Spirited Away: Sacrificed to the Dragon God

Four

After that first tea, we made it a regular occurrence to take tea together and nibble on snacks, followed by a walk in the gardens. Sometimes we just wandered about in companionable silence, and at other times we chatted and bantered. I found out that Qing-Yao had a very dry sense of humour; sometimes it would take me quite a while to work out whether he was joking or not. We also had similar views on society, art and literature. We both loved poems by Li Bai. I had surprised that Qing-Yao knew who he was. 'Dragons can read too, you know,' had been his dry response.

There was nothing for me to do in the palace, so to I'd taken to exploring or going on my own solitary walks in the gardens. On these walks I would often see Qing-Yao standing by the pond lost in thought, but instead of walking away I would stand and watch him

Often my feet would lead me to an arched bridge that stood over a stream that ran through the garden.

Several months had passed since I was brought to the sky palace, as I called it.

My mind was plagued by thoughts of my family, which lead to thoughts about my village, then to the sacrifice that the elders insisted on continuing, and the story of the flood.

Why did the storms rage that year? Why did Qing-Yao save my village?

From the tale that everyone in the village tells, he did not ask to be provided with a sacrifice; but he did not refuse it either.

I shook my head; my thoughts felt like they were running in circles.

'What troubles you?'

I turned, startled.

Qing-Yao was standing beside me.

'I was just thinking about my village.'

'You miss your family.'

'Yes, but that not what I was thinking of.'

'Oh?'

'I can't help wondering why you saved my village all those years ago,' I said. 'Surely as a dragon, you've seen countless villages plagued by rains, so why did you choose to do what you did?'

Qing-Yao was silent.

I glanced again at his face. It was set in a contemplating expression.

Finally, he turned back to me. 'It was not a coincidence that I'd helped your village.'

So I was right!

'The storm was caused by my younger brother. I am the eldest and as such he has always been resentful of me.'

'What did that have to do with the village?'

'The village was in our father's domain, and as the eldest child it would eventually fall to me and my brother resented that.

'He is a bad-tempered boy and unfortunately it affects the world around him. He can be rather thoughtless.

'On that day he and my father and another argument and he left our home in a rage; choosing to sulk and stew in the area around your village. It caused the heavy rains which in turn caused the lake to overflow and flood the area.

A young girl from the village about your age went out into the storm and prayed to anyone who would listen. She begged for someone to save the village, even if she were to die. She gave no thought to herself, only the others. I heard her pleas, and I answered them. Unfortunately I was too late to save her.' At this he lowered his eyes, ashamed. 'You could say that the girl who drowned was essentially the first sacrifice, and your village decided to offer a young girl every seventeen years to ensure that the rains do not return.'

'What did you do with the girls?' I asked.

'I find them good homes. But most tend to marry others of my kind. They are very much loved, and have many children. They visit from time to time with their husbands as they are my friends.' He paused. 'I thought it would be my turn this time.' He looked at me. 'But you will not let me touch you.'

Once again I was very uncomfortable with the way that he was looking at me.

'And the last girl?'

'She stayed for a time, as my companion not my lover. She returned to the human world far from your village.'

Did that mean that I could also return if I wished? Somehow I could not bring myself to ask him that. Instead, 'How many of you are there?'

'Dragons? Probably more than you would think but less than we would like.'

'What about your brother?'

'He's married now, and much better for it. His wife doesn't stand for his tantrums, even more so now that they have children. "We have five children, I don't need another one in a man's body," she once told me.'

I laughed at this.

All males must be the same no matter the species, I thought.

I was surprised to realise that the sun had set while we were talking, and the stars were just starting to come out.

Even in the twilight, the stars were beautiful. Looking up at them, it was like they were competing against the diminishing light of the sun.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Qing-Yao staring at me again.

I glanced at him.

'May I touch you?' he quietly asked. 'Please.'

The words caught in my throat.

I nodded, stiffly.

He slowly lifted his hand to my face.

I had the urge to close my eyes, but when my eyes met his I couldn't look away. I barely noticed when his hand finally touched my cheek. But I noticed its warmth. Almost without realising it, I leaned into it.

Then his hand dropped to his side.

'It is late, and you must rest.' Then he turned and walked away.

I promptly returned to my chambers for my evening meal, which was already waiting for me; and my nightclothes were neatly folded on the bed.

After dressing for bed, I sat by the window and gazed out at the night sky as I combed my hair. The stars seemed to nod and wink at me as though they were trying to tell me something.

Just when I was about to go to bed, I caught sight of a long shape that slithered against the night sky like a ribbon dancing on the wind.

I knew it could only be Qing-Yao but he was too far away to be absolutely certain. Shaking my head to myself, I closed the shutters and went to bed.