A home with many chambers
Yan Da was standing on her balcony and overlooked her Fire Kingdom. Should I even call it Fire Kingdom anymore? Everything was green and glowing in the sun. It had been only a week since the peace negotiations and the attack on Xin Gui. So far, she hadn't gotten any news concerning the whereabouts of the Dream Source. The Mermaid Clan, who had retreated deeply into the Endless Sea after the conference, still hadn't announced the date of her test. The other clans, however, had kept their word and maintained now a lively exchange of information with the Fire Clan. Most of the Clan's leaders started to admire the efforts of the Fire Clan's army to rebuild the war zones. The Fire Queen's tribesmen had however not expected open doors, and sometimes were even chased away. Yan Da had discussed the reports with many of the higher ranking soldiers. She had listened to their suggestions, and couldn't help but sometimes wonder how those long trained warriors found ways to put their pride second to their tasks she had assigned them with. After all, it was the first real period of peace for the last 10.000 years, and her people loved her for it. Yan Da's followers had not disappointed her, each and every one willing to live up to the high expectations of their new queen. She had, in only a few days, replaced nearly all the old values und rules of the Fire Tribe. She had travelled a lot, connecting with the healers, the peasants and the smiths of the Fire Tribe. Under Huo Yi's rule, all of them had played a second role in her country, as they were expected to provide supplies for the army, but nevertheless considered weak for not wanting to join the forces. "Rather than following others, you'd better find your own way. Hiding behind those you despise, after a while, you'll become one of them." She smiled as her mind went back to one of her favourite memories when Ying Kong Shi had played the bamboo flute for her. This sentence had been the start of her own path that had led her to what she now could see in front of her eyes. Yan Da had been enchanted by him for his honest and direct way of speaking to her, and that feeling had never stopped afterwards.
She happily started to hum the tune he had played on his flute, but it soon turned into sadness. They had been in contact via messenger owls nearly all the time, but it wasn't the same as being close to him. I miss you so much. Why don't you come visit me? Have you forgotten your promise to make it up to me? A sound behind her made her move around. It was a messenger owl. "Yan Da, my beloved. Can you come to the mortal kingdom for the next three days? It's urgent. Please hurry." "Why? Have you found a trace of the assassin?" "No, unfortunately not. Yue Shen, Xing Gui and Piang Feng are still investigating. And Xian Xue has tried to spy on the Mermaid Clan, but they have retreated into the deep Sea. Yan Da, can you promise me to come?" "Yes, I will. Tonight." "Come to the lake, where you once found me. And Yan Da. Please take care. Let no one follow you." "Don't worry, no one will see me."
As she happily looked after the messenger owl, she heard a knock on her door. "My Queen, the Mermaid ambassadors have brought you an announcement." When Yan Da read the scroll, she paled. She was summoned to the shores of the Endless Sea in one week. The aptitude test should take place at the bottom of the sea. Fear rose in her, as she thought of the dark waters. They surely would give her a Tear Stone, wouldn't they? A memory of a dream crossed her mind again, as it had often enough since the last day of the peace conference. She saw herself drowning, alone, in the dark. With expressionless face she said: "Let's not wait them for an answer. Call for my court writer."
