A/N: Hey guys, the lack of interaction on this part of the trilogy is quite disheartening...so if you could drop a comment or something so that I know this is actually getting read, that'd be lovely please and thank you~
Zhu let out a quiet sigh as she stepped out of the yurt, Liling strapped to her back. She had forgotten how much she enjoyed the sight of snow-capped mountains bathed in the warm pinks and oranges brought on by the sunrise. A content smile came to her lips; she
almost felt like she was home.
But home came with chores and the first chore of her day was going to inspect the lands picked out for the animal herders. She whistled quietly, not wanting to wake anyone. After a few minutes, Umut came around to the front of her yurt; her foal wasn't with her.
"Leaving him with one of the other new mothers, are you?" she murmured, reaching out and stroking Umut's neck.
I would like him to stay here, where there will be multiple pairs of eyes watching over him, Umut replied. She flicked her mane out of her face as Zhu mounted her. It will be hard for me to watch over him while we inspect things.
"That is true." She kept her voice quiet; she had left without waking Mundzuc and wanted to make sure he didn't follow her. "Thank you for agreeing to do this so early."
Think nothing of it. I have missed our morning rides. She started to trot off. If only we were joined by Khan and Yan…and their riders, of course.
Zhu felt her cheeks grow a bit warm. "I am not about to wake up Mulan and Ling just to go ensure the herders have enough room for their animals while also being in a safe area."
As true as that is, the ride would be so much more pleasant with them.
"Umut," she groaned, rubbing her forehead. "You know I cannot do that. Yes, being around them makes me happy and I feel safer with them around, but…" She shook her head. "No. The last thing I need is for Mundzuc to find out and come up with some plan to hurt them in retaliation."
I do wish you would let me deliver a swift kick to his face. It would save you so much trouble and it would allow you marry someone of your choosing.
"I did marry him out of my own choosing," she grumbled. "Yes, it was for political reasons, but no one forced me into it. And if you were to kill him, the Mongol warriors may abandon us." She ran a hand over her hair; she decided to not wear her headdress that day. It would only serve as an unwanted distraction for her. "I know it is unlikely that they will abandon us, but it is a risk I am not willing to make. Especially when we can use their help with manual labor."
Umut snorted, reluctantly accepting defeat. I will continue to trust your judgement on this, though I do not agree with you.
Leaning forward, she patted the side of the mare's neck. "You need not to," she told her, a small smile on her lips. "Thank you."
She merely flicked her head back, whipping some of her mane out of her face.
It wasn't a very long ride to the fields that would become the grazing ground for the village's animals—it only took ten minutes at a canter. The land here was a bit hillier than the area where the village was, but its grass was tall and green and filled with wildflowers. Nearly two miles of open land stretched before her eyes, with the distant trees forming a natural barrier around it.
"Perfect, isn't it?"
Swearing, Zhu brought Umut around only to find Mundzuc riding towards them. "How did you know where to find me?"
Wearing a victorious smirk, Mundzuc brought his horse alongside her and Umut. "It was obvious," he told her. "We have a meeting about your plans for the future—including the creations of farms and pastures for the animals. It's only natural that you would want to inspect the areas for yourself to ensure their usefulness."
She felt her cheeks beginning to burn. "I did not wake you for a reason, Mundzuc: I can do this on my own." Without her instruction, Umut began to walk away.
His brow rose, not impressed by her answer. Flicking the reins, he made his horse begin to follow alongside the two. "As your king consort, I should also be aware of any pros and cons about these lands," he retorted. "And with you carrying Liling on your back, you need someone to protect you should anything happen."
She rolled her eyes, motioning to the bow and quiver hanging from the side of Umut's harness. "What do you think these are for? Decoration?"
Reaching out, he grabbed hold of her wrist. "Don't be an idiot, Zhu," he scolded. "We both know that there are creatures in these forests that could stalk and kill you without you ever knowing they were there. Not to mention the possibility of you running into bears or boars."
"I do not plan to go into the forest," she sighed. She tried to pull her hand away from him, but his grip held firm. "Will you please let go?"
"Only if you promise to not go off on your own again—or, at least, not with Liling." His eyes met hers and Zhu found herself hating how there was genuine concern them. "You don't have to bring me along. Just bring someone—even if it's that crossdressing bamboo stalk."
