I Betrayed My Master

I betrayed my master. I used to be his most capable covert guard. Now I’ve been forced into palace robes, stripped of my weapons, shackled, and imprisoned in this lavish palace. He grips my chin and forces me to look up. Hatred and anguish mingle in his eyes. “A Zhao, why did you betray me?” His rough thumb traces my cheek, his voice fierce with anger. “Shen Zhao, why did you lie to me? Wasn’t I good enough to you?” His grip makes an old injury in my shoulder split open, and blood runs down my arm in a scarlet streak. Yet his hand is trembling. I know he’s angry, that he hates me. An apology is on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t bring myself to say it. Chu Yao, you say I lied to you, but how pure are your own intentions?