RIN

Brushing the messy strands of hair out of her face, she glanced over to see the space on the floor was vacant. Rin sat up and looked around the room.

She was alone. An Sun was gone.

He had gone to breakfast; she guessed. He was letting her sleep.

Rin sighed, pushed aside her pillows, and turned onto her stomach. Her feet hung off the end of the bed, toes hooked over the edge. Staring at the light coming through the window, she pulled her lips back slightly. She sank back to that dreamy night, lingering and training through her thoughts.

In a daze, her fingertips brushed her lips. She could remember the feeling, the warmth of his sweetened throat pouring into hers. At that moment, Rin could not think, could not do anything but drink him in, each breath as it came, the soft movements of his lips.

It was almost like a dream. That's right…Perhaps last night was nothing but a sweet dream.

After washing her face, Rin walked downstairs and to the dining room. As expected, An Sun was there eating breakfast, accompanied by a cup of warm wine.

"Good morning," She greeted, head down, before sitting across from him.

He looked up at her in between sips of wine. His hair was lashed back with a strip of leather. It made his face look sharper than usual.

"Morning," He licked his reddened, wet lips.

Rin cleared her throat and reached for a roll on the table. When a server came over and poured her a cup of milk, she thanked them before chewing on the soft bread. All the while, An Sun's deep, gray eyes were set on her.

She could hardly taste anything that went down her throat. It was too dry for swallowing. Too dry for words. If he stared any longer, her skin would grow too warm, and she would no longer be able to think.

Finally, Rin met his gaze. To her surprise, a trace of a smile appeared on his face. Propping both his arms on the table, he leaned forward and chuckled.

"You're finally looking at me, I see." His voice was warm with amusement.

Suppressing the heat threatening to rush to her cheeks, Rin cleared her throat. "Since we've done all we could here, we should return to the capital as soon as possible."

An Sun studied her a moment before leaning back with a sigh.

"All right." He said and took another tear into his bread.

After eating their breakfast, they shouldered their belongings and left the inn. Mounting on horseback, a voice suddenly halted them in their tracks.

"Wait, please don't go!"

Rin's eyes flickered, and an eyebrow raised at the person before them.

"Governor Chi. I have to say I'm rather surprised to see you here."

"Advisor Lan…I have come here today to apologize for yesterday's events. I…" He paused to swallow. "We are willing to leave our land for all of you to fight. I humbly ask of you to set aside our disputes the other day and forgive us."

"My forgiveness?" Rin looked down coldly. "Governor Chi, it is not me you need to seek forgiveness, it's your people. For allowing your pride to override the responsibilities of protecting your people; there is no need to apologize to me."

The red and round-faced governor glanced up with some surprise. He started to speak, but Rin was too quick for him.

"As for the evacuation, we have wasted enough time already being here and must quickly return to the capital. Upon our arrival, I will ask for soldiers to be sent to help your people leave. Until then, have your people prepare all their belongings for their departure."

She watched the governor's face move to the man beside her, and he flinched.

"Yes." Chi Bingwen nodded his head, barely.

"Good. Then farewell, Governor Chi. I hope you won't disappoint again." Rin turned her horse aside and trotted out of the governor's view.

When they had advanced miles away from Shaoshu, they stopped to give water to the horses and eat a cold, quick meal. They ripped apart a loaf of the bread that An Sun had stolen from the kitchens and chunks of hard yellow cheese from hand to hand.

"When you left this morning, did you perhaps go anywhere else?" Rin sat against a boulder, her legs folded neatly on the grass.

"Nope," An Sun said simply, as he tore apart a loaf of bread.

Rin regarded him for a moment, the edge of her lips twitching. Even though she knew he was lying, she said nothing of it. Finishing her bread, Rin stood up and dusted her pants.

"Let's go. If we move faster, we'll be back by dusk."

An Sun's eyes narrowed. Then he extended his hand. Stunned, Rin stared down with blinking eyes. She sighed and reached for it to help pull him up. But as soon as their skin touched, he clasped his fingers around hers and pulled, and she landed on his chest with a thump. An Sun gave her a charming smile. Rin scowled back at him.

"What are you doing?" She said, her voice so low it was almost a whisper.

"Holding you." He said smoothly, almost with a hint of amusement.

"Yes, I'm aware of that," Rin said, suddenly becoming mindful of the fact that she was straddling his waist. Their soft breaths rocked against each other slightly.

An Sun reached out and casually tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear, and without meaning to, Rin sucked in a breath and leaned in to his touch. His brow raised, and his eyes turned to fiery coal, as they drifted down to her hair.

"It's grown longer than the last I remembered." He whispered, twirling a piece between his fingers.

Slowly, Rin nodded her head. Without thinking, she also reached down to stroke the wisps of hair at his temple. An Sun smiled and closed his eyes. She observed his face, tipped up to meet the sun. There was a delicacy to his features that sometimes made him look younger than he was. His lips were flushed and full.

Rin swallowed. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to push him away, distance herself from the threatening emotions about to erupt within.

But she didn't.

Instead, she leaned down and kissed him. An Sun's eyes opened wide, but it didn't take long for him to respond as he inclined his face toward hers and lay his mouth against her lips, which were like a freshly split-open fig.

His arms wrapped around her waist, cinching her to him, and she put her hands in his hair, feeling the soft strands between her fingers. He groaned, low and deep. His hair curled around her fingertips, silky and fine. Her heart was hammering, and there was a rushing sound in her ears, like beating wings.

Their tongues met for the briefest instance before Rin pulled away. "That should be enough."

Standing up, she walked to her horse. On the ground, An Sun blinked at her, startled. Strands of thick black hair fell across his deep gray eyes. Adjusting her saddle, she turned to him, eyes completely unreadable.

"You had your break, now let's go." She lifted her chin.

Closing his parted mouth, An Sun resisted the threat of a smile. He stood up, and by the time he was by her side, Rin had glanced away and was already mounting her horse. The remainder of the trip neither voiced a word to one another.

Although nothing more needed to be said.

They arrived at the palace a few hours later. The sun was just over the meridian, and Rin and An Sun stood looking at the gate. They had finally made it back.

It had only been one day, and yet so much had changed.

Rin had clenched her reins before she swung down from her horse, and he followed. Greeted by the soldiers at the front, they passed their reins to one man, who guided their horses to the stables.

When they reached the first landing, Rin felt his palm touch the small of her back, the solid tips of his fingers settling into the dip along her spine, steady and sure.

An Sun had turned back to face her. His voice was low, barely audible, "Still have any regrets?"

Rin's eyes searched his face. He was watching her closely, reading her face over and over. Although his voice sounded calm, she could hear the slight hesitation before he asked. The dimples at the corner of her mouth deepened when she suddenly smiled.

"There's nothing to regret."