Delivering My Love

Chapter 9

Zan Yu's dreams of raiding the palace kitchens was stopped short when a low but piercing scream tugged him into consciousness. That was Tai Shi's voice. Zan Yu's eyes shot open, and he took in the empty space next to him, his gut dropping as realization hit him. The fire had died out, but the sun was just bright enough for Zan Yu to know that the cave was devoid of life, except for himself. A new rush of adrenaline pulsing through him, Zan Yu bolted out of the cave in search of the owner of the desperate cry.

Using the sword Tai Shi haphazardly left behind, Zan Yu slashed through the thicket of the forest like an agitated wild boar. His mind was racing faster than he was running. The slew of questions rung through his thoughts over and over. Why did Tai Shi go out by himself? What if he was attacked? What if he was terribly injured? Would Zan Yu reach him on time... or would he be too late? The brambles that littered the floor poked at Zan Yu's bare feet, but he was too busy trying to find Tai Shi to notice. Zan Yu frantically whipped his head left to right, scanning for an anomaly within the greenery.

He slowed his pace down just enough to yell out Tai Shi's name as loud as he could muster after draining most of his built up energy in the sprint. He quieted his breaths so he could listen for an answer. He caught Tai Shi's voice calling out to him from his right. Zan Yu tracked the strong voice, calming a little knowing Tai Shi was not in imminent danger. After Zan Yu rounded a few more trees, he spotted the heap of Tai Shi leaning against a tree. To Zan Yu's dismay, it looked like he was wincing in pain.

Zan Yu ran towards him, heart pumping. Tai Shi turned his head and saw Zan Yu, a fresh smile newly plastered on Tai Shi's sweaty face. Zan Yu approached him cautiously.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened?" Zan Yu's curls were stuck to his forehead from sweat. He brushed his hair back and squatted down so he could take a closer look at Tai Shi.

"I'm fine. I just twisted my ankle. A bit." Tai Shi massaged near his right foot. Zan Yu quickly adjusted himself to be next to Tai Shi's injury. He gingerly lifted Tai Shi's foot and set it on his lap. Carefully, Zan Yu rolled up Tai Shi's pant leg to get a better look. As his fingers trailed up Tai Shi's leg, Zan Yu felt something dry and rough. His eyebrows furrowed. There was a large patch of splotchy reddened skin. Zan Yu kept lifting the pant leg. It ended just below Tai Shi's knee. Zan Yu softly ran his hand over the scars. He felt his eyes grow teary. That must have hurt so much. Tai Shi's eyes that were previously shut fluttered open.

"What... how did this happen?" Zan Yu looked into Tai Shi's dark eyes, searching for answers. Tai Shi noticed he wasn't talking about his sprained ankle. Zan Yu sat and listened to Tai Shi's tale of his accident in the library with Fei. The tears started to spill from his eyes as he heard about Tai Shi's sister's death. Zan Yu looked solemnly at his grim face. Without warning, Zan Yu wrapped his arms around Tai Shi, pulling him in close. Tai Shi returned the gesture.

"I'm so sorry you had to experience that." Zan Yu wiped his eyes and sat back, pondering for a moment. "I think I remember hearing about the fire. Rumors went around that the heiress and her brother were involved, but I didn't know you were there, as well." Zan Yu squinted, then went back to massaging Tai Shi's ankle. "There was a funeral for the heiress around that time, too, if I'm remembering correctly." Zan Yu saw a nervous expression on Tai Shi's face. He summed it up to the pain Tai Shi was probably feeling from his ankle and the possible oversharing. "That sucks. It must have really overshadowed your sister's death."

"Yes." Tai Shi looked uneasy. "It sucked." Zan Yu finally relaxed. Tai Shi had bared his raw emotions to Zan Yu. He was just as human and emotional as anyone else. He stood and picked up the sack and spear at Tai Shi's side. Once he was comfortable, he glanced down at Tai Shi.

"Get on my back. I'll take you to the cave." Tai Shi looked like he was about to protest but stopped when he saw Zan Yu's hard glare. "I've finally healed, but now you've gone out by yourself and gotten hurt." A hint of irritation was seeded in his voice. Tai Shi reluctantly complied.