Legend of Fei

6. I Am Afraid To Taste Your Cooking

A'Fei was tired. The last day before the nuptials was long, she had to cook a lot, clean a lot, follow through some pre-wedding rituals like carrying the dress, accept gifts and exchange wine or tea. Then there was the in-laws' reception in the evening. Where Xie Yun must have received her parents and she went to receive the masters.

She finally made it to her bed in the evening as sleep threatened to take over. She couldn't let that happen, she had to go back and check the small prose she had picked to please the third master and then go finish the blade she had started the previous night after Xie Yun had left the forge. She was just a little tired. She needed to be well-prepared for the wedding and so she went to sleep determined to wake up early.

A hum. A low rumble. No. Gravel sliding. A'Fei opened her eyes to the darkness and vibrations running through every surface. Earthquake? She had never been through one but heard many things from A'Yan who has been travelling with YangJin to different lands.

She stumbled out of bed but everything calmed down as abruptly as it had come. Unsure, A'Fei made her way through the series of hollow caves, outside. She found her mother beside her, looking about wildly. For the first time, she realised that her mother, who had rarely ever left 48 strongholds, if ever, must have been more rattled than her and yet her upright countenance didn't allow her to show it. She walked over.

"Mother."

"A'Fei. Can't sleep?"

"Woke up early. Have to prepare for the wedding rituals." A'Fei realized she too, like her mother, couldn't accept that she was woken up by the shaking.

"I have never heard of such rituals. Penglai is unique." A'Fei didn't bother explaining that the masters had come up with it on their own, there were no rituals at all in Penglai, to begin with. For some silent moments, they stayed together, looking over the brightening horizon before silently parting ways.

The moon over the horizon told her that it would be morning in a few hours and she had to be in the kitchen. Till then, she headed to the library. It was pretty cold until she reached the library and settled between the many books, she had only time to pull, not put back. She'd have to get back at it after the wedding. She picked the prose and went through the story over and over until she could recite it by heart. It was so close to how she thought about Xie Yun. She had never really felt unsafe or uneasy but only after meeting Xie Yun did she realize that the loss she felt was the lack of belonging. As a teenager, her interests did not align with the other girls and with boys, she was always sparing. Her mother's hand was strict and her father, who gave her a sense of calmness had to leave.

She was lost in thought for too long for the third master found her among a mass of papers, scrolls and bound books.

"What a mess." He exclaimed, voice still sleepy. She promised to put them all in place after the wedding, heard him exclaimed at her outrageous attitude as she made her way to the forge. Since all the masters were up at dawn, she found the second master in the forge. She worked alongside him and much thanks to his assistance, managed to complete her work.

"Anzhi wanted to see what you were making but I shooed him away." She smiled and bowed in thanks.

"What is he making?" A'Fei already had the best blade, made by her husband, what would she do with two sabers?

"I was just boasting about your lack of curiosity yesterday."

"What is there to boast about?" The second master laughed heartily and guided her to finish the blade before the cook arrived.

In the kitchen, the first thing to do was retrieve the two pots, the ones she had buried, three and two days ago. Then, she picked up the raw soaked material and finally set to work as the cook worked her through instruction, hoping against hope that she could get the food somewhere near what Xie Yun's taste.