A Trial by Halves

Disobedience

Southern Guangxi

Three months had passed in the Mortal Realm, and the small group of fugitives were still waiting for Di Jun and Ci Hangs return and in that time, Ye Hua and Lian Song had kept the women hidden while doing what they could to ensure they remained comfortable.  Only Cheng Yu was becoming restless.  She was a bee spirit but a butterfly by nature and being cloistered inside a cave for months on end was beginning to take its toll.

"Why can't we visit the market?  I can't bear being here all day with only you to look at!" she mumbled in annoyance at the soft commiserating look on his face that was beginning to grate on her nerves.

"You heard what Di Jun said Yu'er.  Its too dangerous." he tried to reason with her for the umpteenth time even though he too was becoming weary of the cave and just wanting to go home.  But the mere mention of her wanting to leave, had him staying longer than he intended to ensure she didn't.

It was taking a little time for her to get used to that term of endearment, one he had once called her when they had been a couple, and though she didn't correct him, he did notice the slight tenseness in her shoulders.

"But he meant we couldn't leave permanently, he didn't mean we should stay in this cave and never see the light of day ever again." she corrected him for the umpteenth time and this time she was not going to be swayed.  She had to leave, even if it was just for an hour or she would go crazy.

"You know you can't.  My father will have already mobilized his people, and the Mortal Realm will be where they will look first." he tried to reason with her as he stood behind her to massage the tenseness out of her shoulders, only she shook him off her before rising off his bed where she had been sitting.

"Then why don't you stay.  I will take Su Su with me and we will go and buy a few things for the baby.  He has outgrown almost every outfit he owns and of them all,  Su Su never got to choose any of them."  she reminded him yet again.  To her mind, the men may have thought they were choosing garments they thought she might like, but it wasn't the same as choosing for herself and also to her mind, it was just one more thing that Su Su was being forced to endure and Cheng Yu was fed up with it for both of their sakes.

"Besides, it's not healthy for the child to be kept out of the sun, he needs it more than we do." she said firmly as her hand raised to swipe away a stray tear that had managed to escape her lashes.  She was tired of crying and tired of the same argument, this time he would have to chain her down to keep her there and if she had to fight Ye Hua to get Su Su outside in the fresh air, then she would do that too.

Just the mention of the baby was enough to turn Lian Song to jelly and it wasn't the first time Er Lis name had been raised to try and get out of the prison she had found herself in.  But like her, he too knew the boy needed to be taken out regularly.  He was a delightful child and healthy enough, but he was too pale, he also had nothing much to keep his mind stimulated or active, because his mother tended to sleep more than not while Ye Hua spent his days pouring over every book of magic he owned in order to get them out of there permanently and safely, but as yet, there was no movement, because at the end of the day, Di Juns words were law, and he for one was was more afraid of Di Jun than he was his father.

Only this time, he could see it was a losing battle.  If the woman was this adamant in leaving the cave, he would not be able to stop her.  Watching as she walked away to find Er Li, whom she was helplessly in love with, he instead left to find Ye Hua.

The entire cave had only the one opening which faced the ocean, and being built into the side of a cliff, there were no walking tracks, so Su Su was literally a prisoner of that cave.  She had no magical breath to leave the way the rest of them could and like Cheng Yu, he could see how much of an affect it was having on her too.  And though she never said anything, they all knew she was becoming just as unhappy with the situation.