In the Past

Your POV

The first night Tao carried me since I couldn’t really walk since my legs had become very weak for some reason.

Ugh, it felt like I got hit by a car.

When we make camp, he sets me down on a log, and goes to look for some food for us.

I simply sit there and pull out a dagger from my upper sleeve surprised that its there. I stare at it to see that it’s never been used.

I can tell mostly because there is no… I don’t know…

“My lady,” I look up to see that Tao is back, “why do you have your knife unsheathed like that?”

I look down at the dagger to see that the point is pointing towards my chest.

I’m shocked, “What the…? Why did I point it to my chest? I thought I was just looking at it.”

I start crying placing my hand in my lap the other one is holding my head as I cry a river of tears.

Huh, how cliché of me to say.

“Princess are you alright?”

I grip the knife hard as I scream, “I have a name. Its not princess, arasso. My name is  Mei Lien, you should know that Tao-ah.”

He looks at me shocked, “As you say Mei Lien-mama.”

I groan as I pull my hair a bit, “Fine call me what you want, but Tao by the time this all ends you’ll just call me by my name.”

He looks at me confused, “You no longer speak like a princess that you are.”

‘That’s cause I’m not a princess. I’m not even raised as if my family was rich. All our money goes to savings or charities.’ I think to myself.

I look down at my hands seeing all the fine jewelry and clothing.

Tao takes my face in his hand and makes me look up at him, “Princess… Mei Lien-ssi what’s wrong?”

“I hate this clothing. I hate my jewelry. I hate everything about this entire outfit. I don’t even know why I’m wearing it. All I know is that I woke up in a strange forest and that you had found me there. I’m told that I’m royalty and that I have to go back to a palace to a man that I am supposed to call father. That I know will get me married to someone who is just to help gain more power or to make some treaty. I know nothing of this life, but I know out of all the people in this world you are the only one I can trust.”

He looks shocked at my sudden confession, but I don’t care because all I said was nothing but the truth.

I look down at the dress and ask him, “Is there a way that I can get a different dress for the journey? I don’t think I want to walk around looking like this at least not until I’m supposed to.”

He looks at me and nods his head, “I’ll go by you a simple dress.”

“Wait you don’t have to do that I’m sure I can use my jewelry to pay for something.”

“No!” he shouts at me making me jump up in fear or maybe it was more from shock.

He looks at me and sees the shock and maybe even a hint of fear on my face.

His look changed to something like guilt, “I’m sorry its just nothing of yours should be floating around it may cause suspicion if a stranger comes into a random village with royal jewelry like this. You’ve been missing too many years for that to suddenly happen especially with me walking with you.”

I look at his clothing to see it has armor but it has a lot of wear and tear on it like he’s been in too many fights to even care to try and keep it in good care.

I understand what he’s saying to a point, “Yes, I know but I’ll feel guilty to have you buy me a dress that will probably get thrown in the trash the second I reach the palace.”

“No, I want to,” he answers.

He pats himself probably looking for some kind of pouch.

I look down to his bag and see something hanging from it.

“Is that what you’re looking for?”

He looks down and sees it, “Ahh yes it is,Mei Lien-ssi.”

When he lifts it I see that it doesn’t look like it hardly has anything in it. Maybe after he buys me the dress I’ll slip into a village and sell off one of the hairpins that I’m wearing.

He takes out only three coins. He doesn’t have them in plain site for too long but he soon turns around and walks towards a village.

“Are you just going to leave me here?”

‘Not that I don’t know how to fight.’

“Yes, you’re far enough that if you get in trouble just run to the village and find me and I’ll help you.”

I nod and watch him leave.

I lay down on the ground after laying out a blanket that I find in Tao’s pack.

I look up at the sky and remember the last time I had slept outside like this. It was with panda from my time. We had run out of our houses during a clear night and met up. We were just kids but we knew how to be sneakier than teenagers now. We had just laid down on the ground and laid next to each other and when I shivered for the first time he look off his sweatshirt and wrapped me in it. We sat there in perfect silence. He was such a smooth 10 year old boy. Yet, that was a few days before I left him for America.

I started to fall asleep, he moved, and I gripped his shirt, “Tao please don’t leave me.”

“I’d never leave you,” he said to me.

I smile and snuggle closer to him as I whisper, “Good.”

I lay there for a while until I hear a sound and I jump up.

I listen and hear a few sets of footsteps that sound a bit messed up, almost like they’re drunk.

I go behind one of the rocks and hide after a while I realize how stupid that is since I have the fire still burning lowly and trying to hide behind a rock.

I look at the tree that’s close to me and jump up and as soon as I pull myself up three men enter the little area that had become Tao and my campsite.

I watch as they drunkenly look through things.

I sigh and look at the tree to see that it has really on it but leaves.

I sigh and take off one of the heavy necklaces that’s around my neck and chuck it at one of the guys. The drunkard falls down falling face first to the ground like a game of jenga ends.

I laugh causing the men to look at the tree that I’m sitting in.

“Who’s there?”

‘What am I in some cliché scary movie or something? Shout who’s there and I’ll actually answer you.’

I see one of them pop something from his pockets and gets ready to throw it my way.

I sigh and slip off the first layer that I’m wearing. I slip off all the jewelry off and into the outer layer that I just slipped off. I wrap them up and hang them from a tree branch that’s close by.

“Don’t know where I am? Do you need help with that?”

He throws the knife and I catch the hilt surprising myself.

I know I was in karate classes and all and in softball, but still.

I caught a knife by the handle...

OMG!

This is so awesome!

I look at the knife and see a emblem on it.

I stick it in the tree branch and jump down with the dagger from my inner sleeve in hand.

“Hello,” I mockingly say to the two men that are not sleeping in the dirt.

“A woman,” who I think is probably claiming leadership, “in fine clothing at that.”

I smirk and pull the blade from the sheath, “Oh have a problem with that don’t worry I’ll kill you fast to save you from the embarrassment.”

He charges at me but him and his friend are soon picked up and thrown by Tao who was standing behind them.

“Are you insane? What did I tell you? Do you have a sudden death wish?”

I sigh and walk over to the tree I was sitting in and jump up to the branch I was sitting in and pull the outer lay made pack from it.

“I’m not helpless and they were digging through your stuff. Sorry but thievery is what I hate almost the most in the world.”

He sighs and holds out a folded bundle to me.

I see  one of the guys stand up, I jump down from the branch pick up a rock, and throw it him with all my might.

As he falls down Tao looks behind himself and sighs, “We’ll talk about all of this when I get back from throwing these guys back to their village.”

I nod my head and watch him leave me alone again. I  sigh and jump up to thick branch I was sitting in before and try to balance myself as I change into the stiff hanbok. Thought the other clothing I was more intrested in.

I climbed back into the tree and pull out the dagger and look at the emblem before I hide it wondering I’m doing so.

I sit there until I hear a set of footsteps again and ready my dagger.

I stop when I see the figure bend down and make the fire bigger to see Tao’s face.

I slip down from the tree with a bundle that is the clothes.

He looks at me and nods his head, “It looks nice on you.”

I nod my head and start to pull the jewelry off my head and watch as Tao pulls out a small thing of bread.

I have a feeling that he got money for bringing the drink idiots to the village.

“How much were they worth?”

He looks at me and shrugs, “Not much to tell you the truth. Not as much as I’m worth to headhunters.” He mumbles the last words like I’m not supposed to hear him so I ignore that I didn’t hear him and just there.

I pull off a small piece of bread from the loaf and slowly eat it.

Tao looks at me and asks, “Would you like me to sing you a song?”

I smile at him as I nod my head, “Yes, please.”