Persuasion

Matilda sat silently in the dark room staring at the stone wall in front of her. The bed was too firm for her comfort, but she never complained to Hao about it for fear of rejection. Their friendship was dangerously anemic at this point, and she was afraid of setting him off. But there was something else that bothered her more than Hao's anger. She exhaled weakly as the air burned against the cuts on her arms. After closing her eyes for brief moments, she allowed a single tear to escape her eye.

Hana was afraid and had been betrayed by the first person in the camp he decided to trust. She knew this wasn't true but was sure this was how he saw things. Hana's opinion of her was important because he was important to Hao. There had to be a way to fix the situation, and she was running out of time.

"Captain." The muffled voice startled her, and she quickly stood from the bed and walked into the hallway.

"What is it, Kanna?" she asked weakly without looking at her.

"Mei is with Master Hao," she said gravely. "I saw them walking toward Jeanne's quarters, so I hid..."

She cursed under her breath then replied, "Did you hear anything they said to each other?"

"Not completely," Kanna said and scratched her neck, "but I think she has some kind of power. It was mentioned."

Matilda kicked her foot against the floor and folded her arms tightly over her torso. After hesitating for a few moments, she abruptly walked away, and Kanna quickly followed.

"If he finds out..." Kanna paused and buried her hands into the pockets of her leather pants.

"I'll handle this," she sighed dismissively. "Don't worry about it. We have more important things to deal with anyway."

"This was meant for Ren," Kanna continued weakly, "but Master Hao won't see it that way."

"I said I'll handle it," she groaned.

"He'll see it as an act against Jeanne," she mumbled.

"No he won't," Matilda snapped angrily and stopped walking to face her. "He understands my position."

"You can't go against her because-"

Matilda pulled a large dagger from her utility belt and took a step forward. Kanna stopped speaking abruptly and narrowed her eyes.

"I really want you to finish that sentence, Kanna," she growled. "I dare you to."

"I'm not your enemy," she replied with irritation. "Have I not been loyal to you?"

"I'm sorry." Matilda returned the dagger quickly to its resting place and lowered her head. "This isn't your fault. And, you're right. I trust you."

"Do you trust me enough for me to tell you the truth?"

Matilda clenched her teeth and sighed. "Yes."

"You're taking on more than you can handle, Captain," Kanna explained. "Master Hao tolerates your fights with Pirika because he finds them amusing. I warned you about Mei before, but you were too angry to listen to me. Killing her would be declaring war on Jeanne...and he would kill you."

"Hao would never hurt me." She was offended by the assessment, and this was evident in her voice. "You don't know him the way I do."

"I've been here since the beginning," she countered. "And I've observed enough to know..."

Kanna paused and stared at her with concerned eyes. Matilda looked away and clenched her teeth. She knew what the woman was going to say and didn't want to hear it.

"Jeanne is more important to Master Hao than you are."


Lyserg wiped the thin layer of sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt and released a heavy sigh. Sunset was quickly approaching, and he wanted to reunite with the others before nightfall. They were only two days away from Hao's camp, but without knowing Yoh's whereabouts he couldn't tell him. Distant rustling from the nearby trees startled him slightly, and he stopped his movement while scanning his surroundings. After several moments of waiting, his expression changed into a worried frown when he saw Tamao running through the green labyrinth screaming.

"Tamao?" He called to her, but she didn't seem to hear him until she was a few feet away.

"Lyserg!" She grabbed his shirt with slight relief, but the panic quickly replaced her expression as she continued. "They took her! We have to find her! They took Anna!"

"Who?" he asked anxiously as she released him.

"It was..." She paused and took a few uneven breaths while holding her hand over her chest. "Pino. Pino and Zria took her! I think they're going to kill her, Lyserg!"

"That doesn't make any sense," he said aloud, but she did not hear him.

"We have to find her before it's too late!" she continued hysterically.

"Wait, Tamao," he sighed. "Just calm down."

"What do you mean? We don't have time! We have to go!"

"We don't know where they are," he countered. "And, we're separated from the group. Pino and Zria aren't strong enough to risk a fight with us, so it's safe to assume they're taking her to Hao's camp. Which means she'll be fine for now. Hao wouldn't let them kill her."

