A Trial by Halves

Overbearing

Ye Hua wasn't kidding when he informed her that the Grand Hall would be busy so the moment they entered, she was already aware of who would be there for the official welcome home, and though she had tried to remain at his side, she somehow found herself being edged back along with Er Li as his mother and father took up either side to escort him in.  Haode led the procession in of course, but all eyes were on the man in black as his feet took him confidently over the threshold and into the Hall that brought back far too many unpleasant memories.

And for a moment, her mind returned to the last time she had stood in that very Hall glaring in disbelief at his parents who seemed to have lost their tongues and ability to fight for the very man they were now leading back into the fold as if they alone had done all the hard work to bring him back.  In fact, Ye Huas star had been in the sky for dayss leading up to his resurrection,  yet not once did either of them appear on Kunlun Mountain seeing as Ci Hang and Di Jun were aware.  It wouldn't have taken much to have learned from them that he was coming back. 

Now seething that his parents had all but shoved her out of the way, she remained silent as the leaders of the world bowed their heads and uttered a well rehearsed welcome, though she caught the curious stares of several leaders and to her mind, she couldn't help but cringe at the way they were looking at her, as if she alone was at fault for sending him to his death, not to mention walking in so far behind him.  Several of her Disciple brothers had unintentionally found themselves walking in ahead of her, and though they did try to edge back to let her forward, they were now too far into the building to do so without drawing attention to themselves.  

Though by the time they were all in and Ye Hua was finally at the front, her brothers had already moved to the sides of the Hall, while Mo Yuan had taken his place beside Di Jun who was also there with Lord Pua and Ci Hang.

Left standing directly behind Ye Hua and feeling like extremely uncomfortable, the uncertainty rose as to where she was meant to stand.  To her mind, her place was beside Ye Hua, however standing behind him with Er Li at her side and looking more than a little put out at having been forced behind him, she was about to move forward to stand beside him seeing as his parents had also moved back to take their places on his right hand side, when a hand lightly landed on her arm.

Turning, she was surprised to find herself facing Lian Song who was trying to guide her to the left hand side which was the side Mo Yuan was on and the side that visitors would normally take if they did not have a designated area.  Only she could not help but feel incredibly insulted seeing as his mother was staring at her as if she had no place there at all.

The dislike was quickly becoming far more noticeable the longer she stood there, and suddenly she no longer cared.  Snatching her arm out of Lian Songs gentle hold, she purposefully strode forward to take her place beside Ye Hua  while dragging Er Li with her only to catch a glimpse of his mother quickly making her way back towards them.

"Queen Bai Qian, if you would allow me to ...."

"No need." she quickly interjected sharply and though she could feel the heat coming from Mo Yuan, she ignored him too afterall, no one was going to make a bigger scene than she was already making, not with a packed hall, and not to the Queen of Qing Qiu, she thought to herself as Ye Huas head turned back to smile at her.

And no sooner was his hand out to beckon her towards him, having thought she was merely standing back to allow him a moment to enjoy the attention, then she all but threw a scathing glare at Le Xu who had no choice but to return to her side of the Hall while Bai Qian not only stood beside her husband where she should have been, but they then turned as one towards the rest.

Still furious at having been manipulated by his mother, a woman who supposedly loved him yet strangely never showed it, or at least not in her eyes, Bai Qian then assisted Er Li with the succession of bows that followed while trying to also keep up with them herself.  In the end, she merely gave a curt nod to everyone as Ye Hua slowly took Er Li through a ritual she found far too complicated and unnecessary.  In her mind, one bow was enough, and being the highest ranked under Mo Yuan and Di Jun, she soon stopped caring if she was offending anyone.  The curt nod of her head was all she could manage for them anyway, though her head did lower respectfully at the two men whos eyes were on her rather than Ye Hua.