***Author's Note***
Well, here we go! Another emotional chapter for you. I hope you enjoy what I put together for you, dears. Enjoy!
***End Note***
Yao Yao was starting to wish that poison had killed her. Then she would never have been subjected to Wu Dao's "training". His training involved a great deal of tracking and listening in on conversations she had no interest in, then repeating verbatim what she'd picked up, all while being poked, prodded, and closely observed by the Physician like she was some kind of fascinating science experiment. And it wasn't like she could lie and say she wasn't feeling well or she was tired if she wanted a break, either. He'd just look at her and say "I sense everything you feel. If something were wrong with you, I'd know." The insufferable Dragon would then entirely dismiss her pleading for a break with such clichés as "The enemy isn't resting, so neither will we" or her personal favorite, "I had these skills mastered before I was walking" which was inevitably followed by "I thought you were supposed to be intelligent." To say Wu Dao was a difficult man would be not only putting kindly, but the greatest understatement for millennia to come. The man was a task master from hell.
Finally; after nearly a month of hiding and training, Yao Yao couldn't take it anymore, and wheeled on him. "Wu Dao, I may share your physical heart, and I may be developing Dragon traits, but I WAS NOT BORN A DRAGON! This may all be normal stuff you mastered before you learned to walk, but I learned to walk just fine, while mastering HUMAN senses! Which is FINE. Because last time I checked, I BLASTED WELL AM HUMAN! AND SOMETIMES, HUMANS NEED A BREAK WITHOUT SOMEONE TAKING NOTE OF THEIR EVERY MOVE OR WATCHING EVERY BREATH THEY TAKE!" Without another word, she stormed out of the room, down the stairs, and disappeared into the house.
Wu Dao, for the first time in his life, felt utterly blindsided. He had never once been spoken to like that, let alone by a human. Glancing up, he saw his brother grinning at him from across the room. He narrowed his eyes at the younger King; Wen Tian only grinned wider. Finally, Wu Dao stalked across the room and lowered his face until it was mere inches from his brother's. "What?"
Wen Tian chuckled, "Oh, I knew that was coming, and I find it highly amusing for her to be pissed at someone other than me. Which you both totally deserve, by the way."
The Physician cocked his head curiously, "How do you see that I deserved such rudeness, My Lord?"
Wu Dao snarled, "Oh, yes my lord. Do tell us why we had that coming to us."
Wen Tian's smiled faded and temper sparked in his eyes. "Wow. You two are so arrogant that you really don't see it, do you? You've both been treating her like a laboratory experiment. Like some rat you injected with a fascinating new serum, and you're curious to see how it turns out. Brother, you ripped out half of her heart and replaced it with yours! Not that I am ungrateful or complaining, and neither is she. But you haven't exactly been sympathetic. And now, you're acting like she's a new recruit for your to train. Wu Dao, she is a human woman. A scared human woman. She is doing the best that she can, but you keep treating her like she's a languorous soldier that is doing everything in their power to shirk their duties! She is afraid, brother. And she's trying to comprehend all of this new physical, sensory, and emotional input she's getting and trying to figure out what's coming from her and what's coming from you. Not to mention, she doesn't heal quite as quickly as we do. She still has internal and mental damage from nearly dying that she is recovering from. you hardly give her enough time for a full night's rest before you're at her to get up and start training again! You're wearing her out, brother." He turned his glare on the Physician, "Frankly, I'm shocked you at least didn't take her emotional or mental well-being into account even once, Physician. You should have realized what this kind of treatment could do to someone who was in a potentially fragile state of mind. For pity's sake, she's hardly had so much as a private moment with her father since we brought them here!" Without realizing, Wen Tian's voice had slowly risen to a bellow, and he found himself abruptly exhausted by the effort, his chest heaving with exertion.
To their credit, the blood had drained from both the Physician's face and Wu Dao's. The elder King stood silently for a long moment, staring hard at his younger brother. "You're right," he whispered. "I never once thought about this from her point of view. I've been too concerned with getting her stronger so that I can safeguard my own life. Forgive me, brother."
Wen Tian raised an eyebrow, "I'm not the one you need to be apologizing to, brother. You should be apologizing to Yao Yao."
Wu Dao returned the eyebrow raising and nodded. He stood perfectly still for a moment, listening and scenting the air subtly. At last, his nostrils flared and his eyes flew open. Without another word, he spun on his heel and walked swiftly from the room. It took him only a few minutes to find her, but he heard her long before he saw her.
"Father, I'm honestly starting to wish I'd just died when I was poisoned. I feel like I'm only important so long as I stay alive. I mean, I feel like no one cares about how I feel anymore; only if I keep breathing so Wu Dao stays alive. I feel like my life might as well have stopped when I had that procedure." Her voice cracked, and Wu Dao listened – and felt – as she fell apart, weeping brokenly on her father's shoulder.
