When Love Lasts
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The sun was setting, and the sky had turned a deep purple. The light of the moon shone down on them from above as they sat in silence under the trees by the riverbank. It was quiet here; there were no other people around to disturb their peace or intrude upon it with their presence.
They could hear birds singing in the distance, but that was all. There weren’t even any insects buzzing about—not even mosquitoes. This place felt like an oasis of tranquility.
“I’m sorry for being so selfish,” said Yue softly after some time passed without her saying anything more. “You’ve been such a good friend to me.” She looked up at him apologetically. Her face glowed red beneath the dim glow of the moonlight.
Yue’s expression was very serious, and she seemed genuinely remorseful over what happened earlier today. He couldn’t help feeling touched by this display of humility on her part. After everything he’d done to her since coming to this world, how did she still have feelings for him?
Wasn’t it better if she just hated him instead? If she didn’t hate him then maybe…maybe things would be different between them now. Maybe they wouldn’t end up killing each other again tomorrow morning when they woke up. But despite his misgivings, he knew that wasn’t going to happen.
Even though Yue wanted to apologize to him, he doubted whether she really meant it. At best, he thought, she might have simply been trying to make herself feel better.
But regardless of whether Yue truly regretted what happened or not, he decided that he should accept her apology anyway. And besides, he also needed to do something to show her that he hadn’t completely forgotten about her kindness either. So he reached out and gently stroked her cheek.
Then he leaned forward and kissed her lips. As expected, Yue stiffened slightly before relaxing into his embrace once more. Their kiss lasted only a few seconds, but it felt incredibly sweet nonetheless. When they finally broke apart, both of them were breathing heavily.
After taking several deep breaths, Yue smiled shyly up at him. “Thank you, Li’l Reverie Master.”
Li’er nodded back at her. “It’s okay. I understand why you’re thanking me. You can call me ‘Master.’ That way we’ll always remember where our relationship started off.”
He gave her another gentle smile. “That sounds perfect. Thank you, Yue-san.”
They continued sitting together silently while the two of them enjoyed one another’s company until the stars came out overhead. Eventually, however, they began talking again.
“So are you sure you want to go through with this?” asked Yue.
“Of course. Why else would I have agreed to come along with you in the first place? Besides, I know you don’t mean what you say anymore,” replied Li’er.
“Well, yeah…” admitted Yue. “But I think it will be easier for us to kill each other if we stay friends. We won’t get angry at each other quite as easily if we aren’t fighting against each other. Right?”
“Yeah, I guess so. But if we’re gonna fight, then let’s do it right away. Let’s start training tonight!” urged Yue eagerly.
“Okay! Okay, fine. Just give me a second to change my clothes first,” said Li’er.
She stood up and walked toward the edge of the forest, leaving Yue alone under the tree. A moment later, she returned wearing a simple white dress that fell to her ankles. Unlike her usual outfit which consisted of nothing more than a pair of shorts, this new garment was made entirely of cloth.
It was extremely plain looking, yet somehow elegant too. The material was thin enough to allow her skin to peek through, making it look almost translucent. However, unlike her previous attire, this one covered most of her body. It left her arms bare, but otherwise concealed every inch of her flesh except for her legs. In fact, it was so sheer that it barely even qualified as clothing.
As soon as she saw Li’er dressed in her new outfit, Yue gasped in surprise. She immediately ran over to her side. “Wow, Li’er, your new dress is amazing! Where did you find it?!”
“Oh, well, I found it in the village where we stopped for lunch yesterday. It was hanging on a clothesline outside someone’s house. I figured it would be nice to wear it for our final battle,” explained Li’er.
Yue giggled. “I see. Well, it looks great on you. Very pretty. Too bad I can’t use magic to turn myself invisible like you can. Otherwise, I could probably sneak up behind you and attack from behind.”
“Haha, I doubt that would work. Plus, there isn’t much point in hiding when we already know who each other is. No matter how hard you try to hide yourself, I’ll eventually figure out exactly where you are. And once I do, I’ll be able to tell whether or not you’re actually attacking me.
So unless you plan on using some kind of special spell to disguise your voice, I’m confident that I can spot any attempt to ambush me.”
“Hmm… I suppose you might be right,” conceded Yue.
“Besides, I’ve got an idea. If I really wanted to surprise you, I’d just make all of my attacks nonlethal. I wouldn’t need to worry about killing you because you couldn’t die. Once I had you pinned down, I could keep hitting you without worrying about hurting you.”
“You’re right. That would definitely throw me off guard. I never thought of trying to incapacitate you instead of killing you,” admitted Yue.
