We move through the entryway to the concubine’s garden, unsure of the way out of the palace. We take no corner without looking, no step without carefully monitoring our silence. We reach, eventually, the courtyard near the front of the palace. The plants growing here are thick and lush, and grow all across the courtyard, until they are flush with the wall.

Lilac and I quickly leave the stone path, hiding among exotic trees and flowers that tower over us on green stilts. We move quickly and quietly through the foliage, but no guards stop us. We reach a tiny gate set in the front wall. When we pass through this tiny gate, plated with gold, we will be free. I take a deep breath and pull my veil tighter over my face.

Suddenly, there is a commotion behind us. Lilac flattens against the wall, and I mimic her. Her eyes narrow, but the guards don’t notice us as they hurry up the path. “The emperor has been murdered!” We hear a shout, gasps, and the guards run to the palace.

We open the gate and run the other way.