Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A very very long time ago, unusual things used to happen all the time. So much so that, ironically, hearing about it wasn’t unusual at all.

A farmer would say that his neighbor had taken a wife who turned into a fox one day and vanished. Some boys traveling between towns would frantically report seeing fish with human faces. A girl would be courted by a beautiful young man who appeared from nowhere, he’d take her to his home, and then a week or two later the girl’s parents would say he’d been a demon in disguise. 

The usual unusual things.

So at first it wasn’t too concerning when people from all the neighboring towns began disappearing. An old man here, a washer woman there, a young man walking home from the market alone at night… Oh, of course it was a concern, but such things happened all the time. 

But then the disappearances began to pile up.

And unlike stories of people marrying spirits or monsters, nobody had the foggiest idea where those people had gone. It was as if they’d just vanished entirely, leaving nothing behind but their own footprints.

And then one day a child had been taken.

The last anyone had seen her, she’d been chasing a cat behind a market stall. The cat ran back out, but she did not. 

As is often the case, when a child was taken, that was when people took greater notice. That was when they became scared. So maidens began walking close together at all times, refusing to go out without a chaperone. Businesses closed up before the sun set. Anyone outside after dark took whatever shelter they could and prayed to not be another disappearance. And so it went for months, until in one such town, it was just another aspect of daily life.

Gradually, the disappearances decreased, until after a month or two they stopped and picked up again in another village. But still, nobody released the tension they carried about it.

It grew even worse when autumn began to grow even chillier, the nights grew darker, and winter was just on the horizon. Because then…

“So have you been to the forest lately?”

“No…”

“One of the girls says her friend went down there yesterday to try and catch some fish. And while she was setting up her line, this huge bull walked right out of the brush and stood right in front of her.”

“Oh, heavens! Was she alright?!”

“That’s the funny thing - it didn’t charge.”

“It didn’t-?”

“No - according to her, it talked!”

“Wait, are you two talking about the red bull? My girl told me the same story!”

“She didn’t mention what color it was but how many bulls could be wandering the woods?”

Xiaojiao kept her ears tuned towards the conversation happening a few feet to her left while she waited for her friend to finish talking to a customer. The pair were making a few lunch deliveries together, though she doubted they would be out long.

It wasn’t because she doubted his father’s cooking, far from it. But with the food shortage, the dwindling money in everyone’s purses… not many people could afford to buy something these days. It was so odd, it happened right around the time the disappearances started. But nobody could figure out what the connection was.

She sighed, leaning against the side of a shop as she watched Xiaotian gesturing emphatically while he spoke to an old woman. Too far away to hear.

That was fine, the conversation next to her was interesting. Three women were standing together, their voices low but still easily carrying over to her. They all carried baskets on their arms, though they were nearly empty, of course. Xiaojiao tried not to look at those baskets. 

“-it spoke to her?”

“It did! Poor girl was a mess when she made it home, it took me forever to get the story out of her. But she said she was looking for some fruit in the trees when she saw it. She said it told her it could provide both her and her family with food, plenty of it, if…”

“If what?”

“If she came with it as its bride.”

The other two women gasped. Xiaojiao just turned her head, watching curiously. 

“Of course she said no! It was clearly a monster!”

“And with all these disappearances, too… You think it’s the cause of them? Maybe it’s taking villagers off to eat them.”

“That’s what we thought, too. She didn’t even respond, she just ran as fast as she could. Left my good basket behind, though.”

“Oh, a basket can be replaced.”

At that moment, a child approached the women, tugging on the skirt of one in particular. "Māma,” she said. “I’m hungry.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Suyin. We’ll eat at home-”

“But I’m hungry now…”

Xiaojiao’s hand went to one of her pockets, fingers settling over a small wrapped bun she’d taken with her. It had been meant to be her lunch while she was in town, but… “Hey,” she called out, approaching the three women and the small child. “I’ve got something if you want.” She withdrew the bun, holding it out as she bent towards the girl. “Here; we made them fresh this morning.”

“Oh, young lady, we couldn’t possibly-”

“It’s fine, I’m not even hungry,” Xiaojiao waved her concerns off, a broad grin on her face. “Better to not waste food, right?”

The parent and child bowed, murmuring thanks before leaving. The woman’s companions followed her, the conversation dropping now that a child could potentially overhear.

Xiaojiao watched them go, her smile fading. She shoved her hands into her pockets, kicking bitterly at the ground.

If she had more she could give something to all of them. If she had more money, she could give something to pretty much everyone who needed some. If she had more food…

But that was the nature of famine. Nobody had anything.

Even nobility had to move elsewhere, or sell belongings, lest they starve.

Some of them already had.

Her own parents were, fortunately, not in the last category. But they did have to leave the area, find someplace else with food. They’d offered to take her along - practically begged her to come - but she’d refused.

“I’ll be fine!” she had said. “I promise! You don’t have to worry about me.”

And she was fine, but the reality was she hadn’t wanted to be another mouth that needed feeding. It was easier to feed two than three.

But now she feared-

“I saw that.” 

Xiaojiao turned around, seeing her friend standing right behind her. Xiaotian had his arms folded loosely over his chest, but his expression wasn’t upset. He just looked a little resigned, a little sheepish. “That was supposed to be for you,” he pointed out.

“I’m not that hungry,” Xiaojiao said with a shrug, but her comment was punctuated by a grumble from her stomach. “Okay,” she hastily amended, cheeks darkening, “but come on, I thought maybe-”

“Someone else needed it more?” Xiaotian sighed, unfolding his arms and rubbing the back of his neck as he turned to avoid her eyes. “Yeah, I uh… gave the old lady a discount.”

“A discount?”

“Okay, a freebie. But she didn’t have much! I couldn’t-”

“I know. I hear you.” Xiaojiao looked at the ground, moving her fists idly in her pockets. “It’s hard.”

“It’s a curse,” Xiaotian countered, using his dad’s usual complaint. “Nobody has money, food is running low, crops are withering up before anyone can harvest? Somebody is angry.”

Xiaojiao didn’t have an argument for that. Instead, she jerked her head over her shoulder, indicating they should head back. “Let’s just get home,” she said. “The faster you get it over with-”

“-the faster it’s over, I know.” Xiaotian groaned. “Dadsy’s noooot going to like this.”

Xiaojiao thumped him on the back in what she hoped was reassurance.

But as the pair left the crowded center of the town and made their way closer towards home, her eyes kept drifting in the direction of the forest that lay across the footbridge. It was said to be haunted by all nature of spirits, but many people - especially in recent months - still ventured there to look for food, or to gather wood. Even now she could see a woman roughly her own age crossing the bridge to the other side, a basket for fruit on one arm. 

“It told her it could provide both her and her family with food, plenty of it, if she came with it as its bride.”

Xiaojiao squinted, as if she could see the bull the ladies were talking about. But she saw nothing. Only the sun sinking lower behind the expanse of green.

Chapter Text

“I’ll provide for you. I promise you, you’ll have every comfort your-”

There’d been a loud scream, and suddenly he was alone again, sighing in frustration.

Why did they always run? That one hadn’t even waited for him to finish speaking before she’d shrieked and bolted away from him.

Honestly, was the idea of marriage that terrible?

….okay, was marriage to him that terrible?

It wouldn’t be! He hadn’t been lying when he told them he could provide food, both for her and her family. The palace he called his home was magical; even if he didn’t have servants in the kitchens, food always seemed to magically replenish itself in the cellars and cupboards no matter how much was eaten, and it wouldn’t have been any trouble for a wife to send something home via one of the magic trunks.

If he could actually get one, of course.

That was one of the problems with curses and spells. There were always too many rules and loopholes and some of them - like this one - seemed purposely designed to be impossible.

But, the bull thought bitterly as the sun continued to set, that was the whole point of the curse, wasn’t it?

An impossible curse that was never meant to be broken, just something cruel to be endured until he couldn’t take it anymore and was begging the witch to lift it. But once that was done…

No. He was far too proud for that. He never begged, not even back then when the witch grabbed at his face and smiled too perfectly and too falsely.

“Let’s make an agreement, then. You know witches are always bound by their word. 

Let's agree that if…”

The sun finally set. All at once he felt a heavy curtain lifting off his shoulders, so fast and the change so dramatic that it still disoriented him for a few moments. Moonrise was the worst time. It had once been wonderful. But now it was easily the worst part of his day. Because it was only a temporary relief, and even then he couldn’t enjoy it.

Before he finally began sleeping before sunrise, he thought it lucky that his current home was so isolated - the screaming would have sent any potential curse-breaker away.)

The young man bent forward, hands on his knees, hair falling around his face as he regained his breath. Okay. Okay. Go home, eat, sleep, and try again tomorrow morning.

He could do this.

He’d do it as often as he needed to.

There was a burst of flames, and the man was gone.

Dinner was awkward.

Xiaotian’s adoptive father had not been pleased to hear that none of the deliveries had been made in exchange for money, the pig demon almost throwing down his wooden spoon in rage and desperation.

“We barely have enough!” he’d snapped, voice tight. “What are we going to do?!”

“Easy, love,” his partner whispered, hands moving to his shoulders. His own clothes were hanging a little off his frame, more than usual. Tang hadn’t been eating as much as he could have, trying to pass the food to the younger adults. He was still getting by, but it wasn’t going to be enough. “We’ll be fine, it was only one day-”

“One day turns into two, and that turns into a whole week-” A pause. Deep breath. “Xiaotian. I understand your reasons. But we can’t help everyone, especially when we can barely help ourselves.”

“It’s not all bad,” he protested. Reaching into his pack, Xiaotian withdrew a few small dumplings. “Look - one guy was willing to trade instead! We’ll be fine!”

The unspoken ‘tonight, at least’ hung in the air.

The four of them ate slowly, trying to trick themselves into thinking the meal was bigger. Silence weighed heavily in the room, only broken occasionally by a disappointed gurgle from one stomach or the other. Xiaojiao, however, was deep in thought. Her slow chewing seemed to be the result of distraction, rather than desperation, and she more than once found herself lowering her food to the table, forgetting to take another bite.

Nobody went to bed feeling full. Xiaojiao heard another stomach rumbling sadly even as they dimmed the lights and went to their rooms. 

And that made up her mind.

Xiaojiao woke while the sky was still dark, though lighter than it’d been earlier. It wasn’t quite dawn.

Perfect.

After a quick glance outside her room to make sure nobody else was awake (and quietly laughing at the loud snoring she heard), she went to her trunk and carefully opened it. Digging through her belongings, she tossed several articles of clothing out onto the floor until she found what she was looking for. There, folded neatly at the bottom, was a green and white hanfu she’d brought when she first struck out on her own, years ago. It was meant to be for special occasions, and she had worn it every now and then for a holiday. 

It wasn’t perfect, but it would do.

Quickly she washed and dressed, pinned a few paper flowers into her pigtails, and tossed the discarded clothing into a travel bag. She kept pausing, both to check the sky outside and to listen for any signs of activity from her housemates.

They remained asleep.

She took a deep breath, steeling her nerves. “Okay,” she whispered, hefting the bag over her shoulder. Quietly, she hurried out of her room and to the door.

Much as she wished she could have woken everyone up to say goodbye, wished she could explain, wish she could do something other than leave a brief note on the table… she couldn’t.

Everyone, especially Xiaotian, would just try to talk her out of it if they knew her full plan.

And even if they didn’t, there’d be too many questions.

I’ll explain everything later… if I can, she thought as she slipped outside.

And on the table was her note: I’ve found somewhere else to stay. Don’t worry about me. We’ll all have food. Love, Xiaojiao.

Dawn broke as Xiaojiao began crossing the footbridge. The sky, which had slowly been growing lighter, was suddenly graced by a golden spotlight over the horizon, the first of the morning birds taking their cue to wake up.

And then in the distance, she thought she heard the echoes of a scream.

Xiaojiao froze, her hands tightening on the drawstring of her bag. Was there a hunter who’d gotten injured? A demon attack? 

She stood still, listening.

No other sounds came. No more screams, nor any sound that would indicate a monster’s attack.

Slowly, Xiaojiao released the breath she was holding. “Psyching myself out and hearing things,” she muttered, continuing forward.

She’d come this far already, she wasn’t turning back now.

Before long, she reached the forest, trees bathed in warm gold. The air was soft, a little nippy from the season, but slowly and pleasantly being warmed by the sun. A few birds were singing, and she could hear the faint rustling of grass and foliage as the last of the evening winds came through. It was beautiful…

…though the atmosphere was ruined a bit by the various discarded baskets and fishing lines scattered about.

“How many people came through and just left?” she muttered to herself as she kicked one basket aside. 

The further in she walked, ironically, the less discarded items she saw. Apparently most people turned tail and ran after barely stepping foot in the forest… Whether it was because the talking bull was close by, or if they just chickened out, was another story.

snap

That wasn’t from her. 

Xiaojiao froze, heart starting to beat faster. She glanced around, noting how the trees had closed behind her; she’d gone a decent way into the forest. Maybe this was the place…

She slowly faced forward again, squinting through the trees, trying to see-

-ah! There!

“Hello?!” she called out, taking a step closer. 

She couldn’t see whatever it was too clearly, but among the gold and orange, there was a flash of very vivid, very dark red. “My name’s Long Xiaojiao!” she called out, taking another step towards the red. It had stopped moving, but still stood back, so it was a bit hard to see. “I’m here to look for the ‘great bull?’”

There was a long pause. So long that she was starting to think that maybe she was wrong and this wasn’t what she was looking for at all.

But then she heard a deep, rumbling voice. “Well. You’ve found him.”

And with a faint rustling of leaves, a large, vivid red bull stepped out.

She nearly took a step backwards in shock. She’d seen bulls before, and while they were big and powerful, they were roughly five feet tall - at most she’d heard of one farmer having one that reached six feet. This was one eight feet - possibly nine. Now she understood another reason everyone had panicked and ran at the sight of it - no, not it, him. That was a man’s voice it used, opening its mouth to speak like a human. Its horns were sharp as swords, pointing dangerously in her direction, the hooves looked capable of smashing bones to dust. Unusually, this bull seemed to have a mane of bright red, one that was swept back from its decorated forehead. 

And the eyes, the dark eyes that almost glared at her with fiery intensity and intelligence that any human would have.

Okay. Yeah. This was exactly the bull people were talking about.

For a long time, Red Son and the woman just stared at each other. Her jaw had dropped slightly, her eyes widening as she saw him. He was sure his own expression was intimidating, bordering on threatening. Being in this form didn’t allow him much for facial expressions, so she couldn’t see the confused disbelief he was currently experiencing.

He couldn’t believe it. Someone was out this early? Normally when he entered this forest, he had to wait a few hours - if anyone came at all.

But here was a young woman out and deliberately wandering into the forest just after dawn. She had to have been out on errand, or…

Or…

Wait.

What was she wearing? 

This woman didn’t look like the other ones. While the previous women had all been in work clothes or common cloth, wearing their hair either loose or in simple styles, this girl was dressed in finery. She wore her short hair loose to her shoulders save for a top layer, which was pulled into two bunches adorned with flowers. Her green and white hanfu made the fallen leaves on the ground shift when she adjusted the travel bag she carried over her shoulder.

“Ohhhhh by the gods,” she finally said, snapping him out of his slight trance. “You’re - you’re a literal bull!”

“I beg your pardon?” he snapped before he could stop himself.

“I mean - wow, when I heard the ladies talking, I thought you were going to be like. A bull on two legs, or a man with a bull’s head.” The girl - right, she’d called her name, her name was Long Xiaojiao - laughed, running a hand over her hair. “But you’re a literal, actual bull that talks. Ohhhh, gods…”

What was funny about that?

“Hey! Hey, sorry if this sounds weird, but uh…” An awkward, almost nervous, smile appeared on her face. “Can I touch one of your ears?”

….well. She’d gotten over her shock fast.

“What are you doing here?” he asked, rather than answer. “If you’re only here to gawk, then get out and stop wasting my time-”

“You’re the bull, right? The one who’s been asking young women to marry you in exchange for feeding their families? Well…” She shrugged, then held her free arm at her side. “Here I am.”

The world stopped.

She’d broken him.

She’d only just met him and she’d broken him.

After she’d announced her intentions, the red bull’s face had shifted. The brows were still lowered, the eyes were still intensely glowering, but there were some minute changes that indicated she’d shocked him into silence.

Well… that made sense… Nobody had ever said yes to his offer before, she gathered.

“You… came here. To me,” he began to say slowly, the rumbling voice echoing around the forest clearing. “Specifically to me. Knowing what I’ve been asking… To tell me you’ll marry me.”

“In exchange for my family being fed. Yeah.” Xiaojiao nodded once, readjusting her pack. “...unless there’s a reason I shouldn’t?”

“Apart from the fact you’d be married to an animal?” There was a slight snort under his voice; she couldn’t tell if he’d made a joke or not. “You’d have to follow my rules, as you’d live under my roof.”

Xiaojiao slowly raised an eyebrow. “What rules?” she asked.

“Smart girl. I only have two. One, you never. Ever. Break my trust.”

“Easy.”

“Two. You never look at me at night.”

That… was odd.

“And that’s all?” she asked instead.

“That is all.”

“What about the other thing? About the food? You swear you’d keep my loved ones fed?”

“I’m not about to make you keep a promise while breaking my own. If you’re my wife, not only will you never go hungry, but neither will your loved ones. You’ll be able to send food and supplies home, as much as you like, and as often as you’d like, so long as you’re married to me.”

He kept bringing up the fact that this would be a marriage… She wondered if he was trying to dissuade her. Or maybe he was giving her time to change her mind. She was agreeing to marry, well, a bull, after all.

Albeit an intelligent, talking one, but an animal, nonetheless. 

Anyone would have given pause.

Plenty of people never made it that far, just turning and running at the sight of him.

But…

Xiaojiao took a deep breath, and stepped closer. Her hanfu swept the fallen leaves, and as if on cue, a soft breeze kicked up so a few more fluttered around her feet and the bull’s hooves. She craned her head back to look him in the eyes. “Sounds good,” she said. 

The bull snorted, a blast of hot air hitting her face, and turned. At first she thought he was just going to leave her, but then his head turned slightly. “Well? Climb on, Wife.”

“Wha-”

“Unless you want to walk the whole way to your new home.”

“No, no! I’m riding!”

And, trying not to think too hard about how her loved ones would react to her note, knowing that Pigsy would be awake and finding it by now, she tossed up her traveling back and climbed onto the red bull’s back. He barely waited a moment for her to adjust before he was moving forward, and they started to leave the village well and truly behind.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later that Xiaojiao realized, with a dizzying shock, that he’d called her ‘Wife.’

Chapter Text

On the inside, Red Son was screaming.

The shock of what had happened finally wore off, and as he moved across vast fields, all he could think was:

He’d done it.

(thump-thumpthump-thumpa-thump)

Okay, officially, technically, he hadn’t done anything. This odd woman had deliberately sought him out, knowing what he’d been asking and what he wanted, and had made the offer herself. So really, she’d taken this first step.

(thuthumpthump-thump-thump)

But he’d still accepted, he’d been looking in the first place. So. So technically…

(thuthumpthump-thump-)

He huffed irritably, speaking for the first time since they’d started on their way. “Will you stop that?” 

The woman - his wife - Xiaojiao - stopped tapping her fingertips against his horns. He felt her staring at him as she asked “Whoa, could you feel that?”

“You’re literally hitting a part of my own body over and over again, of course I can feel it.”

“Sheesh, sorry…” she muttered. Her hand shifted around one of his horns to get a better grip, but she stopped the tapping. He felt a light nudge against his side as she started to swing her feet, but before he could comment she seemed to realize that wasn’t much better and stopped on her own. He heard a heavy sigh above him, then Xiaojiao shifted position. “How much longer?”

“If we don’t stop? We’ll be there within the hour.” He could get there earlier, if he were in his human form, he thought to himself. But even then, he could burn her. 

He really didn’t want that.

“Huh. Closer than I thought…”

“In a way.”

“Huh?”

“I mentioned the palace is magic, did I?” He didn’t wait for her to confirm or deny. “I can get to it, someone I take with me can get to it, but if anyone else tries to find it on their own, they never will.”

Xiaojiao fell silent again.

He felt her fingers twitching slightly, felt her heel digging into his side. So her silence was out of nerves. She was probably thinking something along the lines of ‘So then nobody can find me.’ 

He felt a piece of his heart go out to her, then. She really had very little clue what she was agreeing to, hadn’t she? She’d agreed for her family’s sake, even without knowing what would happen to her.

“But don’t worry,” he said, trying to sound comforting. “No harm will ever come to you there; you’re my wife, I’ll treat you well.”

“....yeah… I’m your wife…” she echoed, sounding a bit numb.

On the inside, Xiaojiao had been screaming.

