Daughter of Heaven

Chapter 40 - Of Monsters and Men

"Please. Be a good son. Just kill me. Please? Please?" The quivering figure in ruined silk lying on the cold granite looked up at him, one eye visible from the mass of sticky, bloody hair. Stray strands with scalp still attached lay all over the floor, she had pulled them out on her own.

There were bite marks all over her arms, chunks of missing flesh where she tore it out herself. Parts of her legs were green, rot was setting in and the stench was unbearable.

Once the most powerful woman in all of Yue lay one the floor, hands and feet manacled to the bed post, begging for her only son, her twelve year old son, to kill her. Begging for anyone to kill her.

Firm hands clasped Zhuo Hao's shoulders, a man in gold and black bent down to whisper, "Pitiful, isn't she?" Zhuo Hao and the Emperor stood at the door, behind gold prison bars that separated the woman and them.

There was mild amusement in the Emperor's voice, Zhuo Hao had heard it before, once on a bear hunt, "She's lasted 4 days already. Most people only last 2 once they've drunk the poison."

The Emperor looked at the woman who use to share his power, "Do you know how the poison works?"  Zhuo Hao shook his head, he must keep his face like stone he told himself over and over as the sounds of teeth tearing into flesh filled his ears. He wanted to cover his ears, he dug his hands into his sides and bit the inside of is mouth until he could taste the blood.

"It attacks your skin, your eyes, your arms and legs first. Anything that's not vital to your survival. Then it slowly, painfully, moves to your heart" The Emperor explained cooly, "The pain is so intense that the sufferer would rather tear off their own limbs than deal with it. They usually die before they tear out their own heart."

Zhuo Hao kept his face impassive as he answered in a similar tone, "Perhaps this the price of crossing the mighty Emperor." Ever since he was young, his mother had ingrained in him that his father held the lives of not only Zhuo Hao, but his mother's entire extended family in his claws. One wrong word was all it took.

The Emperor guffawed and patted his son's shoulder, "Good man. You take after me.  Good. Otherwise you would be in there too."

Zhuo Hao felt his stomach turn as his father spoke, "If I didn't have the guards stop her from killing herself every time she got too close to doing it, maybe she would've died already." He talked as if he was discussing the weather, "The guards will let out once your hour is up. Then come to the main palace, I'm choosing a new concubine today and I want your opinion."

With that, he petted the head of his 12 year old son, and left. He gestured to the guards lazily, "You may take your leave now. The prince may want to talk to his mother alone."  The guards bowed and shuffled out.

Once there was no one, Zhuo Hao collapsed, shuddering. The only sound was his mother, whimpering on the other end of the room, kept away from him by the bars that separated them. He swallowed hard, "Mama, I.. I have a knife."

He was about to toss it to her, but she whispered, "If you value my legacy and your family, stop right now!"

She was in a ball on the corner of her bed, panting at the brief respite from the pain, "This is the Emperor's test. If he finds me dead, he'll have you executed tomorrow."

Her mind was clear for the moment, she was once again the wisely cruel Empress, she continued, "No matter how hard this is for you, you are the prince destined to rule this great nation. Remember today. Remember all that I taught you. Become the man I made you to be." She looked at him as she pushed the words out, "You will not fail me."