AN: Wow. I was pleasantly surprised at how many of you liked last week's chapter as much as you did, so if you liked that chapter, you should love this one. At first, I wondered if it had turned out to be too long, but then I came to my senses given that it's almost all pure XingYue. Enjoy it, my XingYue-starved pack of ravenous wolves;).
Some of you asked why Yuwen Yue didn't defend himself/go into more detail about his side of things. The short answer is that I needed to save plenty of material for this chapter. The longer answer is...well...I'll let Yuwen Yue explain it to you. I'm glad y'all asked that question, though, because I hadn't really addressed it in the rough draft. I'd talked about why he'd decided to stay, but not why he hadn't said more/defended himself. I hope his answer is satisfactory. Please feel free to keep asking such questions; as a writer, I see the story unfolding clearly (most of the time) in my head, but I might forget to take a detail out of my head and put it in the actual story.
I've tried to address as many of their misunderstandings as I could, but there are so many, I'm sure I missed a few. Hopefully I've hit the most important points and we'll have to trust our OTP to work the rest out later. Enjoy some payoff; there will be much more to come later.
Yuwen Yue had always enjoyed watching Xing'er make tea. Observing her going through the familiar motions with the battered tea set that someone had stored in the cave soothed him, serving as a balm for the raw, gaping wounds his heart was still nursing in spite of his placid demeanor.
He knew that most people would've considered him a fool for staying here after some of the things that Xing'er had said to him, but Yuwen Yue knew that most of those people had long considered him foolish anyway, so their opinions didn't matter to him. Outside of a simple desire to not have to walk around in the dark with enemy troops crawling around, Yuwen Yue had found his justification for staying in the cave with Xing'er in the expressive, bottomless openness he'd seen in her eyes.
While he hadn't seen any impending confessions of romantic love in her eyes, he had seen a genuine fear of losing him and a desperate desire to keep him in her life. True, those topics would likely not show up in many love poems, but he believed them to be integral to her eventually being able to return his love in full measure. He knew that the woman he loved wasn't good at examining her own feelings, but that once she realized a truth about how she felt, she held onto it fiercely.
Yuwen Yue also had to admit that, spymaster that he was, Xing'er had always presented a fascinating puzzle for him that he'd often relished the process of trying to solve. She'd shown him some new facets tonight, and he knew himself to be unable to resist attempting to figure them—to figure her—out. He understood that he might get hurt in the process, but he knew himself powerless to be able to turn away from the contradictory mystery that was the woman he loved more than anything else in the world.
Tonight was the closest he'd ever come to doing so, however, as he'd recognized the face and posture that Xing'er displayed when she was beyond reason. He'd seen that body language often enough to know that she wouldn't have listened to him no matter how eloquently he might have managed to defend himself, so he'd chosen to walk away rather than to engage in pointless fighting. Whether he would've been able to stay away from her was something he'd never know—and, fortunately, would never need to try to figure out.
While there were few things he wanted more than the opportunity to be able to explain the details of past misunderstandings to Xing'er, he knew that she'd have to be in a certain frame of mind to listen to those truths—and he'd finally seen her arrive at such a state a few minutes ago. Yuwen Yue didn't know if he'd get the chance to say the things he'd wanted to say to Xing'er for so long, but he knew that he might never get a better opportunity than this one.
The rickety chair that he was in squeaked as he shifted slightly in it, drawing Xing'er's eyes away from the cooking area. He simply stared at her, his opinion of their current accommodations obviously clear to her.
"I'll have you know that that chair once resided in the palace," Xing'er said, smiling tentatively at him.
"The palace of the Yellow Emperor, perhaps."
Xing'er's mouth twitched and she went back to fiddling with the tea set. He could tell the tea was almost ready and he was already anticipating the warmth that would fill him, chasing away the coldness within.
"What about the table? Does it have a story, too?" he asked, his eyes twinkling slightly.
"Of course," Xing'er said, bringing the tea set over to said table and setting it down somewhat unsteadily. "This table once belonged to a wealthy nobleman who used to serve royalty tea and refreshments on it—until he lost all of his money at some seedy gambling tables and had to sell it off."
"And I'll bet that that old wooden screen once belonged to the most beautiful courtesan in the land—who met a tragic end after getting caught in the crossfire between two jealous lovers," Yuwen Yue said.
"How did you guess?" Xing'er said, eyes widening in mock astonishment.
On the outside, Xing'er seemed reasonably cool and collected, but the shaking in her hands as she poured first his cup of tea and then her own belied her facade of calmness. The banter was clearly a cover for her just as it was for him, but at least it was better than yelling.
She picked up his cup of tea and brought it around the table to him, just as if they were still at Qing Shan Yuan. Her hands were trembling so much, however, that some of the tea sloshed out of the small, chipped cup and onto his black robes. Xing'er's cheeks flamed as she instinctively got down on her knees, trying to wipe the tea off of his clothes with the sleeves of her own black garments as if she were a silver bell awaiting chastisement.
Yuwen Yue almost waved her away and told her not to worry about the tea since it was the least of his problems, but his strategic mind stilled his tongue and moved one of his hands inside his robe. He made eye contact with Xing'er, drew out her old handkerchief from years ago, and held it out to her, his mind going back in time to that day that seemed so far away now.
She took the handkerchief from his hand with fingers that seemed to have gone numb, and she clumsily and blindly patted his robes with it as she continued to look into his eyes. The openness in them drew him in and made him feel as if he were drowning. They contained the moon and stars and tears and so many emotions he'd never expected to see in them.
"S-sorry," she whispered, looking down and giving his robes a final pat with the handkerchief before looking back up at him with anguish in her eyes. "I'm so sorry."
After handing him back the handkerchief, Xing'er shakily stood up, walked back to the table, and poured him a fresh cup of tea. This one she delivered correctly before striding back over to the cookpit and placing a couple of extra logs on the fire, obviously trying to regain her composure.
"I don't want you to get cold," she softly explained. "If there's one thing I don't want to deal with, it's you getting sick."
"Oh, yes," Yuwen Yue said wryly. "That would be very inconvenient for you, wouldn't it, Xing'er?"
"Yes, it would—and I'm not in the mood to have to worry about warming you up."
Xing'er's eyes widened and she blushed as she realized what she'd said.
"Would that really be so inconvenient for you, Xing'er?" Yuwen Yue couldn't resist asking.
"Scoundrel," Xing'er said, scowling at him.
"Don't worry, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said, smirking at her. "I trust you to do a thorough job of keeping me warm so that I don't have to worry about being cold."
"I could just shove you in the fire and save us both the trouble," she said, smiling sweetly.
"You've already burned me once tonight, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said, sipping from his tea and looking pointedly at her. "I think I'll pass on a second time."
Xin'ger's face flooded with shame and her eyes filled with tears, which wasn't the reaction Yuwen Yue had been hoping for. Before he could think of something to say, however, Xing'er returned to her seat and picked up her tea cup, sipping from it with determined resolve.
