by Cyci Cade
Wei changed and Fu Chow mounted him. Liu took off first, the wind whipped Kate´s hair. Wei remained on earth admiring that beauty moving far away from him and remembered the morning in the cave when he awoke in front of those big green eyes and those smooth lips crushed against his, but that wonderful girl belonged to another man, his brother, a brother he didn´t remember he had.
“Come on, Wei. What are you waiting for?” Fu Chow complained; his heels kicked his sides as if he was a horse.
“Nothing. Are you ready?” Wei looked to the sky, didn´t wait for Fu Chow´s reply, and took off. He flapped his wings quickly to catch up with Liu and Kate.
Liu seemed not to notice his presence; he was too busy showing off to Kate, and worse, she liked his aerobatics. Wei could do better than Liu, without shadow of doubt, and he ought to prove it in that instant.
Wei increased his speed, veered to the left, cut Liu´s way and dove in a spiral motion. He almost touched the earth, then he rose, fast, like a shot. He waved his wings fiercely toward the clouds; he had a lot of acrobatics in mind to execute when Fu Chow reprimanded him. Wei had forgotten his master altogether. Fu Chow, at that moment, held tightly around his scales.
“Where on earth is your mind? Are you trying to kill me?” Fu Chow complained very angrily.
“Sorry, master.” He took advantage of a current of air and glided for hours while Liu and Kate played in the sky. Liu appeared like a never ending source of energy.
They had travelled all day, approximately twelve hours of torture watching Liu and Kate’s happiness. He didn´t understand why this bothered him so much. He barely knew that girl. Why was he so jealous? When he thought the torture wouldn´t end, Fu Chow ordered them to land and set up a camp. Wei let Fu Chow down on the ground and then left to hunt, deciding to return hours later. However, he was back once he had killed his prey; he started to clean the animal.
Soon Kate joined him with the skewers. “We couldn´t talk. I´d like to say that I am sorry for that kiss.” She kept her head lowered, her eyes didn´t meet his. “I felt uncomfortable with that situation. I want to be your friend, I don´t want that misunderstanding to disrupt our relationship,” she said in a low voice.
Wei raised his head, opened his mouth to reply, but Liu joined them and he remained silent. Now their kiss was a misunderstanding? She felt uncomfortable? That was her feelings for him? When attached to his body and her lips moved fast against his she didn´t have that feeling, she liked it very much. He knew how to recognize if a woman was interested or not, and she was.
Wei grabbed the skewer, broke it and threw it on the fire. He snorted, got up and kicked a small rock sending it far away. His blood boiled and burned his veins; he wished he could kill that strange man who was his brother and Kate´s boyfriend.
In order not to slash Liu with his talons, Wei morphed, spread his wings and took off. His sore soul burst into flames inside him. He cried out, blasted fire on trees, leaving them on fire. He beat his wings furiously, heading into to the sky and flying until his body started to freeze. His wings moved slowly as if tied, his sense abandoned him, his lungs and heart stopped working. He wasn´t able to sense anything else, just pain, his body and mind became numb.
When he recovered his consciousness, he was in an uncontrolled free-fall, like a meteor; the ground came fast as he approached it at high speed, his survival instinct made him seek for balance and shake his wings, however, he was frozen, his muscles didn´t react to his commands.
He closed his eyes and counted the seconds to the inevitable crash on the ground; the last seconds of life. He heard a rumble and his body lurched, branches broke, thrown in different directions, he at last hit the ground. Wei gasped and opened his eyes, the impact had distorted his vision but he had survived the lethal fall. Maybe he was immortal but not unbreakable.
After many hours motionless on the ground, Wei crawled over the snow to find a lake with cold water. He submerged and let the water heal his body. His bleeding stopped, the cold water refreshed his body and calmed his mind, he collected his thoughts and then his ability to organize them started to work. That was the worst idea he had ever had.