She’d thought she’d known what she was getting into, finding this talking bull and offering to marry him. She wasn’t an idiot. Impulsive, reckless, thought more with her heart than with her head, but not stupid. She’d known what would happen.

She’d be taken to his home, now hers. She’d theoretically have to do what he said - she told herself that of course she wouldn’t be meek and obedient, she couldn’t be, but her family’s survival depended on her staying. She might be able to relax once she knew better what kind of….person…her husband was, but right now her nerves were still frayed. 

Not to mention, her husband was a talking bull. Which was bizarre and unnerving in and of itself.

She doubted the god of marriage and matchmaking would ever have foretold this. 

She suppressed a shiver, hugging herself with the arm not holding onto a horn. 

Xiaojiao both had a vague and no clue at all what she was getting into. And now with them already en route to their home, her bravado was fading, replaced by tightening nerves and restlessness in her limbs. 

She thought she’d hidden the shudder well, but then she felt the bull’s steps faltering. “Are you cold?”

“No,” she admitted, slightly surprised by how it was the truth. “You’re very warm.” She’d noticed right as soon as she’d climbed aboard. At first she’d thought he was just warm from the sunlight, but as time went on she realized the ever-present heat came from within him, like he had a fire in his core. 

There was a faint huff of air; Xiaojiao realized with a start that he’d almost laughed. “Then are you hungry? I forgot to ask before.”

“I’m fine,” she said, just as her stomach growled. She went still in embarrassment, forcing out a cough as she tried to belatedly hide the noise. “I’m fiiine,” she insisted. 

“We’ll get to the palace soon,” she heard a note of smug amusement in his voice. “You’ll have something to eat there.”

“Good,” Xiaojiao said, immediately voicing what was on her mind. She heard another huff of air, another stifled snicker. “I’m starving.” 

The word ‘starving’ gave her pause. “Hey - you said my family could-”

“I’ll show you,” the bull interrupted. “Not much longer.”

Not much longer. 

Her nerves reignited.

The first thing she saw was a cloud of mist in the distance. Xiaojiao straightened up, moving her knees onto the bull’s back so she could get a higher vantage point, and squinted up into the distance. 

“Home is through there,” she heard the deep, rumbling voice say. “Try to keep your eyes open,” it added with an air of smugness.

Xiaojiao bit back a shut it. Instead, she frowned as the pair walked forward and slowly entered the mist. Immediately, her surroundings went silver. To her shock, she found that she couldn’t see even an inch in front of her. She tried, looking around so quickly that her hair stung against her face, but all she could see was glistening silver. She looked down - to her astonishment and horror, she couldn’t even see the red bull. Or her own body, at that.

It was a disorienting feeling, and the only thing she had to keep herself grounded was the weight of her traveling pack on her shoulder and the feeling of bone horns under her hands. 

But just as quickly as the mist appeared, it vanished, and her surroundings were replaced by a palace courtyard. Xiaojiao blinked, dumbfounded, and glanced over her shoulder as if to see the fields they’d just left.

But there wasn’t any fields. Nor was there the mist. Instead, she found high, closed gates. “How…?” she muttered.

“I told you. Magic.” There was a pause. “Do you want a ride in, or do you want to start walking again?”

“I’ll walk!” Xiaojiao slid off, landing heavily on the ground. She didn’t want him to possibly hold this over her head, too. With a grunt, she adjusted her pack again, marching almost defiantly towards the front doors.

There was a small sound, almost like a scoff, behind her and then she felt the bull following close behind. She didn’t dare turn back to look at him.

For a palace, the place was small. There was only one building she could see; more like a large house than a palace. Xiaojiao thought she’d have the layout memorized before three days’ time.

She pointedly walked from one room to the next, carrying her pack all the while. The bull - her husband - didn’t follow her, instead remaining in the sitting room. She was grateful for that, the last thing she wanted was him literally breathing down her neck. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised or not to see there were no servants - at least, none she saw.

But then again, she thought to herself, what would a bull need servants for?

(But then again, what kind of bull spoke and lived in a palace?)

She found the baths, tubs already full of steaming water and smelling sweet. She found a door leading to peaceful gardens, with mountains just barely visible over the tops of the walls. She found a library, a drawing room, another sitting room for taking tea, a few more rooms she didn’t know what the bull could possibly use for…

And then she found the kitchens.

And then she stopped. And stared.

The kitchen was bustling, as she expected one would be. Smells of meat and vegetables and spices filled the air and taunted her stomach when she breathed in. Flames burst up around cookware, knives chopped with speed and expertise, she saw a fish being skillfully deboned a few paces to her left.

But there wasn’t a single soul here.

Xiaojiao blinked slowly, unsure she was seeing this right. Was everything moving on its own, or were the staff invisible? She didn’t hear any voices; every kitchen she’d seen or been in had an undercurrent of excited chatter. Here there was only the sound of cooking.

“Oh, good, you found it,” she heard a familiar deep voice behind her, and a bit of hot air on her shoulder. “When you want to eat, just sit in the dining room, and the food will appear in front of you.”

“How…?”

“The same reason a bull talks. Magic.”

Xiaojiao made a noise of annoyance. “What about my family? When do they get food?”

The bull nudged at her shoulder to direct her attention towards another part of the kitchen, specifically to a large door in one corner. “If you want to send a cooked meal, take the food you’re given at the table. If you want to send supplies, go to the cold storage through that door. From there, go to the bedroom and find the trunk at the foot of the bed. Put it inside with your family in mind, and close the lid. Once you do that, whatever food you’ve put in there will appear in your family’s storage.”

“You know what?” Xiaojiao tossed aside her traveling pack and bolted into the kitchen, throwing open the door to the storage. “I’ll take it!”

“Your friend? Haven’t seen her since yesterday.”

“She went home with you, didn’t she?”

“No, I don’t know anything about Xiaojiao. Wasn’t she with you?”

This was the story all over town. Despite her note saying she’d found a place to stay, nobody was admitting to making an offer. Nobody had even seen her.

Xiaotian didn’t know where Xiaojiao could possibly be. She hadn’t even given them a clue.

Heart heavy, Xiaotian headed back home. Maybe Pigsy or Tang had found something.

But when he opened the door and stepped in, what greeted him was:

“Slow down, hon, you’ll get sick!”

“‘m fahn!” Tang’s voice was muffled, as if his mouth was full.

“I said slow down!”

“What’s going on-” Xiaotian began, entering the kitchen. He stopped, staring in disbelief.

The cupboards were open, and… they were almost full. He could see jars of pickled vegetables, breads, jars of still-cold salted meat sitting on the counter, fresh fruits, jars of spices, packets of tea leaves, rice… Tang was leaning against one of the counters, almost frantically devouring a large meat bun, while Pigsy kept one eye on him and one on the suddenly-materialized food. 

“It’s safe,” Tang gasped after he swallowed one bite. “It’s not poisoned or spoiled, it’s good.”

“Where…” Xiaotian began, stepping further into the room and catching the adults’ attention for the first time. “Where did this come from?”

“Not sure…” Pigsy said slowly as Tang went back to his meal, the man looking ready to weep. “Tang heard a noise, and I thought I smelled chicken… We went to investigate and…” With a weak shrug, he gestured to the food around them. “It just appeared in the cupboard and our underground room. Like-”

“Like magic…” Xiaotian murmured, his gaze scanning over the food again.

Xiaojiao had a hand in this. He knew it.

Xiaojiao, where exactly did you go…?

When Xiaojiao had made her first trip out of the cooling room, the bull was gone. And so was her bag, but she found it when she reached the bedroom. So the bull had dropped it off for her… and left, apparently.

She made several trips back and forth from the kitchen to the bedroom, and never saw him. She wasn’t sure where he was, and she didn’t want to think about it too much.

He didn’t reappear when she finally collapsed at the dining table and ate the food that materialized in front of her.

She didn’t see any sign of him when she finished eating and took a bath.

She still didn’t see him when she trudged to the bedroom in her pajamas and flopped into bed. Maybe he slept elsewhere? Or maybe he was insulted. She had just thrown her bag at him and taken off.

Maybe he was quietly furious that she’d shown she’d agreed to this for the food.

Well. Whatever. She was too tired to care about whether he’d been insulted or not. He’d known what she wanted.

As the moon rose, the lights in the bedroom went out abruptly, and she was left in pitch darkness. Xiaojiao’s eyes snapped back open, the darkness having shown from the other side of her eyelids. She slowly sat up, hugging her stuffed dragon (she couldn’t leave home without him) and glancing around. No, no, she couldn’t see a thing.

More magic, she thought to herself, almost disgruntled. I guess he did say I couldn’t see him at night.

But if it was this dark, then that meant…

Sure enough, she heard the door open, and then soft footfalls slowly crossing the room. She stiffened; this didn’t sound like the bull. “Hello?” she called. “Who’s there?”

“It’s me. Your husband.”

Once again Xiaojiao started. The voice’s tone was familiar, but it wasn’t as deep and low as she’d heard earlier. It sounded almost like a completely different person. But it was definitely him.

She heard him walk around towards the bed, then felt the mattress dip slightly. He’d sat down on the edge. Xiaojiao stiffened, hugging her stuffed dragon even tighter-

-but he simply reached over to drag another blanket off the bed, and a pillow. “I’ll sleep on one of the couches. If you need anything, I’m four feet away from you.”

“Wait, really?” Xiaojiao said before she could stop herself. She’d seen the couches when she’d come in, they were much too small to comfortably hold such a huge bull. She expected then and there to find splinters and broken wood the next morning.

“What?”

“Nothing, I just. Sorta thought you’d… be next to me,” she confessed.

If there was any lingering doubt that this was her husband, the snort she heard removed it. “I’m not some common brute,” he said. “And I’m not an idiot. You’re here because your loved ones need food. I need you for… my own reasons. We’re married in the eyes of gods, and we can call each other ‘Husband’ and ‘Wife,’ but I’m never going to make you do things you don’t want. Believe it or not, I don’t want you to be uncomfortable or unhappy.”

As Xiaojiao was processing those words, she heard his footsteps crossing the room to one of couches against a wall. “So…” he continued, actually sounding a little awkward, “if there’s anything else you want, within reason, tell me. I wasn’t lying when I said I could provide for you.”

She said nothing. She just strained to see in the darkness, trying to see him. But all she saw was blackness.

“So. Wife. I’ll see you in the morning-”

“Hey. Actually, there is one thing I want right now.”

“If you’re going to ask for another cup of tea, or warm milk-”

“I told you my name this morning,” Xiaojiao interrupted, hugging her knees. “But you never told me yours. That’s not fair.”

There was a long pause. So long, she briefly thought he’d already fallen asleep on her. But then; “You can call me Red Son. Or Red.”

“Red Son,” she muttered, turning the name over in her mouth. “Okay…”

“Is that all?”

“That’s all.” Xiaojiao slid back down, facing the direction she knew he’d gone. “Good night, Husband.”

She wished there was some light, or that she was allowed to see him. If only to see the look on his face.

Chapter Text

Red Son was gone when Xiaojiao woke up the next morning. And surprisingly, the couch was fully intact. She spent a whole five minutes crouched next to it, walking around to the other side, occasionally shaking or knocking at the wood to see if it was even the slightest bit loose. Or, barring that, if maybe the couch itself was magic, too.

How she thought she was going to detect if a couch was magical, not even she knew. But if it was able to hold the bulk and weight of a huge bull, it had to be special.

“What are you doing?” she heard behind her, as she crouched in front of the couch and tapped her knuckles against the baseframe. Xiaojiao turned to see the red bull in the doorway, looking as dumbfounded as he could. His oddly human-like eyes shifted between Xiaojiao herself and the piece of furniture she was investigating. “Is there a problem?”

“No, no problem. Just admiring the… very sturdy handiwork.” Xiaojiao mentally compared his size to that of the couch. Oh, there was no way he’d be able to comfortably fit on that. And no way it’d still be perfectly intact.

Not without the aid of-

-oh. Magic. Of course.

Red Son gave her a look that was more unreadable than usual. She had a feeling this was his version of a deadpan, unamused stare. After a few scrutinizing and only slightly awkward moments, she heard a low sigh. “I came to ask if you wanted to eat breakfast.”

Just like the day before, her rumbling stomach answered for her.

A short time later, Xiaojiao sat at the table, eagerly shoveling savory congee into her mouth. It was still hot, and she burned her tongue a little, but she was so thrilled that she barely cared. Besides, that was what milk was for.

“You didn’t even change out of your pajamas,” Red Son rumbled from her left.

“I was hungry!”

“Yes, I can see that. I’d tell you to slow down, but I doubt you’d listen to me.”

“Nope!”

Xiaojiao felt a lot lighter than she had the day before, less anxious. A little more free to be her open self. Part of that was probably because she’d had some good meals and a good night’s sleep, which everyone in her family said always solved a problem. But she also thought the other part could be because Red Son really was going to honor his promise, and had proved it the night before: he was going to provide for her (and her family by proxy), he wasn’t going to mistreat her. 

Which was such a huge relief, thinking about it again almost made her feel dizzy.

“There!” she cheered, slamming her bowl back down on the table. She looked towards Red Son, noting he hadn’t touched the bowl of congee in front of him. “Aren’t you gonna eat?”

“...later,” he muttered. “I’m not hungry yet.”

There was a slight undercurrent of something in his voice that gave her the briefest of pauses. But he didn’t elaborate, and she guessed she might have imagined it, or maybe she simply wasn’t able to read him just yet.

They had only met the morning before, after all. 

That thought too gave her pause, and she pushed her empty bowl further away from herself, briefly noting how it vanished before she spoke up again. “You know…” she said slowly. Xiaojiao leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table and tenting her fingers. “The only thing we know about each other is our names.”

“I know you’re weirdly preoccupied with furniture and you sleep with a stuffed dragon.”

“It was as dark as a tomb in that room, how did you see?”

His eyes brightened a bit. “If I say ‘magic,’ what will you do?”

“Ugh…” Xiaojiao groaned slightly. “That’s not fair; you get to see in the dark but I can’t. I think that the magic likes you better.”

There was a beat of silence. “I wouldn’t say it that way,” he muttered. 

And just like that, Xiaojiao realized that whatever light mood they’d had a moment ago, that comment had darkened it. She inwardly cursed, biting her tongue. Turn it back, Xiaojiao, turn it back! “But what I was saying earlier…” she began, slowly, testing the waters. “Was that we’re married now, but we don’t know anything about each other except our names. If we’re going to be living together like this, I think I deserve to know at least a little about you.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, I dunno - what you like to do, maybe? I’m throwing stones, here.”

“I-” Red Son began, then abruptly stopped. Once again, his expression darkened, and he pointedly looked away. “There’s not much I can do. For the past few weeks, all I’ve done is walk from here to the village and back. Before that, I mostly just wandered the palace.”

Xiaojiao bit back a surprised noise. But as she thought about it, that did make sense… As a quadruped, his options were admittedly rather limited. And while she had run all around the palace the day before (though it was mostly just to look for the kitchens, she’d barely let the rooms sink in), what she did remember was that a lot of it… was better designed for a human. She couldn’t imagine how difficult it might be for a bull to try to turn pages of a book, let alone open it. He could probably try to make art - she’d seen such things in cities, trained monkeys or horses who could pick up a brush and dab colorful paints on a surface - and maybe wander the gardens, but… Well, that was it.

Xiaojiao felt a pang of sympathy for Red Son. If it’d been her, she probably would have torn her hair out in boredom.

Or just kicked down all the doors she could find. It was a wonder all the architecture here was still intact, she noted.

She was so busy thinking about that that she barely noticed that Red Son had asked her a question. “Oh, sorry. What?”

“I asked, what do you like doing? Other than messing with furniture and making marriage proposals.”

His eyes brightened a little, once again. Xiaojiao was starting to figure out that would be how she could tell he was joking, or mocking her. 

“Just so you know,” she said, leaning back and bracing herself on her arms. “I don’t offer to marry every talking red bull that comes my way.”

“Ah, my mistake - I’m special then.”

“You know it.” Xiaojiao couldn’t help smiling. Ah, so she was already laughing and joking. She really was feeling better. This felt less like ‘husband and wife’ and more like she was joking around with a friend. 

Xiaotian…

Something must have shown on her face then, because then Red Son was asking, “Did I say something?” He actually sounded a bit guilty. “I didn’t try to insult you just now, I-” he started, his tone starting to turn frantic.

“No, sorry. I was just remembering a friend of mine…” Xiaojiao adjusted her position so she was sitting with her knees up, resting her arms across the tops of them. “This is sorta like how he and I used to talk.”

“...you have someone back home, then.”

“Oh, no! Nooo, no, not like that! No, he’s like - he’s like my brother.” Xiaojiao made a face for a moment, briefly thinking of a time when a man in the market had assumed they were together. The thought had unnerved both of them. She loved him, but nothing like that. “We lived together before I came here - that is, me and his family. I was like one of them.”

“They’re the ones you insisted on feeding yesterday.”

“Yeah…” Xiaojiao wondered if they were worried about her. Her note had been vague… She hoped they weren’t too worried to eat. That had been the whole point of this arrangement. “It’s fine, though. I’m fine. Really.”

Red Son just stared, and she thought she saw his brow ridges raise a bit.

“Totally fine. Here - I’ll answer your question right now, even.” She smiled, holding up her hand and ticking off on her fingers. “I like wrestling, sports, riding - I’m really good on a horse - and I know a bit about weaponry… I read sometimes, but it’s not my favorite thing in the world, and I can beat anybody at any kind of game there is.”

“Huh. That wasn’t the impression I got from you when I first saw you.”

She wrinkled her nose. “You saw my clothes and thought I liked embroidery and painting and the like, right? You can say it.”

“I wasn’t going to…”

“I tried it when I was younger. It really wasn’t for me. Then I picked up a toy sword one day and… that was it.” She laughed, waving him off. “I doubt you have one of those lying around-”

“Actually…” Red Son sounded smug as he cut her off. “There is a weapons room here.”

The question of how a bull could possibly use a weapon was greatly overshadowed by the fact that he had weapons here. “No way!” Xiaojiao gasped, scrambling to stand up. Only now was she actually at face level with Red Son, she realized. Sitting down or kneeling, he was still enormous compared to her, towering over her as soon as she sat down to eat. Without thinking, she moved towards his side of the table, grabbing the sides of his muzzle. His eyes briefly widened but she didn’t notice. “You have to show me!” she gasped, leaning close to him, standing on tiptoe so she could properly look into his eyes. “Please?”

She’d clearly caught him off-guard, because for a second he didn’t respond, just looked at her as if she’d grown a second head. Then those dark eyes closed, and she felt him snort another laugh. “Very well. As soon as you let go of me.”

Xiaojiao released him and took a few steps back as he rose to his feet. She waited until he turned fully around, then jogged up to his side so she was near his head again. After a brief deliberation, she put her hand close to his shoulder. He was toasty, she couldn’t help it.

“You know…” he said as they walked away from the dining area. “I think you’re going to be a lot of fun to have around.”

“And I think I’ll like this better than I thought,” Xiaojiao agreed.

Chapter Text

After the anxiety-ridden hiccup that was the first day and night, and the more relaxed morning, the next week was… genuinely great.

The time passed surprisingly quickly, Xiaojiao noted, the two of them quickly falling into a routine. She’d feared she would get bored, early on, but fortunately she was wrong.

In the morning they’d eat breakfast - though never at the same time, rather Xiaojiao would eat while Red Sn sat with her, and he’d eat when she wasn’t looking. She quickly figured out the reason; being a bull, he’d have to eat straight from a dish, and being a talking, sentient bull, he was probably embarrassed by the fact. She decided to do him a favor and pretend she didn’t notice. 

Three times already, she would remain seated at the table, until more breakfast appeared. Then she’d take it to their room and put them into the trunk to send it home. True, the staples she’d sent the first night would last a long time, but she was sure the gesture would be appreciated.

And her sending more gifts would help assure her loved ones she was at least alright.

(The first time she did that, she tried to balance the three bowls on her arms as she headed a bit unsteadily to the room, only to be surprised when Red Son nosed at one of the bowls and maneuvered it onto his muzzle to help her carry it. It was a bit silly-looking to be sure, but she appreciated the assistance. All the times afterwards he didn’t even wait for her to grab the food, just taking one himself.)

And then for the remainder of the day, while they could technically do anything they wanted, Xiaojiao had a few things she kept coming back to. She’d adored the armory, and the second day was mostly spent with her excitedly asking about this or that weapon, while the bull gladly (if a little haughtily) obliged her. She assumed everything there was too precious and too important to touch - they were in a palace, after all - but Red Son had surprised her.

“If you see one you want, take it,” he’d said, almost off-handedly. 

“Oh, wow, are you sure?”

“Better that they’re being used than gathering dust on the wall, Wife.”