"Yuwen Yue," she said, her chin jutting out and her face hardening in the way that it did whenever she'd decided to do something and nobody and nothing was going to stop her. "First of all, I want to apologize for suggesting you'd ever hurt me. That was...that was the worst thing I said to you tonight."
He could tell that her throat had closed up again as she looked down at the table, her eyes filling with tears. Yuwen Yue couldn't stand it.
"Xing'er-"
"No," she said curtly, her eyes softening as she seemed to realize how harsh she sounded. "Please let me continue. A few days ago, I was sitting in my room in Yan Xun's palace, trying to figure out how I was going to stop this pointless war and salvage things for the people of Yanbei. As a result, I decided to walk a different path. I realized that my previous course of action had been leading to disaster, so I decided that I needed to try something else in order to change the future for myself and for my people."
Yuwen Yue kept silent since he already knew all of this; she'd told him as much when they'd met beside the icy lake. He knew that tone of voice, however, and thus let her continue uninterrupted.
"Tonight, I realized the same thing, except about...us," Xing'er got out, taking a deep breath before continuing. "In the past, deceit and misunderstandings have hurt us and kept us apart. So I decided that, since concealment wasn't working, I was going to try being completely honest with you. There are things about me that you don't know, things you think I've done that I haven't done...things I know you don't understand. So tonight...tonight, I'm going to tell you everything I can. I'm going to be completely honest. I'll even answer your questions to the best of my ability. You don't have to reciprocate; this is my way of making amends for tonight...for so much."
Yuwen Yue was speechless, almost to the degree of being unable to process what Xing'er was telling him. He would've been less surprised if she'd have told him that she'd been a Liang spy all of this time and that she was actually married to Xiao Ce.
"Xing'er, you don't have to-"
"Yes, I do," she said softly, still maintaining eye contact with him. "You should know; I want you to understand. As I said, I don't expect for you to tell me anything in return, either—although I know that, if there are things about me that I know you don't understand, then there are things about you that I don't understand—and I really want to understand."
"Okay, Xin'ger," Yuwen Yue managed to say huskily.
Xing'er took another deep breath, obviously ordering her thoughts and gathering her courage.
"First: Miss Song. I didn't kill her."
"What?" Yuwen Yue said, both eyebrows raising. "Xing'er-"
"Yuwen Yue! You-! I told you I was going to tell you the truth! Now you understand why I didn't even bother trying to tell you the truth then."
"I'm sorry, Xing'er, but Yue Qi found the body—and the bracelet that Miss Song died clutching. Your bracelet."
"Oh, my sisters and I were there when she died, but we didn't kill her—at least not deliberately."
Xing'er went on to tell him a somewhat crazy story about a fight on a bridge that went wrong. However, he could see no reason why she'd lie about something that was, at this point in their relationship, so inconsequential.
"Okay, Xing'er, I believe you," he said, taking another sip of tea. "You didn't kill Miss Song. Are there any other people whose deaths you want to absolve yourself of before you continue?"
"Jin Zhu's. I didn't kill her, either. In fact, I tried to help her by breaking her out of prison and giving her the means to start a new life—if she was humble enough to take the chance. She wasn't, and her own actions condemned her to death, likely at the hands of Yuwen Huai."
"I knew you'd snuck out that night," Yuwen Yue muttered, sipping his tea.
"I just had time to take off my black robes, climb into bed, and pull the covers up before you walked in."
"So I was right to be suspicious of you and to pull the covers away."
"Are you sure you decided to take off my covers because of your suspicions, or was that just an excuse?"
"Either way, I won."
"Rascal."
He gave her one of his intense looks before moving the line of questioning in a more productive direction.
"What about the lantern festival? Surely you're not going to tell me that the story that you told me about what happened afterwards resembled the truth in any way?"
"Well, actually, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said, "I didn't have to exaggerate much. While I deliberately got lost in the crowd, someone really did try to kill me; Yan Xun really did rescue me; we really did watch Wei Shuyou kill some runaway slaves. All of that really happened. In fact, I now know that I first met the Liang princess that night and that the man who tried to kill me was her henchman, the man with the fan."
"So you weren't trying to run away from me?"
"I was trying to run away from death for me and my sisters at the hands of Yuwen Huai and his toadies—not you. That's how it always was—how my life has always been. I was always one step away from disaster, one escape attempt away from the threat of my sisters getting sent to Jille Ge, and I...well...I don't think anyone would've been foolish enough to send me there. No, I would've just been sent on a mission I was never meant to come back from."
Yuwen Yue felt as if all of the air in the cave had suddenly been sucked out through the wooden screen but that none had come back in. Was he really going to finally learn the truth about what had happened that night?
"I never would've let that happen, Xin'ger," he rasped out, eyes tormented with long-ago bad memories.
"How would you have been able to stop it?" Xing'er asked, her voice rising. "Was it really your idea to send me on a mission-just me, alone-to face Liang's three top spies after such a relatively small amount of training? Or did you come back from that secret chamber off the back of your rooms with those orders?"
"I knew you had to have found that entrance," Yuwen Yue whispered. "Ever since that night, I've tried and tried to figure out what happened, what you saw, what you heard..."
"I'll tell you," Xing'er said, tears she didn't even seem to notice rolling down her cheeks. "I told you I'd tell you, and I will. I wasn't trying to snoop. All I wanted to do was to talk to you about something—I don't even remember what—and I saw Yue Qi go into your rooms, so I assumed you were in there. I went in there; you weren't in there; I got curious. Maybe I shouldn't have looked around, but if I hadn't, then I never would've learned the truth."
"The partial truth," Yuwen Yue couldn't resist firing back.
"A partial truth is better than a whole lie," Xing'er said, eyes blazing.
"Is it really? How many mistakes have you made because you only knew part of the truth about something?"
"How can I know the full truth about something if someone is deliberately hiding it from me? How can I blame myself for making choices with incomplete—this is getting us nowhere. Forget it. I promised I'd tell you, so I'll tell you. I found the secret mechanism, triggered it, heard your grandfather talking about the Eyes of God and his continued interest in it. How nobody heard or saw that large, loud door opening..."
Xing'er's eyes lost focus, and Yuwen Yue paled a little at the implication. Surely not...but he does hate Xing'er, thinks she's dangerous to me…
"In hindsight, what I overheard was ridiculously convenient, almost as if he knew I was there. Your grandfather, his servant, and Yue Qi could've been talking about how the cold, damp air in the chamber made his back ache or something, but instead, they started talking about...me. About how you'd been training me to use me against your enemies and about how...after I managed to kill Yuwen Xi, I'd be sent to Liang, where I'd be the...the spy of sacrifice—just like you'd planned all along."
