Of Forgotten Dreams (Book 1) [NANOWRIMO 2022]

Chapter 39

Yun awoke with a start, clawing at her throat as she gasped for air.

Her dream felt more realistic than she had ever remembered. Her fingers were trembling as she pulled them away from her neck, and she was still half-expecting to see blood staining them.

She reached for the jade in between the folds of her robes, and clutched it tightly.

Does Yufan even know that I am dead? She wondered as she managed to calm down a little. The jade somewhat gave her the opportunity to take her mind off the nightmare as she rubbed the carved surface. Does the Viridescent Isle know?

Should I tell Lord Xu about these dreams? She found herself wondering. But the next second, she decided not to.

If she was forced to go back now to the Nine Heavens, or if Biyu knew about her, she would be defenceless. She was mortal now. And she had her life to live here and now.

She did not want vengeance.

And she could not fall asleep after that. So, she tried to lighten her mood by levitating the piece of jade in the air and catching it until the sun rose. She watched as the horizon turned from a deep blue to a pale white, and then, it was time for her for another day of training.

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Yun was preoccupied again when the next patient stood in front of her, hobbling.

"Miss? Miss?"

"Yes?" Her eyes only then focused on him. "What seems to be the matter?"

"My leg."

Yun looked down at his knee and saw a nasty bruise that stretched from his ankles to the upper part of his knee.

"I see."

And it continued until the afternoon, until she was tired and exhausted, which resulted in her just staring at thin air by herself.

"Yun."

"Yun."

"Yun."

Yun jumped at the last time someone called her name, for they leaned forwards into her ear and breathed into it.

"Ying, that was uncalled for." Yun chided. A blush already rose to her face and shuffled away from the other girl, embarrassed.

"It was, if you would answer me the first time I called you. What is wrong Yun? This isn't like you."

"I'm fine, Ying. Thank you for the concern."

"You're not looking at me, and your hands are tightening around your robes again." Ying sighed. "You can tell me anything, you know that? Maybe it can help you feel better."

"I've... never shared my thoughts with anyone before."

"Maybe it's time you start doing so. You have people around you that you can trust right now."

Yun turned over, debating on how she was going to phrase her question.

"If one day... you died. What would you think Lord Xu would do?"

The question fazed her. And in the evening sun, she could see the hesitation and tenderness in Ying's eyes as she thought about the question.

"I wouldn't know."

"Lord Xu has lost people before. People really dear to him. And I daresay that he's numbed himself to losing."

"He once had someone important to him. Before he became and Immortal, and he did some terrible things to himself when he lost her."