One Year

Spring Hunt Day 2 (4)

Early on the second day of the Spring Hunt, Siri had a nagging feeling inside of her the whole night.  Even though they came back to their tent in the dead of the night and their lovemaking made her tired.  She couldn't go to sleep.  She tossed and turned for a couple of hours not being able to sleep.  Instead of bothering Ryu any longer, she got up, but his arms tightened around her.  His eyes popped open as he stared at her. 

"Can't sleep?"  Ryu asked. 

"No."  Siri told him. 

"Then I must not have done my job correctly."  Ryu teased as he captured her lips.  Their kiss couldn't keep that time running out feeling from going away. 

"Ryu."  Siri groaned.  "I'm sorry, but something inside of me is bothering me." 

"What is it?" He asked. 

"I don't know, but it's telling me that I need to go outside."  Siri told him.  "Something inside of me is telling me to that I need to watch the sunrise this morning." 

Ryu cups her face and he sighs. 

"Do you want me to go with you?"  He asked her. 

"No, go back to sleep.  You need your rest for the ceremony today."  Siri told him.  "I'll take enough guards along with me.  Don't worry.  I'll be safe." 

Ryu kisses her tenderly before letting her get dress.  He watches her until she leaves before staring at the ceiling of the tent.  How could he go back to sleep without her beside him? 

When Siri steps outside, the sky was still dark.  With last night's celebration, everyone was still asleep.  Siri, Rose, Meada and 30 guards made their way out of the camp and towards the field that Siri went to after finding Chunhua hugging Ryu the previous year.  She proceeded to the center of the field and sat down.  Her guards set up a perimeter and her maids stood to the side.

The panicking feeling left her as she breathed in the fresh air.  Letting the cool wind blow into her face.  Her hair fluttered as she stared at the sky.  Without even thinking she lays down and waits for the sun to rise. 

There was a bird that started chriping to her left.  As she turned her head to the left, there was something on the ground that she noticed. It was moving.  As if something was digging up from underneath the soil. 

Siri's heart stopped.  She froze as she watched the sunlight become brighter and brighter as the mound of dirt became bigger and bigger.  A loud white noise came over her as she saw with her own eyes, the bloom of a red Taiyou flower. 

Her whole body shook as she kept staring at it as if she couldn't believe what she just saw.  The flower that could save her life was right here the whole time.  If she wasn't preoccupied last time she was here, she would have saw it and plucked it then.  Maybe she would have been cured already.

"Jonas."  Siri said as she kept staring at the flower.  Too afraid to look away just in case it was her imagination. 

"Yes, Queen Siri."  Jonas said as he stepped forward. 

"Go back to the tent.  Get me the special red jade box I always keep near me at all time. You know the one I'm talking about right?"  Siri asked. 

Jonas knew.  From the moment he became her guard, he was informed of her illness.  There was a special red jade box that was prepared ahead of time for this very moment. 

"This servant shall go get it and come back as soon as possible."  Jonas said. 

What only took a couple of minutes felt like hours to Siri.  When Jonas came back, Ryu was with him.  A look of hope and a hidden happiness could be seen on his face. 

Jonas was smart enough to bring tools so Siri could dig up the Taiyo flower,  with careful administrations she dug up the flower carefully all the way down to it's root. Then in the red jade box, she placed dirt around the Sky Bound Martial stage qi core from a Fire hawk.  Then she planted the Taiyo flower in the red jade box. The flower bloomed along with the sun.

"That's it isn't, my Queen." Meada said as tears began to fall. "You can be saved now?"

"We shall see." Siri reminded them that just because she has the plant and she can make the cure doesn't mean that she'll have a successful outcome.

The large group came back to their tent as silent as they left. When Ryu and Siri entered the tent, Siri placed the Taiyo flower on the table and sat down to stare at it. She had to hold her hands together because she didn't want to let Ryu see how nervous and afraid she truly felt.

If her body rejects the Taiyo flower cure, she would lose three years of her already short life. However, if should the Taiyo flower take over the Spirit of Coldness, she'll have inside of her the Spirit of Hotness.

Siri was so lost within her thoughts that she didn't even realize her husband staring at her the whole time. Ryu's large hands grabs her cold hands, quickly bringing her into his embrace. His warmth surrounds her as he smells her scent.

"I'm scared." Siri admitted.

"I know." Ryu told her. "But you're not alone. I'm here with you. I will stay by your side the whole time and make sure you're well taken care of."

Siri breathes him into her. Calming herself as she begins to think about their future together. Their children. Their grandchildren.

"We can get through this together." Ryu told her as he kisses the tip of her nose.