Fan Fiction |
by MetalAZNWarrior
Doctor Yeung (John Chiang) officially pronounced the death of Island Chief (Law Kong). The entire palace was in mourning. White candles and lanterns were lit all around. White fabrics were draped around the doors of the Emperor's Palace. The palatial mortician came to take care of Island Chief's corpse. His job was to restore the grandness that was the late Island Chief.
[Imperial Garden]
Fiona (Sherming Yiu) sat beside the pond in the "Imperial Garden." Her tears dropped into the water and made goldfishes swim away. "Even the fishes desert me..." Fiona was devastated. It was bad enough that she lost her father, but it was worse that she had no one to comfort her. Everyone in the palace appeared to be in grief, but Fiona knew it was all an act. A fallen tree is of no good to anyone.
When Island Chief was strong, everyone was at his side. No one dared to displease him. With his failing state and the crowning of a new Island Chief, these same people left him and flew to Empress Suet Ching. People could no longer use Island Chief, so they left him.
"Ah Sing, where are you?" Fiona looks up into the midnight sky. The full moon hovers over her head.
[Hospital]
Ah Lam (Linda Chung) sat beside Ah Sing's (Hawick Lau) bed. He was still sleeping like a baby. His snores prevent Ah Lam from falling asleep. She pouts and playfully says, "Lau Ka Sing, you're a real jerk! Even when you sleep, you make it difficult for me." She sighs, "Why do you have to be so foolish and childish? I know you wanted to save your wife, but look at you now. You're sick and don't have any energy."
In his sleep, Ah Sing murmurs, "Fiona."
Ah Sing's hand lands on Ah Lam's. She blushes and her heart thuds in her chest.
[Imperial Garden]
"Here comes Her Majesty." Fiona jumps at the announcement. Suet Ching (Rebecca Chan) dismisses her servants and walks over to Fiona.
"What do you want?" Fiona is bitter.
"Dear niece, how can you still speak with such a tongue? Your father wouldn't want to see this."
Fiona sneers, "Shouldn't you be happy now?"
"Happy? How can I be? My sweet brother just passed away. These past months have been horrible. I think it's good that he's moved on. He's been in so much pain... I can't bear it." Suet Ching dabs at her eyes with a purple handkerchief.
"Don't make me laugh! I know what you did."
"What are you talking about?"
"You stopped him from getting treatment."
"What? There's no such thing!" Suet Ching's eyes bulge.
Fiona exhales deeply and says, "I'm tired. I don't want to continue this. It's not going anywhere. Look, whatever it is that you want me to do or whatever it is that you want from me, I will do and give it to you. Just, please, make it quick. I want to get out of here. I want to return home. I want to see people who love me and who I love."
"Silly girl, what are you talking about? This place is your home. You were born here. In the future, this will also be your grave, just like it's your father's. It, too, will also be my grave. This is the home that you're meant to stay."
"Home?" Fiona shakes her head and walks away.
[Palace of Gathering Essence]
Suet Ching sits on her chair and wonders what Fiona meant. "I stopped him from getting treatment?" she thinks to herself.
Mo Yung (Ha Yu) gleefully claps his hands. "We will move into the Emperor's Palace very soon now! He took long enough to die."
"Hubby, don't be so insensitive."
"It's true! You've been crowned as the new Island Chief for months now, and yet, we are still living in this small place."
It suddenly hit her. Suet Ching sips her tea and calmly asks, "Hubby, what do you mean when you said, 'He took long enough to die,'?"
"Exactly what you thought I meant."
"You mean to tell me that... you messed with his treatment?"
"Either way, he was going to die." Mo Yung smiles.
Suet Ching's right hand starts to shake. She puts her left hand on it to stop it from shaking. "You bribed Doctor Yeung, didn't you?"
"The Imperial Doctors are all our people... working for us is part of the deal."
"How could you do that? He's my brother!" Suet Ching can't stop the tears from falling.
"Don't tell me you don't want to move into the main palace." Mo Yung makes his way to Suet Ching and hugs her. "You can't be so emotional! His death was inevitable. It's not like we killed him. Those cancer cells would have eaten him away with due time. We've done too much to stop short. Fiona was already a big mistake. If we hadn't been careless all those years ago, she would never have existed."
Suet Ching sobs.
[Palace of Eternal Purity]
Dust and spider webs greeted Fiona when she opened the doors to her palace. A mouse scurried away in the interior of the palace. It was evident that no one had been in the "Palace of Eternal Purity" since Fiona and Ah Sing left it. No one even bothered to clean it. It was abandoned.
Fiona ran her finger across everything in her room, cleaning away a line of dust. Bo Gong Gong (Liu Kai Chi) appeared in the palace and greeted Fiona.
"Bo Gong Gong."
"This is outrageous!" Bo Gong Gong comments on the appearance of the palace.
"It's human nature to abandon something that won't benefit them. I know it all too well."
"Princess, I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault. If I could, I would award you handsomely right now. As it is, I am in no position to decide my own fate. Thank you for being there for my father and me. You don't know how much it means to me."
"I'm more than happy to serve you and His Late Majesty."
"Bo Gong Gong, I want so badly to get out of here. I'm tired of it all... so tired."
"Princess..." Bo Gong Gong frowns.
An imperial guard (Carlo Ng) enters the palace and bows, "At your service, Your Highness."
Fiona blinks and looks at Bo Gong Gong, "Who is this person?"
"He's Gan Dan, an imperial guard," Bo Gong Gong answers.
"Oh, I see. What's the matter?"
"I've come to speak with Bo Gong Gong," Gan Dan replies. "Can you excuse us?"
Bo Gong Gong falls to his knees and apologizes, "Gan Dan isn't educated! Please pardon his ignorance."
Fiona shakes her head at Bo Gong Gong, "What kind of person do you think I am?"
"Gan Dan, this is Princess Fiona."
"I figured that." Gan Dan smiles.
"You said you had to speak with me?"
"Yes, it's about Doctor Tsui."
Bo Gong Gong hushes him and runs to close the doors. He ushers them all into a distant corner in the palace.
Fiona is curious, "Doctor Tsui?"
"Well, what's the news?" Bo Gong Gong presses.
"Oh, don't I have to wait for Her Highness to allow me to speak?"
Bo Gong Gong hits Gan Dan lightly on the head, "This is the Princess Fiona that you're speaking with! She's not like the Empress."
"Oh, right..."
Fiona giggles at Gan Dan, who blushes.
"Are you going to tell us or not?" Bo Gong Gong asks.
"Doctor Tsui has died," Gan Dan says.
"What?" Fiona can't believe what she heard.
"His small hut on the outskirts of the Island had a big fire and he wasn't able to escape. He was burned into ashes."
Fiona covers her mouth, "You're kidding me."
"Was it an accident or...?" Bo Gong Gong asks.
"From investigations, it seems as though the fire started from the outside."
"You don't think Suet Ching did it, do you?" Fiona's body shakes.
"Perhaps," was the answer that Bo Gong Gong gave.