A Great Escape

Chapter 15: Beautiful

Shen slept restlessly that night, mostly because he kept stirring groggily to find himself thoroughly chilled, and he would clutch his blankets more tightly around his shoulders and roll over before he was even fully awake. This wasn't a particularly strange occurrence; he was rather used to getting cold during the night, so it wasn't until he opened his eyes early in the morning that he realized that something other than his fickle body temperature was at work. The sunlight streaming through the window of his room was unusually bright and bleached today. When he threw open the curtains, the mystery was solved.

"Snow," he breathed out.

It was late autumn, but a cold front seemed to have come in, bringing with it several inches of sparkling white snow. The rays of sunlight that penetrated the thick cloud cover made individual flakes sparkle like diamond grit strewn over every surface. Gongmen City looked as idyllic as an artist's fantastic portrayal of a winter wonderland.

This made him think of Lanying, and he smiled, wondering if she would also be waking up this morning to find a bout of artistic inspiration awaiting her. He almost felt like he might like to paint this snowy landscape. He had spent his entire youth in Gongmen, but never before had he thought that it looked quite so…beautiful.

Xun sat up on his bed mat blearily, stirred out of sleep by the glaring light. "Wha…" he mumbled. "It's really bright out…"

"It seems to have snowed last night," remarked Shen.

"Seriously?" Xun clambered out of bed, smoothing back his sleep-tousled fur as he joined Shen at the window. "Woah, look at that. I thought it was a little early in the year for snow…"

"I hope it didn't snow in the Valley of Peace as well," Shen added as he had a sudden thought. Every year, the Jade Palace residents would have a massive snowball fight to celebrate the first snowfall of winter. "Kurisu will kill me if I miss it."

"Which reminds me." Xun turned towards his friend, propping up his chin in his paws. "I was going to ask you about this last night, but you were too busy fawning over your not-fiancee…anyway, do you know when we're going home?"

It seemed like such a simple question, so obvious that Shen had opened his beak to answer before he realized that he didn't know how to respond.

"I mean, stuff in the factory has been moving along pretty slowly," continued Xun. "Which you wouldn't know since you're always leaving early, lover-boy. At any rate, do Masters Storming Ox and Croc expect us to stay here until the new defenses are completed? Because if they do, then we won't be going home anytime soon. And quite frankly, I don't want to stay here much longer. We have to work a lot, and people always stare at us when we go out to do something, and besides, Winter Festival is coming up in a few more weeks…"

Shen didn't respond for a few seconds. He thought about the Valley of Peace, the Jade Palace, his family and his everyday life that had kept him content until his panic attacks began. Then he directed his gaze back out the window, towards the snow-laden landscape of Gongmen City, and felt a sudden surge of homesickness. Wouldn't it be nice to be in a place where people weren't constantly frightened or wary of him, where he could go about his daily life without being reminded of his past misdeeds by every solitary stick and stone?

Besides, he had promised Lanying that he would take her far away from here. She'd already spent twenty-six years under her parents' thumbs; she was probably aching for a reprieve as soon as she could get it.

You can't take her home with you until you tell her that you're not actually planning to marry her, an internal voice reminded him, but he pushed the issue aside once again.

"I'll talk to the masters about it," Shen finally answered. "I'm sure they can't expect us to stay here forever – we're not exactly welcome here. I just have a few last things to finish up before we can go. Getting the cannons done, arranging a dinner with Lanying's parents…"

"…and, of course, telling Lanying the truth," prompted Xun.

Shen sighed. "I'll get to it, Xun. Don't nag me about it."

"You do realize where this is headed, right?" the wolf pressed on. "The longer you wait, the more she'll get attached to you. Maybe she'll even fall in love with you, 'cause she'll think, 'Well, he's gonna be my husband, so there's no point in me not loving him.' And the more attached to you she is, the more broken up and royally pissed she'll be when she finds out that you were never going to marry her in the first place. And you wouldn't like that, would you?"

"You have some grand ideas about love, Xun, considering that you've never been in love," retorted Shen. "It's not something that pops up instantaneously or happens after a few days, you know. Love takes weeks or months or years to be fully realized. So I know that Lanying is not in love with me…nor am I in love with her."

"Oh, don't give me that crap. You can't deny that you're attracted to her. I saw your face all last night, lover-boy. You've fallen hard, haven't you?"

Shen rolled his eyes. "Of course I haven't. Attraction and love are two different things. Besides, I had just come back from seeing what seemed to be an entire museum crammed into her room. It was all absolutely stunning, so of course I was a bit wide-eyed when I came home."

