A Trial by Halves

Echoes of the Past

"Mama.  Why does father have to leave us?" Er Li asked tiredly.  The bath and picnic and then more playful banter had completely exhausted him and having also enjoyed the sunset in among the flowers while snuggled between the both of them, he could barely keep his eyes open once they finally arrived back on the mountian to find his uncle sternly pacing the entrance having barely arrived back before he came looking for them.

"Leave us?" she asked a little confused before wondering if he had inadvertently heard somehing spoken in private.

"I heard uncle Mo Yuan telling father he will have to return to the Celestial Heavens, but we will be staying here." he replied and becoming a little tearful seeing as he'd had such a good day.  It was difficult now for him to imagine it wouldn't always be like that, not when his father was now fully present and everything he had always imagined him to be.

Pulling the blankets up before tucking them gently in around his little body, she leaned down to kiss the top of his head which still felt warm from the hot mineral water,before lightly brushing his unbound hair to the side so she could admire him a little longer.

"Er Li.  Your father is the Crown Prince of the Celetial Heavens.  Now that he is back, he will have to welcomed home properly.  A lot of people rely on him for safety and protection.  Though I don't imagine it will be any day soon." she replied as his eyes began to flutter closed while a small smile of acceptance momentarily flickered.

"I know.  But I wish we could be like this forever." he whispered before a large gaping yawn erupted and his head slowly began to flop to the side as sleep finally took him.

"I do too......." she whispered.  Like Er Li, she was dreading Ye Huas return to his duties and the possibility of having to join him, but seeing as Shifu was still actively monitoring his progress, she figured they had at least another couple of weeks left before then.

In fact, thinking of her Shifu, she had yet to sit and talk to him about Ye Huas progress and the seclusion he was organizing for him so that he could cultivate without the hindrance of duties holding him back, and that included her and Er Li.  If keeping the distance so he could gather his strength and lost culivation meant they could live their life without Shifu watching their every move, then she was certainly all for it.  But wanting to spend every availble second with him until then, was something her Shifu was going to have to allow.  Their afternoon had seen them become even closer, so she was not happy to be berated for having him back late, not when they were also a family unit, rather than a couple of errant school children.

Now leaning in to kiss Er Lis forehead, she rose to leave.  A long overdue talk with Shifu was all that was on her mind as she quietly slipped out of the chamber that had been allocated to Er Li whenever he stayed on the mountain and having also decorated it to his personal tastes, the chamber was beginning to grow on him.

Only no sooner was she out in the hallway, then an arm quickly took hold of her waist before a body had her pinned up against the wall.  

Momentarily stunned, her mind instantly went to her fan which not only appeared in her hand which was seconds away from drawing her sword, but her knee came up between the set of hardened thighs that were pressing her against the wall.  Only the pair of swirling brown eyes and the set of lips that were pressed to her mouth stopped her knee from making a connection that would have seen those thighs quivering in agony.  

Ripping her head away along with the fan, her wide eyes and open mouth was all that Ye Hua could see through the fog of desire that had been on him all afternoon.  That little seductive hint she had given him earlier, was all the permission he had needed to take her now.

And though there was still a little hesitation swirling in those dark eyes of his along with the way he had immediately loosened his grip at the appearance of her fan, the desire for her was very real.