Noir

Chapter 4 - Retrieval

"Don't you dare touch me!" I shouted, slapping him hard across the face. He instantly let go, and I pulled out of his grasp.

"Jikyung!" He thundered, and for a minute, I was so startled that I just stood there, staring at him in shock. No one had ever yelled at me before, never in my entire life. But this...this was absolutely terrifying. Even though I could not see the soldier's face, I could see his eyes, and they were dark and furious.

"I - I'm sorry," I stammered, my voice small.

"You have a job," The soldier said firmly. "A duty, milady. This marriage means a lot for both of your families. You cannot back away from something that means so much to another. Come with me. I'll take you back to the manor."

He took me by the arm and we began to walk back as tears came to my eyes. I couldn't help but begin to cry, and tried to use my free hand to dry my tears away. I was so close to freedom, so close to actual liberty to choose what I wanted to do in my life, and now it was being taken away again. My heart sank as we drew nearer and nearer to the front gate, and suddenly, he stopped.

"What's wrong?" The soldier said, his voice less sharp and cold then before, by just a tad.

"I don't love him," I sniveled, burying my face in my sleeve. "I don't even know him at all, and everyone just expects me to fall right in love with him and do whatever he wants me too. And his friends, they talk about me as if I'm just a piece of his property, like he can treat me any way he wants." I had begun to cry much harder now, burying my head in my hands.

"Sometimes we must all do things that we don't want too," The soldier said, his voice soft as he looked up at the sky. "But we have a duty to others and to ourselves. I am sure that Yixing cares about you very much."

I tried to console myself with his words, and realized that this was his attempt at trying to be nice. I dried my tears with my sleeve and looked at him intently. "What is your name?"

"My name is not important," He said, returning to his original stoicism. "Your safety is. Look, milady, we're here."

"Let me run," I pleaded, grasping him by the sleeve. "Please, let me go. I beg of you, let me go."

"I can't," The soldier said stiffly as more came to meet us. "I have a duty to my lord as well. Be thankful that you have a husband who loves you."

"Milady," The soldiers approaching us bowed low before me. "Come with us."

I looked pleadingly back at the soldier, who gave me a long stare and finally back at the ground again.

"I'm sorry," He murmured, and I watched him walk away, as I entered the manor again.

My face burned with humiliation as I folded my arms over my night gown. How was I supposed to explain this to Yixing? He had to have known that I had run off, and he must be furious now. Surely, his parents knew as well, and I had to accept the punishment that I knew I would receive.

I was brought into the main hall, where my father and mother in law were waiting. I bowed my head as Yimou stormed towards me, his face red with anger.

"What were you thinking?!" He cried, and I flinched. "Running off in the middle of the night? Why would you do such a thing?"

"I'm so sorry," I kept my head firmly faced toward the ground, my face burning with shame.

"Why would you do such a thing?" He shouted again. "We have welcomed you, a foreigner, into this family with open arms, we have given you food and shelter and anything you could possibly want, and you repay us like this?! You ungrateful harlot!" He slapped me hard, across the face and I staggered back, tears coming to my eyes.

I looked up at him, holding my face with one hand and struggled not to cry. "I have the mind to kick you out of this family myself right now and send you straight back to - "

"Father!" We both turned towards the door, and Yixing was standing before us, looking upon the situation in alarm. I looked up in fear at my husband, as he ran towards us, kneeling at my side.

"Are you alright?" He asked, putting an arm around me and helping me to my feet. I stared at him in shock.

"Why - why are you being so kind to me?" I breathed, as Yixing stood protectively by my side.

"Yixing, what is this?" Yimou scowled at me.

"I am glad that Jikyung is safe, father," He said firmly, his arms still around me. "That's all that matters."

"She ran away - "

"She is my wife, father," Yixing said fiercely. "She has been returned home safely." His gaze turned upon me, and I felt a massive wave of guilt. I didn't deserve this.

"That's all that matters."