Olivia stood nervously at the head of the formation of Elites who currently guarded the quarters the Cryomancers had given to the Grandmaster for the night. Thoughts of her brief encounter with Reiko swirled through her mind, as did memories of their tryst three years prior during her misadventure in the Red Desert. Even though it humiliated her to admit it, he hadn't been wrong about her; he had brought her to physical ecstasy several times that night, even though her only goal had to been for her and Takeda to escape. But afterwards, she'd felt slimy, like a wad of rotten pond algae yanked up from the depths of a primordial lake, and no amount of washing would ever make her clean again. She'd felt like that often since then, during those times when she allowed herself to remember and think about the past. And she felt like that now that he was back.
Voices carried up the torch lit stone corridor, and within a minute, Olivia saw her father and uncle appear and approach, speaking in hushed tones. But as they drew closer, the Grandmaster raised his head and met his daughter's gaze. No words passed between them - only the gentle warmth in his blue eyes that profusely apologized to her for making her confront Reiko. Her heart swelled inside her chest, aching with need, longing to run into his strong arms and shelter herself from the world. But here in Mòhé, she couldn't afford to look weak. More importantly, she couldn't make him look weak. So she held her ground at the forefront of his loyal guards, standing like a statue, refusing to allow a single twitch of her muscles to betray her.
Her father sighed and then slightly nodded his head down. "Come inside, Tundra," he said, his voice soft but stern.
"I'm going to stand guard with the others tonight," she replied, her face a stoic, expressionless mask. She was suddenly very aware of Miyuki's presence; her aunt was watching in silent, rapt interest to the side of the Elites.
"Not tonight, you aren't," he replied. "Come inside."
Olivia swallowed hard and then thoughtfully bit her lip. She couldn't risk making him look weak in this lion's den by abandoning her post to go cry to her daddy. But if she argued with him in front of everyone, she'd do exactly that. His guards might forgive such an indiscretion - certainly, they were used to her acting like a stubborn git back home in the Temple - but there was no guarantee the other Cryomancers would. They already thought less of him for merely fathering her, the half-Hydromancer abomination that should never have been conceived in the first place.
"Yes, Grandmaster," she finally agreed as the Elites parted and formed a path to the door.
While Miyuki opted to hang around outside for the time being, Olivia and Tomas followed him inside to a square chamber easily twice the size of her parents' quarters back home at the Temple, its walls presenting hunting scenes carved in relief in stone of the purest white. The tapestries between the carvings depicted gentle images of strange flowers and brilliantly colored animals Olivia couldn't begin to recognize if her life depended on it, except for the largest one at the edge of the room where a blue dragon stood taller than a man on a snowy white plain full of gnarled, dead trees. On the opposite end of the chamber was a carved and gilded canopy bed with black curtains like gossamer.
Olivia took a moment to absorb the sheer luxury of everything in this room, then sighed and looked at her father. "Grandmaster," she began. "I'm sorry I-"
"Stop," Kuai Liang interrupted her as he yanked her to him and held her close. "Livy, just stop," he ordered. "There's nothing to apologize for."
Perhaps it was the words he spoke, or maybe just the way he spoke those words, but whatever the case was, they instantly chipped through her facade and pulled out the tears. Immediately, Olivia wrapped her arms around him even more tightly and buried her damp face against his chest, allowing herself a moment to cry in peace as he stroked her head.
"Why is he back?" she moaned, her voice muffled against his own blue tunic. "Why couldn't he just stay dead?"
"I don't know," her father replied, his voice barely more than a whisper. "But his resurrection is going to be pretty short-lived. Now that we know what he's after, Tsai Bing assured me that he's going to be executed at dawn."
"He's after me," she muttered as he led her to the edge of his bed and they both sat down. "He wants to get even with me for killing him."
"No, Livy, he just told you that to mess with your head," he argued, patting her back to reassure her. "He's still after Shinnok's amulet."
The young Cryomancer scoffed. "Of course he is," she said, and then a thought occurred to her. "Is Takeda in danger? We should warn him."
Kuai Liang shook his head. "I don't think Reiko's going to employ that strategy again," he told her. "It didn't work out for him last time, and he's not stupid. He won't repeat his failures."
"Yes, and that brings me to my point," Tomas now said. "This whole thing feels off to me. How is it that the greatest Outworld General loses a boxing match to the Cryomancers who didn't even know he was coming? And then give up his plans to us with very little resistance? I think Olivia was right. This was too easy."
