For all author's notes please see Chapter 1.

I noticed in the last few chapters I was jumping from event to event in history to try and move the timeline along, so I decided to do an aftermath from the last chapter this time instead of hopping to the next event.

It's kind of slow since no major incident happens here, just a little more interaction between Yao and Ivan (although I believe at the burning of Yuanmingyuan the Russians were not in Beijing in actuality, they were present for the signing of the treaty though). I also wanted to show Yao's determination to survive even after all that's happened because it just seemed like he was getting stomped on every time for the past...10 chapters...O_O

Thank you to my lovely reviewers as always~! Enjoy!


Chapter 29: Moving On

It was cold. Even though the roaring fire from Yuamingyuan had yet to abate the chill from the evening was settling in. Yao gathered his tattered robe tighter around himself. A few hours had passed since his encounter with Arthur and Francis. Initially he had wanted to get as far away as possible from the tower after the two had left, but he had simply been too weak. Most of the servants had fled the palace along with the emperor and no one was around to help him at all. Yao could only thank his lucky stars that none of their soldiers had found him here. He leaned against the outer wall of the tower, gazing out at the blinding fire. Even as the sun set leaving the sky dark, tonight there would be no darkness. Yao wondered how long this fire would go on for. Numbness was settling in and now he had no more tears to shed nor anger to vent. He just wanted it all to be over.

Soft steps came up the stairs of the tower, the owner going slowly in the dark as he was unfamiliar with the surroundings. He held a candle in one hand lighting his way, as his other hand gripped the railing. As soon as he had set foot in the capital city he had been eager to seek out Yao, but after he heard that the emperor had fled he had thought Yao had also left. A few hours ago, near Yuamingyuan, he had caught sight of Francis and Arthur, the two seemingly giddy at some little secret they shared. No matter how much had had pried the two had refused to disclose the details, but they admitted they had seen Yao here in the Forbidden City's northwest tower. Pleasantly surprised at the news the man had practically flew over, wondering what Yao was doing over here. The palace seemed hauntingly cold and silent, the usually bustling halls filled with servants, concubines and advisers were for once, empty.

Yao buried his head into his arms. He was seated on the floor, his knees pulled up against his chest and his arms resting on top of his knees. His hair was loose, he hadn't bothered to re-tie it, and he could feel his clothes sticking to some of his wounds as the blood dried. The voice of reason screamed at him to get up and clean his counts before they become infected, and get something warm to wear before he caught a cold, but he really didn't think he could make it down the stairs.

'Well...I guess I could always jump off the tower if I can't walk down the stairs,' Yao thought with a disgusted laugh to himself. He wondered what his emperor would say if he came back to Peking to find Yao in such a state.

The man finally reached the top of the stairs and paused to catch his breathe. He looked around. Inside it was pitch black minus his flickering candle, but outside the skies were a dark navy blue, tinged with red, silhouetting the doorway. Keeping his candle in front of him the man made his way to the door, glancing around to see if he could catch sight of any human-like forms.

"Yao? Yao, are you in here?"

Yao perked up at the voice. Good heavens, who was it this time? Panicked, he tried to scramble up, wincing as he fell and his rear hit the floor hard.

"Yao, answer me if you're here! It's Ivan!"

Yao didn't bother listening to the words. Someone else was here, and he doubted it was an ally. Gripping the wall he dragged his aching body up and tried to limp to the far end of the tower away from the doorway where he could be found easily.

Ivan's sharp ears picked up on the movement and hurried his steps. Someone was here. As he stepped out of the doorway Ivan caught sight of the back of someone darting around the corner and out of his sight. Quickly he went after the person, almost running.

"Yao? Yao, stop! It's me!"

Yao's current state made him no match for Ivan's wide strides. With little effort the Russian caught up to the other man, reaching out and wrapping his free arm around the slim waist to stop him from running anymore.

"NO! Let me go! Release me!"

Yao struggled and lunged forward trying to break Ivan's grip. He tried jabbing his elbow back, but Ivan barely registered the blows. The larger man frowned as he tried desperately to hold on to the agitated man while keeping his candle from falling.

"Yao, stop! Stop struggling, it's just me Ivan! I'm not going to hurt you!"

