I step through the portal into an empty tent. Voices speak softly from outside, while men laugh uproariously nearby.
Keeping my Movements of The Silent Monster active, I stay still listening for the sounds of movement. One side of the tent is completely quiet and Shia confirms that no one is there.
I cut a whole into the side of the tent, immediately greeted by the side of another large tent.
Silently, I walk between the tents, hiding whenever Shia tells me people are walking by.
It doesn’t take me long to realize that I am in a military encampment of some kind.
It isn’t large, and there aren’t too many warriors that I see. The warriors that I do see wear matching uniforms in a strange style that I don’t recognize.
I don’t hear the sounds of children, and the women that I do see wear different uniforms from the warriors and aren’t carrying any weapons.
By the time I reach the outer ring of tents, I hear shouts from where I entered through the portal.
Either my pursuers had followed me through, or they’d noticed the giant hole in the side of one of their tents.
Thankfully, the shouts distract the one man standing guard and I slip into the forest unnoticed.
My heartbeat quickens as I break into a run through the narrow trees. The Movements of The Silent Monster is a strong technique, but it isn’t perfect. I’m not sure if they’ll be able to find me or track me if I stay too close to their camp.
I run for a while, my breathing becoming unsteady.
Once I feel that I’ve probably lost them, I look for a place to rest, noticing a large crevice in a tree.
I fall into it, my legs collapsing from their use.
I lean into the crevice, resting my head against the bark of the tree as I try to catch my breath.
“Are you alright Shia?” I ask softly.
“I will be, little one. Protecting myself from their initial attack drained what little qi I have.” Shia says softly. She slithers out of my robe, her tongue tasting the air.
Of course that shield wasn’t meant for me. It could almost be called luck that she protected me along with herself during that initial attack.
I close my eyes, forcing my breathing to calm. Images of dead disciples, and the men I killed fill my eyelids.
I open my eyes, my gaze landing on the foliage of the trees. “Do you recognize these trees?” I ask hopefully.
“They are unfamiliar to me.” Shia says, looking around us wearily. “We should continue, we don’t know how far they may search for us.”
I nod in agreement, standing, only to stumble and fall back to the ground.
My gaze lands on my arm, which still has blood flowing down it, before my eyes close to darkness.
______
The pungent smell of herbs greets me as I wake up. I squint into the sunlight, surprised by the comfortable bedding I’m lying on.
“Are you awake?” A voice asks.
I turn my head to see a boy a couple years older than me, sitting on a log and writing something in a book.
My eyes widen when they meet his eyes. They are a crimson color and shaped like a northerner’s eyes. His brown hair is cut short and his skin is a pale brown.
He smiles as our gaze meets.
“I was worried for a second that you might’ve lost too much blood.” He says, putting his book aside. “Thankfully, the magic in you is strong, easily making up for what I lack.”
I sit up slowly, my shoulder twinging sharply with pain as my blanket falls down.
I look down at myself, finding myself mostly naked except for my underthings. I blush as I realize my state.
Hurriedly, I pull the blanket back up and glare at him. My hand grabs at my sword which he had placed next to me, while the other holds the blanket up..
“Whoa, whoa! No need to stab me.” The man says, trying to hold back a smile. “I had to undress you to get at your wound. I was a complete gentleman, I assure you.”
I glare at him for a second longer before looking around the clearing again. My flute and the talisman I’d bought long ago sit on top of my robes next to my sword.
I carefully examine my flute, looking for any markings or cracks from the battle. I breathe a sigh of relief when I realize that it is fine and continue observing the surroundings.
Two horses are loosely tied to the tree next to us, grazing on grass. Shia is nowhere to be found, causing my heart to tighten.
“Are you hungry? I have some bread.” The man says, drawing my attention back to him. “I’d have meat, or a meal, but I didn’t want to leave you to hunt for something.” He stands up, and my grip on my sword tightens.
Carefully, he walks over to the saddlebags on one of his horses, pulling out a loaf of bread.
He breaks it in half, holding one half out to me.
I pause, considering whether I should let go of the blanket or the sword.
After a moment’s hesitation, I let go of my sword. I bow slightly as I take the bread, “thank you.”
“So you can talk! I was worried that you might not be able to understand me.” He says, sitting back down on the log across from me.
I eat the bread slowly, letting my body absorb the food as I wearily watch him. He waits patiently for me to finish.
“C-could you please turn around?” I ask, looking away from embarrassment.
He looks confused for a second before realization hits him and he turns to face the opposite direction.