Xun was smarter than his friend gave him credit for; he knew the difference between art appreciation and just straight-up infatuation. But he didn't press the issue any further. The last thing he needed was another argument resulting in a multi-day silent treatment. So all he said was, "You should go see what we're going to do about working today. The snow might mess everything up."

"Will do," Shen agreed, casting a last glance out at the newly wintry scenery of Gongmen City before hurrying off to get dressed for breakfast.

…

Not enough snow had fallen to justify the Gongmen City denizens delaying their daily activities, but very few people actually wanted to work when such a veritable source of entertainment lay just beyond their doors. Parents had a duty to go outside and play with their children, and couples had an engagement to take romantic winter strolls. Masters Storming Ox and Croc were no more inclined to exert themselves today than anyone else, so it was decided that the fireworks factory employees working on the new defenses would be given an impromptu holiday. It was probably a perfect day for doing nothing. Everyone was in a cheerful, relaxed mood, and the entire city seemed to have been purged of its usual hurried atmosphere.

The soothsayer had received a letter from Lady Biming back at the Jade Palace, and she settled down by the fire to read it. Whatever news it carried seemed to delight her, as she went over it several times with increasing joy, but she refused to tell Shen and Xun what it said. "It's a private matter between me and Lady Biming," she insisted. "And Lady Biming asked me not to please share it with you two."

Shen found the whole affair to be rather odd, as Lady Biming had never been one to keep secrets, but he brushed the matter aside and decided to bundle up and take a walk around the palace grounds. He knew that he'd probably be goaded into a snowball fight with Xun later and wanted to enjoy the peace while it lasted.

So, with his cloak around his shoulders, he stepped into the magnificently frosty tranquility garden…and what a sight it was. The cold air stung his lungs slightly, but not enough to lessen the enjoyment of just drinking in winter's natural beauty. Maybe his relations with Lanying were beginning to give him an artist's perception of the world, because he never would have thought that this simple sight was so awe-inspiring. Then again, he reflected, it was good to meet new people and be confronted with new ideas. Allowing your view of the universe to become stagnant caused unhappiness and even madness, as he very well knew.

But that didn't mean that he was attracted to her. Of course it didn't; Xun and Nana were simply misinterpreting things, that was all. Shen knew that at home he would have been even more mercilessly teased for daring to speak to a female, as if it was the first time that two members of the opposite sex had ever dared to socialize with each other. Well, just because he thought that Lanying was an interesting person and had entered into a false engagement with her and was reluctant to reveal the truth about that engagement didn't mean that he had a romantic interest in her.

Did it?

"Lovely weather, isn't it?"

Shen spun around, tensing. A familiar peahen was standing by the entrance to the tranquility garden with her wings folded behind her back and a familiar smile on her beak.

"Lanying!" he exclaimed. "What in the world are you doing here?" Realizing that was probably an idiotic question, he added, "You snuck out again, didn't you?"

"I don't have the slightest idea of what you're talking about," she replied airily, stepping towards him. He tilted his head as he noticed her clothes for the first time. Gone were the ill-fitting dress robe, the green cloak, and even the paint-splattered smock – instead she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and pants, both in earth tones with gold accents, and a yellow and orange scarf tied at the base of her neck. The garments fit her well, brought out the natural beauty of her plumage, and expressed a hint of personal choice and style…but that wasn't the only reason why his eyes widened as he continued to look at her.

When he had first met Lanying, she was closed-up and bitter. Her very physical appearance had conveyed her tiredness and frustration with her lifestyle. There was none of that now. Instead, she looked fresh and bright and confident and almost happy. He remembered being struck by Yue's beauty during their first meeting; for the first time, Shen was realizing that Lanying was beautiful, too.

"You look…stunning," he finally said.

"Stunning?" Lanying acted modest, although she was obviously pleased by the compliment. "Oh, I wouldn't go that far…"

"There's something different about you." Shen strode up to her, noting how much her bold colors stood out against the white snow.

"Do you mean, my clothes?" She tugged on her scarf a bit. "Well, Mother was so pleased by the possibility of dinner arrangements that she let me go buy some new clothes. And by that I mean she let me go by myself, and I got to pick them out. The lady in the store told me that this suited me…"

"Well, the lady in the store was right, but that's not all." He stood before her, gazing into her face. "Look at how spirited you are today."

She shrugged. "I've been in a good mood since our little meeting yesterday. I'm not sure why."

