Three Wars and a Goddess

A Mini Battle

On a cloud, and heading straight for Qing Qiu, Bai Qian was in tears and heartbroken.  She might not know much about men, or how their hearts work, but she understood what she saw.  

She had been with Lijuan when she bought the crystal lotus flower.  She had told her the colours that reflect off the petal tips were caused by small fractures below the surface, and when the light hit it,  rainbow colours would dance off the flower.  She had also said she was buying it for someone special.  But because her eyes had swayed towards Die Feng who was browsing a different stall, she had assumed she was buying it for him.

Personally she had thought the Lotus Flower was far too flashy, but she didn't know Die Feng all that well, so she gathered it must be something he would have liked, after all she was with him most of the time.

But to realize she had been eyeing Mo Yuan the entire time and that he had chosen the Lotus Flower over her own gift was heartbreaking enough, but to see him in the low valleys smiling at Lijuan the same way that he smiled at her was the icing on the cake.  She knew that look.  His eyes were lit up brilliantly, a look she had come to know as belonging solely to her.  He also rarely laughed, and she had seen with her own eyes the laughter in his bright eyes.

It was very clear to her, that Mo Yuan got what he wanted out of her, and as the memory of the night before came back to her, the tears intensified.  The way he had made love to her, the way he had looked at her, said he wanted more than just the one night.  His eyes said he was in love with her and she had clearly read the desire for a future with her.  And foolishly she had believe it, had let down her guard and allowed herself to think they really did have a future together.

But now, it all seemed like a terrible dream.  She had been far too naive and trusting, so in a way she also blamed herself.  She had heard stories of his youth and they were not that much different to Deishi whose reputation was known about by the entire world.  Mo Yuans past was a checkered one, rife with scandal so she should have known better.  Even Zhe Yan had warned her to take things slowly with him, to learn from the mistakes others had made, but in her rush to take their relationship further, she had gone and brought him the little figurine thinking it was the perfect gift with an obvious innuendo and one he had  understood immediately.

And he had not wasted any time in giving her what she asked for.  In fact he had jumped on her the moment the door to his chamber had closed behind her.  So in that sense he really wasn't any different to Deishi at all.  

Though thinking about the General, she didn't mind him.  He was a scallywag, a rascal but a highly likeable one.  And he was honest.  If she ever did have an inclination to accept the overtures he was sending out, she would know exactly where she stood with him, she wouldn't be as naive as she had been with Mo Yuan.

Lost completely to her thoughts as her cloud moved slowly through the sky, she did not notice the eyes that were fully trained her.  Forgetting to raise a barrier in her haste to leave Mo Yuan behind, the eyes watched furtively behind a barrier unseen against the night sky, but seeing as she was  weeping and too lost to her thoughts, it meant she was too easy a target, one that had their full attention.  To their eyes, she was beautiful, so lovely, and very much alone and as that thought took hold, the watching eyes began to gather speed, until they were on top of her.

Caught  completely off guard, Bai Qian was suddenly captured in a dark energy net so strong, that by the time she realized what was happening, her cloud had been entered and her entire body trapped.  Terrified and momentarily stunned, she made no move to fight it.  Her mind was still trying to comprehend what exactly was happening.

All around her a dark mist began to fill her immediate air, until she was breathing it in.  It was nauseating and almost painful to breath, by the time she understood the situation, she was well and truly trapped.