Although the first meeting between the foreign girl and Alexandra with Tom had been under rather delicate circumstances, the restless, sincere boy, as soon as his morning lessons were over the next day, headed to the village where the foreigners' trade caravan was stationed.
Tom had only recently been allowed to leave the estate grounds, and only on the condition that he wasn't alone. Consequently, Tom, of course, persuaded Alexandra to accompany him.
With a slight smile, Alexandra agreed, having first asked permission from her foster mother, whom she was helping with needlework at the time.
The latter let her go reluctantly, but since Tom had pleaded so earnestly, she finally agreed.
No sooner had they left the estate grounds than Tom was surrounded by a crowd of village children, to whom he was an authority figure—never shying away from talking with them, he always brought plenty of treats to share with everyone, while the cook and chef in the main house's kitchen frantically searched all the cupboards for something to serve the Mistress for afternoon tea.
His older brothers disapproved of such behavior, but at the same time, they didn't interfere with Tom enjoying his carefree days while he still could. The head of the family, naturally, knew nothing about it.
So, accompanied by a cheerful, happy crowd of children, Alexandra happily strolled through the streets of the small village bustling with rural life until they reached the temporary encampment of the foreigners, who had formed a fairground with their wagons.
Besides various foreigners, many local shopkeepers with their stalls could be seen at the fair. The village's location was right at the intersection of several routes, and to accommodate all who wanted to come, they had to occupy a couple of adjacent fields.
The local farmers didn't mind—they more than covered their expenses with the income from parking space rentals, and the manure left by the hoofed animals after the caravans departed served as excellent fertilizer for their crop fields.
Alexandra's eyes darted from the variety of goods, even though it was quite early and most stalls were still closed.
She wanted to look at and touch everything so badly, but walking in a crowd of young children, she naturally had no such opportunity.
From the flickering crowd, Alexandra caught a cold, intent gaze, sending shivers down her spine.
"What is Darrell doing here? Why is he looking at me like that?"
Standing in a crowd of men vigorously discussing something under the shade of a sprawling ash tree, facing her and the playing children, Darrell was clearly looking at her. After their nighttime conversation, she preferred to completely ignore his gaze, turning her attention to carefully studying the patterns on a rug at the nearest stall.
After amusing himself with the local children, Tom spotted the "brother" from afar at one of the merchants' stalls and hurried to slip away, dragging Alexandra along, away from the noisy children who had started a game of tag right in the middle of the crowd. The adults immediately began shooing the restless mob away from the already hectic spot, calling for order.
Even though they had sworn not to reveal the secret, no one had forbidden them from seeking out their mysterious savior.
Entering the improvised tent-pavilion with a small sign saying "Spices," behind the curtain where the "youth" had disappeared, Alexandra was immediately hit by the sharp smell of various spices mixed with the scent of incense that foreigners often burned in their diverse ceremonies, about which Alexandra knew little.
Despite the high sun outside, darkness reigned inside the tent once the curtain fell back into place behind them, and their eyes didn't immediately adjust to the dim light.
"Excuse the disturbance, is anyone here?" Alexandra hurried to ask.
"Sister, look, look, what a monster!" As soon as his eyes adjusted to the faint light, Tom stared wide-eyed at the surroundings, and the first thing that caught his eye was a snake-like, four-legged creature standing in a place of honor on the main counter.
Alexandra's heart skipped a beat as she glanced at the object Tom was pointing at.
"This is the Honorable Long-Wang, the Great Lord of Waters, King of All Dragons, Progenitor of His Imperial Majesty," replied the "youth" with an accent, leaning his back against the tent's support pole, arms crossed slightly. "What are you two doing here? Did you misunderstand me? Or do you want to buy spices? If it's a purchase, we're closed."
Alexandra wanted to apologize, but Tom, ignoring most of the "Brother's" words (as he had privately started calling the girl who saved him), approached the figurine, which glowed faintly in the shaded tent, and exclaimed incredulously:
"Ha? King of all dragons? Anyone knows a dragon should have big wings that can embrace the whole world and stir the heavens! This one has none at all; how can it be called a dragon?"
The youth:
"...!"
"Thomas!" exclaimed Alexandra, who rarely used the boy's full name.
"What's wrong?" Tom stammered, looking around, bewildered.
"Let's go, I'll explain," Alexandra pulled him back, grabbing his hand. "I beg your pardon, my brother didn't mean to offend you or... your faith. He's still little and doesn't understand. Actually, he just really wanted to meet... the person who helped him. Thomas, didn't you have something to say?"