Wei searched through his thoughts trying to find a good excuse to give Fu Chow for his bad temper and disappearance. Nothing seemed good enough, and telling the truth was out of the question; therefore, he decided to say nothing. If Fu Chow inquired, he wouldn’t answer, but what if Kate wanted to know why he left suddenly and only appeared the next morning? What would he say? Should he reveal his emotions? Perhaps.
The sun shone through the trees. Recovered or not, it was time to face the reality. He could picture in his mind Fu Chow scowling at him, Liu and Kate hugging and kissing without noticing his presence. Luckily, his vanishing ought to pass unnoticed.
Wei took off toward the camp, slowly fluttering his sore wings. After a short flight, he found them. He landed; they were ready to leave. Fu Chow mounted him without any word and he ascended, leaving Liu and Kate behind. Nobody said a word, it was almost painless, and to keep things that way, he remained silent even his thoughts were quiet.
Four days later, they landed in a desert in China. Wei felt pleased returning to his human shape; he had remained in the dragon form and quiet for the last few days. This was the only way he found to curb his turbulent emotions since he didn´t know how to manage them.
“We must walk to the palace.” Fu Chow checked the map, pointed out the direction and started to walk.
“Are we near the palace?” Wei couldn´t wait to see his former home and recover his memory; the anxiety seemed to suffocate him as he approached the palace and his former life.
Fu Chow stared at him; he appeared surprised hearing Wei´s voice. “Not too long, I assume that in a few hours we´ll reach the village.”
The cold weather made the journey through that strange land easier to a man with no memory. Everything was new to him. He didn´t have neither a spark of memory nor recognized that place, his mind was empty. A big, vast space full of nothing.
They walked miles and finally reached a small village. People looked at them and whispered about the strangers, the ancients bowed in front of them and soon they circled them. Wei lingered with no reaction facing those people offering food and water. What were they doing? He wondered the reason for that behavior.
Fu Chow signaled to him to accept the food and then started to talk to the people. Wei thanked them and ate the crispy rice cake and drank water. Right away the whole village stood in line to bow to them. Liu appeared more comfortable with that situation and Kate… she was as lost as Wei.
They travelled toward the palace. Wei looked up, at the top of the hill where a huge mix of colors shone. He carried Fu Chow´s bag and continued to walk for thirty minutes. Wei looked back, three men and two women followed them with big smiles on their faces; the rest of the village waved to them.
As they approached, the towered palace rose and revealed its wealth. They stopped in front of the gates carved with dragon´s image. Fu Chow opened them. Liu ran inside pulling Kate by the hand followed by Fu Chow and the servants.
The splendid colors and extensive lay-out stunned Wei. He entered, his eyes gazed on the golden roofs that flashed brilliantly under the sun. Green, blue, and red walls emerged amid them, a stretch of luxuriant tree leaves flanked on each side. Far away, bamboos curved and moved in motion with the wind in a sensual dance. Wei´s eyes followed the movement for a short time. It did seem familiar to him. It did.
As Wei strode inside the palace, flashes of memory ran through his mind. It was so vivid, almost touchable. Boys ran in the garden and into the hall. Wei stepped back to let them pass, in his vision the boys turned into smoke. He continued the tour; a woman sat on the throne and kissed one of the boys. Wei went on and saw a sword fight against an unknown man. He forced his memory, but he couldn´t see the man´s face. Wei´s head throbbed; he put his hands on his temples and fell to his knees.
Home. This was his home, and no
matter how much he tried he wasn´t able to recover his memory or feel a different emotion. All those things were far away from him as if all of that belonged to another person and he was only a member of the watching audience. He had only one feeling, he felt like a stranger in the nest. He wondered if one day he would recover his memory and feel home.
Chapter 21
Kate
Kate tripped while Liu pulled her through the maze. That place was huge, amazing, and unbelievable. She had never seen a place so, so… majestic; it was impossible to blink in front of that stunning landscape with zigzag galleries made by hedge plants. In the center it had an artificial lake full of lotus blossoms; a bridge led to a pagoda surrounded by weeping trees. A pathway made by stones and bushes led to the terraces and pavilions. The garden was vast; she couldn´t describe the variety of plants and flowers, but one captured her attention, a large flower with six petals and colors ranging through white, yellow, orange, pink, red, and purple.