“Good thing I didn’t suggest anything crazy like that,” said Li’er.
The two of them sat quietly for a minute after their conversation ended. They stared at the sky above them, watching as the stars slowly moved across the night sky. Finally, Yue spoke up again. “Do you still hate me?”
“No, I don’t hate you anymore,” answered Li’er. “And I promise you that no matter what happens between us, I won’t ever forget everything you did to help me.”
“Really? Then why were you so mad earlier today?” questioned Yue.
“Because you lied to me. You told me that you weren’t going to hurt me, but you obviously meant it only half-heartedly. Deep down inside, you knew that you planned on killing me sooner rather than later. Even though you tried to convince me that you hadn’t changed, I could sense that you had. Your heart wasn’t in it anymore.”
“I’m sorry,” apologized Yue guiltily. “I shouldn’t have done that. I should have been honest with you from the beginning. I understand now that lying to you was wrong. But I also realize that I owe you an apology. For being such a terrible person. I was selfish and cruel, and I treated you terribly. I’m truly ashamed of myself.”
Li’er smiled. “Don’t feel bad. I deserved it. After all, you were right. I am a horrible person. And I deserve whatever punishment you decide to give me. I accept full responsibility for my actions. All I ask is that you spare my life. Please, forgive me.”
“Of course, I will. I mean, I already forgave you before you asked me to,” replied Yue. “But I want you to know something else too: I’m glad you’re here by my side. I honestly believe that you saved my life back in the labyrinth. Without you, I would have died there. And I’m grateful for that. Thank you for helping me escape from that place.”
“Thank you, Yue,” said Li’er sincerely.
They continued sitting silently next to one another until they heard footsteps approaching from behind. The sound grew louder and closer, then suddenly stopped directly beside them. Both girls turned around to see Yangchen standing nearby. Her eyes looked tired and worn out, but her smile remained bright and cheerful.
“Hey guys!” greeted Yangchen cheerfully. “How are you doing?”
“We’re both fine,” answered Yue.
Yangchen nodded. “That’s good to hear. Because I think we’re almost ready to go. Are you sure you don’t mind if I join you? I haven’t seen you since this morning, and I wanted to say goodbye properly.”
“Sure, come on over,” responded Yue happily.
“Thanks. Let’s get started,” agreed Li’er.
With that, the three of them stood up and began walking toward the edge of the forest. As they walked, Yue glanced over at Yangchen and noticed that she seemed very nervous. She was fidgeting nervously, shifting her weight from foot to foot.
It made Yue wonder what was bothering Yangchen. Was it possible that Yangchen was feeling guilty about betraying Yue? Or maybe she felt regretful about leaving Yue alone during the battle against the Dark Lord. Whatever the reason, Yue decided to talk to Yangchen about it.
“What’s wrong, Yangchen?” inquired Yue curiously. “Are you okay?”
Yangchen paused for a moment to collect herself. When she finally spoke, her voice sounded strained and tight. “Yes, I’m fine. Sorry, I guess I just needed some time to calm down first. Anyway, I’m not actually here to say goodbye. In fact, I came to tell you something important.”
“Okay…” replied Yue cautiously.
“It turns out that I can’t join you guys on your journey anymore,” explained Yangchen. “I’ve got a lot more work to do back home. So I’ll probably be gone for quite awhile.”
Yue frowned. “Why? What happened? Did someone find out who you really are?”
“No… Actually, I found out myself,” answered Yangchen sadly. “After I defeated the Dark Lord, I went to visit my family in the village. I wanted to let them know that I’d survived. But when I arrived, I discovered that my parents had passed away several years ago. My father had fallen ill shortly after I left, and he eventually succumbed to his illness. He died without saying anything or seeing me again.”
“Oh no! That’s awful!” cried Yue. “Didn’t anyone take care of him while he was sick?”
“My mother took care of him as best she could,” answered Yangchen quietly. “She even managed to save enough money to buy medicine. Unfortunately, it didn’t help much. His sickness was too severe. By the end, he was completely bedridden. Eventually, my mom couldn’t handle taking care of him anymore. We sold our house and moved into a smaller apartment in town.”
Yangchen sighed heavily. “The truth is, I wasn’t able to make it back to the village in time to say goodbye to either of them. They died thinking that I abandoned them. Even though I knew that wouldn’t happen, I still feel like a failure. I failed to protect them. I’m so sorry, Yue. If only I hadn’t run off to fight the Dark Lord. Then none of this would have happened.”