"Ah, y-yes... I..."
At that moment, another person entered the tent, blinding everyone with the outside light.
"Father, can I help you?" said Li Min in her language, addressing the man who had entered.
"Oh, Li Min, you have guests? Are these your friends?" Saying this, the older man bowed greetingly toward the strangers, having first quickly sized them up. Alexandra hurried to respond with a curtsy-like bow, while Thomas found it necessary to scratch his nose with his palm.
"No, I just—"
"Invite them for tea."
"What? No!"
"Don't argue with your father."
The two outsiders understood nothing, only the girl began pulling Tom toward the exit, sensing intuitively that a tense atmosphere was building around them.
At first, the "youth" was puzzled, but out of deep respect for her father, she called out to them just as Alexandra touched the curtain.
"Wait, my father wants you to stay for a tea ceremony. Just be aware, it will be a simple one."
"I love tea!" exclaimed an escaped Tom once more.
"Well then, follow me." And with a wave of her hand, she disappeared through the opposite side of the tent curtain.
Behind the main trade tent stood a small wagon, from which the "youth" brought out a small-legged tray to Alexandra and Tom, who were waiting outside.
"Help me out," the older foreigner beckoned Tom toward some crates covered with tarpaulin, from which he quickly pulled out several sitting cushions, giving a couple to Tom to help carry to the indicated spot.
Settling down near a small fire pit where Li Min had lit a fire and placed a kettle of water over it, Alexandra hurried to introduce herself and Tom. Under the "youth's" stern gaze, she explained to his father that he had done them a service and they wanted to thank him.
At these words, Tom suddenly stood up, approached Li Min, and handed her something Alexandra couldn't see from her spot.
"In gratitude, I want to give you this. Don't think anything of it, it's mine, I got it for my last birthday, but I want to give it to you. You saved me, let it protect you now, but you must carry it in your pocket."
Finally seeing the object in Tom's palm, Alexandra nodded mentally, explaining just in case:
"The deer is the totem animal of these parts. It symbolizes harmony between humans and nature. As a guardian symbol of forests, fields, and peaceful villages, its figurines are given to those one wishes to protect."
Li Min hesitated slightly, unsure if she could accept such a thing from the boy, while her father, who understood their speech well, replied:
"A worthy gift."
Only after her father's words did the "youth" accept the small, carved deer figurine, lavishly painted in bright colors and coated with varnish, quickly tucking it away inside her clothes.
"Gratitude for gratitude." Li Min bowed, causing the jade pendant to jump out onto her collar.
At that moment, Alexandra's gaze was magnetically drawn to the pendant on "his" neck, once again overwhelming the girl with a heavy feeling of inexplicable anxiety.
"What's happening to me?" she thought, until the feeling passed as the pendant disappeared back beneath the garments.
It was time for Li Min and her father to introduce themselves, and then light conversation ensued, touching on the weather, affairs in the nearby lands, and the difficulties of traveling with a trade caravan.
Time flew by unnoticed over fragrant tea and light talk, and Li Min's father had to excuse himself to prepare for active trading. As soon as he left, the "youth" hurried to say:
"Thank you for not revealing what happened yesterday. It's better my father doesn't know I was at the river."
"Of course, we won't tell anyone; we could get into big trouble for it too," Alexandra replied calmly, looking into the thin porcelain cup filled with tea, amazed by its weightlessness and the bright pattern at its bottom depicting two carp.
"Brother, can I come visit you sometimes now? You have so-o-o many strange things here!"
"Like what?" laughed the girl in the guise of a youth.
"Well, take this kettle, for example! In our kitchen, we have simple pots and cauldrons covered only in ancient soot. But yours has all sorts of unusual squiggles, lines, and bumps!"
Li Min couldn't help but laugh hearing such a description.
"This is no ordinary kettle. It just so happens it's the only vessel where it's convenient to control the water's quality and boiling stages, thanks to its inner surface. Actually, it's a shaman's kettle for summoning spirits."
Now Alexandra became interested, looking up from studying the cup.
"A shaman's kettle?"
"Yes, my family is from an impoverished shaman dynasty that dates back to the years when mythical creatures still walked the earth. Unfortunately, due to civil unrest, my great-great-grandmother was forced to renounce her high title and retreat into seclusion with her family. Only starting with my grandmother did our family move from secluded places to an ordinary village."
