Love Through Time
By HalKJAkiko
Genre: Yaoi, AU (first three chapters), drama, romance, sap
Pairing: going to be major RuHanaRu
Status: on-going 1/9
A/N: Sorry, this may seen unrelated to Slamdunk or RuHanaRu but things will develop and you'll uncover the linkage in next chapter.
/…/ thoughts
Chapter I: I'll Follow You
It was a normal summer day in a long forgotten era, on a faraway land. Two figures could be seen running in the bamboo forest.
"Pant… pant… Feng! Stop, I can't go on anymore…" the girl stopped beneath the shade of a bamboo and leaned against it.
"Are you alright?" the boy asked as he hurriedly rushed to her side.
"Feng… do you think we can make it? I mean, do you think we'll be able to run away?" the girl looked into Feng's chocolate brown eyes, searching for certainty and security. Tears threatened to fall as her lovely sapphire eyes took in the frown on her lover's face.
"Hush… don't cry… we'll be alright, Xue Ke… we'll be alright… hush now…" Feng brushed the tears gently away from the cheeks and gave her a tight hug, trying to reassure her. But in his heart, he was not as certain as his words.
"Come on, we need to go before they catch up," the boy tugged at the girl's hand as he pulled back from the embrace. However, before they could move a step, the bamboo leaves rustled and a small troop of soldiers led by a tall young man appeared from no where surrounded them. The young man unsheathed his sword and pointed its tip at Feng.
"Feng! Surrender now or Xue Ke will suffer. You know you can't run away, you're now a wanted man."
"Yun-biao-ge (cousin Yun), please let us go," Xue Ke pleaded.
"Xue Ke… I can't defy Uncle's order," Yun answered softly as he bit his lips when he saw his cousin's pleading eyes.
"Then, I'll just have to fight you," Feng stood in front of Xue Ke and wielded his sword, a determined aura surrounding him.
The two youths stood with swords pointing at each other. Everyone else was quiet as they anticipated the two best swordsmen to strike. No one moved. A gush of wind blew, causing the slender body of the bamboos to sway. In a flash, two swords met in a clang, sparks flew. They fought violently, but without the lack of gracefulness as they blocked and counter attacked each other's moves. Minutes passed and they were far from coming to an end. They fought with style and speed, what the by-standers could see were only two blurred figures darting in between the bamboos. Each flash and clang from the swords jolted Xue Ke's heart. She did not want them to fight. One was her favourite cousin whom she had grown up with; one was the boy she had come to love with her own heart and life over the pass year. She did not want anyone hurt.
"No, please stop!" Xue Ke frown and took a step towards the two as Feng got a slash on his arm.
"Soldiers! Keep the Princess back, don't let her get any nearer," Yun shouted at the troop but his strokes never failed to strike on full force. The soldiers heeded their leader's command and stood as a circle around the Princess.
The battle went on but Feng was at a disadvantage from the deep slash. Blood gushed from the deep cut, his hand was trembling now and he could not hold his sword properly. What's more, he was not fighting against just anyone but Yun who was entitled the Best Swordsman in the Country and was obviously a level above him. Feng's concentration broke for a moment as he stole a glance at Xue Ke and that split moment gave Yun a chance to stab at him. He clenched his jaws as Yun's sword plunged into his chest. The battle ended abruptly as Feng's crumpled form fell to the ground. Xue Ke's heart skipped a beat for a moment and her brain was screaming for her to do something, anything, to stop her cousin from plunging that blade any further in.
"Stop! Stop! Yun-biao-ge… please stop… don't kill him… please… I'll go back with you to see Father… just… just don't kill Feng…" Xue Ke's knees buckled as tears slid down her cheeks uncontrollably. She fell to her knees as she watched her cousin tugged the sword out of her lover's chest. The soldiers surrendering her quickly back away from her as a Princess should never kneel before a lowly servant. Sobbing, Princess Xue Ke crawled towards her lover and cradled him in her arms.
"Feng… Feng…" her tears fell on Feng's face.
"Xue Ke…" the wounded boy reached out to hold the Princess's hand. A heavy silence dawned in the bamboo forest, the only sound was the swishing of the bamboo leaves as the wind blew. Yun watched those two with a heavy heart but duty came above his emotion and he gestured to the soldiers.
"Men! Arrest him, but treat his wound too, keep him alive," Yun strode up to pull the Princess away. She shrugged off his hand.
"Wait, Yun-biao-ge, let me say something to Feng," the Princess then turned to her lover who was now held up by two soldiers. Yun frowned harder as he saw the love his cousin was showing to that commoner.
"Feng, remember this… ni shi feng er, wo shi sha (you are the wind, I am the sand), feng er piao piao, sha er piao piao, feng er chui chui, sha er fei fei (the wind blew, the sand flew), feng er fei guo tian shan qu, sha er gen guo tian shan qu (the wind blew over the Scared Mountain, the sand follows across the mountain)…"
----------In The Palace---------
"Father…" Xue Ke knelt before the King. Her mother, Queen Ling, stood beside the King silently, but her eyes shone with worry and concern for her beloved daughter. The King's eyes flashed with anger when he heard his daughter called him.
