In the dark, one could not make out the deep blue or flash of violet that came just as quick as it dispersed in his eyes. Dressed all in black, the man reached into his sleeve and pulled out a piece of cloth. He pulled it over his head and adjusted it to cover his entire face but left only the eyes exposed. Next he removed the cloak from his shoulders, then shoved it into a bag tied around his horse.
To insure the sword on his belt sat securely, he jiggled it. It hung tightly in place. Now he was ready...
In the dead of night, he took off into a sprint swiftly through the woods until he came upon a large, brightly lit manor. With a few quick strides and one big jump, he pushed off the ground into a high pounce and landed onto the walls of the Biah Manor Gate.
His hands were fast as he grabbed onto the nooks and dents in the wall and scaled it up, then swung over, and landed as stealthily as a cat onto the ground below.
No one could know that he's here, so the man scaled a smaller building then jumped onto the rooftop. He went from rooftop to rooftop until he landed next to a building adorned with red lanterns and silk bows. The wedding chambers... He didn't expect to find it this quickly.
Confident in his abilities and with plenty of time to spare, he set off to get a better visual of Biah Manor. These plans included people he did not know or what they were capable of. People he didn't know always complicated things. He needed to make sure there would be no complications tonight.
With a wedding going on, it filled the manor with guests. He could have blended right in, but his eyes would give him away. They always remembered his eyes, and stuck to moving in the shadows.
All the buildings in Biah Manor circled a magnificent garden, similar to his own manor back home. This layout he found easy to remember, and with more than enough time to spare. He headed towards the wedding hall, hoping to get a glimpse of the person he came to retrieve.
When he reached the wedding hall an enormous tree with branches that sprouted in all directions blocked his view. He moved closer to the building but stopped - in the dark; two figures were behind the tree. Pinned up against the tree, a woman's flailing arms were fighting off a man. Should he intervene? He hated seeing these situations the most, men hurting woman, the North's full of it but he didn't want to take any risks and decided against it. Ready to leave, he stopped when they argued.
"What did you say to Yuliah?" The man finally pinned her up against the tree.
"I told her everything about us!"
"It won't stop me from marrying her today."
"I don't care what it does!" She shoved him away but he grabbed her again. Then hiked up her skirt. She winced when he forced himself inside her.
"You're fucken stupid -. I'm marrying Yuliah. No one can stop it." He moved against her body.
"Fuck you Liang. You..." she breathed heavily into his ear between gasps.
"Behave or you'll hurt later." He'd grabbed the woman by the mouth and kissed her.
Yuliah... That's her name... The girl they sent him here to get. He'd seen enough. He understood now why her father sent him and headed back into the night.
After he explored the entire Biah Manor, the man went back to the rooftop next to the wedding chamber. He'd figured out every path and building, and also when the attendants or maids moved around. This should be easy. He expected to be back before morning and on their way before noon.
Crouched down and waited. Several hours later, the excited voices of women came from below. He peered over and watched two maids lead a girl dressed in red into the building next door.
When they finally left — the man in black swung over to the next rooftop. Gently his fingers pressed around until he found a cluster of loose boards and shingles. With a knife, he pried them apart, and the shingles popped open. It gave him just enough room to slip through.
He stuck his head down first. The girl sat on the edge of the bed wearing a red dress and beaded veil. The man slid through the opening and then dropped from the ceiling, landing quietly; his steps were so gentle that she did not move or stir.
Slowly he crept towards the bed where she sat. Her dress, the fabric, and designs caught his attention. It's similarity to the ones women from his homeland wore, people who were long gone.
Only a Northerner would have known that to lift the veil of a bride on her wedding night, in the wedding chamber, you become the groom. With a flick of his wrist, the beads clinked together, and the veil flipped over her head. He paused for a moment. From the looks of General Wey, he expected to see decent but not stunning.
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With the poison in hand. Yuliah drew in a deep breath and prepared for the end. There wasn't a person in this world who could save her now. She lifted the vial to both lips, closed her eyes, and tilted back ready to drink. Tears spilled down her face. She came into this world alone, spent most of her life alone, and finally would leave alone. There wasn't a single soul in this world she loved enough to stay for.
A pop came from the ceiling and Yuliah's eyes opened. The veil wasn't thick enough, and when she glanced up a man in black dropped from an opening in the ceiling. He landed in a crouch on the other side of the room. She watched in horror when he moved quiet and stealth-like across the floor.
An assassin. Then froze. Did the Biah's send him to kill her? Yuliah lost her breath. No. They wouldn't take that risk just to get rid of her. Maybe an enemy of her father's? The pounding of her heart rang into both ears till her head lightened.
GOOD GODS! Her mind screamed, but she sat rooted to the bed, not able to move. He crept closer and closer, right for her. If he killed her at least, she wouldn't have to do it herself or get raped by Liang later. Yuliah breathed in. Noooo... What if he raped and then killed her? Or tortured her in some terrible way? Fear gnawed at her mind until Yuliah almost tipped forward.
With every breath, she held back; the man moved closer until he stood right in front of her. She had easily threatened to kill herself yesterday and even planned to do it tonight, but now that death stood, but a few inches away, she didn't want to die. Yuliah snapped both eyes shut like a frightened child.