"His name is Ling," she quietly growled. "And, fine: So long as I have Liling with me, I will only leave the village with someone else in attendance."
His brow rose, but he loosened his grip enough to allow her to pull her hand away. "Thank you."
"You are not welcome." She glared at him from the corner of her eye. "Why do you suddenly care if I leave unattended? You had no issues with it before we arrived here."
"There aren't mountain lions, bears, or wild boars on the steppes," he told her, voice bland. "Here, however? You remember the last time we were here and how Bleda barely survived that mountain lion attack. His legs never did recover." He brushed a small beetle from his sleeve before looking back up at Zhu. "Not to mention that you have yet to fully recover from Liling's birth. You nearly died that day—you're lucky you haven't been confined to bedrest for the last two months!" He shook his head, cursing under his breath.
"I cannot build my strength back up if you never allow me to do anything." Her nose scrunched up slightly. "You treat me as if I were a glass doll when I am the furthest thing from that."
"Because I don't want you to die, Shan Zhu."
Her eyes shut and the corner of her mouth rose slightly, exposing the tiniest hint of her teeth. She was about to snap at him, but then she remembered the tiny bundle on her back that was the sleeping Liling. Instead, she took a deep breath in through her mouth before slowly releasing it through her nose. 'Keep your temper in check, Zhu,' she scolded herself. 'Don't wake Liling.'
Mundzuc glanced up at her. "Did you at least eat before you left?"
"I was not very hungry," she replied, keeping her eyes on the horizon. "But I did eat some dried fruit." She looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Yes, I brought some food and water with me for later," she added, not giving him the chance to further scold her.
"Good," he murmured. Shaking his head, he let out a quiet sigh. "These fields look wide enough for the horses, goats, and sheep to each have their own section of land," he said, changing the subject. "There would even be room to spare should we get cattle in the future."
She nodded. "Once we get a better look at the perimeter, then we will know for sure if placing the animals here would be a good idea."
"It would also give us an idea of how much fencing we will need to build—and how tall to build it."
"We will not need to build too tall of fencing if we place it far enough away from the trees."
"That doesn't matter. Mountain lions and bears will climb walls if they know that food's on the other side."
She gave him a bland look. "By that logic, Mundzuc, the animals will simply keep climbing no matter how tall we make the fencing. Unless we were to grease the fences, there will always be a chance of a predator breaking into the pastures."
His cheeks turned a dark shade of red. "You know what I meant," he grumbled.
The two of them spent nearly three hours riding around the perimeter of the fields. As far as they could see, it would be a perfect area for the animal to graze and raise their young. There was even a small stream towards the northern end of the area. A lot of fencing would be needed, however, and Zhu knew well enough that meant a good amount of the surrounding trees would have to be cut down.
Part of her didn't like the idea of removing so many trees, but she knew they could always plant more trees should they use too many. 'It's always good to offer apology to the Earth Mother for harming her,' she thought as they rode back to the village. 'Though we will take hundreds of her trees, I will make sure that hundreds more are planted to replace them.'
She looked down at her chest, where she was holding Liling. The child had woken up only fifteen minutes ago and had woken up starving. Now, she was loudly eating her breakfast while clutching to Zhu's shirt.
"Child, you sound like Roua scarfing down some stew," she told the little girl. "Only cuter."
"She may be loud, but at least she's getting a full meal," Mundzuc sighed. "I don't think either of us thought to bring her little pot should you not have been able to feed her."
Zhu felt her cheeks burn; she didn't want to admit, but she had forgotten the pot. "I have been doing well in terms of making milk," she told him, "and, with her starting to eat solid foods, the milk will not be as important."
"She will still need it, though."
"Yes, but not as often." Sighing, she pushed a braid over her shoulder. "Regardless, she has been eating well and getting enough food lately."
Mundzuc glanced over at her. "From what you've told me, your youngest sister will ensure she gets enough food one way or another."
"Su will ensure everyone gets enough food, one way or another."
As they approached the village-in-progress, they could see that people were awake and going about their morning chores. Horses and goats were being fed, water was being gathered, and smoke started to furl out of the tops of the yurts as fires were built. People greeted them when they rode past, some giving respectful bows. Zhu smiled and wished them a good day in return.
"You're being too nice to them," Mundzuc grumbled.
"I will let you be the mean one," she replied, brow rising. "How many times must I tell you: I will not treat my people poorly. They will be treated as my equals."
