The Tale of Heaven's Pride

Tian Jiao

A young boy about the age of 11, can be seen playing in the ankle deep snow. Playing with him was a young girl who seem to be only 6. The young boy and girl was throwing snowballs at each other while dodging each other's.

The young boy had crop black hair and caring eyes. He was wearing a white-silver robe. He had a sharp nose and swordlike eyebrows.

The young girl had silky black hair and cheerful eyes. She was wearing a robe with a light and dark mixture of blue. Both of their nose and eyebrows were similar to each other.

"Xiao Yue, Stoppp!" shouted the young boy as he hurriedly dodge a snowball before getting hit in the face with one.

"Hahahahahahahaha!" giggled the little girl called Xiao Yue as she watch her older brother get hit in the face by her snowball.

"Ugh!!" grumbled the young boy at Xiao Yue.

"Sorry, Big brother Tian Jiao." said Xiao Yue "apologetically", as she gave him an "innocent and pitiful" look.

The young boy called Tian Jiao gave his little sister Xiao Yue a fierce glare as he wiped the snow of his face. "Just watch me get you next time!" shouted Tian Jiao ferociously at Xiao Yue. Xiao Yue merely shrugged and giggled it off.

Just then, a voice called out at them "You two,it's time to eat!". Tian Jiao and Xiao Yue quickly turned around to look at the source of the voice, it was their mother, Xiao Rou. "Yes, Mum!" they both shouted in unison before giving each other a taunting look.

A few minutes later....

Tian Jiao and Xiao Yue can be seen sitting around a small wooden table with lots and lots of dishes piled on it, they were quarreling while stealing each other's food. Their mum was staring at them helplessly, as she watched the dishes disappear from their plates, one after another. There was barely anymore left for her to eat.

Tian Jiao and Xiao Yue saw the helpless look on their mother's face, before embarrassedly casting a look at the empty dishes, their face reddening each second. "Uh..uhh..sorry?" said Tian Jiao apologetically as he placed some of his dishes onto his mother's plate before shooting a nasty glare towards his little sister, as if saying "I already did it, so you do it as well". Xiao Yue reluctantly gave a few of the vegetables on her plate to her mother.

A few minutes later, the brother and sister pair can be seen sitting on the wooden chair surrounding the table, they were rubbing their growling stomachs. Their mother stared at them before decisively handing a few copper coins to them, with a gentle smile. The  two eyes, of the brother and sister,  went wide with shock, after all that few copper coins are equal to a week of salary to their single mother.

"No, no mum we can't accept this, it's too much." said Tian Jiao clearly surprised by this action of their mother, he then shot a warning glance at his little sister who was staring at the few copper coins with expectant eyes. On his watch, his little sister withdraw her greedy eyes and nodded in a flurry, agreeing to her brother's words but their mother saw her gaze clearly. She then said "It's alright, go buy some sweets to fill your stomachs with this.", they gasped at those words, sweets were a luxury for people like them.

They glanced at each other before nodding and accepting the money, "Thanks, mum!" they said joyfully as they skipped out their house and down the streets to the sweet shop nearby.

They stopped at the sweet shop, and  then Xiao Yue cutely handed the copper coins to the middle aged shopkeeper called Uncle Lan. Uncle Lan smiled at them and took the copper coins before giving out a few candies. He sighed at them and said "It must be hard on your poor mother, taking care of you two gluttonous kids, isn't it." was what he said as he rubbed their heads affectionately.

After, saying goodbye to Uncle Lan, they skipped down the street, back to their house, hand in hand. Suddenly, Tian Jiao froze, stopping Xiao Yue with him, there was the smell of smoke in the air, a terrible premonition filled him but he quickly shaked it off, tightening his grip on his sister's hand. The premonition in him grew stronger and stronger as they approached their house, they saw a crowd of people around their house, fear filled them both.

They pushed through the crowd and froze....