Chapter Text
This coldness. Was it normal to feel this cold? Obviously, it was the middle of the night. But could the dark sky really bring this much iciness? The girl felt it on her body and somewhere deeper. .. But it was not the time to worry about such meaningless things like that. Everyone always told her, she does not have a soul, so why would she worry about it freezing?
The spruces embraced the girl as she wandered in the quiet forest. Quiet. In her home she never knew quiet. There was always screaming and yelling. Mostly at her.
Ever since she was a little kid she never understood why everyone seemed to hate her. But then again, everyone seemed to hate everybody. She just got to be the one they let out their hate upon. The inconvenience. The one who reacted too much.
It hurt, of course. But after some time the feeling drifted away. Like stars when they disappear as the Sun rises.
A breeze of wind knocked the girl over, slapping her in to the cold, hard ground. Her red glasses became even dirtier than before and it was near impossible to see through them. Mud got stuck in her tangled, black hair.
Thankfully the girl's hair was long only on the left side, meaning, she did not have to deal with too much mud. It was still a pain but did it even matter? She was filthy as is and no one would find her. Unless someone owned this forest and had people checking on it, of course. But that could never be the case.
The girl slowly stood up, wiping as much dirt off of her as she could. It was not her intent to grow more filthy, only to escape. Even if it meant dying away from everyone. In calm, beautiful silence.
It seemed like an eternity had passed in her walk through the forest. It was huge but somehow she never felt lost. The clean air was extremely refreshing and the Moon looked more beautiful than ever. The stars were the girl's guides, making sure she did not go in a circle.
She always had an interest in stars without really knowing why. Often, after everyone went to sleep, she would sneak out and try to see constellations.
Sometimes she made up her own ones to feel less lonley. Those were the only times when she got to have fun. And now it was just her and the constellations. No family to intervene, nothing.
The girl stopped to look at the shiny dots decorating the night sky, her green eyes immediately trying to find her beloved star groups. They were more beautiful than she remembered. The girl always felt safe by just looking at them. It was like they were there to support her and give hope. Something her family should have done.
Hesitating a bit, the girl sat down in the green grass and ran her pale fingers over the slightly wet ground.
«It seems very healthy and taken care of», she thought, confused: «It is like someone looks after it....»
Brushing off the weird thought, the girl looks up, taking in the view once more. She had never had this much time for herself. Discovering who she is and what she feels always seemed so impossible. But now it was her chance.
Slowly, tears started to burn her eyes as she finally accepted that she is free. At least her last days would be spent admiring what she always loved and understanding who she is. The stars almost looked happy too, their light dancing above the trees.
The moment was interrupted by a sound. After all the years of analyzing every single noise, the girl knew exactly what she heard. She heard footsteps.
Slightly intimidated, the girl stood up and started to walk away from the noise but it did not stop. It got closer like it was trying to catch her. The girl's legs started moving faster and faster and when the realization that whoever was there was chasing her, she immediately started running as quickly as she could.
The footsteps did not loose track of her, they actually seemed to be getting closer. The girl was terrified now. It had been so quiet, so peaceful. She could finally try to understand her emotions after years of locking them in. What went wrong? Was she too loud? Did her family somehow find her? How?
There was no time to overthink the answers as the girl's lungs and legs started to burn. She had never had the chance to stay athletic and she had not gotten near enough food to survive one run, not mentioning a chase.
The footsteps got louder. The forest got darker. The girl's sight started to blur until she could barely understand what was infront of her. Pushing through the pain will get you so far and she knew it.
It was not long after that she felt something grab her wrist in the most non-gentle manner possible. She wanted to scream but she had no energy left. It was pointless anyway since there were no towns nearby and no one would hear her.
This was it. Her family had found her. The last bits of hope were shattered. She could not escape. The girl felt herself falling but right before she hit the ground everything went black.
Her back hurt. Slowly, as the world around her faded back in, she realized why. She was being dragged on the ground by two weirdly dressed men. Inspecting them a bit, she quickly understood they were not her family and by the helmets on their heads, the girl made a guess on who they might be.
She frowned, confused. Guards? But how? Isn't this just a big, lonley forest? Why would there be guards here? And why did they try to catch her?
The girl felt sweat starting to form as her confusion became worry.
«Did I do something wrong? Am I being arrested? Where are they taking me???»
Too many thoughts started to pop up in her head as she suddenly felt very sick. One of the men looked back at her with a stare that made the girl want to hide in a hole and never come out.
"The intruder is awake"
Ah. So she was being "arrested".
"Good. It would be awkward to give a sleeping person to the master. Especially since he loves telling every single intruder
about his past."
The guards chuckled. The girl could not understand why. If the so called "master" was their leader, wasn't it a bit risky to laugh at him like this? Or maybe he did not care. But that was hard to believe seeing how his guards treated one little intruder.
The girl wanted to get mad but the overwhealming fear destroyed every other emotion that appeared. What was happening? Right when she found peace? Will she get killed? Locked up for life? Who even owns such a large forest??