He rolled his eyes. "And how many times much I tell you: They will never respect you if you don't take any measures to let them know that you've got power over them?"
"Oh, just shut up and let her rule how she wants, Mundzuc." The two of them looked in front of them only to see Roua coming towards them. He looked at Zhu. "One of the Chinese men is wanting to speak with you, Zhu," he told her.
"Which one?"
"The one who looks good in a dress."
She nodded in understanding. "That would be Ling." She didn't need to look at Mundzuc to know he was now glaring at her. "Did he say what he wanted to speak about?"
"Yes. He wanted to speak with you about the brick production. He said to meet him behind the largest house."
"Thank you, Roua." She looked down at Liling, noticing that she wasn't eating anymore. Shifting her, she pulled her shirt back down and held Liling against her shoulder. "I will head over there now," she told him, beginning to gently pat Liling on the back. "I would imagine he is wanting to know when he can expect more help with the brick making…"
"I'll come with you," Mundzuc told her, voice cool. "I may as well get to know my wife's best friends. After all, they're going to be playing a large role in her life."
Zhu gave him a bored look. "You will join me when I go to speak with my friends out of fear of me being unfaithful and, yet, you refuse to meet my mother."
"I will meet your mother, but I would prefer it if you were there with me," he retorted. "In fact, I would prefer to meet your entire family with you present."
Roua rolled his eyes. "What? Are you afraid they'll find some way to get rid of you? I don't know if you've noticed, but they're trying to make peace with our peoples. By getting rid of you, that would defeat the purpose."
Mundzuc narrowed his eyes. "I am aware of that," he snapped. "I would—would just rather have my wife present when I meet her family so that she can introduce me."
Zhu's brow rose; everything about Mundzuc's demeanor was telling her he was embarrassed: His slightly pink cheeks, his defensive behavior, and the slight hesitation in his voice. But why would he, of all people, be embarrassed? Was it because he was the reason she was in an unhappy marriage?
'No,' she told herself, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly as she both watched and listened as the two men continued to bicker. 'He's not embarrassed.'
A small smirk then came to her lips. "Mundzuc is nervous about meeting my family," she stated, voice even, but cool. "He is not the best when it comes to speaking with people he does not know, so he would like me there as a sort of security blanket."
His cheeks turning pink, he glared at her. "I wouldn't phrase it quite like that," he grumbled, "but, yes, I would like you there for that reason."
"Funny. You have no problems when it comes to talking with men you do not know."
Roua snickered. "Why doesn't it surprise me that women of all creatures would scare him?"
Mundzuc growled, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the reins in anger. "Shut. Up."
"Now it makes sense why you always let someone else do the talking when business was conducted with women and why you were so hesitant to speak to Yildiz the other day." Zhu started laughing, but there was no humor in it. The sound was, instead, a mixture of sarcastic and condescending. "No wonder you settled for me," she sneered. "I am the only woman you were ever able to talk to without pissing yourself in fear!"
Roua's eyes shot open as Mundzuc suddenly backhanded Zhu across the face. The force nearly knocked her from the saddle, but she was just barely able to keep her balance.
"You're lucky a man like me 'settled' for you at all!" Mundzuc hissed, watching as blood began to ooze from her nose. "If it hadn't been for me, you and your family would have been slaughtered by my brothers and their armies!" Before either she or Roua could react, he turned his horse around and rode off.
Zhu winced as she pressed her sleeve against her nostril. "I did not think he would do that," she murmured, pulling her hand back to inspect the amount of blood. "He usually reserves hitting me for when I am not holding Liling."
"He's a damned coward, that's why he did it," Roua growled. Shaking his head, he looked up at her worriedly. "We should get you to a healer."
"What can a healer do?" she asked, her brow rising. "Tell me to hold a cloth to my nose until it stops bleeding?" Sighing, she adjusted Liling so that the child was also sitting in the saddle, her mother's arm helping her to stay upright. "I will be fine, do not worry." She gave him a small smile, though any reassurance it held was driven away by the blood on her face.
"You tell me not worry after I witnessed you get backhanded by your husband?" he asked, voice dry and sarcastic. "You're so comforting."
Zhu gave him an apologetic look. "I do not know what else to tell you." Every time she spoke, her cheek ached.