"Perhaps this whole thing was a diversion," the young Cryomancer deduced. "To distract us from his real target." She sighed. "But that does beg the question, what can he possibly hope to find here? It's certainly not going to be the amulet. Raiden's not just going to leave that thing laying around."
"True," Tomas now agreed with her, "but who's to say he wouldn't leave it here?"
"Why on Earth would he do that?" she wondered.
He shrugged. "Think about it. If you were going to hide an important treasure, Mòhé is a good place. The cold and the snow make it nearly impassable, and-"
"He didn't leave it here, Tomas," Kuai Liang interrupted. "It's probably still in his Sky Temple." He inhaled deeply as he continued patting Olivia's back. "But I do think there's something here that Reiko needs in order to get Shinnok's amulet. He didn't just attack Mòhé arbitrarily. Everyone that's ever tried to attack this place has been at a serious strategic disadvantage and has always paid in spades for their trouble. He knows that as much as the next man. So whatever's here, it's important to him and he's desperate."
"I bet Tsai Bing knows and is keeping that part a secret," Livy now remarked, leaning into her dad's shoulder. "Maybe you should grill him, Dad. Make him talk."
The Grandmaster chuckled at that. "I already beat the hell out of Reiko tonight, Livy, what more do you want from me?"
He flexed his fist in front of her face, revealing his bruised and split knuckles. It prompted her to look up at his face in surprise, and he met her stare with a faint, but knowing, grin. For the first time since they'd left the Temple, Olivia smiled back and then returned her attention to her father's wounded hand. She tenderly clasped it in her own hands, loving everything those wounds meant.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the chamber door and a moment later, Sherman slid through it and pressed his fist to his chest to salute her father. "I apologize for the intrusion, Grandmaster, but Prince Xinyi is here and would like to speak with you."
Immediately, Kuai Liang rose to his feet and pulled Livy with him before he nodded at Nightwolf's orphaned son and nodded. "Let him in," he commanded.
Sherman nodded back and then disappeared behind the door. A moment later, Xinyi appeared, and Olivia saw that he'd changed his clothes from the battle-burned ones he wore earlier. His breeches and boots were still sewn from that black whale leather the Cryomancers all wore, but his brocaded shirt and his coat were now snowy white, the hood of his coat trimmed in white fur. A mass of his dark curls brushed lightly against his collar in stark contrast.
When Xinyi entered, he smiled at everyone and bowed slightly before he faced Kuai Liang. "Grandmaster, I apologize for the intrusion this evening, and especially under the circumstances."
"It's no intrusion," he diplomatically replied. "How can I help you, Your Highness?"
"To be blunt, Grandmaster, I'm not very adept with knowing, let alone following, diplomatic protocol, particularly with regards to Earthrealmers," he began. "So if my request seems wildly inappropriate, please forgive my ignorance. I'm actually here to ask you for the honor of permitting me to escort Lady Olivia on a tour of Mòhé this evening."
Olivia's eyes exploded from her head in shock at his request, and she couldn't help but notice in her peripheral vision how her Uncle Tomas took a quick, uneasy step away from her father. She couldn't blame him. Kuai Liang had been better about being less protective of her, but he still enjoyed scaring her potential suitors for sport. But to the Grandmaster's credit, he merely raised an eyebrow and gazed sternly at Xinyi.
"It is not in my power to grant you permission, Your Highness," he replied as he crossed his arms. He now looked at Olivia and met her puzzled gaze with a faint smirk. "If you want to take Lady Olivia on a tour of Mòhé, you need to ask for her permission."
Olivia heard the amusement in her father's voice, particularly in the emphasis with which he said 'Lady,' and she started to protest, but Xinyi spoke first.
"Of course," he said as he faced her. "Lady Olivia, would you grant me the honor of accompanying me this evening?" He slightly bowed once again.
Immediately, her face flushed red, her cheeks burning hot to her ears. She was acutely aware of her family's eyes on her, waiting for her decision. Xinyi stared at her as well, waiting for her answer, and she found herself more than a little irritated by his request. To say this was wildly inappropriate was the understatement of the year. Reiko was chained up in his basement, waiting to be executed for attacking Mòhé and trying to claim Shinnok's amulet yet again, but Xinyi thought that now was the time to ask her on a date?
Olivia cleared her throat uncomfortably. "I'm sorry, Your Highness," she delicately began. "I'm flattered by your request, but I can't go with you tonight."
