Kai sighs as he goes back into the palace. It has been four hours now since he had been outside, and he hasn't seen any sign of Li Jen.
'Is this my life now? Is Li Jen hurt, as to why she hasn't come back home yet? Did she abandon me?' The last thought got him swallowing down a massive lump. Li Jen wouldn't leave him, not like this. She was- no, is his best friend, and also his senior sister. So, there must be a reason why she is not here. Kai shook the thought from his head and continued walking back to Li Jen's room, but got the scare of his life when someone grabbed his arm and covered his mouth, pulling him into the shadows of a dark corner.
Kai's fright adrenaline kicked in, and he didn't know where the sudden surge of power and courage came from. But one minute he was being dragged in a corner, and the next minute he is grabbing the index and middle finger of his attacker with one hand, and the attacker's ring finger with the other hand, and pulled in the opposite direction.
His attacker cried out in pain, and let him go immediately.
Making Kai realize that it is his mother.
"Mother, oh. It's just you." Kai said as he put his hand on his chest, trying to calm down his racing heart.
"I am sorry for startling you, I just wanted to talk to you about something and I didn't want anyone to overhear." Sue-May is still stunned by her son's earlier actions. Where did he learn moves like that? She suddenly became paranoid as she started to think about the possibility of Kai- no, she can't think that way. It was just a coincidence that he could do what he just did. He probably learned it from Li Jen, she got to start thinking on the positive side.
"It is ok Mother, I should be the one apologizing. Did I hurt you?" Kai asks, when he sees different emotions flash through his mother's eyes.
Sue-May took one of Kai's hands into both of hers and smiled at him. "Kai, there is no need for blame. I just want to tell you something important, so would you please just listen?" Kai smiled and nodded at his mother, motioning for her to go ahead.
"This morning on my way here, I heard news that the havester's son, Lee Cheng, has gone missing."
Kai gasps when he hears his mother mention that Cheng has gone missing. Li Jen said she was going to visit Cheng, maybe whoever took Cheng also took Li Jen as well.
Kai started to freak out, wondering if he should come clean and tell the king and queen about everything that happened. Maybe poor Li Jen is out there, kidnapped and hurt.
Sue-May saw the tormented look on her son's face, and her heart grieved to know that he is hurt from such small news. But she knows that what she is about to tell him will take an even greater toll on him, and that she might have to even console him.
"Kai honey," she paused to look at him, to really look at him and not the illusion that he was wearing."Lee Cheng wasn't abducted, he ran away. And I heard that some people were passing through, they said that a young lady matching Li Jen's description, met up with him."
Kai's mouth opened and closed, not knowing what to say. Did his mother hear the rumors right, or did she just made it up because she misses him and is also tired of lying to their family about why he is absent? But how would she know that Li Jen and Cheng are in love with each other? He definitely knew that he didn't tell her about it, so…maybe it's the truth she is telling him. But why would his mother lie to him? Maybe she just heard wrong, but then again, how would those who are spreading the rumor know about Li Jen and Cheng? All those are the thoughts running through Kai's head, because he just can't bring himself to believe that Li Jen would run away with Lee Cheng and leave him here to take her space and take up her responsibilities. Yes, she is in love and couldn't be with the one she loves. And yes, she wanted the freedom to live her own life. But that doesn't mean that she should trick her best friend, making him believe that she was coming back like she had promised. If she really ran away with Cheng, that means that she didn't think about how it would affect him or his life. It means that she was just using him all along, and it definitely means that he was nothing to her. All of that made Kai extremely angry, and without knowing, he ball his hands into fist. And golden energy suddenly started to glow from inside them, as a sudden heat wave washed over the palace.
Sue-May saw all that was happening with her son, and she silently gasped. Not from surprise, but from shock.
Kai grit his teeth as angry tears flow down his cheeks. 'How could she do that to me? Am I nobody for her to throw her life at me and not consider about my own life.' His eyes flickered to golden, and his fist became tighter and the earth started to shake.
"Is he causing all this?" Sue-May whispered to herself, as she stared at her upset son. Who is oblivious to everything happening around him. 'I need to stop him before anyone can track the source.' Her motherly instincts kicked in and she took a hold of Kai's shoulders and started to shake him to get her attention.
"Kai, Kai. You need to calm down, I know that you are angry, sad, confused and you feel betrayed. But please, you need to calm down before anyone figures out that you are really Li Jen." But her voice still didn't reach Kai. "Please Kai, it doesn't matter. What she did was wrong, but remember that you have me. If everyone fails you, I will always be here to pick you up and get you going again. I will be here to remind you how special you are, I will be here to tell you how much I am proud of you. And I will always be here to tell you how much I love you. Kai, you are my son, and I am your mother. And I don't want to see you hurt by anyone, so please, please-" She stopped talking when she saw Kai's body start to shake as he started sobbing. She let go of his shoulders, and took his fists into the palm of her hands and slowly opened them up, realising the energy between them. Before her hands traveled up his arms and pulled him into a tight hug.
"How could she do this to me?" Kai sobbed into his mother's ear, and buried his face into her neck. "May was right all along, nobody loves me. Everyone just pities me, or they wanted to get rid of me. That's why my o-own p-parents abandoned me."
"That's not true. May is wrong. Who doesn't like you, would be the stupidest set of people in the world. You are a burst of sunshine to be around, and look at it this way. If…if you weren't left by your parents, I wouldn't get to be your mother. We wouldn't make those wonderful memories we shared." Sue-May whispered as she quietly sob behind her son's back.
"Mother,"
"Yes Kai?"
"I want to come home."
Sue-May swallowed when she heard her son utter those words. Words that she wanted to hear from she got pulled into this shenanigan, and she would gladly walk away from this palace, from her work, just to ensure that he is home.
"Then come home."
Meanwhile
"What was that source of power?!" Fong Woo yelled, after he got back his balance on his throne. The result came from the mini earthquake. He wiped the sweat from his almost bushy eyebrows, as the last of the heatwave traveled out of his throne room and out into the brim stones outside.
"I don't know my lard." Feng Gao, a young unruly ill-mannered Mage that joined forces with Fong Woo just to wreak havoc on whomever he seemed fit. He is a good assassin, and his Mage powers are top notch for someone as young as him. "But by the feel of the energy, it's from someone who might be a great threat to you."
Fong Woo grinds his teeth together, and a sinister knowing smile creeped onto his face. "Well then, we can't let that happen now can we?"
Feng Gao smirked, before he disappeared in a cloud of black smoke.
"Oh, soon and very soon, the lotus aura will be mine!" Fong Woo started cackling as he stared into the dark abyss of the Dark moon orb in his lap.