One Tail at a Time

Liwei - 4

This Palace is by anyones standards, exceptionally beautiful.  The decor is tasteful and not gaudy like the Celestials palaces, but the presence of maids and footmen at the door, gives it an air of opulence despite the lack of gold fittings and over abundance of silk.  If anything, this is the kind of Palace I envisaged as a child when Zhen Zhen told me stories of the worlds Queens and Kings and their beautiful Palaces.  

Only the loveliness soon wears off, when I am escorted to a chamber to rest and Liweis personal belongings come into view.  It is obvious he has stayed here many times before, because the wardrobe is filled with his robes, there are balms and fragrances on the chest of drawers and even his training gear is hanging on the wall along with a large portrait of him when he was much younger.  It is a typical males room and reminds me a lot of Zhen Zhens chamber, only there is one major flaw with it.  

"There is only one bed." I say staring at it in horror.

"Of course my love, where else would we sleep, but together?" he asks looking at me in confusion.

I know I am naive, I know all of this adult stuff is new and he might actually be my future husband, but even I know that this is getting too ahead of ourselves and the look on my face is obviously against the idea, because his arms are back around my shoulders and he is gently pulling me towards him.

"I'm sorry, I am just so excited that we are going to marry and I guess you are feeling a little overwhelmed." he says with an apologetic smile which does ease my unease, because I really am feeling overwhelmed, everything has happened far too quickly only his enthusiasm is very hard to ignore because it it rather endearing, so I smile back.

"I would never dare take advantage of you my love, I just didn't think, so I am sorry if you got the wrong impression, I think far too highly of you, in fact, we have been friends for so long, that I kind of assumed without asking,   I will sleep in the guest room." he says before lightly kissing my forehead to calm my poor racing heart.

His words seem very sincere, so I am taking them at face value and he does look suitably ashamed seeing as he has just led me to what could be considered a marital bed and if an exploding penis in my mouth is anything like the way he kisses, then he can definitely find somewhere else to sleep!

And the look I am giving him says in no uncertain terms that I really am not going to give him what I also consider precious, Shifu would be highly disappointed in me, and that to me is far more upsetting than his anger which I know will now be skyrocketing having been missing for too long already.

"Thank you.  I appreciate it." I reply a little more curtly than intended but I give him a look that says I wish to rest alone now and I truly mean it, because I need time to think about the predicament I am now in.

"I will leave you then.  And when you are ready, just let one of the maids know and they will lead you out for dinner.  Though if you would prefer a bath first, you can ask them to prepare it for you as well." he says a little hurt by the way I have all but put up a wall between is, but he kisses my forehead again before quietly turning and leaving me with two maids at the door who have not once lifted their heads.

Actually, a bath is exactly what I want and having had the good sense to bring my own dress with me at least, I also have them quickly launder and dry it for when I am done, because I am still in the soldiers robes which I now want off my body. 

So waiting until they have prepared my bath, my mind goes back to the moment Liwei arrived on Kunlun Mountain, before slowly working my way through everything that has happened since and I really can't believe how far I have come in just a few days.  It is an enormous jump from gaining a boyfriend, to now being in the Demons territory and perhaps heading straight into a marriage that no one I know is even aware of.  It is far too rushed and I am scared.  I really do think I have made a big mistake and no sooner is the bath ready, then I have those girls sitting right inside the door to stand guard.