Her generals had taken her instructions in confusion. However, they let her go after she told them she would be near the Kingdom Guardians camp to attend their training in preparation for the aptitude test. Now she stood at the shore of the lake in the Mortal Kingdom. It was already dark, although the evening was still young. It was autumn, and mist hung over the waters that had brought them together so long ago. She sensed his presence even before he put a white fur coat around her shoulders. When she turned around, Ying Kong Shi immediately pulled her close and kissed her deeply. "Ying Kong Shi, did you miss me?" The Ice Prince smiled teasingly. "How could I? I had no time to miss you, since you bombarded me with messenger owls." When she looked away with a playful pout, he put a large, shiny stone in the palm of her hand. "What's this?" She asked confused. "It's a present. Have a closer look." Yan Da's eyes went wide, as she recognized the little house she could see in the depths of the stone. "Impossible!" Ying Kong Shi smiled. He was proud that his present surprised her at such a degree., and it made him feel warm inside. "This is a stone Xian Xue found at Spirit Snow Mountain. He told me it is a possibility that waits to come to reality. And it contains your dream signature." Carefully, she took the stone in both her hands, and her eyes filled with tears. "What's the matter with you?" Ying Kong Shi asked in a confused tone. "Do you not like it?" The Fire Queen took in a deep breath. "I like it, very much indeed, Ying Kong Shi. It's only that I never expected you to offer me such a present. This house… it was my secret dream when I began to love you. Repeatedly, I came back to this place when I slept, as I hoped to meet you. But you never came. So I decorated it on my own. I used to pretend you would be soon coming home to see me and…" "And who?" Ying Kong Shi asked curiously. Yan Da turned to look at the lake in front of her, avoiding his gaze. "Never mind. It's just a dream anyway." He smiled, and threw the stone in the lake. Then he swirled his hands, and let his magic flow. The spell he cast was unknown to him. But she had used it to create her Kingdom anew. "What, will you help me or just stand around and stare?" He asked her with a broad smile on his face. Yan Da looked up in surprise, and pressed her lips together. Then, firmly, she let her magic join his spell. With closed eyes, she remembered the details from her dream… developing her dream house as she done it a thousand times before. But as her home-to-be slowly rose under the lovers' combined spell, she felt his involvement. He changed some aspects, added windows where she had forgot about them, and he put the house on stilts, so it would partially be surrounded by water. She felt his joy over the doors and windows, the porch, and the cozy red and yellow lamps on the canopy at the front side. When Yan Da and Ying Kong Shi finished building the dream together, they looked at the most beautiful wooden house they both had ever seen. Slowly, she turned to face him, and took his hand. Together, they started to walk towards the entrance.
"Why is the kitchen so big, and the table so large?" Ying Kong Shi opened a cabinet and scratched his head as he counted quite a large number of plates and goblets. Yan Da only smiled. "Probably I have thought that we would have many guests once in a while." Ying Kong Shi looked quite confused, but then shrugged his shoulders. As he dragged her on, he commented on everything with an enthusiasm he had never shown in front of her before. "Why are there so many rooms? Right, for the guests, I forgot. Quite colorful, what's in there? It looks like a miniature of the Ice Palace. Are you interested in carving woods? The bed here is too small, imagine Piang Feng in it…" Suddenly, his voice trailed off. When he turned around, the Ice Prince saw Yan Da leaning on the door frame, with arms crossed. "Is this… a room for a child? And the others, too?" "Not all of them. Some are for us only." She blushed deeply, and this time, he joined her. She turned around, and quickly left the room.
He found her outside at the lake shore. "Why did you leave?" He asked her, sensing her sad mood. Yan Da didn't look at him. Her profile showed a bitterness and distance that made his heart ache. "I feel embarassed. You must think that I am obsessed with… us. Please don't judge me for this dream. I know that it's too much for you. No wonder that I never could imagine you being actually inside this house with me. Deep down I knew you would not concern yourself with trivial dreams like having a family with your enemy one day. You always knew that I liked you, but that didn't stop you from killing yourself. So, my dreams were never your dreams." Yan Da straightened her back, all back to her warrior-like attitude. "I don't want you to think of me as a silly romantic woman. This dream, it's a weakness, I know. My brothers told me every day that I couldn't have both, a life like a woman would wish for, and at the same time being a female royal warrior. I will erase this silly dream, so you don't have to look at it anymore."
When she rose her flaming hand, he quickly took her by her shoulders. "No, Yan Da, no. Please, look at me. You don't have to feel ashamed for imagining a life with me. I don't think little of you for your dream. In fact, I do like it a lot. Besides my brother and my mother, no one ever cared for giving me a home. I always thought that I would never experience this kind of happiness… being with the woman I actually love, and having a future to look forward to. You are right, my mind never wandered in that direction. I couldn't afford it. How should I have been able to live up to my own expectations of procteting Ka Suo, when I would allow myself to dive in such happy dreams? Those wishes would have surely compromised my willingness to fight for my brother. But now, the situation is different. For the first time, I am free to care for myself, and you… Now that I see your dream, will you please go on sharing it with me?" Surprised, she looked up at him. "Are you serious?" As Ying Kong Shi nodded, he could see her hesitating. Then, she looked at him with unsecuritiy in her eyes. "This is not a dream, is it?" She asked, trying to hold back her tears. "Not anymore." He smiled lovingly. "I haven't seen the whole house. Will you show me the other rooms? I mean, those that are for us only." She blushed, and shyly took his hand. When she was about to step in through the main door, he stopped, and rose his hand. "Wait. We should dedicate our house by engraving our names on it." A little tablet made of glazed clay appeared on the frame wood of the entrance. Characters appeared on the board, that made her smile. This is the home of Yan Da and Ying Kong Shi. May fire and ice be united in love forever. Then, not waiting for her to give permission, he picked her up, and carried her over the threshold.
