The Witch in the Woods: The Transmigration of Hazel-Anne Davis

They took the audience chamber like it belonged to them. That was their first mistake.

General Yuan walked as if the floor had been built to carry his boots. Imperial Consort Mei glided as though she owned the lacquered pillars and the painted dragons curling up them. Lady Yuan—oh, she was the worst. She walked forward with her chin so high that I was surprised she didn't trip over her own feet. Her steps were perfectly measured so her silk whispered with each movement, a little performance for the ministers pressed into the corners to watch.

The others might have been bad enough, but the one to truly take the cake was Commander Yuan Lixing, the son of the man that meant to be Emperor. He walked like he was already been declared heir and nobody could touch him.

Mingyu sat on the throne. Not the high seat of ceremony—this was lower, closer to the ground, the kind meant for hearing petitions. He hadn't dressed for the coronation yet; his robe was dark, plain but for the seal on his chest. His brother, Deming stood to one side, Longzi on the other, and Yaozu positioned himself just behind my shoulder as I stepped in beside Mingyu's seat.

The air was colder here, though I knew it was just the absence of braziers in the open hall. Still, the chill suited what was about to happen.

The guards closed the doors. The sound echoed off the stone.

"General Yuan," Mingyu began, his voice smooth, "you come to my capital on the day of my coronation. You bring your family. You bring your army." His gaze didn't waver. "Explain yourself."

The general inclined his head. "I come to offer my loyalty to the throne."

Mingyu tilted his head. "With soldiers?"

"A ruler's strength is in those who fight for him."

"And you mean to show me yours." Mingyu's tone made it clear it wasn't a question.

Imperial Consort Mei's voice slid in like oil over water. "The Yuan family has always protected the line of emperors. We cannot allow… instability… to threaten it."

I smiled without humor. "Instability," I repeated, tasting the word. "Do you mean me?"

Consort Mei didn't answer, but Lady Yuan did. "An Empress must be more than a sword. She must be grace, refinement, a reflection of the empire's dignity. She is the mother of the nation, the one woman that all others look to for example."

I stepped forward before Mingyu could. "And yet here you are—storming into the capital with threats instead of a gift. How very dignified. And just what kind of example are you setting now? That the only thing you need to get your way is strength? Hardly a good lesson to teach a nation."

Her lips pressed together, but I didn't give her time to recover. "You think you can stand in front of me and tell me what an Empress must be? I ended a war. I've bled for Daiyu while you were busy arranging your hairpins. You couldn't carry the weight of this crown for an hour without it breaking your neck."

Commander Yuan shifted his feet like he was a hair's breath away from attacking me. General Yuan, knowing his son's personality, laid a hand on his arm, silencing him before he could speak.

Mingyu let the silence stretch for a moment more, then said, "You come into my hall, on this day, with the implication that you can dictate my choice of wife, my choice of Empress, my choice of rule."

The general's shoulders tightened. "We come to ensure the empire's survival."

"By threatening it," Mingyu said. "By threatening me."

I could see the shift then, the realization that this was not going the way they'd hoped. The general opened his mouth to pivot, to make it sound like a misunderstanding. I didn't let him.

"You've mistaken Mingyu's patience for weakness," I said, my voice carrying to the back of the hall. "You've mistaken my desire for peace as a willingness to let you live after walking in here with your arrogance and your army."

Lady Yuan's eyes sparked. "You wouldn't—"

I cut her off with a step closer, my shadow falling over her. "Are you willing to bet your life on that?"

Her father moved then, a soldier's instinct, but Yaozu's hand rested lightly on the hilt of his blade, and the movement stopped.

Mingyu's gaze flicked to me, a silent permission, and that was all I needed.

I turned to the guards. "Seize them."

For a moment, the chamber didn't move. Then the ring of boots on stone filled it, soldiers stepping in from the shadows along the walls. Blades were drawn—not against us, but against the Yuan family.

The general's jaw set. The consort's composure cracked just enough to show the flash of fear underneath. Lady Yuan tried to hold herself above it, but her fingers curled into her skirts.

"You can't do this," the general said, low, dangerous.

"I can," I said. "I will. I did."

Mingyu spoke then, his voice a thread of iron through the room. "You marched against the throne. You sought to undermine the will of your Emperor. You are guilty of treason."

"Treason?" Imperial Consort Mei hissed. "We are the empire's blood."

"You are a rot in its marrow," I answered. "And you will be treated as such."

I saw it in Mingyu's eyes, the same thought that had already taken root in mine. This was no soldier's justice, there would be no exile. This would be final.

"Outside," Mingyu ordered.

We took them to the execution ground behind the audience hall. The ministers followed at a safe distance, their faces pale but intent. The cold was sharper here, the wind carrying the smell of snow from the mountains.

The general knelt first, refusing to bow his head. The consort went next, her face like glass about to shatter. Lady Yuan fought the guards until the very last step, but they forced her down. However, it was Commander Yuan that put up the most fight as he tried to get to his sword.

He failed, and the butt of a sword to his head made him realize the error of his ways.

"Any last words?" Mingyu asked, raising a single eyebrow.

Lady Yuan spat at my feet. "You'll regret this."

I crouched so we were eye level. "No," I said softly, "The only think I regret is not killing you the moment I stepped into the Crown Prince's manor. But don't worry, tonight, I'll sleep much better knowing that you are on your way to hell."

The general's voice was steady. "You kill us, you kill the loyalty of the armies we command."

Mingyu didn't even blink. "You command nothing now."

I conjured a blade from all the metal on my body, the iron and gold obeying my command.

It was a clean motion, the weight familiar, the balance perfect. I didn't hesitate. I didn't let myself think about what it meant to end four lives in a single breath. They had made their choice when they walked into my city with steel at their backs.

The wind carried the sound away. The ministers turned their faces. Yaozu didn't. Mingyu didn't.

When it was done, I cleaned the blade and sheathed it. The bodies were taken away, the stones washed with buckets of cold water until only the steam rose from them.

Mingyu's hand found mine as we turned back toward the hall. "For the empire," he said quietly.

"For us," I corrected.

He simply nodded his head and didn't argue.