The Winds of Change

Goddess of Wind

His eyes were closed and his body laid out flat on the day bed and though he wasn't asleep, he was relaxed and fully enjoying the light breeze that brought the scent of the Lotus Flowers his way. Time was irrelevant and with no pressing issues to deal with, Mo Yuan basked in the warmth of the afternoon sun while enjoying the soft sounds of the mandarin ducks passing below the small bridge and the soft whisper of a flute being played somewhere in the Palace which sent its sweet tune out onto the breeze, as if it were meant solely for him.

It had been such a long time since he had enjoyed a rare moment of peace and feeling harmonious, in balance and happier than he had been in such a long time, the smile grew as the flute took his mind on a little journey, one he had not allowed himself to fall into for centuries.

And suddenly the very air around him began to change as if the wind was on the move along with everything else around him, while he remained stationary and untouched but affected by it. The breeze began to feel warmer, the Lotus Pond scent grew more fragrant and if there were any mandarin ducks near, he didn't hear them. All he heard was the soft sound of that flute drawing closer.

And with it came a fragrance, one he knew but didn't. It was familiar but not. This fragrance seemed to belong to the wind itself and as the soft breeze enveloped him, his body began to feel weaker, less tangible, more like the wind. It was the oddest sensation, but as that flute played, he began to lose his ability to move.

_

Smiling softly to herself, Bai Qian sat several podiums away from the man on the day bed. She had seen him enter and not only had he walked straight passed her without any acknowledgement having lost himself to the lovely fragrance of the Lotus Pond, but he continued on by smiling softly to himself as if his thoughts were focused solely on himself.

She had arrived earlier that morning to collect her wayward niece from Taichen Palace only Di Jun had been in a meeting with the man who had just passed her by while her niece was nowhere to be seen. So deciding to get a maid to lead her to the Lotus Pond, a place she had never visited before but had heard much about, she too was soon lost to her thoughts and feeling very calm by the time that man arrived.

Thinking to stand up and introduce herself before leaving to talk to Di Jun and his intentions regarding her niece, she instead remained unmoving until the man had passed her by. She had already traversed every platform, so she knew there was no way out, other than the way he arrived, and seeing his outline from where she was, a little flicker of mischief past through her eyes as her flute was produced.

She was not used to men ignoring her, in fact, she was ogled everywhere she went, so to be ignored did not go down well. She wasn't a vain woman, but still, to be completely ignored was not exactly an ego boost and being a nine tailed fox who had more than enough magic up her sleeve to put him in his place, her flute began to weave her magic which she sent directly in his direction.

_

He saw her gown first. Fluttering softly in the breeze about her lithe frame and edged in long black hair that trailed in the wind behind her, the Goddess was smiling softly. The way she walked was like the most gentlest of breezes, a wind as soft as the one billowing her hair about her face. And it was then that her pure loveliness came into view.   Like the wind itself,

Her smile was as soft as a summer breeze, the soft blush on her cheeks as warm as an autumn sigh, but her eyes were as dark as the torrent of air that breathed its last breath behind him at that place no one dared to walk least they fall into the abyss of destruction never to be seen again.

How was it that a woman as beautiful and Heavenly as this Goddess, could look so powerfully destructive, yet also look as gentle as the peach tree blossoms he could smell wafting towards him? he wondered as she slowly made her way forward.