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At five years old, waiting at the playground for one of his parents to get him, Shang Qinghua scuffed his shoes on the ground while sitting on the swing. Scuffed them back, scuffed them forth. He had on a coat, but it was chilly and seemed to get colder with each swing.
That's when he saw him, the boy in blue, pacing just by the tree line where the city met a patch of forest.
Shang Qinghua leapt at the chance to get a playmate. "Hey! Hello!"
The boy looked at him with stormy blue eyes. Shang Qinghua had never seen anyone with blue eyes, except on TV.
"Hi, do you want to play with me? I'm waiting for mama and papa to pick me up. Are you waiting too?"
The boy was quiet, and looked as if surprised to be spoken to.
"You can see me?"
Shang Qinghua nodded. "Yeah, of course!"
The boy was quiet again. He looked away, back at the trees. "You're not supposed to be able to see me. No one can."
That struck Shang Qinghua as really sad. Did no one ever pay attention to him?
"A lot of people don't see me either," he said, "but we can see each other, so that's okay. We'll just have to stay together. So, do you wanna play?"
The boy tilted his head and frowned. "Play what? There aren't any games."
Was this some rich kid that only knew how to play with video games? "You just have to pretend! Like... we can pretend to be heroes on a mission!" He looked around and pointed at the empty playground, "So that's the castle, and we've gotta sneak in."
The boy frowned. "But there's no one guarding it, and it's too small to be a castle."
"The guards are invisible! But we can use..." He mimed unsheathing a sword from his hip, "invisible swords to fight the invisible guards! And then we can fight the big boss and get the treasure!"
"So we are common thieves, stealing from someone?"
That didn't sound very heroic. Shang Qinghua shook his head. "No, no! See, the big boss is a monster who stole all the treasure from people, and we have to give it back to them! Because we're heroes!"
The boy didn't look convinced. "It doesn't sound like a fun game. This one doesn't like fighting."
Shang Qinghua didn't like real fighting, like what his parents did, but pretend fighting was different. Still, it looked like his new friend wasn't really good at playing pretend.
"Well, it doesn't have to be fighting. We could do any kind of game. We can...um... climb a big mountain! Or search for treasure!"
The boy's eyes widened. "Treasure?"
"Yeah! Come on, it's on the top of that big tower!" He pointed again to the playground. "Come on, let me show you!" He took the boy's hand and led him away from the forest's edge and into the playground.
Shang Qinghua taught his new friend how to dramatically climb, pretending that each step was perilous and filled with hidden dangers. Shang Qinghua saw the boy crack a smile more than once as they scaled the play ground, the whole thing narrated by the intrepid leader of the party.
At the top was a slide, but first Shang Qinghua pretended to open a huge treasure chest. "It's got all kinds of stuff! What do you see?"
"I see you."
"No, in the treasure chest!"
The boy squinted and said. "I see...a sword. A powerful one, one that can slaughter all of my enemies with ease."
"Wow, that's cool! Okay, you can have the sword. And I see... I see a lot of gold, and another sword, one that can fly like in the books. Oh, and there's something else- there are two rings!" He put an invisible ring on the boy's finger. "One for you, and one for me. They're magic, and if one of us gets lost, the ring will lead us back!"
"I-" The boy looked down at his hand and touched where the 'ring' lay.
"Oh no, the tower is falling! Quick down the escape hatch!" He grabbed the boy's hand and they went down the slide together. Shang Qinghua grinned from ear to ear. "We did it! We made it out safely with the treasures! Okay, what game do you wanna play next?"
The boy looked down at his hand again and then looked carefully at Shang Qinghua. His gaze was truly piercing! It was as if his soul were being measured by this tall, pale boy!
"Let's get married."
Shang Qinghua gasped. He had seen kids have play weddings at school, but no one ever wanted to play marry him! "Okay! Let's get married! We can pretend that we have lots of red clothes and decorations, and-."
"We don't need a lot. This one will show you. We clasp hands."
Since Shang Qinghua led the last game, his new friend could lead this one. He took the boy's hands, feeling that they were freezing cold. The boy whispered something under his breath, and Shang Qinghua felt a weird tingle in his chest, near his heart.
"Next, we perform our bows. One to heaven, one to our parents, and one to each other."
"Wow, like an old-style wedding! Okay, let's do it!"
Both boys kneeled on the ground and bowed three times- Shang Qinghua's were clumsy and quick and the boy's were slow and refined.
"That's the important part. We're married now." The boy said with finality. "And I will protect you with my life. What is your name?"
"Shang Qinghua. What's yours?"
"This one is called Mo Bai, Crown Prince of Beiming, and husband to Shang Qinghua."
He leaned in and pressed a kiss against his cheek. "It might be a while before we can see each other again. I need to make our home safe for us, because my enemies are great. When we're grown, you'll be welcome in my home, and take your place as my consort."
He spoke so fancily! Shang Qinghua really liked this game. "Yes! Let's be happy together, A-Bai!"
He felt a hand on his shoulder. Shang Qinghua spun around and saw his father standing there. "Aww, is playtime over? We were having so much fun!"
"Here by yourself?"
Shang Qinghua looked, and Mo Bai was gone, as if he had never been there.
~~~
20 Years Later
The King of the North, Mobei-Jun, bowed before the Emperor of Demons, the half-human known and feared throughout the realm: Luo Binghe.
"Junshang," Mobei-Jun said to his liege, "this Mobei-Jun congratulates his emperor on a successful campaign."
Luo Binghe's feet were slung over one of the armrests of the golden throne. He looked over Mobei Jun as if deciding whether or not to humor him or dismiss him.
"This lord knows that it would have been a much more arduous campaign without the help of his loyal retainer. Surely, the King of the North must have some sort of request to make? Some boon he desires?"
"Junshang, the demon realm has grown stable and strong under your guidance and just hand. This Mobei Jun is grateful. Because of it, this one now feels the time is right to take from the human world that which is his."
Emperor Luo scowled and swung his feet to the ground. "We do not trouble the human world."
"This one was unclear. The Honorable Consort of the North is a human, living in the human world."