Mingmei ch. 4

by Shadowkeyu

The stallion slowed as Mingmei pulled gently on the reins. Her horse was a magnificent animal in appearance and intelligence. It only took the slightest pressure to move the animal, as though their minds spoke to one another. Time and again he had saved her life. Her legs moved with the heavy breathing of the animal. His chestnut skin was lightly coated in sweat from the fast ride down the mountain. Mingmei had ridden hard determined not to linger in bandit territory for any longer than necessary.

The arms around her waste pulled a little tighter reminding her of the girl. The soft, slim body trembled again, most likely remembering her ordeal this morning. Damn bandits, always taking advantage of the weak, Mingmei cursed silently. Everyone was always talking of how they helped the weak. Yeah, maybe in the old days but not now.

The stallion stopped moving when it felt the slight pull of its reins, allowing its rider to dismount before bending its muscular neck to graze. Ming looked from the ground up into the soft face of the girl she had saved. She looked around the age of seventeen, her eyes still held a childhood innocence to them. This girl must have been only ten or so when war with Kuto devastated the outer regions of Konan. When Mingmei looked past the enchanting eyes into her soul she saw no scars attached and decided it was likely she was not effected by the fighting too greatly. Mingmei was surprised by the bitterness and envy that came to her heart at that thought. She would not lie to herself. She knew her soul was riddled with scabs she kept picking at; she would never heal because she could not let herself heal. However the feeling was quickly gone as she took in the girls freighted sky blue eyes and shaken demeanor.

"Come down now, you're no longer in any danger". The girl clumsily dismounted the horse with the help of her new companion and savor. She had no great riding skill or weapons, which lead the question of why she was alone in bandit territory. Tried of thinking of her as only "the girl" Mingmei voiced her thoughts, "Tell me, what is your name and why are you traveling alone"?

"Hua, and I wasn't alone, those men were my traveling companions."

Mingmei raised an eyebrow at that pronouncement, "You where traveling with bandits? Mind if I ask why?"

"Well Kouji said they where to go with me, so I would be safe. But he didn't know they would do what they tried to do..." Hua's voice trailed off as she thought of that mornings events, her face went white, sweat came to her brow as thoughts raced wildly in her mind. How was she going to get back to Kouji, what would he do? What if he doesn't believe me, what if they try again? Hua fell to her knees leaning forward as she threw up, then her eyes became cloudy as the world went black, falling to her side in a faint.

Mingmei quickly knelt beside Hua turning her over to look into the blue eyes. They where cloudy and unfocused. The girl was tired and most likely dehydrated. She must have not been able to deal with the reality of this morning, especially if she trusted and knew the men. Besides all these factors Mingmei also saw something else, Hua's breathing was abnormal and she was running a slight fever from the feel of her. Damn, I don't have time to deal with sick chicks. Mingmei shook her head as though that would help clear her buzzing head. She didn't have the time, but Hua needed care and rest. Mingmei drilled her brain for a solution to the problem. Suddenly she remembered that Tao lived around these parts. A rare smile of anticipation and relief lit her face at the thought of the mothering Tao. She wiped Hua's face, forced some water down her slim throat, and then set her on the horse before climbing on and riding away.

Tao stood by her old round table beating dough for bread. A closed- lipped smile touched her face, Tao enjoyed the simple things in life and this mindless task gave her the opportunity to think of her many blessings. Wisps of gray tinged hair fell from the country bun at her neck enclosing a good natured face. Her round, plump figure enhanced her warm appearance. Six kids had helped with that aspect. Tao hummed in time with the thwack of the dough hitting the smooth wood table.

A loud knock on her door followed by another brought her back to this reality. Laying down the dough, she whipped her flour covered, callus hands on an old apron before seeing who would call at such an early hour. The old door creaked open to reveal a young girl with sea-colored hair held by the strong arms of someone Tao knew very well. "Well Mingmei," joy sounded in her voice, "I'll be dammed, what 'ca doing here girl. I haven't seen you for ages." Twin smiles appeared as Mingmei nodded in acknowledgment.

"I know it's been awhile Tao, mind if I come in, this girl's heavier than she looks."

"Oh, yes, yes of course, what was I thinking, you come right in and set her down on the bed. What happened?"

"Ran into a bit of bandit trouble, that's all", Mingmei's voice darkened as she spoke causing Tao to look sharply at her.

"Now child some of those bandits are mean, but for the most part they help us poor folk, you remember that before you go and get the notion that you have to start hunting them down like you done before." Mingmei turned her head away becoming distant at the words. She pulled her emotions deep within her, placing walls of steal to hide them from the world. Tao was the only one able to get a glimpse now and then, but only for a few seconds and never deep. Tao was used to this withdrawal, however this time she knew she had gone too far too soon. Mingmei wouldn't say anything but Tao knew. Knew that she had brought up the painful past and you just didn't do that around Mingmei. "I'm sorry child, but it's the truth", she spoke in a whisper not quite able to keep sympathy out of her voice.

Mingmei gave a curt nod before waving towards the girl and explaining what had happened. "I'll be back in a few weeks to check up on you both. Until then don't let her go anywhere. She obviously has no sense of the danger around Mt. Reikaku." With those words she left Tao to care for Hua, a new scab peeled away.

Just so you all know, in Ancient China you were given a child's name and then later a name for your adult years. The child's name is very common such as Ming and the adult name means something special about or to that person even though they are named by their guardian. When I write of Mingmei's past I will be using the name Ming from the first chapter. So now you know.