scarlet heart | exo

Farewell

The pain, when it came, was more than she could ever imagine.

She was weak, too weak, and so very tired. She wished that she could just close her eyes, and enter the warm embrace of darkness.

But she couldn't go, not just yet. For her best friends, Wenyi, Huixin and Zhiyu, who frantically urged her to keep pushing, 'I can see his head!' 'Just a little more, Xuefeng!'. For her son, who wouldn't be able to see the world if she gave up. And for her husband, who held her hand in his clammy palms through her every contraction.

With a shriek and yell, her son was born, and the room breathed a sigh of relief. With hurriedly whispered words of congratulations, Wenyi, Huixin and Zhiyu left to fuss over the newborn in a separate room.

Zitao rested his forehead on Xuefeng's shoulder. "Thank you. Thank you, thank you." He whispered over and over again.

But she didn't respond.

He raised his head hesitantly, only to realise that Xuefeng's head was limp against the pillow, wrist weak in his grasp, unconscious to the world.

"Your Majesty!" cried the midwife, prostrating herself before Zitao. "The Empress has lost too much blood!"

"Have you tried everything? Everything?!" He ran a hand through his hair.

He had hoped and prayed for some kind of miracle, and had utilised all his available resources as Emperor to find her the best physicians and herbal tonics that the empire had to offer.

But his efforts were all in vain, and despite being the Emperor, he was reduced to helplessness as Death made its move against his beloved.

"Your Majesty," the imperial physician declared solemnly, "The midwives and I have done all that we can, but the Empress has simply lost too much blood. She is not longer for this world. I have administered a tonic that will help the Empress regain her consciousness for a few moments before—" The physician paused, swallowing. "In this time, Your Majesty, I'm afraid that you must prepare for the worst."

"LEAVE!" he bellowed, and the servants scurried out of the room. He didn't mean to shout at them, but in the face of his anguish, he had no other avenue to express his frustration.

"I'm here, I'm here," he cradled his wife in his arms, leaning her limp form against his chest and shoulder. Xuefeng's fluttered open slightly, as the herbal tonic took effect.

"My baby?" she enquired weakly.

Zitao picked up their newborn child from the cradle from where the midwives had returned him, and placed him into Xuefeng's arms carefully. He waved Honghui into the room from where he had been waiting, and Xuefeng's eyes regained some of their usual sparkle as she held her sons close.

"My children..." Xuefeng crooned softly, kissing each child on the forehead. "Grow up healthily, and never forget to have compassion for the people around you. And always remember that your mother loves you both so, so much. I'm sorry that I can't be around to see you two grow into the great men that you will become."

Honghui wailed for his Mother Empress, not a dry spot on his cheeks as his child's mouth struggled to form words, delirious through his sobbing. The infant Hongli was asleep, soft features the image of serenity, oblivious to all that was happening around him. Zitao watched on, heart silently breaking into a million pieces.

Xuefeng's arms were starting to slack, so Zitao silently reached for Hongli, returning the infant to the cradle. Xuefeng was still tucked up in his arms, and he tightened his grip gently.

"Tao, please, listen to me." Xuefeng squeezed his hands with all the strength she could muster, prompting him to look into her eyes. "I'm not who you think I am. I was not born in this era as Maertai Xuefeng, but 300 years in the future, as Onyx Zhao Xue Feng. I came to you from the future, through a bronze mirror."