ZenTar ¹Literally zen (silent) + tar (wind)undid his own barrier and stepped into the cavern, followed by ZaiWin²Literally zai (blade) + win (chaos)..

Relatively small as the cave was, all it took was one single glance to conclude that VinWei³Literally vin (hard) + wei (crystal) was alone, sitting at the table.

“Where’s Snow?” ZaiWin asked, still from the entrance, and VinWei turned to look at them.

“Went out for a walk. We’ve been at it since morning. I thought he needed a few moments to rest and take a breath, before we started our afternoon session.”

ZaiWin was already turning around and heading back outside before she could even finish her sentence.

“Wait!” Her voice halted him with one foot on the other side of the threshold. “I need to talk to you for a bit.”

Clenching his jaw, ZaiWin was clearly unhappy with her sudden request.

ZenTar sighed and placed a heavy hand on his shoulder, efficiently scattering part of the tension that had immediately taken over his body.

“I’ll go fetch him.”

With a dubious frown, ZaiWin turned to glare suspiciously at him.

Answering with an angry scowl, ZanTar slapped him on the back of the head.

“What’s that look for? You think I’m gonna throw the kid of a cliff?”

“The possibility did cross my mind, yes,” ZaiWin replied and ZenTar sighed, pulling him inside the cavern and out of the doorway.

“Just put up with whatever Vin has to say and behave, before I decide to give you a long overdue spanking!” he grumbled and was out of the door before VinWei could accuse him of being rude, like she normally did.

ZaiWin took a deep breath and forced himself to settle down. He’d done his best to spend the entire morning away and not disturb them. But he had expected to find Snow there, once he decided to come back. The frustration and disappointment at the realization that he’d been wrong had only intensified his wish to immediately go and find him. And now he had to get over that as well. He had to obediently stay behind and listen to what VinWei had to say.

“Is it that hard?” she asked him softly and he turned his back on the cavern’s entrance to look at her. “Being apart from him,” she clarified, since he would probably pretend he hadn't heard her question unless she left him no other choice.

ZaiWin took another deep breath, crossing the space between them to sit at the table with her.

“It’s … annoying and unsettling.”

“You do realize that you’ll have to be apart from him for whole days, once you enter the Palace. Right?”

“I’m trying not to think about that. It will only make me anxious ahead of time. I’ll somehow deal with it when the time comes.”

VinWei sighed.

“Why do insist on being so stubborn? Why not simply accept the bound? It would make life much easier for both of you. Are you still resenting him for who he is?”

“Of course not. I’ve never resented him for being who he is. Sure, meeting him brought back a lot of bitter memories that I’d rather forget. And I dislike all Tien’Elhar⁴Literally tien (Heaven) + el (supreme) + har (girl child). The Heavenly Beings also known as Celestials in the common language., to begin with. But I’m not so jaded that I would resent an innocent kid for something that happened probably before he was even born. I resented him for suddenly falling on my lap and screwing my already screwed up life. For placing me in a position where I had no other choice. For threatening what I’ve been trying to protect all these years just by breathing. But never for being who he is.”

“And now?”

“I came to realize that he’s actually in the same position as I am. I too, screwed up his already shitty life. He never wanted any of this. But regardless of how unfortunate our meeting was for the both of us, we also share another point. We both want to survive. And so we’ve reached an understanding.”

VinWei studied his face for a moment, her purplish eyes too astute to be so easily convinced.

“That simple?”

“Isn’t that enough?”

Propping one elbow on the table, she rested her head on one hand.

“What happened in that ice cavern?”

ZaiWin frowned at her question. Not her as well!

“I told you what happened.”

“Yes. You told me how you heroically rescued Snow from nearly dying. That’s not what I’m asking. I'm asking what happened inside you,” she went on, pointing a finger directly at his chest. “All you’ve told me, about how unstable you feel, about how you used to resent him but no longer do, can more or less describe what I saw with my own eyes while we were traveling together. But it’s far from enough to explain what I’m seeing now.”

ZaiWin averted his gaze.

“I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Not even completely bounded Chosen Ones behave the way you do.”

“Didn’t you say that I would always feel anxious and unbalanced exactly because we’re not completely bounded?”

“Yes. Yes, I did. Which, taking into account your already difficult personality, would probably make you feel irritated and angry all the time. I was even afraid it might mess with your daitai⁵Literally dai (light) + tai (mark), or Holly Markings, considered Heavenly Blessings. They’re the source of power. control. Make you lash out at the slightest thing. In fact, that’s where you were headed, the last time I saw you. But now … You feel firm and in complete control. Even more so when he’s standing by your side. The only thing out of place that I can see is your obvious need to keep him within reach.”

ZaiWin sighed.

“Fine. I’ll make sure to work on my poker face, so that I won’t so bluntly expose my one and only weakness.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it!” VinWei scolded him and ZaiWin sighed again.

“You mean you’re worried. You mean you’re afraid that all this security you say you see might only be a facade. That it might all fall apart at the smallest disturbance. I know what you mean. But it’s like I’ve said. We’ve reached an understanding. As long as we both keep that in mind, it will probably be fine.”

“Just accept the damn bound! Things will immediately fall into place!”

ZaiWin looked her straight in the eye before he answered.

“That will never happen. And I made sure Snow knows that as well.”

“Why?! What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of anything. It just cannot be.”

“Is this some pride thing? Contrary to the rest of the world, you actually feel less of a man because you’re a Chosen One?” she demanded angrily and ZaiWin simply sighed.

“It has nothing to do with that. I do hate all Tien’Elhar. But I would never feel less of a man for having been chosen to be Snow’s Chosen One,” he calmly admitted, and VinWei actually gaped at him for a few seconds, before she could pull herself together.