She’d squealed and taken down a sword. For the rest of the week, she made time to practice with it, Red Son watching from the doorway. When she’d glance over, she’d see that he had another one of his ‘mostly unreadable but a minute change to the eyes and brow ridges’ expressions. Specifically, the same one he’d gotten the first time she’d excitedly grabbed his face and demanded to see the weapons.

Xiaojiao figured that was his ‘interested face.’

It wasn’t only the weapons she enjoyed. The two of them would often go to the gardens outside, at least to get some sun. Which was, honestly, one of the only things Red Son could actually do. Everything else Xiajiao did - be it swordplay, reading, looking over the charcoal and inks in the art room, or any of the other things the palace offered - he just stood or sat nearby. 

He couldn’t do much else. Even games were difficult, as he was so big that when he tried to move a go piece or play cards, he ended up moving everything. 

He had to have been bored, Xiaojiao thought.

…well. That wouldn’t do at all.

Which was why, on the ninth day of her arrival while they were in the library, she startled him by suddenly flopping against his side, a glue-bound book in her hands. “Hey. What books do you like?”

“What do I - what?”

“Books. You know. These?” She leaned forward, holding the book she’d grabbed in front of him. “It’s your library, so I figured you collected all these yourself.” How, she honestly couldn’t say. But if he could own a palace, and could talk, and had literal magic working about the place, then he could definitely read and collect books. “I wanted to ask which ones you liked.”

“Why?”

“Because I wanna read with you. You’re probably bored, right? I mean, we’ve mostly just been doing what I want to do.” She shrugged. “So. I thought that wasn’t fair. It’s your palace-”

“Our palace.” They hadn’t had an official wedding, with tea ceremony and gifts and meeting the family, but to Red Son, they were married. He could feel it. Magic.

It was a fragile marriage, and there was something that could snap that delicate thread. But he didn’t like to think about it, and so far his wife had given no reason to make him think it would happen. 

So. Everything here was theirs, not just his.

“Okay, our palace, but that just makes it worse. You have nothing to do around here. I mean, going on walks, or meditating or dozing can only entertain you so much,” she pointed out. “...in fact, how were you not bored? You don’t even have any staff or roommates or anyone besides me to talk with.”

It was an old conversation, but still a relevant one, Xiaojiao thought. Even if he insisted he’d been fine, that couldn’t be true.

“I did- some things,” the bull said, only faltering briefly.

“Like?”

“I can read, and did. And- I like to build…” His tone faltered and faded again at the end of that sentence, much like Xiaotian’s would when he’d said something he shouldn’t have. 

Xiaojiao raised her brows, but said nothing.

And he didn’t say anything further.

Heaving a sigh, Xiaojiao flung herself against his side again. “Okay. Lie down.”

“Wha-”

“Lie down, I wanna lean on you while we read!” she argued, holding the book in one hand and pushing firmly on his shoulder with the other. “C’mon. We’re gonna read about bandits and the people who fight them off.”

Red Son snorted at her simplistic description, but did as she asked. As soon as he settled in the middle of the floor, Xiaojiao walked around to sit in front of him. She leaned back against him, feeling the warmth on her back, and put the book flat on the ground so they could both look down and read. “Let me know when to turn the page, okay?”

“Let you know? Oh, Wife, I think I’ll be reading faster.”

“It’s not a competition! …but if it was, I’d be reading faster than you. I’ve read this one hundreds of times, I’ve practically memorized it.” She grinned up at him, even if he couldn’t see her face too well from their positions.

“You won’t be bored reading it, then? I can get another.”

“Oh, no way. I like coming back to old favorites. I’ll be fine.” She looked back at the book, briefly snuggled against the bull to get more comfortable, and opened it up. “Okay…”

In a hidden palace beyond the clouds, in a space perfectly between the bright of day and the serenity of night, a beautiful young woman sat poring over a book herself. A soft smile decorated her face as she delicately turned a page, nodding to herself at whatever she was reading. 

“Do you know,” she called out softly to the room’s other sole occupant, a young teenager with long hair and dressed in soft palace maid attire, “the best way to keep one’s mind sharp?”

The girl paused in her sweeping, looking over to the woman while keeping her head down. Her own tongue faltered a bit, unsure if she was actually meant to answer or if the question was rhetorical.

“Well?” the woman’s voice rose very minutely.

“No, Lady Yǔxī,” the girl hastily said.

“I thought not… Simple girls like yourself wouldn’t think much at all,” the woman said with a soft sigh. “The best way to keep one’s mind sharp is to keep it occupied. Laziness causes dullness, which causes all sorts of other maladies. Remember that,” she said, as if she’d imparted a life-altering anecdote.

The girl wanted to comment on how obvious the woman’s observation was. To argue that she wasn’t ‘simple.’ To add that she could read as well, as could everyone working in the palace. 

She wanted to argue, to say anything at all.

But she didn’t. Instead, she nodded mutely, biting the tip of her tongue.

“If the ashes are swept up, you may leave,” the beautiful woman said, not taking her eyes off her book. “I don’t wish to be disturbed more than I have been already.”

The girl nearly choked, nodding once. “Y-Yes, Lady Yǔxī,” she murmured, sweeping the remaining porcelain, ashes, and bits of burned hanfu into the bin. 

“And on your way, please tell one of the other girls I need more tea… and please, for her sake, she mustn’t spill it,” the sweet voice called after her as she left the room.

Chapter Text

Day 15 out of 365. A little over two weeks down, and three hundred and fifty days to go. 

Fifty weeks, he thought, that made it sound like less time.

That was much more bearable.

Red Son had once thought that once he’d actually gotten someone to agree to marry him, everything would be easier. Oh, he wasn’t stupid, he knew he wouldn’t meet the conditions of the curse with a pseudo-marriage alone. But he’d just thought it’d be less painful, knowing he had an out. Knowing he only had to last one more year.

But in some ways, it wasn’t. It was worse.

Seeing Xiaojiao readily use her hands made his lack of them half the time sting all the more. He’d not thought of it as much when he was alone, but not anymore. And hearing her talk about her hobbies, while entertaining, made his recent inability all the more frustrating.

Back when the curse had first been laid, when he’d tried being more nocturnal for a bit, he would just work on building at night. Taking advantage of the time he had in his non-cursed form. Then the pain that came with changing back had grown to be too much.

And the room that’d been designated as his workshop had been all but abandoned, everything left to gather dust.

(Xiaojiao had seen it during one of their early days together, when she was still learning the layout of the palace. He’d seen her raise her brows, noting the tools and bits of metal left out on tables, the ink spilled across paper, a spare pair of glasses neatly sitting nearby. But she said nothing.

He wasn’t sure if he was grateful or bitter for that.)

But it wasn’t even just about the boredom. He’d realized belatedly that he couldn’t eat at the same time as his wife did. Well, he could, but his pride refused to allow it. He’d gladly help carry something with his mouth or atop his head, but he refused to eat like an animal where someone could see.

Especially, he realized, if that someone was Xiaojiao. 

A cynical part of him tried to say that she was no different than any of the other women he could have brought here. That he’d interact with anyone else exactly the same as he would her.

But somehow he doubted that. She was just so enthusiastic and lively in everything she did, she had grabbed him by the face her first morning here - he still remembered that! And she was stubborn, he could see that as clearly as the sun, from the moment she flopped against him and insisted they were reading together.

They were friends, Red Son realized with a jolt. They were actually friends, and it’d happened so quickly he hadn’t even noticed. 

It showed in the small things they both did, for each other or together.

Xiaojiao would take her time getting breakfast in the morning, allowing him to eat first without her - somehow, he realized, she’d picked up on his discomfort in having her potentially see. 

They’d talk about plans for the day together, like any pair would. Xiaojiao would ask him his opinion of the book they’d read the day before, and when their views clashed she’d enthusiastically debate him. He’d offer to bring her outside when her boredom started to show on her face, when she’d mutter about how she didn’t think she’d like just reading that day.

The first time he’d done that, he could tell she’d expected them to just go to the garden - the excited gasp she’d let out when he led her through the misty gates and into one of the expansive fields outside made his inner fire flare and spark. They couldn’t go far, they both knew it (well, he knew it, he felt Xiaojiao suspected) but it never hurt to go outside the palace a little.

The curse had said nothing about that.

And while he still slept on the couch against the wall while she had the whole bed to herself, they didn’t go straight to sleep, not anymore.

Now the night started with conversation that lasted at least an hour.

It always started the same way:

“Husband. Red Son. You awake?”

“I am now.”

“I was just thinking…”

And then they’d talk. Sometimes Xiaojiao would bring up a topic he was particularly interested in and spark a long monologue from him, which included emphatic gestures in the dark that she couldn’t see. But he would hear her laughing quietly under her breath whenever he swung his arms out or sliced his hands down in front of himself, so she probably knew he was doing it. 

Maybe her friend - Xiaotian - did the same thing, and she could just sense it.

(It’d been a massive relief, knowing this Xiaotian wasn’t a suitor of hers. He needed a wife, of course, but he didn’t want to break up another couple in order to get her.)

Their talks would go until one of them yawned mid-word, and they all ended the same.

“I don’t think I can stay awake, Wife.”

“Yeah, me neither… good night, Red Son.”
“Sleep well.”

And thus was their routine.

For a while, it didn’t change.

And then it did.

Winter was just about here, Xiaojiao noticed. The palace was warm enough when the fires were lit, and the walls around the garden seemed to keep some of the chill away - more magic, she guessed. But it was still noticeable, in the way she saw her breath when she went outside in the morning or the evening, in the way she shivered lightly when she changed in and out of her pajamas. 

As she slipped under the covers that night, she felt herself warm a bit, but she still needed a bit more. With a slight huff, she twisted the blankets around herself like a cocoon-

-and then she heard the door open, and familiar footsteps enter.

The idea struck her immediately.

“Hey! Hey, Red Son!”

She heard him pause at the foot of the bed, sensed him turn to look at her. “Yes, what’s wrong?” His voice had a slight edge of anxiety to it - she realized right then and there that she never called out to him until he was on the couch. Of course he’d think something was amiss.

“Nothing, don’t worry.” She unwrapped the blankets and sat up, drawing her knees to her chest and resting her arms atop them. “I just had a thought-”

“Oh? Only one?” 

“Don’t make a joke and ruin this,” she said, sticking her tongue out in the direction of his voice. “Listen, we’re married…”

“Yes?”

“It’s kinda cold…”

“...yes?”

“Oh for- come over here by me,” she said, moving the covers aside and patting the spot next to her. She doubted the blanket could actually cover him, but it was the polite thing to do. 

He didn’t move. “I… I’m not entirely sure that’s the best…”

“You won’t break anything, the couch is always fine,” Xiaojiao cut him off. “And you won’t hurt me, I’ll scoot over to give you room.” Another thought occurred to her. “Unless you don’t want to? It’s alright if you don’t - I’m not going to force you.”

“No, it’s not that…” Red Son sighed. “Move to the far side of the bed, please?”

Xiaojiao obliged, grabbing her stuffed dragon and scooting over. She heard his footsteps approach, and felt the mattress dip slightly at the upper corner. And that was it.

Xiaojiao frowned. Was he only putting a leg or a hoof up? “Hey, that can’t be comfortable. Come on up.”

“Wife, I’m not sure…”

“It’ll be fine, Red Son, honest!” she blurted out, still fixating on the possibility he was worried about hurting her or breaking the furniture. All at once, she scooted towards him. “Here, let me help-”

“Waitwaitwait-”

Xiaojiao’s hands found him. 

She froze, a gasp sticking in her throat.

A man’s arm was under her hands. Not a bull’s leg. She faltered, vaguely noticing that he too had stilled under her touch. Tentatively, her hands moved down. The bicep segued into an inner elbow, and then a forearm. Her other hand joined the first, and she felt his wrist, then a hand. She moved her fingers under his palm, and he allowed her to lift his hand. 

A calloused palm was under her fingertips. A man’s hand. Four fingers and a thumb. A man’s fingers.

Time slowed to a halt as she moved back to his inner wrist - she felt his racing pulse under the skin. The rest of him remained still, allowing her to take the revelation in. She moved slowly, one hand remaining linked with his, the other sliding to his shoulder, feeling a collarbone, a neck, jawline-

“What… what is-” she began, turning her head towards one of the end tables, as if she were looking for a candle or a lantern.

“Don’t look at me, Xiaojiao,” he interrupted sharply. Then she heard him clear his throat. “Don’t look at me,” he repeated, calmer this time. “You promised not to look.”

“Is this why you told me not to?” she asked. Her hand faltered on his jaw (sharp, she noticed as her fingers stilled over it, an angular face) before tentatively moving higher. He didn’t resist as her hand settled over the side of his face. It felt like any other man’s face… Why couldn’t she see him? What did he not want her to see?

It was him, she knew that. His voice changed every night, but she had always known it was him. The human-shaped person she was touching and the huge bull she saw in the day were one and the same.

I guess this explains why the couch is unscathed, she thought, almost hysterically.

It took a few moments for her to realize he was talking again.

“-ife?...Xiaojiao? Are you alright?”

“Huh? Oh. Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine,” she said numbly. Swallowed. “I’m fine.”

“If you’re… uncomfortable, I can leave-”

“I’m not uncomfortable!” she blurted out, too loud. “I’m just - I’m surprised. I wasn’t… expecting…” She let go of his hand to gesture vaguely at him. “This.” At least she assumed the rest of him was as human as his arm and face felt.

Unless he was like. A smaller bull below the torso or something.

“Was it supposed to be a secret?” she followed.

“I’m… not sure,” she heard him confess. “It wasn’t supposed to be, at first, but then…” She felt him shrug. 

“...am I still not allowed to look at you?”

“Under any circumstances.”

Xiaojiao contemplated it a bit, the hand not on his face returning to the mattress. The flesh under her hand felt like hers, or Xiaotian’s, or Tang’s. And still very warm. 

She didn’t know why she couldn’t look. What could he possibly not want her to see.

But it was still him.

Her husband, and her friend.

He was fine.

“...You still want to sleep in here?” she said at last, patting the mattress. “I mean - it’s still you. This changes nothing. Actually,” she added with a shrug of her shoulders and a wry smile, “this is a little better, because I was expecting to be sleeping next to a huge bull and was worried about what to do with the blankets, so this works out better!”

If there were any lingering doubts, the familiar laugh dispelled them all.

A minute later, Xiaojiao rested her head against a very human chest, wrapping her arms around a very human torso and holding him securely against the night chill. She heard the heart under her ear skip a beat before subtly speeding up, but the surprised adrenaline was rapidly wearing off and leaving her too tired for their usual conversation. “Good night,” she mumbled.

There was a pause, and a human hand rested on her upper back.

“Good night, Xiaojiao.” 

Chapter Text

It was the scream that woke her up.

Xiaojiao shot upright, looking around the dawn-lit room wildly. Very dimly, she realized she was alone in the bed now, her husband gone. 

And then the sound properly registered: a scream that seemed to be forcibly yanked out from the owner, roughly and abruptly deepening and becoming raspier.

And it was pained.

It only took a half second for her to react, though it felt longer. In the blink of an eye she grabbed a short sword from under her pillow, leaped out of bed, and ran barefoot down the hall. 

It turned out she didn’t have to run very far. As soon as she turned a corner (skidding about a foot as she did so) she saw the red bull, tensed and hunched over. From where she stood she could hear strained breathing, and she swore she saw his legs trembling faintly.

Worry gripped her heart, and she ran towards him, lowering the sword back to her side. “Red Son?”

The bull stilled. “Don’t come closer.”

“Why? Are you hurt? What happened?” she demanded, ignoring his initial order. She reached his side and knelt down to be nearer his head. “Red?” When she put a hand on his shoulder, she felt the muscles jump slightly, as if he’d barely managed to suppress a flinch. 

He might have managed to not physically react, but a shout was torn from him before either of them realized. “I said don’t come closer!” he roared.

Then realized what he’d done.

That touch on his fur withdrew sharply. Red couldn’t bring himself to turn to look at her, to look at her face. But he could easily imagine it; she wouldn’t look heartbroken or scared, he already knew Xiaojiao wouldn’t react like that. Instead, she’d look angry. He could feel her gaze on him, intense and scrutinizing. She must be furious.

A tiny part of him felt a surge of shame for screaming at her - at his wife. But the rest of him was still reeling from the pain of the transformation and couldn’t spare any other thought. 

Then he heard movement next to him, and sensed her getting up.

Then he heard her leaving.

….ah.

He’d done it now. 

It had to happen eventually.

He’d held it together for two weeks. Something had to give eventually…

As the pain faded and left him exhausted instead, he thought back to what the witch had said back then.

How she had been right after all.

“My Prince, I seek a boon. Do I have your word that you’ll grant it?”

That wasn’t unusual; mortals and immortals alike would come to each other for a favor, an assist, or in some cases a request for revenge. Some mortals would actively seek a demon, rather than a spirit or a god. Everyone had their own reasons, many didn’t care to ask for motive or details.

The part that was unusual was that this one was asking him for a favor.

Oh, he could grant someone pretty much anything. He knew with every fiber of his being that he could. 

But nobody had sought his favor yet. He’d only left his family home a short time ago, living on his own for a scant few years. Not a lot of time for a mortal to consider him for a favor beyond a guide through the mountains, or permission to pass by safely.

Especially not a mortal woman.

But this one had, appearing at the door as if the mist had just scooped her up and planted her there.

(And later, he’d start to wonder if that had been what had happened.)

“That depends on what you want,” he said bluntly.

It was the safest answer he could give. He knew mortals with power like hers could, and would, hold anyone they spoke to by their word, exactly as it was said. Words had such power.

And there were too many stories of people and demons who had simply said ‘yes’ without hearing the request, and had suffered terrible consequences. And saying ‘no’ was equally dangerous.

The pretty girl in front of him, clad in gold and black finery with flowers scattered through her hair, just smiled. It wasn’t a pleasant smile, but a knowing one, acknowledging that they both knew the rules so to speak. “Only a trifle, really,” she said evasively. “And certainly not one that’d be too difficult for yourself…”

“Nothing is too difficult for me,” he interrupted. 

“And if you should refuse, I ask for the chance to plead my case.” That smile grew ever so slightly wider.

He huffed. “You may. If you stop evading the question and tell me what your request is.”

Her eyes gleamed a bit. She took a step forward, grabbing one of his hands. “My prince, I seek you, ” she said quickly. “I seek to marry you.”

“What?” he blurted out before he could stop himself. The temperature rose, he saw sparks in his peripheral vision. Suitors weren’t unheard of, but this woman - this mortal woman - simply marching up and– “You forget yourself,” he snapped, tugging his hand away sharply. The woman tried to reach for him again, but he took another step back. Not because of fear, but because he didn’t want this strange, presumptuous woman grabbing his hand or sleeves more than she already had. “You don’t know to whom you speak-”

“But I do, My Prince. And I assure you, none is more worthy than myself!” The woman stepped forward, reaching for his sleeves, either ignoring or not noticing when he held himself out of reach. “I have a palace of my own, I know magic and spells, I’ve learned to halt the growth of vegetation and learned to command the very mountains themselves, without even needing to prolong my own life in order to learn such things! I’m only twenty-three winters, and I’m already so powerful; imagine how much more I’ll be in another ten years. Imagine how much I can offer you as a wife - I could raze the mountains or elevate them as you see fit, I can use my powers to make the entire country our personal kingdom.”

Red narrowed his eyes. “If you’re so powerful, why come to anyone at all?”

“Do I need a reason, aside from just wanting companionship? I’ve seen many immortals and mortals alike, My Prince. Celestials, demons, spirits, and out of all of them, I easily like you the best.” She continued to smile, stepping closer. “And if I may be bold, none have been nearly as handsome as you.”

Normally he’d have preened under the compliment. 

But something about this woman bothered him. And not just her lack of respect for personal space. 

Quite simply, he didn’t like her. 

“My answer is no,” he responded, voice low. “Leave.”

“My Prince, you agreed to give me a chance to appeal.”

“And you did. Now leave, before I chase you out.”

“Oh, but I haven’t! I only explained my motives for the proposal.” Suddenly she was leaning in, too close, too quickly, and her perfume tickled his nose. Before he could make his limbs move to push her away, or burn the hem of her hanfu and scare her off, she was whispering directly into his ear.

“You ought to reconsider my proposal… because after this spell, nobody else could possibly marry you, or see you in this form again.”

And then she’d stepped back, and he’d changed.

It had been blackmail. That was what this curse was.

Nobody could see him in his usual form but her. All anyone else could see was a large bull. She’d given him a way out, but she had done so fully believing he couldn’t do it. The way out had only been offered because every spell and curse needed one.

“One year,” she had said, his memory of her voice so strong it was almost as if she were whispering right next to him at that moment. “If, by some miracle, someone agrees to marry you, and doesn’t see your nightly form for one year, then all my spells will be undone.”