"How can you be so sure he wouldn't?" she asked nervously.

"He would want to do that himself," Lyserg replied bitterly, "and he would want an audience. He would want Yoh there first."

Tamao closed her eyes and clenched her teeth before releasing a shallow sigh. "You're right," she said reluctantly. "What should we do?"

"We have to find the others and get moving," he said sadly. "We're running out of time."


Mei sat at the small, round table with her knees bent and carefully placed her hands on the hardened stone. Her thoughts were quiet for the moment, and she was grateful her hunger pangs subsided. Hao sat across from her quietly watching her slight movements, and when she noticed he was staring embarrassment flushed her face with a red hue.

"So the food was satisfactory?" he asked warmly. "Do you feel better?"

"It was edible," she replied with underhanded bitterness.

He giggled with an amused smile, but the expression quickly faded into a blankness that was deeply uncomfortable.

"You said I can ask you anything I want," she said gravely.

"Within reason, of course," he added.

"What is your relationship with my mother?" she demanded. "Why is she not with her husband? Why is she here?"

"That's three questions," he replied without elaborating.

"Please don't treat me like a child," Mei mumbled weakly under her breath.

"You are a child," Hao reminded her.

"You offer to give me answers," she growled in frustration, "but you're avoiding my questions. Why?"

"You should ask basic questions first," he explained. "Try not to get ahead of yourself."

She paused with her mouth agape for several seconds before rolling her eyes and clenching her teeth.

"Your manners are terrible," he offered.

"I have impeccable manners," she countered, "however, this feels like a waste of time."

"You're very impatient, aren't you?"

"Patience is for those who lack courage," she spat as a trained response.

"Such a stubborn girl," he said with a sinister scowl. "Just like your father."

Irritation in his voice was apparent, and she swallowed hard when noticing the wrathful glare that flashed in his eyes. The sight was brief but strong enough to increase her discomfort.

"Were you friends with my father?" she asked in a softer tone.

"Never," he replied quickly.

"But you know him well?"

"I know him."

"I'm assuming you were friendly in some way to my mother, and that made him angry?" She studied his expression carefully as she spoke and neatly clasped her fingers together against the table.

"Jeanne is here out of necessity."

The statement seemed random and definitely did not answer her question. Silence quickly filled the room for uncomfortable seconds before she decided to respond.

"Does my father know she's here with you?" she asked weakly.

"I'm sure he suspects it. He knows she's not dead."

"Please tell me what happened," Mei said with a frail whisper.

"You're not going to ask basic questions, are you?" he asked with a smirk.

"I deserve to know what happened," she countered. "Why did she leave me? You must know the answer."

"I told you, she's here out of necessity," he said calmly. "Her life was in danger."

"Are you being vague on purpose?" she fumed and leaned forward against the table. "What are you implying?"

Hao did not respond, and they stared at each other in silence.

"Who was she running from?" Mei asked finally. "Why was her life in danger?"

"He would rather have her die than be with me."

His words echoed through her ears with a haunting blankness. She stared at the table briefly before returning her eyes to his face, but she suddenly lacked the courage to resume eye contact.

"You're not talking about my father," she replied breathlessly as her eyes began to fill with tears.

"After you were born," Hao continued, intentionally ignoring her, "he decided she was useless to him, and he was too angry with her to allow her to live."

"You're lying," she whimpered, but he didn't seem to hear her.

"So one evening while she was sleeping, he locked her inside of their bedroom and set the house on fire-"

"YOU'RE LYING!" She screamed at him suddenly and hit the table with tightened fists.

"I have no reason to lie Mei," he responded without addressing her anger.

"That is not how it happened," she said as her tears began to choke her voice. "It was an accident. My father is incapable of doing something like that on purpose. You're a liar."

"You were nine months old," he countered. "I doubt you would remember it as clearly as I do."

"My father lost everything in that fire," she growled. "It wasn't arson."

"Ren was not aware that we were to meet that evening." Hao decided to continue despite her disgust. "When I arrived the house was completely engulfed, and she was trapped inside. So I saved her. You were not in the house, so I assumed he took you before he set the fire. She's been with me ever since."

"I don't believe you," she sighed weakly. "That is a lie!"

"He's never mentioned her to you, has he?"

