No Longer Spring - Writings of Yesterday

2nd of November

The afternoon wasn't over for me and Jiang Fei, even though Mei Yang and Li Hua decided to go in for the day.
I, personally, had already gotten too deep into the story, not quite able to rest just yet. I insisted on meeting Jiang Ming, so he took me over to the main house, even though I couldn't really pinpoint if I was actually tired or not. A drink or two would have definitely woken me up, but fate had other plans for me, it seemed.
As we walked on the corridor to the main hall, I looked upwards at the tall roof.
It looked bigger than it ever had, giving me a sense of being small.

"A-Shen?" My sister's voice resounded in the room with an echo. Jiang Ming came our way.

She had a golden hairpin keeping some of her hair up. It was a new hairstyle for her, but she hadn't changed as much as she matured. Her face was round, her mixed green eyes giving her an even more royal look. She looked even more elegant, but even so, the sword on her side promised a fast and cruel destiny for anyone willing to challenge her.
She put a hand on my cheek as if she couldn't quite believe that I was there.
Just then, she pulled me into a tight hug.

"How could you leave just like that?" she stared me down as if she couldn't quite believe her eyes.

I was truly glad to have changed my clothes before meeting her or anyone else, for that matter.

"You know it wasn't worth staying. Not when he was the Leader, anyway,," I continued, "you always deserved this and I finally get see you blooming."

Words couldn't tell how proud I was of my little sister. I was always happy to see them thrive, so I honestly couldn't even begin to tell her how fit she was for the role.

"It's Jiang Fei," she said, "he should have been here if not for..."

Jiang Fei interrupted, however, faster than ever.

"He's right," hearing that, Jiang Ming furrowed her eyebrows.

"He had told me every detail," Jiang Ming stepped back and looked towards our brother, "I know that you're probably sick of this, but the Jiang Sect will always wait for you to come back."

"I told everyone that you were right," Jiang Fei started, "After our father died, I told them that I remember everything. It was hard to come back to my senses and it had been too late once I did, but no one should think that you were actually a lunatic."

It had been a very long time indeed. It had been a very long time since I had called a place 'home', since I felt as if there was actually someone who'd be honest and still have a good word to say without waiting for something to be given.
It was such a strange sensation that I had no idea how to act anymore. I had no idea how to take a thing from what I had been told, how to accept such words being told to me.
I had a hard time believing that the world had kept living and changing even when I closed the doors to my room and heart.

"I really don't know what to say," I stated blankly, "Thank you for having me back."

"I'm sorry you went through it all just to save my reputation," Jiang Fei looked me in the eye as Jiang Ming put a hand on his shoulder.

"For the love of Gods, I have a lot of catching up to do," he continued, "I'll pay it back to you somehow."

"It's fine. It's not like I had anything better to do," I insisted, "Prison or not, I'd have drowned in my own misery anyway," a laughed escaped from my lips, taking me by surprise.

Jiang Ming threw a judging look towards Jiang Fei, seeming to know what the prison part implied way too well.

"You should rest as much as you need, your old place is untouched. "