Lost in her thoughts, the girl did not notice the trees starting to thin out and ultimately disappearing from her view completely. Suddenly the wet ground was replaced by, to her horror, hard stairs.
At least the mud helped with the pain of being dragged but now it was gone. The sharp pain of switching to such unforgivable material snapped her out of her worries.
The girl could not believe it. All this pain and now there are stairs? To be fair, at least they were clean but still! She was being dragged up, after all! The girl looked at her surroundings and noticed that they were climbing a tall mountain. Tall was an understatement. It was giant!
She looked at the sky, eyes wide, searching for some kind of encouragement from the stars. She got nothing. They were just white dots above her. There was nothing they could ever do.
Attempting to distract herself from the pain, the girl tried enjoying the view but it just made her more scared. Will they drop her off? Is there a prison on top of the mountain?
She felt her body start to shake and found it hard to breathe. At least, previously she was in familiar territory but now? The girl had never been good with high places and this was exactly what she spent her life being terrified about.
Suddenly the thought of returning to her family did not seem so bad. Then she inspected her rough, pale skin. Nevermind.
It seemed like they were climbing up since forever and the girl was getting better at figuring out what calmed her down in this new situation.
Slowly the familiar numbness returned as she got used to the pain. But it was not like before. She was still horrified. With her family, she was familiar with every way they could hurt her. She knew how to lock her emotions away, how to pay them no mind. But this...this is something completely new.
Unrecognizable people, unrecognizable places, it was all too much. All too new. Ignoring everything will get you so far, the girl was aware. But for now that will have to do it. There was no other way.
After seemingly ages, the stairs stopped. The girl's whole body was screaming now, not being able to handle so much pain and the girl herself was ready to pass out at any minute.
After the guards pulled her off the last step, she landed on what seemed to be a cold, hard road. It was still dark but the ground below her seemed to shine, it's beautiful gold color reflecting the light from the Moon.
Relieved, the girl looked in front of her, guessing that they were close to their destination. Even more sweat started dripping as she layed her eyes upon the sight. It was a giant mansion, it's top living in the clouds.
On the path leading to it were placed multiple statues depicting a wolf's head. Most of the mansion and statues were in a clean, white color. The domain had multiple little rooftops, the color of their tiles matching with the color of the pathway.
The girl had never seen anything this beautiful before. The mansion was even decorated with details and windows in a color she remembered liking- purple.
On the giant window in the middle, she could see the reflection of the round Moon.
«That is very breathtaking», the girl thought, her worry disappearing for a short while.
There were some small trees growing on the flat part of the roof, giving the surroundings a calming, fresh smell.
Despite the circumstances, the girl felt relaxed. At least her last moments will be spent in this place, surrounded by beauty.
The guards kept dragging her forward, not as impressed as she was but it was no surprise. They must be living here after all.
When they finally got to the door, the girl noticed that it was in a form of a circle.
«How fancy», she distracted herself from her upcoming doom.
Tho she could not help but wonder, what does the so called "master" look like and how does he act? The girl prayed he would be understanding and let her go. Maybe if she pleaded enough he would be touched.
But what if he has no emphaty? ... The girl dared not to think about what would happen if that was the case. She was pulled out of her thoughts when the door slided to the side and the guards roughly pushed her in.
"We sincerely apologize master for disrupting you in such an important time but we found this...lady wandering in your forest and brought her here."
There was silence for a few seconds before a calm, light voice responded:
"I accept your apology. Thank you for bringing the intruder here. You may leave."
The voice send shivers down the girl's spine. It sounded so mad yet so peaceful. It was scary.
«I guess he will not spare me», she sighed.
The guards bowed politely and left, sliding the door back. As the girl stood up and turned to face the man, golden circles appeared around her arms and legs, making her unable to move.
"I will deal with you later," is all she heard as panic absorbed her.
What was this? Was this some sort of spell? No, that could not be...magic does not exist! But how then... The girl looked at the restraints, sweating even more. They held on tightly, it almost hurt. There were little dots decorating them. They almost looked like...
"N-no, please... I am sorry, I did not know I was intruding! Please, I do not want to die!!"
The girl looked in front of her. What she saw made her heart stop. There he was- the man, the owner of this place. Holding a bended blade, centimeters away from the face of a woman who was also restrained in the wierd circles.
She looked absolutely horrified, tears running down her cheeks as she kept begging the man not to kill her. Terrified, the girl started looking around to find something, anything that could help or at least make it easier to breathe.
She noticed a giant hole in the ceiling which let everyone see the stars. The girl looked at them, desperately trying to find the comfort they always brought but this time it was different. Instead of the stars calming her it was almost like they were laughing at the situation, their light dancing sharply in the night sky.
The girl could not breathe. All these years. Of course. The stars never helped. It was an illusion her mind made up to keep going. But now she had no chance to keep going.
The girl was about to witness a murder and she was next. She looked down at the circles again.
... Constellations. The dots were constellations. The same ones she spoke to, the same ones she loved with her soul. Now working against her. Holding her back, holding the woman back.
It was disgusting. The girl felt angry. She had never felt this mad, it felt wrong. Her heart was racing in an incredible speed, her face- contorted beyond recognition.
