heh...been a while since i updated, ne? though, for me, it hasn't been
that long; i've been known not to update for 3-4 months at a time.. *sighs
*
i've been having some trouble with this; i know what i want to happen, i just couldn't decide if i should turn rei into a girl or not; by that, i mean i would go and repost the previous chappies with rei as a female instead of male. not a big thing; just changing the he's to she's so to speak, but, i've asked on two beyblade MLs, and most peops said to keep him a boy, so he's staying a boy. sorry to anyone who wanted the gender change, but rei's staying a boy.
now, replies to some reviews:
gemini dragon elf: (from chapter one) yeah, i can see your point. thanx for pointing that out.
auri: ^_^ you're the first one, that i know of, whose caught on to lee's inner conflict! and..yes, what happened to poor rei and mao...it's terrible! but the terrible thing is that it actually happened to over a billion women in Chinese history. and i love lee too!! alot of people always tend to turn him into a bastard, but i don't think he's like that at all!
lillian and lime: yes, rei's foster father is a bit of a bastard,. you're gonna hate him even more in chapter four for what he does to lee! *sniffles *
avril hiwatari: mao only said that line "rei, soon you won't be smiling anymore" b/c she already went through the pain, and knows how horrible it is! she and rei are actually friends! yes, i do like mao, just not when she and rei are a couple! *giggles *
Elle-FaTe2x1 : *giggles * i like the name! does the 2x1 stand for duo x hiro from gundam wing? and, yes, it's horrible what's happening to them! and poor rei....worse is in store for him! ^__^
aishiteru: lee's going through some internal conflict; he MUST obey his father, but he also doesn't want rei to suffer any. the chinese family is structred so that the eldest male (like the father) is the head of the house. males come before females. that's the way it was in china, and the way it still is. so..yeah, i can see how it would seem that he's a bit horrible, but....i feel as bad for him as i do for rei and mao!
thankies to all who reviewed, and plz don't be afraid to review again! i seriously appreciate each and every review. i'd really love to respond to you all, but i only pic a few, and try to sort out any confusion/ answer any questions y'all have! but i really do luv all the reviews i get!! they each make me feel special! ^______^
kai: gag me already! enough with your sentimental mush, and start the fic
gee, ain'the warm and fuzzy, folks?
kai: *looks like he's going to be sick * start the damned fic already!
NOTES: heh,don't know what to say today. foot binding began around the 9th or 10th century, and was started in the imperial palace of the emporer and empress, then worked its way down through the social classes. it was a way for the wealthy to show off their riches by having a wife who could not work- it was stating they were so rich, their women did not need to do any physical labor, and poorer people bound their women's feet in hopes of marrying them off into a higher class, and to emulate the upper classes.
3. The Binding
"Ah, Rei, there you are!" Rei and Lee's mother waved them into the house. Driger and Galeon were curled up outside the house, enjoying the last of the sun's heat. "Lee, there's some rice in the wok on the stove. Go into the kitchen and prepare you and Rei a bowl. Your father's gone out this evening.....he had some business to attend to, so he'll talk to you when he gets back, Rei."
Lee didn't look his mother in the eye. He merely nodded, as solemn, brooding, and silent as he was on the way down. His father didn't want to talk with Rei; he only wanted to make sure Rei's feet were bound. He and the elders had already left to make their rounds to check on all the bound feet. Without a backwards glance, Lee stalked into the kitchen, but he didn't feel like eating.
Rei went to follow Lee, but their mother put her arm out, stopping him. "No, Rei, come here......sit down....." She had kept her head lowered, not meeting anyone's gaze, and her voice was much softer than normal, full of sorrow and guilt.
"Mama, are you okay?" Rei asked as his mother pushed him down into a chair.
"I'm fine, baby. It's you who I'm worried about....." She trailed off, turning around and locking all the doors so Rei would have nowhere to run. She returned to his side carrying a bowl of warm, scented water, and knelt down at his feet. "Rei....I have to do this.....the elders have decided.....you...." She stopped, almost choking on her tears, before drawing in a deep breath. "Rei, baby,......I have to bind your feet."
"Bind my feet?" Rei blinked in surprise, thinking of the older village women who hobbled around on their own twisted stumps for feet, tottering and swaying.