Yuliah's eyes popped open wide. She locked gazes with her killer and stared into two blue eyes — beautiful blue eyes... Cold but warm dark pools of water, dragging her in, a sight she'd never seen before. Not in the north. Northerners did not have such eyes. Who is he? Where did he come from? She looked on.
Moments passed between them and Yuliah finally snapped from her trance. He's here to kill her. She scrambled back, twisted around, ready to leap from the bed, but the man sprang up and caught her by an ankle. The vial of poison slipped from her hand. "No!" she clawed at the damp spot on the sheets. Two sturdy hands clamped onto her hips tightly and she was looking into those blue eyes again. "Please... don't." The leg that was free flicked out and right into his thigh. His hands were quick and now both her ankles were in his grasps. With a big tug she slid towards him, legs opened, skirt hiked, and thighs exposed.
The blues of his eyes swept downward and then quickly back up. Yuliah's legs landed one on each side of his waist. His torso pressed hard up against her bottom. Before she could scream, his hand covered her mouth and nothing but a muffled scream shot out. She swatted and kicked, but he climbed on top and pinned her still. Yuliah wrestled with one of his hands until he finally took hold of both her wrists. His other hand rested on one breast, and a blush crept to her face. She squirmed to change the position of his hands but couldn't move. The strength in this man, it's not possible. She let out another scream, silenced by his hand.
Strength - something she lacked, but not to where he immobilized her. This can't be the end... Not like this... Yuliah did the only thing she could in that moment and cried. Streams of tears poured down her face and onto his fingers.
He stared at Yuliah with a pained expression before his head moved right up to the side of her cheek, and a heavy breath whispered in her ear. "Stop it. Your father sent me. If you want to live, do exactly as I say."
His deep voice cut through her fear, and she stopped. "You're not here to kill me?"
"No-"
"My father sent you?" She relaxed. After their fight Yuliah thought it sealed her fate, that General Wey didn't care, but he sent someone to help her. This created more tears.
"Stop that. I'm not here to kill you." With one rough motion, his sleeve mopped up the tears from her face. "Your father sent me."
She'd been wrong, and the Gods - they answered her prayers. Fate, that's what this is. Desperate to escape Liang, she'd leave with him, whoever he is. "How do we get out of here?"
"Take it off." The man answered.
Yuliah's hands clasped tightly around the dress she wore. "Wh- what do you mean take it off?" She stammered.
"Your heels and the pearl veil." He sounded annoyed. "It's noisy. We need to move quickly and quietly. Do you understand?"
"Yes." She nodded. Relived, he only meant for her to remove the heels and veil.
"The window. Our way out." He pointed behind them.
"Y-yes," Yuliah answered but spoke again. "The window? How?" The bedroom sat on the top floor of Liang's house. Most of the buildings in Biah Manor were two levels. Jumping would break their ankles.
"How much do you weigh?" He asked instead.
"Huh?" Yuliah's face scrunched up. She didn't understand what weight had to do with escaping out the window.
"It's science." He moved even closer to Yuliah's face.
"Sci-science?"
His expression changed. "I mean magic."
"Magic?" Yuliah looked confused. Magic only existed outside the Northern Kingdom. She'd never seen it before. "What kind of magic?" She leaned into him, and through his mask, caught a whiff of his sweet breath. She inhaled deeply. Enchanted by this new pleasant smell, Yuliah leaned in closer until her head touched his. Could this be the magic he talked about? Liang's drunken smells that's all she'd been privy to, and without realizing it, turned her head sideways and took in his scent.
"Hey!" He nudged her. "How much do you weigh?"
Her ears burned red. "I - I don't know. Seven stones..." she lied.
"Seven stones?" His brows raised.
"Yes." From the look he gave, the man did not believe her, but she pretended not to care. The truth eight close to nine stones, but he wouldn't know.
Liang's voice echoed down the hall. "Yuliah! My sweet ripening peach!"
The man in black paused, and a brow lifted. Her face went red once more. Oh, how she wanted Liang to stop, but he continued to scream of all the ways he'd taste her tonight. She could have sworn the man let out a scoff, but he sprung from the bed quickly. Those sturdy arms she felt earlier were around her waist again and Yuliah stood on both feet. His slender fingers tangled with hers tightly and they both sprinted towards the window. A feeling of safety swept through her body for the first time.
"Eight, closer to nine." He said under his breath.
"How did you?" Yuliah jolted from her thoughts. Both heels clinked against the floor and she hopped forward, unable to keep up. Pearls chimed together, sounding off with every step. "Wait..." he's right. She made too much noise. Yuliah yanked her hand away and tore the veil off. The headpiece smashed to the ground and pearls scattered across the floor. With one hard kick a heel came off, but the other clung on too tightly, and soon she trailed behind him.
"Hurry! Grab my hand." The man called from the window where he sat perched already.
Freedom, she could see it in his eyes, in him. Just a few steps away. The pounding inside her chest, quickened. Yuliah shook and flapped her ankle about, desperate to kick off the last heel. A sharp pain shot up and through the bottom of her shoeless foot. One ankle twisted and then she danced on top of a handful of beads. Noooo... She twirled ahead. This can't be happening. Her heart sank. Her freedom. It ended just as quickly as it arrived. She couldn't stop herself. Slammed into the man in black and shoved him right out the window.
"YULIAH!" Liang burst through the doors behind.