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Prologue
The lighting flashed overhead aluminating the night sky, followed by a tremendous crash of thunder. Rain pelted down in torrents drenching any fool enough to be out in it. The moon, hidden from sight from the swirling clouds, managed to peek through for a moment reflecting in the puddles along the country road, where its image warped and multiplied as someone, running, splashed down and disturbed the reflected image.
The splash and squelching of mud continued as the darkened figure hidden in shadow, ran through the night breathing heavily as they pushed themselves harder to cover more ground.
The clouds circled and re-grouped, shutting out the moon once more. Lightning flashed once more revealing terrorfied features as they continued to run. Thunder crashed, vibrating the earth, followed by another torrent of rain.
Skidding to a halt, the hidden figure ducked behind a tree and waited trying desperately to keep their breath under control. Listening behind the sounds of the storm, the shadow tried to hear the tell-tale sounds that would reveal their deepest fear of the moment. Hearing nothing, the figure bolted and pushed themselves as hard as they could, nearly losing their balance when the mud squelched and threatened to send the shadow tumbling.
The thunder boomed once more adding to the desperation. . . .
Inside a three-storey mansion built with elegance and style, two people sat at a table near a warm fire place sipping at the freshly-poured tea. The windows rattled when the wind picked up again and one of the figures shivered. Dark, knowing eyes looked up and met the warm eyes of the other companion.
" Something wrong Wei? " asked the cultured and elegant voice.
The older man smiled and sipped his tea. " Not in a sense Yelan. " Wei replied smiling fondly. " These early storms sometimes make me aprehensive. "
Yelan turned her head and faced the window, her face falling into shadow. The firelight reflected into her long hair casting reddish highlights through it.
" Hmm ... " she whispered softly. " I love storms. It cleanses and renews. "
The other man simply smiled and sipped his tea.
The room was quiet except for the ticking of the small clock in the room and the crackle of flames in the fireplace. It was a comfortable silence that wrapped the two companions together.
" How is Xiao Lang? " Wei spoke softly.
A small smile tugged at the corner of her beautiful mouth.
" Same as always. He assures me he is fine, but I know better. He misses his family as he should. He sounds tired and worn down. I want to go and see him, but he assures me there is no need. You know Xiao Lang, always assuring and trying to keep his mother happy. "
" He's a good boy Yelan. " Wei smiled. " You raised him right. "
Her mouth curved into a beautiful smile.
" Thank you. I'm proud of him, but I worry as mothers often do. I still sense that restlessness in him. I thought that going to Shanghai and being on his own for a while might ease it, but I think perhaps I was wrong. Maybe this goes beyond me, but I wish I had the answer for him. "
" Still trying to heal his hurts Yelan? " Wei asked smiling softly.
" What mother wouldn't? No matter their age I will always do anything to heal their hurts, soothe their worries and keep them happy. My girls are happy, and being my only son, Xiao Lang needs to be as well. I'd have hoped that all my children would be happily married and giving me grandchildren, but it's not my place to tell them how to live their lives. "
Wei chuckled to himself and sipped his tea.
" Who'd have thought that Xiao Lang would go into law? " Yelan continued softly after drinking some of her tea.
" Hmmmm . . . . what's he now? "
That small smile appeared in the corner of her mouth again. " Private Investigator "
" That's a bit of a step from being a cop isn't it? " Wei asked.
" Hmmm. . before that he was a Decetive and before that he was doing paperwork. He's come a long way. "
Wei nodded. " How my memory sometimes plays up on me. It seems only like yesterday I was chasing him around as he tried to escape the ill-fate of a bath. "
Yelan laughed and mirth lit up her dark eyes making them sparkle in the dim light.
" If there ever was a hope of getting out of something he refused to do, then he'd take it. Thank goodness Feimei, Xiefa, Fanren and Fuutie weren't as exasperating. "
" They just waited until your back was turned. " Wei muttered; catching Yelan's eyes he laughed again.
Falling silent again, Yelan grasped the teapot and poured more tea for the both of them.
" I hope he finds what he's looking for this time . . . . " she said softly.
A log fell in the fireplace catching the companions attention. The small, elegant clock sitting on top of the book case chimed eleven and the two tensed when a loud knocking on the front door shattered the peace and quiet. Rising out of her chair, Yelan looked at Wei curiously. The older man rose slowly from his chair and collected his jacket from the back of his chair.
" I'll get that Yelan. You stay in here where it is warm. "
Yelan gently shook her head when the knocking continued, louder this time. " I will come too. "
The two walked to the front door wondering who it could be. Yelan bypassed Wei and grabbed the door handle and pulled it open.
Lightning flashed aluminating the night revealing a young girl with terror in her eyes. Yelan stepped back gasping.
" Sakura ...? " she whispered in shock.
The young girl was soaked through. Her face was flushed from running so hard, her eyes feverish and afraid, her long bangs were dripping excess water from the rain and almost completely covered her eyes. She clutched a wet packaged in her left arm, her jumper hanging off one shoulder as she gasped for breath. She met their gazes and swallowed trying to speak.
" They - they're . . . " she swallowed a mouthful of oxygen. " they're after me! "
Plz review! I love to get reviews and I hope that this will be better than my last. I've had some inspiration from little wolf LOVER's story Royal Heights. I won't be using her storyline so don't freak. If you haven't had a look at this story YOU'RE CARZY! It's gold! She has the highest reviews EVER and I'm majorly jealous. But seriously though, I think she deserves an award or something.
It's so cold here and my fingers are frozen, so I'm going to go now and I'll check you later!
