1 Prologue (I)

["I won't be a tribute princess brother. I can't live without anyone of you.Who will take care of these preety little flowers and animals after I am gone? And who will make 'little magic'(pastry) for you ?" ]

A little girl with wet eyes and pouty face dragged the sleeve of a little boy and looked up at him.The boy squatted down, lifted her chin and looked at her beautiful splendid big eyes and smiled.

[" Ok ok my little Jiwu!Brother won't let you marry anyone from such a faraway place.Who will take care of your naggings and tantrums except me huh?"]

He unlocked her messy braids with his left hand and with his right hand he picked up her little fingers and gently kept her hands on his knees.Then he started braiding her hair.

["Do you promise?"]

["Uh..I promise."]

Jiwu got up after her braids were done and ran taking big steps in between.He looked at her jumping like monkeys and kept looking until her back dissapeared.

Jiwu, the little girl was his comfort zone.His only safe place.He met this girl few years back hiding besides his father's tomb.{ -Flashback : It was during winter.The little boy was upset again and he went to his hiding place,his father's tomb.He sat beside it the whole noon.The palace was in chaos in search of him but he didn't care at all.At dusk,it started to rain.The boy started feeling cold but didn't want to return to the palace so he hugged his knees and tried to endure it.

["It's too cold.Even if I get punished and get yelled at I should just return home."]

A thin little girl dressed in a green gown crawled towards the front of the tomb and wiped off the soil from her gown.He heard the noise so opened his eyes and lifted his head to look at the intruder in his secret hiding place.It was a girl.The girl glanced at the boy once and said;

["Hello there.Aren't you feeling cold? Let's go.]

The boy didn't reply at all .She opened her outer robe and kept it on him then she went down the hill waving at him.

[I shall go then.]

After many days the boy again went to his father's tomb.The little girl was sitting beside his father's tomb.After seeing the boy the girl sat towards the farthest corner of the tomb .The boy also sat at another farthest corner of the tomb.Both of them didn't talk at all. Days went by and same thing happened again and again.One day the boy finally spoke up.

["I am Ning Yuan; the son of the rebel third prince and the rumored adulterer second princess consort of the Yuan kingdom.And you? Who are you?"]

[" Oh so you are a prince.I am Song Jiuning.Everyone call me little Jiwu.I am the youngest daughter of prime minister Song Cheng and your grandmother's sister Song Longyan."]

[That means you are my cousin sister.What are you doing here in the palace and especially in this hill instead of Song residence"?]

["Well ,I am too alone at home.When I ask my sister to play with me she insists me to read.She likes to read and is also very good at reading,writing,sewing and other many more but I..I don't like to read at all. To avoid my elders yelling I come here.I want to go to the wars like my father.I want to use sword and bow arrows.Will you teach me?"]

Jiwu ran towards the pond right behind the hill.She bought back some muddy balls with her and started making some figure out of it.Yuan looked at the little girl trying to make something out of nothing.

["How does your father look like ?I will make a statue of him and give it to you then will you teach me?"]

Yuan spoke nothing and looked at Jiwu.He lifted his hand and wiped off the mud smeared on her cheeks.She smiled at him.Her smile was beautiful and warm.She looked dissapointed after her failed attempts of making a statue.She ran down the hill lifting her skirt after bidding him a bye.The next day both of them met each other again.She saw him again looking all sad and grumpy. She took his hand and put a doll like statue made out of cloth and hays on it.She opened the pouch on her waist and took a pastry out of it and handed it to him.

["I know the doll looks ugly.Take this'little magic'as a compensation.You are lucky to have it because you are my cousin brother otherwise their majesties were debating for this last piece."]

Jiwu looked proud and flipped her hair back with an attitude.Yuan was amazed by it's taste.It had a unique,yummy taste.He got up and agreed to teach her on a condition that she should bring the pastry everyday.She agreed.Days went by and these two had already become the unseperable brother sister duo.Ning Yuan slowly understood that Jiwu lied to him about her skills.She was just pretending to be dumb when infact she knew more than those basic skills .After all she was born in a military family but Yuan chose to ignore it and deliberately played a fool inorder to be accompanied by her.His Majesty and Her Majesty Jiwu's Uncle and Aunt were content to see their grandson happy with Jiwu.Jiwu was such an adorable and innocent little child that both their majesties doted on her.Since the Yuan Kingdom didn't have any princess; the daughters of General Song Cheng were titled Princesses by His Majesty himself.Jiwu's sister was titled 'Silver Princess' and Jiwu was titled'Pearl Princess.'}

Jiwu spent most of her time in the palace.His Majesty taught Jiwu archery skills on her request and her father taught her military skills.Her Majesty and her mother taught her how to do sewing and other ladylike chores .Since she liked to play with weapons and war logs more she spent her time more with His Majesty and her father.Her uncle and her father were like besties.They didn't care for formalities except in the court. They were of same age.She was born late so was adored a lot.She played horse riding on their back whenever she saw them exhausted after their works and also cracked some jokes during their free time.She mocked them for their white hairs and their dad jokes.Noone dared to joke with, tease and play with His Majesty and the mighty general prime minister except Jiwu.These cold,ruthless mens with anger issues behaved just like a child with her.

After playing with her uncle, Jiwu waited all noon for Yuan but he didn't come so she went to his hiding place;the hill.She saw him beside his father's tomb.She had forgotten it was the day when his father was beheaded.She sat down infront of him and closed her eyes and lifted her hands to close his ears.He pulled her closer and whispered in her right ear.

["Jiwu..."]

He then hugged her and cried his heart out. She patted his back.He felt wet tears on his neck so he lifted up his head and then looked at Jiwu.He wiped her tears.

["Let me cry alone.Tears don't suit your eyes at all.Just be by my side Jiwu."]

["Good Brother.You can cry.I won't tell anyone as always.Don't pile up emotions inside of you.Put all your heavy emotions down on me.I won't listen and see you cry at all.']

She started singing a lullaby. Her voice was sweet and her hug was warm.Yuan hugged her again and cried for sometime then fell asleep.