She finished the last part in a whisper, sniffling loudly and wiping at the tears streaming down her face. He was shocked to feel dampness on his own cheeks for the second time in the past hour, but he didn't regret the tears because, just as before, he wanted her to see…
"Xing'er," he whispered, "I'm so sorry you overheard that. While I had told my grandfather that I was training you to be a spy, I never, ever said or even implied that you would be a spy of sacrifice. Now I know which conversation you overheard; Yue Qi came to me in a panic after it and told me what Grandfather had said, and we went off that very night to try to kill all of the Liang spies so that you wouldn't..."
"I didn't lie to you," Xing'er said softly into the silence. "When I told you I wasn't going to run away with Yan Xun, I didn't lie to you. I didn't even seriously consider going with him until I learned that Yuwen Zhuo was still alive, that Linxi's death had been a lie, and that I was going to be killed soon—leaving my sisters vulnerable. There was no plot between us until that point—at least not on my part. I wanted to stay with-"
Xing'er's teeth clicked shut like a steel trap as she cut off her words, but Yuwen Yue knew what she'd been about to say.
"So on the tower..."
"I was so hurt and angry about...everything. The lies. The betrayal. My own naive stupidity. I wanted you to pay..."
"And I did," Yuwen Yue whispered. "I still am."
Xing'er stood up from the table, walking unsteadily to the fire and throwing more logs on it. The cave was already quite warm, even to Yuwen Yue. He could tell that she was freezing from within, and that no amount of firewood was going to solve her problem—or his.
"So cold," he heard her whisper.
Yuwen Yue couldn't hold himself back any longer. He stood up from the table and slowly walked over to her. She kept her back turned to him, her arms wrapped around herself as she shivered even from her place by the warm fire. Ever so gently, he gripped her shoulders and turned her around to face him, holding her lightly enough that she could've broken his grip with little effort.
Xing'er allowed him to turn her all the way around until she was facing him, however, and didn't pull away when he put his arms around her and pulled her close. At first, she didn't respond to him, although he could, like at Xiao Ce's palace, feel her deliberately holding herself in check, not allowing herself to relax in her arms. She gave in suddenly, though, like someone who had already gotten into bed after a long, hard day but who could only relax after a few moments under the covers. Her small but strong arms wound around his waist, and he felt his knees almost unlock from the feelings that caused.
"X'er," he rasped, slurring her name due to emotion, "there are so many things I want to tell you, so much I want for you to understand..."
"Y-you don't have to," her voice drifted up to him, muffled against his shoulder. "And I still have so much to tell you...so much...about the escape, the rebellion, things I did and didn't know. Things Yan Xun was planning that I didn't know. That time you took me into your tent after I'd gotten hurt and you accused me of faking being hurt or something...I didn't. I swear. I still don't know what that was about. The innocents who died in Chang'an when we escaped, in Yanbei after...I didn't know about any of their plans."
"I know, Xin'ger. I know. You don't have to-"
"When I went with Yan Xun—all of the times I went with Yan Xun—I did so because I felt I didn't really have anywhere else to go—and because I'd given my word. We'd been through so much together, he and I...made so many promises to one another...saved each other's lives so many times…And I knew I had responsibilities the same as you did. To Yan Xun, yes, but also to my troops, to my sisters, to the common people. So many thought I followed him because I was in love with him, but I don't even know if I was in love with him or not, so how can they? Love never interfered with my decision-making process one way or another—and how could it when I don't even know what being in love means? What do I know of love, anyway? What is love next to survival? I don't even know how to love."
"That's not true, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said forcefully into her ear. "I've seen you sacrifice yourself over and over again in order to protect those you care for. That's love. I've seen you fiercely stand up for those you care for even in the face of bad odds. That's love. I've seen you walk away from an easy path in order to take a harder one that you thought was right because of duty and loyalty to your people. That's love."
He could tell that Xing'er didn't know how to respond to what he'd just said; she never had been able to reply to his emotional declarations, really. Yuwen Yue figured she'd freeze up and then move on to her next confession. Her next move, however, still managed to surprise him.
"Could you have really killed him?" she asked, pulling back slightly and looking up at him with wide, teary eyes.
He stared down into her eyes, losing himself for he didn't know how long. There were so many ways he could answer, and he knew how much his future might depend on which one he chose.
"Yes," he said lowly, never breaking eye contact with Xing'er. "Yes, I could've killed him. Because it had to be done. Because somebody had to do it. Because I could've stopped him sooner but didn't. And because...the Yan Xun that I knew...the man who had been my brother...he would've been horrified at what he'd become and would've begged me for death."
To his immense relief, Xing'er laid her head back on his shoulder, seeming to accept his answer.
"I'm sorry I accused you of wanting to kill Yan Xun, of not being capable of feeling...Yuwen Yue, I'm glad you didn't have to kill him. So glad."
"So am I, Xing'er," he said, pulling her closer again. "I never wanted to kill him, but I didn't feel I had a choice."
"In the bathhouse in Wupeng, I wasn't trying to kill you, not at first. I just wanted to escape and make it back to Yanbei."
"Stop lying, Xing'er; you were really trying to seduce me," he couldn't resist saying.
She gave a muffled laugh-sob into his shoulder, softly slapping him in the side with one of her hands.
"You just keep thinking that, you scoundrel."
"How can you still deny it? Loosening me up with a massage? Leaving the tied-up girl in my wardrobe and taking her place? Putting those clingy, sheer bedclothes around your shoulders? So obvious," he said, shaking his head pensively in mock chagrin.
She stepped back, removed her arms from around his waist, and placed her hands on her hips, indignation and humor warring on her face. He found the combination much more appealing than rage and grief.
"Yuwen Yue! How can you have such dirty thoughts at a time like this? I'm trying to be serious!"
"I know you are," Yuwen Yue said, his expression sobering. "I just wanted to make you laugh a little, to see you smile—especially since things are going to get serious again shortly. There are some things I have to tell you, too; things that I want you to...understand."
Xing'er stared at him warily but lowered her hands from her waist, letting them hang at her sides as if she were at a loss as to what to do with them. He took a gamble and stepped forward, tentatively pulling her close to him again. Her arms promptly wound themselves around his waist again with no hesitation, swelling his heart—and his determination.
"Xinger," he said, pulling back slightly so that he could look into her eyes. "Do you remember what I told you about the ice arrow when you asked if only I could wield it?"
Her face paled several shades and the nod of her head followed the same direction the tears on her face had taken.
"You said that it was just a weapon and that anybody could learn to use it with enough control," she whispered. "You didn't shoot the arrow. It wasn't you. Please say it wasn't you."
"It wasn't me, Xing'er. It was...I couldn't tell anyone the truth, Xing'er, because the shooter was operating under orders from a dead man. When you opened that secret door, did you happen to notice a stocky, gray-haired man standing near my grandfather?"
"Y-yes, I think so," Xing'er said softly. "It was him, wasn't it? Not you. It wasn't you."