Xinyi's smile fell into a disappointed frown. "I see," he said. "Then I'm sorry to have troubled you."
He started to leave but now Tomas spoke. "Your Highness, can you wait outside?" he asked as he gripped Olivia by the elbow and smiled cordially at him. "She'll be with you momentarily."
The prince looked at him in puzzlement, but said nothing as he slid outside their quarters once again. And now Olivia whirled around to face her uncle in fury.
"You heard my dad," she snapped at him as she marched up to his face. "It's my choice. And I don't want to go."
"I heard him," the cyber-ninja told her with equal fire. "But every now and then, it's a parent's job to kick the baby bird out of the nest, and your father is terrible at that. So holčička, I'm kicking you out for the night. It'll be good for you. And he's a prince, so you're welcome."
"Tomas," the Grandmaster started, but Olivia was already interrupting him.
"You just feel guilty about what you said about Alex so you want me to go on a date so you don't have to feel that way!" she yelled.
"That is not true, neteř," he argued and then thought about it. "Okay, that is mostly not true."
"You are unbelievable," she growled. "I never thought you'd stoop so low that you'd pawn me off on some stranger just so that you don't have to feel bad about yourself." She furiously shook her head. "And in case you didn't notice, this is not a good time for me to go on a date."
"And when will it be?" he challenged, but his tone had softened. He sighed and put his hands on her shoulders. "Olivia, I know that this entire thing has been hard on you. Being back. Being normal. You feel guilty because there's a part of you that thinks you don't deserve to enjoy life anymore after the things you've done. But it's been three years, holčička. It's time to stop beating yourself up and letting Reiko control your life." He squeezed her shoulders and pressed his forehead to hers. "You may hate me for this now, but you'll thank me for it later. Go. Forget about the serious stuff for a while. Because you know what?"
She recoiled suspiciously. "What?"
He curled a cybernetic finger underneath her chin and lifted her face to meet his gaze. "If you go out there and pretend to have fun for once, an interesting thing might happen." Now he smiled. "You might actually have some."
His grin was contagious and in spite of herself, Olivia found herself smiling as well. "For the record, I think this is a bad idea, Uncle," she said, already knowing she'd be going on this date like he'd insisted. "And it's horribly timed."
"Of course it is," he agreed. "That's exactly why you should do it."
"You're hopeless," Kuai Liang said to him before he sighed, shook his head, and sank to his bed to take off his tabi boots. "You're a terrible influence on my children."
"That's an uncle's job," he indignantly replied. "I feel cheated that you haven't been a terrible influence on mine."
As her father and her uncle now debated Tomas' so-called "uncle's privilege," Olivia nervously shed her Lin Kuei tunic to the black robes underneath and then freed her hair from the tight bun she always kept it in when she wore her uniform. White waves fell to her waist and she quickly fluffed up her tresses. Not exactly great date hair, but it was the best she could do on short notice. Her family was still debating when she slid outside and found Xinyi waiting for her there.
"Sorry about that," she muttered as she went to him. Her heart flapped wildly in her chest. It had been a while since she'd risked a date with anyone, and she felt painfully awkward now. His ridiculous good looks and the fact that he was a prince did nothing to ease her anxiety either.
But if he noticed her nerves, he said nothing. "I'm glad to see you changed your mind," he told her, now smiling. "I hope you don't feel like you must come with me on account of my station. I would've been disappointed if you'd said no, but not offended."
"My uncle made a good case for you," she replied.
"Then I am indebted to your uncle," he said with a smile as he motioned for her to follow him down the corridor.
When she'd joined his side, he offered his arm for her to take. She looked at his elbow for a moment like a snake that was about to bite her, but then quickly took it and pulled herself close to him. The butterflies in her stomach began swooping and diving, doing impossible aerial stunts inside her to the point of pain, and she began to think that it was a crappy metaphor. Butterflies were light and airy. This felt more like a swarm of killer bees.
"Are you nervous?" he asked her after they walked a moment in silence.
Olivia started to open her mouth to deny it, but then she bit her lip and nodded yes. "Yeah," she confessed.
"I could tell," he said. "You look like you're marching to your own execution."
She blushed and looked down. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I haven't been asked out very often. I'm not very good at this."
He chuffed reassuringly. "I'm not either," he said.
She looked at him in surprise. "You're not?" she asked in disbelief. "I'm not sure I believe you. You certainly won my father over with the way you asked me to come with you."
