Immortal Mortals

The Unveiling 2

Quickly slamming his hand over his mouth, Bai Zhen looked at the girl in horror as her head came up to look around.  Her eyes had narrowed and her whole body had tensed as if she sensed their presence.  "Who's there?" she asked softly, but they kept silent not daring to move as she continued to look around.  "I heard you, show yourself." she said even more softly as she looked back towards the house to make sure Jie and the children were nowhere to be seen.

Shaking his head, Zhe Yan took his arm quietly and pulled him back.  Then with hand gestures he told him they needed to talk first.  Understanding him, they silently turned and made their way back towards the path, leaving Bai Qian looking around and muttering to herself.

She knew someone was there, not only had she heard them, she had also felt their eyes on her and that had her moving very quickly back towards the house to check on the children before making her way to their bedroom to check on Jie. Whoever had come to visit were not going to show themselves, and though concerning that perhaps Immortals had found her, she was not going to worry about it.  She would deal with it swiftly and effectively if they did.  

Now standing in the doorway to their bedchamber, her mind went back to the night before.  She had hoped they could talk through their argument now that her mind had cleared enough, but having been kept up all night long, she conceded that he needed to rest. Seeing her family were safe, and the presence she had felt was no longer there, she relaxed a little as she looked at him.

Their argument the night before was still very fresh in her mind and that had her thinking about their fight as she moved closer to him.   Had he suspected she was Immortal? His questions seemed to suggest it. That he knew about the routines was also a concern, but she knew he was Mortal, he could have learned of them in his travels. Would he leave her if he found out she was indeed an Immortal, a being that was very much hated by the Mortals?  And how could she explain the children's lack of memory of the event from the day before, when she had slipped amnesia potion into the sleeping tonic she had given them?  

 Sitting lightly on the side of the bed, she took his hand and looked down at the man she loved so very much.  He had aged a little since their first meeting, white hair was beginning to show at the sides of his hair and though his face was relaxed in his deep slumber, small lines were beginning to show at the corners of his eyes which brought a sudden wave of tears to her own, even the hand she was holding was beginning to show signs of age as she turned his hand in her own.  He would grow older, his body would begin to fail him, his strength would go and eventually he would die, to disappear from her life forever.  

For the first time, she really looked at what she was doing, and the pain his death would cause her, pain she would have to carry for eternity and she questioned whether she was really strong enough to cope with that kind of pain, having never lost anyone she loved before.  And as she sat beside him thinking over the years they had already shared and the thought of eventually losing him as she continued to lightly stroke his hand, she did not notice he had opened his eyes and was watching her crying softly at his side.  

He too said nothing as he looked at her.  Much of his thoughts from the night before had been placed at the back of his mind with the arrival of Bai Zhen and Zhe Yan, and though he was fairly confident she was not who she claimed to be, he began to wonder if it was really all that important.  He would live the charade and return after his pretend death and marry the Goddess as he had promised, though the thought of losing her forever whether a Mortal or not was not something he had truly taken into consideration.

"Jie?" her voice cut into his thoughts.  "I'm so sorry.  Did I wake you?" she asked in the same soft voice she always spoke with as she dried her eyes and a deep blush began to spread across her cheeks having realized he too had been watching her.