"It's the same for me. I suppose you're just happy that you're finally getting out of here, aren't you?"

"Yes, that's probably it." She cleared her throat meaningfully. "And about that…when exactly are we going to get out of here?"

"Xun – er, my friend – asked me the same question earlier today, and the answer is I don't know." Shen sighed. "I'll tell you as soon as I do. In the meantime, we need to finalize those dinner arrangements, don't we? The masters have told me that they'd be delighted to have their political advisors to supper whenever it is convenient…"

"Hmm…" Lanying thought on it for a moment. "My parents are going out of town tomorrow for some assignment or something. They'll be frazzled when they come back, so…how about we have the dinner in two weeks' time? They'll be more than ready by then."

"Two weeks." Shen nodded, knowing that it meant he'd have to stay in Gongmen for probably longer than two weeks, but he could live that long. After decades spent in exile, two weeks was nothing.

"In the meantime," she continued, "I'll have a lot more freedom than I've had for a while, since my parents will be out of town and have finally decided that I'm old enough to handle myself. So...when we see each other, we don't have to be confined to one location. We can go places. Be spontaneous, and all that."

Shen chuckled. "I could go for a bit of spontaneity."

"Good."

Silence fell between them, but they continued to look at each other, both unsure of what exactly to say next. And then something very strange happened. It was so sudden that later Shen didn't even remember the moment of transition. It seemed as if one minute that only their eyes were connected, and the next…

The kissing of two peafowl – or really, any kind of bird – is an action that almost needs preplanning. Both parties have to consent, come close together, angle their heads in the right way, and part their beaks slightly before the simple gesture of affection can take place. But Shen and Lanying did not communicate that they wanted their first kiss to happen beforehand, not with words, not with gestures, not even with a meaningful gaze. It was a quick, effortless, but powerful kiss, and there was no conscious thought in it. It just sort of…happened.

Shen wasn't entirely sure of what he had just done until they both pulled back, and it seemed that the same revelation had just struck Lanying, because they proceeded to gape at each other for several long seconds. Finally, she turned her eyes down, smiling sheepishly. "Well…I should be getting home now. I'm not really supposed to be here. But I'll see you in a few days."

"See you in a few days," Shen echoed, still frozen and blinking like an idiot. The smile she flashed him over her shoulder as she hurried away stayed with him, flushing him with a warmth that wasn't impacted in the least by the chill of the day.

He exhaled shakily, and his breath swirled into twisting eddies and whorls in front of him. After that, he couldn't lie about his feelings, not even to himself. He liked Lanying – liked her in a way that he wasn't supposed to like her. And he also knew that he wasn't going to tell her that their engagement had started out as false, not now, not when he next saw her, probably not ever. What was the point? She wanted to marry him now, and not just because it meant getting away from her parents. They'd all but signed a written declaration of their mutual attraction. And, frankly, what would be so bad about marrying her? Oh, there were older couples who joked about the evils of marriage, of course, but no one he knew had actually been made miserable by the union.

He felt almost guilty, and told himself that there was no reason for him to be ashamed of his own feelings. He wasn't trying to take advantage of Lanying; what he felt for her was genuine. Maybe years from now, when they were married and comfortable with each other, he'd tell her about his original plan and they'd both laugh about how it had turned out…

He couldn't help but smile at the thought. He and Lanying, married for years and comfortable with each other…it seemed like an ideal situation to him now, and one within reach.

His decision made, he drew his cloak tighter around his shoulders and went back inside.

…

Jie and Yue Xifeng had told the Masters Council that Lady Xuilan had left the city. This was not a lie, not really, for they didn't know any better. But it wasn't true. Xuilan was still within the walls of Gongmen City, spending her days holed up in a dingy room of a shady inn, planning and waiting.

"We'll have to split up, Ming," she told the spotted linsang who was still her captive audience. "You'll go for the daughter. She's not trained in any useful skills, so she should be easy to take. Capture her, maybe injure her a bit if it's absolutely necessary, but don't kill her or give her any wounds that might be fatal. I need her alive in order to negotiate with her parents.

"As for me…I'll take the peacock. I want his blood on my hands, and I want to revel in it. I'll finish the job that he was too cowardly to complete – I'll realize the destiny that he was too weak to live up to.

"By the time I'm through with him, he'll be wishing that he died when that cannon fell on top of him."

A/N - Holy shit, I see 50+ reviews up there! Thanks, you guys! Here's a new chapter for your reward, and remember to keep it up!