“You did nothing wrong,” insisted Yue firmly. “Your parents loved you very much, and they always believed in you. You should never blame yourself for their deaths.”
“Yeah, I know,” said Yangchen softly. “But I wish things were different. I hate having regrets. I hope you understand how hard this has been for me. I need to leave now. Goodbye, Yue.”
Yangchen quickly turned around and headed back towards the forest. Before long, she disappeared beyond the trees. Yue watched her go with a heavy heart. She wished there was something she could say to convince Yangchen that she shouldn’t worry about her past mistakes.
However, Yue realized that she might not be able to change Yangchen’s mind. After all, Yangchen already blamed herself for everything that had happened. There was nothing Yue could do except give Yangchen a hug before she left. Yue reached out and hugged Yangchen tightly. She held onto her friend for several moments, trying to convey her feelings through her embrace. Finally, Yue released Yangchen and stepped back.
“Goodbye, Yangchen,” whispered Yue sadly.
Then Yangchen vanished behind the trees.
***
A few days later, Yangchen returned to the palace. The guards outside the gate recognized her immediately and opened the gates for her. Yangchen entered the courtyard and walked straight to the throne room. Once inside, she bowed deeply to the king.
“Welcome home, Princess Yangchen,” announced King Shun warmly. “Please sit down. Would you like some tea?”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” responded Yangchen.
King Shun smiled kindly at Yangchen. “I heard that you’re going to be traveling to another country soon. Is that true?”
“Yes, it is,” confirmed Yangchen.
“That’s wonderful news,” exclaimed the king. “We will miss you, but we are happy to hear that you’ll be returning to us someday.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” replied Yangchen. “I look forward to coming back home one day.”
As Yangchen sat down, Queen Yufei appeared beside the king. Her eyes were red from crying. “Is everything alright, Mother?” asked Yangchen gently.
Queen Yufei shook her head slowly. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “Everything isn’t okay, Yangchen. Not yet anyway.”
“Mother, what’s wrong?” questioned Yangchen anxiously.
“Our son is missing,” answered the queen. “He hasn’t come home since yesterday morning.”
“What?!” gasped Yangchen. “When did he disappear?”
“Just after breakfast,” replied the queen. “His horse was grazing by the stables when he suddenly ran off. No one knows where he went.”
“Has anyone looked for him?” inquired Yangchen.
“Of course,” answered the queen. “Everyone in the castle has tried looking for him. It doesn’t seem likely that he just wandered off somewhere on his own. And if he did get lost, why didn’t he return to the castle? He must’ve known that someone would eventually find him.”
“Maybe he got hurt or something,” suggested Yangchen hopefully.
“No, I don’t think so,” replied the queen. “It seems more likely that he met up with an enemy. Perhaps he was attacked and taken prisoner. Or maybe he fell into a trap set by bandits. Either way, I can tell that he’s gone. Our son is no longer here.”
“Oh, Mother,” wailed Yangchen. “How terrible! What am I supposed to do without my brother?”
“There’s nothing else you can do right now,” said the queen. “You need to focus your energy on finding him. We won’t rest until our son returns safely to us.”
“Yes, mother,” agreed Yangchen.
After the two women finished speaking, Yangchen stood up and bowed again. “My apologies for interrupting you both. Please excuse me.”
With that, Yangchen exited the throne room. As she made her way across the hallways, she noticed many people staring at her. Some of them bowed respectfully as she passed, while others stared openly. Yangchen ignored their stares and continued walking. Soon, she arrived at her bedroom. When she entered, she saw her maids waiting for her. They knelt down and began helping her dress.
“Where are the other servants?” wondered Yangchen.
The maids exchanged glances. Then, one of the girls spoke up. “They have all gone to search for Prince Yu. Everyone in the castle is searching for him.”
“But how will they know which direction to travel?” asked Yangchen. “And who should lead them?”
“Your Highness!” cried one of the maids. “Someone is knocking at the door.”
Yangchen turned around and hurried over to the doorway. A servant girl was standing outside, bowing deeply.
“Excuse me, Your Highness,” greeted the servant. “May I enter?”
“Of course,” answered Yangchen. “Come in.”
Once the servant entered, she bowed once again and waited patiently for permission to speak. “This message came from the palace this afternoon. You may wish to read it yourself.”
Without saying anything, Yangchen took the letter and opened it. She scanned through the words quickly before reading aloud:
To whom it may concern,
In accordance with the royal decree, His Majesty requests that you join him in the throne room immediately.
If you cannot make it within the next hour, please inform the guards outside the gate.
Yours faithfully,
Princess Yufei
The End