Chinese Touch

Chapter 5-Hidden

Hey everyone. Please read and comment. I can tell hardly anyone reads my stories, and it breaks me inside. I put a lot of effort into this, and if no one reads it, well... I feel like there's no reason for me to keep on writing. But there is! For the pure enjoyment of it. So please, comment, or this might be the last Wattpad story I write.

CottonCandy

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Ailong landed in a forest. The green trees created a covering over us. Ailong walked down a faint path covered in fallen leaves from the trees. Every few steps, clumps of pines shed needles over the ground, and they crunched beneath our feet. Ai raked his claws through the dirt once, twice, three times, then took off, hovering a little way above me.

He blew into the small ditch he had made, and liquid fire appeared, filling it. Then, he landed and, after a little searching, found some rocks that he piled up over and around the ditch. I watched on, with no idea what he was doing. Finally, he took to the air again, and blew water into the ditch. It began to bubble, thanks to the heat underneath, and I finally realised Ai was making a bath.

"Get in. Bathe and clean yourself. I shall find food. Don't leave here."

"What is a guard comes?"

"Well. If someone passes, lower yourself out of sight. If a guard passes, hide somewhere. I will find you."

"Okay. Thanks, Ai." Then I leaned up, and hugged his neck. He seemed surprised but, after a moment, put his paw on my back.

After scrubbing at my clothes, I put them on the dry rocks, as clean as they day they were made. Sort of. Then, I began to wash myself. After a little while, I heard a rustling in the trees.

"Ai?" My voice, tentative and questioning, didn't make it past the rocks.

'Ai?' I asked again, this time sending my thoughts to the dragon.

"Yes?"

'Where are you?'

"A long way away. Why?"

I sat in silence, the warm water suddenly not so inviting.

"Ming? Are you alright? Ming!?"

Suddenly, before I could help it, all my thoughts came flooding out. Fear, wonder, warmth, sadness, hate, and in my own words I conveyed to Ai what was happening.

"Ming," his voice distant, and it was only after a minute did I realise he had shouted my name.

I climbed out of the pool, donning my clothes quickly. I heard a smooth, deep voice that sounded so familiar. I realised it was Huang. He had seemed so familiar when he'd met me on the cliff. He was the guard who had watched me as I flew away on Ai for the first time. He was the one who had called out that they would find me. He was imperial, because, I now knew, he was the emperor's chief guard. As I ran, I heard a cracking sound, and realised I had snapped a twig. "What was that?" Cried a voice. The heavy footfalls of the guards crunching over dried leaves and snapped branches alerted me to their sudden presence.

'It's okay,' I told myself. 'It can't possibly be Huang. He can't have gotten here so fast.' But he had. And he was. I saw his face through the trees. "Over here!" His voice rang loud and clear through the forest. He was so close, so close, so close.

I huddled under leaves, finding refuge in a bush. I curled up beneath the dead leaves, covering myself with them, trying to hide, to hide and never be found. Voices, muttering, growling, inhumane growling, coming closer, closer, closer. A shadow passed over the bush, and I cowered amongst the twigs and branches, but it wasn't enough, would never be enough.

The shadow loomed closer and closer, and something reached down. A hand, coming, coming, coming. Huang would find me, and he would take me away. Then the bushes parted, and I closed my eyes to my fate...