Xinyi laughed at that. "Truthfully, Lady Olivia, it took me all afternoon, from the moment you first appeared in my throne room, to figure out that much." He looked at her with sapphire eyes darker than her own. "But I had no idea what I was going to do if you actually said yes." He leaned in closely. "You see, I'm very nervous as well. I'm good at many things, but I'm terrible at courting beautiful women."
His words finally coaxed out a warm smile that split her face in two. Her heart flapped wildly in excitement at his compliment, but in spite of it, she began to relax. It was somewhat endearing to think he was just as nervous about going out with her as she was about going out with him. Without realizing she did it, she pulled him even closer to her.
"Why do you call me a Lady?" she now asked.
"Because you are," he said.
"I'm the Grandmaster's daughter," she replied. "That hardly qualifies as nobility."
That earned another soft chuckle. "You're from Earthrealm, so you do not understand," he smiled. "Are you aware that you are distantly related to Tsai Bing?"
Olivia nodded. "Yes," she said. "My ancestor was Xing, his younger brother."
"Yes," he agreed. "But did you know that Tsai Bing and Xing are both of the House Xianzong, one of the most powerful Cryomancer Houses in Mòhé?"
"You mean the Lords of Mòhé?" she asked.
Xinyi nodded. "Well, the Lords of Mòhé are not only from House Xianzong, but many of them are." He looked at her. "Your family does descend from nobility. And not just any nobility. Your family has, and always will be, stewards to my family's throne. So, merely by virtue of your birth, you very much are a Lady." Now he smiled. "Also, by virtue of your kindness and genuinity, you are a Lady."
Olivia blushed again, but this time the searing heat in her face felt good. "Thank you," she said, now threading her fingers between his. "Are you sure you're not good at this courting thing?" she now asked. "Because I think you're pretty smooth."
He chuckled. "It's not my greatest strength," he told her. "My brother has tried to teach me because it is one of his many strengths. But I'm afraid the lessons don't stick as well as they should."
"Your brother is the player between you two?" she asked in disbelief as their path now led them down a staircase. Mòhé was built like an inverted step pyramid with each level growing smaller the further one ventured down until at the very bottom, the city converged into a sprawling marketplace. Presumably, that was where Xinyi was leading her to.
He glanced at her in bewilderment. "I don't understand what you mean by that," he said.
Now it was her turn to laugh. "It just means he has a long line of girlfriends."
Xinyi shrugged. "I wouldn't go that far," he said with a smile. "But it does come easily for him."
"And I suppose that him being the next in line to the throne makes no nevermind to those women," she replied. He looked at her with an expression of astonishment that she'd just said that, so she shrugged. "I'm sorry, but your brother is not nearly as charming as you are."
"The burden of being the eldest son, I'm afraid," he agreed. Then he inhaled and sighed. "Jiayi carries much worry in his soul. Our mother died giving birth to me and our father, as you know, was brutally killed by Shao Kahn's army when we were both just boys." Xinyi looked over the city, then, his eyes dreamy and drifting in memories of the past.
"I'm so sorry," Olivia apologized, her heart lurching in pain for them both. She couldn't imagine living her life without either of her parents there to guide her. "I had no idea."
"Jiayi is devoted to protecting not just me, but our people as well, in order to honor our parents' memory," he continued. "He will do anything it takes to keep the Cryomancers safe. He takes his job very seriously, and when anything threatens that, he becomes quite brash and cantankerous, to say nothing of prone to extremes." He now smiled again. "I would say that I'm sorry you haven't gotten to see the better side of him, but truthfully, his sullenness works out in my favor because I don't want him to steal your attention from me."
"I sincerely doubt he could say anything compelling enough," she grinned at him in reassurance.
Minutes lazily and comfortably drifted into hours as Olivia walked around the city with Xinyi, which was quieting as the night set in, talking about anything and everything, from life in Outworld versus Earthrealm, to family and friends, his time in Seido, and even an in-depth explanation of the game of baseball. At one point, in a very gentlemanly fashion, he'd even draped his coat around her shoulders in the marketplace when she'd remarked that she was a little cold. And even though everything else in the world seemed sleepy right now, she was as wide awake as she'd been in ages. She wasn't quite sure when it happened, or even when it started. All she knew for sure was that right here and now, she was falling hard for the younger Cryomancer prince.
