The makeshift cafeteria was just a few tables set up under an open tent. It was where the soldiers usually ate their meals.
Now, it seated the starved villager as they finished taking turns waiting in line for a bowl of porridge and a water bottle. Of course, this wasn't enough, but it was better than nothing for now.
Yanyue distributed out the porridge when she noticed a little girl looking at her from behind a tree. The girl's clothes and face had dirt stains. Two messy braids rested on her shoulders.
The other children had already lined up to get their portion of food. But, the little girl remained unmoved from her position behind the tree away from the line. She seemed a little shy.
Yanyue waved her hand at the little girl to come over to get her food, but there was no response. When it looked like the girl wouldn't come forward, Yanyue took matters into her own hands. She grabbed a bowl of porridge and a water bottle and walked over to the tree.
"Are you hungry? Take this porridge and eat it, alright?" Yanyue said with a gentle smile, making sure not to scare the child away.
However, instead of taking the bowl and bottle, the little girl dashed into the woods.
"Eh! Where are you going?" Yanyue called after the child's shadow. Without thinking much, she followed the now faint figure into the woods, still holding onto the food.
The wood was dense, so there was little to no sunlight to light her way. But it was clear enough to see the little girl who was running a couple of steps ahead of her. She did not think oddly that the girl would stop now and then to check up on her progress.
"Wait!" Yanyue called again to no avail.
She wondered where the little girl was running off. When she realized that she might be in danger, it was already too late.
The little girl finally stopped in the middle of a bamboo forest. She wasn't alone.
Standing with the little girl were two men dressed in purple army uniforms. It was not the same green-patterned uniform that Yilonggua's soldiers were required to wear. The men's faces were also ambiguously half-veiled off with a black cloth.
Yanyue thought the little girl was one of the villagers, but now she understood that that was not the case. Many things went on in her mind, but she must escape. She slowly took a step back. It was now or never.
However, one of the men rushed over and quickly apprehended her. He covered her mouth and nose with a cloth that had been slathered with a sedative beforehand.
"Welcome back, Ai," the man whispered. The longings exhibited from his eyes did not escape Yanyue's. She thought she saw the faint tattoo of an X on the man's wrist as well before her eyes closed involuntarily.
When she woke up again after a long time, the environment around her was no longer that of bamboo trees.
She glanced at her surroundings and realized that she was resting on a bed in a tent.
But this wasn't her bed back at the camp.
Her head ached, and she had no memories of what had happened. Except, she had a feeling that she had forgotten something important. But she couldn't imagine what that was and put the issue to rest for now.
She looked down to her stomach and was relieved that the bulge was still there. Then, she found strength in her legs and got up from the bed.
Outside was dark, but the sparkling silver moon shined above the clear star-filled sky. It was as if she was looking at the galaxy through a kaleidoscope, and it was almost impossible to see such a beautiful sight in the light-ridden city.
But, where was this place? And where were the people who took her?
This place was almost too quiet for her liking.
At the base, when the soldiers finished work for the day, they would gather around the campfire and tell jokes and recount heroic tales from missions.
Tonight, it seemed that the campfire lied untouched as the soldiers scurried all over the dangerous forest mountains to look for her. But she wouldn't know this.
Yanyue walked through the place. Then, she heard voices. No, it was music. There were sounds of instruments blowing with the cool breezes as they passed her ears.
Then, she saw a large flame.
And people. They were holding hands as they danced around the fire, laughing and yelling all alike.
Then, a little girl appeared out of nowhere and took her hand.
She recognized that face. It was the little girl from earlier, the one who tricked her. She wanted to escape the girl's grasp, but the girl was adamant about taking her over to the crowd.
The girl then motioned for Yanyue to hold the hand of an elderly who was dancing in the circle. Yanyue was reluctant, but the little girl had her eyes on Yanyue. In the end, she took hold of the old woman's hand and joined the circle. But, her big stomach was too heavy for her to move too much, so she awkwardly slowly followed along to the drum and flute and voices.
But importantly, she was confused about why this was happening to her.
Weren't these people going to kill her or something? She was sure that was the case when the man with the X tattoo knocked her out in the bamboo forest.
It had been a long time since Yanyue had this much exercise. Her doctor had suggested that she exercise to get good blood circulation. But Grandma Lu did not want anything to happen to the baby, so she was strictly forbidden from doing anything exciting.
The dance came to an end when the drum stopped beating, and the flute became silent.
The people, young and old, laughed and sat around the red blaze as they enjoyed their drinks.
Seeing their carefree faces, Yanyue thought that these people were not from the same group as the two men that she had encountered earlier.
But that didn't explain the little girl's presence here.