“You’re being extremely selfish, you know? Just because you’ve somehow managed to reach a comfortable balance, you’re not caring about Snow's difficulties at all!”

ZaiWin immediately frowned.

“What do you mean by that?”

“He’s giving in to you! Can’t you see? He’s been doing so, right from the start!”

“Giving in? How? I’ve always made a point to allow him to make his own decisions!”

“You wanted him to learn how to control his daitai and he did.”

“He wanted to learn it too!” ZaiWin immediately countered, but VinWei went on as if she hadn’t heard him.

“You wanted him gone and he left.”

“He wanted to get away from me as well!”

“You wanted him back and he came back with you!”

“That’s …”

“You want him to pretend that he’s your Tien’Elhar and he simply agreed! He’s even trying his best to conform to what other people expect to see, once you proudly present him to the public!”

“You think I want to take him out there?” ZaiWin demanded angrily and VinWei frowned.

“I know you don’t! You’d rather lock him up in some dark cavern where no one else could ever lay eyes on him!” ZaiWin pursed his lips. “But you said it yourself. You want to survive. And you want him to survive. And so you’re dragging him down the path you believe is more probable to ensure that. The path we believe will ensure that. Which doesn’t invalidate the fact that he is giving in to you again!”

ZaiWin clenched his fists in restrained anger and VinWei sighed, forcing herself to calm down as well.

“I admit. This was also an oversight on my part. Back then I was only worried about you. If you would be able to bear the strain of this entire situation. I gave Snow that bracelet to help him block part of the overwhelming influence you have over him and was happy with that. I treated him like I would have treated any other Tien’Elhar. You say their mindless dolls. I guess, deep down inside, I see them like that as well. Beautiful, pitiful, mindless dolls. And so I thought that all I needed to do to shield him a bit from all this was to make sure you could not order him around as you pleased. But Snow is different from them. And if I couldn’t see that difference back then, too excited by the mere prospect of being in a Tien’Elhar’s presence, now anyone can see it. Even Zen can see it, reason why he’s suddenly so against you two spending so much time together. Snow is not just another mindless doll.”

“I know. I’ve known that for a very long time, now. I would have probably killed him back at the Fortress, if he were just another mindless doll like the rest of them. He’s just … like any other person,” ZaiWin replied and VinWei stretched an arm over the table to cover his clenched fist with her delicate hand.

“You know this, and it doesn’t tell you anything? You feel insecure, you feel irritated, you feel frustrated. But what about him? Like you said, he is in the exact same situation as you. But while you’re making your own choices, treading the path you believe is best, he’s forcing himself to follow you. And not because he is impelled to do so. He’s choosing to follow you of his own free will. If you feel insecure, how do you think he feels?”

“And what would you have me do?”

“Accept the bound. It will set things right. It will give you both peace of mind. It will fill that hole from where all that uncertainty springs forward.”

ZaiWin immediately slid his hand from beneath hers.

“That will never happen,” he simply reiterated and VinWei banged both hands on the table in frustration.

“How can you be stubborn!! Bound or no bound, you obviously care for him! So why not accept what he’s freely offering you? If not for yourself do it for him!”

ZaiWin sighed.

“Not happening.”

“You!! I really want to smack you!” VinWei growled in frustration and they were both silent for a long moment, until she finally managed to take a deep breath and release part of her anger. “You better not let anything happen to that boy or I will slit your throat while you sleep!”

ZaiWin simply nodded.

“I really wish I could take him away from you!” she went on, still glaring angrily at him, and ZaiWin nodded again. “You don’t deserve him!”

“I know that better than anyone.”

VinWei gritted her teeth, forcing herself to remain apparently calm.

“You better make sure you do whatever it takes to pull him back to his feet when he loses his balance! And don’t even try to convince me that it will never happen!” she immediately added the moment ZaiWin opened his mouth to speak. “It will happen! You said it yourself! He is like everyone else! Except for one thing. Even if he doesn’t want to, even if you don’t trust him, he will always be inevitably loyal to you! But you! Even if you don’t mean to, you are bound to make mistakes, to say or do the wrong thing! That’s what we do! We hurt each other before we can even think about what we’re doing! Without a real bound to reassure him, it will get to the point where he won’t be able to deal with it! When that happens, you better kick that pride of yours to a corner and drag yourself at his feet, if that’s what’s needed to make things right again! Do you understand?”

ZaiWin nodded.

“I understand.”

VinWei took another forceful deep breath.

“You’re lucky I actually like you!”

ZaiWin couldn’t help half-smile at that.

“I can’t even imagine what this conversation would be like if you didn’t.”

“You better start imagining it, then! Because that’s exactly what it will be like, if you dare not listen to me!”

“I’m listening, I’m listening. I’m all ears,” ZaiWin sang back and she gave him a reproachful glare.

“Don’t patronize me! Or I will really smack you!”

ZaiWin immediately raised both hands in the air.

“That was hardly my intention.”

VinWei snorted, averting her gaze.

“Anyway. Thank you for caring about us so much,” he added in a more serious tone, lowering his hands, and VinWei peered sideways at him.

“Who’s caring about you? I’m only worrying about Snow!”

ZaiWin smiled again.

“Even so, I’m still grateful. And I’m counting on you to lend us a hand when we’re thrown into that lion’s den.”

“Humph! As if I have any other choice, after you’ve happily dragged me into all this mess!”

ZaiWin could have told her that she had followed them there of her own accord but, taking into account the fact that she’d just calmed down a bit, he thought it wiser to simply keep his thoughts to himself.