With a final lurch Yao broke Ivan's grasp, but the momentum pushed him forward too fast and he stumbled, falling hard on his hands and knees.

Hurriedly Ivan set down the candle and knelt down beside the fallen body, eyes worriedly running over it to see if he had been injured in the fall.

"Yao? Yao, are you ok? I'm sorry, I didn't expect you to do that."

Yao's head was lowered and his hair hid his face. His shoulders shook and he turned his head away from Ivan.

"Go away. Leave me alone."

Ivan frowned and he rested a hand on Yao's back, trying to peek around to see Yao's face.

"Yao? Look at me, what's wrong? Talk to me."

"What's wrong? Are you seriously asking me that? Have you not SEEN my...my..."

Yao couldn't finish the sentence and his voice broke down into sobs. Ivan's eyes flickered over to the skyline. Oh yes, the Summer Palace. He had been invited there only once, but it had been absolutely breathtaking. There were lakes, pavilions, temples, palaces, halls, water fountains, everything. In the early morning, the mist would rise to the lake's surface making the pavilions seem like heavenly palaces that floated on clouds. He had been truly shocked to hear that Arthur and Francis had authorized their troops to burn it down, and even he felt a pang of sadness at losing such a piece of beauty.

Turning his eyes back to the shaking dragon in front of him Ivan ran his hand soothingly over his back.

"I...I'm really sorry about your palace Yao. Can't I...I want to do something to make you feel better...please?"

Yao bit his lip. He knew Ivan's troops weren't involved in the destruction, but that didn't mean he didn't take advantage of his current state. Shakily he pushed himself up onto his feet again, wincing as he saw the palms of his hands scratched from breaking his fall. He used the sleeves of his robe and rubbed his face, trying to get rid of dried tears before he turned to face Ivan fully.

Ivan couldn't help the soft gasp that fell from his lips. He had never remembered seeing Yao in such a sorry state. His hair was messed, he had bruises on his face and neck, his lip was bleeding, his usually beautiful eyes like jewels now fell dull, his luxurious robes were torn and tattered, the buttons sliced and useless, not to mention the patches of blood, dried and drying, that stained the soft fabric.

Without thinking Ivan reached out a hand, wanting to hug the man in front of him. He looked so fragile, like even a little bit of pressure will break him, but Ivan felt his heart squeeze painfully at the sight of the man he once admired and practically worshipped reduced to this.

Wordlessly Yao took a step back. He didn't want to be touched, didn't want comfort, didn't want lying words to fill his ears. He wanted his country back, his people strong again, his dignity restored, and most of all, he wanted his rightful position as the Middle Kingdom, Dragon of the East, ruler of all under the heavens, returned to him.

He straightened his back and ran a hand through his hair. Levelling Ivan with a look of determination he set his mouth in a thin line.

"There's nothing you can do except get out of my land. But I know your kind well enough to know that won't happen. One day, I swear on my five thousand years of history that one day I will make all of you return my sovereignty to me. One day, there will be no foreign footsteps on my soil. I guarantee it."

Ivan blinked and found himself wordless. Where in the world did this man find the galls to make such promises in his current state? He bristled slightly at Yao's hostile tone, it sounded like Yao was lumping him in together with all the other invaders. It sounded like Yao didn't want him in his house anymore. That couldn't be, how could Yao not be happy to have him back? Have them all living under one roof as they used to? Slowly he picked up the candle and let the flickering light illuminate Yao's face.

Not caring for the light, Yao turned his back on Ivan and once again looked out over the city. Suddenly he wanted to get away from this tower. He didn't want to be faced with the fire flooded horizon anymore. Some place dark, cool, quiet so he could clear his head, that's what he needed. Taking a deep breathe he gripped the railing and tried as hard as he could to walk steadily towards the stairs. Ivan followed, not saying anything, he was curious just how far Yao could get without asking for help. Yao had no intention of letting the other aid him, he pretended not to notice his follower as he carefully made his way down the stairs. A few times he wobbled and had to quickly clutch the rails with both hands to prevent himself from tumbling down, but he always straightened himself up and kept going. Ivan bit his lip as he watched. When Yao fumbled he instinctively reached out his hands to steady the man, but each time he stopped short of actually touching him. He noticed Yao shivering as a chilly breeze passed by them, ruffling Ivan's scarf. Ivan was quite warm with his coat on, but Yao's tattered clothes offered little defence against the cold. Carefully Ivan unwrapped his scarf and draped it over Yao's shoulders, letting the other decide if he wanted to accept the offered warmth or not. Yao paused as he caught his breath, looking down at the beige scarf, contrasting sharply with the golden silk fabric of his own robes. He could feel Ivan's warmth from the scarf, smell the man, a mix of sunflowers and alcohol. He wondered when Ivan started drinking. Yao's hand twitched, tempted to throw the scarf off, but the warmth it offered won out and he grudgingly wrapped it around his neck, burying his chin into it. He mumbled something, keeping his eyes away from Ivan's inquisitive ones.

