Ch 7. Stubborn

"I'll say it again, Hao, GET OFF OF ME."

"Not until you answer a few of my questions."

"And if I don't?"

"You won't want to know."

"What the hell do you want to know?"

"For instance, who are you?"

"Easy, Kyouyama Anna. As if you didn't already know."

"I'm aware of your name, silly. I'm asking who are you really?"

"How do I answer a question I don't understand?"

The dark haired one just laughed in a way that infuriated Anna—it especially t made her feel helpless. She looked past Hao and towards the hovering sky. She had never been much of a star gazer, but their brilliance this night was nearly blinding.

How could the stars shimmer so brightly when she was feeling this way? They danced as if there was something worth celebrating. Just like that time.

Her face had been pressed into the mud. Her hands covered the back of her head. It was the best she could do to protect herself from the onslaughts of stomping and punching. When she managed to lift her face up, the first thing she saw was that single star. It outshone the others, flaunting its incandescence, mocking her with the feeling of hope. She asked for its help, but her pleas went ignored. The rest of the stars joined in, glistening above her pitiful life while grave fists continued to batter her.

Laden words spewed out of the attackers' mouths. "That's what you get for being a foreigner. That's what you DESERVE for looking like that, you witch!" It went on until all the stinging and throbbing became numbness flooding her entire body.

Then they left her. Those kids left her bruised eight year old body to rot in the mud.

She flipped herself over, ignoring any sensation she had left. She crushed her face with her bloody fingers. She would not let out any tears. Not one single drop. She still had her pride. This was not humiliation. She willed herself not to cry. Her lips formed a straight line. She would learn that expression best.

Under the cruel, uncaring sky, she let her young heart drink up hatred for the world.

Anna was too preoccupied with her thoughts to notice when Hao finally freed her from his weight. It wasn't until she saw his hand extend out above her face that she realized it. She ignored his offer to help and got up on her own, but not without fumbling at first. Embarrassed, angered, and speechless, she turned her back to him and folded her arms across her chest, pretending to stare at the moon. Her figure left a silhouette against the backdrop of a moonlit sky as she tried to pout inconspicuously. Hao was watching and admiring Anna for her ability to bring his emotions through a schizophrenic run, making him feel lighthearted one moment, serious the next, and back again.

"Well, I guess that is as far as introductions go," said Hao. He leaned in from behind her and whispered into her ears, "I can leave the punishment for later, but for now…I'll give you this…" He reached over and pulled her face to the side, leaving no room for protest as he grazed her forehead with a kiss. Anna froze with wide and unblinking eyes. His face lingered close to hers for a moment longer, his cheek touching her own. "I can trust that you'll make it home safely by yourself? If there are robbers, it's them I worry about---you wouldn't leave them unscathed, now would you, Anna?"

It wasn't a question that solicited an answer. In a flash, the weight of his chin was lifted from her shoulder. The young prince left her standing alone on the sandy expanse of silver, with the ocean roaring from behind.

She had anticipated further attempts from him and was quite surprised he didn't do much more than kiss her on the forehead. Not that she was disappointed. "You can be unpredictable sometimes," Anna said quietly.

The all important Tao Ren nearly fell off the tree branch when he started to nod off. Damn it! Where could she be at this late hour? And why should I be reduced to this? He had never gone to such lengths for a woman before. Reality did not play out like he had imagined in his mind. Anna's servants had to be bribed before they would disclose any information regarding this trip. The amount he spent wasn't the problem. The problem was him waiting alone in the middle of the night.

In a tree.

The person he wanted to woo was nowhere to be found. He had hoped to admire the stars with her, and point out how they shone like diamonds in the midst of dark sapphires. She, of course, would be impressed by his command of poetry-like observations. His willingness to travel such long distances in pursuit of her love would be recognized as well. No amount of shrewdness could trample a woman's need for love, especially love from a Tao. Ren smirked, congratulating himself on his reasoning.

A creak of the gates signaled a new arrival. Ren held his breath and listened patiently for signs of Anna. Soon enough, the blond appeared, but in a state he didn't expect. The smooth flowing tresses he saw before were now tousled and damp against her face. Her clothes were wet and sand stained, dripping water and marking wet trails where she walked.

When she got near he jumped from his spot, landing firmly on both feet, in front of her.

His penchant towards sarcasm overrode the strategic phrases he prepared earlier. "Did you wrestle with a crab on the beach?"

They both looked at each other for several seconds, leaving enough time to blink some more. "So another idiot appears," Anna stated dryly.

"Another?"

"I have neither the time nor energy for a discussion. Move out of the way."

"No. We'll have a conversation now and here." Ren didn't really want to think about what he was saying. He knew they weren't the words of courting, and that he wasn't acting much like a suitor. But this was Anna; she had a way of bringing out his rash nature.

"Move." There was a hint of annoyance on Anna's face, but for the most part her expression stayed blank.

"No." Ren stubbornly crossed his across his chest, refusing to budge from his spot.

The impact of the slap resounded through the garden.

Anna left the unlucky Tao to wonder how he became so rotten at this game called love.

AN: Thanks everyone for the words of encouragement. Especially Ails, for being frank about the last chapter. To tell you the truth, I wrote part of chapter 5 when I was drunk. You should have seen how I scribbled the words in my notebook, definitely illegible, but somehow coherent. That's why chapter 6 had such a different tone, I was somber. I don't know if that's good or bad P.

I had planned on doing some Anna and Ren scenes much later, but Kariisme inspired me to write it sooner.

Please whoever reads this, drop me a line of feedback. I'll consider them very seriously, for they are my tools of becoming a better writer. That means a negative review (without explanation hopefully) is better than no review (well except for things like I HATE YOUR STORY! DIE).

--August 5, 2005