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"My mother trained me so I could use it since I was a child. I am glad she did" Madelaine said in Mandarin as she looked down at the golden bracelet and a hiss seemed to be heard in the air "After..." she looked at Shang and hesitated before saying what she was going to say "After my mother told me that the Ten Rings were the ones to kill my father, that just made me train harder, to earn his weapon and fight with it as he had"
Shang was silent and then walked away, a reaction Madeline had thought would happen if he heard his father was at fault for her father's death.
"Go" Nan told her.
She thanked the woman for everything and went after the man.
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Dusk was settling in the village of Ta Lo as Madeline quickly walked behind Shang as he strutted quickly before her. A soft gust of wind disturbed the surface of the lake, creating ripples on it, and making Madeline's hair fly around her face.
"Shang what's wrong?" she called after him.
"Mads I...I'm not who you think I am. And after what you just said my father did to yours, I can't help but think that Im not that much different from him" he stopped and said in a downcast voice.
He then went on to explain the same things he told Katy and waited for her judgement with his head bent low.
"Now that I know what my father did to yours, I feel that it was somehow my fault" he crouched to the ground and lowered his head in shame.
"Shang look at me" Madeline sat sideways so she was facing him, one leg folded under her "Look at me" she caught his face on either sides, making him raise his face so he was making eye contact with her.
"Mads, I'm sorry..." he said sadly.
"It's not your fault Shang" she said, feeling bad that he was feeling bad himself "It was your father's and just because he is your father does not mean it's your fault. And the things you did during your 'training' with him were in the past" when she saw that he wasn't completely convinced, she continued "Shang calm down. Just breathe and "
Shang lifted his hands up and took a hold of Madeline's own hands cupping his face and kept them there.
"Thank you Mads" he sighed.
Madeline waited until he had fully relaxed before letting go of his face, his hands still remaining on her wrists.
The air around them suddenly was filled with tension as he leant his head to press his forehead against hers.
"Sh...Shang?" she let out in a whisper.
"Mads" he whispered back at her.
His hands finally moved to under her jaw so he was the one cupping her face this time. Madeline held her breath in as he raised one of the hands from her neck up and traced her bottom lip with his thumb.
The silence in the hidden bank they were in grew as the electricity continued to build up in the air around them.
"Shang!" Katy's voice sounded across the valley making them snap out of their trance "Mads! Come on they're inviting us to dinner"
"C...Coming!" Shang shouted back as he got up from his place "Sorry Mads" he wasn't sure what he was apologising for "Come on let's go eat"
Madeline felt annoyed and disappointed as the man walked further away from her so she decided to take matters into her own hands.
"Shang" he turned around when he heard her call.
Madeline grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him in to her much to his surprise. She pressed her lips against his and closed her eyes. His response was almost immediate and he too closed his eyes, a blush raising to his cheeks. His hands grasped her neck and jaw to pull her further into him and she released his shirt to take support on his forearms.
When he brought her in even closer, the kiss turned more aggressive and Madeline's hands went up around his neck to play with the short dark hairs at the nape of his neck as his hugged her waist.
Shang tore his lips from hers despite his reluctance to do so and leaned his forehead on hers again.
They looked at each other from under their eyelashes and broke into a soft fit of giggles. She felt a shiver go up her back as his fingers traced small lazy circles on her spine, her arms still around his neck though loosely.
"That, was something" she said.
"Something...something good right?" he asked a bit panicked.
"Something good yes" she said with a lazy smile and a chuckle at how nervous he had gotten.
He pulled away and gave her one more kiss on her nose, still a bit hesitant.
"Come on, let's go to that dinner" she linked her hand with his.
"Wait" he stopped her "Do we talk about this?"
"How about we wait to see if we survive tomorrow" she told him.
"Okay just..." he stopped her and swung her back into him for another deep kiss while she placed her one arm back around his neck.
"Shang! Mads!" Katy called out for them again.
They pulled apart and smiled at each other.
"I just have to add that I have been wanting to do that for a while" he told her.
"Ditto" she giggled again.
"Shan...!"
"Here!" Madeline went to her friend and Shang went to talk to his sister.
"Oh my" Katy remarked.
"What?" Madeline asked her.
"Never mind, it's nothing" she waved her off.
In truth, Madeline's face was flushed and her lips swollen enough for Katy to notice but for once she decided not to comment on it, she was simply glad they had figured it out.
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"So?" Xialing asked her brother.
"So what?" he asked her, not sure what she meant by that.
The smirk she sent him was enough to make him grow a light flush across his face when he knew what she was implicating.
"Ay leave it alone" he pushed her away from him as she laughed, the two of them acting like true siblings after so many years apart.
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ℭ𝔯𝔬𝔰𝔰𝔦𝔫𝔤 𝔉𝔞𝔱𝔢𝔰 || 𝔖𝔥𝔞𝔫𝔤 ℭ𝔥𝔦 𝔏𝔢𝔤𝔢𝔫𝔡 𝔬𝔣 𝔱𝔥𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔫 ℜ𝔦𝔫𝔤𝔰
Fanfic.҉ .҉ .҉ Madeline Liu moved with her mother to San Francisco at a very young age after her father died. When she was grown and after the death of her mother, which left her all alone, she got a job as a valet parking cars where she made friends with...