“All of them - what else have you done?”

“Until then, you’ll be in this form by day. And the surrounding villages will suffer along with you.” She had smiled then, a maddeningly calm smile. 

The famine, he’d realized.

“If you change your mind and want everyone to be freed sooner, just say so.”

He could have agreed.

But he was too proud.

And she was too cruel. 

And besides, for the past two weeks now, he thought he could make it. He’d brought a woman back, a woman who’d agreed to the marriage. Who hadn’t looked at him. He’d managed to keep himself calm and collected, had kept mostly out of her way, had let her do what she wanted… Everything was fine…

But then he’d slipped up. Normally, when they shared a room together, he’d wake up well before dawn, go to his own room, and fall back asleep. Then the transformation would occur and he’d sleep through it, or only wake up with the fading aches that could be managed. But this time he’d slept right next to her - no, more than that, he remembered, she’d been half curled over him with her head on his chest. And he’d been so comfortable this time he’d slept later than he normally had, and needed to quickly untangle himself from her before she woke up and saw him and this ruined everything-

-but he’d ruined it just now, hadn’t he? He’d shouted at her, when she’d clearly just been concerned.

She must have left now, he thought. Gotten dressed and left because he wouldn’t blame her, he’d have done the same-

Suddenly his ears twitched. Footsteps.

Xiaojiao was back, and kneeling next to him.

“O- kay,” she said firmly, setting something on the floor. He smelled hot water, some herbs from the kitchen. Was that where she’d gone. “I get that you’re in pain. But if you want my help with this…” Red’s heart skipped a beat before he realized that ‘this’ was in reference to his aches, not the curse. “Then you’re going to need to not shout. Got it?”

“...sorry.”

“I get it.” There was the sound of cloth shifting, and then water. She must have brought a rag with her. “I do. My friend, Xiaotian? One of his dads has a bad back, and sometimes it makes him yell. So I get it. But let’s keep that to a minimum if we can, okay?”

A hot, damp cloth pressed onto his shoulder. He recoiled, hissing between gritted teeth - only for a second, before he melted under it. 

“Feels great, right?” Xiaojiao sounded proud. “This is what we do for Xiaotian’s dadsy - me, him, and his other dad. So I’m pretty good at it.” Her knuckles pressed into the muscle under the cloth, undoing some of the tension. “Does this happen every morning?” she asked, almost casually.

“Not usually this bad. I can handle it.”

“Hm. You shouldn’t have to, not by yourself… I see why it happens though. You’re pretty big, you’ve got a lot of tension around here… I can see the muscles would ache a lot after a while.”

That’s not entirely the reason, he wanted to say, but he bit his tongue. Red didn’t know if telling her about the curse was against the magic’s laws, but he didn’t want to risk it. 

He knew that she knew he transformed. But she might still think it was of his own volition. She hadn’t figured out that it was a curse yet. 

At least he was pretty sure she hadn’t.

…with luck, she wouldn’t until the year was up.

Red heard Xiaojiao humming an upbeat tune to herself as she dug into his muscles with the steam assisting her in loosening the knots they were in. 

She hadn’t actually left. She’d recognized he was hurt, and while she had expressed her distaste at him shouting at her, she’d still stayed to help. Accepted the muttered apology.

…he full believed she’d stay the year.

Chapter Text

“That’s impossible!”

“And yet…~” Xiaojiao began in a lilting voice, leaning back and idly rattling some captured go stones in her hand. “Here we are~”

“I observed carefully! I saw all possible moves-”

“All but the one I played, apparently.” She rattled the stones again.

There was a frustrated growl across from her, but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. This kind of raised voice, this was fine.

Things had changed after Red’s outburst in the hall. Xiaojiao noticed that he was far more relaxed and open around her now - he had been before, of course, but this was actually different. In the two weeks that followed their interaction in the hall that morning, he’d gotten more… vocal, she figured it was. He was a lot more passionate, talking more often, allowing his voice to raise in excitement. Speaking in such a tone that she sensed if he had the use of arms, he’d be gesturing emphatically with them.

And he did, too, as she discovered one night when their conversation had turned to something that particular interested him. She’d mentioned the bicycle she used to ride, and how she’d built it on her own, and suddenly he’d been very close to her face and was excitedly asking how she’d done it, what tools had she used, did she want to improve it-

And while he was telling her about a bicycle he’d made himself once, he’d apparently been gesturing wildly with his arms, because suddenly she was getting smacked hard in the chest with the back of his hand.

It hadn’t hurt, only startled her, but the impact combined with her startled “oof!” had made him stop, and he’d begun frantically apologizing and asking if he’d just hurt her.

Of course he hadn’t, but the sudden shift was… adorable, actually.

And in the day, he retained that same passion and habit of speaking loudly, or rambling. It was as if a veil had lifted, honestly. This was his real self, he wasn’t trying to hide or close himself off.

And it was no less endearing, she thought.

Actually, she liked him even more now.

The two had taken to staying up later, after Xiajiao realized his form changed at night. It wasn’t fair, she’d privately reasoned, expecting him to fall asleep immediately after being able to use arms. She still couldn’t see what he looked like, he was adamant on that, but they didn’t need to see in order to talk to each other.

And sometimes, like tonight, Xiaojiao lit one small candle that gave off just enough light to illuminate a game board, and they’d sit atop the bed and play. She’d be lying if she said she wasn’t curious about who sat across from her, if there wasn’t the temptation to try and see him. But she resisted. He had his reasons, she had to respect them.

Even if it meant courteously shutting her eyes whenever he made a move, so she wouldn’t see what his hand looked like. 

They had just finished one such game just a few moments ago, in fact.

There was a slapping sound, as if Red had just hit his palms against his knees. “I was observing the board very carefully! There was no way you could have-”

“You left this space wide open,” Xiaojiao laughed, pointing to a part of the board. “You got so busy trying to counter me that you forgot the big picture.”

“I-!” He abruptly cut himself off. It was easy for Xiaojiao to imagine him opening his mouth to argue further, then closing it in frustration. She grinned wider at the thought. “Fine. I admit defeat.”

“I told you I was good at games,” Xiaojiao laughed. She moved her hand for the bowl she’d kept her stones in, but paused. “Do you want to do another, or-”

“No.”

“Ah, I see, you’re worried I’ll beat you again.” She stuck her tongue out between her teeth.

“I’m simply tired, nothing more.”

“Sure you are, dear Husband,” she chuckled, dropping the stones into the bowl. She made it a point to look away from the board, the only thing that was illuminated in the pitch-black room. There were sounds of stones scraping wood and then clattering as Red Son helped clear the board. She still didn’t look as she asked “You want me to get the candle, or-”

“I can do it.” 

The flame went out without the candle even moving. He didn’t need to blow it out or even pinch the candle wick between his fingers, somehow the flame always went out entirely on its own.

…which, Xiaojiao considered as she felt the go board being taken away and set elsewhere, was the least fantastical thing at work here.

As Xiaojiao crawled up the length of the bed to get under the covers properly, she felt a dip in the mattress that indicated Red had started to do the same. What came next was automatic to them now; Xiaojiao slid under the blanket, turned around, and scooted closer to the warm figure beside her, shoving her face against his chest. Winter had settled in, bringing frost and crystals in the mornings and evenings and an increased chill, so Red’s warmth was highly appreciated.

Of course, that wasn’t the only reason she liked to get so close.

“I’ll win tomorrow,” she felt him mumbling against her hair. “Just watch.”

“Uh-hm… Sure, you will,” she retorted, then grinned. “I thought you said you were tired. Aren’t you going to sleep?” she teased.

“I’m not so tired I can’t converse with my wife.”

Something about the way he said it sent tiny sparks up her spine. She pushed the feeling back, instead opting to press even closer to him under the pretense of being cold still. “I’ll still win,” she muttered, desperate to think of something else. 

“Keep rubbing in your victory, and I’ll send the go board back to your friends’ house.”

Xiaojiao couldn’t stop the laugh that bubbled out, and she felt Red Son’s body tremble a bit with his own suppressed laughter. But the mention of her friends, brief as it was, was sobering. “I hope they’re alright,” she admitted quietly. Her hands, resting against his chest, curled into fists, taking the fabric of his pajama shirt into them. “I send something back every day, hoping it’s enough. And honestly, if I know Xiaotian and his parents, they’re probably feeding the whole village with the food I send. But…”

“They’re alright,” Red insisted. She felt an arm go around her and draw her close, as if he meant to hug her. “I’m sure of it.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“If they’re anywhere near as stubborn and strong-willed as you?” Xiaojiao made a noise of protest as she felt a flick in the middle of her forehead. “Then you’ve nothing to worry about.”

Red Son was right. 

Far away and yet quite near, Xiaotian stared out the window, towards the forests and mountains. Towards where he was sure Xiaojiao was, though where exactly he didn’t know.

She was alive. He and his parents knew that much. Every day, something new would appear in their cupboards, or the cold room. More staples, meat and produce, or as the days began growing colder, actual prepared meals. 

All three of them were eating well despite the famine. All three of them were regaining the weight they’d lost. And all three of them were indeed giving away food.

Even if Pigsy grumbled and huffed, so many children were approaching his shop with empty pockets and still leaving with full bags of snacks, or invited in for a bowl of soup. And Xiaotian and Tang both were making a habit of packing as much as they could, riding to the market, and splitting up to share what they had with their fellows.

“I heard something, Xiaotian,” Tang had said quietly that day, as they returned home. “One of the women said there’d been a bull offering food in exchange for a wife. I think-”

“I know,” Xiaotian admitted, voice heavy. And then: “She’s alive. She’s the one sending everything back.”

“...I know.”

Nothing more had been said until they returned home for dinner, which was finally, mercifully, able to satisfy everyone.

She was alive, Xiaotian told himself again. She was alive, and she was safe.

Chapter Text

The sparks got worse.

Or, better, from a certain viewpoint.

Xiaojiao, for her part, chose to see them as getting ‘better.’

Because those sparks felt nice.

She felt rather comfortable, happy. She felt more secure and at-ease than she had since her arrival to the palace. If she had to describe it, she’d say it was a lot like being at home, but… not. Different. Not better, per se, but on a different level. 

And of course, there were the sparks.

The sparks would flare up during little moments, or little touches.

Their hands brushing against each other in the dark? Made sparks dance up her spine and under her fingertips.

Talking about something from back home in the village, or about the bicycle she had, or her loved ones, then turning to see he was watching while listening? Sparks.

Hearing him laugh, earnestly and out of genuine amusement, at bedtime? Sparks.

Tripping over the hem of her hanfu and taking a tumble, only for the bull to suddenly move his head down to catch her while taking care with his horns? Made warmth swell in her chest, and automatically made her mouth curve into a grin as she put a hand on his face while thanking him for the save. And of course, sparks lit up under her palm when it briefly slid up towards his ear.

If he noticed anything was off with her, he didn’t comment on it. One thing she’d learned about him in the time she’d stayed here, dignity was important to him.

(Whether he always had it, of course, was another story, she remembered, biting back a laugh.)

Something had changed, and it was so slowly he hadn’t noticed it until it was glaring at him.

Xiaojiao had been in the palace for a month and a half now. They had settled comfortably into their new life, with a new routine. Red still had to leave the bed before Xiaojiao woke up, but - as if she knew he had to even in her sleep - she wouldn’t cling so tightly to him anymore, and instead would roll over to her other side with only the faintest of mumbles. Winter had settled as well, now, so he had to stop and throw on a second blanket so she wouldn’t miss her ‘favorite source of warmth’ too much. But it was fine.

It was fine, he told himself once when his hand lingered on her shoulder before he had to leave, to change back.

It was fine, he told himself again when Xiaojiao laughed so hard that she snorted and he felt pride for making a joke that witty and clever.

It was fine, he told himself when she touched the side of his muzzle and grinned up at him, and the inside of his chest seemed to catch fire.

He’d hoped he would like his wife, back when he was still searching for one. He’d settle for tolerating her, but he’d been hoping he’d like her at least.

He hadn’t quite counted on this.

At first, she wondered if there was something wrong with her. Maybe that was why she felt so strange at times.

But then there was the morning of the first snowfall, when she stood at the window to watch. The sun had risen, reflecting gold and icy blue against the ice and the fresh powder on the ground. Her breath fogged in front of her face and she admired how it looked among the snowflakes.

And then she’d heard familiar footfalls, and felt a presence behind her. 

“It’s snowing,” came Red Son’s voice, made deeper and rumbling by his bull form. Xiaojiao stepped to one side so he could look out with her, but then made the mistake of turning to look at him.

She’d seen him many times, of course, but this time, something was just. Different. 

His eyes, she thought a few seconds later, realizing what she was staring at. His strangely-human eyes despite his large bull form. The way he looked, as if he was concentrating or focusing very hard on something. 

She didn’t know what it was. She’d seen him many times before, she’d seen his eyes many times before, this shouldn’t have been any different.

But after weeks of sparks under her skin when they touched, of a lightness in her chest when they shared a particularly good laugh, of feeling herself automatically smiling when they talked at night… Something really had changed.

…she knew exactly what it was.

Red wondered if there was something wrong with Xiaojiao. He had seen her standing at the window that morning, watching the snow fall. He had already changed back into his cursed form, and so he had no qualms approaching her.

But he’d noticed, in his peripheral vision, that when she’d turned to look at him she had suddenly stiffened. He vaguely noticed her staring, eyes briefly flitting across his face, then abruptly turned her head to look back outside. It was so quick, done in an instant, but under her gaze it felt like eternity. 

He wanted to ask what was wrong, but then she was grinning, clapping her hands together loudly, and asking about breakfast.

Or maybe the problem was him, he realized that night after transforming again. Maybe she had finally realized she had married what the village all thought was a talking, shape-shifting bull and she was regretting her decision. Maybe she was just waiting for the right time to ask to go home.

The thought, strangely enough, made his heart sink. He didn’t want her to do that…

But then he entered the bedroom and his worries were swiftly alleviated. 

“Red!” he heard Xiaojiao’s voice from the bed. “There you are. I thought you’d gotten lost,” she quipped.

“Why would I-”

“You were taking forever. I was about to get up and go find you.” He heard the laughter in her voice.

“...apologies, I didn’t realize I’d been gone so long.”

Xiaojiao made a noise of affectionate exasperation. “Hey, just come up here, okay?”

Red did as she requested, noting the lack of a game board. So she didn’t want to play a game tonight; that was fine with him, he liked talking to her just as much as he liked playing with her.

But then Xiaojiao did something unexpected. He felt her snuggle against him, quickly and firmly wrapping her arms around his upper body, head tucked into the space between his neck and shoulder. That itself wasn’t odd - Xiaojiao often fell asleep like that, using him as a replacement for her stuffed dragon half the time. But she’d never done it so fast before.

“Xiaojiao?” she heard above her head, uncharacteristically awkward. “What-”

“Red,” she began, grinning. “Husband. I really like you.”

Under her arms, she felt his heart skip a beat, then speed up.

“You-”

“Like, the way wives and husbands are supposed to like each other,” she smiled, getting comfortable. She felt his arms twitch, as if he’d been about to raise them and then stopped.

“You… you don’t even know what I look like…” 

She moved one arm so she could move her hand to his face. Settled it over his cheek, feeling the skin under her palm. She couldn’t see him, but she could feel the edge of his jaw, feel where his ears connected to his head, felt a few locks of hair under her fingers. She had seen his eyes in the day, in his bull form, she could easily imagine them now. 

“I don’t need to,” she assured him, pressing her face against his neck. “I really don’t.”

There was a bit of hesitation, and then she felt his arms raise up and wrap around her, much like the way they did the first time they shared the same bed. This time, he held her to him even tighter.

“...I really like you, too.”

“Like a husband’s supposed to?” she half-teased.

The laugh that rumbled in his chest made the sparks fly up her spine, more so when he held her even closer. “The way a husband is supposed to,” he confirmed, one hand gong to her face.

And then he drew her towards him. 

Chapter Text

Xiaojiao woke up and, at first, thought Red had gone as usual. 

Then she registered a slight weight on the bed, and a source of warmth.

Xiaojiao rolled over under the blankets, and saw Red Son had come back into the room in his bullform and fallen asleep. The thing she felt on the bed turned out to be his head as he rested it on the edge of the mattress. 

She couldn’t help the smile that appeared on her lips as she scooted closer to him, then lifted a hand to rest on the side of his muzzle. Red’s eyes opened immediately at her touch; either he was a light sleeper or he hadn’t actually been asleep.

“Normally you’re gone by now,” Xiaojiao greeted him, still smiling.

“It felt wrong to leave this time,” he murmured drowsily.

Xiaojiao rose slightly and leaned forward to butt her forehead against his. “You softie,” she teased, eyes closing as her grin widened.

Red Son muttered something that sounded a lot like only for you and pressed back against her forehead . Then he pulled back and rose to his hooves, briefly sending Xiaojiao falling forward. “I’ll meet you in the dining room.”

“Wait, don’t go too far!” Xiaojiao called out, climbing out of bed and dragging the blankets with her. She heard his steps pause outside the door and knew he’d stopped just inside the hallway. “I wanna walk with you - lemme just get dressed first, I’ll be quick.”

And so went their time after that. As with before, there’d been a definite shift in their behavior, how they talked, the atmosphere itself…

In most ways it was just as it had been before; they kept spending their time together, Xiaojiao kept sending back pantry supplies to her family. 

But the atmosphere had changed. It felt even warmer. Comfortable.

Their laughter grew louder, the jokes more sarcastic. Xioajiao once looked over the pieces of a half-finished bicycle with him, and in picking up a stray part she knocked over a nearby jar of oil and splashed it over her skirts.

“You know,” Red Son commented a short time later, as Xiaojiao sat at a basin of hot water, furiously scrubbing the oil out. “You could just have the magic do that.”

“Not a chance,” Xiaojiao had shot back, lifting the fabric from the basin and inspecting it. “I like to work with my hands. Besides, we all cleaned our own clothes at home, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

They grew more lively, active. 

When the snow stopped falling and a sizable amount of powder was in the gardens, Xiaojiao found a pair of boots and laced them up. She raced outside, wearing several layers against the cold. And she didn’t notice that Red had sneakily followed her outside until she heard a THUD and the tree branches she was standing under were suddenly dropping a blanket of heavy snow onto her.

Red’s mad cackling mixed with Xiaojiao’s shrieks as she chased him for the next five minutes, furiously throwing whatever snow she could at him.

That encounter had ended with Xiaojiao surprising Red and shoving him into a snowdrift, though she suspected that he’d let her do it, what with how fast he’d fallen in.

They kept their late-night talks. Some nights they did even more than talking. And some nights they said nothing at all, just huddled close together against the little bit of winter chill that always managed to sneak in.

One such night saw Red with his face buried in Xiaojiao’s hair, taking in the scent of her soap. It had been several months and several weeks now. He could handle the curse for the remainder of the year, if things stayed like this. 

But he still had to ask: “This isn’t strange for you, is it?”

“Which part? You smelling my hair?” came her mocking voice. 

“No… this.” He lifted an arm to gesture at himself, though she couldn’t see it. Realizing his error, he explained; “Married to a bull who changes form at night and you can’t see what that form is. It’s not strange?”

“Mmm…” Xiaojiao frowned, pursing her lips. Then she shrugged, Red feeling the movement in the dark. “Not really. It kind of was in those first few seconds. Before I realized that you did talk. But other than that, no… You know, my friend’s dads are a human and a pig demon, and that’s not strange.”

“But that’s a demon walking on two legs and wearing human clothes. I’m not.”

He felt her smirk against his collarbone. “I know.”

“Not like that!” he quickly added. “I mean - for all intents and purposes, I look like an animal.”

“One that talks and thinks and feels like a human,” Xiaojiao muttered. He couldn’t tell if her quiet tone was from tiredness, or if she was giving this moment the seriousness he wanted. “And you aren’t one all the time, just during the day. I can’t see you at night, but I feel you. You’re a person. I dunno why you won’t let me look at you, but as I said before, it doesn’t matter.” She gripped his back harder as she said her next few words. “I don’t need to.”

He didn’t respond to that. Just pressed her closer, staring into the dark. “Did your family know?” he asked. “That you were going to do this? You made it clear when we first met you were doing it for them - not that I blame you,” he hastily added, feeling her wince a bit. “Your reasons were noble, and I did mention that my wife’s family would be cared for. I understand. But I never asked… did they know?”

“...no,” Xiaojiao admitted. “I knew they’d try to talk me out of it if I told them. So I just… threw my things together and ran off before anyone woke up. I’m sure they’ve figured it out by now, though. Months of magically-appearing food will do that,” she quipped, earning a slight snort of amusement from her husband. “They probably put two and two together after the first day.” 

