Oil-lamps and torches flickered everywhere in the open space beneath the light of emerging stars. Amid her unconscious state, Yun Suyin could hear the gentle murmur of voices. Her eyelids fluttered before she finally regained consciousness.
"Miss Yun," A voice spoke upon her awakening, followed by the sound of a door closing.
Yun Suyin turned her head. There she saw stepping toward her a familiar face. Or rather, those unforgettable emerald eyes.
"R-Rin?" Yun Suyin whispered, her voice thick as if it had been a long time since she had spoken.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Rin passed the girl a cup of water. "Here, please drink. You must be thirsty."
She helped lift the girl to take a sip of warm water. Yun Suyin swallowed, and uncertainty crossed her face, making her seem younger all of a sudden. Her eyes darted around the room. Stone walls with lit torches. Polished wood floors.
Where was this place?
Seeming to read her thoughts, Rin explained. "You are inside the western palace. You were brought here after you had fainted."
"And An Sun?" Yun Suyin asked, her voice louder than usual.
Rin fell silent. Thinking back to the scene before she sighed inwardly. After Yun Suyin fainted, there was quite a commotion between An Sun, Aiguo, and her grandfather. While Aiguo had left the Bai Manor without authority, he had not known that someone was following behind him.
That someone happened to be Yun Suyin.
Upon this realization, the boy was scolded harshly by not just her grandfather and uncle, but An Sun as well. It was only until the boy hid behind her did they all stop. As of now, they were all focused on one thing. And that was how to return Yun Suyin.
Thinking on the matters everyone was discussing downstairs, Rin glanced at the girl sitting in the bed and felt an ounce of pity.
"Miss Yun, have you spoken to your family about your travels?" She sat down on the chair beside her, hands folded on her lap.
Realizing she was avoiding her question, a scowl darkened Yun Suyin's features.
"Yes. I came here for An Sun, to help. I came here to be of use to him." She said at once, when she raised her head, her eyes burning brightly.
Rin did not answer, thrown by her confidence. She was aware of the girl's infatuation for An Sun, however, she didn't think it was to the extent she'd join a war for him. Admirable as it was, it was also...foolish.
The hands on her lap clenched. "Miss Yun. While I admire your confidence, entering a war for the sake of feelings is dangerous."
Yun Suyin frowned. "What do you..."
"Men will die. Cities will burn. Are you willing to see all of that happen for the sake of love?" Rin said, her voice low, harsh, resounding through the lantern-lit room.
She wasn't saying this for An Sun's sake nor hers. Sincerely, she meant this for Yun Suyin. Grown sheltered her whole life, the girl was unaware of the realities of the world.
Just like Jia...
Stiffening, Yun Suyin bit her lower lip. She considered Rin's words for a moment and the candle smoke drifted between them. Her gaze fixed on the emerald-eyed girl beside her, serious, strong, and cold.
"I am willing."
...
Rin walked, her footsteps hushed and her figure shadowed in the near-darkness. The hall was lit only by a few oil-lamps, which were guttering to the very ends of their wicks. But from the bright moonlight streaming past the pillars, she did not need their light to find her way. The hall was empty, there were no shadows or whispers.
Recalling Yun Suyin's words, Rin felt a familiar clutch in her stomach.
It was only then she noticed she had stopped in front of a wood door. Rin hesitated. There was a moment of silence, and then a click. The door swung open. A full head of a shadow hovered over her.
For a moment, the scent of cedar, mixed with his familiar scent washed over her. She looked up at him, and it was as if all her cares, all the troubles she had ever had, dropped from her back, like the disappearance of a heavy load.
"Sun. Let's go somewhere tomorrow. Just the two of us." Rin said all at once, her eyes bright yet firm.
An Sun paused for a moment, a trace of surprise in his honest gray eyes. The fires of the torches set on the walls in bronze brackets crackled around them, a warm sound against the cold wind.
"All right." He said, at last, giving her a warm smile. "Let's go somewhere."
...
The sky above the Eastern Empire was dark. All was quiet. The birds had not yet sung in the sacred halls. The only movement came from a torch bobbing, like a firefly, through the darkened halls, as a man walked along the winding path to the slopes of the Jade Mausoleum.
His torch's light swept the open area into a gash of light, his boots echoing on the jaded, polished floors. He crouched to enter the darkness of the mausoleum, his eyes stinging and nostrils burning at the sulfurous smoke that filled it. As his vision adjusted, he saw three tombs.
Three names were carved on the lavish stone. He propped his torch against a rock where it turned the smoke drifting through the room into streams of orange-gold and knelt before the tombs.
"Young Master....Young Mistress..." His voice was but a faint whisper among the trembling winds. "I continue to carry out my promise to protect the princess. She has come to know a new family, and a man she seeks but...my words nor theirs seem to move her from her sought fate. I worry if this continues her fate will end in..." The older man no longer continued.
His gaze shifted to the third tomb. There carved deep into the stone, lay the name: Liu Rin.
Wei Jingyi's eyes crinkled. "I can only hope her fate will change."