“What´s that flower´s name?” She stopped and pointed at the flower that danced in the rhythm of the wind.
“Lily,” Liu answered, his fingers skimmed her chin, lifted it, and turned her face to him. He looked straight in her eyes. “Can you recognize this place?” He pulled her closer. She broke eye contact while studying the garden.
Kate kept quiet for a moment and looked around. She opened her mouth but didn´t say anything; she was marveled in front of that beauty. When she finally spoke, she confirmed her suspicions. “Is this our dream´s garden?” She stared at Liu.
“Yes.” He smiled and guided her to the pagoda.
They really met in her dream. It was so vivid, and now she was there with him. “How is this possible?” Kate swirled in the middle of the pagoda; she seemed like a little child, glad with a present.
Liu sat down and held out a hand. As she held it, he pulled her near him. “I don´t know. I think it is because we have a strong connection.” He stayed thoughtful for a moment and then continued, “This is one of my favorite places. I loved to sit here to read, think or just practice some fight movements. Maybe because my mom used to bring us here before we started our duties as princes.”
“It is beautiful. Your family is very rich, even if you had described this place to me, I wouldn´t be capable of imagining something like this.” She leaned against his shoulder while her eyes examined each detail and plant. Everything was so different, and sometimes she wondered if she was still dreaming. What could be more magical than being in the man´s arms you loved and with that view?
“My father was the Dragon Emperor. There were a lot of servants running across the palace to keep things as he liked them. Cooks, cleaners, gardeners, masters, my mom´s servants, the imperial guard, and others that I didn´t have any idea what their jobs were.” Liu lowered his head. “Everything finished because of our stupidity. I don´t know what happened to those people.” He shook his head.
Kate wanted to say something special. She wished she had a gift to say the right word at the right time. Unfortunately, she wasn´t that kind of person. “Do you think those village´s people recognized you? They acted as if they were in front of gods.” She looked to the lake. It was so different from where they met during those weeks.
She had many things to say, many questions to ask, but that wasn´t the place or the time. Liu was sad and happy at the same time, and she didn´t know how to help him in this new reality because she didn´t understand his former life. She barely knew him, and she was in a strange land far from her house, family and everything she knew. She had too much to process before she could help him.
“Maybe the elders, Wei and I are like my father. People adored him even though young when he became the Dragon Emperor, he was wise and fair,” Liu´s voice failed.
Kate could swear that he was crying. She glimpsed at him; his eyes were dry. Okay, boys don´t cry. It was always what she heard in the village; at least it was what Phillip said every time he got hurt.
She tapped his hand. “It still hurts you, but now you get a chance to fix everything and I am here to help you.” She kissed his cheek.
She wished she could say more. However, she wasn´t good with words, they muddled in her mind and nothing worth saying came from her mouth. She was good at examining the feelings of others and judging them but what if this had happened to her family? Nothing would soothe her.
“Come on; let me show you inside the palace.” Liu rose, picked up Kate´s backpack and held her hand.
They walked to the side entrance. Kate felt relieved that particular conversation had ended for now. One day they´d have to face it, she just needed time to adapt to that new situation and find a way to help Liu.
They found one of the women who followed them. Liu talked to her in his native language; it was very strange and Kate didn´t understand a word. The woman grinned, bowed, and moved her short legs fast in another direction.
Kate turned her attention to Liu. He was a handsome Chinese prince and the heir to an empire. She was just an insignificant country girl from a small village lost in the middle of nowhere. How could that relationship work? When Liu’s parents were released they´d choose a princess to marry him, and she would go back to her irrelevant life. It was easy to picture her future, they belonged to different worlds and sooner or later it would interfere in their relationship.
They walked through a labyrinth of corridors. Kate kept her eyes on the decorated walls. There were many pictures of people, maybe Liu´s family, landscapes, weapons, but what kept her interest the most were the gold ornaments.