Rei's mother was silent as she slipped Rei's shoes off and placed his small, well formed feet into the water, letting them soak for a while before gently washing them, toweling them dry, then clipping his toenails so that there was hardly any nail left and causing several of them to bleed. During this, Rei tried to question her, but she shushed him. With shaking hands, she grabbed a ten foot, 2 inches wide strip of white cloth, took Rei's right foot into her palm, and began wrapping it.
Rei clutched the wooden chair tightly, hissing in pain with tears slipping past his long, thick black eyelashes, which were closed against the pain being inflicted upon him by the one woman he loved. By his own mother. He whimpered as the bandage was wound tighter and tighter in a figure eight pattern around his foot, forcing his toes to bend under and the arch of his foot was pulled up from the pressure. Tight, so tight.
His body was rigid and shaking, and he was now sobbing brokenly by the time she had finished with the first. Glancing down when he felt her gently caress his left foot, he gasped when he saw the difference between the two. His right foot had shrunk about a good half an inch all around, compressed by the tightly wound layers of cloth, with only his big toe still free.
His mother's tears fell upon his left foot, tickling the sensitive skin there. He would've laughed if it hadn't been for the pain burning his right foot. She lightly ran her fingers over the sensitive pads of the bottom of his foot, trying to distract him momentarily from the pain. She caressed his foot once again, massaging it and causing his tiny toes to automatically wriggle, his slender body to squirm, and he emitted a soft giggle. She smiled through her tears before wrapping his other foot up, the smiles quickly vanishing from both their faces.
Rei leaned into the hard backed chair, seeking refuge from the pain of his tightly bound feet. His mother stood up, put aside the bowl, then drew his hands into hers. "Oh, Rei, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." She whispered in a choked voice and pulled on his soft hands, drawing him to his feet.
As soon as his full weight, which wasn't much, was placed upon them, he let out a horrendous, loud cry as the four small toes on each foot were instantly broken, the bones snapping in half to allow blood to circulate. In the kitchen, the shattering of a pitcher could be heard as Lee, who'd been pacing and growling restlessly throughout the entire procedure, dropped the pitcher of water when he'd been pouring himself a drink. Rei's pain filled scream of terror rent his heart, but he held himself back from rushing in there. It wasn't his place....it was between mother and child only.
Rei's mother fell to the floor with him, pulling his trembling body into her lap, his face buried in her shoulder, and she rocked him as he cried, rubbing his back, and offering whatever comfort she could to ease the pain. She ran a hand through his hair, unbinding the thick, silky black strands from their customary braid and white wrapper. "Rei, baby, it's going to be alright. Hush now, it's not so bad." Although, she wouldn't know; she couldn't imagine the pain he was in, for her feet had never been bound. She was the second generation to go without binding, and Rei and Lee's had been the fourth, until now.
She held Rei, rocking him until he'd cried himself to sleep, nestled against her shoulder. Lee would occasionally loose his control and peak in, then just as quickly disappear back into the kitchen to pace some more, growling softly to himself and longing for something to smash, angered by the injustice of it all.
Humming softly, as she used to when Lee and Rei were mere kittens, their mother rose to her feet with Rei in her arms. The sixteen year old was only an inch or two taller than Mao, and about 3 inches shorter than Lee. She'd been the strongest girl in the village in her youth, and Rei was light in her arms, though she hadn't been able to pick Lee up since he was ten years old. Lee was taller, with more muscle mass than Rei, who was soft and slender. She lay Rei down in his bed, tucking him in and tenderly brushed a thick lock of fluffy black hair out of his face, which was contorted with pain.
Rei didn't sleep very well; his feet felt as if they were on fire, and he wanted nothing more than to rip the bandages off. But it was too late; his toes had been broken, and his feet were already starting to deform. Lee slipped into his bed, when both their parents were asleep, and laid Rei on top of his chest, holding him and soothing him, trying to take his mind off the excruciating pain.
%%%%%%%%
well, there's chappie three! let me know what you guys think! like it? hate it? lemme know, and if there's anything i should change i'm quite unsure of this myself! and, yes, kai's going to come soon!!!!
oh, yeah, i'm also working on some pics of rei with his feet bound. i'm gonna do one with him wearing lotus shoes (the type of shoes worn on bound feet) and one with his feet unwrapped, so you guys can see how horribly deformed the feet were!
next chapter: two years have passed, and we take a trip to russia! kai's in the next chappie! we're setting the stage for kai and rei's reunion; it's gonna take a couple of chappies to set up, but when it happens, i promise you, it's going to be very emotional, and great!
kai: *sarcastic * joy oh joy.
