An Eastern Empire

  If the sight before him was anything at all to go by, it hadn’t taken long for word to reach Yuanzong of the tigress’s return, her likeness having been spotted entering the palace grounds and reported to him accordingly.  In truth, once he had received her letter, the prince had forgotten that he had even asked some of the servants and guards to keep an eye out since her disappearance, the thought to dismiss them from that duty never once given a chance to cross his mind.  He did not know when he would see her again, only that he vowed to himself to remain patient.

But there she was, splendid in the moonlight, her armour carving a commanding and powerful figure and reflecting the warrior that lived within her and was often reflected brightly in her eyes.  Despite the tug in his chest that felt as though it threatened to pull him to the ground if he chose not to move toward her, despite every want and desire and worry that had eaten away at him during her sudden absence, Sun Hao could not step forward.  He was utterly captivated by that image — by seeing his most precious person in her element — and though it may have been his place to welcome her home before anyone else seemed to, something held him back, effectively stopping him in his tracks.

Perhaps she had formally alerted someone to her arrival and was waiting for an audience?  What if she had important news that his ears were not meant to hear just yet?  He doubted she expected to see him at this hour.  Indeed, he had been sleeping when the message came, but word of her return jolted him from his light rest and he found himself changed and striding quickly down the halls soon after.

On the other hand, perhaps the scarlet-crowned woman was waiting for nothing of the sort…?  Unless it were an emergency, an audience would likely not be called for at such an early hour, and she didn’t look particularly rushed or filled with the anxiousness of bad news that most people carried in such situations.

Taking one muffled step forward, the royal’s voice sounded and reverberated between the pillars, and though the distance between them was too far for his liking and his tones were soft, Yuanzong was fairly certain that his words reached Sun Lai.

Her expression, once solemn and perhaps a tad thoughtful, changed instantaneously. She smiled, the tops of her cheeks squishing against her lower lids. It did not last long however, and one set of slender fingers reached up to press against his face, hesitating just above the skin.  

"I told you I'd be back." She replied, shifting her weight fully onto her left leg. The right was wrapped tightly around the thigh, though it caused her minimal pain now. She'd been careless, though she found it nothing to fuss or worry over as she imagined most might've. 

"Look like shit," The comment rolled from her tongue, arm falling to swing at her side. She unbuckled the belt that had attached to her her weapon, handing it off quickly to one of the man-servants beside her, careful as could be. "You do, I mean. Did you live in a cave while I was gone? Your skin looks like a baby's ass." Not that she had much room to talk with how unkempt she looked in her own right, but she had an excuse; she just didn't give a damn. 

Next to come off were the spaulders, clacking as they were taken aside, her shoulders feeling weighed down by the air around them once they were off. Sore as hell, stiff and uncomfortable. 

"Anyway... what've you been doing? Are the kids still in one piece? Please tell me you haven't been feeding them anything with chilies. They'll explode in the not-spectacular way and it'll--" 

She paused suddenly, having walked a small ways away, and turned to look back with fading enthusiasm in jade. 

It suddenly seemed to dawn on her just how long she'd been gone. That she'd walked back inside as if she hadn't disappeared. Though some things were best kept to one's self, especially when they involved other worlds. 

He thought he knew what it felt like to be whole.  He had certainly come close to it, by approximation to what he was currently experiencing, after all.  Every time I glanced at you in the silence of our own company, serene and undisturbed…

              Every time you sought comfort in my arms and I held you close until sleep let you escape from your fears…

              Those moments when I watched the flames within you burn brightly, your form fluid and powerful as your weapons slashed through the air in a dance of might…

              When we let the desires and passions in our hearts guide our bodies together in warm embrace…

              Each time I held you as you passed into peaceful sleep, words conveying the emotions swirling in my chest whispered when I felt sure that they would not make you uncomfortable…

Losing himself in her gaze, he prince felt human.  It was a fragile and dangerous sensation, the very foundation of his being held bare in the hands of his jade-eyed companion, the threat of breaking irreparably should their bond shatter keen in his mind.  He was….okay with that, though.  He could accept such a fate.  If in the end such destruction of his being awaited him, Hao would want it to be by Sun Lai’s hand.  He would accept it from no other.