A young man walked over. He was a few years older than Yanyue, but his face showed no flaws. Although he had an aura similar to Beichen, Yanyue thought that he looked more friendly. He gave her a warm feeling when he smiled.
She felt that this person wasn't going to harm her. But, she still couldn't relax because this was all new to her. She did not forget that these people kidnapped her. And usually, people don't kidnap for fun.
"Did you have fun?" he asked. His voice was soft and sweet as cotton candy.
When Yanyue didn't say anything back but stare at him with careful eyes, he giggled.
"I won't hurt you... and I'm sorry about earlier."
He meant that he was sorry about putting her to sleep with a strong sedative. When Yanyue crooked her head in confusion, he clarified that.
"You're that man?"
"No, I was beside him... and I was the one who infused the cloth with the sedative."
Yanyue immediately flinched away from him. She remembered how scared she was, thinking that she was going to die at that moment.
The man felt horrible that they had frightened her. "You can call me Sile," he said optimistically, exemplifying the meaning of his name through his carefree voice, cheerful and happy.
"We didn't mean to scare you, but we couldn't let anyone discover us, so we had to bring you over that way."
"Why did you want to kidnap me?" she finally asked the big question.
"You will know." He got up and offered to pull her up from the log that she was sitting on just like the rest of the others.
Yanyue still didn't trust him and refused his hand. She struggled a little but got up on her own. She did have a lot of practice because she never had a husband who was always there to help her when she needed a hand for support.
Her husband despised her so much that he would rather she disappeared from his world. The only reason that she hadn't done as he wished was that she loved him too much. It was not easy to get rid of years of love in a month or two.
Sile retracted his hand awkwardly but was understandable. "Follow me," he said, brushing past her.
They didn't go a long distance. A few feet away from the crowd was a modest dwelling, an old-fashioned cottage. It was lit brightly from the inside.
Sile opened the door like a gentleman. "Go in," he requested.
Yanyue knew that she was probably in the enemy's hand, so she obeyed every order from him.
Just like its exterior, the inside was warm and cozy. A small fire was being fed firewood in the fireplace across on the wall.
Feeding scraps of wood to the fire was a man. Yanyue couldn't see his face because he wasn't facing their way. But he knew that they were here because he came to a stop.
When he turned around, Yanyue's eyes widened in surprise. She had seen him before. Their meeting was brief, but she didn't forget him. His nephew had tried to help her on that cruise ship a few days ago. She was thankful that they believed her and were on her side.
"You're the uncle..."
He smiled as if meeting her in this circumstance was not suspicious at all, but rather it was meant to be.
"You have a good memory... As expected of you," he said.
"Were you the one who ordered them to kidnap me?"
The man's tender smile flattened briefly. He sighed before saying, "Well, not necessarily. We didn't kidnap you. We just brought our people back."
Yanyue listened to his words well, and what he said did not make sense to her.
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"It's a long story, but in short, you are much more than the scorned princess consort of Yilonggua," the man said bitterly. He was angry that she had gone through such a terrible experience, one which she didn't deserve.
And he was at fault for not protecting her well. But now, things were different. He had more power compared to four years ago. This time, he would be the bridge for her.
"We need you to come back because it is time that we take back what belonged to us. To you."
Yanyue's mind drew a blank, but the man sounded and looked serious, so she didn't think he was joking.
"I don't follow, but I think you are mistaken-"
The man cut her short, and as he gazed into her eyes like an eagle, he said gently: "You are my dear Ai."
He looked at her like she was his most treasured prize.
The aging pendulum clock in the room struck twelve, and the Nativity scene of Mary holding a baby Jesus slid out, accompanied by the sound of a pipe organ. The instrument played a celebratory hymn.
When the long hand passed twelve, the music stopped. Mary and baby Jesus slid back inside the clock for the day.
"Did you know why I chose a hymn celebrating the resurrection rather than the birth of Christ?"
Yanyue couldn't have guessed and gave the man a blank stare.
The man smiled and explained, "There was once a pair of twins born into an old royal family. The oldest one was chosen to be the child of God and therefore cherished with love and care. Meanwhile, the second twin was born a condemned and cursed child; her birth was predicted to bring the downfall of the nation."
Yanyue did not miss the vengefulness and resentment in his eyes. Unlike the generous person he was when Yanyue first met him, he was vindictive and resentful.
"That child was locked away as if her existence was a threat to the world and died miserably later on. But God was merciful and gave a second life to the child."
He faced her and asked rhetorically, "Say, would it be right to celebrate the birth of the miserable child, a cursed child?"
Yanyue did not know what to make of the story. She felt that the child was indeed pitiful because she was born into such a fate and was treated poorly.
The story resonated with her. Similarly, she was unable to escape the marriage that her mother had bound her to. Her gratitude to Grandma Lu had tied her as well. And lastly, her love for him.