am Beatrice, a warrior from Cynadicia. I now have a fortress in the Happy Valley near Khanbaliq, where five of my children—young-adult Animaji, part fox and part human—make their home. My youngest son is eleven and fully human. His father is the Emperor, and my child is being raised in Khanbaliq.

It is an unusual arrangement, but the Emperor and I understand one another. He once saved my life, and over the years we have developed a real respect and affection for each other. I know his nature well enough to appreciate him without expecting him to become someone he isn’t.

Recently, he arrived at my fortress disguised as a common man, bringing our son for a visit. He also brought troubling news: his wife, Empress Nambui, and her young-adult son had disappeared.

Nambui and the Emperor have never seemed particularly close, and I have never been entirely certain what to make of her. Still, whatever my doubts about her, I was immediately concerned. A missing woman and her son are in danger until proven otherwise.

Saran, Nambui’s fiercely loyal bodyguard, provided our best clue. Before she disappeared, he had seen Nambui and her son speaking with men at a Monastery of the Two-Fold Path outside Khanbaliq. When she prepared to travel, Saran asked to accompany her. She refused.

Saran’s own actions complicated matters considerably. He became involved with Dragon Claw and even broke into my fortress on their behalf. We fought. During the confrontation, however, he began to understand what Dragon Claw truly was. Whatever mistakes he has made, I do not doubt one thing about him: his loyalty to Nambui is absolute.

The Emperor, Saran, and I set out on horseback to find her.

I had to remind the Emperor early on that this was serious. At one point, I told him plainly:

Beatrice: “This is not going to be a romantic holiday.”

I did not think he was treating the situation with quite the urgency it deserved. But I also know him. I wasn’t offended, and I didn’t waste time judging him for being himself. We had work to do.

We traveled through Yuzhou, Luoyang, and Dadu South, staying in inns and asking questions wherever we could. In Dadu South, we learned something important: Dragon Claw has been outlawed there and in Su Qi Port because of the brutal and unfair duels they have inflicted on innocent people.

The Emperor: “You wouldn’t last long as an emperor if you couldn’t operate in multiple modes at once. Beatrice was wrong about one thing: this was a very romantic holiday. I had never stayed at an inn before, although I still knew how to find the best ones—especially the one by the river. And I won’t even tell you what we did there.

“But in addition to admiring Beatrice, I was also listening closely to what people were saying—and not saying.

“People in Yuzhou laughed at Saran because they remembered him coming through a month earlier and asking the same questions. He had been so eager to hear good news that he allowed himself to be misled by the man who told him to keep going east. Beatrice bought another man a horse so he could leave town after telling us the obvious: the liar who sent Saran farther east was a Dragon Claw agent.

“It was difficult to find an inn in Luoyang because people remembered seeing Saran with members of Dragon Claw. Those members had left town a week earlier, traveling west. All the same, we did find an inn that suited our purposes.

“And then we went even farther east. In Dadu South, an imperial magistrate—too hungover
to see through my disguise and recognize his own master—told us about the local policy toward Dragon Claw: Execution Based on Suspected Affiliation.

“These people need proper laws. Perhaps Beatrice is right again, and I am not taking my job seriously enough. And yes, I am concerned for my Empress and my son. This was not about her needing some time alone.

“Back to you, Imperial Consort of Truth and Beauty.”

Beatrice: “I don’t really care for ‘Imperial Consort.’ It sounds like a prostitute.”

The Emperor: “Yes. How about—”

Beatrice: “How about I just finish this so we can have dinner?”

Saran: “Beatrice has told this generously. I followed the lie because I wanted it to be true. I accept the answers-- and power-- that Dragon Claw offered without considering their motives. I still do not trust Bearice's reasons for seeking Her Imperial Highness—but she is treating Nambui’s disappearance more seriously than Nambui’s husband, and for now that is enough.”

 

We found no clear trail beyond that, so we decided to retrace our route through Luoyang and Yuzhou and look more carefully for what we may have missed.

I increasingly suspect that Nambui and her son were not simply abducted. They may have gone willingly, at least at first. Nambui can be secretive, and she deliberately left Saran behind despite his devotion to her. The men at the monastery may have offered her and her son something they wanted.

Perhaps magic.

That worries me more than a simple kidnapping would.

Dragon Claw may be teaching them magic, but I have seen enough of this world to know that power is rarely offered freely. I fear what they may demand in return—and what it could cost Nambui and her son if they have placed themselves in the hands of people they do not understand.

I have told the Emperor my larger concern. Dragon Claw may intend to turn Nambui and her son against him. If they can use the Emperor’s own family to overthrow or kill him, they could throw the empire into chaos while claiming some kind of legitimacy for themselves.

I do not yet know that this is what has happened. Nambui may have her own reasons for leaving, and I will not condemn her before I know the truth. Saran himself is proof that a person can become entangled with Dragon Claw without fully understanding what they serve.

But I cannot ignore what the evidence is beginning to suggest.

We need to find Nambui and her son, understand what they have become involved in, and get them away from Dragon Claw if they are still willing to leave.

And we need to do it quickly.