AT THE SAME TIME
EMPEROR LIANWEI POINT OF VIEW:
The years had slipped past quicker than I liked to admit. Huan had grown tall for his age, all long limbs and restless energy, though he still clung to that stubborn spark of boyhood that made him dart through the palace halls like a wild fox. Bella, only five, was the opposite delicate as a blossom, but clever enough to wrap every adult around her little finger.
This afternoon, the two of them were in the outer gardens again. Huan leaned over the rail of the stone bridge, skipping pebbles across the pond's surface with determined flicks of his wrist. Bella sat beside him, crown of flowers on her head, giggling whenever his aim sent a pebble plopping directly into the water instead of skipping.
"I did that on purpose." Huan insisted.
"No you didn't!" Bella laughed. "You're bad at skipping!"