"Tell me I can backhand that bastard across the face for you," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
Rolling her eyes, she chuckled. "Feel free," she told him. "I, on the other hand, need to go see why Ling wants to talk about bricks."
"You may want to wash the blood from your face first." He turned, walking alongside her as Umut started to walk.
"I will once I stop bleeding," she told him. "Which, hopefully, is soon. The last thing I need is for one of them to see me with a bloody nose…"
"And a large bruise on your cheek."
A look of exasperation came to her face. "Is one already forming?"
He nodded. "It's still more red than anything, but there is a bit of black and blue starting to form."
Sighing, she closed her eyes. "It cannot be helped, I guess," she murmured. She could already hear the mixture of worry and scolding words Ling would be telling her. "I will see you later. Maybe hit Mundzuc a little extra hard for me?"
"Oh, I'll make sure it's more than a 'little'," Roua said, his brow rising. "He'll have a bigger bruise than you by tonight, I promise." Reaching up, he gave Liling's cheek a gentle pinch. "You be a good girl for your mommy, alright? She's having a rough day."
Liling made a quiet noise as she tried to grab hold of his hand. It was quickly pulled out of her reach, however, as Roua stopped walking and Umut continued to walk. Continuing her baby babbling, she instead picked up Umut's reins and started to play with them.
'Ling is going to be so upset with me when he sees this,' she thought with a sigh. 'And I can't even lie about it; it's obvious someone struck me—and it's even more obvious who struck me.'
She swallowed hard as she looked down at Liling. 'Things would be so much easier if Ling was your father…but no. Life isn't easy.' She gently ran her fingers along the top of Liling's head. 'I can only hope the Earth Mother and Sky Father take pity on you, my sweet little daughter…'
She shook her head and sighed. Her nose no longer feeling like it was bleeding, she wiped her face a final time before reaching for her water flask. Carefully, she balanced Liling against her while she used the water to rinse out her sleeve and then to wipe her face clean.
It didn't take much longer for Umut to reach the spot where Ling wanted to meet. There, she found him shoving a heavy-looking shale tray of unbaked bricks into one of the ovens. He grunted as he stood upright, wincing as he leaned backwards to stretch backwards. Spotting Zhu from the corner of his eye, he grinned and started to walk towards her.
"I see you got my message," he said. "And I see you brought Liling! Is she going to help make some bricks?" He chuckled, but the sound faltered in his throat. Seeing the bruise forming along her cheek and the bits of blood that still clung to her nostril, his eyes widened in shocked horror. "Zhu, what happened?!"
She leaned over, handing Liling to him. "It is nothing," she told him. Throwing her leg over Umut, she dismounted. "Roua said you wanted to speak with me about the brick making?" She smoothed her clothing out, trying to ignore the half-scolding, half-pouting expression Ling was wearing.
"He hit you, didn't he?" he asked, ignoring her question. "Why?! Why did he hit you?!"
Zhu sighed in defeat; she knew that, no matter how much she insisted that the bruise was nothing, Ling would continue to press her for an answer. "I mocked him," she finally answered. "I mocked him for being afraid to talk to women."
"And he hit you for that!? I tease Yao about that all the time and he's never hit me—out of anger, anyway!" He adjusted Liling, holding her more against his shoulder now. "Zhu…"
"I will be fine," she said, a reassuring smile on her lips. "Now, please: Tell me why you needed to speak with me, Ling."
He was silent for a moment, still watching Zhu. Then, turning from her, he started to gently bounce the child and walked towards the house. "We've got a pretty good supply of bricks built up already," he told her, "but the thing is: Since Yao's started to help Ting-Ting and Shang out with harvesting lumber, it's just been me making these things."
Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Zhu was only a few paces behind him. He opened the door, beckoning her inside. Once the two of them were inside, he closed the door. He then jumped as Zhu sneezed, startled both by the sound and by how adorable it was.
"Was that a—?!" he gawked.
Her cheeks were bright red. She opened her mouth to speak, but the only sound that came out was another sneeze…and another…and another. Liling started giggling at her mommy's silly noises. After a few minutes, however, Zhu's nose settled down.
"That was the most adorable sound I have ever heard leave a human's body," Ling grinned. He looked down at Liling, whose giggles were beginning to quiet down. "Weren't those cute little sneezes your mommy had?"