There was another pause. Red felt her fingers start to tap against his skin, something she did when she was nervous. “What is it?”

“Would you have anything against meeting them?” she asked. “Can I go visit them? Lunar New Year is coming, and I was hoping…”

Red felt something lance through his heart at Xiaojiao’s tone of voice. She sounded softer, smaller. Unlike herself. 

She missed her family.

It was cruel to keep her away.

But then there was the curse. He wanted to give her what she wanted, but he couldn’t bear to start all over again either…

Nor could he stand the thought of meeting her family like this. When he met his wife’s family, they should see him as he was. He should be standing tall next to her, looking powerful, regal, handsome - not looking like a literal bull. They both deserved better than that. She deserved better than that.

…But…

“I can’t-”

“Oh-”

“But you can.”

“Really?!” Xiaojiao sat upright with a gasp. Red felt her excited gaze in his general direction - even when she couldn’t see him, she always looked towards him, as a courtesy. 

“There’s a condition, though. I’ll bring you to forest the morning of, at dawn. You can spend the entire day and part of the night with them. But you must return, so we can sleep here. I’ll be waiting in the forest for you.”

“I can do that!” Xiaojiao said quickly. If she was confused or curious about the need to sleep here instead of her family’s home, she didn’t say anything. She just laughed, falling upon him again with her arms wrapped tightly around his neck. “Thank you so much, Red Son!” She laughed, unable to do much else, and heard his own laughter against her hair as his arms lifted up and went around her.

Everything was wonderful.

Everything would be…

Chapter Text

At first, Xiaotian didn’t realize anything was amiss.

The market was a lot livelier than usual, but considering what day it was, that was to be expected. And besides which, the noise in the market had been a lot happier, more energetic in the past few months.

The farmlands were still in trouble, of course, and the winter fruits hadn’t appeared on the trees. The fish were still keeping far away from their village. So their food problems weren’t completely solved.

But it was still much better than it had been before.

With all the food and supplies Xiaojiao had been sending, what was left of the family was able to keep supplying their neighbors, which allowed them to keep a bit more in their stock, or let them help others. So everyone was keeping each other fed, and fed well. The way Xiaotian looked at it, even if Xiaojiao stopped now, they’d all be able to make it through winter and into spring.

When, hopefully, whatever had befallen the land would fade away and things would be normal again.

Then he heard some of the excited shouts a little more closely.

“Did you see-”

“-she’s back!”

“-looks so beautiful-”

“-think she’s wearing silk-”

“Xiaotian!”

The last voice actually gave him pause, making his heart stutter. 

Did he dare to hope?

Rapid, heavy footfalls came to his ear, and he quickly turned around.

And there, running and weaving through the crowds, was a woman in green and white silk and fine but tasteful jewelry. Her cheeks were flushed with excitement and from running. Her black hair shone in the winter sun, two familiar ponytails bobbing with her movement.

Before he knew it, he’d dropped his own shopping basket and was racing towards her.

The two collided in an embrace so strong they both nearly fell to the ground. But neither of them cared, both laughing too much and holding each other too tight.

Xiaojiao was back.

The reunion in the middle of the market had been one long embrace, and more than a few tears between laughs of relief.

The reunion at the house was more of the same.

Xiaojiao actually did collapse then, the combined weight of the two men making them all fall to their knees on the floor. Xiaojiao’s skirts were going to be dirty, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care, especially when her family was hugging her as if they never wanted to let go, taking turns pulling away and holding her face in their hands with whispers of “Oh, it’s you, it’s you, you’re home!” 

Ten minutes had passed by the time they rose from the floor and went inside properly. After the initial laughter and tears (that Pigsy swore hadn’t come from him) were finished, Xiaojiao had to explain where she was, what her life was like. The four of them sat around a low table with tea and food (Xiaojiao was more than happy to see how much healthier everyone looked), listening intently as she described everything.

She told them about the palace, about the magically-appearing food that she had been sending back. About how she’d been apprehensive at first but honestly it was so much fun now. And she was about to tell them about her strange but happy marriage, when…

“I can’t stay for long,” Xiaojiao said apologetically. “I wish I could - but I promised Red I’d be back before it got too late. So, about him-”

“Red?” Pigsy frowned. 

“Who’s Red?” Xiaotian asked, leaning over the table.

“Oh - the bull. I call him Red, and-”

“So you did go with the bull.” Across from her, Tang pushed up his glasses, obscuring his expression. “We were right.”

“Listen,” Xiaojiao began, a spike of emotion rising in her chest. A combination of anxiety, annoyance, and something else. “Whatever you might be thinking, it’s wrong. He’s a great guy, I-”

“So now he’s a guy?” Xiaotian asked, his own frown deepening.

“Well, at night, he-”

“What about at night?” Pigsy cut in with a growl, fist curling atop the table.

“No, it’s - okay, everyone just listen for a minute, let me start over.” She put her empty tea cup on the table, running one hand through her hair. “He’s a bull. He talks. We all know that. And okay, yeah, him asking for a bride all the time was weird and creepy, but Red himself? He’s not bad. He’s a good guy. He can get loud and frustrated sometimes, but he’s fun. He plays the same games we do, he knows about engineering and I got to talk to him about my bicycle, and he reads, and- I think he just had kinda an awkward way of meeting people, that’s all. He’s treated me very well the entire time I’ve spent with him, and I like hanging out with him.

“He’s… he means a lot to me,” she finished, briefly fumbling on her words. 

Because Red Son did mean a lot to her. He was her friend, but he was more than that. They were married, he was her husband, but while at first it was for convenience, now it ran deeper. They shared the bed at night, slept in each other’s arms, he’d kissed her that first night they admitted they cared for each other ‘as a spouse should.’ 

But they’d never actually said “I love you” yet… Despite doing everything else, the words just felt strangely heavy and frightening.

So neither of them had dared speak them.

Her words were met with silence. Xiaojiao, who had been staring at the tabletop this whole time, peeked up at her family. Xiaotian looked conflicted; it was hard to gauge all of his emotions, but Xiaojiao could see the slight furrow of his brow, his mouth moving like he was chewing the inside of his cheek. Confused, solemn, tentatively happy for her.

The two older adults, on the other hand…

Tang leaned on his elbows, fingers tented over his mouth. The light caught on his glasses, so it was impossible to see his eyes. Next to him, Pigsy still looked surly, and more than a little suspicious.

It was Tang who spoke up next. “You said something about ‘at night.’ What did you mean?”

“Well, here’s the funny part,” Xiaojiao said, forcing a laugh, hoping to dispel the awkwardness that’d settled over them all. “I’ve never been allowed to see him at night. The bedroom gets like pitch-black after the moon rises. And he comes in, but…” She briefly faltered, knowing it would set Pigsy off. But she had to admit it. “He doesn’t feel like a bull at night.”

“He wh-”

“He feels like a person - I can feel him, he’s got a man’s face, shoulders, arm, chest-”

“Alright, stop right there,” Pigsy growled. 

Tang reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. When he spoke, his own voice was carefully measured and steady. Clinical. “So at night, he changes his form,” he said slowly. “You’ve touched him, you’re aware of it. But in the entire time you’ve been there, he’s never let you see him that way.”

Xiaojiao nodded. “It was… actually one of the first things he said to me when I approached him,” she admitted. “That I couldn’t break his trust, and I couldn’t look at him at night.”

There was silence.

Xiaotian broke it first. “Something’s wrong there.”

“I agree,” Tang spoke up before Xiaojiao could try to defend Red or herself. “Someone who can shapeshift is one thing. Someone who changes their form at night, every night, and insists you not look? That’s completely different.”

“Yeah… it can’t be that he’s ugly and is self-conscious about it,” chimed in Xiaotian. “It’s something else.”

“It sounds less like shapeshifting and more like he has to change at night,” Pigsy added. “Maybe the bull form is the shapeshifting part and he’s running out of energy by the time it gets dark.”

“I don’t think it’s that,” Xiaojiao argued. 

“Why not?”

“I- I just don’t.” She could have brought up the scream she had heard, all those weeks ago. How she’d run into the hall and found the bull tense and exhausted and in lingering pain. How she suspected the bull transformation was against his will.

But she didn’t. It felt wrong to bring it up, as if she were gossiping about him.

She couldn’t betray his trust.

“And the disappearances. The famine,” Pigsy muttered, running a hand over his jaw. “They started almost the same time the bull showed up.”

“He doesn’t have anything to do with them,” Xiaojiao hastily said. “I haven’t seen anybody else in the palace-”

“But do you know he doesn’t?” Tang interrupted softly.

“I… I know him,” Xiaojiao stressed, curling her hands into fists. But even as she said that, she found herself wavering slightly. “Whatever you’re thinking, he’d never-”

“How can you be sure? He won’t even let you look at him for half of your time together.”

“And at night, ” Xiaotian added. “You’re tired, you’re asleep, that’s the most vulnerable time, he’s right there next to you, and says you can’t see him.” He paused. “What if… what if he’s not what he says he is? What if he does have something to do with the disappearances? What if the reason you can’t look at him is because he’s a monster?”

“Even if he was, I’m not in danger! It’s been months, if he was going to hurt me, he would have…

Right?”

“I never made Tang promise he’d never look at me,” Pigsy muttered, as the other man got up and moved to a nearby cupboard. “I never kept what I was or what I looked like a secret.”

The implication hung in the air like a chain above them all: If he’s not letting you look, there’s something he doesn’t want you to know.

Xiaojiao didn’t, couldn’t, even argue that. Because, deep in her heart, she knew it was true.

Red Son had never hurt her. She didn’t think he even could. But his insistence that she never know what he looked like in his other form, the fact that it was one of the first things he’d said to her… the fact she’d spent so many nights next to someone and she didn’t know what he really was…

Her family was right. It was strange. It was wrong.

A tallow candle and a match were set on the table in front of her. Xiaojiao’s spine froze at the sight.

“You need to know what’s going on, Xiaojiao. You have to know.”

Xiaojiao’s throat tightened.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Red Son commented when Xiaojiao climbed onto his back. It was still well before sunset, they’d make it to the palace with plenty of time to spare. “Was everything alright?”

“Oh. Yeah, it was great. They were disappointed I couldn’t stay into the evening, but… Maybe next year?”

“Next year… That would be feasible. I’ll come with you then, too.”

“Yeah, they’d like that…” Xiaojiao muttered, guilt piercing her heart like a sword. “They were really curious about you.”

“Next time they see me, I’ll tell them all they wish to know.”

Xiaojiao nodded mutely as Red Son began walking through the trees. 

In her pocket, the candle felt like lead.

Chapter Text

“You have to know.”

The words echoed both in Xiaojiao’s heart and in her head as she sat up in bed that night. She couldn’t see in the pitch blackness, but she could feel the candle rolling back and forth in her palm as she deliberated. Next to her, Red was sound asleep, breathing soft and even.

It’d been painful, wiggling out from under his arm. She’d never done that before. 

It felt cold, in more ways than one.

Xiaojiao sighed, the thumb of her other hand running over the match.

She wasn’t married to a monster… was she? 

He couldn’t have had anything to do with the disappearances… right?

But the palace… it was hidden by magic. They passed through a thick, blinding fog to get to it. She’d gone from expansive fields to the mountains in seconds.

And the moving dishware in the kitchens. They could have moved all on their own… or the people working them could have been invisible.

She hated how much doubt she was having.

I felt him, she told herself. I’ve felt his skin, it’s soft like mine and everyone else’s. I’ve felt his hands. There’s no scales, or fur, or stone, or anything like that. He’s not a monster…

But if he wasn’t, why couldn’t she see him at night, when he wasn’t a bull? Why was he so insistent she not look at him? Why was it one of the first things he told her?

You could be lying with a monster, something dark whispered in her heart. You could have laid with a monster who ate human flesh all this time, and never known. You might not even be the first one. How do you know he hadn’t been to other villages before yours?

Her fingers curled around the candle, her ears going hot. 

If he won’t let you see him, there’s something he doesn’t want you to know. You have to make sure. This voice was more reasonable, gentle but stern. He’d understand. 

Just one look wouldn’t… hurt. Would it? If he didn’t know she’d done it?

…

She would make it quick.

Xiaojiao turned her back to Red, holding her breath as she struck the match. There was a faint noise as it lit, but her husband didn’t stir. The flame illuminated her hand, and allowed her to see the shadowy outlines of the furniture. Good, good so far. She inhaled shakily, but deeply as she held the flame to the candle wick, then shook the match out. Slowly, very slowly. 

She was stalling a bit, she knew. But this was so unusually stressful.

You have to know. You have to know. 

Her heart pounded in her ribcage as she gently pushed the covers off of her legs, then cupped her hand around the flame. Tallow was starting to slowly drip from the candle’s body, but she didn’t care. You have to know. 

What if he was a monster? What then? Could she pretend everything was fine until she convinced him to let her visit home? Or would she sneak to the kitchen and grab a knife?

She realized belatedly she should have thought of that earlier, but it was too late now.

She’d figure it out.

And if he wasn’t… then she had peace of mind, and could forget this whole thing happened.

“Alright, Red Son. Let’s see what you’re hiding,” she murmured flatly.

And then she turned towards him and held out the candle.

Her breath caught, and her heart skipped a beat.

Red Son wasn’t a monster.

On the bed beside her was a man. He was on his side, his sleeves rolled up slightly from how he’d shifted a little in his sleep. His hair was the same bright color as the bull’s fur, long and fanned out behind him, and in the candlelight it almost looked like flames given a new form. She could see the amber skin she’d touched numerous times, and under the fabric of his pajamas she could just make out the muscles she’d felt as well.

This wasn’t an illusion, or a trick.

That was her husband.

Why the hell could I not look? Xiaoqiao thought to herself, finally finding her breath again as she leaned closer over him. He looks…

He looks…

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he jerked backwards with a short cry of surprise. The sudden movement and noise made Xiaojiao fall back with a cry of her own, the candle dropping from her hand. 

In the split-second that there was still light, she saw Red turn towards her - dark red eyes widening in betrayal and disbelief. And she saw the tallow staining his sleeve, the heated droplet having woken him up.

Xiaojiao’s breath caught again as the light went out, a cold sweat breaking over her. Though the room was still pitch-black, she could still vividly see the look on his face. Not literally at that moment, but she knew it was there. 

She could hear Red breathing harshly, then speak in a barely-restrained voice. “You looked…”

“I-”

“You looked, why did you look?! I told you not to look!”

“I didn’t know if you were hiding something!” Xiaojiao shot back. The bed was trembling. “I had to know-”

“You don’t understand, you don’t know what you just did - she knows you looked at me-!”

The entire room was shaking, Xiaojiao realized. She’d thought the bed was moving because of their own intense emotions making them tremble, but no, the entire room was moving as if in an earthquake.

She heard the candle roll across the floor, heard something fall and shatter behind her.

With a blast of cold air, the wall behind Red Son collapsed, sending moonlight flooding into the room. Xiaojiao lifted her arms to block the stray stones that flew towards them, and barely registered Red moving to shield her. 

“She knows. She’s coming for me.”

“Who- who’s coming?” Xiaojiao’s voice was far-away even to her own ears. She could barely hear anything over the roar of wind, the sound of the palace cracking and falling to pieces. Over the cacophony, there was the sharp sound of a woman giggling, and a shadow began appearing over the moon. “Red So-”

“West of the moon and east of the sun, Xiaojiao,” he rasped, red eyes staring blindly into hers. Behind him, another form slowly rose up, the moon silhouetting their flowing hair and clothes. “I’ll be west of the moon and east of the sun-”

The figure behind him lunged forward like a serpent lunges at prey, billowing sleeves snapping round his shoulders. There was another, final CRACK all around them.

And all went dark.

Xiaojiao woke up alone, lying in a heap in the snow, surrounded by dark gray mountains. With a groan, she weakly pushed herself onto her knees, gasping as the cold sank into her bones. She was in her pajamas, with no robes or coat. Even the blanket was gone - everything was gone, she realized, looking around. There were stones and pieces of the palace here and there, but apart from them, it was as if it hadn’t been there at all.

“Reeeed!” she shouted into the wind, hearing her own voice echo back at her. “Red, are you here?!”

There was no answer.

“Reeeeed!”

Nothing.

Xiaojiao hugged herself tightly, drawing her legs closer to herself. With the cold winter air stinging her cheeks, she ducked her head and tried not to cry too loudly.

Chapter Text

Xiaojiao wasn’t entirely sure how long she’d been crying. It couldn’t have been more than a minute or two. She couldn’t let it be more than a minute or two.

There was no shame in tears, she’d always been told. They didn’t make you weak, they didn’t speak of your emotional strength. If she had to cry, she should - it would help her think more clearly, it would ease the weight on her heart, or on her mind.

And she had a very good reason to cry, she dimly felt, as she began to take deep, steadying breaths.

Something had taken Red Son. Something had cursed him, and because Xiaojiao had looked at him when she’d promised she wouldn’t, it had taken him away.

If she hadn’t looked…

…no.

If whoever or whatever this hadn’t cursed him to begin with…

Xiaojiao sniffed, feeling her anguish being replaced by rage. Whoever had cursed him, whoever had taken him, they knew this would happen. They’d known that nobody would be able to resist taking a look. Knew that anyone would start to wonder about the person they were with, knew their loved ones would be concerned, that anyone would be concerned…

She had looked. That was on her.

But anyone would have. Whoever had done this had known about it.

Red had been set up since the beginning.

“West of the moon and east of the sun - I’ll be west of the moon and east of the sun!”

“West of the moon, east of the sun…” Xiaojiao echoed, wiping the last of her tears from her face. Where could that be?

“They rise in the east… set in the west… It would have to be in the middle, wouldn’t it?” she muttered, hugging herself against the cold. 

He’d yelled out those instructions to her… He wanted her to find him. Whatever this was all about, there was time for her to find him. She could still get him back.

She just… had to find him first.

It was still dark. The sun wouldn’t rise for another few hours. But she couldn’t waste any time. The longer she waited, the longer Red was… Well, she didn’t want to think about it for too long.

(Was he to be locked up? Was he trapped? Could he possibly escape on his own? Was he going to be a bull permanently? Or some other animal? Xiaojiao shook her head quickly, dispelling those thoughts. 

I said don’t think about it! she scolded herself.)

But she’d been in the palace long enough to see her fair share of sunsets and sunrises. She knew which direction those were. So, she was able to pick a direction and start walking.

She was hardly dressed for a wintery mountain journey, but there was very little left of the palace. Xiaojiao had spared a few minutes to look around for better shoes, or a heavier coat, or something, but all she could find were ordinary house slippers and an overcoat that was clearly not meant for this weather.

But they were better than nothing, so Xiaojiao had put them both on over her pajamas, and set off.

She could do this. She’d find him. She’d find him, thoroughly kick the tail of whoever had done all this, and then bring him back home. She was strong, and fierce, and had the power of love!

…but unfortunately, that could only last so long against the elements. Xiaojiao had long since left the remains of the palace when she found herself unable to feel her feet, which kept sinking into the piling snow. The wind was calm, but the air still stung her cheeks and made her eyes tear up - tears that quickly froze to her lashes. Her breath fogged in front of her, growing ragged as she tried to push forward, feeling the cold sink into her bones.

How long was she supposed to walk? How far away had he gone? There was no sign of movement, no sign of him anywhere. No magical mist like the one she’d passed through from her village to the palace. Would she just walk all this way? 

Xiaojiao winced as she brought her hands to her mouth, trying to warm her fingers by breathing on them. Moving them hurt - they were already so stiff and cold, even trying to twitch a fingertip sent jolts of pain through her hands.

How far?

She shoved her hands under her arms in an attempt to keep them warm. But her clothes were still too thin, and it was too dark and too cold. She took another step forward, and her leg sank up to its knee in the snow - she nearly tripped, the short drop was so sudden. Cursing bitterly, she braced herself and moved her other leg, flinching as the snow’s cold ate through her clothes.

…how… 

It was cold, the air thin and oppressive. She didn’t know where to go. How far to walk. 

If she was even going the right way.

….how….far…?

Xiaojiao’s vision began to blur, her eyes stinging as the sight of all that snow was beginning to burn. The cold finally became too much, and even as she tried to keep moving, her legs didn’t want to obey. She took one step, but stumbled on the other. 

And then she pitched forward into the snow.

….how….

Something bright and colorful entered her vision as she stared straight ahead into the night. It was quickly joined by something else.

…..far…..?

She lost consciousness just as the twin blurs were reaching down for her.

Chapter Text

“Lady Yǔxī’s betrothed isn’t happy,” the girl heard next to her as she carried laundry down the hall. She looked up to see a man walking next to her, frowning lightly as he too carried a basket of things to be washed. 