Though he had worn most of his hair down for the occasion, part of it had still been pinned up, and its release by his fiancée’s hand sent a gentle wave of relaxation through him.  A soft smile painted his lips as their noses brushed, the thumb of the hand that cupped her cheek brushing once at soft flesh before his digits slowly trailed over her jaw and down her neck to rest on a warm, sunbathed shoulder.  Yuanzong was about to close the minuscule space between their lips when something in the royal tigress’s expression shifted.  He hesitated inwardly, wishing instead to watch the change, when a moment later the heartfelt tones that escaped her sent his heart leaping into his throat.  Citrine hues widened slightly, his breath catching.

Even if he were to tear his focus from the words themselves, the way they escaped Lai’s lips were beyond the crimson-haired man’s capabilities of internal distraction.  Even in his sweetest dreams his imagination’s enactments of such spoken feelings fell short of the sounds that had just fallen upon his ears, and the young Sun scion found his heart and mind engraving this moment within them.  He vowed then and there to never forget it, whether this was the first time of many or the last he would ever hear her speak to him in such a way.

The pads of his fingers — slightly rougher than they were the first time he had ever held her over a year ago from long hours of training — gripped her bare shoulder gently as his other hand raised to her pale visage.  His thumb lightly ran once over smooth lips before his palm cupped her cheek, digits slightly darker than the skin beneath their touch pushing into her hair.  Yuanzong inhaled her scent — warm and floral and faintly citrusy — as his amber-hued focus softened on its emeraldine counterparts.  His response came out barely above a whisper, the tones both dulcet and yet carrying the weight of every ounce of sincerity he had.  To say he loved her back wasn’t enough, and while any words he chose would fall short of the feeling swirling within him like a warm current, the ones that fell upon the air between them held, he hoped, an adequate substitute.

                         ”You are everything to me, and I give you,

                                                   Sun Lai,

Sun Lai had never felt such emotion before, such pleasure as she did when running her nails across his scalp and neck. Baofu pulled upon the crimson strands that lay silken across her palm, not hard, but as if to test their reality. Her digits wove and intermingled with each and every lock that feathered so gently over her pinkened flesh, bright and expressive emeralds shimmering beneath a heavy drapery of black lashes. 

"It could be dangerous," She exhaled, "Are you sure..." Her lips, slightly dry and cracked from the Summer's sun of many years gone by, brushed against his jawline as she spoke, head at an inclined tilt, "You would want to give so much to me? I am not gentle... and I don't wanna break it," 

It was true that Sun Lai had been in many previous friendships before. Been courted and left high and dry when she proved unable to change. She would not be some trophy of a wife seated upon her husband's knee. She would wield what she required beside a companion, for the truth of the matter was obvious; Sun Lai was no ordinary woman. She had proved that on numerous occasions, wielding both wit and blade against her foes. 

But she was here now, carrying a child that was soon to be this man's heir. A young boy that would require mass amounts of attention.. just like him. Inwardly she began to laugh, lowering her gaze only slightly. The amusement was clearly there, a single shrug of her shoulders left unconcealed. She wasn't sure where to go next with this. 

Sun Hao had always been so romantic in comparison to Lai. She would simply say something, or do something to show she was there and be on about her business. This touching and ... closeness was completely new for her to give. It wasn't something she disliked, nor was it something she wished to give out constantly. 

Not that there was ever going to be a 'going back', now. Of all things that could possibly happen, a forbidden fruit had been grown with a single seed. Fertility had shown upon them and now they were stuck together. Sun Lai idly pondered whether they would have ever grown this close without the child within her womb. Probably not. She would have just gone about her days, teasing him for what had happened, holding that as just another notch over his head. 

Sometimes she missed that. Missed not having a responsibility or anyone to worry about or depend on. She missed that freedom of being able to say 'yes' or 'no' without having to ask his opinion. It was tiring, being in a relationship. It was as tiring as going through life without sleep. 

But then there were moments like this. Moments where relaxation was granted to her under rough, calloused fingers. Under such a gentle gaze and honeyed words that could slip out so casually against her ears. 

Drawing her thoughts away from such things, Lai immediately became embarrassed for the words she'd spoken. How completely unlike her... to spew such emotional nonsense, even in the heat of a moment. She felt silly. 

Remember Plato, the Great Dane? 