Zhu's cheeks were bright red. "I believe we were talking about bricks, not sneezes," she grumbled, clearly embarrassed. The sneezes had been unavoidable; the room smelled heavily of dusty earth.
A pitying smile came to his lips, but he couldn't help but continue chuckling. "Yeah, bricks. As I was saying, it's just been me making bricks the last few days. This would be fine and dandy if it was still just us here, but with all your people…"
"You will need help making them." She walked over to the stacks of baked bricks, picking one up to inspect it. "I am sure I can round up a good number of people to help you with that. Does it matter if they are good with pottery or not?"
He shook his head. "Not at all. The hardest part is getting the ratio of ingredients right and then mixing them together," he chuckled. He looked down at Liling, lightly poking her nose. "I bet you'll be pretty good at playing in the mud once you start toddling about!" he told her. "Maybe you can help Uncle Ling make bricks?"
Zhu felt a pang in her heart, but kept her face free of any emotion aside from amusement. "How many workers do you think you will need?"
"I don't know, to be honest." He shrugged. "I guess however many you're willing to part with. I know we'll probably have to build more kilns, too, but that can wait a while."
Setting the brick back down atop the pile, she looked around the room again. More than three-quarters of it was filled with bricks ready to be used; they were stacked in piles tall enough to reach her hips. The rest of the bricks were stacked on rock shelves, many of them looking still quite damp.
"I will try to get you at least thirty," she told him, brushing her hair over her shoulder. "More, if possible. But I will be needing to put a lot of our manpower into timber harvesting."
"I understand," he nodded. "Wooden houses are faster to build than brick houses. But, you can't build ovens and stoves without bricks or stones." He smiled at her. "And even if you can't get me that many people, I'm perfectly fine with just three even."
"Or four. I will help you out at times."
His brow rose. "You? Help make bricks?" He started to laugh.
She frowned. "What is so funny about that?"
"You're a queen, Zhu. You've got way more important things to do than to help me make bricks."
"What good is a queen if she does not help her subjects with their jobs once in a while?" she questioned, crossing her arms over her chest. There was a small pout on her lips. "Just because I am a queen does not mean that I can no longer help my friends and family."
Ling cocked a brow, still chuckling. "I'm happy to hear that," he admitted. "I know being a queen can't be an easy job and…I'd be lying if I told you some of us weren't worried about you being too busy to be around us anymore."
A bit of hurt came to her face. "Even if I were empress of the entire world, I would still make time to be with my friends and family," she told him, voice gentle. "It…just may not be as much time as I would like it to be."
"The downsides of being a ruler, huh?" He gave her a pitying smile. "Well…at least you've got Roua to help you out. He seems like a nice enough guy. He was the one who tried to give me my apple back when I was in drag, right?"
She laughed, her brow rising as she watched her daughter. "Yes, he was." As Liling tried to gnaw on the neck of Ling's tunic, she pulled a wooden toy from a pouch on her belt. "Here, Liling. This is better than Ling's shirt."
He smiled. "She'll be cutting a tooth soon, won't she?"
"I am afraid so," she smiled, opening the door to leave the storage house. "Though, I think she may be cutting more than one; when I felt her gums the other day, there were a few bumps."
"They'll come in at different times just to annoy you," he teased. "That's how it always happen: They never come in at the same time."
Her brow rose. "Are you aware of how much you sound like a father when you speak like that?" she joked. "If I did not know already know any better, I would have thought you and Ting-Ting had a child while I was away."
He rolled his eyes, his cheeks turning a bit pink. "Very funny," he replied sarcastically. A sigh then left the back of his mouth as shifted Liling. "To be honest, I don't think that'll ever happen between the two of us."
Zhu felt her stomach lurch slightly. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know…It's just feels like we don't have the same spark that we used to have. I don't know if that makes any sense or not, but…" He shrugged.
'He feels the same way as Ting-Ting?' she thought, surprised by his confession. "It makes perfect sense," she said aloud. "Sometimes, people fall out of love. But rather than continuing on in a loveless relationship, you should talk with her about it." It made sense to give him the same advice she had given her sister; at least then, if they admitted to each other that they had vented to her, they wouldn't think she had given them differing answers.
"Yeah…The problem is trying to bring it up without sounding like an idiot." He let out a half-hearted laugh. "It's not really a subject I ever thought I'd have to bring up." As she looked at him, she saw guilt intermingling with the uncertainty.