"It wasn't me, Xing'er," he said again, holding her a little tighter. "His name is Zhan Mou, and he's a decent, honorable man. He is, however, to my grandfather what Yue Qi is to me or He Xiao is to you in terms of loyalty and willingness to follow orders. I had my own crossbow out and loaded with an ice arrow, ready to...all I wanted was for you—both of you—to live. I was so focused on what was happening that I didn't hear...didn't see...until it was too late. Xing'er, I've respected that man since I was a little boy, but when I realized what he'd done, I...I beat him. I was so..."
"You had to tell everyone it was you because you couldn't tell them the shooter's real identity. And so you got...rewarded."
A tremor went through Yuwen Yue, and he knew that Xing'er felt it. Her arms tightened in sympathy, but she said nothing.
"The emperor, he...as it was, just for the little that I did up on Jieyou Platform, he sent me to the front to punish me. Going off to war, fighting at the border, and becoming friends with Prince Xiang ended up being the making of me and I don't regret it, but the emperor threatened my whole family and all I was responsible for. Qing Shan Yuan, the Eyes of God, my servants, my men, what was left of my family...you...all of those could've ended up like Yan Xun's family and Yanbei had I outwardly resisted. Even so, I came perilously close to losing my composure, to doing something..."
Yuwen Yue felt Xing'er tremble in his arms, and his first instinct was to think that maybe some of that tea hadn't dried, after all. Then his mind caught up with his senses and he realized that she was softly weeping into his chest.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "So sorry. So sorry I didn't understand. So sorry I didn't know I could trust you. So sorry you had to go through all of that knowing what I thought of you. I'm sorry."
"Oh, X'er," he whispered. "I'm sorry, too. Sorry there were some things I couldn't tell you that you found out about in terrible ways. Sorry that there were some things that I could've told you but I didn't because of pride or family honor. Sorry that you ever thought I'd send you off to die, that you didn't know how much I...When I shot you with that dart, I swear I was going to come home quickly and save you, keep you safe. But the emperor, he wanted to punish me, so he made me kneel, and kneel, and kneel...and then the Liang spies ambushed me...and by time I got back..."
His arms were iron bands around her; he knew it, but he couldn't make them relax. She didn't complain, though, and simply gripped him harder around the waist in return.
"I know, Yuwen Yue," she said softly, never loosening her grip. "I know you'd never hurt me—not without good reason, anyway."
"And when I said what I said in order to save your life...it wasn't true, X'er. I didn't mean it. Your fierceness, your fire, your spirit...those are all things I l...Never lose that, X'er," Yuwen Yue said, suddenly stepping back out of her grip and gently cupping her chin in one of his hands. "Never."
Now it was his turn to walk away, taking the few steps needed to reach the fire—not because he was too cold inside, but because he was too hot. Xing'er seemed to have understood his need for space, though, because she'd retreated to the table and had poured herself a cup of what was likely lukewarm tea. She didn't seem to notice the tea's temperature, however; he figured she probably wasn't even aware of what she was drinking.
"One more thing, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said, tea cup in hand.
He turned around and faced her, able to feel the uncertainty written on his face.
"On the tower...when I told you I'd been deceiving you about my motivations and feelings the entire time I'd been at Qing Shan Yuan...I lied."
She set down her tea cup, stood up from her chair, and went over to one of the corners, taking her time with the process of rummaging through the food supplies. He knew she probably wasn't really hungry, but he gave her the space they both needed. In spite of the heavy words that had passed between them, he couldn't remember the last time he'd ever felt lighter—or more hopeful about the future.
Although A'Jing had only been meeting with the few generals he had left for a relatively short time, he already felt like he'd been observing their arguing and power-mongering for days. Nobody could agree on a specific course of action, and he could already see a schism forming between those who wanted to focus on vengeance on the conspirators and those who were more concerned about dealing with the problem of Wei. He knew that Yan Xun, decent politician that he had been, had hated the tedium of these advisement sessions, so he wasn't surprised to have his low expectations for this particular meeting met.
He propped his head up on one of his hands and blearily stared at General Something-or-Other as he blathered on about the glory of Yanbei and the grave insult that had been given her this day. A'Jing knew that the man whose name he couldn't even remember didn't care a single bit for Yanbei but was only using this opportunity to try to grab more power and influence for himself—and, ultimately, from A'Jing.
A commotion at the entrance to the throne room shook A'Jing out of his stupor as an attractive woman dressed all in black strode the length of the room as if she owned it. The woman had an angular face, pointed chin, and a smile that told him that she was anything but trustworthy. In her favor, however, was the fact that she might at least prove to be interesting and disruptive enough to put an end to this pointless meeting.
She reached the throne area, acknowledged the other generals, and bowed low to him, greeting him with the proper terms typically reserved for the ruler of Yanbei. Since she'd come closer, he could see that she was dressed in the style of the band of warriors that Zhong Yu had once led—that his own woman had fought in not long ago. He'd believed the last of them outside of Zhong Yu to have died in the battle for Hongchuan, but this woman certainly seemed to fit their typical mold with her black robes, fierce expression, and confident carriage.
"As the last remaining loyal warrior of my order, I've come to offer you my services," the woman said, smiling up at him.
"You're not familiar to me," A'Jing said suspiciously. "I knew most of those women, and I know I've never seen you among them."
"Your Highness, I was away on an undercover mission to Liang and had not been back to Yanbei for several years. Only recently have I been able to return to the area after completing my mission, assuming that I'd be able to rejoin my sisters and to have an assignment closer to home. After I returned, however, all I found was death, decline, and distrust-so I decided to bide my time and wait for the right moment to come forward."
"In other words, you waited for a power vacuum to open up before trying to take advantage of it," snarled General What's-His-Face, another thorn in A'Jing's side whose name he hadn't bothered to learn.
"I'm sure that course of action would bear no resemblance to those of anyone else in this room," the woman said, smiling sweetly again.
A'Jing heard some muttering, but he also heard some chuckling. He could tell that a decent number of the generals seemed to be responding well to this woman, probably wanting to believe that this beautiful creature had truly come forward to help them in this dark hour. A'Jing figured that the woman was probably lying, but he couldn't bring himself to care. At least she was entertaining, which was more than he could say for the rest of the generals.
"Do you have any proof of your identity, Miss…?"
"Ying Tao, Your Highness," the woman said, curtsying prettily. "And I have this seal that proves me to be a member of my order."
She carefully removed a metal seal from her robe and handed it to a servant, who handed it to A'Jing. His eyebrows raised as he recognized the seal as one from Zhong Yu's order, albeit a few years older than the last ones they'd issued.
That would, of course, make sense given the context of her story, he mused as he stalled for time by further examining the seal. She wouldn't have the newest seal if she'd been in Liang all this time and then had come back to war and chaos. In all honesty, I don't care if she's telling the truth. She's beautiful. She carries herself like a fighter. These hardened generals are responding to her, so maybe the rest of the men will, too.
