A/N: I own nothing.

After satisfying writing in her diary, Yue had reached for the candle holder when she heard someone had knocked on her door. So she took her robe and went opened it. Through the dim light because there was no moon outside Yue can still see that it was her mother standing their with a frown on her face.

"Mama? What's bring you here at this hour." Yue asked in a started tone but let her step aside for her mother to come in to the fully furnished room. The floor was made of fine wood that made a clacking noise as YueMei walked and the walls are all decorated in fine Chinese trinkets. The fireplace right across the bed had helped made this room warm in the cool night. what really notice in this room isn't the East, West design but the huge, ceiling to floor, bookshelf that resembled in the library, was full of books from their mother land to all England.

YueMei sighed seeing that, Another that really resembles him. She took the seat on the writing table right beside the window that sees the garden. YueMei placed her own candle on the desk and turned to looked at her daughter, who was sited at the corner of the bed.

"Yes? Mama?" She asked in their mother tongue.

"Why do you love Arthur?" YueMei asked in English. Yue was a little startled why her mother doesn't what to answer in Chinese but let it go and replied her in English. Ignoring the light blushed forming on her face.

"Well, he was the one that saved me from this foreign land." Her mother nodded.

"What else?"

"His mature and funny and knows how to make me laugh." YueMei raised her eyebrow at the word 'Mature'.

"Mature? He thinks unicorn excites."

"What was that?" Yue was curious what her mother said in a whisper.

"Nothing! What else dear?" Yue smiled when she noticed her mother was interested on him.

"Let's see, he has a cute smile and those green eyes, always reminds me of the gardens we had back home in Beijing." YueMei had no comment in that but to herself. "This means we have the same taste, I also have that same impression about Henry."

"His has manners and a gentleman."

"But he is a hot-headed man." Yue's smile vanished but her voice is still steady.

"Nobody is perfect, mama."

"And that's why you should give Ivan a chance." Now, Yue's face was shocked.

"So that's why you asked about Arthur? so that you can disapprove f him." Yue's voice was a little unstable.

"That's not—" YueMei tried to reason with her daughter.

"Why can't you and papa, accept the fact that I'm in love with Arthur." Yue stood up and was actually moving hysterically around the room.

"Yue listen to me, you can't marry him because he is your brother."

"Not by blood he isn't! and I love him." Yue shouted her statement that had earned her a slap on her face. The impacted sting her, but she was all but paralyzed. Her mother had become more like her birth father, a brutal man that hurts his children.

YueMei had covered her mouth preventing her from screaming when she hit her daughter, the looked on her eyes told her that she was remembering her pasted again. YueMei reached out to hug her daughter and patted her back gently.

"Yue? I'm sorry. Bàoqiàn "

Yue's mind was racing from before her eyes. Her papa, a tall brutal man that controls the army of China. He was disappointed from his wife that she was born a girl, he hated her. He would smack her when his temper wasn't so good. Yue would always cry and hide from him. And her only heaven place was the imperial garden. It was huge and her papa didn't know where she is. Her mother would came and comfort her and everything would be fine. They were happy when they found out that Yue's father had taken a Japanese woman with him and that gave birth to a boy, Kiku. That was before her father had brainwashed Kiku into believing that Yue wasn't a good girl.

Returning backed to the present; Yue had gently pushed her mother away and looked at her face. A few wrinkled had formed since the last time she did this and that last time was still way back in China. So Yue run towards the door, out of the room.

"what have I done." YueMei said and a few tears had fallen from her face.

Yue run blindly into the dim light of their home and went outside. A cold wind was blown towards her that made her shiver and her tears fall. She still keeps on running until she saw a tree that Arthur and her shared. She went under the tree and pours her sorrows out. The wind might cover some of her cry but it didn't help her warm when she was only wearing her nightgown and robe. It's a good thing she also had her boots on or else she will defiantly freeze to death right from the start.

A few hours has passed since Ivan had walked around the estate. He can't feel his cheeks anymore, even with the help of his scarf. He planned to return to his room and just sleep of this headache that he had acquire after being inform of his situation. Because of the poor lighting outside He had stumbled a few times before reaching his destination on the yard that belongs to the Kirkland.

Ivan reached for the door and was surprised to see it wasn't closed. The door was wide open like someone was in a hurry to go in, or out. Then a breezed went through him and a faint sound of cry was heard. He turned around but can't see a thing without the moon. A few stars were scatted so he can only see a few feet away from him. Not wanting to walk in the dark he ignored the sound and went inside.