"Now, now, precious Daughter. I'm sure they find you fascinating, yes. They've never done this for a human before. That being said, I'm sure you're quite right, in a way. They have yet to think about this from a human perspective. Because they are not human. I'm sure that if Wu Dao could see the state you're in, he would be properly ashamed of himself."
Wu Dao knew a signal when he heard one; somehow, the old man had known he was standing outside the door. He almost smiled to himself; humans may have short lifespans, but they earn much wisdom in such a short amount of time. Quietly, he entered the room. "As well he is," he whispered. "He is most ashamed of himself, and the utter lack of consideration he and his kind have shown." He turned to Professor Ding. "May I steal your daughter away for a few minutes? I promise she will be returned to you shortly." The Professor smiled widely and nodded graciously, indicating his permission.
He walked quietly from the room, knowing she would follow out of sheer curiosity if nothing else. He heard her quiet footsteps following him and led her without speaking to his favorite quiet spot in the entire house. It was little more than a sheltered little reading nook, but it had a perfect view of the sunrise. Wu Dao sat gracefully on the lounging couch in the little alcove and patted the cushion beside him companionably. For a long moment, the stared out the window and watched the daylight fade as the sun dipped behind them, on the opposite side of the house. Wu Dao's nose notified him that his brother was within earshot more than anything else. He nearly smiled to himself, So he's nervous about my relationship with her, is he? Wu Dao took a deep breath and began to speak in the quiet, halting way he had, "I come here when I can't sleep," he nearly whispered. "That happens more than you'd think." He watched her closely out of the corner of his eye, being certain to make it look like he was vitally interested in the growing dark outside the window. He waited a moment before smiling bitterly, "Ruling was always something I was born to, not necessarily something I wanted. It was something I inherited. And I was alright with that. It didn't occur to me to want anything else until….her. She made me realize I wanted so much more. She – and you – made me realize that I truly needed…and wanted a relationship with my brother." He took a deep breath as his chest heaved painfully for a moment at Yu Die's memory. Steadying himself he continued, "When I lost Her, I made it my business to feel nothing. To have no responsibility. My thrice-cursed brother made certain it did not stick. He reminded me constantly that I had so much more to live for. I owe everything I am and everything I have to the three of you." Wu Dao fell silent for a long time after that declaration. Finally, Yao Yao glanced at him and was shocked to see that his face was glistening in the fading light. His eyes twitched to her for half a heartbeat, and he drew in a ragged breath as tears continued to roll down his face. "It has taken me this long to admit it. When we found you again, it was almost like finding a part of…Her again. My heart froze when I saw you; at first I thought it was just jealousy. It took me time to realize that I was seeing Her strength in you, and it pained me. When you were attacked, that all fell away. The only thought in my mind was that if you died, I would truly lose my brother. Forever. He would – at best – slowly fade. At worst, he would kill himself for the grief of losing you. I knew that I could not bear another such loss, so I made the offer to your father. We explained to him the possible ramifications, and he agreed. He was of the opinion that saving you was worth any cost." Wu Dao furrowed his brow and finally turned his head to gaze into Yao Yao's eyes. "But I find that I fundamentally disagree," he said solemnly. "Saving your life at the cost of your joy is far too high a price," he whispered. "I owe you the sincerest of apologies," he continued. "For the last few weeks, all I have been concerned with was preserving and improving your physical health for the sake of my own life. I should have known better by now. You were quite accurate when you were venting to your father before. I have never once consiered your emotions. I have only ever considered mine, and what I might lose if you died. Once the procedure was completed, I feared the loss of my own life if you should be assassinated, or if something should happen to you. Never once did I consider how such a change might alter you, or how it might affect my brother. And for that, I must beg your forgiveness. Please forgive my callousness," he nearly wept as he slid gracefully to his knees, his forehead on the ground in a deep bow.
Yao s stayed silent through his entire monologue, sensing that this was something he needed to get off of his chest. As Wu Dao's voice faded into silence, she took his hand when he made to stand. "Thank you," she whispered, "for believing in us. Wen Tian couldn't do this without you. He truly needs you. Thank you for saving me. But most of all? Thank you for telling me how you feel. I can promise you that as long as I am able, I will love and care for Wen Tien." Yao Yao laid a gentle hand on Wu Dao's hand. "I love him. I loved him ten thousand years ago, and I love him now." Bending down, she kissed Wu Dao on the forehead. Without another word, she drifted gracefully away from Wu Dao, grasping Wen Tien firmly by the elbow. "Come on, " she breathed, "I want to go to bed." Without another word, the pair slipped silently from the room.
Wu Dao smirked to himself. "I think that the pair of them desperately need the night alone." He grinned to himself as he stood silently. "And good for them," he smiled into the darkness.
***End Note***
I hope you enjoyed the hapter! I'm going to try to put up a couple more chapters thiss week;hopefully work slows down so I'm not so tired al the time! Thank you so much for returning and reading, my dears! You always return my faith in myself. As always, dears, thank you for reading!
- Lady Darkwind