That wasn’t a surprise to her. None of the people in Lady Yǔxī’s palace were happy to be there. They’d all been spirited away to this place, poofed off the streets or out of their beds, shoved into the uniforms of palace staff with only a brief explanation, and expected to just accept it. But this newcomer, he was apparently making his displeasure known.

And was getting away with it.

“She’s not saying something to him?” she asked, in a small voice.

The man snorted and shook his head. “Nothing that I’ve heard. She’s still too caught up in the idea of marrying the poor sap that she won’t see how angry he is.”

That made sense. 

Everyone had been asleep when the palace had suddenly shaken violently in the middle of the night, and they could hear Lady Yǔxī’s voice all through the halls as clearly as if she were standing next to them. “I need attendants at once! Your new Lord is here!”

Nobody wanted to go, but a few people had scrambled to their feet, throwing on robes and hurrying out to the entryway for fear of being seen as disobedient. 

“And don’t anyone dare look at him! The only one who can look upon him is me!”

They all had kept their heads down when they reached the doors, only able to see the hem of their mistress’s hanfu and the newcomer’s… bare feet and the bottom of his pajama pants. 

So he’d been snatched from his bed, too, just like many of their own had.

The girl had been one of the people who’d rushed to answer Lady Yǔxī’s summon, and one of the few who had the foresight to grab a change of clothes. Lady Yǔxī had taken the garments from their arms, passed them to some of the men, and ordered the latter to take her betrothed to the baths.

“He stinks,” Lady Yǔxī had bluntly said, earning a sharp hiss from the newcomer.

(The little girl had thought he smelled fine. Like a girl’s perfume and spices - like the ones she smelled in noodle shops back home. But if she dared speak up, they’d be sweeping her ashes off the floor.)

…wait-

“How do you know he’s upset?”

“It’s not hard,” the man said, adding his own burden to her own, ignoring the “heyyy!” she let out. “He’s got a look on his face like he wants to murder someone, and his jaw’s clenched so hard I’m surprised he can still open it at all.” He smirked a bit, the edges of his goatee going up. “She’s royally screwed up now…”

“You’ve - you’ve looked at him?!” she gasped, voice dropping to a whisper. “You know you’re not supposed to-”

“You have to be willing to break the rules sometimes. Take whatever small acts of rebellion you can.”

She looked down at her piles of laundry. “But… But what if-”

“Little Bai He, whom ever are you talking to?” Lady Yǔxī’s voice came from the end of the hall.

Bai He jumped, startled. She hadn’t even heard Lady Yǔxī’s slippered feet against the floor. But the witch was in front of her, wearing white and pink today, perfectly made-up brows lifted. Between the disarming appearance, her tone of voice, and the fact she’d used both Bai He’s nickname and the moniker of “little,” it’d be easy to fall into a false sense of comfort. 

But Bai He had been held prisoner here too long to fall for that.

She briefly looked to where her fellow captive-made-servant had been standing - only to find him gone.

“No one, Mistress,” she said, ducking her head. “I was talking to myself.”

“I heard you say ‘what if…’ You aren’t planning something in that little head of yours, are you?”

“No, Mistress. I was only thinking out loud about what soap to use in the laundry today.”

“My, how diligent you are. But don’t think too much, girl. Too much thinking and knowledge causes one to age faster,” Lady Yǔxī said, in the voice she adopted when she thought she was being clever.

“Yes, Mistress.”

Lady Yǔxī patted her head - and it took everything Bai He had not to flinch - and glided away, humming a romantic song under her breath.

Bai He exhaled slowly, thinking about the conversation she’d been having earlier… ‘Take whatever small acts of rebellion you can.’ ‘She’s royally screwed up now.’ What had he meant by that?

…most importantly, how had he vanished so quickly?

“What are we going to do now?”

“I dunno, this was your idea!”

It was the voices that woke Xiaojiao up. She slowly returned to wakefulness, keeping her eyes closed as her senses gradually returned to her. She wasn’t in the snow anymore, she was resting on something firm. A simple bed pallet, from the feel of it. And something warm had been haphazardly tossed over her. A blanket, she realized.

On the other side of her eyelids, there was light. A lot of it, she realized.

“I happened to see her outside, you wanted to bring her in!”

“Okay - sh-shh! She’ll hear you.”

Two people were in the room with her, whispering harshly to one another. She guessed they were the ones who brought her out of the snow.

But… but what was she doing in the snow…?

Wait. Wait. Red. She’d been going to save Red, she-

“What do we do with her?”

“You think SD would be too mad if we just…I dunno, ate her?”

Oh, hell no.

With an enraged cry, Xiaojiao bolted upright, flung the blanket off herself, and reached for the nearest projectile she could. The two whispering demons in long black winter coats had barely enough time to turn around, eyes growing wide, before she nailed one between the eyes with her round, orange weapon.

The one she’d hit, the blue one, fell back with a short cry that was probably less from pain and more from surprise, but the orange one still gave a spectacular reaction. “Brother!” he cried, racing to his fallen twin before snarling in Xiaojiao’s direction. “You-”

Xiaojia responded with a magnificent glare of her own, teeth bared as she grabbed the bowl from the center of the table she’d been next to, and readied another projectile. Another orange. 

Despite being mortal, pulled out of the ice and snow, and wielding a fruit bowl as a weapon, she must have still made a terrifying image, because the orange demon’s face immediately fell. “No, no, wait!” he shouted, leaning back and shielding his brother, who had risen back into a sitting position with his hand on his head. “We weren’t gonna eat ya! Honest - we’ve been vegetarian for ten years!”

“Yeah - we weren’t really going to do it! It was just a joke!”

“Well, it’s not a funny one,” Xiaojiao grumbled, not putting down her orange. “Now, you two let me go back out of this… this admittedly nice-looking cave,” she said after taking a quick look around the place, which looked like a small palace inside of the stone formation, “and I won’t bludgeon you with your own furniture-”

“Leave! But you can’t do that!”

“Yeah, me an’ Jin found you half frozen, and you’re not even dressed for snow!” the blue demon snapped, pointing at Xiaojiao’s clothes. “You go back outside like that, you won’t last ten steps.”

“And we wouldn’t be goin’ back after you, would we, Yin?”

“Right!”

Xiaojiao’s frown deepened. So they had… rescued her?

“What were you even doing climbing the mountains?” Yin asked, hands on his hips. “And in your pajamas, at that!”

“Not even we’d do that,” Jin backed him up with a solemn nod. 

Xiaojiao sat cross-legged on top of the blanket. “I wasn’t out there because I wanted to,” she huffed. “The palace I was living in fell apart.” She set the bowl down and held the orange in her hands, tossing it idly back and forth. Yin and Jin glanced at each other, but she missed it. “I’m looking for the west of the moon and the east of the sun.” She looked up at the pair of demons, who were now looking startled. “Either of you know how to get there?”

“West of the moon and east of the sun? Why would you wanna go there?”

“Is it bad?”

“Nah, not the place itself…” the blue demon said, waving a hand. “But there’s a witch who’s built her palace there - she’s the one who’s made everything so awful around here-”

“Making things stop growing, cuttin’ off food-”

“-making the ground so hard-”

“-made the snow come too fast and too much, gettin’ our friend stranded with us-”

“No mortal would want to go there.”

“This one will,” Xiaojiao said. “My husband’s been taken away by that witch, and he told me I can find him to the west of the moon and east of the sun. I have to get him back. Neither of you have to help me, but I do need to know where to go. Can you do that much, or not?”

Once again, the pair of demons looked at each other, this time for longer. If Xiaojiao didn’t know any better, she’d say an entire conversation was passed between them in that long moment.

Finally, the two nodded at each other, then turned back to Xiaojiao. “Well,” Yin began, sounding a bit less harsh than he had a few moments ago, “we don’t know how to get there…”

Xiaojiao’s heart sank-

“But our friend does!” Jin finished with a broad grin. “You eat first, and then we’ll go wake ‘er up!”

It was Xiaojiao’s turn to smile now, her heart lifting for the first time in hours. “Thank you both so much!” she managed to say, then turned her attention to her food. She was starving, and she’d need her energy if she was going to make a trip through the mountains. 

She didn’t notice the demon brothers making a face at one another.

“...mate, she didn’t peel the orange-”

“I know, Brother, I know.”

Chapter Text

“SD,” as it turned out, was another demon.

After a proper meal and a change of clothes, Xiaojiao was led deeper into the caves through a long tunnel that gradually resembled a hallway instead. Little by little, the craggy rocks segued into fine carved stone, the gray becoming completely nonexistent as it was replaced with bright color.

It was the color that made Xiaojiao’s heart clench all over again. It reminded her of the palace, and who she’d shared it with.

She shook her head. No. No, don’t think like that, she told herself. You’re getting him back.

The trio reached a small apartment, with a mass of blankets in the center. Xiaojiao couldn’t help but lift her brows.

“SD - Scorpion Demoness- she’s real sensitive to cold, see,” Jin said helpfully. “She’s burrowed. Hey, hey, SD, come out!” he called as he approached the mass of quilts. “We need your help.”

The blankets moved ever so slightly. “Is the door closed?” called a woman’s voice.

“You’re deep enough in the mountain palace, you can’t even feel outside,” Yin answered.

“Maybe you can’t…”

“SD, we got a human here, she needs-”

“A human?!” The blankets moved sharply, and a head with long green hair poked out, looking Xiaojiao up and down. That head then ducked back inside, and the blankets moved so the woman could sit up and look out properly. Her eyes widened as she looked at Xiaojiao again. “I thought so! You’re the girl who married the bull- you married Red Son!”

“You know me?” Xiaojiao blinked.

“Oh, honey, everyone on this mountain range knows about you.” Scorpion Demoness shimmied out of the blankets and hopped down to stand in front of the little group. She shivered lightly for a moment, prompting Xiaojiao to wonder just how sensitive to the cold she was. “When someone staying in the mountains gets cursed, you hear about it. When the curse spreads to the rest of the area, you hear about it. When it looks like that curse might break…”

Xiaojiao winced. “It’s my fault,” she said apologetically. “I looked at him at night, and he was taken. And the curse is still on everything else - if I’d waited, then-”

“Oh, stop it. It wasn’t your fault.” Scorpion Demoness waved a hand dismissively. “You didn’t set an unfair curse. The way those rules worked, he was set to fail no matter what.”

“At least you lasted this long,” Yin offered, either ignorant or uncaring of the sharp look the woman sent him over Xiaojiao’s shoulder. “If it were me I’d only last a day.”

“I’d last three!”

Xiaojiao ignored the pair behind her, instead focusing on Scorpion Demoness. “When I looked, he was taken away, and I’m going to get him back. He said he’d be to the west of the moon and the east of the sun; your friends said you knew how to get there?”

Scorpion Demoness shot another Look over Xiaojiao’s shoulder. “Well… not quite,” she admitted. Before Xiaojiao’s heart could sink too much, she added: “I know where it is and how you can get there, but I couldn’t even if I tried.”

“I’m not asking you to take me,” Xiaojiao said. “If you could just point me the right way, I’ll go-”

“You couldn’t make it. Not on your own,” Scorpion Demoness interrupted blithely. “Ordinary mortals can’t get to or from her palace unless an immortal takes them there. And the three of us wouldn’t last half the trip.”

Yin and Jin nodded, actually looking a bit glum for the first time since Xiaojiao’s visit. “She’s right. Too cold.”

“And then there’s the sea. She’s prob’ly cursed that, too.”

“Or it’s just always that terrible. Either way, bad news.”

“And SD here would freeze to death!”

Xiaojiao started to get frustrated. “So if a mortal can’t get to it without help, and none of you can take me, what am I supposed to do? Just - just build a raft and-”

“Would you calm down and let me finish?” Scorpion Demoness sounded amused. “I can’t take you across the sea, but I have a friend who can. Jin and Yin will take you to him. Since, you know, the only other option is I go out into the freezing snow… a helpless scorpion against the bitter cold…”

“You don’t have to phrase it like that, SD, of course we were gonna do it!” Yin almost glared, hands on his hips. 

Xiaojiao turned and raised a brow. “Without eating me?” she prompted.

“They what?”

“We told you it was a joke!”

An hour later, Xiaojiao found herself being led down the mountain, wearing a thick coat and scarf against the wind and snow. Her hands were gloved now, and in her arms…

“Psst. Hey. One more thing about the witch…” Scorpion Demoness had told her. She dug through some of her belongings, and pulled out three things that gleamed gold. 

“She loves gold and sparkling things,” Scorpion Demoness said, pressing them into Xiaojiao’s hands. The woman looked at the items more closely - a hair comb, a bauble, and a sewing needle of pure gold. “These might be useful to you.”

How they could be useful, Xiaojiao wasn’t sure yet. But she kept a firm grip on her new parcel, determined not to lose anything that could help her get Red Son back. “Are you two alright up there?” she called to the brothers.

Yin and Jin, also wearing thicker coats, turned and grinned at her. “Takes more than stupid snow to get us!” Jin laughed.

“We’ll be fine. We’re made of tough stuff!”

“...not tough enough to go with ya, ‘course-”

“Oh no. No, we’re takin’ you to SD’s friend and that’s it.”

“No hard feelin’s.”

“None taken…” Xiaojiao said. She shivered, less from cold and more from high adrenaline, and pulled her scarf further over her face. “But how far do we have to go?”

“Not much further. Look, we’re almost there!” Jin pointed down an incline they were approaching. Xiaojiao followed his line of sight to see that indeed, they were nearing a huge mass of water.

And, tied securely so it wouldn’t drift away, there was a sturdy-looking boat.

“Too bad we can’t come,” Yin commented. “Been a long time since we hung out with Big Blue.”

Chapter Text

Red woke up that morning, once again noted the absence of Xiaojiao, and wished his heart would make up its mind and settle on one emotion already.

His first night in the witch’s palace, he’d felt the raw, burning betrayal.

Xiaojiao had looked. She had promised not to look, and she had.

After she’d said…

She’d said…

“You… you don’t even know what I look like…”
He felt her hand move over his jaw.

“I don’t need to.” She was pressed in close, her breath against his neck. “I really don’t.”

She’d said she hadn’t needed to see him, and she had looked. She’d shattered both his trust and his heart with that.

But then, that burning betrayal and heartbreak had died down to embers. And then he wasn’t sure what he felt.

He’d still believed in her enough to yell where Yǔxī was going to take him. Despite everything, despite feeling like a bucket of ice water had been thrown over him when he looked up and realized she could see him… he’d still told her where to find him.

As if he still believed she would.

As if he wanted her to.

…he did, he admitted quietly to himself, staring up at the expansive ceiling. 

He wanted her to find him. The witch’s binding agreement kept him from leaving himself, and even if he did go…

“I’d find you, My Prince, don’t worry. I’d chase you over mountains and across the ocean and threaten the sun and moon themselves to find you again.” Yǔxī had smiled then, a sly grin that was nothing like Xiaojiao’s own sly but friendly smiles when she beat him at go. “And I’d gladly spread my curses to lands beyond if it meant I could coax you to come back.”

He couldn’t do that. It wasn’t right, it was unjust and dishonorable. He was many things, but he wasn’t that.

…he hoped Xiaojiao had that tenacity herself, though. Not with a curse, mind, but…

“West of the moon and east of the sun, Xiaojiao - I’ll be west of the moon and east of the sun-!”

Would she follow him that far? Would she try to go after him?

Or, his traitorous, betrayed heart whispered, would she give up on him, consider him lost, and go back? She’d gladly lit a candle to look at him, surely she’d leave him here as well…

No, he thought, a flare of righteous anger rising in his chest. No, she was not like that.

It wasn’t her fault she’d looked. Anyone would have.

He would have, if it were him.

But still, that side of him said, she betrayed you.

But he was forced to be dishonest with her. Forced to demand, unreasonably, that she not see the man she’d married, the man she shared the waking hours with, shared a bed with, shared-

He forced himself to stop thinking about her, at least for the moment. Yǔxī would know about it, and take her anger out on another. There had already been five instances of ash and dust needing to be swept up.

(It was difficult, however, when he could still feel her against him, still feel her lips on his. Feel her smile against his shoulder, feel her warming against him and feel her heart.)

A hapless servant would come to retrieve him in a few moments, and he’d have to school his expression into a mask. But until then, he used what little time he had to desperately, desperately hope.

Chapter Text

Xiaojiao gripped the edge of the boat tightly as it was tossed in the sea like a child’s toy. Waves continued to beat against it, icy spray flying up to hit her numb face. But she refused to move from her spot on the deck, no matter how much ‘Big Blue’ tried to suggest she duck inside.

She had to keep her eyes on the mountain palace that was slowly but surely approaching in the distance. It was silly, but Xiaojiao couldn’t help worrying that if she took her eyes off it for even a moment, then it would fade away and she’d truly lose Red Son.

“Hold tight!” came a deep voice from the helm, and Xiaojiao barely had time to obey before the boat was tossed high, leaning dangerously on one side as water threatened to overtake them. She gripped the railing tightly, the cold and the wet making her grip slippery. She heard ‘Big Blue’ - Sandy, he went by Sandy - grunt as he managed to ride the wave out. Both of them exhaled loudly when the boat righted itself again and continued forward.

“It’s like even the weather wants me to stay away,” Xiaojiao called back, only half-joking.

The other demons had said the witch had even cursed the sea…

…maybe she knew she was coming, and was trying to drown her.

Not happening, lady, Xiaojiao thought, clenching her jaw. Not. Freaking. Happening.

That had been what she’d said out loud too, hours earlier to Sandy.

He’d brought both herself and the demon brothers inside, urging them to warm up before they went back out. Provided hot tea. And listened to her story.

The brothers were surprisingly silent throughout, only jumping in when she reached the end to comment “Then we showed up, and…” They seemed to be just as curious about the full story as Sandy was.

Xiaojiao skipped over a lot of the finer details, things she doubted the three men would be interested in hearing about and things that quite frankly were none of their business.

What she did tell them made it all clear, however: yes she wanted to go after her husband, yes she loved him, no she wasn’t willing to just go home and forget about him…

And finally…

“I can take you there,” Sandy said slowly, looking down into the young woman’s eyes. “But I won’t be able to stay and wait for you. I wish I could - I really do. But when you look like me…” He gestured at, well, all of himself. “We’d both be caught.”

“And then you’d never get the bull guy back.”

“Not helping, Jin.”

“Sorry.”

“Once you’re dropped off, I can’t stay with you. Do you still want to go?”

But Xiaojiao had just nodded. “We’ll find another way back. Don’t worry about me.” She felt her expression harden. “I’m not leaving him alone. I’m going after him.”

The resulting pause was thick.

But then Sandy had smiled at her. 

The boat shoved off twenty minutes later.

They  broke through one final wave, and… It was as if they’d sailed into a completely different country, or something.

Xiaojiao stared in disbelief at her surroundings as the water suddenly calmed and stilled, the wind becoming less fierce and more steady and gentle. The cold winter air was gone, replaced by the warmth of late spring. And the mountain itself, while gray and imposing at the base, steadily became more appealing up near the top. Craning her neck, she could see a palace high up above, surrounded by all nature of flora and greenery.

Ah. Of course, she thought, a bit dryly.

“Listen, miss, are you sure you want to do this?” the deep voice came from behind her. She turned to see Sandy leaning on the helm, looking at her like he wanted to pick her up and turn the boat around

Xiaojiao nodded. “I’m sure.” She turned her attention back up to the palace, watching and noticing that even the birds seemed to be staying far, far away from it. That was what was bothering her, she realized: she couldn’t hear any animals, as if all of them knew to stay away from here. By the gods, that was creepy… “I’m going to get him out if I have to break the doors down and-”

“I wouldn’t do that,” Sandy interjected gently. As he carefully steered the boat closer to the shore and Xiaojiao removed the winter coat and gloves she wore, he continued, “Witch magic is powerful. If she was able to curse a demon, several lands and the water, then brute force won’t work.” The unspoken You’d be dead in an instant hung in the air between them. “You’ll need to be clever about it.”

Xiaojiao nodded. “Be clever. Got it…” A palace… surely a palace had servants… if she could sneak in and mingle with them, then maybe she could work her way to Red and then… Yes, that could work. “Thank you for the help, sir.” Xiaojiao waited a few moments for the boat to reach the shallows, then carefully climbed over the railing and dropped down. The warm water went up to her knees, and she stumbled a bit on the unstable floor. “I’ll take it from here!”

“Be careful! And good luck!” 

Xiaojiao lifted a hand over her head to wave, and marched out of the sea and onto dry land.

As Xiaojiao hiked up to the palace near the top of the mountain, the moon rising above, it did occur to her: she wasn’t really sure how she was going to mingle with servants.

Oh, pretending to be a servant? That’d be easy, she was sure. While of course the witch couldn’t hire staff in the normal way, not with her palace located here, Xiaojiao was 90 percent sure that she wouldn’t even have kept track of everyone who worked here anyway. And, she realized as she pulled the top layer of her hair into two ponytails, she had the advantage of it being dark when the witch had come. It would have been too dark to get a proper look at her, so the witch likely wouldn’t have recognized her anyway.