"Which door?" he whisperd hoarsely. "The last on the right." When he let her down on her feet to open the door, the sight of the room behind took his breath. It was delicate. The bed was a dream in red and white silk with a canopy of dark wood. Small red lamps all over the room and a large brazier gave warmth and cosiness. A door to the right opened up to the lake. On the wooden veranda outside stood a bath tub that was protected with white paravans to hide anyone bathing from curious looks. A Small table next to the bed was laden with fruit, drinks and small bottles of sweet smelling oils. "Yan Da, if we sleep in this bed together tonight, I won't be able to hold myself back. I better go to sleep in one of the other rooms." His voice was harsh with suppressed passion. Yan Da looked at him and took his hand back in hers. "Ying Kong Shi, you promised me to make amends for the past. Soon I'll have to face the test of the mermaids. Who knows what will come after that. I just know that I'm here with you now, and I love you. I want to forever remember those three days with you as the happiest days of my life. I think we're past worrying over worldly judgements and traditions like official marriage rituals. Ying Kong Shi, it is up to us to shape our relationship, like we just shaped this house." Ying Kong Shi's heart was racing. "Will you not be disappointed? Don't you want us to be officially acepted? I can't make you my queen and rightful wife right now." Yan Da sighed playfully. "You'll have to make up for that at some time. For now, I'll be content with the fact that we both gave each other this home, and all we can experience in it. Besides, with you, I am convinced we can overcome any obstacle in the future. What could motivate the two of us more than this?" Ying Kong Shi's knees felt weak as he walked over to the bed with her and they sat on it. He filled two cups with wine, and they drank together. Following his gut, he took the last sip of the wine into his mouth. He gently took the Fire Queen's cup from her hands and leaned over to her. When he kissed her, he let the wine flow over her sweet lips into her mouth. As she swallowed the offered liquid, his desire for her increased to an almost painful level. "Have you ever done this before?" He asked her. Yan Da looked shyly at him. "No. Have you? You are now a lot older than me, considering that you lived a life somewhere far away from here. Have you ever… I mean, with me, or a mortal, in that other dimension? Or with Lan Shang?" He slowly shook his head. "Why not?" She wanted to know. He took her hand in his, and looked her straight in the eye. "Yan Da, I always could see and admire the beauty of women, like I could see a beautiful painting or a building of extraordinary design. But they never touched my heart. How could I make love to someone, if there is no love? You were the only one that made me feel that way." He blinked his eyes and sadness spread over his face. "As for you… I wished to have you by my side. But I sensed that you repeatedly lied to me in the other world. Your behaviour was unpredictable and confusing. Sometimes you behaved hostile towards me and fled from me, sometimes you came back and were desperate to talk to me. Whenever I felt we would come closer to touch each other or say something emotional, you out of a sudden drew back. I assumed you were still retreating to the role of my enemy in that other dimension, even though I didn't understand why. Clearly you were working behind my back. So I started to avoiding you whenever I could. I was caught in that state, me and you never making any progress. All I could do was hope that there was someday a better future for us. Only shortly before you died I learned that you had been possessed by your ancestor Yan Zhu all along. She had tricked me and you, depriving us of any happiness we could have shared in your second life." Ying Kong Shi's tears silently came forward and fell from his chin. This time it was up to her to kiss his tears away. Her kisses on his cheek, and her familiar sweet smell made him drawing her closer to finally sit on his lap. He enjoyed touching her naked thighs and pulling her even closer, while he searched for the Fire Queen's lips. For a small moment, their eyes met, and he felt his heart skip a beat. Her look cost him the last bit of self-control and he plunged into his passion. Quickly Ying Kong Shi leaned forward to kiss her. He kissed her with passion and lust, and opened her red mouth to let his tongue slide inside. He tasted her and it almost made him mad. Yan Da gave in to his kisses, and she opened the clasps of his robe with trembling fingers. Soon she caressed the smooth white skin of the Ice Prince feverishly, and finally took off his shirt completely. His back and arms were slim but muscular. The scent of cherry blossoms emanating from his body stirred her ecstasy. As her hands slid to his nipples, Yan Da's touch sent new waves of pleasure through Ying Kong Shi's body, and he groaned. He pressed his hands over hers to encourage her not to stop bringing him pleasure there. When she smiled