She wasn't even certain what time it was when Xinyi led her back to her father's quarters, to a spot by the balcony just out of earshot of her fellow Elites who'd undoubtedly watch them with nosy interest. If she did anything unbecoming or if the prince decided to get fresh, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that her father would hear about it. At the moment, though, Olivia didn't care. The only thing in the world right now was Xinyi and her.
"Thank you for your company this evening, Lady Olivia," he told her as he drew her close, now pulling his coat around her more tightly.
"I think I should be thanking you," she replied, unable to contain the smile. "I had a lot of fun with you. It's been a long time since I could say that with a straight face."
He nodded. "Perhaps after Reiko is executed, you can stay here in Mòhé for a while longer, and we can continue this discussion where we left off. I'm curious to hear more about your noble Yankees and this man, Babe Ruth."
She flashed an ornery smirk at him. "Maybe I can talk to my dad about letting me stay," she agreed. "Call it an interdimensional cultural exchange with our people."
"I will pray to the Elder Gods that he wills it so," he replied as he now took Olivia's hand in his own and lifted it to his mouth. "Until then, Lady Olivia, rest well." And then he kissed it, sending shivers up her spine, before quietly gliding away into the darkness of the corridor beyond.
She watched Xinyi disappear before she approached the Elites stationed in front of the Grandmaster's door, and was promptly met by Sherman, who was smirking at her. "How much are you going to pay us not to tell Alex about that?" he teased her.
"Well, I don't know," she answered, now scowling, irritated by the mention of her ex-boyfriend. "How much are you going to pay me not to kick your ass?" She shook her head. "Besides which, he's moved on. I doubt he'll care very much."
And without another word, she squeezed through her comrades and slipped quietly through the door to her father's quarters. At this time of night, she expected her family to be sleeping now, but to her surprise, all of them were still awake. Miyuki and Tomas were seated by the fireplace, evidently having been locked in a conversation that they'd abruptly ended the moment Olivia walked in, but her father was in his bed, surrounded on all sides by papers, wearing a pair of reading glasses as he studied one of those papers closely. When she entered, he removed them and looked at her expectantly.
"You waited up for me?" she asked incredulously, earning a raised eyebrow from him.
"Of course I did," he scoffed.
"Well, you didn't have to," she told him.
"Don't be silly," he replied. "Of course I did." She couldn't help but laugh at that and then blushed under his expectant gaze. "How did it go?" he now asked.
But now Tomas was on his feet and pacing in front of her, studying every inch of his niece as she stood with her back to the door, still breathless from the evening. He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm," he said. "My scanners tell me that her heart is racing and her respirations have accelerated. Also, her pupils are dilated and her hormone levels are off the charts." He looked over his shoulder at Kuai Liang. "I think I was right: she had fun this evening."
The Grandmaster narrowed his eyes. "Hopefully, not too much fun."
"No, not that much fun," she quickly said as she shot Tomas a dirty look. Then she shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other as she cleared her throat. "But I...will...grudgingly admit...that Uncle Tomas was right," she confessed. "It was nice to take my mind off things. Xinyi was nice."
"Well, he obviously took your mind off things so much that you forgot to give him his coat back," her father observed in mild amusement.
"What?" she asked, now puzzled by his remark.
"You're wearing his coat, Livy," he replied, now pointing to it. "He might want it back, you know."
She gasped. "Oh, shoot!" she yelped. She'd completely forgotten about it. "I can still catch him!"
She bolted from the room as she heard her father yell at her that she could give it back later, and ran down the hallway in the direction Xinyi had gone. Truthfully, her dad was right and she could just return it tomorrow morning. But she was looking for an excuse to keep the high from the evening going, and maybe even steal an actual kiss from him for her trouble.
Olivia tracked him to a corridor in the uppermost tier, presumably where the nobles and the royals lived, and finally saw him walking away from her down a hall decorated as richly as her father's quarters. At this time of night, it was still, and he was the only person traveling through it. She smiled a wicked smile, imagining briefly that here there would be no witnesses to report her movements to her father, and she started to call to him as she lightly trotted after him to catch up. But just as she opened her mouth, a new figure emerged from an adjoining hallway and violently shoved him into the wall.
Stunned, Olivia slipped behind a statue to hide as she studied the Cryomancer who'd attacked Xinyi. Tall, with a slender, muscular body, his movements spoke of whipcord strength and unfailing confidence. He wore his clothes, which were only slightly less elaborate than the prince's, as if they were of no importance. It was Jiayi.
