Conquering the Emperor

“You’re awake?” I heard a man’s voice as I lazily woke up from my slumber. Where am I? When did I fall asleep?

The display of muscles close to my face when I opened my eyes brought me quickly back to reality. I am suddenly reminded that I am still lying on top of Ren. I bolted up into a sitting position, as I pushed against his firm chest with the palms of my hand.

“Ren! Are you feeling better?” I managed to ask in a panicked voice. That didn’t sound right at all.

“Is that the first thing you think of after waking up in this position?” Ren teased me as he laughed merrily. Well, at least someone is feeling much better.

Wait. My position? I looked down and realized that now I was straddling his hips. I felt blood rush to my face as it dawned on me how embarrassing this position is. I hurriedly got off him and off the bed. I was in such a rush that I lost my balance and ended up falling off the bed.

“Hahahahaaa…you’re so funny, Lin!” Ren laughed mercilessly as he witnessed my literal downfall.

“Stop teasing me! It’s your fault for not letting me go!” I yelled back at him as I struggled to my feet. I wanted to die from embarrassment.

Ren got out of bed in one smooth motion. His movements seemed normal now, his fever must have broken while he was resting. That’s one good thing at least.

“Give me you hand,” Ren said to me with a kind smile while offering me one of his large manly hands.

“Thanks…” I said in a small whisper as I placed my hand in his.

His hand was warm and much larger than mine making my hand seem so tiny. I hesitated a little before placing my hand in his. He held my hand firmly as he slowly pulled me up to my feet. Standing side-by-side while he was standing up straight for the first time made me fully aware of the difference in our size. Ren was so tall that I was slightly shorter than his shoulder, I thought as I looked up at his smiling face. I wouldn’t say that I’m the tallest of girls, but I guess my height was average, at least compared to the other girls in my town.

“What are you doing today? Are you going into town?” Ren asked enthusiastically.

“Umm…normally, I would collect some herbs in the forests nearby. Do you want to go to town?” I asked a little hesitantly. He just recovered so I was worried about his health. On top of that, I usually don’t go into town in broad daylight. However, that might be a little hard to explain to him.

“Yeah…if possible, it’ll be great if you can take me into town with you. No rush tough,” Ren replied casually.

“Why don’t you eat something first? You’re still recovering, and I can redress your wound,” I suggested with a small smile. For some reason, having Ren here added so much life to this lonely house.

“There’s no need to mind me…you should go and collect your herbs like you usually do,” Ren said quite seriously.

“I’ll go after I’ve tended to your wound. Umm…What will you do?” I asked hesitantly. For a moment, I felt a little scared that he would leave. I mean, he’s not completely recovered yet so…

“I’ll go with you. After you’re done, we can head into town together. I don’t mind if its later in the day or in the evening, I just want to drop by…” Ren replied casually.

I guess that works. I started to prepare some basic breakfast for us before tending to his wound.

…

I was frankly amazed at Ren’s fast recovery as he walked a little behind me on our way to the forest to collect herbs. With his clothes covering the bandages on his arm, he looked fit and in perfect health. No one would believe that he was very sick with a high fever just recently.

“There’s so many paths around here aren’t there?” Ren asked as we walked through one of the secret passages that is not well known even to the locals.

“Yes…these old paths have been abandoned for so long. Since people don’t usually come out here, some paths have already been forgotten as well,” I replied casually.

Soon we arrived at the forest where I usually collected herbs. I guess I should collect some fresh herbs to sell since I need to take Ren into town later today anyways.

“So…which herbs are you looking for?” Ren asked as he looked around.

“You don’t need to help me…you should just rest. Maybe you can sit under the tree over there?” I replied worriedly.

“I’m fine. Even with the current condition of my body, I can at least collect some herbs, trust me…” Ren said firmly as he smiled at me.

“Ok…then…” I said hesitantly as I gave in.

I explained to him about the herbs we were supposed to look for. I took out a small notebook from my bag and showed him some pictures for reference. Ren nodded as I explained to him with a look of genuine interest. Soon, we parted a little to look around the area for the herbs.

“You live alone, right? Why do you live so far from the city? It must be quite dangerous for a young lady like yourself to live out here all alone…” Ren asked suddenly out of the blue.

I usually didn’t like to tell people about myself, and it wasn’t often that anyone bothered to ask anyways. However, Ren seemed like he genuinely cared. Perhaps, it would be ok to tell him honestly. After all, I’m quite certain that we would never meet again after he recovers and leaves.

“Well…I used to live with my father, but he passed away. Let’s just say that I’m not well liked by the other villagers, so my father and I decide to move out and live far away from the main village…” I explained briefly.

“The villagers seemed unreasonable…how could they dislike a kind girl like you?” Ren asked curiously as he looked straight at me. I guess I don’t have any choice but to tell him, otherwise he probably won’t let this rest in peace.

--To be continued....