"Hm? I'm sorry, did you say something Yao?"

Yao glanced over, then quickly looked away again before repeating what he had said.

"I said 'thank you'."

Ivan shook his head, and held out one hand.

"I'm not that cold anyway. Are you sure you don't want me to help you down? It'll be a lot faster."

Yao assessed the offered hand, looking down at the flights of stairs still ahead of him. He was about halfway down. With a firm shake of his head Yao took another step down.

"No, I'm fine on my own."

Ivan automatically wanted to protest, he wanted to just wrap his arms around that slender waist, hoist him up and run down the stairs, it would have been so easy, but he bit his tongue and retracted his hand.

"Oh. OK."

They continued and it was another thirty minutes before they finally stood at the foot of the stairs. Ivan's eyes were almost spinning from concentrating on Yao to make sure he didn't fall. Yao only paused for a moment before he continued, his steps slow and unsteady. Ivan looked over at the palace yard and wondered where exactly Yao was heading to. The Forbidden City was huge, it could easily take hours to go from one end to another and at Yao's pace it would probably take them all night. Before Ivan could ask he found that Yao had stopped and was looking at him.

"Ivan, you should go. It's late."

Ivan gave Yao an incredulous look.

"What? No way, I'm not leaving."

Yao ran a hand over his eyes and took the scarf from around his neck. He held it out for Ivan.

"It's late, they'll be wondering where you are."

Ivan see-sawed between his choices. It's true that Arthur, Francis and his own envoy are probably waiting for him. They had to make plans for their next step since the emperor was no longer in Peking. Would they stay? Retreat? And he didn't want them to turn the city upside down looking for him. He ran his eyes over Yao.

"I'll leave on one condition."

Yao raised an eye brow. What could Ivan possibly want from him now? He had nothing to give. Unsure of what to expect the Asian nation kept quiet.

"Let me take you somewhere you can rest for tonight."

Yao looked around. It was a tempting offer. His villa was quite a ways away and if he tried going by himself he really had no idea how long it would take him. He ached for a bath and his stomach was doing somersaults in demand for food. Reluctantly he nodded.

"O..Ok...fine. But you can't stay. You have to leave immediately."

Ivan had dropped the candle and was slipping his hands under Yao before he even finished the sentence. Picking up the man bridal style he agreed.

"Alright, I have to talk to my envoy anyway."

Yao relaxed slightly at that. He leaned against Ivan's chest letting out a soft puff of air. Truth be told he was relieved to be off his feet. It felt good not to have to hold himself up by his own strength anymore. He muscles were so tired, and he could feel his eyes drooping already.

"Do you remember how to get to my villa?"

Ivan thought for a moment. He tried to picture a map of the Forbidden City and locate Yao's villa along with where they were currently. He had a general idea, although he might need Yao to help him with the details."

"Yeah, I think so, more or less."

Carefully Ivan headed out, it was already dark out and it made the already confusing palace that much more difficult to navigate. Somewhere along the way Yao fell asleep. The arms supporting him were warm and strong, but Yao's dreams haunted him and he mumbled in distraught the whole way. Ivan couldn't make out anything in particular as they were all in Chinese, and Yao wasn't using proper sentences, but he could tell it wasn't anything pleasant. He sighed and kept his attention on his task. Well, at least if he were the one to control Yao and the Middle Kingdom he would keep Yao alive in his own home. He couldn't be sure the others would do the same.


Probably another time skip for next chapter.

Thank you for reading and as always all reviews are read and highly appreciated~!