Though a few steps in the dining room, curiosity came to him, he turned around and went outside. Forget about the headache he had earlier.

He can still hear the sob but after a few minutes, the sound had left. In the dark night, Ivan can now only hear the trees whispering to one another and that an owl not a few feet away was serenading. He sighed.

"This was a waste of time." Ivan said in his mother tongue. He turned around and stumbled on the root of a tree. With a loud thump, he cursed and sits up to looked at the damage he did to himself. Grass was all over his coat and scarf.

"So nice." He patted some of them off but gave up when nothing will come off anymore. He checked his limps to see any damage and was satisfied when everything was fine. He was about to pushed himself up when a few raindrops had started to pour.

"Great." He said in a sarcastic voice. As the rain poured harder, Ivan got up and walked in the wrong direction. When he notice that he didn't go this far that he might had took the wrong way when he fell so he turned around. A more minutes, he saw the tree again that had cause his fall.

You may thank his childlike personality because with this he went back to the tree and was about to knick it for causing this in the first place. He spotted a white figure just below the tree. He went to it and saw a soaked woman with very thin covering. He can actually see her pale skin in that soaked nightgown.

"Eh?" he then noticed woman was Yue. A very pale Yue. He quickly went to her side and removed his gloved to check her temperature. It was cold, too cold even for him who was outside for a few hours and he didn't even know how long Yue had been here with the cold rain wasn't helping. He tapped gently her cheek and said in a shaky voice.

"Yue?" No respond.

In a quick motion, he removed his drenched coat and wraps it around her and carried her while helping her with his body heat. As he was walking a fast pace without a light to help him he called out to anyone in the big house to start boiling water but no one could hear his voice in the rain, it was pouring hard. As he went nearer, a few servants had then heard his call and the butler, in his bedroom robe had quickly called YueMei to inform what happened.

As Ivan had step inside, ignoring as how they wet the floor, the hall with lights. He then noticed how swollen Yue's eyes were and who blue her lips were. One of her cheeks were swollen as well but it wasn't that noticeable anymore when you only see how pale and cold she was.

"She has hyporthermia." Ivan said to one of the servants with a bucket of warm water. He placed her in the salon sofa. That was the first thing he see when he was about to go used the stairs. And a servant had started a fire. YueMei had arrived a few minutes later and a quick breath was taken in. she thanked Ivan before running to help her daughter warm. Henry had also come down and saw that Yue was now responding to her mother's voice.

Ivan stayed beside the sofa looking at her with concern, she was now violently shivering and that her colour had started to return. A sighed of relief had wash over him. He knows what to do in that situation at least. He had grown up from Moscow, Russia were fighting hyperthermia was a daily basic. But he was still shocked on why Yue would go out in the cold night let alone raining, in her night gown. She must be really upset to go outside in that kind of weather.

"You should go change now." Ivan took his eyes of Yue to look at her mother, with a concern eyes.

"We don't what you to get this as well." When he didn't move she smiled.

"Don't worry, she will still be hear when you return." Now he went to his room to change his shirt and plant, but when he turned one last time, he notice the huge scar on Yue's back when they change her night gown. Ivan had widened his eyes on how big that diagonal scar was and a blushed had covered his face when he notices he was staring at Yue when she was dressing. He quickly went to his room and changed.

Though after a while his blushed was still plastered on his face and that he was also shivering gave him a hard time going back down to see Yue. Checking at the clock on the mantel in his room, it was already past midnight and that everyone wouldn't get their rest tonight because of what happened. So he went down to help them with anything.

Yue was still shivering when Ivan returned to the salon. With dull eyes she scan the room and saw an orange glow around it. It was the fire's rediat that gave that but Yue was too tired to notice. But she knows that her family was here even Ivan was looking at her just above her. She gave a weak smile and mouthed 'Thank you, Ivan' before the heaviness of her eyelids took her.

A/N: another chapter done. And I was half aleep writing this. Sorry. But hope you guys like it and you may point out on any of my mistake, gently.

Thank you for those who had commented and sorry if your expecting Arthur to be on this chapter but I guess he'll be on the next or a two more. It depends on my mood and who I feel the story will go. But I'm open for suggestions. for the next chapter, it may take a while for me to upload because school is starting soon, and i haven't started yet so please bear with me. Xie xie:)

and for those who like Arthur, please don't kill me. I like him as well but i plan on this fic for him to be a little bad. but he is still a gentleman.

Thanks again for reading!

Happy 2012 Everyone!