So if she snuck into the palace and pretended she’d always been there, she should be fine.

But that left a problem.

Servants had uniforms.

She was wearing a simple green tunic and pants. She highly doubted everyone inside was wearing this.

I could sneak around until I found the laundry, she thought, steps slowing as she approached a wall. Glancing around, she soon spotted a tree, and began to climb. And then just put something on. 

But then that raised the problem of sneaking around without getting caught.

I could say these are my pajamas, she thought, dropping down on the other side of the garden wall and taking cover behind some blossoming trees. But what if the servants here have those as uniform, too?

As it turned out, however, she needn’t worry. Something was clearly on her side, as not a few moments after she landed, a young girl wearing a soft purple and blue hanfu walked out, carrying an empty basket. Xiaojiao watched as she approached an empty clothesline that Xiaojiao hadn’t noticed before. The girl set the basket down, dragged a small step stool towards herself, and began to hang the clothing over the line.

Ah, so the wash was done. Okay, Xiaojiao reasoned, she could wait here for everything to dry, then run out and grab the clothes from the line. All she had to do was stay behind the tree and not be seen. Camp out here until morning, that’d be-

The girl suddenly stiffened, then turned around, rubbing one of her ears. “Who’s there?” she called out, voice trembling slightly. 

How had she known Xiaojiao was here…? She hadn’t made a sound…

“I - I know someone’s here!” the girl continued, hands clenched in front of herself, laundry forgotten. 

She was clearly scared, Xiaojiao realized. “I’m not here to hurt you,” she called out, quietly as she could while still making sure her voice carried. “I promise.”

The girl squinted in the dark, trying to see Xiaojiao. “Who are you?” she asked, her own voice growing softer. She hopped off the stool and slowly approached her hiding place. “How’d you get here?”

“It’s… a long story,” Xiaojiao muttered, finally coming out of her hiding place. At the sight of the girl’s widening eyes, she added “Listen, I’ve come a long way, and I need to do something important. Can you help me?”

“...you’re here to help,” the girl whispered. Xiaojiao didn’t dispute this - sure, she had initially, mostly, come to get Red Son back, but she wasn’t leaving anyone who’d need rescuing as well. Before she could voice any of this, however, the girl shivered and hugged herself, glancing over her shoulder into the shadows that stretched across the yard. Had she heard something?

“Follow me,” the girl whispered, pointing to a door in the back. “And do exactly as I tell you.”

Chapter Text

“So… who are you? You didn’t actually say.”

Xiaojiao ran her fingers through her hair to comb it out, stalling as she considered how to best answer. True, she’d told the girl earlier that she was here to do something important, that she needed help… but not much else. She was sure the girl could be trusted - she didn’t look much older than fourteen or so, and she hadn’t turned her over directly to the witch.

No, instead, the girl had led her through some modest-looking narrow hallways to the back of the palace, until they’d ended up in the servants’ quarters. The girl had peered into one of the rooms first, making sure nobody else was there, then brought Xiaojiao inside.

And from there, they’d gotten her a uniform in her size, and Xiaojiao had ducked behind a screen to change into pajamas.

It was too late in the evening for her to step out now, after all. And besides which, she could feel the girl’s curious and expectant stare as she finished with her hair. Not only did she need a plan, and to learn a little more about the palace… but she owed this girl some sort of explanation, especially if she was going to be accepting her help.

“Are you a spirit?” the girl asked. “Are you immortal?”

“No.” Xiaojiao shook her head, then turned to face the girl, who was still scrutinizing her. “I’m human.”

“Then how did you even get here?”

“With help,” Xiaojiao said simply. She didn’t dare name any names and risk putting them in danger. At the girl’s furrowing brow, she sighed and pressed her fingertips to her temple. “Look, I wish I could tell you more, but I can’t. Trust me on that.”

“Hm… Then why are you here? You said you had something important to do.”

“I’ll answer your question, but you answer this first, okay?” Xiaojiao bent to be at eye-level with the girl. “Is there a young man here? He’s got long red hair, and dark red eyes, and there’s a little scar on his face.”

The girl frowned, looking away sharply. Something flickered in her eyes - shame? Embarrassment? - before she moved to look at Xiaojiao again. “We’re not allowed to look,” she admitted slowly, “but a man was brought here recently. And I didn’t see his face, but I did see some of his hair. It’s really bright red.”

Not allowed to look? 

“He’s my husband,” Xiaojiao whispered, heedless of the way the girl’s eyes went wide with shock. “The lady of this palace kidnapped him, and I’m here to get him back… And you know, while I’m thinking of it…” Xiaojiao frowned again, this time properly taking in the girl’s appearance, remembering what she’d said in the yard earlier: You’re here to help. “You know, in my village there was a girl who went missing-”

“It’s me!” the girl gasped, stepping forward. “It’s me, isn’t it?”

“Maybe- she vanished just before-”

“-before the beginning of autumn!” The girl took a few steps closer, the knowledge that the two were from the same area seeming to have reassured her a bit. “I’ve been here this whole time - everyone working here was taken from a village!”

“Everyone?” Xiaojiao echoed.

The girl nodded. “Everyone but Lady Yǔxī is someone she took. We can’t leave - some of us tried, but…” She faltered, then looked at the ground. “We don’t try anymore. Not after what happened to those she caught.” After another pause, she looked back up at Xiaojiao. “But you can help, right? You made it all the way here, you’re here to get your husband back, can you take us with you?”

Someone else may have hesitated. Someone else may have said it depended on how everything played out. Someone else may have thought logically and determined they couldn’t bring an entire palace’s worth of people down from the mountain with them.

But Xiaojiao just nodded. “Of course I can! We’ll get all of you back home where you belong, promise.”

The girl smiled for the first time since Xiaojiao had met her. “I’m Bai He,” she introduced.

“Xiaojiao.”

Bai He and Xiaojiao spent the remainder of the night holed away in the servants’ sleeping quarters, off in a corner of the room where hopefully nobody would bother them. They kept their voices low so they couldn’t be overheard, and tried to ignore the curious looks some of the other girls gave them, no doubt wondering when this new girl had arrived and why Bai He had taken to her so quickly.

It wasn’t that they didn’t trust the others, no. But Xiaojiao reasoned that the fewer people who knew about her and what she was trying to do, the better. 

If she had her way, she told herself, she wouldn’t have even let Bai He in on it. She was just a child, really, too young for such a burden. And if Yǔxī found out about Xiaojiao’s presence and that Bai He was helping her… Xiaojiao repressed a shudder. Bai He had warned her about the punishment for disobedience, real or perceived. She didn’t want a child to be turned to ash.

But that had gone out the window the second Bai He had locked eyes with her in the yard and realized she was a stranger.

All she could do now was try to keep her safe, too, or hope she kept her head down.

Fortunately… “She doesn’t notice me too much,” Bai He was explaining as she fiddled with a loose thread on her pajamas. “Usually I only handle the laundry, or sweep the floors, so while she does talk to me, I’m usually overlooked. It’s better than the tea-servers,” she said, her voice flat and resigned. “If you follow me around and act like you’ve always been here, she won’t notice you.”

“I can’t just do that all the time,” Xiaojiao pointed out. “How’m I supposed to find Red if- Wait.” She suddenly snapped her fingers. “Wait - laundry! If I go around collecting the linens and clothes, that gives me the perfect excuse. I’ll have to find him, then, right?”

“It won’t be that easy…” Bai He mumbled dejectedly. “Even if you see him, Lady Yǔxī would never let you get close. She’d turn you to dust if you so much as looked at his face.”

Xiaojiao frowned. Hm, that did raise a problem-

“She loves gold and sparkling things. These might be useful to you.”

Xiaojiao blinked, then reached under her pillow. She saw Bai He’s eyes go wide as she pulled out a sparkling gold hair comb, and a smug smile tugged at her lips. 

“Actually… Do you know if she’s good with bribes?”

Chapter Text

“You don’t want to be too obvious about this.”

Xiaojiao played Bai He’s advice over and over in her mind as she finished dressing for the day. 

If the situation weren’t so dire, she might have laughed about it. An adult, solemnly taking advice from a young teenager. Listening to a child talking in low, serious tones, as if it were life and death.

…which it was, honestly.

“I told you, Lady Yǔxī will turn to dust if you step out of line. That means any kind of disobedience or disrespect. If she thinks you’re plotting something, that’s it.”

Xiaojiao shook out her hair, then pulled it up into a simple updo. Nearly finished.

“We have the same uniforms, but we were allowed to keep whatever accessories we had on us. Like my lily pins, see?” The girl pointed to the lily flower pin she had pulled out from her parted bangs. 

Xiaojiao took out the gold comb, and carefully put it in her hair.

“So what I’m thinking is: I’ll wear the comb, and it’ll get her attention. From there, I see if I can get her to make a deal. Think that’ll work?”

“If you’re clever about it, yes. She’s bound to her word, so make sure you get her to agree before you name your deal.”

“Got it.”

“...stay close, please?” The younger girl scooted closer, a child seeking some semblance of comfort. “You just got here, but you’re our best chance at going home. I don’t want you to leave too fast.”

“Don’t worry…”

“Ready?” the Bai He of the present asked. Her posture was straight, and her face carefully-blank, but Xiaojiao could still see the underlying apprehension and fear in her eyes. The fear that this wouldn’t work. That the witch may view Xiaojiao’s gold as insolence itself. That everyone’s best chance at survival would be reduced to ash.

Xiaojiao adjusted the comb. And grinned.

“Ready.” She couldn’t resist ruffling the girl’s hair, nearly undoing her hairpin. “And relax, it’ll be fine.”

She could do this.

Xiaojiao had seen laundry rooms before, of course. And she knew what they typically were like.

In her parents’ home, before the famine, the laundry staff had always been bustling about, the air filled with talking and laughter. Women would stand side-by-side at their basins, sleeves pinned up to their elbows, and gossip together while they worked. 

In Xiaotian’s home, while it wasn’t nearly as crowded or hectic and everyone tended to do their own washing, oftentimes two or more of the family would still sit at the basins together and talk. It was a loud, almost warm, experience.

This was a stark contrast.

Xiaojiao noticed that everyone kept their heads down as they worked. Hardly anyone spoke - the only sounds were the sloshing of the water, vigorous rubbing of the fabric, and hurried footsteps that echoed around the room. If she did hear a voice, it was in a low, hushed whisper that she could barely make out.

A few people glanced her way as she and Bai He strode in, heading straight for a shelf of clean linens, but nobody addressed her. If they knew she was an outsider, nobody said anything.

By the gods, they’re terrified, she thought.

Her attention was snatched away again when she felt Bai He putting linens in her arms. “We’re taking these to Lady Yǔxī’s and her fiance’s rooms,” the girl explained. Xiaojiao felt a white-hot lance of anger at the word ‘fiance,’ but kept her expression neutral. “That’s usually the closest I get to him, and I usually see Lady Yǔxī then, too.”

“Do they… do they share a room?” Xiaojiao asked, a little afraid of the answer.

But Bai He shook her head. “No, they don’t. And Lady Yǔxī had the room waiting for months before she brought him here.”

Xiaojiao couldn’t help the wave of relief that went through her at those words.

The sun was rising when the two of them set off down the empty, vast hallways, long rectangles of pale orange cast on the walls and floors. Despite the warmer, picturesque weather of the palace, the sun seemed colder than it did at Red’s palace.

Maybe it was because it’s fake, Xiaojiao thought distantly to herself as she walked with Bai He.

In Red’s palace, the mountains were cold from the settling winter, even with the stone walls keeping out the worst of it. But the sun always came through, and even if it did make things colder, even just the sight of it was enough to lift her spirits. It reminded her a bit of something Xiaotian’s dads had said sometimes: Even in dark hours, there’s light. There’s always something good to be found. She was sure they didn’t mean it that literally, but the words still came to mind.

And there was good in that palace. 

There was friendship. Fondness. 

There was Red Son.

Her husband who was a man at night and a bull in the day but always, always genuine and always hers.

He was here, too, but the warmth and genuine fondness were not.

“Which room is his?” Xiaojiao whispered.

“It’s further down the hall,” Bai He returned, just as quiet. “That one, right there.” She removed one hand from the linens she was carrying to point. She paused. “Do you think maybe…”

If I’m fast enough and quiet enough… Xiaojiao nodded minutely, and set her own load onto Bai He’s own. “I’ll be right back,” she whispered. “I won’t talk, I’ll just let him know I’m here.”

Bai He nodded, readjusting her hold and walking slower as Xiaojiao moved for one of the doors. She intended on keeping some form of look-out, watching the remaining doors for signs of movement. Of course, it was still early, and Yǔxī might still be asleep, but-

-fate wasn’t very kind, unfortunately.

Bai He’s heart skipped a beat, then began to pound as one of the doors opened. Lady Yǔxī, hair down and in her pajamas, began to emerge from her room, rubbing at her eyes in a way that looked practiced - like she was focusing more on looking elegant and beautiful rather than actually removing some grit from her eyes.

Xiaojiao was in front of her betrothed’s room, too close to be able to justify it.

Yǔxī began to turn.

And Bai He made a decision.

Taking a deep breath and squeezing her eyes tightly shut, she dropped the sheets to the floor, allowing them to fwump onto the ground.

The noise caught both Xiaojiao and Yǔxī’s attention, both women turning to look.

Xiaojiao’s breath caught when she realized what had happened.

Yǔxī was no longer about to look her way, and instead had focused on the girl who was dropping to the floor, hurriedly gathering the linens again. She moved towards her.

“You dropped the sheets,” the witch intoned coolly. She stepped closer to Bai He, uncaring of how the girl was visibly trembling, even as she had her head bowed to avoid looking at her. “Those were just cleaned.”

“I - I apologize, Lady Yǔxī-”

“Those were meant to be my betrothed’s,” Yǔxī said. She stopped just in front of Bai He, leaning down. “Is this how you treat his belongings? Is this how little you respect him?”

“No, Lady-”

Yǔxī’s hand moved towards Bai He’s head.

And then Xiaojiao was running between them. “It was my fault!” she blurted out. Behind her, she sensed the girl stiffening, heard the faint, sharp intake of breath. “I made her trip - I didn’t fold those properly and a corner must have been dragging. It wasn’t her fault.”

The witch raised her brows as she looked at Xiaojiao, who stared right back, jaw set. She knew that this could be what got her killed, but in that moment, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

She wasn’t letting a child suffer. Not if she could help it.

Not that she’d go down without a fight either, she thought, her muscles tensing in anticipation as the witch lifted a hand towards her.

But to her surprise, that hand kept moving up… and towards her hair, where the gold comb sat.

“Where did you get this?” Yǔxī asked.

“It’s mine. It was in my pocket when I was brought here,” Xiaojiao lied effortlessly. She could already see the light in Yǔxī’s eyes as the witch stared at the comb. “It’s real gold,” she added, “a family heirloom.”

At least, she assumed it had to have been in someone’s family.

The witch’s response was immediate. “I like it. Give it to me.”

“I would, but something this important to me…” Xiaojiao turned her head a little, lifting a hand to the comb as if she were about to fiddle with it. “I can’t give it away for nothing…”

The witch huffed, and frowned. “Then what do you want? I will offer you anything except your freedom.”

Triumph flared in Xiaojiao’s heart. Got you.

But what to ask for? She couldn’t ask to just talk to Red Son. They’d still have to formulate a plan of escape, and she couldn’t guarantee they’d have privacy.

Her heart raced as her mind leaped onto one possibility.

“I want to spend the night with your betrothed,” she said. “And while I’m there, I want to look at him, without consequence.”

The wide eyes on the witch and the startled, choked gasp behind Xiaojiao almost made her laugh out loud and ruin the whole thing then and there.

“... fine,” the witch finally hissed. She moved her hand forward, plucking the comb from Xiaojiao’s hair. “Today, you stay away from him. Tonight, you sleep in his room.”

Chapter Text

Bai He couldn’t believe Xiaojiao had pulled that off!

And without either of them being dust on the floor!

Bai He walked through the kitchens, a faint little song in her throat - something she remembered from an opera when she was younger, before she was kidnapped and brought here. There was a light bounce to her step that she hadn’t had in years, and if some of the cooks gave her odd looks, she brushed them off.

Xiaojiao would get to see her husband, and they’d get them all out! Just like Xiaojiao promised!

She grabbed a few sweet dumplings and set them in a box for later, as was her usual routine. But as she prepared to turn and walk out-

“L-Lady Yǔxī.”

Bai He’s breath caught in her throat, and she quickly stepped backwards, hiding herself behind a shelf. Trembling, she peeked out. What trouble could Yǔxī have with the cooks?

The witch stood in front of one of the serving girls, looking over the arrangement on the tray in her hands. “Is this for my husband?” she asked, voice cool and level.

“Y-Yes, Lady.”

“He’s ill tonight. I have medicine for him.”

And Bai He watched as Yǔxī pulled a vial from her pockets, and carefully emptied it into his wine. 

He’s not ill, she thought numbly. He’s supposed to see- Ice went down her spine as she realized what was happening.

“Should- should I tell him I hope he gets well?” the serving girl was saying quietly.

“You want to dare speaking to him?” Yǔxī responded, voice dangerously low. Magic sparked around her.

“No, Lady. I apologize - forgive me.”

“You are forgiven. This one time.” The witch turned to leave. “Don’t dawdle. Slowness of the feet leads to slowness of the mind,” she said loftily, sounding as if she were quoting someone.

Bai He bit her tongue, staring at the floor. What could she do? Xiaojiao was supposed to see her husband tonight. And if she couldn’t… If she couldn’t, Lady Yǔxī wasn’t going to fall for the same trick twice. Her chance would be gone, she-

“ Take whatever small acts of rebellion you can.”

Bai He drew in a few deep breaths. Then she hurried out the servant’s passage.

The witch was angry.

What about, Red didn’t know, nor did he particularly care.

Yǔxī, a new gold comb in her hair, stalked quietly through the halls every time he saw her, her jaw set and her gaze icy. Something had clearly displeased her, he thought. 

Good, he thought bitterly, noting how she still wore that icy, angry expression as dinner was brought in. Whoever had upset her this much, they had his support.

He wondered if it had anything to do with the increased whispering and odd looks he noticed the staff exchanging all day, only falling silent and ducking their heads when he drew closer. Something had happened here, he could tell. 

Maybe there was a problem with the upcoming wedding. But that wouldn’t have ruffled Yǔxī too badly, he thought, again bitterly. She would have just forced her way through whatever the problem was.

He could ask her, he considered, as the serving girl set his food in front of him. But no, that wasn’t happening.

The girl ducked her head and backed away, as usual. Red reached for his cup.

And then another, smaller hand entered his vision and took it away.

Red’s eyes shifted to the young servant at his right, briefly taken aback by her audacity. The girl kept her head down as she quickly took the wine away, hiding it against her hanfu, and placed a different cup by his food. “Not this one,” she whispered, so quiet that he had to strain to hear. 

Red quickly looked towards the entrance to the dining hall. The witch wasn’t here yet, but she would be soon. “Why?” he whispered back, quickly.

“Pretend to be tired,” the girl whispered back instead of answering. “After dinner, pretend to be sleepy. Trust me, please.”

With that, the girl drew away, walking quickly behind some of the other servants and holding the wine as close as she could. And perfect timing, too, as Yǔxī entered the room at that moment.

Bai He stepped back, heart jumping into her throat, moving to hide the cup. To her immense relief, Yǔxī didn’t look her way. Instead, she continued her march towards Red - who, Bai He was relieved to see, was acting as if nothing were amiss.

Now what would she do with the cup? 

Bai He didn’t have long to wonder about that; moments after she left the room and away from prying eyes, she heard a faint Nice job, kid! And then she took one step down the hall-

–only for her vision to go dark, and her next step was in the gardens outside, next to the discarded scraps.

“....huh?” she mumbled.

Xiaojiao didn’t like the sly grin the witch gave her as they passed each other in the hall that night.

“Well, servant girl,” Yǔxī said, voice cloyingly sweet. “You get your wish tonight. You get to see him.” 

Why had she emphasized that…?

Realization gripped her heart as Yǔxī walked away, her smug smile burned into Xiaojiao’s memory. She remembered what she knew of the witch - words were important, wording was important, she was bound by her word and she had told Xiaojiao she could see Red Son and be in his room, but-

But she hadn’t said-

“Shit,” Xiaojiao whispered, hurrying to Red’s door. Heart pounding, she slid the door open and stepped inside.

And then her heart stopped.

Red Son was lying in bed, hair undone and fanned on the pillows. He looked so much like he had when she’d lit the candle to look at him. Reminding her of how and why they were in this mess.

