Ke'ri had to admit, she had been a little surprised by her own forwardness.
When Lon'qu told her that he was heading back home, her mouth seemed to have opened on its own accord and she had made the request to walk back with him. She hadn't actually thought that he would be okay with it, but after she had acknowledged that his home was in the slums and reaffirmed her willingness to travel with him, he'd let her follow him. Either way, she thought with a shrug, he seemed pretty apathetic about her presence. If she didn't speak up soon, she had no doubt that they'd walk the entire way in complete silence.
She cleared her throat. "So…" she began. "You probably want to know why I know so much about you, and I guess it's about time I told you the truth."
But maybe not the whole truth, she reflected whilst modifying and editing a few details in the original story. She could tell him that later.
He nodded impassively, and she inwardly sighed. "It looks like it's going to be a pretty one-sided conversation…" Ke'ri thought to herself.
"I guess I should introduce myself first," she said, sticking out a hand. "My name is Yu'lin, and I'm a servant to Master Shuo'li."
Lon'qu glanced disdainfully at her hand, wrinkling his brow in a confused manner, and Ke'ri mentally berated herself. Of course he didn't know about shaking hands – that was a custom that she had picked up in Ylisse, during her travels with her father. Awkwardly placing the hand behind her back, she took a deep breath and continued onwards. "Anyways, as a servant in the mansion, you're easily ignored. I hear news of the latest battles, whisperings of political plots, and gossip about the emperor's court." She paused and took a peek at his eyes, trying to gauge what he was thinking. Stoic as ever, but he probably knew exactly where she was heading with this now.
He nodded, almost imperceptibly, telling her to go on.
"And because of this, I heard stories of your father, Guo'zhi."
No reaction whatsoever. Lon'qu stood stock still, and though she was certain he had heard her, he made no indication of that fact.
Ke'ri went onwards, heart beating rapidly. "The strongest soldier of the army. The emperor's most trusted warrior. The most courageous of the generals, loved by all his men. And then…" she hesitated.
"And then…" Lon'qu muttered softly beneath his breath to himself, so softly that Ke'ri thought she had imagined it.
The silence was so fragile that Ke'ri wanted to cry. She didn't want to break it, to say what had happened to Guo'zhi, to spoil the fantasy. But the moment passed and she whispered the truth, bringing the both of them crashing back to reality.
"And then he died."
Lon'qu bowed his head, and Ke'ri turned away from him to give him some privacy. An eternity passed, and then Lon'qu spoke.
"So you know."
"Yes, I know," Ke'ri breathed softly.
"The nobility and the councilmen treated my mother and I well at first. We were well housed, given money and food, and compensated handsomely in return for all the service he had done to Chon'sin. But as time passed, we were slowly forgotten."
Ke'ri winced.
"I was only nine – I could not have hoped to provide for both my mother and myself. We were forced to leave our home by our landlord, and the councilmen never even noticed."
Ke'ri wanted to shout out denials, that at least one consulate member had not forgotten Guo'zhi, had not forgotten his contribution to Chon'sin and his achievements on the battlefield, had not forgotten of the family that he had left behind. But then she would have revealed too much.
His voice had turned bitter. "And now, we are stuck in the slums, eking out an existence where we barely scrape by, struggling to pay rent every month for the miserable excuse of a house where we dwell."
She bowed her head, allowing her bangs to obscure her eyes. "I am sorry."
He laughed mirthlessly. "What are you sorry for? None of it was your fault. And there's nothing you can do about it." They had reached his house now, and he scuffled his feet in the dry dusty dirt. "Well, I guess you know the whole sorry story now. I hope you're happy."
Keeping her eyes fixed on her feet, Ke'ri fidgeted awkwardly, reluctant to leave. She didn't want their meeting to end like this. She wanted to comfort him, to help him. She looked up and opened her mouth to tell him that, but by the time she had decided on what she wanted to say, he had already turned and begun walking away.
"Hey!" she shouted, annoyed. "You didn't even give me a chance to say goodbye to you."
He didn't turn around, but she could hear his faint mumble of "Goodbye."
"Oh, okay, well if that's how it's going to be, goodbye!" she retorted, spinning sharply around on her heels. But she hadn't given up on him, not by a long shot. She would befriend the silent general's son, even if it took her until the stars fell from the sky.
A/N: I started Nanowrimo! Good thing I had this chapter pre-written, hehehe.