So Close, So Far Collection II: Almost Touching
Vignette Number Two: "Translation"
Bibliography: Hopkins, Andrea. Chronicles of King Arthur. Great Britain: Collins & Brown Limited, 1993
Glossary: Te amo: Spanish for "I love you."
onegai: Japanese for "please" or-more accurately-"I beg of you."
xiexie: (pronounced xi-eh in one flowing tone) Mandarin Chinese for "Thank you."
I can't tell you the definition of two other Japanese words I used or it would spoil this whole chapter.
Dammit! I can't believe it'll be two weeks before one of her family's jets can take us back to Japan! Lee Pyron grouchily thought while guarding a sleeping Jun at her bedside.
Tao En had been defeated three nights ago. Warrior's logic told Pyron that Jun's father's wounds prevented him from attacking her again even if he wanted to, but love's logic told him to be her sentinel twenty-four/seven. She'd be harmed over his dead...well...she just wouldn't be harmed.
The clock on her bedside table read two-thirteen A.M. He'd been standing there for over four hours and was beginning to get bored. Hmm...how could he pass the time without neglecting guard duty or disturbing her?
He scanned Jun's bedchamber for something to amuse himself. No matter how many times he looked at her bedroom, it still left him awestruck. It was a big as a whole apartment and painted royal purple. The antique Chinese furniture was so elegant it almost seemed alive.A Dali painting hung on the east wall and bookshelves as tall as Mount Everest were on the west one.
Of course! Why didn't I think about reading sooner? Tao Jun even keeps a reading light next to her clock, Pyron realized.
The kyonshii fetched a random book sticking out on the lowest shelf and then walked back to his slumbering mistress. Disappointment flickered across his face once he turned on the reading light and saw that the title was Chronicles of King Arthur, for he preferred philosophy books to mythology.
Oh well. It's better than nothing,he decided and randomly skimmed pages until choosing one with the words: The Second Tale of Sir Lancelot:Guinevere Abducted at the top.
That particular story was surprisingly interesting. Lancelot had to face terrible perils to rescue Queen Guinevere, including crossing the (literal) Sword Bridge.
One passage read: ...He was going to support himself on the sword, which was sharper than a scythe, on his bare hands and feet...It caused him terrible agony, but he crossed, in pain and distress, wounding himself in the knees, hands, and feet. But Love, who guided and led him also healed and relieved him, so that his suffering was sweet.
Pyron could certainly relate to that. His newfound secret feelings for Jun could be so spectacular yet so painful at the same time. It really was like crawling on a sword. After a while he came to the part when Sir Lancelot had the final showdown with evil Sir Meleagent, the queen's captor.
...When she saw him falter beneath Sir Meleagent's blows, one of the queen's damsels thought that he would fight with renewed courage if he knew the queen was watching him. The damsel rushed to the window and cried out in a loud voice: 'Lancelot! See who is watching you!'
He was so absorbed in the story that he didn't realize he'd been reading aloud until Jun moaned softly in her sleep and placed her hand on his. Wait a minute...she was touching his hand?
A flustered little "glik" noise escaped from his throat. Oh God, Oh God, Oh God! He quickly turned his attention back to the page.
" 'Lan-unk!" he exclaimed when he felt the jade-haired belle tighten her grip. I think I'm going to explode! Calm down, calm down.
" 'Lancelot looked up and saw the queen seated in the window, and at once he manoeuvred Meleagent round between him and the keep so that he could fight and look at the queen at the same time. He felt ashamed of his former weakness and began to fight like a man possessed.' " the Chinese man quickly but quietly continued.
"Sryu," Jun murmured in her sleep.
Pyron clamped his mouth shut and froze. Sryu? What did Sryu mean?
"Dear Sryu... Fight for me...Te amo," she said softly.
The zombie couldn't speak Spanish but he realized that she must have overheard him and started to dream of herself as Queen Guinevere. His face melted into a tiny smile. Jun was more breathtaking than any old queen to him.
"Haku...Onegai...Te amo, dear Sir...Sir Ryu."
Lee Pyron felt like he'd died all over again. Ryu! Aggressive, birdbrained, stare-at-the-way-Jun's-dress-clings-to-her-boobies Ryu! Why was she dreaming of him being her savior? While it was true he was with Yoh and company's rescue party, he never came for the dao-shi's sake!
Sweet agony filled his heart. She'd been through hell this last month. If dreaming about Ryu made her happy, so be it. Her happiness was all that mattered. Gently as a lamb, he raised her hand to his lips and softly pecked it.
"Yes, M'lady," the martial artist whispered.
His queen beamed and said, "Xiexie, Sir Haku Ryu."
Hold it! 'Haku Ryu?' Did...Did I hear her correctly? he wondered.
A tiny drop of hope slowly trickled into his mind.
Maybe...Just maybe... No, it's impossible! Still, I'm positive she said those exact words.
The drop of hope became a flood of ecstasy. Yes! It had to be.
Haku Ryu translated to White Dragon in English, and White Dragon translated to Bai Long in Chinese.
I hope y'all enjoyed this chapter! Please leave reviews; they make my world go round.
Special thanks to Kyoyama Kita for correcting a glossary mistake I made earlier.