"Ungrateful child! You're my most precious daughter… you're a Princess for goodness and look at what scandal you're involved in? How am I going to face my people if they find out that you ran off with a filthy, lowly, disgusting commoner?" the King lashed out at Princess Xue Ke and he almost spat his last few words.
"He's not a filthy, lowly, disgusting commoner! He's my husband, Father!" Princess Xue Ke's head snapped up and defended Feng.
"Husband? What husband? Who gave you permission? Who's your witness? Atrocious!" the King gritted his teeth as his anger doubled by his daughter's retort.
"Love gave us permission, faith gave us consent, trust gave us strength. Heaven and Earth are our witness…" she replied softly but determinedly. "And… and my stomach is the evidence of our love…"
- Slap! - The King was livid with anger and his hand struck the Princess's pale face before he knew it.
"My Lord!" Queen Ling exclaimed as it was the first time the King had laid a hand on the Princess. "Please, my Lord. Don't do this to our child. She's still young to know right from wrong. I assure you that I'll take this into my hands and end it as soon as possible. The Princess must be tired now after all the hours of traveling. Let her rest first and I'll take some sense into her."
"Sigh… I have enough of these shameful talks. Alright, I'll leave this to you but you better get this over and done with quickly," the King sighed as he rubbed his temple, he was still shocked that he had actually slapped the Princess he doted most. "ZiYan, XiangYu, bring your Mistress to her chamber. Look after her but don't let her step out of her room."
The next day, Queen Ling arrived at Princess Xue Ke's chamber. The Princess did not come out to greet her and she heard that she had eaten nothing since last night. Queen Ling went into the Princess's room to find her staring into empty space on her bed.
"Xue-er… I know this is hard but listen to Mother," the Queen sat herself beside the Princess and stroked her head. Xue Ke did not respond.
"Xue-er, forget that boy. He's a commoner, how could he be compatible with you? Now look here, there are many other noblemen out there who are better. So just do as your Father say and do not provoke him anymore."
"But… I love Feng! There'll be no other better man who would be better… Feng is my life…"
"Now, I don't want to hear that from you again. You don't love him. It's only because you find him different from all the people you've been seeing in the palace, so you got curious. This infatuation will go away. And talking about better men, your Yun-biao-ge is one good boy not to miss. Your Father and I have decided to marry you to him, he's perfect – handsome and talented. And the marriage is next month."
"What? No! I'll not marry Yun-biao-ge. I can't, I'm Feng's wife already," the Princess pulled away from her mother's embrace.
"You'll do it! And for your stomach, I'll get the Imperial physicians to prepare some abortion medicine for you. Don't ever mention it to anyone!" Queen Ling snapped as her patience ran out.
"No! You can't do that, you can't! Feng is half of my life and this baby claims the other…"
"You'll abort the child. It's either that or Feng's death," Queen Ling threatened.
"Mother… no…" Princess Xue Ke's eyes moistened again as she shook her head hard.
"So you'll abort the baby?" Queen Ling asked in a tired voice. She did not want to do this but for the good of her daughter, she just had to harden her heart.
The Princess just nodded.
"Okay, then I'll leave you to rest," the Queen stood up to go.
"Mother… please let me see Feng before I abort the child… please Mother… I just want to know he's okay… please…"
"Alright. Just one hour tonight. But don't let your Father know," Queen Ling gave in to her daughter's pleading eyes.
That night, Queen Ling arrived again, but this time she brought a boy with her. The moment Princess Xue Ke saw Feng, her visions blurred again.
"Feng…" she flung herself at the wounded boy and sobbed into the crook of his neck.
"Xue Ke, are you alright?" Feng asked tenderly as they stayed in the embrace.
"I am but what about you? Your wound…"
"Nothing severe. It'll heal in three days."
"Feng…"
"No, don't say anything. I'm sorry for failing… I'm sorry that I could not bring you away as promised…"
"No, it's not your fault… it's not anyone's fault… this might be the last time I'm seeing you… let's… let's just treasure the time and talk about something we both enjoy…" Princess Xue Ke tried to smile but a new batch of tears rolled down her cheeks.
Feng's soft gaze bathed her with love. The two star-crossed lovers moved closer and their lips touched in the tenderest kiss. When they parted, the two young teens did not know what to say to each other. And ironically, they just spent the precious hour in each other's embrace and fondly recalling how their life threads intertwined the moment they met.
Fin. 11 July '04
TBC
A/N: First of all, thank you for reading this long chapter. And I promise that the next chapter will be just as long. ---Grins---
Second, I would like to apologise for any incoherence or grammar mistake/spelling mistake/diction mistake/whatever mistake.
Third, I apologise for using Chinese HanYu PinYin but I think the original phrase the one about wind and sand has the feel to it. For those who know this phrase, yes, I got it from HuanZhu GeGe.
Well, wait for next chapter. I hope to complete this by RuHana day! And do review!! Thank you. See ya around.