"What do you think you're doing?" he snarled at his younger brother, shoving him into the wall once again for good measure. Both of his ice-charged fists curled around Xinyi's shirt, holding him fast, his dark eyes fixed steadily on his prey.
"I was walking to my quarters, Brother," he groaned as he writhed in the elder's iron grip.
"Do not play coy with me," he replied. "You know perfectly well what I mean. How dare you consort with our enemies? How dare you betray me?"
"I think you may be overreacting, Jiayi," he calmly said. "I merely escorted Lady Olivia around the city this evening. I certainly wouldn't call that betraying you."
"I know what you want with her," he growled. "And as the Elder Gods are my witness, I won't let it happen."
Olivia bristled at hearing the venom with which Jiayi spoke his words, a voice oozing with contempt, undoubtedly because he found the idea of his younger brother mingling with a half-blooded Cryomancer repulsive. She wrenched her eyes shut, glad for the statue to conceal her in all her inglorious impurity, embarrassed that for one precious moment with Xinyi, she'd forgotten who she was in Mòhé: a mongrel hybrid abomination.
"Is that a fact?" the younger prince challenged the older. "You'll drag me before Tsai Bing and tell on me? Tell me, Brother, have you noticed who your real enemy in this city is? It is not me and it is not the Earthrealmers who came to help us. It's him. You're an intelligent man, Jiayi. Why, Gods, why can't you see what he's doing to us? He's driving a wedge between us, perverting your perceptions so that you see enemies everywhere there are none."
"Tsai Bing is wise and sees much," he hissed. "And he is right to say that your loyalty should be to me and to me alone."
Xinyi shook his head in bitter disappointment. "You're faithless, Jiayi," he sadly remarked. "For once, I wish that wasn't true. I wish you could believe in me and stand proudly by my side like a brother should do. If we are to survive the coming days, we must be willing to change."
"This is Mòhé! And I will be damned before I let you abandon the old ways."
"What about what we learned in Seido about peace and order-"
"For the last time, this is not Seido," the elder brother growled as he shoved Xinyi into the wall again. "Devotion to order works well for them, but that is not our way. It can never be our way."
Xinyi scowled in disgust. "Our father would be ashamed to know that the breadth of your vision is painfully narrow and spineless. I'm glad he's dead so that he can't see your cowardice, that you're afraid to protect the Cryomancers better than he ever could."
"How dare you speak to me of cowardice?" he snapped, raising his fist to punch his brother, when Olivia finally worked up the courage to step from her hiding spot and clear her throat. Immediately, Jiayi released Xinyi and stepped back, his scowl deeply furrowed into his face.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," she quietly said. "I was just returning Xinyi's coat." Frowning, she shrugged it off and held it out to him to retrieve.
"Thank you, Lady Olivia," he warmly replied as he slid away from his brother and walked to her as if nothing was wrong. "I'd almost forgotten that I gave that to you."
When he reached her, she looked at him and whispered in concern, "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yes," he smiled and took his coat. "We're just having a bit of a disagreement as brothers sometimes do. We're fine, really."
Both Xinyi and Olivia now looked at Jiayi, who stood in the same place, his expression an icy mask to put her father's to shame. Those blue eyes were colder than Arctika during a blizzard, and their piercing gaze bitterly bounced from his brother to her. Then, as if honing in on her like a laser, the crown prince stalked towards her and stood before her, towering above her, and her hair stirred uneasily on her arms and on the back of her neck.
"If you value your life and the lives of your family, stay away from Xinyi," he growled at her.
"She can make her own choices," Xinyi said at the same time Olivia said, "I associate with whomever I please and I don't let bullies tell me otherwise." She scowled at him, inwardly praying that her defiance and mouth didn't cause an interdimensional incident with the crown prince.
Jiayi's eyes merely narrowed. "You will live to regret your decision," he answered. It was not a threat, she quickly decided as he then stormed off in the direction that he'd originally came.
"I must go to him," Xinyi told her with a sigh as he watched his brother leave. He turned to face her. "I fear he might do something rash."
"Do you want me to come with you?" she asked, now concerned.
He smiled and shook his head no. "I can handle my brother," he told her. "But thank you for your kind offer." Tenderly, he planted a kiss on her cheek. "I will speak to you in the morning. Good night, Lady Olivia."