*snorts * ain't he just mr. sunshine?
i've been having some trouble with this; i know what i want to happen, i just couldn't decide if i should turn rei into a girl or not; by that, i mean i would go and repost the previous chappies with rei as a female instead of male. not a big thing; just changing the he's to she's so to speak, but, i've asked on two beyblade MLs, and most peops said to keep him a boy, so he's staying a boy. sorry to anyone who wanted the gender change, but rei's staying a boy.
now, replies to some reviews:
gemini dragon elf: (from chapter one) yeah, i can see your point. thanx for pointing that out.
auri: ^_^ you're the first one, that i know of, whose caught on to lee's inner conflict! and..yes, what happened to poor rei and mao...it's terrible! but the terrible thing is that it actually happened to over a billion women in Chinese history. and i love lee too!! alot of people always tend to turn him into a bastard, but i don't think he's like that at all!
lillian and lime: yes, rei's foster father is a bit of a bastard,. you're gonna hate him even more in chapter four for what he does to lee! *sniffles *
avril hiwatari: mao only said that line "rei, soon you won't be smiling anymore" b/c she already went through the pain, and knows how horrible it is! she and rei are actually friends! yes, i do like mao, just not when she and rei are a couple! *giggles *
Elle-FaTe2x1 : *giggles * i like the name! does the 2x1 stand for duo x hiro from gundam wing? and, yes, it's horrible what's happening to them! and poor rei....worse is in store for him! ^__^
aishiteru: lee's going through some internal conflict; he MUST obey his father, but he also doesn't want rei to suffer any. the chinese family is structred so that the eldest male (like the father) is the head of the house. males come before females. that's the way it was in china, and the way it still is. so..yeah, i can see how it would seem that he's a bit horrible, but....i feel as bad for him as i do for rei and mao!
thankies to all who reviewed, and plz don't be afraid to review again! i seriously appreciate each and every review. i'd really love to respond to you all, but i only pic a few, and try to sort out any confusion/ answer any questions y'all have! but i really do luv all the reviews i get!! they each make me feel special! ^______^
kai: gag me already! enough with your sentimental mush, and start the fic
gee, ain'the warm and fuzzy, folks?
kai: *looks like he's going to be sick * start the damned fic already!
NOTES: heh,don't know what to say today. foot binding began around the 9th or 10th century, and was started in the imperial palace of the emporer and empress, then worked its way down through the social classes. it was a way for the wealthy to show off their riches by having a wife who could not work- it was stating they were so rich, their women did not need to do any physical labor, and poorer people bound their women's feet in hopes of marrying them off into a higher class, and to emulate the upper classes.
3. The Binding
"Ah, Rei, there you are!" Rei and Lee's mother waved them into the house. Driger and Galeon were curled up outside the house, enjoying the last of the sun's heat. "Lee, there's some rice in the wok on the stove. Go into the kitchen and prepare you and Rei a bowl. Your father's gone out this evening.....he had some business to attend to, so he'll talk to you when he gets back, Rei."
Lee didn't look his mother in the eye. He merely nodded, as solemn, brooding, and silent as he was on the way down. His father didn't want to talk with Rei; he only wanted to make sure Rei's feet were bound. He and the elders had already left to make their rounds to check on all the bound feet. Without a backwards glance, Lee stalked into the kitchen, but he didn't feel like eating.
Rei went to follow Lee, but their mother put her arm out, stopping him. "No, Rei, come here......sit down....." She had kept her head lowered, not meeting anyone's gaze, and her voice was much softer than normal, full of sorrow and guilt.
"Mama, are you okay?" Rei asked as his mother pushed him down into a chair.
"I'm fine, baby. It's you who I'm worried about....." She trailed off, turning around and locking all the doors so Rei would have nowhere to run. She returned to his side carrying a bowl of warm, scented water, and knelt down at his feet. "Rei....I have to do this.....the elders have decided.....you...." She stopped, almost choking on her tears, before drawing in a deep breath. "Rei, baby,......I have to bind your feet."
"Bind my feet?" Rei blinked in surprise, thinking of the older village women who hobbled around on their own twisted stumps for feet, tottering and swaying.
Rei's mother was silent as she slipped Rei's shoes off and placed his small, well formed feet into the water, letting them soak for a while before gently washing them, toweling them dry, then clipping his toenails so that there was hardly any nail left and causing several of them to bleed. During this, Rei tried to question her, but she shushed him. With shaking hands, she grabbed a ten foot, 2 inches wide strip of white cloth, took Rei's right foot into her palm, and began wrapping it.