She paused and stared at her hands without responding.

"You probably didn't know her name until recently," he continued. "Would the normal response to having your wife disappear be erasing her memory? Wouldn't you look for her?"

"I don't believe you," she sniffed and buried her head into her arms that were now folded over the table.

"You've wondered this as well, haven't you?" Hao's expression did not change and he waited silently for a response.

Mei lifted her head from the table, revealing reddened, puffy eyes and replied, "My father is a kind and honorable man. He is not the monster you're describing. He would never do something so despicable."

"So you have wondered about it," he said and lowered his voice. "I told you before that this would be a truth you wouldn't accept."

She rubbed her temples with her hands and released a weak sigh. This was definitely too much information for her to process at once, but she wanted to dismiss him. She regretted having this conversation with him in the first place and wanted desperately for him to be lying. But there was a nagging thought in the back of her mind that was quickly surfacing.

It makes sense.

"You should get some rest," Hao interrupted the silence abruptly and stood from the table. "I'll take you to your room."

"I want to see her," she said weakly. "I need to talk to her."

"She's sick," he replied quickly. "But I will take you to her. I always keep my promises."

Mei had no energy to respond. He stood slowly from the table and walked away, and she stared silently at her hands before reluctantly following him. She wanted to be strong; he had to be probing her. But for some reason she was unable to control her wandering thoughts. Anger and sadness drained most of her focus, and the silent pace was suddenly uncomfortable.

"Why are we really here?" she asked weakly and stopped in the middle of the hallway.

"You came here because you wanted to," he replied without turning around. "Hana wanted to find me; you wanted to find Jeanne."

"Hana didn't know you were alive until Matilda told him," she sighed. "Did you send her to persuade him?"

"Yes."

She was surprised by the direct manner of his answer and scratched her neck.

"What are you planning to do with us?"

"You're about to meet your mother," he said warmly and turned to smile at her. "Let's focus on that for now."

"For the record," Mei spat angrily, "I don't believe your story, and I intend to ask her about it."

"It would be a useless conversation," he countered. "She doesn't remember it."

"What do you mean, 'she doesn't remember'?"

Hao did not respond to the question and continued walking down the hallway in silence. He led her into a dark corridor, and she tried not to appear afraid. Mei was incredibly transparent when it came to this, and as a surprising action, he slowed his pace and gently held her hand. The contact sent chills through her entire body, and for a few moments she was unable to think clearly.

"It's not far," he said softly. "Don't be afraid."

There was something incredibly soothing about the statement that relaxed her senses, and she couldn't seem to remember why she was angry with him. She tried to order her thoughts, but the warmth of his hand seemed to interfere with this process.

Stop it. Stop manipulating me.

He squeezed her hand gently and increased his pace as they reached a small, metal door. Hao opened it without releasing her, and the entrance revealed a short stone staircase. The walls were adorned with small lamps that dimly lit the path, and he ascended the steps while pausing in between to keep her with him.

Mei began to panic. She couldn't remember why she was angry. This was frustrating her. She wanted desperately to meet her mother, but now that they were getting closer, she wasn't sure what she should say.

"There's something you should know before you talk with her," he said, disturbing her nervous thoughts.

"What is it?" she asked faintly.

"Jeanne is very sick, and she may not accept you immediately," he explained.

"I can handle this," she lied.

There was another door at the top of the staircase that led into a long hallway. Mei bit her bottom lip in discovering this but decided not to complain. He released her hand abruptly, and she blinked her eyes a few times as if awakening from a dream.

"At the end of the hall," he said calmly.

"You're not coming with me?" Mei was immediately infuriated at the frailty in her voice as she asked the question. The thought of wanting him with her was irrational, and she couldn't fathom why she made the statement in the first place.

"You said you can handle this," he replied in the same tone.

"Please don't leave me," she whimpered sadly. "I don't want you to leave."

Why did I just say that?

"I'll wait here for you," Hao added warmly.

Her heart rate increased rapidly as he stared into her eyes in silence. This contact remained for several seconds, and her hands began to tremble.

Walk away. Please Mei. Walk away.

"Fine," she said abruptly and darted down the hallway.

Hao did not follow her, but his calm expression quickly changed into a bitter scowl as she disappeared into the darkness.