They stopped in front of a large wooden door. Liu opened it and stepped inside the room with a déjà vu feeling. Kate joined him and marveled at the luxury of the place and the objects.
“My room is in the same opulence as I remember.” He laughed. “Many nights I dreamed of my return and in all of them, this palace was destroyed. It is amazing. It is… unbelievable.”
Yes, it was amazing, unbelievable, inexplicable, and her thoughts became repetitive because her limited vocabulary didn´t have enough words to describe what her eyes saw. She understood his emotion, in a few days she´d miss her home and parents. When she returned she´d have the same expression that Liu had at that moment.
Kate paced throughout the room. It had an enormous bed, bedclothes covered by a green and white soft quilt, and weapons hung on the wall above the headboard. The curtains embroidered with a dragon´s emblem covered the French doors. The other side had a dresser, mirror, cabinets, a lot of antiques and exotic decorative items.
A bi-fold door split the room, behind it there was a bathtub and a whole wall with a coat rack full of garments made of silks, satins, brocades and damasks of the highest quality. Some of them sumptuously embroidered, embellished with gold, pearls and precious stones. The ambience was a mixture of luxury and comfort. If his room was like that, she could only imagine the rest of the palace.
She noticed Liu stood behind her. “Sorry for my curiosity. Did you wear these garments?” Kate slid her fingers on the soft clothes caressing them.
“Yes.” Liu picked a red satin suit embellished with gold and pearls. “To tell the truth, I don´t own any new suit here but these aren´t my usual clothes, they were made for feasts and celebrations, each one has a story.” Liu hung the suit backup. “Let´s go. I´ll show you your room.”
Kate followed him out of the room. After some distance, Liu opened another heavy wooden door. She entered. The room seemed like Liu´s room in miniature; it was also fully decorated only there weren´t any personal objects.
Liu walked and scratched his beard that had started to grow. He appeared unsatisfied and concluded, “It is small, but near to mine, if you prefer I can look for another one bigger.”
“Are you kidding me? This room is bigger than my entire house.” Kate sat on the bed and slid her hand over the embroidered quilt.
Liu pulled the curtains and opened the French doors. “Look. We have our own private garden.” He stared
at her.
Kate got up, joined him and found a cozy space with trees, flowers, benches, and a fountain. “It is amazing, we can sit here until bedtime or after lunch, or to rest, or…” She sighed; she couldn´t suppress her enthusiasm. “I think we won´t have time for this.” She glanced at him. “How many surprises do you have for me?”
Liu waved his arm and walked to the walk in closet. “Your bath is prepared, madam.” He bowed like those people in the village did.
She saw the bathtub full of water and lather. “Who did this?” Kate dipped her hand in the warm water.
“I asked the servant we met outside. I´ll return in three hours to collect you to have dinner.” His lips grazed on hers, then found her cheeks, moved to the top of her head and he left.
That was the best part. She didn´t take a proper shower in the last few days and her scent wasn´t good. Kate waited for Liu to leave and then undressed. She dipped her foot into the water to check the temperature and entered the bathtub. It was reinvigorating. She closed her eyes and let new energy flow through her tired and sore body. Soon, the whole ambient smelled was peppermint and lavender.
When the water got cold and her fingers wrinkled, she got out, wrapped the towel around her body and looked for her backpack. Liu had left it next to the bed. She tiptoed to it, unzipped the backpack and took out the comb; sitting in front of the mirror, she combed her long blonde hair. Kate looked in the mirror; on the bedside table was a vase with lilies. She stopped combing her hair, left the comb behind and walked toward the flowers. Before she reached the vase, she found a dress and high heeled sandals on bed.
Without hesitation she grasped the dress, slipped into it, tried on the sandals and stood up finding her balance. When she steadied, she stepped slowly across the room to be able to walk without slumping on the floor. The sandals straps tightened around her feet, but it didn´t bother her. She was able to suffer the pain for some hours to please Liu.