Rei clutched the wooden chair tightly, hissing in pain with tears slipping past his long, thick black eyelashes, which were closed against the pain being inflicted upon him by the one woman he loved. By his own mother. He whimpered as the bandage was wound tighter and tighter in a figure eight pattern around his foot, forcing his toes to bend under and the arch of his foot was pulled up from the pressure. Tight, so tight.
His body was rigid and shaking, and he was now sobbing brokenly by the time she had finished with the first. Glancing down when he felt her gently caress his left foot, he gasped when he saw the difference between the two. His right foot had shrunk about a good half an inch all around, compressed by the tightly wound layers of cloth, with only his big toe still free.
His mother's tears fell upon his left foot, tickling the sensitive skin there. He would've laughed if it hadn't been for the pain burning his right foot. She lightly ran her fingers over the sensitive pads of the bottom of his foot, trying to distract him momentarily from the pain. She caressed his foot once again, massaging it and causing his tiny toes to automatically wriggle, his slender body to squirm, and he emitted a soft giggle. She smiled through her tears before wrapping his other foot up, the smiles quickly vanishing from both their faces.
Rei leaned into the hard backed chair, seeking refuge from the pain of his tightly bound feet. His mother stood up, put aside the bowl, then drew his hands into hers. "Oh, Rei, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me." She whispered in a choked voice and pulled on his soft hands, drawing him to his feet.
As soon as his full weight, which wasn't much, was placed upon them, he let out a horrendous, loud cry as the four small toes on each foot were instantly broken, the bones snapping in half to allow blood to circulate. In the kitchen, the shattering of a pitcher could be heard as Lee, who'd been pacing and growling restlessly throughout the entire procedure, dropped the pitcher of water when he'd been pouring himself a drink. Rei's pain filled scream of terror rent his heart, but he held himself back from rushing in there. It wasn't his place....it was between mother and child only.
Rei's mother fell to the floor with him, pulling his trembling body into her lap, his face buried in her shoulder, and she rocked him as he cried, rubbing his back, and offering whatever comfort she could to ease the pain. She ran a hand through his hair, unbinding the thick, silky black strands from their customary braid and white wrapper. "Rei, baby, it's going to be alright. Hush now, it's not so bad." Although, she wouldn't know; she couldn't imagine the pain he was in, for her feet had never been bound. She was the second generation to go without binding, and Rei and Lee's had been the fourth, until now.
She held Rei, rocking him until he'd cried himself to sleep, nestled against her shoulder. Lee would occasionally loose his control and peak in, then just as quickly disappear back into the kitchen to pace some more, growling softly to himself and longing for something to smash, angered by the injustice of it all.
Humming softly, as she used to when Lee and Rei were mere kittens, their mother rose to her feet with Rei in her arms. The sixteen year old was only an inch or two taller than Mao, and about 3 inches shorter than Lee. She'd been the strongest girl in the village in her youth, and Rei was light in her arms, though she hadn't been able to pick Lee up since he was ten years old. Lee was taller, with more muscle mass than Rei, who was soft and slender. She lay Rei down in his bed, tucking him in and tenderly brushed a thick lock of fluffy black hair out of his face, which was contorted with pain.
Rei didn't sleep very well; his feet felt as if they were on fire, and he wanted nothing more than to rip the bandages off. But it was too late; his toes had been broken, and his feet were already starting to deform. Lee slipped into his bed, when both their parents were asleep, and laid Rei on top of his chest, holding him and soothing him, trying to take his mind off the excruciating pain.
%%%%%%%%
well, there's chappie three! let me know what you guys think! like it? hate it? lemme know, and if there's anything i should change i'm quite unsure of this myself! and, yes, kai's going to come soon!!!!
oh, yeah, i'm also working on some pics of rei with his feet bound. i'm gonna do one with him wearing lotus shoes (the type of shoes worn on bound feet) and one with his feet unwrapped, so you guys can see how horribly deformed the feet were!
next chapter: two years have passed, and we take a trip to russia! kai's in the next chappie! we're setting the stage for kai and rei's reunion; it's gonna take a couple of chappies to set up, but when it happens, i promise you, it's going to be very emotional, and great!
kai: *sarcastic * joy oh joy.
*snorts * ain't he just mr. sunshine?
