The Purple Jade Palace: The Hummingbird's Plan

Loose Ends

Present Day

Until the early hours, that's how long Jale spoke for. The early hours where a hint of gold could be seen along the horizon and the stars began to lose their glimmer. The candles and torches around Jale's balcony had burned low, and the wine had been replaced many times, although for the past couple of hours, it had remained untouched. His voice was now weary and no longer affected by alcohol. Jale rubbed his eyes to try to ward off his exhaustion. They had remained on the outside bamboo bedding, hidden under the mosquito netting on the balcony, their bodies never straying far apart while Jale had told his story.

"So, that is how I came to be in Talbec," Jale declared.

"Wow! Jale!" Teal breathed. His anger and disappointment towards Jale and the Emperor for withholding information from him had completely dissipated. So much had occurred that had shaped their lives. "I have so many questions especially after what you have said about the Talekan Assassins, but first, I had no idea. Your story! It's a terrible story of deception and loss." He glanced down to Jale's arm. "Do you still have the tattoo?"

"Yes, I certainly do," Jale responded, holding his arm out. "It was one of the reasons why we started the soldier tattoos. It was symbolic of the battle we had fought, so we continued to add more whenever we fought other battles." He traced the outline of the inked swirls on the inside of his wrist for Teal to see. "If you look closely on the Emperor's arm, you can see his as well. Delba had her tattoo inked over to conceal it."

Teal's fingers traced over the lines as well and then, his eyes locked with Jale's. "You're amazing," he said.

"It took me a long time to get to here, to not feel like I had lost everything when really I had gained the world." He indicated to his surroundings with a light wave. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else. I have the love of my life in the Emperor, and I have people who I care for deeply." He reached out and squeezed Teal's hand and Teal smiled in response. "I still seethe with rage when I think about Drean and his untimely death, and Hoele and Trent," Jale's voice broke off as he became emotional. "That still hurts. It will always hurt."

Teal edged closer. There wasn't anything he could ever say that could ease that loss or anger.

"For a long time, we questioned whether we did the right thing," Jale continued. "Were we just as horrible as Prince Tolder for murdering those children? Could Prince Tolder have cured them? Could the Talekan Assassins have cured them or the Mountain Clansmen? Our thoughts plagued us as much as the plague itself." Jale paused, shaking his head. "The guilt of whether we should have done more or whether we could respectfully look a Brandeen Royal Family member in the eyes and tell them what we had done, stayed with us for a long time."

"Does the Empress know about this?" Teal asked quietly.

"No," Jale answered, staring Teal in the eyes. "It is a secret we will take to our graves, and I trust you to not reveal any of this to her. It's why it's so important to the Emperor and myself that the Empress does have a healthy child. We feel guilty for murdering the children of her Royal Family."

"I think the Empress would understand why you acted in such a way."

"Would you want to risk her knowing?" Jale asked. "It could devastate her."

Teal didn't respond but instead, placed a protective arm across Jale's chest. They lay for a few moments in silence.

"I want to talk about the Talekan Assassins," Teal began after a while. "I want to talk about how you know what they said to Emperor Rathner even after they made him promise not to say anything to you. The Talekan Assassins were talking about me, weren't they?"