"Do you need to talk about it?" she asked him, setting her hand on his shoulder. "You sound and look torn up over this."
Ling paused in his steps, looking between Zhu and the other houses as he thought over her offer. Then, sighing, he nodded. "That would be nice. But—Not here. There's something I'm going to tell you that I don't really want anyone overhearing by accident."
She nodded in understanding, feeling her stomach beginning to churn. What sort of secret could Ling of all people have that he didn't want others to know about? "That is fine. We can wander off somewhere more private. I'd offer my yurt, but…well, if Mundzuc is there."
"Yeah, no. I want to keep you away from him for as long as possible," he said, his tone growing a bit protective now. Shaking his head, he sighed a second time. "Let's go by the river. There's a nice spot with some boulders we can sit on."
"That works for me."
Ling led her away from the houses, still happily toting Liling. Zhu offered to take her back, but he refused in the form of blowing a raspberry at her and making Liling giggle. It wasn't a long walk to the spot he had mentioned; it only took them about ten minutes. Zhu thought it was a rather pretty spot, with the morning sun glittering off the water and the trees around them.
"I found this place when I wanted to take a cold bath a few weeks ago," he told her, carefully sitting down on one of the boulders. "It's far enough away from the houses that I can't be seen, but still close enough that I can run back and warm up if I get too chilled."
"It seems like it would also make for a good thinking spot," she said, sitting down atop a nearby boulder.
"Yeah, I guess it does." He chuckled quietly, crossing his legs. He sat Liling down in his lap, angling her so she was propped against his chest. A sigh then left his mouth and he ran his hand through his hair; Zhu had noticed he'd been wearing it down the past few days. She thought it looked quite handsome. "Gods, how do I even begin…?"
"Start at the beginning," she suggested. "Tell me why you think you and Ting-Ting have lost your spark."
"Well…for starters, our hugs and kisses have been feeling almost—almost forced. But not like we're forcing each other to kiss! Just that we're forcing ourselves to do said things."
She nodded in understanding. "Believe me: I know exactly what you mean."
"So, yeah…there's that. There's also the fact that we don't really see each other much these days. She's been busy with all of her wood working while I've been making bricks and kilns. And when we are around each other, we just…it's hard to explain. There are still moments where it feels like we're still as deeply in love as we were a year ago. But those moments are getting fewer and farther between."
"It definitely sounds like you need to sit down and have a talk with her," she told him, reaching over and setting her hand on his knee. "It will not do either of you any good if you continue to let it stew inside you."
"Yeah; the last thing we need is for me to have a total breakdown," he chuckled, glancing down at his hand. "Trust me, you do not want to see me crying like a blubbering idiot."
She glanced away from him. She wanted to tell him that she had, in fact, seen him crying like a blubbering idiot, but knew it wasn't the best of times. "So…what is the part that you did not want anyone else overhearing?"
He let out another sigh, this one heavier than the others. For a few minutes, he said nothing; he was too busy contemplating how to say it. Looking down at Liling, he half-heartedly smiled down at her. He had only known this child for a few days and he already wanted to protect her with his life. Then again, he had always had a soft spot for children…
"Do you promise not to tell anyone?" he suddenly asked.
"Of course." Her brows furrowed in confusion as Ling held his hand out to her, all fingers but his pinky clenched in a fist.
"Pinky promise," he told her.
"…Do what now?"
"Pinky promise," he repeated. "It's just—It's just a thing I learned as a kid. It somehow adds weight to the promise, I guess."
"Alright," she chuckled, her brow now lifted. Reaching over, she clasped his pinky with her own; she was surprised by how much longer his fingers were than hers. "I promise I will not tell anyone what you are about to tell me."
He nodded, giving her pinky a small squeeze. He remained quiet for another minute or two before his cheeks started to burn. "I think I've fallen in love with Mulan."
Her eyes widened and she felt a brick suddenly drop into her stomach. "…What?" she asked, voice barely a whisper.
"I think I'm in love with Mulan," he repeated, his voice heavy with shame. "I—I don't know how it happened. But, lately I've been noticing that I've been enjoying her company more than I have Ting-Ting's. And being around her, I feel so at ease and just so…content." Thanks to Liling being in his lap, he couldn't rub his arm, so he instead rubbed his leg.
