A Gentle Torment

Beyond the Gates (Lotus)

She can barely stand.

Hua Ye watches Bai Qian's movements like a hawk, tending to her as lovingly as he possibly can despite his own fears. 

She can barely stand. She's weak and pregnant, and... and in no state to travel for 'a few years'.

"Are you sure she can't stay? Can't you just bring this mystery doctor here? You're such a good healer, Yan Zhi, how come you can't fix this yourself?"

They're taking her away with one of the horses and a small wagon that Uncle Feng made. The idea of her riding has him terrified that it might somehow cause her to lose her children, or worse...

"She can't stay. We need to leave."

"Can I come with you?"

"No."

"How long will you be gone?" Hua Dong finally speaks up, returning from filling flasks with freshwater and packing away a small bag of travel supplies.

He's calmer than Hua Ye by a landslide.

"Five years, maybe seven at most."

"Seven years?" Hua Ye looks at them in disbelief, "No, that... that's too long!"

"Ye Hua, we need to leave..."

Uncle Feng is already climbing into the wagon. He doesn't mention that his name is Hua Ye. Over so many years, he's become used to her calling him Ye Hua whenever she seemed to be irritated, tired, or in pain.

And then they were gone, leaving the two without even Uncle Feng to stay with them.

For the first time in their short lives, Hua Dong and Hua Ye were alone with no one to look after them.

They watch as the carriage vanishes from sight before the eldest clasps onto his cousin's shoulder, "I need to head out to the restaurant for work. Why don't you come with me today and help out?"

o~O~o~O~o

The Forgotten City had been everything and nothing like what she had expected. She knew of the frozen wastelands in the Ghost Realm where they kept their prison and of the lush, shady forest wild with vegetations and hideaways - but never had she expected the city to be a beautiful oasis inside of a large dessert. Bai Qian had known she wasn't well-traveled in comparison to her older brothers, but she liked to think that she was at least well researched to compensate for it as Qing Qiu's future Queen.

Never had she heard of land like this in the Ghost Realm. Admittedly, she was glad they cloud jumped the second they were out of sight from the boys, leaving 'Uncle Feng' behind with the horse and cart and the boys in their hut.

Riding, much less walking, would have taken too large a toll on her body to get here.

Looking at the giant, imposing city gates, Bai Qian squints against the sunlight as gold reflects off of the walls on parts of the decor that had cracked from weathering, time, and being transported across a sea into another realm.

They seemed to have used luminous pearls to serve as a light source at night, but many of the beautiful pieces they'd created from the material were showing signs of needing replacement, or at the very least, more repair.

"Careful..." Yan Zhi murmurs as she helps her towards the city gates. She stops at the transparent, blue shield set up around its walls, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Bai Qian nods, anxiously gripping her hand as she looks up at the imposing walls, "I'm willing to do this for them."

Nodding again (albeit still not entirely convinced), any plan she has is quickly swept under the rug when the guards come out. Pulling out her jade pendant, she looks up at the first guard to come close to them, "I'm Princess Yan Zhi. This is Crown Princess Bai Qian of Qing Qiu. We're seeking Lao lao's help for her pregnancy."