Bait

"Here, take it," he said as he proffered the orange in his little hands.

The little girl smiled brightly at him, taking the fruit, "Thank you very much!" she said with a cute flush of her cheeks.

He had stared at her then, speechless at the way she beamed at him. He had never acknowledged anything as cute before. He had curtailed it out of the garden as fast as he could, if only to hide the embarrassing flush of his cheeks.

Ou Hon grumbled as he opened his eyes. It had been that stupid dream again that he'd had since he could remember. He tossed aside his blanket and scrambled out of his bed. It was still dark outside, and the estate was yet to start preparations for the day. That was the time the 23-year-old general usually woke up in order to start his daily regimen of training and exercise. No one was allowed to disturb him during his personal training, unless that person wished to be flogged.

Ever since he had attained the rank of General, he had been granted a city as his own fortress. Shin and Mou Ten had teased him to no end about it, Ten saying that it had fit him perfectly since he was from nobility and Shin adding that he'd get a bigger city once he becomes a general. He had ruled the city with an iron fist and stone clad discipline. He was a strict leader and he never tolerated anyone breaking his rules, whether it is the nobility or commoners.

He walked out shirtless into the cold, a spear in hand and a towel on the other. The garden was a little dark, but the lamps from the nearest corridors were enough to light his path as he trudged deeper into the garden. He noticed the Orange trees along the side were bearing lots of fruit. He would have to remind the caretaker to pick them out later. Once he reached his usual training ground, a small clearing at the east side of the garden, he set down his spear and worked on his warm-up exercises, normally stretching first.

"Thank you very much!" she said with a cute flush of her cheeks.

The general froze, eyes narrowing before continuing his thousand push-ups. He shook his head as he tried to bring back his concentration into what he was doing. Afterwards, he picked up his spear and started thrusting it viciously, as if he was surrounded by enemies on all sides. As a general, he rarely had a chance to jump into the melee himself, since his army is composed of elites and had never caused him to worry, but occasionally he missed getting caught in the storm of war, so he trained as hard as he ever did.

"Thank you very much!" she said with a cute flush of her cheeks.

Ou Hon shook his head and swung his spear a hundred more times over his head.

"Thank you very much!" she said with a cute flush of her cheeks.

"Godfuckingdammit!" he cursed as he threw the spear into the ground. His head ached at the notion that he was being disturbed from his training by such a trivial memory from his childhood. He stomped over to where he had laid down his towel and wiped at his arms and back. He lay down on the ground panting, finding himself staring at the oranges hanging from the trees around him. Now why does he have so many orange trees in his garden? He grunted, hating the memory of that young day even more.

He had been no more than five years of age back then. Ever since he could remember, he had been practicing with spear in hand everyday in the gardens of his father's estate. His father never had time for him so he trained on his own, away from the prying eyes of other people. That day, he was training alone as well, deep in the gardens. He had worked up quite a sweat from brandishing the small spear, and he was getting hungry. He decided to eat some oranges from the garden and went to look around when he saw her, a small red-headed girl, sitting in the shade of the orange tree, watching him with a curious expression. He didn't even know when she had arrived so, of course, he had questioned her. She explained that she had come visiting the estate with her mother, who was childhood friends with the lady of the house. After adding that she got permission to wander around, Ou Hon proceeded to ignore her, walking past her to climb into the tree she was sitting under.

She had followed him carefully with her gaze, her brightly colored clothes irritating his eyes. He always thought girls were so troublesome, he'd actually tried to control himself in case he makes her cry with something trivial, which would make her even more bothersome. He plucked some fruits from a nearby branch and jumped down the tree. He sat a little ways away from the girl, choosing to face the other way. At least she was a quiet one, unlike all the others, he had thought. He had gone through all the oranges he had plucked, except for the last one, when he turned his head to check if the girl had left. Much to his surprise, she was attempting to climb the tree, and succeeding at it for the most part. Then she fell.

He was prepared for the shrill cry that would follow but there was none. He furrowed his brows in confusion when the girl giggled slightly, rubbing her bottom and scratching the back of her head in embarrassment. He actually thought she was a bit touched in the head at that moment. She wasn't acting like the delicate girls he had to deal with in the estate.

With a bit of hesitation and more of irritation, he had grudgingly extended his hand and helped her back to her feet. She just continued giggling. That was when he had sighed in resignation and handed her his last orange.

She had smiled at him.

And he immediately walked away.

He never saw her again after that. They had not stayed in the estate for the night and had never visited since. But ever since then, occasionally, he'd dream about that time in the garden among the orange trees and of that girl with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen.

"The oranges from your house are really the best, Hon,"

The aforementioned general closed his eyes in annoyance. Not bothering to get up, he turned his head to the source of the familiar voice, who was sitting cross-legged below one of his orange trees, peeling a fruit. "How many times do I have I to tell you to stop trespassing and stealing my oranges?"

Mou Ten ignored the piercing glares sent in his direction as he popped a slice into his mouth, letting out a delicious moan as he tasted the sweet flavor, "Yes, this is the best," he commented as he placed another slice into his mouth. "Can I take some home?"

Normally, he'd have such reckless intruders flogged publicly in the main square. But seeing as it was Mou Ten, a fellow general, he knew he had no choice but to let him go again. He could have him flogged, since he was the master of the estate, but Ten was the most stubborn idiot he had the misfortune to know, right alongside the loud-mouthed peasant. Flogging him would not be enough of a lesson, and he'd just find the guy trespassing and stealing more and more. It would be a never-ending cycle. He doesn't even know how the guy manages to sneak into the estate anyway every single time! Sadly, he can't blame or punish any of his subordinates about that. The guy was truly sneaky, there's a reason why he was a general.

As much as he tried to ignore the red-head with his irritatingly bright girlish clothes, he finds himself glancing every now and then, looking at that equally girlish face break into a smile as he chews on his orange. "Just take whatever you want and don't ever come back here again," Hon answered, though he knows the guy would sneak in sooner or later again, just to be a bother.

Ten snickered, wondering how many times Hon had already said that. "Thank you very much!" he smiled softly, popping another slice into his mouth, "Though, seriously, why don't you just give me a tree or two?"

He received a pointed glare as a reply. "No,"

Ten stood up, straightening his robes, "Alright, I understand," he walked over to the other general, ignoring the spear being swung dangerously close to his face. He leaned close to Hon's ear and whispered, causing the general to turn red and push him away roughly. Ten snickered, waving a hand as he walked away, "I'd go find a room to sleep in now,"

Ou Hon muttered curses under his breath as he picked up his spear. He'd surely find the redhead sprawled in his own bed again, claiming that it was the most comfortable bed he could find.

"Hon, you don't need oranges to lure me into your house, you know,"

He can't believe such a guy had cheated him of something as trivial as his first love.