and complied with his request to caress his nipples, he reached for the lacing in her back and opened it until her dress slipped from her shoulders to her waist. His breath caught at the sight of her full white breasts. He had always liked her femininity, which even her armor could not hide. That his Fire Queen allowed him to see her like this, naked, vulnerable, and beautiful, excited him more than anything else. When she noticed his gaze, she took Ying Kong Shi's hands gently and led them to her breasts. He looked up at her shyly, almost in awe. Yan Da carefully shifted her weight towards him. With pleasure he felt how she pressed herself against his lap and gently pushed her abdomen back and forth. His hands automatically massaged her breasts, and their tongues found each other again. After moments of pleasure he let her slowly slide to his side on the bed and took off her dress and his pants completely. His length already showed his desire for her, and she took in a sharp lustful breath. The Ice Prince cupped her in his arms and looked deep into her eyes. "Yan Da, you are everything my heart desires. Do you want me the way I want you?" A tear made her cheek glisten. When she nodded, Ying Kong Shi leaned down and kissed her gently but firmly. He sucked on her lips and his hands explored her body. Yan Da moved towards him, and her hands passionately gripped his long hair. When his hands slid over her abdomen, he paused for a moment and felt into his lover's aura. She was so alive. Where the Ice Fire Rock had been, he still felt her creative immense power, a living heat that seemed to spread over his hand into his whole body, making him so hard there that his erection pulsed. Ying Kong Shi blinked his eyes, he was about to come. He gulped and restrained himself. Not yet, I want to share this with her. Cautiously, the Ice Prince let his hand slide down. He had touched her there before. But this time it felt different. She was so wet between her legs and her sensitive femininity was puffy and hot. Would she like it if I penetrate her soon? She already seems so ready. His fingers touched her, and under his caresses her labia seemed to open like petals. He gently let a finger slide into her wetness, and Yan Da arched himself against him in ecstasy. A sound like a suppressed scream slipped from her lips as he explored her insides and he circled the bud again with his thumb, which had made her so lustful last time. "Does my fire queen love that?" He whispered to her while kissing and playing with her tongue. Her answer was just a hungry and feverish look as he penetrated her with another finger and slowly pushed it back and forth. "Ying Kong Shi, make me your wife, now." The Fire Queen demanded in a hoarse voice. He didn't wait for a second prompt. He reached under her bottom and pushed her further up into the bed and laid himself down on her. He could feel Yan Da's body everywhere now. And he could smell the wild honey-like perfume that rose from her sex. His member touched her entrance and made her moan again. Ying Kong Shi's white hair fell on Yan Da's black strands, they kissed without breaks and the heat between their bodies made them both sweat. As both their thoughts and their mouths melted, he shifted his weight between her legs and caressed her soft parts with his length, which was now also wet with glittering drops that oozed from its tip. I want you to be my wife. Nobody else will ever do this to you, but me. When she responded with the sweetest smile, he couldn't control himself any longer. He seeked her entrance, and slowly sank in. She was narrow, but she welcomed him equally under passion and pain. When he noticed a barrier, he hesitated. Yan Da, I don't want to hurt you... It will only hurt once. You can make it up to me afterwards. With these encouraging words in his ears, he nodded, and retreated a little bit. Then, gently but firmly, he pushed in, and claimed her forever. He felt her body tremble under his. When tears broke from her eyes, he kissed them away again. Yan Da... no matter how long it has taken us to get to this moment, I swear that from now on you will be my first and last thought of every day to pass. I will listen to you, and share my thoughts with you. I will play with you under the sun and the moon, and if you let me, I will love you for eternity.
His words flooded her soul with love like rain nourished a barren land, and she felt something inside of her heal for good. Slowly, Yan Da's passion rose under his caresses. He made her feel so complete. She pressed her hands on his back. Entangled fingers, hairs and tongues, he started to penetrate her in a slow and sweet rhythm, and made her parts swell in lust even more. With increasing strength and speed, Ying Kong Shi crushed his body against hers, entering her deeper and deeper with every thrust. When he felt her walls clutching around his penis, his mind exploded. In perfect unison, with few more thrusts they rose to their shared climax. When Yan Da screamed his name, he released all of his body and soul into her. He made her his, and he became hers, unified as one.