"Being around her has always felt different than being around other woman," he continued. "I've never felt nervous or self-conscious around her. I can poke fun at her and she pokes fun right back, but she also lets me know if I've gone too far without hitting me like Yao does."
Glancing over at Zhu, he saw that she was still wearing a look of shock; he had no idea that he had just caused a dull ache to fill her heart. "But she's too good of a friend to admit my feelings to. It'd just make things awkward, since she's with Shang. I don't really want to lose her friendship, you know?"
"Yes, of course," she replied, forcing herself to sound as if she wasn't hurting. Pulling a knee to her chest, she wrapped her arms around her leg before resting her chin atop the knee. "I must admit, I am rather surprised to hear this. Mulan is a wonderful and amazing woman, but I would not have thought she was your type."
A weary laugh left his mouth. "Neither did I. But, I guess these sorts of things just sneak up on you." He gently took hold of Liling's legs, beginning to make her 'dance' and earning a fit of giggles from her. "But, like I said: I'm not going to tell her. With luck, this is just a crush that'll fade away as I meet some more women." He then shrugged, chuckling. "Maybe I'll find myself a strong Hun or Mongol woman and marry her."
"Perhaps," she said, a small smile on her lips. She watched as he continued to make Liling 'dance'. "Whatever happens, I already know you will end up being a wonderful father."
"I can only hope I'll still have the patience for it," he laughed. "I'm at the point in my life where I enjoy sleeping in almost too much to give it up. With children—well, newborns, at least—you're up every few hours, either feeding them or changing them."
"Trust me, I know. You have no idea how grateful I am that Liling has begun sleeping through the night. Even with Roua and Mundzuc's help, I inevitably had to be the one to console her back to sleep." She turned her vision down to the river, watching the twinkling water as it flowed over the rocks.
He looked over at her, watching her. He would have thought the past week would have been restful for her, as she was no longer traveling and had her friends and family again. Instead, though, it almost looked like she was even more exhausted than when she arrived.
"Hey Zhu?"
"Hm?" She didn't bother looking up, having found a little fish to watch. A smile came to her lips as she watched it dart from one hiding spot to another as it tried to avoid detection from larger fish.
"Are you alright? Healthwise, I mean."
Her brow rose and she peeked over at him. "Why do you ask?"
"You just seem really tired all the time. I know that can be chalked up to parenthood, but…"
A guilty smile came to her lips. "It is a mixture of things," she admitted. "Parenthood, queendom, traveling…but, mostly, it is because I still have yet to recover fully from Liling's birth."
His frown grew. "I remember you saying it was a rough birth, but just how bad was it?"
Zhu was quiet for a moment as she looked back at the water. Then, she held her hand out to him, pinky extended. "Pinky promise you will not tell my mother or sisters," she ordered, voice quiet.
"That bad?" he asked, worry in his voice as he reached out, clasping her pinky for a second time.
She nodded. "I…I very nearly died that day," she murmured, voice barely audible above the sounds of the river. "Liling's birth was not easy. I could not seem to—to push her out, but when I did get her out, I lost a lot of blood."
"What?!" he yelped, eyes wide and face paling.
"Yes…Evidently, I was on the threshold of death for nearly a week. Zoraida, the midwife, later told me it was because my hips are too narrow." A soft sigh left her lips and she pulled her braid over her shoulder, starting to run her fingers along it.
He frowned. "I wouldn't have guessed that. I mean, sure: You're not the most curvy of women, but you should have enough hip space for a baby to pass through. Does this mean you can't have any more kids?"
"It is recommended I not have anymore. And, frankly, I cannot say I was disappointed by her suggestion. Unless some miracle were to happen and Mundzuc was removed from my life, I do not plan on having more children."
His brows furrowed in confusion. "So, what you're saying is: If you were able to divorce Mundzuc or became his widow, you would find someone you actually loved and you would risk your life to have their child?"
"Yes."
"But…why? Why do that if it could kill you?"
She closed her eyes, sighing heavily. "Because…Because I want to know what it is like to have a child with someone I loved." She opened her eyes again and looked down into the water. The smaller fish from earlier was still darting about, but there was a larger fish making its way towards it. "But as I said: Only a miracle would be able to make that happen."
The larger fish charged forward, catching the smaller one in its mouth and swallowing it whole.