"What is it that you want to do, Miss Tao?" A'Jing asked the woman, handing the seal back to the servant to give to her.
"Your humble servant only wants to help you to get revenge on those who have brought dishonor to Yanbei and its rightful ruler," the woman said, clasping her hands and bowing. "I'm willing to do whatever's necessary to accomplish that goal."
Maybe I can turn the task of unifying the army over to her since her face is more likely to win them over than mine, A'Jing mused as he wondered at the truth behind the mysterious Ying Tao.
"Your service and advice would be welcome at this time, Miss Tao. Please, join us. Maybe a fresh opinion will be able to take us in the right direction."
The woman bowed with outward humility, but the triumphant look on her face made his skin crawl. A'Jing knew that this woman was likely untrustworthy and would probably present a problem to him in the future, but he figured that he'd at least be able to use her to accomplish his current objective, and then…
If she causes too much trouble, A'Jing mused as he nodded in agreement with a solid point that Miss Tao had just made, I can always just kill her. Or maybe I'll die in battle and she'll become someone else's problem.
Chu Qiao knew that she needed to rest, but she also knew that Yuwen Yue needed to sleep even more than she did. Given that his escape had been more physically demanding than hers and that his body tended to react negatively to the cold, he needed to relax, even if only for a few hours. However, she knew how proud Yuwen Yue was and how much he despised looking weak in front of people.
Squaring her shoulders in determination and planning her attack, Chu Qiao brought a couple of handfuls of food over to the battered table. The small loaf of bread she neatly sliced up; the packet of smoked meat she simply set out. She walked over to the fire and poured some water she'd left near it into the teapot so that she could make some fresh tea. Yuwen Yue was still standing near the fire, so she smiled at him and tilted her head towards the sitting area.
"I'm preparing us a sumptuous feast that will surely rival anything you've ever experienced in Chang'an," she said, gesturing towards the food and teacups.
"So I see," Yuwen Yue said, a corner of his mouth twitching. "I heard that the artistic masterpieces in our sitting area once served royalty, so failing to provide sophisticated fare to match such an illustrious history would be a serious breach of etiquette."
"Indeed, it would be, Young Master Yue," Chu Qiao said, curtsying. "Please have a seat at my table so that I can serve you fresh tea and a meal fit for an emperor."
Yuwen Yue played along, and Chu Qiao busied herself with the process of making tea once again. She glanced behind her, smiling inside as she noted that Yuwen Yue was outwardly concentrating on chewing his way through a piece of smoked meat but was obviously watching her prepare their tea. He always had, even in their early days.
This time, Chu Qiao's hands didn't shake as she poured the tea into the small teacups. If nothing else, at least the tea would provide an extra bit of warmth for Yuwen Yue before she convinced him to go to sleep.
He picked up the cup of tea and sniffed it, staring pensively into the middle distance as if he were evaluating it. Closing his eyes and slowly taking a sip, he swallowed the tea down while appearing to be deep in thought.
"In addition to the mint leaves that are likely only a couple of years old, I can detect hints of the clay pot used to store the water combined with the taste of dust from the Yanbei palace. Your tea-making skills are unparalleled, Xing'er."
"I felt that you might appreciate an earthy flavor to your tea, Young Master Yue; I'm glad that you approve."
"I do approve," he said, taking another swallow. "In fact, I want you to make the tea precisely this way from now on."
Chu Qiao's eyes widened at the implications of what he was saying, but she decided to respond playfully.
"Of course, Young Master Yue," she said brightly, curtsying again. "I'll even make sure to age the water for several days in an authentic Yanbei clay pot for just the right flavor."
"I'll hold you to that, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said, giving her one of those intense looks that never failed to make her short of breath.
She looked down and turned her attention to her own food and drink, ready to put her plan into action. Right on time, he finished eating and took the last sip of his tea.
"Well, now that you've eaten, you should probably get some rest," Chu Qiao said cheerfully, gesturing towards the bed.
"I'm fine," Yuwen Yue said, his mask firmly in place. "You should rest, though, Xing'er; I know you've had a long, hard day."
"Oh, don't worry about me, Yuwen Yue," Chu Qiao said, taking another sip of tea. "I don't need much sleep anyway. After all, I'm used to standing guard late at night against assassination attempts; I can easily do the same thing now while you sleep."
"You know full well that I don't need much sleep, either," Yuwen Yue said. "I'm the leader of the Eyes of God, not a low-level soldier."
"But you had a tougher time escaping than I did, and you didn't get much sleep last night, either, did you? Didn't you say that you were ambushed?"
"Yes, they did get ambushed," Yuwen Yue said, suddenly seeming more awkward than the question warranted.
"They? Weren't you there, too?"
Yuwen Yue sighed.
"Xing'er, I have another confession to make," he said, looking pained. "I can't believe I forgot to tell you this earlier, but you're not going to believe me the first time I say it, anyway, so at least I'll have plenty of opportunity to repeat the story."
"What? Of course I'll believe you, Yuwen Yue! Haven't we promised to be honest with each other from now on?"
Yuwen Yue almost smiled, and his eyes gentled perceptibly.
"Actually, Xing'er, I never promised to be honest—but I've told you no lies tonight, and I won't do so now. No, I promise that what I'm about to tell you is, sadly, the truth."
Chu Qiao simply looked at him expectantly, doing her best to keep her eyes curious and open.
"I wasn't in the Meilin border town we had holed up in because I'd gotten a letter from my pen friend."
"Your what?"
"My pen friend. We'd been corresponding since we were young, and we'd told each other many details about our lives without overtly revealing our identities. He always signed his name as 'Brother Yu,' so I thought that my pen friend was a male."
"You only thought-?"
"I only thought," Yuwen Yue confirmed with a world-weary sigh.
"So you've actually been pouring your heart out to a woman all this time?" Chu Qiao asked, hating the small thread of jealousy that slipped into her voice.
She hated even more that Yuwen Yue noticed, the sadness in his eyes temporarily replaced with a slight gleam. His expression turned pensive again, however, as he took a breath and continued his story.
"My pen friend asked me to meet them at a certain location at night, so I went to that place and...she was there."
"Who?"
"My pen friend."
"Yes, I know your pen friend was there. Who is she?"
Silence.
"Yuwen Yue?"
"'Brother Yu' is actually Xiao Yu, Liang's princess—and head spy."
Chu Qiao wanted to say something; she really did. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, but nothing came out.
"I don't believe it," she finally croaked out.
"See, Xing'er? I told y-"
"I believe you," she said swiftly. "Don't worry, Yuwen Yue; I believe you. I just don't believe it. In fact, I want to make sure that I understand you properly before you tell me any more. You've been writing to what you thought was a boy since you were young. You wrote him a bunch of things that you wouldn't—couldn't-tell anyone else, thinking that you were safe to do so. Yesterday, you got a letter from your pen friend inviting you to a meeting, which you attended—only to be surprised by your supposedly male pen friend outing 'himself' as your arch-enemy. Then you, what, talked? And left after ending the relationship?"
