"Do you truly feel happy here?"
Shuyun met her eyes as she stared back. If one thing he would have said that he benefited from his previous life, it would be that eyes tell no lies. No matter how hard someone tried to hide it, a smile is not everything. With time, even the best facade would be no longer.
And it was just as he had expected. It was no surprise to him that the eyes that looked back at his reflected all the opposite of her outward expression. Just like when he had first met her. A girl brimming with curiosity like her couldn't be constricted to such a place.
Her eyes held emotions all too familiar to him within the infinite world of her pupils.
Yearning. Indecisiveness.
Perhaps the most recognizable of all.
"Come with me"
Shuyun reached out his hand. He stood in front of the portal, prompting her decision even faster.
She only glanced at his hand before returning her gaze to his eyes, shaking her head.
"You should go now, I am sure my mother isn't going to be gone for much longer. If I had wanted to leave, I would've done so long ago"
Shuyun had already confirmed his thoughts, though, he listened to her speak.
"I've seen my mother enter through here many times. How to get out of this forest is second nature for me. Though I appreciate your concern, it is misplaced. I, too, have enjoyed the time spent with you, but this is were I belong."
Lowering his hand, he slowly approached her. It was clear that there was no convincing her.
He walked closer, and when he stood within arms length of her, he lightly bowed.
"Then, as we are parting ways, I thank you for your help in my recovery"
Though, Meiying quickly caught him, stopping the continuation of his bow. He had expected this. While she may try to act mature, at heart, her quality is one of freedom. Her kindness wouldn't allow her to witness such an event.
"Oh! No you don't hav-"
As soon as her hand touched him, he quickly grabbed hold of it.
Jumping backwards with the momentum of his body, he, along with Meiying tagging along, fell into the portal behind him, their bodies disappearing into the ripples of space.
Not long after, portal too disappeared after their exit, dispersing into thin air as it no longer had anything sustaining it.
*
A figure suddenly manifested in the grounds where Meiying and Shuyun once stood a short time after their departure. She was without the cloak this time, and if Meiying could see her, she would easily be able to call the being her mother.
"Was that... space fluctuations?"
She looked around, her eyes glowing, studying the surroundings.
"Who could have possibly intruded on these grounds!"
She suddenly disappeared from her place.
***
*Pwissh! *Pwissh!*
Two figures fell onto a solid floor.
Shuyun was the first to stand up, quickly reaching out to help Meiying up. He quickly ran many things that he could say to her to explain his actions, but came up with nothing.
"Sorry, there was no other way"
But Meiying didn't respond to his calls, only blankly staring at him. It was only after a while that she seemed to have grasped the situation at hand, only then showing any reaction.
"Why would you..."
But just as she spoke, Meiying paused.
Her eyes traveled around the new environment they were in.
It wasn't the grassy plains that she was expecting, but a room that the word glamorous couldn't even describe it.
Tall white pillars held up a ceiling as far as the sky within the air. The floor, a contrast to the usual earthen grounds shone a pure white, containing thousands of stars within them under the light of the sun through the tree high windows. Drapes of red decorated the side of these windows, matching with the red carpet that met the entrance of the seemingly grand room.
As her eyes traveled behind her, a large chair sat permanently situated to the floor. It, much like the rest of the room, possessed allure with no equal. Its golden engraved stripes paired with the white of the marble made a structure on a level one could never imagine.
Even Meiying, given her normally calm personality, still couldn't help but stare in silence at their surroundings. It was at this time that Shuyun too noticed the abnormality.
'Weren't we just in a forest? How... did we get here... and this room... a palace?'
Shuyun was equally shocked but for different reasons.
'It seems they too also have materials like that of earth...'
Suddenly, a voice spoke out.
"My Lady, back so soon?"
Just then, the entrance of the room slowly crept open.