"Well, miracles happen," Ling told her, trying to sound hopeful. "And you're way past overdue for one, don't you think?"
A quiet laugh left her mouth. "I think my coming back from the dead has used up a lifetime's worth of miracles." She turned, looking at him. "Having Liling will be enough for me," she assured him. "No, I may not love her father, but I do love her. While she may not get siblings, she will have plenty of cousins to run around and create havoc with."
"No doubt. I think Yao and Mei were discussing the possibility of having six kids in the future." His legs beginning to fall asleep, he scooped up Liling and slid off the rock.
"That…honestly, does not surprise me much. I have never seen a pair so completely in love with one another as them." She watched him as he crouched down at the water's edge, resting Liling on his knee.
"Do you see the fishies, Liling?" he asked the little girl, his voice quiet. "If you dip your toes in, they sometimes come up and try to nibble your toesies. But their mouths are so tiny, it just ends up tickling like a feather!"
Though she didn't understand a word that was being spoken to her, Liling watched the spots where Ling had pointed to, her eyes wide as she continued to gnaw on the wooden toy. She occasionally added in a soft 'mahh' or gurgle of contentment as she continued to listen.
"Oh, look over there!" Ling whispered, pointing at a spot near the base of Zhu's rock. "Look just below your mommy's foot. Do you see it? The little, teeny tiny frog?"
Liling grunted, watching the spot while still oblivious as to why she was watching it.
Zhu leaned forward slightly and ever so slowly moved her foot. Sure enough, below her, there was a frog perched atop a small rock pile. It made no noise, but the skin on its throat was bubbling in and out with its every breath. Her brow rose and a smile came to her lips.
"You can call her 'Lili' if you would like," she told him. "It is what I call her at times."
Ling glanced up. "Lili?" he repeated with a grin. "That's adorable!" Looking down at the child, he blew a raspberry against her cheek and made her giggle. "Little Lili, Princess of the Huns. It has a nice ring to it."
"I thought so." The smile remained on her lips as she watched Ling stand back up.
He once more cradled Liling against his chest. "Shall we head back now? I don't know about you, but I'm starving. And I think the little princess needs a diaper change."
"Oh dear…Well, it does not surprise me. She had just finished breakfast before I came to meet with you." She carefully slid off the rock, taking care to not startle the frog. "Though, I must admit: Food does sound quite good right now. I had only a handful of dried food before I went out this morning." She held her hands out to take Liling from him; after all, who wanted to hold a stinky baby?
Evidently, Ling, as he refused to give her back just yet. "Hm? Just for a morning ride?"
She shook her head, starting to walk alongside him instead. "No. I wanted to inspect the lands we are thinking about turning into grazing pastures. I had wanted to do the job alone, but Mundzuc followed me without my knowing. As such, a job that would have taken me an hour at most instead took three hours." Shaking her head again, she let out a heavy sigh. "He was afraid that some wild animal would attack Liling and me."
"…You have a magic horse," Ling said, his voice bland. "And you have the best aim with a bow in the whole world. I'm sure if something tried to attack you, you would have kicked its ass." His eyes then widened and he clapped a hand over his mouth. "Sorry!" he said, his voice muffled.
"…Sorry for what?" she asked, brow rising in confusion. "For cursing?"
He nodded, frowning when she snorted. "What? She's an impressionable young lady! She doesn't need to learn such foul words at her tender age."
Zhu continued to laugh at him. "Ling, she is less than five months old. She barely understands the words 'mommy' and 'daddy', let alone 'ass'!"
"Children are like sponges!" he argued, a playful pout on his lips. "They absorb everything around them!"
"Yes, when they are old enough. As it is, Liling is young enough that she is still getting the hang of pooping."
"Oh, no. I think she's mastered pooping. It's eating solid foods she'll need to work on soon." He glanced over at Zhu, a wide grin on his lips. "And when that happens, she's going to be twice as stinky as she is now. Isn't that right, you precious little pooper?"
Liling giggled as Ling gently tickled the bottoms of her feet. She kicked her legs, trying to evade his tickles. But it was useless, as he was holding her. Not that it mattered much to her; she continued to giggle at him.
"You have the cutest little giggle I have ever heard," Ling grinned, finally ceasing his tickling. "It's almost as cute as your mommy's sneezes."
Zhu groaned. "Spirits, help me…here comes the teasing…"