A permanent blush sits on my face as I let the blanket fall and put on my robe. “You can turn back around.” I say, trying to calm my heart.
He watches me as I put my hair up in a bun.
“What’s your name?” He asks.
My hands pause for a brief moment before continuing with my hair. “Jia Lin.” There’s no reason to give him my position or my sect. If the trees are unfamiliar, then it is likely he won’t even know of my sect.
“It’s nice to meet you Jialin. My name is Matu.” He holds his hand out, and I watch it wearily before shaking my head.
“It’s Jia Lin. Not Jialin.” I correct him.
I grab my things, putting them into my robe. My hands roam over my flute, double checking it for damage.
“My apologies Jia.” My gaze snaps to him at his casual use of my name. “Your name is unusual to say the least.”
“Just as yours is to me, Matu.” I look down. “Thank you for treating my wounds. I apologize for my wariness.”
Matu looks as if he wants to say something, but just shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it, I’d be wary too, if I’d just been shot by an arrow.“
I stand up carefully, testing the range of motion on my arm. I place my sword on my hip, pulling it from its sheath to find it clean of blood. I resheathe it and with a deep breath, I set my gaze in one direction and start walking.
“Ah- I wouldn’t go that direction.” Matu calls out.
I look back curiously.
“Lord Doma’s men have been searching for y-, I mean someone. Most of them are stationed in that direction.”
I frown, suddenly hit by the realization that I don’t know where I am, where my sect is, or where my enemies are. Tears tug at my eyes, but I blink them away. I’m all alone out here without Shia.
“I can take you to the nearest city if you’d like. It’s outside of Doma’s domain, and I’m sure you could figure out what you need to do from there.” Matu offers, his face filled with genuine worry.
I look at my bandaged shoulder, then back at Matu.
I bow to him, “I would be grateful for your assistance.”
He smiles, motioning for me to sit down across from him. He stands up, walking to one of his horses to grab a bow and quiver. “I’ll go hunt some meat for dinner, might as well stay here for the night since I’ve already set up camp.”
I nod. He smiles at me one more time before walking off into the forest.
“I wouldn’t trust him completely.” A familiar voice says.
“Shia!” I say with relief, as the snake falls down from a branch hanging above me. A large part of me worried that she’d abandoned me after I’d fallen.“What do you mean Shia?”
“Who knows what his motives are? He could very well sell us out to this Lord Doma. It is quite a coincidence that he was nearby when you collapsed.” Shia says, her body resting against mine comfortably.
“I don’t have much choice, Shia. I know too little about where we are.” I look towards the direction he disappeared to. “I have to hope that these are the threads of fate, and not just a simple coincidence.”
“I understand. Still it is not good for one to trust too easily, as you seem to do.” Shia crawls into my sleeve, traveling into my robe, until she reaches my neck. Then she wraps herself around my neck, constricting slightly. “How do you know that I won’t kill you right now, for my own gain?”
I freeze at her words, reminding me of the fear that had existed when we first met. Carefully, I control my breathing, calming myself down.
“I don’t know.” I answer, “I would be sad if you did.”
Shia brings her head around, looking into my eyes. “Why would you be sad?”
“Because I like you.” I answer honestly, sensing the strange attraction that I’d felt towards her when she first decided to accompany me. “And I don’t want you to go through the pain of killing someone who was only kind to you.”
“Who says I would feel pain?” Shia says, before loosening her hold on my throat and returning to my robes.
Because I feel pain. I don’t say the words out loud, not wanting to lay my own pain before Shia with those words.
My thoughts are a mess, so I do the one thing that seems to express what I can’t say in words. Reaching into my robe, I pull the flute that my mother gave me out of my robes.
I stare at it for a moment, before putting it to my lips..
The Second Requiem: Remembrance
The notes are soft and fleeting.
The first image I see is of a disciple who sat in the wagon with me.
We never spoke, but she smiled at me when I was exploring, enjoying my enjoyment.
She was killed in the very first moments of the battle.
But her smile was beautiful.
The image switches to a Master, he explained to me the meanings of different flowers.
He was cut down while defending others.
He was too kind.
Finally I see Tai Qiu, a second mother to me. She was my older sister, my friend, my teacher.
I see her putting ribbons in my hair for my birthday.
I put down the flute as I cry, soft sobs rocking my body.
Why do people kill others so easily?
Why do people die so easily?
Why are my hands stained with blood?
Why do I see their blood on the ground every time I close my eyes?