What kind of sick lie life had to be?? Making her suffer for years and now turning against her the only things that kept her going.
Tears filled the girl's eyes. This was it. All the suffering and she could not even die peacefully. She wanted to look away from the man and the woman. But she could not. It was like some invisible force was forcing her to watch.
She could not force herself to breathe. It was almost like the air did not want to get in her lungs. The girl had not felt so much emotion in almost 20 years. It was overwhelming.
Here she thought the stairs situation was bad. She took her eyes off of the shaking woman and the stars, and looked at the man.
His yellow robes and long, silver hair almost made him look majestic. If only it was not for the blade in his hands. He looked back at her. The girl felt her face burn hot with anger and staring at the man's empty, lavender eyes only fueled the emotion.
But something was strange. Why were his eyes empty? You would expect for a guy who kills his intruders to have eyes filled with anything but emptiness. And was that...confusion which appeared the moment he looked back?
..."What...?" the man quietly whispered to himself.
They stared at each other for a few more seconds, the woman between them still shaking in fear. Then the man did something even he did not expect. He fliped the blade upside down and hit the woman's head with the handle, making her pass out.
The girl kept staring, confusion arising to the surface. Who is this guy? Why would he do that? Then relief washed over her as he dropped the blade. That feeling quickly vanished as he started walking towards her, conflict appearing on his expression.
The murder attempt happened in the room's center, on the man's throne. It was pretty high up so there were a lot of stairs leading him to the ground. He stepped on them carefully so not to fall. This time gave the girl more time to think.
Did he actually pity her? It would not be unheard of, her clothes were tattered and basically like a big garbage bag, her bones vere peeking out of her skin and combined with her sharp features she looked like she had not eaten in weeks.
Maybe he noticed her eyes which were accompanied with some pretty big eye bags and were hidden behind incredibly dirty glasses.
The girl looked at the man's expression more. No, it did not look like the usual pity looks she had recieved. Not only did he look confused, he looked... relieved? What is that about?
Finally, the man finished walking down the stairs and stopped right in front of the girl. After 5 seconds of awkward staring, he teared up.
«Wait...tears?? Is he tearing up??? »the girl was basically yelling in her mind.
The confusion overwhelmed the anger and now she was just left standing with a slight shake. The man kept staring at her, opening and closing his mouth as if he wanted to say something. He started shaking too and gave the girl a small smile.
«SMILE??? HE SMILED AT ME???» she had gotten flustered out of confusion and it was showing more and more.
Wasn't he ready to murder her just now? And why didn't he kill the woman??
"I...can not believe this...," the man finally said with a sigh,"It is really you..."
There was a pause as the girl just stared at him. Then, she slowly whispered:
"M-me..? Who is me?"
"My beloved, of course"
"W-What!?"
The man smiled even wider:"Allow me to tell you a tale, precious intruder," he said with a quick bow.
Concerned and confused the girl nodded:"Okay..."
The man put his hands together and a shine appeared in his eyes, like he was thinking about something important:
"There once was a Celestial Guard who fell deeply in love with a Jade Maiden. However, their love was forbidden. And so, by his hand, he sacrificed their immortality, that they might be reborn in the mortal realm, their union unbound by the rules of heaven. But fate moves slowly. To prolong his mortal life, the Guard ensnared and devoured powerful souls that wandered into his domain as he awaited the return of his beloved."
When he finished talking the shine in his eyes had turned dark. The girl guessed, it was that way because the story obviously was quite sad.
"So-," she got cut off by the man putting his hands on her shoulders, the circles immediately disappearing.
"I am that guard...and you are my beloved. The one I have been waiting for, for so long."
He looked so hopeful, forgetting about how they met in the 1st place.
"It quite saddens me seeing my love looking this...upset. But we will figure everything out together, I promise! Now that I have finally found you...," he started crying.
Real ugly tears, finally letting out something he has been holding in for centuries. His bangs got in his face but as long as he could still see the girl, he did not care.
The girl, on the other hand did not say anything. Just kept starting at him like he was something out of this world. It was getting hard to breathe again.
He, a murder, loves her?? They were together in a past life? He has waited specifically for her for probably centuries?
How was all of this even possible??
And...why? Why would you do such things in the name of love? It scared her. And overwhelmed her. The man did not seem to notice her discomfort tho as he suddenly gave her a tight hug, his arms wrapping around her as if he was afraid she would disappear.
"I waited for so long...I thought you would never come back...Thank you...thank you..."
The girl did not return the hug. She was stunned as she felt her head starting to hurt and her vision becoming blurry again. Too much. This is too much. She clutched her hands in to fists trying not to pass out from everything. Not now. Not here.
"Hey.., what is your name? I completely forgot about introductions, I apologize! My name is Kui Mulang. Yours?" Kui Mulang pulled away from the hug, still holding her with tear filled eyes.
I guess he realized that maybe he needs to calm down a bit.
The girl stared at him again:
"Agatha," she managed to wisper before her vision disappeared completely and she fell in to Kui Mulang's arms.