After Olivia watched Xinyi chase after Jiayi, she hurried back to her father's quarters, wasting no time staying out in the open. If the crown prince wanted to, he could make life Hell for her in short order, but that wasn't what made her run once again for her father. She remembered all too well that the people of this world didn't want her, like she was born hated, and she was. Damn Xinyi for making her forget that for a while.
"Livy, is everything okay?" the Grandmaster asked her in concern when she exploded through his door and slammed it completely shut.
Where to begin? she asked herself as she gulped down air and the painful knot welling up in her throat. Panting, she wrenched her eyes shut and allowed her head to sink down in defeat, trying to decide exactly where to start. But then she caught sight of Miyuki, who had moved from her spot by the fireplace to a couch where she clearly intended to sleep for the night, and Olivia swallowed her emotions so the woman couldn't see the chink in her armor.
"Olivia?" her father repeated as he now slid out of his bed and approached her.
"It's nothing," she finally said, never taking her eyes off her aunt.
"You're lying to me," he accused and crossed his arms.
She tensed and met his eyes. "I said it's nothing."
"I don't believe you," he replied.
"I don't believe you either," Miyuki now chimed in, crossing her arms as well. "You don't just come into your father's room like that for no reason."
"Who asked you?" Olivia snarled at her. "You don't even know me."
"I know that your father doesn't deserve to be lied to," she said. "It's disrespectful."
The young Cryomancer scoffed at that. "So is killing your father, but that didn't stop you, now did it?"
"Olivia, that's enough!" Kuai Liang now snapped at her. "Apologize to your aunt."
She scowled. "No."
"Olivia." His tone had dropped at least an octave.
"I'm not sorry for what I said," she hissed at him. "She needs to shut her mouth and stay out of my business."
"What is the matter with you?" Miyuki cried. "What did I ever do to you?"
"You were born," she shot at her.
"Olivia!" Tomas now cried. "Even I know that was too far."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Well, let's throw a parade. We finally found the line Uncle Tomas won't cross."
"What happened?" her father now pressed her. "When you left here, you were on Cloud Nine. Fifteen minutes later, you're having a meltdown. Talk to me, Livy. I don't understand this, and I can't help you if you don't tell me what your problem is."
"I never asked you for your help," Olivia shot back. "I never asked for you to bring the queen of the psychopaths along for the ride, I certainly didn't ask to go out with Xinyi, and I damn sure didn't ask to be born." At that, the tears she'd been fighting all along finally broke through and streamed down her cheeks. Angrily, she wiped them away.
"What is that supposed to mean?" he now demanded to know, his face a bewildered frown. "Did he do something to you?"
"Just leave me alone," she snarled at everyone before she stormed from the Grandmaster's quarters to rejoin his guard detail for the night.
The Titan's Shadow, I don't know that I'd call it a masterpiece of a chapter, but thank you regardless LOL Yeah, you're absolutely right. People have really come out in support of me about that, and there were other things driving my internal debate on whether or not to delete my stories, but ultimately, since more people like my stories than hate them, I'm not going to let the minority affect me. For something that started as a pure distraction from the stress of grad school, I've really worked hard for the eight years to write enjoyable content for my readers. I like doing this along with making original content. So why am I going to give that up for someone I don't even know?
MKDemigodZ-Warrior, what figures?
Daniel Barga, you know, it was tempting to have Kuai Liang kill Reiko right then and there, but I've got this fantastic idea for this story and trust me, you'd ultimately be robbed if I'd gone that route. I'm very excited for what I'm going to do. I wish I could spill the beans right now and tell you all what's going to happen! Anyway, thank you for your support. I'm glad that you enjoy my stories so much :)
Obelisk of Light, oh, Kuai Liang is protective of her, but he couldn't do more to Reiko without risking an interdimensional incident with his people about jurisdiction and such. As for Reiko giving up too much information, did he really? ;) Xinyi and Jiayi are kind of easy for me to write in the sense that they're like me and my brother - we are like night and day with my brother being the extroverted, popular one and me the cranky, sullen oldest child. But there our similarities end. And with Tsai Bing, you may be on to something...
InfernoRage, thanks :)
Westcoast Witchdoctor, your review has me hizzyped LOL
jonty2600, you're right; extremists say stuff online that they'd never have the guts to say to my face, and those people should never be taken seriously. I'm glad you think so highly of my stories - and to be compared to Star Wars? That's one of the highest - if not the highest - compliments I've ever received. Thank you :D