Sorry for the long wait. Work has absolutely slain me, so it took awhile to write this chapter
The morning sun shined through the large windows, falling down upon a sleeping Lan-Ying and stirring her from her deep slumber. Scrunching her face in displeasure, she curled further into the warm chest of the man next to her to keep away from the beams, but unfortunately, she was awake.
She aroused, slowly and careful, still dazed from the previous night's events, and disentangled herself from the man and extracted herself from the bed.
Upon feeling her toes touch the cold floor, she was once again reminded of her recent bodily change and scurried over to the large mirror. Looking at her reflection, she couldn't believe her eyes.
She was human.
It wasn't a dream.
Feeling giddy, she spun in a circle, looked at her behind and expecting a tail to follow. However, no tail appeared.
No horn or scales or long fangs.
Her nails were still fairly sharp, but that was to her advantage.
Looking back at her own image, she really analyzed her appearance.
She looked almost exactly like she did in her dreams; except for her still reptilian eyes. Yet, for some reason, looking at herself made her sad for a moment.
Like she was missing something important.
The feeling, however, passed as quickly as it came and she turned her attention to her still slumbering mate.
Walking quietly, she tensed every muscle in her body, getting close to the bed before springing into action.
She weighted a bit less, so she overestimated how much strength it would take to make the leap, but she still managed to tumble into the large bed, appreciating the softness in a whole different way, now that she wasn't feeling it with scales and claws but soft skin and a delicate touch.
Chase, though, did not seem to appreciate her sudden and violent leap, as it startled him awake and sent his body into attacking the threat. He growled loudly, pinning her down and baring large fangs that did not fit his human appearance.
His golden eyes were gleaming, the irises little more that tiny slits as adrenaline pumped through his system, preparing for a fight.
Lan-Ying should have felt frightened in that moment, but as the excitement of the moment coursed throughout her body, she felt light-headed and almost drunk on the danger. Feeling courageous, she pushed her hips against his still- naked body.
Once the man registered who exactly was pinned underneath him and moving in such a delectable way, he calmed down, pulling away but not letting up his hold on her, despite his body's obvious reaction to her actions.
Looking down at her with a displeased expression gracing his face, he was able to snarl at the smiling female.
" What exactly do you think you are doing, Lan-Ying?"
" Enjoying the morning?" she said, grinning wider.
" By making a surprise attack on me in my sleep?" he responded, finally letting her side up.
" No, I apologize. I just felt good and wanted to share the feeling. "she replied, moving her hand to his chest and applying pressure to force him on his back.
Chase gave into her, leaning against the headboard to watch the woman.
She crawled atop of him, placing her slender legs on either side and began to express her good mood in the form of licks and nips along his neck.
The Heylin warrior let himself get lost in the sensation for a moment, grasping her by the hips, before taking a large handful of hair and forcing her mouth away from his neck and onto his lips.
Reminding her who was dominant, he bit and sucked, kissing her until she pleaded for air.
Pulling back, he watched as her face flushed and she breathed heavily from his efforts.
"Step back and let me look at you," he command, pushing her to move away from his body before presenting herself on her knees.
Hungry eyes swept over her, enjoying recounting last night's events, the evidence of which were marked on her skin in the form of bites and scraps all over.
" Beautiful," he thought. " And all mine."
Lan-Ying watched him examine her, before she grew impatient and leaned forward to continue their previous actions.
Just as their lips brushed again, a heavy pounding echoed throughout the room.
Chase, not one to ignore his servants, snarled at the door, but rose anyway.
Grabbing his pants that had been thrown to the floor, he looked over at Lan-Ying.
" Keep the blankets around you," was his instruction before he opened the door, coming face to face with Mao.
" This better be very important," he said, glaring.
" It is, sire. The Spicer boy is here, asking for an audience and given the knowledge he holds, I think it is wise to come down." the Asian man explained, looking past Chase at Lan-Ying.
He leaned closer.
" Also, considering certain . . . . changes to our home, I think it is best for you to discuss with the others and prevent any tragedies that might occur."
Chase understood the meaning.
Up until two days ago, the sight of any Xiaolin monks, much less one on their own, was to be meet with violent force. After all, they were the enemy.
He would indeed need to figure many things out, and very soon.
With a nod, Mao was dismissed and Chase closed the door with a quiet ' click'.
Turning to the Japanese girl, he saw as her blazing eyes followed his every movement.
She watched as he walked behind the changing screen, appearing a moment later in his full armor.
Making his way to the bed, he grabbed a dark blue cloth from the table near the bed.
" This is for you. It is light weight and easy for you to move in, but elegant enough that you will look like the Heylin that you are now." he explained, observing as she grazed the material lightly.
" I never had to wear clothing before," she stated, still examining the material.
" It did not matter before. It matters now. No one should view you in this state but me."
She obviously had more questions, but he held up a hand to stop her from voicing them.