Well, he was one of several puppies to be rehomed under the false promise of vaccinations. He is now being hospitalized, like many of his ten other siblings, for Parvovirus. He is now doing well, but his other siblings are not.  Parvo is an often-fatal disease that attacks young puppies and eats at the lining of their stomachs and intestines, causing them to vomit and expel diarrhea. Eventually, it dehydrates them so much that it ultimately results in death. It is early enough in the stages of this virus to combat the illness. However, the price of the IV fluids and treatments needed for in-care hospitalization of these dogs is too high for us to handle.  The price of one dog’s treatment over the course of one week is about one thousand and one hundred dollars. If the treatment takes two weeks, that’s two thousand and two hundred dollars. That’s just for one puppy, alone.  If you can spare even just ten dollars, you can help make a difference in whether these beautiful babies live or die.  If our charity happens to go over the needed amount, all extra funds will be immediately donated to the ASPCA.

"Aw, you think I’m cute? I’m flattered, Lai, truly; but you should be careful that Lady He doesn’t overhear you, hmm? It could get me into a lot of trouble!" Not that he was actually worried about his first wife’s opinion, as she was more than likely to keep it to herself. The many years he’d spent away from his family had put a bit of a wall between them, although he expected that part of that was simply being mad that he hadn’t made a single effort to stay in contact.

"Your sarcasm is almost as thick as mine," Lai chided, siting herself down at a nearby table to fidget with the food on it. She was always eating, it seemed. Either out running around, being active... or eating. 

Opening his mouth to offer an apology, Hao stopped himself.  There was something about the expression his fiancée wore that did not seem to fit with any of the ideas his mind had run off with.  It was softer, and though he had not seen such things for himself, it connected deeply with a feeling he experienced often when in her presence;  Something profound and from the heart, a feeling that filled every inch of his being and felt as though it both threatened to tear him apart as well as build him up and patch back together the darkness within him.  If he could see himself in these moments, he was almost certain it would look something like the expression the radiant woman before him wore.  He had seen it in the past, when his father’s wives watched their husband with his children, or in small moments that did not seem to bear much significance in the young prince’s mind until it was much too late to return to them.

Yuanzong wanted to be closer to her in that moment, to caress Lai’s face with his hand and brush back soft, red strands with care while the quiet sounds of the Guzhang countryside murmured in the background.  He wanted to press his lips tenderly to hers, to freeze time where it stood and to watch the emotions reflected and swirling in vivid emerald.  The tug in his chest was almost too much to bear.  Perhaps he was simply seeing what he wished to see, but…

His inclinations leading him, the young prince set down the wooden dish and eased over to the scarlet princess’s side quietly, goldenrod hues never straying from her countenance.  Having reached her, a lightly-tanned hand rose to cup a pale cheek, a deep emotion reflected in luminous orbs.  Yuanzong’s lips parted just slightly, and he leaned in to hover above the Sun tigress’s own.

The soft chirping of birds echoed in the background, the breath of Spring's cool breeze wrapping around her skin. Her fingers tugged upon the strings holding the top of her robes together just enough to allow her shoulders to feel the sun, her collarbone a touch paler than the flesh of her throat and face. Red fabric slid down to hug her upper arms, one hand reaching up to tangle thin fingers in silky hair. 

In that moment of tenderness, in the blanket of security that surrounded her being, it was like being inside of joy. Like feeling that horrible pain inside of you light aflame, burning you along with it in such a ... gentle and pleasant way. 

He had torn down the walls that surrounded the well-guarded princess, like an emperor's soldier that had been sent off in a children's story to fight the evil dragon. The towering keep had been demolished, freeing the chrysoprase-eyed woman from their safe confines. The greatest difference between that fairytale and the moment before them, however, was that the greatest danger had just been revealed. A danger of falling, of not being caught, of slipping and breaking something far worse than any shattered bone; for Hao held something fragile and dear between his fingers. In the palm of his hand rested the heart of a dreaming woman, wool-gathering in this moment as she stared into golden hues. It cracked so easily without its fortress, beating gently within the ribs of a royal woman. 

Lai's hand moved to the back of his head, unclasping the pin that held back the deep crimson strands she adored so. She longed to feel their touch upon her fingertips, her nose brushing against his own with a tilt of her head. Her lips parted gently before his own, each inhalation bringing in the soft scent of cinnamon. It filled her senses and widened her eyes, a breath of her own escaping with a torn melody upon her lips:

"It's cute when you think you're funny," Lai replied, a chin resting upon the butt of her palm. His tone irked her only in the slightest, but it was certainly something she could deal with while speaking to the elder. It was... still very strange to hear from him again after all this time. To be able to touch him. To see him.