(49) Pillow
Xiao smiled as she leaned against the window. Those from fiery depths had made a point of introducing themselves quickly to the Qiao summer home. Lord Sun Ce had been around much since then, his sister and brother usually tagging along with not much else to do. Or, if they weren't visiting the home during appropriate times, they'd periodically run into the sisters during a walk into town. Xiao was fairly sure Lord Sun Ce had some kind of radar on her sister.
Not that he seemed to enjoy time in the town. The ladies flocked to him and his brother. An oddity, they said. An amazing man, they said. Such a handsome lord, they said. The only one who found it funny was Lady Sun Shang Xiang. Lord Zhou Yu took it all in stride, but of course seemed to have no interest in the mortal women. Lord Sun Ce laughed about, joked with them, talked to them, but obviously wanted nothing to do with any of them. She had noticed, watching him, that even surrounded by all of the girls, he would constantly turn his head in whatever direction Da was. It was cute, really.
Outside the window Lord Sun Ce was talking to Da. More like cornering her, and then making her talk. Da always seemed rather reluctant, timid around him. Xiao wondered sometimes what it was about the situation that bothered Da so much. That she hadn't of had a choice really? But, they never would have, Xiao thought, letting the needle still in her fingers. They'd never have a choice who their husband would be. So that really couldn't have been it. Was the Nether world bad? Sighing, Xiao turned away from the window to stare down at the pillow she was trying to embroider.
She jumped when she saw the body from the corner of her eyes, falling back against the cold window in a bit of fright. Lord Zhou Yu stood, staring out the window with his intelligent, bright golden eyes. She admitted, to herself, silently, that she loved those eyes. They were magnificent in all meanings of the word. Not to mention a tad frightening. All three of them had beautiful, bright eyes. But she liked his the best. He wasn't looking at her now, and so she decided it would be alright to stare a little. He did wear the vest and suit quite well, in her own not so humble opinion.
But then he turned to her, and smiled politely. She blushed, fumbling with the needle. Only to stab herself. Wonderful, she thought as she watched the spot of blood ooze out. She popped the finger into her mouth, pouting down at the image on the pillow. He chuckled above her, and she jumped to stare up at him. "My apologies, Lady Xiao Qiao. I do not mean to offend." He did a small bow, and she nodded.
"Not to worry, Lord Zhou Yu," she said with a giggle. "I'm not one to be so easily offended!" She shrugged with a smile.
"What is it you are making?" he asked, gently taking the pillow from her lap, glancing at her.
"Ah, it's supposed to be a tiger," she mumbled, blushing again. It wasn't horrible really. You should have been able to see it was a tiger. It was just, not exactly fierce looking. Or very beautiful either. Really, she pouted, why couldn't she be as good as Da? Da was wonderful at the arts. She peeked up at him, trying to figure out what he thought about it. "It's… not very good," she said finally, trying to get some sort of response out of him.
"May I sit?" he asked, and she nodded, swinging around so her feet touched the floor. She then leaned slightly over to watch. He gently ran a finger over the design, and then glanced over at her. "The stitches here," he pointed, "are already coming out." He then showed her how to properly stitch, smiling gently as he fixed pieces of the tiger.
"That… sort of makes sense," she said, watching as her tiger started to look a little more like how she had planned. She beamed up at him. "Thank you so much my lord!" She tenderly took back the pillow, making sure to take note where the needle was.
"Anything to see such a pretty smile," he said, bowing his head. She blushed again. But they both jumped when there was a crash outside. Twisting around, the looked to see Sun Shang Xiang yelling at Sun Ce, a pot smashed, and Da disappearing inside. "Oh dear. It seems that our prince has again done something wrong. Please, excuse me Lady Xiao Qiao." She nodded, watching him until he disappeared. She then giggled, hugging the pillow close. Only to again be stabbed.
"Darn it all," she whined, rubbing the blood away from her collar bone. "I'm just so clumsy." Not that it mattered, she thought as she looked down to the tiger again. No longer feeling like sewing, she jumped to go find her sister and hear the news.