" I must attended to this. You are free to stay here, but if you must leave, ask Mao to accompany you."
That caused a spark of irritation to flicker across her face.
" Why? Am I suddenly a prisoner in my own home?" she snipped at him.
Chase reached out laid a kiss to the crown of her head.
" No, but the cats are not aware of your change. They will view you as an outsider and attack. I need to settle matters, but it will not take long."
" I can take care of myself," she protested.
Standing up, he looked at her glaring form.
" I am aware. But still, it is my command, one that you will not question" he said in a tone that she frequently heard when they were training.
It was a reminder that, though mate she may be, he was also her master.
She gave no response, only bowed and watched him walk out the doors, clicking them shut behind him.
Collapsing to the bed, she huffed before looking once more at the clothing.
" Well. Might as well get dressed, I suppose."
Meanwhile, Chase walked to his throne room, escorted by Mao.
Upon reaching the double golden doors that would lead to his annoying guest, Chase paused for a moment, resting his hands gently upon the handles but make no effort to open them.
Mao gave him a questioning look.
" Sir? Is all well?" he asked, cautious of Chase's already foul mood.
The warrior did not reply at first, only taking a deep breath.
It felt like eons of silence stretched between them before the man spoke
" The minute I open these doors, everything will change. The months of peace within my palace will end. Mao," Chase turn away from the doors to face his trusted advisor.
" You know the truth now. Eventually, so will the world. From this moment, I foresee a spiral of chaos starting, and the end result is nothing but darkness to me. I cannot lock Lan-Ying away, but sending her out into the world would mean my lost. What should I do?"
In the thousand or so years that Mao had served Chase Young, he has seen much. But never did he think he would see the fear lurking deep within the brave man.
Love was a power that no magic compared to, it seemed.
" My lord. You must have known about this long before her change. You knew that a time would come that the secret would break. And while I will not pretend to understand your strife or why you choose to create this situation, I do understand the need to keep what you care about close to you. I have grown fond of Lady Lan-Ying and believe she is a strong, capable woman. It will be difficult to predict how this will end, but have faith, sire. That is all I can tell you."
Chase let out a dry chuckle, choosing to open the doors instead of respond.
The minute of uncertainty was gone. As he stepped through the threshold and gained the attention of all who occupied the room, he was the powerful Heylin Emperor once more.
" Jack Spicer. I would have thought my meaning from yesterday's conversation was clear." The man said, ice in his voice.
Jack, despite claiming to be a genius, did not do the smart thing and leave the situation alone.
" Well, I was just wondering. I can't just ignore this, it's eating at my brain. Why is Kimiko here? Are you the one that kidnapped her? Because she has been missing for months." the boy rambled, unaware of how the golden-eyed man was stalking closer with every word.
Jack stopped talking when he felt hot breath down his neck. Turning very slowly, he came eye-to-scaly chest with an irritated dragon.
The red-haired boy barely had time to scramble backwards as the creature growled fiercely.
" What make you think I owe you any answers? I could just devour you right now and earn your silence," hiss out a voice that was a fair cry from human.
The boy gave a nervous smile.
" Because if you were going to kill me for knowing, you would have done it at the ball" he said with more confidence than he was actually feeling.
The boldness of the statement actually made the creature draw back with a sneer.
Clawing his way to the throne, the giant dragon settled itself and peered down at the cowering human.
" Kimiko is the Xiaolin dragon of fire. Lan-Ying is my apprentice and a Heylin empress. They are different creatures."
Jack look around nervously.
" But not really, right?" he asked the dragon, who chuckled darkly in response.
" You have brief moments of intelligence, Spicer, but they are few and far between. An incident occurred that cause a lapse of memory in the female. She had since then made a pack with me and defected to the Heylin side. There is nothing else to tell. I will repeat myself only once more. Treat her as our ally, act as if nothing is amiss."
The red head looked like he wanted to say something, but reined it in.
Chase huffed in annoyance.
" What is it, now?"
Jack looked anywhere but at the reptile on the throne.
" What if the Xiaolins find out?"
The large creature growled, tired of the conversation. He signaled for his felines to escort him out, retreating to release all the frustrations of the morning.
Lan-Ying peaked her head out of the doors, looking down the empty hallway. Everything was quite, so the padding of her bare feet against the cool ground echoed loudly. She was supposed to find Mao, but this was her home and despite what Chase said, she did not need a glorified babysitter.
Still, it felt so odd to be wondering the halls on two feet. She observed her surroundings with new eyes, everything looking different and familiar at the same time.
Looking downwards, she took a moment to appreciate the clothing that now graced her frame. The long sleeved dressed was a beautiful dark blue, with golden lotus flowers embroidered upon it. It stopped a little before her knees, giving her flexibility to move around as she pleased.
The blue-eyes female moved quickly, turning a corner sharply in her rush, and bumping into a large, furry form as she did.