Tom didn't really understand shamanism and, to be honest, was afraid of spirits, equating them with ghosts, who in all the fairy tales were spiteful people who couldn't let go of this world.
Alexandra, on the contrary, having read a couple of books on mysticism, seemed ignited with a new zeal for the conversation.
"Li Min, can you tell fortunes?"
"Pff, of course. In our family, the technique of divination with yarrow stalks is passed down from generation to generation," the "youth" replied proudly, pointedly slapping his knee roughly as a man from their caravan passed nearby.
Seeing how the boy, uninterested in this topic, began fluttering about, peeking into every corner, Alexandra hurried to thank them for the warm reception and, equipping Tom with some small change she had earned through her work at the estate, sent him ahead to buy some treats, while she quickly spoke to Li Min in a quiet tone so others wouldn't hear.
"Can I ask you to tell my fortune?"
Giving her an appraising look, the "youth" said:
"Why not? I need to practice. But it's better done during a 'lucky hour.' Hmm, I think the Hour of the Rat will do—that's 11 PM your time. I'll wait for you under the yew tree by the fallen log across the river. I think you know the spot I mean. I hope you won't tell anyone about this, not even that boy."
The girl nodded, gave a slight curtsy, and hurried after Thomas, smoothly bypassing a couple of the stall's first visitors, saying goodbye to Li Min's father on the way.
After strolling a bit more, our pair ran back to the estate, where they got a scolding because Tom was late for his riding lesson.
The rest of the day passed as usual, with household chores for Alexandra and lessons for Tom.
Although Alexandra didn't do heavy manual labor, her overall status was only slightly above a servant's, which imposed certain duties on her.
Despite this, Alexandra was allowed to attend lessons for girls, sit at the master's table during meals, and be present at invited events.
But it was always a strict taboo to leave the estate grounds after sunset, to the point that she could be whipped for it if she were caught with Thomas.
That's why, seizing the moment, she secretly sneaked into the laundry room, where she found some men's clothing with a hood, deciding to use Li Min's disguise idea.
Nearly getting caught by the laundress, Alexandra hid the clothes in her room and waited for sunset.
As soon as the main lights were extinguished, some of the servants hurried home to the village, and others went to rest in their house on the estate grounds, Alexandra locked her room from the inside, put out the candles, and arranged a figure resembling a sleeping person on the bed.
Hurriedly changing clothes, she jumped out of the slightly open window as soon as the last person entered the servants' house.
The grassy carpet softened her fall, and a lilac bush hid her silhouette from a stable hand who had suddenly decided to relieve himself right outside.
Making a face, Alexandra waited for him to finish his wet business and finally leave in the direction opposite her path.
The girl ran at a trot toward the mystical ritual with great anticipation.
She only paused when an owl hooted right above her, and the tree designated by Li Min was already visible in the distance.
The "youth" had come a bit earlier—having prepared by clearing the area a little and laying out the ritual items.
As Alexandra approached, "he" lit a stick of incense in a carved censer with one barely noticeable movement and laid out the dried yarrow stalks on a book placed before him.
Alexandra wanted to speak, but Li Min shook her head, handed her the stalks, and said shortly:
"Draw one."
Alexandra obediently drew a stalk from the center.
The "youth" set aside the remaining stalks, leaving one in Alexandra's hand, and performed three bows. Then, holding the stalks in her right hand, she passed them through the censer's smoke three times with smooth, clockwise circular motions.
After that, Li Min, whispering something, began transferring these stalks from hand to hand with barely perceptible movements, occasionally setting some aside and sorting through the remaining ones, repeating this over and over, so they rustled incessantly. Against the backdrop of night sounds, combined with the splashing of water, it all composed a smooth, calming melody.
At some point, Alexandra yielded to it and, watching the smoke from the burning incense rise into the sky, suddenly fell into a trance.
It seemed to her that a thin stream of smoke began to expand, absorbing more and more space until it shrouded everything around.
Suddenly, Li Min's quiet voice, sounding as if from afar, fell silent.
In the ringing silence, Alexandra stood alone amidst an impenetrable fog. Something touched her hand.
"M-mommy? Are you my mommy?" Seeing that her hand had been grabbed in the blurry fog by an indistinct creature with snow-white hair and multi-colored, slit-like eyes that glowed even through the dense veil, she screamed and pulled her hand back.