"You left out the detail where she poisoned me."
"What?!"
"Well, technically she had poisoned the letter, but only with some mild knock-out drugs. She wanted to kill me, you see, but in the end, she couldn't do it. She still saw me as her pen friend and wanted...well, she didn't get what she'd hoped for. She knows you're Luo He's daughter, by the way; I figured you should know that in case she tries to make trouble with that knowledge."
"So if I hadn't have told you the truth about my identity, you would've found out about it from yet another person close to you who'd turned into an enemy?"
"Mmm," Yuwen Yue agreed. "Instead, I get to tell Luo He's daughter the truth about the Liang princess's identity while we're both sitting in a cave, presumably being charged with the assassination of the other close person who turned into an enemy."
Chu Qiao blinked a few times before reaching a decision. She swiftly stood up and walked over to stand beside Yuwen Yue.
"That's it," she said, grabbing one of his arms in both hands and pulling him upright.
She knew that she couldn't have moved him unless he'd allowed her to, but she assumed that he'd stood up at her prompting out of shock at her actions.
"Xing'er-"
"Don't you 'Xing'er' me, Yuwen Yue," she said, turning him towards the bed and pushing him towards it. "We're both exhausted. We've both done some hard things today. We've both said and heard terrible things tonight. We're both currently hiding in a cave that's virtually undetectable and that's only known to a handful of people, two of which are us. We're both mature adults, and we're both going to get into this marginally-comfortable bed and sleep for a couple of hours until Zhong Yu and Mister Wu wake us up."
Chu Qiao continued to push a somewhat bewildered Yuwen Yue towards the bed. Eventually, he stopped and wouldn't give in to her prodding anymore.
"Okay, fine, Xing'er," he said, "but you're sleeping near the wall. I'll sleep on the outside so that I'll be able to grab Po Yue Jian and defend us from anything that breaks through the door."
"Are you saying that I can't do the same thing with Can Hong Jian?"
"Of course not, Xing'er, but my sleeping on the outside just makes more sense."
"Why? Because you're a man?"
"No. Because I'm bigger."
"Well, I'm faster."
"Would you like to test that theory?"
"No; I'd like for you to stop acting like a Yanbei general and do something that makes sense for once."
"Technically, you're a Yanbei general, Xing'er."
"Actually, I'm not, remember? Yan Xun demoted me. I would also assume that slitting the throats of other generals would be official grounds for demotion as well."
The corners of Yuwen Yue's mouth twitched, and he did something Chu Qiao would never have believed possible: he grinned. At first, she thought he was grimacing in pain, but the reluctantly-forming expression continued to grow as the normally impassive face of her former master transformed into a modest smile that was the equivalent of a toothy grin for anyone else.
"Yuwen Yue?" Chu Qiao asked in concern. "Are you okay?"
"No, Xing'er, I'm obviously not okay. I've apparently turned into an idiot. You're demanding that I go to bed with you and I'm actually arguing with you about it. I'll even let you sleep on the outside; I don't care. I'll beat you to my sword no matter where I am on the bed anyway if someone attacks us."
Without another word, Yuwen Yue began to empty his robes of all of the spy gadgetry that he carried on himself during his missions. He pulled out one thing after another, laying them all out on a small wooden table near the bed. Po Yue Jian he propped up against the table, seemingly unconcerned that he'd have to go over her to get to it.
He pulled the covers back and crawled into the bed, leaving plenty of space for Chu Qiao to follow him. She gulped before doing the same thing with her weapons and sword. She dimmed none of the lamps, not wanting to take the risk of having to face a potential attack from enemies in the dark. What had seemed like such a good idea before seemed like much less of one now that she was actually looking at Yuwen Yue lying in that bed and waiting for her.
Come on, you coward. It's not like the two of you have never shared a bed before.
Thinking about the other times when they had shared a bed didn't help her peace of mind. He was looking at her expectantly and smirking, however, so she knew that she had to show no signs of weakness or else he would tease her mercilessly. She also knew that she desperately needed the rest; even a few hours of sleep would be better than none-especially if tomorrow ended up being as challenging as she expected it to be.
Chu Qiao slowly climbed into bed beside Yuwen Yue, pulling the covers up all the way to her chin and stretching out flat on her back. She figured that she would've felt more relaxed on the floor given the circumstances.
I'd probably feel more relaxed were I back in the cityprison being interrogated about our coup attempt, she acknowledged, sighing in frustration.
"Xing'er," Yuwen Yue muttered from beside her, his eyes closed. "Run away with me."
"What?!" Chu Qiao said, quickly turning over to face her bed partner.
"Our plan has clearly not worked out, so you should run away with me. We can start our own kingdom somewhere else where we can make our own rules."
"Did you put something extra in your tea while my back was turned? Or maybe you got shot with a poisoned dart and didn't tell me."
"No, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said, "I'm perfectly fine. I also feel like my request was quite logical."
"Of course it was, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said sweetly. "Go to sleep."
"I can't seem to empty my mind enough to fall asleep."
"That shouldn't be too difficult for you to do," Chu Qiao muttered under her breath.
"What was that, Xing'er?"
"Nothing. The acoustics in this cave are strange; sometimes you might even hear things that aren't there."
"Mmmm, I see. So will you run away with me and help me to start my new kingdom?"
"Okay, fine, Yuwen Yue. I'll run away with you and set up a kingdom with you—but only if I get to rule it."
"We'll rule it together, Xing'er—you and I. I'll be the prince, and you can be my princess."
Chu Qiao felt short of breath again at the words and their tone.
"Why stop at prince and princess? Why not emperor and empress? If we're starting our own kingdom, we may as well be clear about our intentions from the start."
"How delightfully rebellious of you, Xing'er. Okay, emperor and empress we'll be. Where will we go? Mountains? Coast? Desert? Plains? I'll take you anywhere you want to go."
"I've had enough of the mountains," Chu Qiao said firmly, shivering. "Besides, we need to go somewhere warm so that you won't have to worry about the cold. The desert would be warm but too dry for my tastes, I think. As for the coast...water tends to get me in trouble, don't you think?"
"So that leaves the plains, then," Yuwen Yue said.
"But the plains are so flat and open, so easy to attack and hard to defend with all of that open land that's perfect for camping enemy armies."
"You're so hard to please, Xing'er."
"You're only just figuring this out now?"
"Oh, no; I've known it for a long time. I just forgot because I'm so tired."
"I'm getting tired, too," Chu Qiao said, realizing it was true.
"So where would you like to live, Xing'er?"
"I don't know," she murmured drowsily. "Someplace hilly but not too cold. Someplace easy to defend but enjoyable to live in. Someplace close enough to people that we can go to a city if we need to but far enough away from everything that we can be ourselves. Someplace we could set up a secret lair—because as emperor and empress spies, we'd have to have a secret lair—and house all of our people. And a waterfall. I want it to have a waterfall."
