scene 1: meeting
inspired by https://www.instagram.com/p/CKw3kN7Ag5M/
mu qing had been kneeling, waiting for the final strike of the sword before he was "slayed." among the sounds of the crowd suddenly rose the sound of a scream. he looked up as he saw xie lian lower his sword and whip his head around. a shadow had fell from the city walls.
"your highness, let me," he said, unsure if xie lian could even hear him.
he tipped his feat on the ground, pushed off, and darted up like an arrow. he was not elegant, far from it, more like the smoke rising off from a fire, the black cloud before a storm, but that black cloud rose to the sky and caught the shadow within his arms. mu qing landed gracefully, sighing a breath of relief.
in his arms there was a child, frail and thin, only about seven or eight in appearance. his hair was a mop on his head, disheveled and dirty. his face was wrapped in bandages, dirty and brown now, instead of their original white. he was curled in his arms, his eyes staring up dazed, unblinking.
he was shaking, trembling as if he was a newborn animal, uncontrollably, pitifully. one singular black eye peeked out from his bandages and messy hair, large and black, reflecting an even darker figure.
"the ghost.... he's gorgeous!"
mu qing heard a gasp around him. he looked around and his face dimmed. the large, heavy, bronze mask in the shape of a hideous devil. it lay on the ground, broken from the impact. he had landed far away from the stage, causing a huge commotion, breaking up the entire parade, a hugely ominous sign. horses reared, carriages halted in their place, and the flower tossing fairies raised their head in alarm. the most alarming thing of all was mu qing had caught the common people's attention.
he had always been a pretty boy, and at the age of 17, he could only be described as gorgeous. but his splendor, his martial prowess, his appearance, it could be nothing compared to xie lian, and he knew it. but he was the one that caught the child, he was the one who's mask fell off, so he was the one who the common folks got excited over. but at least it was him who broke the procession, he would be the one that got the punishment from the gods.
suddenly, mu qing felt an excruciating pain in his left arm. he looked down. he had probably broken his arm from the impact of catching the child. his stomach tied in knots and suddenly, he felt lightheaded. struggling to keep the child in his arms, he fell to his knees, clutching his head.
seeing this, the child clung onto his clothes even tighter. a white, blinding figure more beautiful than a thousand mu qings combined landed next to him.
"are you okay?" xie lian whispered.
mu qing nodded through gritted teeth.
"if you cant-"
"dont worry, i can finish this round," mu qing said.
"dont push yourself mu qing"
"i must. i cant disappoint your highness"
seeing that mu qing wouldn't budge, xie lian reached out his hand.
"then should i take the child?"
mu qing looked down at the kid clinging to his clothes and sighed.
"even if i wanted to give him to you, its not like hes coming off easily."
and so, mu qing cradled the child in his broken arm, shifting his shirt to better support the weight, and flew to the pillar where the saber he wielded had been lodged. on his way, he shouted quietly to the members of the procession