As soon as she did this, the creature burst into wild sobs, turning into a black clot that suddenly dissipated as quickly as it had appeared.
Though Alexandra was very frightened, her heart ached painfully from the bitter crying—she was not devoid of compassion.
Then she heard something clearly large approaching her through the fog, sparkling through the milky swirls.
The girl squeezed her eyes shut, as it seemed she was about to be swept away by a contraption the size of a carriage.
But it didn't happen. Something large stopped right in front of her, and through the parting veil of misty haze, at arm's length, a creature appeared whose head, astounding in its size, steadily approached her. Emerald scales shimmered with multicolored reflections. Only the massive bridge of its nose was golden. Bright blue lizard eyes looked at her with indescribable warmth.
Alexandra stood frozen like a statue, unable to move. Her heart pounded wildly somewhere in her throat, but perhaps thanks to this creature's gaze, she felt no fear, rather a sort of nostalgia. She even wanted to reach out and touch it.
At that moment, someone's voice in an illusory recitative whispered in the thickening fog that began to hide the creature before her from view:
"The future is immutable... Chaos will consume all... Gather all parts into one whole... The future is immutable... Chaos will consume all... Gather all parts into one whole... The future is immutable..."
Then everything abruptly cut off, returning Alexandra's consciousness back to the spot by the river under the yew tree.
Li Min had already finished the divination and was proceeding to decipher the results in the book.
"Hmm, Huan—the hexagram of loss of integrity. Symbolizes fragmentation and dispersal. It can be interpreted as a loss of unity or wholeness, but it can also mean that something new is in the process of creation."
Finishing the deciphering, Li Min closed the book with a small clap.
"I think you'll understand the rest yourself when the time comes," she said, looking at the frozen girl.
The scene before Alexandra's eyes refused to dissipate. She was helped to shake off the languorous stupor by a rather rough pat on the forearm from Li Min, who had somehow stood up next to her.
"Did you hear what I said?"
"Ah...? Y-yes, thank you... You know, I saw before me..."
"Stop!" Li Min blurted out. "Don't tell me! A shaman must not immerse themselves in the visions that visit another person, or they might draw that person's fate onto themselves. And now I must return. I hope you can find your way home as well as you found your way here."
"Yes, thank you. How can I repay you?"
Li Min grew quiet for a moment for some reason, then, unconsciously touching her jade pendant, which stood out under her outer layer of clothing, said:
"I have a feeling I was meant to perform this ritual anyway. And such feelings for a shaman are always a call to action."
"Anyway, I'm very grateful for the chance to touch the world of mysticism. I feel very drawn to it for some reason."
"Perhaps there were shamans in your family?"
"I don't know. I've been an orphan for as long as I can remember."
Li Min immediately fell silent understandingly, refraining from further questions. Saying goodbye, each went their own way. But starting from that day, they became best friends, and Tom and Alexandra began visiting the spice stall at every possible opportunity.
Resigned to the lovely restless boy, Li Min often held tea-brewing ceremonies for them, which usually took place in the first half of the day, before the main trading began.
At some point, Li Min became so taken with Tom's curiosity about everything new that he even started staying with them for lunch, sometimes helping with small tasks.
Since Alexandra was Tom's unofficial guardian on outings, these meetings naturally didn't happen without her.
Alexandra really liked the girl, densely hidden under the appearance of a well-groomed lad unafraid of any work to help her father—a girl who, in the guise of a youth, could turn any village girl's head.
Li Min's father, though a merchant and his business was thriving, definitely perceived everything concerning his child with great heartfelt warmth.
Since Li Min's mother had died very early, and he had no other relatives on whom he could leave his beloved daughter, saving her from the fate of ending up in someone's harem in his absence, her father had devised a way for the girl to travel with a caravan of men. (It wasn't that there were no women on the "tea route," but their fate was unenviable).
The method was straightforward, but with age, hiding the truth became increasingly difficult, and with sadness, her father understood that the joy of his heart would soon have to be married off.
The entire trading season, the company over cups of fragrant tea shared the traditions of their peoples. Li Min taught them the basics of her language; Alexandra helped with practicing hers.
And of course, in between, they shared wonderful stories and tales of their peoples from times so long ago that the line between fairy tale and truth was blurred.
Thus, conducting a kind of cultural exchange, they sometimes stayed up late, and Li Min's father had to remind the lingering guests of the need to head home.
The fair period flew by unnoticed, and the caravan set off on its way, leaving all the children with warm memories.