No Longer Spring - Writings of tomorrow

IX

Uneventful days passed.

As I got ready to leave I let the maids pick a new set of robes for me, meant to represent my new status as Li Wang's fiancée- a combination between pink and a peach like color, both shades elegant and pastel. It had fine petal lotus shaped details around the sleeves and, given the quality of the material, it felt soft and secure against my skin.
I could tell that Li Wang and the leader were glad to see that they had, once again, partial control over the Mei bloodline. I could only hope that they didn't know of my little sister or any other relatives that might have been alive after the wars.
It was my turn to fight for peace.

"After you," said one of the maids as she waited for me to get on my horse, white as snow.

As I got on, I gently caressed it, feeling it move against my arm. Li Wang tried his best in order for everything to be just right, In order for me to have the best robes; a pretty, steady horse; great helpers and to be kept safe even though, practically, I didn't need to be safe. I just needed to be put in place so I wouldn't think of escaping their grip.
He was happy to have this happen, finally. He was suspect of me, but I could see pride inside his pupils.
I was ready to proceed with my revenge. Regardless of what I was feeling, I had to marry the man next to me. Gods, if he weren't so corrupted, he might even have been a great husband to someone.
He smiled at the maids, urging his horse to start walking. He smiled with his whole face as he'd sometimes do. He used to be quite ignorant when it came to the maids, but that day he didn't really bother to make any difference in between the people. I still remember how talkative he was on the road.
As we went on, we passed by a mountain area, rocky and empty. We had followed the path up the mountain, the sun gleaming beautifully from above. The colors of yellow, orange and pink were forming waves over the sky, slowly fading away as the sun lighted the day. The chilling morning air was cooling my face as the wind slowly carried some of the leaves away, clearing our path and, with that, my horse raised her speed as the whole members fastened their pace. It felt like a trip to nowhere. We took breaks and slept for the night, we walked and walked. It never seemed to end. At every corner, my foolish heart expected to see that pale face of yours, jumping in and breaking us apart. Instead of you, I was met by nothing more than rocks and the win slowly brushing my face.
Thankfully, we got to the cave Li Wang had told us about. There was some sort of tunnel that we have gotten into, probably a way of shortening the time spent on the road.

Two of the maids had lighted up their torches, revealing nothing but the black walls surrounding us. It was nothing but stone walls threatening to fall upon whoever dared adventure inside, freezing up the skin from your bones with the low temperature they were holding in.

"It's blocked," said the general.

"How can it be?" Li Wang asked and went closer to the front.

"It must have been an earthquake or strong cultivators fighting."

"Can't we break through the wall of stones? You could make a gap with your swords," said the maid as I watched the scene unfold.

"We can't," I began, "The walls might be unsteady. There's a high chance of getting trapped under the stones."

Li Wang nodded, hand on sword "We'll go through the town then."

"Why don't we use the other opening from inside the cave?" asked someone else, "There's one a few meters back. It shouldn't take us far."

"Let's try it then," he agreed, "We don't want to waste any time if we can help it."

And so, we had turned around and went for the other opening, way darker than the night of any moonless sky. I could have sensed that something was odd right away. The humidity of the air, way stronger than it was just seconds before. Even the smell and the energy from the atmosphere felt different, giving a sense on uneasiness. It weighted on my shoulders, almost whispering.