Star Crossed In Time

After telling Bai Lei everything that happened to me, aside for the really dark stuff, he silently sits for a long time but never once does he stop rubbing my back in his familiar, soothing way. After a while, he says "You've been brutally broken yet still have the courage to be gentle and loving towards others..." 

I chuckle a little and say "I'm going to be extremely honest right now... I want to say that I'm brave enough to face him but..." Bai Lei holds me close and when I struggle to say it, he softly says "The fear you feel was ingrained into you, it's not something that will disappear overnight but when the time comes, you'll be able to do it. I'll be right beside you." 

After a few more hours of talking and just basking in each other's presence, we walk outside to the garden everyone was in yesterday. It was still early but when Bai Lei and I walk through the gates, we see both our mothers sitting at the table, drinking tea with Zhen.

The two women giggle at something Zhen says as a light breeze sway the weeping willows. Bai Lei and I look at each other with a perplexed look before quietly walking over. It seems like everyone else is still sleeping. When we get closer, Zhen seems to sense us and looks up with a smile.

"Good morning you two," Zhen says causing the other two women to turn and smile. The two mothers also greet us as we greet them all in return. They make room for us to sit down and join them as Zhen pours us a fresh cup of tea.

"You three seem to be getting along quite well," I say with a smirk but when I see my mother's face slightly redden, I choke on my tea. Bai Lei quickly pats my back asking "Are you okay?" With a frown of concern but I just wave him off as my mother hands me a napkin. 

Her slight blush was now replaced with a mild look of concern so I just awkwardly smile and wave her off as well. I must have seen wrong... or maybe I'm just reading into it too much. Maybe my mother is super shy... I sneak a glance at her as she refills everyone's cups.

I watch as Zhen, smiles and 'thanks' my mother but otherwise seems completely normal so I try to shake it off. When I look back down at the table, I see a strange beetle with multi-colors. It almost looked like it was carrying a miniature galaxy on it's back!  

Everything here seems so different and amazing... I look back up to find Zhen watching me closely. I lift my eyebrow at him in question but his eyes quickly dart back to the beetle before quickly looking back to me and saying "Are you hungry? I can grab you some fruits or ask someone in the kitchen to make you something. You don't have to ea..."

I quickly cut him off "Ahhh hahaha... No. No, I'm not hungry Zhen. I was just admiring the colorful beetle... that's all." I say straining that last part. Oh my lord... I had almost forgotten the bug incident! Leave it to Zhen to never forget and to even bring it up with everyone else at the table!!

Everyone else at the table blinks at me in confusion before looking back to Zhen, then lastly to the poor beetle. Zhen gives me a doubtful look that has me crying internally as he 'shoos' the beetle away saying "Fly away and live another day."

My mother and Lady Xue go back to drinking their tea but Bai Lei continues to watch me and Zhen, clearly knowing that something is 'up' but before he can ask or clarify, he suddenly looks over my shoulder and says "I'll be right back."  

He places a kiss on my forehead and disappears, leaving nothing but a few wisps of black mist behind. Where was he going? I look back over to see Zhen still trying to run the damn beetle away. I sigh and look around the garden once again. 

"Where's Ren? He's usually one of the first to be up." I ask looking back to the three in front of me. My mother and Lady Xue shake their heads as Zhen says "If I'm not mistaken, Bai Lei sent him on a mission or something. You'll have to ask him when he comes back." 

I nod my head slowly before asking "Will you walk with me for a bit? I want to speak with you for a bit." Zhen looks a little surprised but nods his head and helps me up. I wave to the two women and say "We'll be right back." They both nod and wave us off as Zhen and I start walking the large garden.

"Are you and MingMing okay staying here?" I ask, getting right to the point. Zhen gives me a sad smile as he says "Yes, we really have nowhere else to go. Our realm was destroyed and has now been broken up and devoured by the surrounding realms. There's nothing to go back to plus... it's safe here."

We silently walk, side by side, for several minutes before he says "MingMing and I can grow stronger here and it's not like we're stuck here. We can come and go as we please. Bai Lei has been very kind to us because of you." 

He gives me a knowing smile but I just frown and say "It's not all because of me. He likes you and MingMing as well." Zhen chuckles a little as he says "Yes yes, of course. What do you plan to do now?" 

I come to a slow stop and say "I was suddenly pulled out of my bed and into a strange land last night. I met a man named Chaos... do you know of him?" Zhen completely freezes as he looks at me with wide, fear-filled eyes.

He steps forward and grabs both my arms, slightly shaking me as he asks "Why? Did he say why he brought you to him and how are you here? Did he hurt you or... " I look at him with a strained smile as I say "From what I've gathered, Eli made a contract with him and his brother. Eli told Hundun to bring me to him but Hundun ended up making a contract with me instead." 

Zhen narrows his eyes and quickly shakes his head saying "Impossible. You can only make a contract with one demon! Two would kill him... Hundun must have tricked you." My heart drops as my mind starts racing with doubt and confusion. 

I look back to Zhen and say "I told Bai Lei but he didn't think anything of it..." Zhen sighs and says "Silly child! Bai Lei is extremely powerful and much older. He can contract more than one demon without a problem if he so chooses but not Eli! He's just a mortal from another world! Even if he somehow starts becoming stronger, he still couldn't handle two demons. Hundun is pure chaos child! You have to be careful when dealing with him." 

I stand rooted to the spot with confusion. Was I tricked? But then, how did he know my name and where to find me? Maybe it's a demon thing?? But... what if Eli really did contract him and his brother!?! What the hell does that mean then...

I look back to Zhen and say "I need to ask Hundun for the truth..." Zhen snorts and steps back after releasing my arms. He shakes his head and says "Yeah, good luck with that. He's chaos, child. He won't just tell you the truth." 

My lip twitches as I say "Oh, he'll tell me the truth or I'll beat it out of him!" Zhen frowns at me as I spin around and walk out of the back garden. Zhen quickly catches up and says "You shouldn't face him along. Let me come along and ask the questions." I sigh and nod my head as I look for a clearing in another garden. 

Once I find a good spot, I shake out my hands and yell out "Hundun!" Zhen snorts and quickly covers his laugh as I shout again "Hundun! Get your ȧss out here, right now!" Suddenly, a dark shadow is seen separating from my own shadow before taking on a solid figure right in front of me.

Hundun's white eyes lock onto me as he gives me an amused smirk. His long red hair slightly sways in the wind before coming to rest behind his back. He lightly bows his head as he says "You called?" Zhen quietly steps up behind me and says "Hello, Hundun. It's been quite a while, has it not?"