"I think I can arrange for you to live in a place like that, Xing'er," Yuwen Yue said huskily.
Chu Qiao was thankful that the lighting was so dim because she knew she was blushing badly due to her realization that she'd just described Qing Shan Yuan perfectly.
"It would have to be a place where we'd both be welcome, where we could both live in peace," she whispered sadly. "I don't think that the place you're thinking of will fit that description."
"So we'll go somewhere else," Yuwen Yue said, not missing a beat. "We'll find a hilly, beautiful place and make our own way in the world, you and I. We'll build a palace that will make the one in Chang'an look like a mud hut. We'll have the strongest, bravest soldiers and the wisest philosophers."
"No slaves," Chu Qiao murmured, relaxing for what felt like the first time in her life.
"Of course not," Yuwen Yue said lowly.
"No starvation. No poverty. No illness."
"No schemes. No plots. No paranoia," Yuwen Yue said in a comforting monotone.
"Mmmmm," Chu Qiao hummed in happiness, gladly beginning to lose her grip on consciousness.
"That's right, Xing'er," she heard Yuwen Yue whisper tenderly. "Relax."
"Relax," she whispered.
"I'll keep you safe, Xing'er. I swear it."
"Feel safe," Chu Qiao agreed, latching onto the warm, solid arm next to her that smelled and felt like peace and security.
Something strong yet gentle pulling her into a large pocket of warmth that made her feel like she'd come home was the last thing she sensed before losing consciousness.
"You're absolutely certain that the man on the back of Chu Qiao's horse was Yuwen Yue," Dong Fang Ji questioned his spy.
"Yes, Master," the spy said. "I identified him myself before leaving the fight the rest of us were having with him in the street."
"And the woman was undoubtedly Chu Qiao?"
"The men at the gate identified her, and her horse was missing from the stables. The figure seen on horseback was small yet skillful, and the rider purposefully rescued Yuwen Yue."
Dong Fang Ji had heard the rumors about the relationship between Young Master Yue and his erstwhile maid like most other well-connected people had, but he'd also, like most, considered Chu Qiao to be Yan Xun's woman. Considering her rebel status, he figured that convincing His Highness that Chu Qiao had lured Yuwen Yue away with promises of safety only to turn on him later wouldn't be too difficult.
After all, they'll hopefully all be dead anyway by time Prince Xiang reaches Xiuli Mountain. All he'll have to do will be to clean up the mess and the takeover will be complete. He'll presumably put someone he can control on the throne here, which will likely be…
"You've been unable to locate Prince Song, I take it?" Dong Fang Ji asked his subordinate.
"Yes, Master," he said, clasping his hands and bowing. "We've looked everywhere, but he and those with him have hidden themselves well after successfully escaping from our ambush."
"Keep looking," Dong Fang Ji said, scowling. "If you do find him, try to think of a way to get him to go to Xiuli Mountain, too. If both he and Yuwen Yue were to die there, that would make my plans even simpler."
"Yes, Master."
"Tell the men that they've done well," Dong Fang Ji said, inclining his head towards his spy. "I can't blame you for being unable to defeat Yuwen Yue in combat, but drawing attention to his presence was helpful to our cause. Telling Princess Yuan Chun to wait until that night to go after Yan Xun was risky, but I can't argue with the result."
"Our man knew that he was taking a risk since so much could've gone wrong, but you had said to do everything we could to ensure that Yan Xun was assassinated, so..."
"He took a chance, and he will be greatly rewarded for the results," Dong Fang Ji said, rubbing his mustache in satisfaction.
The spy inclined his head in acknowledgment.
"Should we go to Xiuli Mountain as well?"
"No," Dong Fang Ji said, frowning. "We don't want to be seen anywhere near there. Have the men concentrate on finding Prince Yuan Song and gathering information in the city. Make sure that they understand that they are to watch for even the smallest opportunity to cause chaos in Yanbei and to take it immediately when it presents itself. Now is not the time for timidity. Victory is within our grasp, and we must simply reach out and take it."
"I will tell them, Master," the spy said, clasping his sword in front of him and bowing his head.
"You may leave," Dong Fang Ji said.
After the spy walked out of the tent, Dong Fang Ji paced the length of it several times, thinking. He had, of course, accompanied His Highness as an adviser and intended to do everything that he could to help the young prince take over as much territory as possible.
And if Prince Yuan Song were to meet an unfortunate end in Yanbei, too, then perhaps His Highness could be persuaded to put someone with age and experience on the throne of Yanbei, someone he could trust—like me…
Dong Fang Ji exited his tent, deciding that he fancied a boat ride with an old friend.
Perhaps Zhan Ziyu will be willing to assist me in this endeavor as well—after all, he has a vested interest in making sure that Luo He's daughter never learns the truth about his involvement in her mother's death...
Yuwen Yue flew through the air, yet he felt no pleasure in the flight as he winged his way to the top of one of the towers of Hong Shan Yuan. He could see an unmistakable figure brandishing a sword on the tower as if it were getting used to the heft of an unfamiliar blade.
His black robes camouflaged him from the world below, but the woman he'd flown towards saw him instantly and quickly put her sword—Can Hong Jian, he noted-at his throat. He felt as if he'd been here a thousand times, yet he didn't know what was going to happen next.
"What are you doing?" Yuwen Yue asked, feeling unable to say anything else.
"Can't you tell?" the woman dressed in black said saucily. "I killed Cheng Yuan, and now I'm escaping."
He stared at her in confusion, his mind unable to make sense of any of her words.
"Don't look so surprised," she said, her face hard as jade. "Cheng Yuan killed my Xiulis. I got vengeance for them by killing him and his officers. It is my mercy."
"This is what you are," he said, once again not really knowing why.
Xing'er had killed Yuwen Xi—or was it Cheng Yuan? She'd gotten vengeance for her siblings—or her Xiulis. And now that she'd finished her job, she was escaping from Hong Shan Yuan—or Hongchuan?
Yuwen Yue shook his head in confusion.
"I told you earlier tonight, Yuwen Yue," Xing'er said, Can Hong Jian pointed in his face as she walked slowly around him. "I have always lived in danger, fearing for my life. If I don't disguise myself, how can I possibly survive?"
"Very good," Yuwen Yue said as if by rote. "You even tricked me."
A mocking smile grew on Xing'er's face.
"You taught me well. However, there is no need to feel sad over losing me; I am, after all, just a spy of sacrifice trained by you. We are the only people here; you don't need to pretend."
But we just talked about all of this tonight in the cave! he wanted to shout, but he couldn't. You know I don't see you this way. You know I...you know I love you.
"You and Yan Xun were against each other. You should be happy that I killed Cheng Yuan."
I am! He was evil and was dangerous to you. Why can't I tell you that now?
"So you're saying...that I should be grateful for what you did?"