Recognizing the white fur anywhere, she opened her mouth in a form of a greeting to her friend, but instead took a sharp breath as she felt herself knocked down and pinned by the large feline.
Glowing red eyes stared angrily down at her, fangs bared and dripping as if preparing to consume her.
Chase taught her to show no fear in the face of an enemy, but Lan-Ying could not stop herself from flinching and her eyes widening as she looked on with panic at the fierce creature.
" Jor?" she whispered, afraid that any noise louder would cause him to attack.
Her voice seemed to snap him out of his desire to attack, making him step away and examine her closely. The woman did not move from her spot on the ground.
He sniffed her guardedly, before relaxing his body with a flick of his tail against her cheek.
Lan-Ying stood up gradually, watching as the man shifted to his human form.
" Jor! It's me!" she said in a hurry, realizing that her change was just as new to everyone in the palace as herself.
" Yes. I . . . see." he said with a weary tone to his voice.
She sensed awkwardness between them but could not grasp why.
" Well. I was looking for Chase. Have you seen him?" she asked, eager to move along.
Jor stood a little straighter at the mention of his master, as if suddenly remembering what he was doing before their happenstance.
" He is in the training hall by himself. I will lead you there, if you wish." the man replied, acting far more formal than he ever had been with her.
She would be lying if she said she wasn't hurt by the coldness of the encounter.
They walked in silence until they reached the doors.
Lan-Ying did not bother to knock, suddenly eager to get away from the viking warrior. He watched her enter the room carefully until she was out of his sight.
She moved into the room, watching her mate moving slowly through his training routine.
She waited quietly for him to finish, perched on the edge of the wall. She took in his every movement, admiring the way his body flexed and relaxed at his command.
When he finally finished, she jumped down, joining him on the floor.
" I did not expect to see you so soon. I would have thought you exhausted from last nights activities," Chase said, not looking at her as he began to put his armor back on
" You more than anyone should know that I have great stamina." she replied, sporting a cheeky smile. It did not last however, as her mood was still soured from before.
" What is it?" Chase asked suddenly, and Lan-Ying realized he had probably noticed her when she had drifted for a moment.
" I was wondering why Njord or any of the felines would be upset by my new form?" she asked, voicing her worries.
Chase's face gave nothing away, but the she noticed a slight tensing of his posture.
" Did something happen?" he inquired.
The dark haired girl shrugged.
" I'm sure General Stein just didn't recognize me, but for a brief moment, he looked like I was some intruder that he wanted to kill."
The Heylin emperor moved close to her, taking her face in his palms.
" It is nothing. I have had Mao explain your change to most of the felines, however, Stein just arrived back and did not hear of it. He simply though you a threat and did as he was trained."
Chase stroked her cheek softly, trying to comfort the female who obviously felt rejected by her family.
" I have some news that may lift your spirits" He said suddenly, moving away from her to grab a box from the floor.
Lan-Ying watched as he brought the large box over to her.
" You will begin to go out on assignments soon. Small, at first. Just to observe," he began, motioning for her to open it.
She didn't know what to expect.
Jewelry. Clothing. Maybe even a small weapon of some sort.
Instead, she was graced with the sight of a mask.
Not a complete one. It was made to cover the lower portion of her face, golden and gleaming in the light. It looks like the mouth of a vicious statue, a fanged smile frozen in time.
" I don't understand," she said, staring down at the gift.
Chase gently took it from the box.
" It is for your protection. I have many enemies who would like to get their hands on you." he said, placing the mask upon her face and securing it in the back like it was the finest piece of jewelry ever made.
Lan-Ying stood still, looking up at him with curious eyes as he led her to the small pool of water in the room.
Moving to look down, she saw herself. Glowing blue eyes peeked back at her from under her long, onyx hair. She felt the weight of the mask along the back of her skull, and for all the times she had seen her own reflection, in both dragon and human form, this was the first time that what looked back frightened her.
" I look terrifying" she said is a quiet voice.
The image of the green-haired man joined her own in the pool.
" That is the point. Put fear into your enemies and they will never put fear into you."
The female moved away from the pond to look at her mate.
" With this, I can go out?" If the price of freedom of the outdoors was as simple as a hidden face, she would gladly pay it.
Chase grinned at her with those sharp fangs.
" With this, you can conquer worlds. And, " he pulled it down to rest around her neck, bring her into a passionate kiss that made her knees shake before pulling away," I will be there right besides you. Together, we will lead the world into a new age. A Heylin age."
With a sweeping bow, he gestured for her to grab his arm.
" Shall we, my empress?"
Placing her mask back onto her face, she stepped to him and joined him, moving out the door with every bit of grace and confidence as a true Heylin queen.
The next chapter will be Lan-Ying's first time out. I wonder what trouble she will get into?
Thank you for the continued support and reviews. They really motivate me to keep on writing.