Love in War

Love in War - Chapter 23: A New Page

Mei and Yao had spent much time traveling on the road. They'd stop every so often to spend nights at an inn or enjoy a formal meal at a restaurant in an effort to keep their sanity, but they couldn't allow themselves to stay in any one place for even a few days. The mysterious strangers drew looks of suspicion from the inhabitants of the towns where they'd linger; their keeping to themselves and efforts to avoid any outside interaction likely didn't help either, but they had no choice. This was a long game and they needed to keep playing smart if they wanted to come out of it on top. That meant staying ahead of The Emperor's men at all costs. They'd been able to make good distance thanks to the horses they'd brought along, but supplies and money were now running low. They wouldn't be able to go on like this much longer.

As they came to an empty field along their trail, Yao brought his horse to a halt and signaled Mei to do the same before drawing the two of them under the cover of an unassuming tree.

"We're gonna need to settle down," Yao told her, dismounting before helping her down as well. She shot him a skeptical look in response.

"At least for a bit... we need money." he tried to explain.

Maybe this wasn't the best idea; or perhaps it could've been more thoroughly thought through. What was their plan? Stay on the run? Leave the empire?

They needed an end game.

Mei opened some of the sacks on their horses to check their rations. Yao was right. They'd not even enough food to last them another week and had no more than a handful of coins to spare.

She knew their head start on the search party had worked to their advantage, and with the time passed much of the heat would've died down. Now they just needed to find somewhere that wouldn't attract much attention from higher-ups and where their presence wouldn't arouse suspicion.

"Okay," Mei declared, watching the relief build on Yao's face, "but it's important we be smart about this."

"Smart how?"

"If we pick a large city, while there's a greater chance of us slipping by and fitting in, it also risks more contact with government officials - many of which know my face," she explained.

"Ok, no problem," Yao tried to assure her, "we can go for some little farming village instead; I'm sure we could find work..."

"But we also can't go too small. We'd draw attention to ourselves from the locals, and it wouldn't take long for someone to put two and two together if they've been following the news. We need to find something in between: not too small but also not too busy."

They pulled out a map they'd procured earlier on in their journey, which had proven useful in helping them to locate backroads and less popular trails as they traveled. Tracking with her finger, Mei scanned their surrounding area for any suitable towns. That one's too small... This one would be perfect, but it's connected to an imperial road! No, this city relies too heavily on trade...

"How about this one?" Yao suggested, pointing to a place situated between several small farming areas, "It looks like it's a market town, but not big enough to attract more than a local presence."

"You're right! It looks perfect!" Mei agreed, staring at him with a smile which was promptly returned upon his noticing. After a few moments she broke from the gaze and put on a game face; she was ready for action.