"There's no need for that," she said impudently, glaring at him with hatred. "Because you are going to pay with your life for killing Yan Xun."
She immediately launched into an attack, Can Hong Jian and Po Yue Jian meeting in a flurry of strokes and parries. Xing'er was immensely skilled with her blade and was obviously enraged and hurt, making her dangerous. The last thing he wanted to do was to fight with the woman he loved, but he knew he had no choice. His feeling of having been here before intensified, and he somehow knew that this was always how this scene went.
They slashed their way back and forth across the top of the tower, he trying to defend himself and Xing'er obviously trying to kill him. He blocked each of her strikes mechanically as if he were participating in a test that nobody had told him had been scheduled.
"What do you want?" he was finally able to ask after being able to push her back and gain a bit of separation between them.
"Revenge for killing Yan Xun," she answered calmly, her sword at the ready.
"I have explained that I didn't kill Yan Xun," he said, cocking his head in puzzlement. "Chun'er killed Yan Xun, not me."
"Explained?" Xing'er said, practically vibrating with rage. "What are you going to explain? Explain the fact that we were used to decimate Yanbei's leadership? Or the fact that you lied to and betrayed me again?"
We already talked about this! I've already explained everything! If there's something else you want me to explain, ask me and I'll tell you, I swear. Xing'er, listen to me!
"What do you know about our plans?" he asked instead, feeling as if he were a puppet in someone else's play.
"Does it matter? I only blame myself for finding out about them too late. In order to make the world think that I'd betrayed Yan Xun, you murdered him in his bed and then implicated me!"
"Xing'er, listen to me!" he was finally able to say.
"Don't call me Xing'er!" she screamed, pulling a familiar cluster of silver bells from inside of a pocket in her robes. "I'm not Xing'er!"
His heart shattered along with the bells as they bounced all over the top of the tower. He'd truly thought they'd worked things out this time, that maybe she'd finally be able to…
"I am not Xing'er!" she yelled again for emphasis, her chest heaving from the tears in her eyes that were threatening to spill over.
He longed to fold her in her arms and hold her close as he clearly remembered doing earlier that night, but he was paralyzed, rooted to the spot. All he could do was watch in utter devastation as she gripped Can Hong Jian and its scabbard in her hands and glared at him like a cornered animal. She lunged at him with her sword and the battle was on again.
They exchanged blows until he managed to get both his sword and hers in front of her, his at her throat, but she dropped her sword out of one hand and grasped it in the other. Somehow he knew what she was going to do next, so he reacted in time to keep her from sacrificing her wings in order to get away from him and fall off the tower.
She landed on top of him, however, and gleefully jammed the edge of Can Hong Jian into the skin at his throat. With a feral grin, she slowly began to pull her sword—his sword—along his throat, rivulets of blood starting to flow down his neck. He opened his mouth to scream, but no sound could come out. Somehow he got his hands free and made a last-ditch, desperate attempt at escape by trying to shove her off of him.
Miraculously, he succeeded, and she went flying. She quickly regained her footing, however, and lunged at him, landing back on top of him again. He thrashed his arms, but found them somehow being restrained by the fabric hangings around him.
"Yuwen Yue!" Xing'er seemed to be shouting at him in panic even though her mouth wasn't moving and she still looked enraged.
He lashed out again, but she evaded him. Yuwen Yue jumped on her, bringing her down hard on the soft—soft?-surface. She cried out his name once again, asked him if they were under attack, but he couldn't figure out what was going on in the dimness of the tower—the cave?-where they were fighting. Now he could see two Xing'ers, both of them dressed identically and both of them leaping for their swords—his swords.
Yuwen Yue knew that he couldn't let either Xing'er get rearmed, so he pulled them back into the bed—the bed?-with him. The angry Xing'er disappeared, and he couldn't say he was sorry to see her go since the Xing'er who was left looked like the Xing'er he'd gone to bed with.
The thought of sleeping with Xing'er so thoroughly confused him that he started going through the comforting, grounding routine of sparring with the only person he knew who could keep up with him. This Xing'er blocked every hit, met every attack with an equal one of her own, and twirled with him in that intoxicating way that only she could manage.
He didn't even know how they'd moved from the bed to the open space in front of it, but they had, somehow managing to avoid the small table holding their weapons. Yuwen Yue gripped her in a complex series of holds, and she responded with the proper grips of her own. He whirled her around the cave, both of them lashing out at enemies that only they could see. The shadow world of his nightmares completely faded away, leaving him embarrassed in the presence of the woman he loved.
Her eyes—her gloriously open, honest eyes—bore no judgment of him, however, and she didn't seem to be too distressed to find herself suddenly braced against his back as he effortlessly lifted her by her waist and calf and gracefully turned them around and around in a circle. He put her down, and the battle resumed, the grabs, jabs, and holds escalating into a flurry of furious moves that resulted in him pinning her back on the bed just as he'd done years ago at Qing Shan Yuan.
Xing'er's hair had come loose in the night or in the battle, and he assumed that he looked equally disheveled. The cascade of her hair against the bedclothes and the look in her darkened, glittering eyes that he could just see in the dim lamplight put even more fire in his blood—as did the realization that the Xing'er in his nightmare had ended up on top of him because the real Xing'er had been sleeping in a similar position. They were black on black, darkness on darkness. Her chest was heaving, but she made no motion to get up, no attempt to try to escape. Slowly, as if still in a dream, he lowered his head towards hers.
"X'er," he rasped, his heart thrilling when she tilted her face up towards his.
The sudden sound of soft footsteps outside of the cave was like a bucket of cold water thrown across him, and he surged into action. He wasn't surprised to see Xing'er lunge with him towards the table that was propping up their matching swords, both of them grabbing and drawing their weapons at the same time.
AN: *ducks the rotten eggs and veggies* Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know; y'all wanted the kiss as much as they did. But our babies have terrible timing, so wouldn't you know they'd get interrupted by someone? That's just life in chaotic times, I'm afraid;). This may be a different path, but it still leads to that icy lake where much will become clear for our OTP. The time frame for the icy lake scene being posted is roughly 3 weeks from today if I stick to my outline; we'll just have to see...
A few housekeeping disclaimers: The Yellow Emperor is a famous Chinese ruler who lived a couple thousand years before PA takes place, so YWY is not being complimentary about how old the furniture looks. Some of the dream sequence above is quoted/paraphrased from the Eng-subbed version of the Hong Shan Yuan tower scene from Episode 21. I wanted to keep the flavor of the original scene while adding some of the new nightmare fuel YWY had recently gained. I think I'll keep posting music recs that give me OTP feels each week for the fun of it. This week's chapter is pretty much dedicated to our favorite spymaster, so the logical song of choice would be "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz. I'm pretty sure everyone knows that song, but I can't pass up a song that starts off with, "When I look into your eyes, it's like watching the night sky," and goes from there. As for great covers, there are a million of them; I prefer the one by Peter Hollens, although you can't go wrong with the original.