(50) Peach
She carefully walked beside him, her hands clasped and her head bowed. They were in the garden, avoiding the loud noise of the ballroom. He was careful not to touch her, hands in his pockets. She did give him credit. He really was trying to 'play it the human way' as he said. Which was generous of him. She was his wife. He didn't really have to. He was glancing at the bushes, every once in a moment she would catch him turning to stare at her.
"I must thank you, my lord, for escorting me through the gardens. I apologize for the nuisance I have caused. You really do not have to-" she didn't get to finish her sentence. He pulled her forward by the arm, dipping down with a step and stealing a kiss. She stumbled, holding herself against him so as not to fall, grabbing hold of his arm. He pulled away slowly, grinning down her, licking his lips. She gasped for air, coming to her senses before glaring up at him.
"I hadn't realized you liked peaches, honey," he whispered, gently rubbing his nose against hers. "I'll have to remember that."
Still glaring at him, she stepped back and smoothed her dress. "Thank you my lord. I must have stumbled on an unlevel stone. I don't want to imagine what would have happened had I fallen." She bowed to him, taking deep breaths. He shouldn't affect her so. He was of the Netherworld. He forced her to marry him. He was taking her away! She gained her calm again, smiled up to him like a good lady, and they continued their walk. Just like any other normal possible suitor going after a woman. A good image, she thought.
(51) Bug
She easily slipped out of her VW Bug, happily pulling her jacket around her. Spring was coming, but that didn't make in any less cold. She glanced around, seeing nobody she knew, and gave a little sigh. This was what she got for being prompt and proper, she thought, pushing a curl behind her ear and made her way around towards the large crowd of people. She couldn't believe she had gotten tickets for the concert. Her little sister was supposed to be on her way, if she hadn't been lying in the text she had sent. Xing Cai had said she could make it as well, though she didn't see either of them.
"Damn. Promise you'll always wear those heels," she heard, the voice familiar.
I couldn't resist. But it seems they aren't agreeing with my choice. We're going to have to postpone this little engagement. I'll find you again, next year.
She stared at him. He was leaning against the wall, giving her a radiant smile, hands in his pockets. It was him. The same man she had kissed months ago at the new year's party. A slight blush creped over her cheeks as she stared at him. She glanced around to see other girls staring, telling her that he was real. She wasn't making him up. She had kissed somebody; Diao Chan had vouched for her from the party. But she had thought he was some drunken fantasy she had used. It was a relief to know he was real, though also slightly embarrassing.
He pushed himself off of the wall and walked across the couple of feet between them with predator like grace. She clutched her purse tightly with one hand, taking a step back when he got into her personal space. "Aw, don't be like that honey. We've already kissed," he murmured, leaning over slightly to meet her eyes.
Her blush deepened. "Indeed," she muttered, leaning away from him.
He laughed at that, throwing his head back. "You and Yu would get along fantastic, you know that Princess? That's something he'd say."
She blushed, falling backwards when she had leaned back too far. He caught her easily, pulling her back up with an arm around her waist. In the heels she fit perfectly against him, and she had to admit his God like appearance wasn't just his face by what she was feeling. The man was chiseled. Biting her lip, she ignored the sound of giggles from girls walking passed them. "Thank you," she mumbled, trying to pull away. He of course didn't let her. She glanced up at him warily, unsure what to make of the situation.
"A thank you? That's all your hero gets? I feel wronged," he said, voice low and seductive as his face came dangerously close to hers. She couldn't help but stare at his lips, blushing horribly. He laughed at that, giving her an Eskimo kiss. She tried to remember to breathe. He pulled back to stare into the parking lot, and scowled. "I'm going to have to take my leave again, Princess. That is my signal."
"What?" she said shocked out of her trance.
He chuckled, and she glared passed her embarrassment. "Sorry, Princess. But if I'm going to break the rules, I really need to not be caught." He yanked her close, stealing another hot kiss. She opened her eyes when his lips left hers, only to see him wink and then he was gone.
Bug comes from after Postpone, which is is the last update I did. Peach and Pillow are with Velvet and Rattle. Nothing else to really say though. Reviews appreciated greatly.
