I knew it was going to happen. I have a nightmare about the battlefield. I'm trying to save lives and failing every time. Mo Ran is shot by an arrow, and I'm too late. I shake him and order him to wake up but he doesn't. My heart breaks.

I wake up in the real world, crying. I sit up in bed and see that Mo Ran is not sleeping beside me. "Mo Ran?"

The room is dark, but I can sense he's not in the room. I climb out of bed, pull my robe around me and wander barefoot across the floor. I push one door open and go outside into the cool night.

A breeze runs over my face and I shiver. Something moves in the dark. I hear the sound of rustling leaves.

"Mo Ran?" Nothing and no one answers. I peer into the bushes in case he's hiding there. "Mo Ran? Where are you?"

A hand grabs my arm and turns me around. I scream. It's not a dainty scream. I don't know how to do dainty screams.

"Fei Fei. What are you doing out here? You're barely dressed."

I recognise the voice as Mo Ran's. Phew! I throw my arms around his neck. "I woke up and you weren't there. I was worried."

He relaxes his shoulders and slips his arms around my waist. "Yi is here," he whispers into my ear. "I was just making sure he was leaving."

I sneak a look around the garden. "Where? I can't see him."

Mo Ran leans back to meet my gaze. "He's going. Why do you want to see him?"

I shrug. "Just curious. He's here to kill me, right?"

"It's very likely." Mo Ran continues to watch me. HIs expression grows bemused. "You're enjoying the thought of having an assassin, aren't you?"

"No way!" I try to think of something else to say, but words fail me. I am enjoying it a little. It's a teeny tiny boost to my healthy ego. I've never had my own personal assassin before.

Mo Ran gives me a suspicious look. "I led him to Yan Ran so that he has someone else to occupy himself with for the rest of the night. I will not have him disturb us."

I smile. "That's brilliant. Yi thinks he's rescuing Yan Ran from us, when really he's just rescuing her from a hangover and your bathtub. Then maybe they start to develop feelings for each other."

"I confess I hadn't thought that far ahead." He leans closer. One of his hands my arm. "Time for you to return to my bed, Fei Fei."

"What? But I want to catch Yi and Yan Ran together to see if there's any romantic sparks."

In response, he lifts me up by the waist and puts me over his left shoulder. Staring down at the ground, I go speechless. I can feel my cheeks go red as his hands come up to rest on my legs.

He carries me back to his bed without a word, then gracefully lowers me so that I uncurl and roll onto my back. He climbs on top of me so that we're nose to nose.

"Are you thinking about your assassin now?" he asks in his silky smooth voice. His lips are a breath from mine. One long arm arches over to encircle my head. He reaches out with his other hand to casually push a strand of hair out of my face.

"I'm thinking that you're jealous," I say. "And I'm thinking that it was a bad idea to go to bed with you in just a robe."

He looks down at my body and smiles. His hand goes from my hair to the folds of my robe right below my collar bone. Slowly, he tugs the flimsy material away from my skin. "My heart, I don't think i can wait any longer to make you mine."

I smile and reach up to caress his cheek. "I was hoping you would say that."

The End.