Asleep.

“Red,” Xiaojiao whispered, walking closer. She climbed the few small steps to the elevated bed, crawling up next to him. “Red,” she whispered.

Silence, save for a faint snore.

“Oh, come on, Red, this is just not fair,” Xiaojiao blurted out, hands hovering above him as she moved to touch him. 

Red didn’t move.

“Red!” Xiaojiao put her hands on his shoulder, shaking him. “Red, wake up - I found you, see?!” His eyes remained closed. “Red - Red, I found you! I did as you said - I found west of the moon and east of the sun, just as you told me!”

And then, to her immense relief and light shock, those red eyes opened.

“There it is,” she heard him whisper. Xiaojiao couldn’t help the relieved, watery smile that spread across her face as her husband slowly sat up, all traces of feigned sleep vanishing. He’d been acting, she realized. Waiting for a sign it was actually her. “Xiaojiao.”

“Red Son,” she choked out.

And then she threw herself on him, and he was in her arms.

Torn between laughing and crying, not sure which they ought to do first, the couple sat among the rumpled blankets, holding each other tight. They only pulled away just enough for Red to rest his forehead to her own. “Xiaojiao,” he rasped, voice tight, “Xiaojiao, you found me.”

Chapter Text

He’d missed her.

Gods, how he’d missed her.

Neither of them knew how much time they spent holding each other tightly, lost in sheer relief that the other was alright, was solid and here in front of them. That they were together again. Red kept his face buried in Xiaojiao’s shoulder, barely able to say much beyond “You found me. You found me…” 

“I’m so sorry,” Xiaojiao said, when she finally found enough strength to pull away. She only withdrew to arm’s length, but it still felt heavy and difficult, And all she wanted was to immediately rush back. “You trusted me not to look at you, and I did - it’s my fault this happened-”

“No. Xiaojiao, Wife, no…” Xiaojiao’s heart fluttered in her chest at that. She hadn’t thought she’d hear him actually call her that again. She was sure she would rescue him, sure she’d make it here, but… But after that, how could she have been sure he would want to see her again? After she’d broken his trust like that? But no, here he was, gently calling to her as if nothing had happened. 

“It isn’t your fault,” he said, voice hardening as he took her shoulders. “Anyone else would have caved at some point - you lasted a lot longer than most people would, trust me. The witch did the spell like this on purpose, she knew how suspicious it looked, she knew you would have to look at me at some point.”

“But you had been so good to me,” Xiaojiao argued. “If you had wanted to hurt me, you would have done so back at the beginning, and I knew that-”

“You weren’t sure. You were nervous. That isn’t your fault, it’s not anyone’s fault. If the roles were reversed and you were telling me I couldn’t look at you, and you had a different form, I’d have my doubts, too.”

Red’s expression had been sharp as he said all of this, but then it softened, and he looked away. “I’m the one who should be sorry for deceiving you and your family. I couldn’t reveal the truth, but I could have said something.”

“Hey, hey, didn’t you just tell me it was the witch’s fault?” Xiaojiao laughed wetly, palming at one of her eyes. “If I’m not allowed to blame myself, you’re not either.” She smiled, giving in to what her heart was screaming at her to do and embracing him again. “I’m just glad to have you back,” she whispered.

“...but I’m not yet,” Red sighed, even as he wrapped his own arms around her. “We still need to leave, and make it so the witch can’t bring me back.”

“I heard she’s marrying you. You can refuse, can’t you?”

“It’s not that simple. Witches are tricky with their words, and I forgot that. I agreed to-”

“You couldn’t have actually agreed to marry her!”

“I agreed to a wager with her before knowing the terms! I gave my word, if I try to back out just like that, I won’t be able to. And even if by some miracle I did, everyone else here would suffer, especially you. If she realizes who you are, she won’t go easy on you at all.”

Xiaojiao frowned, squeezing Red tighter. There was absolutely no way she was just giving him up. Not when she’d gone so far to find him, not when she’d risked so much. Not when he was still a prisoner. 

And it wasn’t just him. She’d promised to help Bai He too, she needed to get everyone out of here…

Something lit up in my mind.

“Then make another wager.”

“What?”

Xiaojiao pulled back again, a grin slowly taking up her features. “No, better.” She glanced around the room, her eyes landing on a nearby candle. A candle had been what got them into this mess.

Now it could get them out.

“Make a request…”

Chapter Text

“Bai He, what happened to you? I swear I saw you in the dining hall last, but then you walked in from the back door.”

“I’m… I’m not sure…”

Xiaojiao could barely focus on the hushed conversation happening behind her. Her mind was racing, in time with her pounding heart. She took a deep breath as she walked, steeling her nerves. 

This would work.

This would work.

She and Red had thought very carefully, and had considered the witch’s rules. Had considered the magic’s rules. 

If they did this right… If they did this right, they had nothing to fear.

“Xiaojiao,” Bai He’s finger poked her arm, nearly making her jump. Xiaojiao looked down to see Bai He’s pale, anxious face. The little girl had darted ahead to speak to her, leaving the other humans a few paces behind. She lowered her voice further, just to be safe. “Is… is everything okay? Do you know something?”

Xiaojiao couldn’t blame the girl for her nerves. A lot had happened in just a few days, and it wasn’t only Xiaojiao and Red Son’s freedom on the line.

Not to mention, if the witch suspected Bai He had anything to do with any part of this…

She won’t, Xiaojiao told herself sternly. 

She was probably too preoccupied at the moment anyway.

Because today was her wedding.

Xiaojiao joined the rest of the captured humans in the palace courtyard, sitting close to the front, but not too close. She kept her head down, peering up through her lashes as the couple dressed in scarlet finery. A tea set stood behind them on the small platform.

There was little else. 

This didn’t seem like a full, proper wedding, but then neither had her own, and that had apparently still counted according to the rules of the spell.

So this one most definitely would count, too.

Bai He squirmed next to her, gripping her sleeve. 

Xiaojiao reached out her hand to pat the girl’s arm. Don’t worry, she wanted to say. Just trust us. But she didn’t dare speak. Not until it was time.

Red Son had been cleaned, dressed, perfumed, and styled like a doll. But this time, he managed to tamp down the indigent flares that swelled up at being a witch’s prisoner.

This would work.

This would work.

As the witch spoke, reciting a vow on both their behalfs, he shifted his gaze to the humans below. It didn’t take long at all to find Xiaojiao.

He’d know her anywhere.

Her head shifted slightly, just enough to allow their eyes to stealthily meet.

Her brows raised.

He nodded.

She ducked her head again.

“Hold on a moment,” Red Son suddenly spoke up, straightening and interrupting Yǔxī mid-sentence. “Before we proceed, I want to make a request of my own.” 

Yǔxī blinked. 

“It’s a simple request,” he went on, casually. “I think my wife would find it ridiculously simple.”

“Hm… I’m willing to do anything for you, Love,” Yǔxī said carefully. “But there are some favors I cannot-”

“I am not requesting to be released from the palace,” Red Son cut in. “It is not a request for the wedding to be canceled either.”

The witch relaxed. “If that’s the case…” she murmured, bringing a hand to her mouth. She thought for a few moments, her eyes shifting slightly as she considered her options.

Then, finally, she nodded, lowering her sleeve. “Very well. Your request will be granted.”

“All I ask… is for this stain to be removed. Right now.”

From under his hanfu, Red pulled out a pajama shirt. It was the same one he’d worn when Xiaojiao had stayed with him, stuffed out of the way and hidden to avoid the laundry. 

The difference was, now it had dried candle wax stuck to it, clinging to the sleeve.

Yǔxī blinked again, dumbfounded.

“I can easily remove it myself. My wife should be able to remove it just easily.”

Slowly, Yǔxī took the pajama shirt, frowning. She looked to her own hands. Soft, slender, neatly-done nails… She didn’t think her magic could do laundry, she had servants for that…

“Can you not do it?”

“I can!” Yǔxī sputtered, face flushing. She turned to the crowd of mortals. They were still keeping their heads down, but she could see a few of them risking looking at her through their lashes, curiously. “One of you!” she barked. “Get up here!”

Xiaojiao could hardly contain herself as she stood up, approaching the two. She kept her head down, bowing deeply. So much that she nearly fumbled and dropped the pajama shirt the witch thrust at her. 

“Can you clean this?” Yǔxī asked tersely.

“Yes. Easily.”

“Then get to it.”

Xiaojiao’s smile was like a cat who’d swallowed a bird. “Of course, Lady.”

Chapter Text

Xiaojiao was keenly aware of the eyes on her back and shoulders as she looked over the shirt. She kept her head bowed, trying not to smile too much, lest the witch get suspicious. Instead, she focused on the pajama shirt, giving the fabric a few experimental tugs to see just what she was dealing with.

(Feeling the shirt under her hands made her think of those first few weeks with Red Son. How for the longest time, the touch of the shirt was one of the only things she knew of him. Sentimentality and nostalgia threatened to overpower her, but she shook it off.)

Xiaojiao reached into her pocket and produced a candle. She was preparing to take one when–

“What are you doing?!” snapped Yǔxī. “I said to clean the shirt, not burn it!”

“I have to soften the wax,” Xiaojiao said simply. “I won’t burn it.”

Yǔxī huffed, and Xiaojiao felt the weight of her stare intensify. But she said nothing, instead striking a match to ignite the candle wick.

The thought of asking Red Son to do it had crossed her mind during the night, but they’d decided against it, fearing that would make Yǔxī catch on before their plan could even carry out.

Xiaojiao felt as if the entire courtyard was holding its breath as she worked. First she passed the flame over the wax, steadily softening it. Then she scraped the wax off with her fingernails, remembering how she used to get oil stains from her own clothes. 

Yǔxī’s stare grew even heavier when Xiaojiao, satisfied with her current progress, shoved the shirt into a water basin provided by Bai He.

But at the same time, she could feel Red Son’s own look. She didn’t need to see him to know it was less harsh and steely than the witch’s.

Hurry it up, the witch’s gaze seemed to say.

You’ll do this, said Red’s.

Finally, with a short cry of triumph, Xiaojiao lifted the shirt from the water and wrung it out. After shaking it loose a few times, she brought it to her face to examine it - an act, she knew she’d done this right - then held it out with a flourish. “Clean,” she declared.

Immediately, Yǔxī snatched it away. “Return to your place,” she snapped. “Now.”

“Hold on…” Xiaojiao said, squaring her shoulders. “We’re not done.”

“I say you are–”

“We’re not. Done,” she repeated, voice steely.

A low gasp rippled through the gathered crowd.

Bai He stiffened, her hands curling into anxious fists. Below her, she swore she felt the ground soften and sway a bit.

The witch’s expression darkened. “You dare to–” she began.

She was stopped in her tracks when Red Son stepped between them, one arm out. “Hold on,” he repeated, voice hard, staring Yǔxī right in the eyes. “She’s right. We made an agreement, just now.”

“We–?”

“You agreed to grant me a request. I requested the wax removed. I specifically said that my wife should be able to easily remove it.” His head inclined slightly, the sun catching the dark lenses of his glasses. “You did not remove it. She did.

“So, by your very own words, you’re no longer my betrothed.” Red Son’s hand found Xiaojiao’s. “She is.”

Bai He watched, holding her breath, her eyes darting from the witch to the two people opposing her. She wasn’t the only one. All around her, everyone had lifted their heads to watch, to see what was going to happen.

All of them saw Red clearly for the first time, and saw how tightly his hand was clasped with the new maid’s.

With Xiaojiao’s.

And Bai He saw Yǔxī notice it too, heard her inhale sharply between her teeth before leveling her icy gaze at Xiaojiao. “It’s you…” she said, voice shaking with rage.

Bai He felt the ground shift again, felt a light tremor from somewhere.

“That’s- you can’t do that, it’s not fair, I beat you at your own–”

“You didn’t beat anyone,” Xiaojiao cut in, stepping closer to Red Son as if to shield him. “We beat you at your own game.”

Bai He glanced nervously at the ground. The trembling was getting stronger. It didn’t feel like an earthquake, no, it felt more like the ground itself was–

“Well, you cheated!” Yǔxī stomped her foot petulantly, a sight that would have been funny if it weren’t for the ominous rumble and the bucking sensation that came with it. “You cheated, you cheated, it isn’t fair–”

Her last word was lost in a high-pitched, furious shriek, more like a piercing bird-cry than anything else–

Bai He heard a loud CRUNCH seconds before the ground suddenly seemed to burst.

“Xiaojiao!” she heard Red Son shout, turning and wrapping his arms around her.

There was another petulant shriek, another sound of stone crunching and shuddering.

And then Bai He felt herself falling into nothingness.

Chapter Text

Bai He slowly pushed herself off the ground, blinking in surprise when she saw green grass under her hands.

All around her, the other captured humans were sitting up, too. Some were looking around cautiously, others were helping their neighbors to their feet and then looking around.

They were at the base of a mountain, near the sea. Rocks and boulders littered the surrounding area, melting snow dotting the grass and sand. 

How had they gotten down here? Where was…?

Bai He looked up towards the mountaintops. There was no sign of the witch’s palace. Only stone and earth.

The girl gasped, remembering.

Xiaojiao and the prince had bested the witch at her own game.

She and the courtyard had fallen into the dark. 

The witch’s shriek that seemed to echo all around them.

Landing on soft sand.

And Xiaojiao–

“Xiaojiaaaoooo!” Bai He shouted, scrambling to her feet. She cupped her hands around her mouth, calling again. “XIAOJIAOOO!”

Where were they? Why wasn’t she answering?

The witch hadn’t done something to her after all, had she?

Bai He’s breathing began to quicken at the thought. No. No, she couldn’t have. It wouldn’t be fair, it wouldn’t be– “XIAOJIAO–”

Something bright and sparkling caught her eye, and she whirled around to look.

Golden thread.

Gold… like Xiaojiao’s hair comb…

…what if it wasn’t the only golden thing she had on her?

Bai He ran to the thread on the ground, picking it up. The thread continued further down the beach.

She followed the thread, picking it up and spinning it over her hands as she went, going as fast as she could without breaking the thread and losing her progress.

A few others joined in, following the thread further ahead to help guide her, or looking around to see where the young woman could be.

Bai He rounded a bend and found the gold thread trailing into a pile of rubble. In no time flat, she was at the stones, grabbing at them and trying to pry them loose. “Xiaojiao! Are you there?!” she called out.

One second.

Two.

Three–

“Bai He? Where are we?”

Bai He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “We’re at the base of the mountains!” she yelled back. “All of us!”

Then the prince’s voice came. “All of you?”

“Not the witch,” Bai He chirped back. “We don’t see her anywhere–”

“I think she’s gone,” a new voice said. Bai He looked to see another, golden-haired man next to her, dressed similarly to the rest of the prisoners, though his clothes looked newer and… shinier, somehow, without a speck of sand or dirt on them. He gripped a large piece of stone, leaning in close to the narrow opening in the rubble. “Whatever you did, kids, it worked.”

Bai He laughed at the sound of Xiaojiao   whoop -ing loudly.

It took a great deal of work from everyone, though it was made easier by the gold-haired man’s help. He was able to move more and heavier stones than any of them, and Bai He didn’t know how long it would have taken without his help.

But in time, the rubble was cleared, and both Xiaojiao and Red Son stumbled out into the cooling dusk air, disheveled but unhurt.

Bai He nearly looked away from Red out of habit, only to look back up when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

“Xiaojiao tells me you helped her.”

“Y-Yes, sir?”

He smiled. “Thank you.”

It was those two words that allowed Bai He to finally, finally, feel like all was well again.

The next few hours left the girl’s head reeling. Xiaojiao and the prince - Red Son, Bai He reminded herself, his name was Red Son and he was Xiaojiao’s husband - led the whole group around the base of the mountain. There, they saw a boat, manned by a river demon. Xiaojiao had let out another happy whoop as she ran to meet him, leaping up to give him a hug.

Tactfully, he didn’t say anything about the large number of passengers. Instead, he ferried them all across the now-calm waters without a care, calling attention to the warmer weather, the sun shining overhead, and the smoothness of the ride.

“If I didn’t know any better,” he said at one point, his beard moving to show he was grinning, “I’d say it was like magic.”

Bai He said nothing, instead sitting on the deck, idly toying with the gold ball that Xiaojiao let her borrow to play with. 

There was a slight footstep next to her, and then Xiaojiao was sitting down. “Hey, kiddo,” she said, smiling. “Why the long face?”

Bai He hesitated to say. Xiaojiao and Red seemed so happy; the two of them seemed hardly able to let go of each other, Xiaojiao keeping an arm flung around his waist or his upper back, and Red Son keeping a hand on her hip as if he feared they’d be separated if he didn’t. Xiaojiao had spent half the boat ride cheerfully talking his ear off, and he’d just nodded and listened, occasionally squeezing her to him.

They looked too happy to be troubled with a little girl’s worry.

But Xiaojiao was looking at her so earnestly, Bai He couldn’t help but answer.

“I’m… I’m just worried,” she admitted, looking at her reflection in the ball. 

“About the witch?” Red Son’s voice came from her other side.

“A little. But not just that.” Bai He frowned, watching as the girl in the ball did the same thing. “We’re all going home now, and the grown-ups all have places to go. They can get jobs, or go back to families…”

“...not you?” Xiaojiao pried gently.

The girl’s fingers gripped the ball tighter. “I lived on the street,” she admitted. “Before I was taken away. I don’t know where to go, what I’ll do…”

There was a short pause. Then she heard Red Son clear his throat. “You know,” he began, slowly, “Xiaojiao and I owe our current happiness to you. If you didn’t let her in that night, I’m not sure where we would be right now, but it wouldn’t be on a boat back home. And you were the one who told me not to eat the drugged meal, so Xiaojiao and I could think of a plan in the first place.”

“He’s right, you really saved us, kid. And I gotta admit…” Xiaojiao grinned, putting an arm around her shoulders and hugging her to her side. “I’m already kinda fond of you, kiddo.”

“When Xiaojiao and I make our home, we’d be glad to welcome you into it.”

Bai He blinked. Was this…? “Are… are you offering me a position as a maid?” she asked.

The adults looked at each other over her head. Then Xiaojiao hugged her again. “How about… little sister?”

“Little sister?! Me?!”

“If you wish it.”

“That… that sounds so nice, thank you!”

At the wheel, Sandy tried not to cry at the sound of a new family being formed.

Atop the mountain, two figures watched the boat sail to the next shoreline.

“You sure you’re okay with this?” the sun-gold one asked. “I thought you liked that little girl.”

“I can see her in the village,” said the other figure, clad in darker colors, like the night. “Besides, she’d probably adjust better if a mortal took her in.” There was a pause, then a hastily-added “I’m sure a neighbor would be fine, though. Or something like that.”

“Something like that,” the sun echoed with a laugh. “You put that witch in a safe place, right?”

The pair had been unable to act directly until that moment; word-magic was an odd but powerful thing indeed. It took her spells being broken by her own word to allow them to do a thing to her themselves.

“Safest place I know.” The moon patted a lantern hanging from his belt, from which muffled, angry shrieks could just barely be heard. “I’ll let her out when she learns a lesson.”

“...what lesson?”

“Eh, I’ll think of something appropriate.”

Much Later…

Whatever it was that had a hold on the seasons and nature itself, it seemed to be gone. Vegetation grew back healthier and haler than ever, fish returned to filling rivers, and the seasons warmed again. 

In one particular village, where the people once had to all flock to one particular shop to eat, now they could find their own food again. But the kindness the owner and his family showed was clearly not forgotten - nor was his cooking, for there was a sizable crowd gathered in front when Xiaojiao approached.

At her side, Red Son’s pace slowed for a moment.

She turned to look at him, smiling gently. “Nervous?”

“I am not nervous. I’m just–” He stopped. Sighed. “I used to imagine meeting your loved ones as a man instead of a bull. Now that it’s about to happen, it feels unreal.”

Xiaojiao squeezed his hand. “It is,” she promised. 

“What will they say? They knew me as a bull who had to coerce someone to be my bride.”

“Welllll… Pigsy’ll probably threaten you for a bit, I won’t lie.”

“Great.”

“But that’ll pass pretty quickly. Just tell them it’s a long story and at least two people at that table will just focus on that.” 

Red Son scoffed out a laugh. “You’re confident.”

“You love it.”

At Red’s other side, Bai He swung his arm and leaned out. She was no longer wearing servant garments, instead wearing elegant but practical clothing for a child on an outing to town. Already she looked a bit happier, her face flushed and her eyes sparkling. “Xiaojiao, Red Son, I can smell food from here! Let’s go!”

Xiaojiao laughed. “Ready, Husband?”

Red Son sighed, but smiled. “Yes, Wife. I’m ready.”

The three held hands tightly, and walked up to the bustling restaurant.