Happy birthday to freeandbored/Nethwan on Tumblr! Ned and Tai has grown on me aaaaa
There may be some historical inaccuracies, apologies. ^^" it's important to note that since this is an adaptation of a legend, some creative liberties may be taken.
For the best experience, listen to the Butterfly Lovers concerto while reading :D
1655
Formosa
His arrival to Formosa served as a pleasant surprise. He had thought that it would be a lot more sandy. In contrast, Formosa was a painting, with its porcelain white sand, the sapphire blue shores, and the trees the deepest of jade green. Jan knew that he would like his three years on the island more than he thought. No wonder they called it the beautiful island.
With his thumb, Jan smudged a bit of white pastel on his canvas, the black blending into a grey. He had hoped this would mimic the wispy breath of clouds that circled the mountain tops. To his disappointment, the pattern was too stiff, the colour too dark. Jan realised that the ship had stopped. Standing up and stretching, he walked onto the port.
His father was a merchant who was stationed at Formosa. He had chosen him to study here to understand the growing Han population whom he will trade with once he became a merchant.
Students clad in blue and white hanfu with their black hair done in a bun glanced at him. Otherwise went on to do their own business. Being the only European in a sea of Hans, and especially with his height, he stuck out like a sore thumb.
Even the dormitories were different. The sliding doors, the paper covered windows, the intricate lacquered wood. After Jan unpacked at his assigned dormitory, he pulled out some paper and his box of pastels. There was a pagoda on a hill that he had seen, away from the hustle and bustle of the other students. The view up there should be good.
As a ninth child and only daughter, Mei can't believe her luck of being able to study at the academy. The binding on her chest was tight and painful, but as long as she didn't let her hair down, she should be able to pass on as a man. Sticking her head out of the carriage window, when Mei saw the rooftops of the academy, a grin spread across her face. She couldn't wait to study there!
Carrying her luggage, she hopped off of the carriage towards the entrance. There were other students at the courtyard already. All either messing around, meeting other students or studying. When she looked around, another student a stark contrast from the rest caught her eye. From his blonde hair to his angled face, she could tell that he was a foreigner. He was sitting at a pagoda with a small pad, looking up, then down again. Was he drawing?
Curious, Mei went up the pagoda and sat by him. He didn't seem to notice her and continued to draw with some pigment sticks. Now that she was closer, she could tell that he was much taller than what she had thought he was, and that small scar nicked the side of his forehead. Mei nudged closer, she took a peek of the artwork. To her surprise, it was a purple trumpet flower that hung by the pagoda's vine that she didn't see.
"Wow, it's so pretty!" A quiet gasp escaped him, and he glanced up with a surprised expression on his face.
"Oh. Erhm, thank you," he replied, his accent heavy. Mei looked down. Purple hues stained his fingers, while a purple pigment stick rested between them. She raised an eyebrow. Drawing with a pigment stick without watering it down or using a brush?
"Don't you need to water that down first?"
"Water? Ah, no." No? "They are pastels." Mei looked down at a wooden box that held the pastels. Most of them had been worn down to stubs. Paper with European words wrapped around the longer, newer ones.
"Ah! It's a European medium! I see…" Mei looked at the drawing, and her smile faded. In surprising him, a white pastel streak stretched across the paper, ruining the flower. "Oh, I'm sorry!"
"Hm?"
"The drawing, it's ruined!" Jan glanced back to the drawing and frowned a little. He wasn't too upset at the mistake, and he shrugged.
"I will draw the sky, then," he replied. He dug out a blue pastel before he coloured the environment surrounding the flower blue, covering up the white streak. Mei watched as he coloured over the white streak with purples, greens, and blues. She twirled her thumbs as she watched him draw.
"Ah, excuse me, where are my manners! What's your name?" She asked.
"My name is Jan," he replied, eyes still transfixed on the artwork before he glanced towards her. "What is yours?"
"M- Tang!" She replied, changing her name to her intended one. Luckily, the blonde boy named Jan didn't notice and nodded.
"Nice to meet you, Tang." Mei smiled. A flash of red and black on the flower caught her attention. When she glanced to the side, she saw that a red and black butterfly had perched on top of the flower. She looked at Jan's pastels, and an idea popped in her head.
"Hey." Mei pulled out her own painting set. Some paper, water, pigments, and a brush. "Let's see who can draw it better! Chinese paints versus European pastels!"
"A competition? And the winner gets…?"
"Oh. Hmm… Well," Mei put her hands on her hips. "if I lose, I'll help you with your studies. Your pronunciation needs some polishing up to be able to pass! But if you lose, you'll have to teach me how to use your pastels!" She stuck out her hand to Jan, who raised an eyebrow. "Deal?"
"And the winner is…"
"Whoever can paint it the fastest!" He stroked his chin.
"But your wide brushes would not make this fair," he noted, a cheeky smile forming at the corner of his mouth.
"Well, you could use the side of your pastels!" Jan raised his eyebrows as a response. He reached forward and shook her hand.
"That's fair."
"Ready? Set? Go!"
With no need to water it down using an inkstone, Jan was able to outline the butterfly's shape, as opposed to Mei. But Mei was quick and efficient with her brush, so she was able to catch up.
Mei's nose itched. Placing her paintbrush down, she sneezed into her sleeve, and the butterfly flew away. The act caused Jan to look up.
They had both coloured only one wing that almost traced the other side. Jan had a single pastel stroke snaking to the other side, meaning that his drawing was closer to the end result.
"Did I win?"
A drop of red paint from Mei's painting slid down the paper. They laughed.
For the rest of the afternoon, they talked and joked until the sky turned into a tangerine orange. Jan helped her carry her luggage to Mei's dormitory as they walked to the students' sleeping quarters. They bid goodbye, and Mei watched as Jan leave. When she was certain that he was out of sight, she loosened the binding on her chest, and she breathed in relief.
Jan seemed to be a nice guy. Despite them already talking for the entire afternoon, she knew that they will be good friends in the three years that they were together.
Mei sat on the side of the bed. A butterfly tickled the inside of her stomach. She breathed, hoping to calm it down. Instead, a kaleidoscope more erupted, and she dug her face into the cotton of the duvet as a squeal escaped out of her. Three years with him!
