Severing Time & Space

Apology, Part I

“W-wait!” Hou Jingshu called out.

Wu Meiying turned her head. “I’m sorry, but I can’t wait. The next guard on patrol will be coming by soon. I need to leave before he arrives.”

“J-just let me get my cloak! I’m coming with you!”

“Sounds good.”

When she saw the smile on the other girl’s face, Hou Jingshu could not help but feel like she had been played. However…

There’s no helping it. I can’t let this chance slip by.

No matter how angry she might have been at Wu Jian, she knew it wasn’t really his fault. He couldn’t help the way he felt. Her mother had once told her that love was not something that could be controlled, and she could tell from how Wu Jian and Wu Meiying acted around each other that they were very much in love. They might have included her in their daily life. However, she often felt like those two were locked inside their own personal bubble, a world in which no one but them existed.

Perhaps that was where this sharp pain came from. Maybe what she really wanted from Wu Jian was for them to have their own world where it was just him and her. Maybe she wanted what Wu Meiying had with him.

She couldn’t say one way or the other.

Hou Jingshu slipped on her cloak, climbed out through the window, and set her feet on the cold ground. Wu Meiying reached out behind her and closed the window’s boarding shut. Then she gestured for Hou Jingshu to follow her.

The kitchen was connected to the dining hall. Wu Meiying navigated past the guards and slipped inside through a window that had been left unlocked. Having never been inside of one before, Hou Jingshu looked around at all the tables, stoves, and racks filled with cookware. Did all kitchens look like this? There was so much cutlery lying around! Everything was neat and tidy and there was nothing out of place. It was clear the Wu Clan took great pains to maintain their kitchen’s cleanliness.

“The food is in cold storage. This way,” Wu Meiying said.

There was a door at one end of the room, which led into a basement filled with sacks and boxes. Hou Jingshu shivered when a blast of cold air swept over them. Wu Meiying, on the other hand, simply walked up to several boxes, stuffed some fruits, veggies, nuts, and dried jerky into a bag she produced from within her cloak, then turned to smile at her.

“Let’s leave now. A guard will come and notice the window is unlocked soon, so we had better hurry.”

“O-okay.”

As Wu Meiying led her outside and began traveling around the patrol routes, Hou Jingshu thought about how amazing this girl was. It was like she could see into the future. Hou Jingshu also felt envious. If she’d had this talent for stealth, she would have been able to sneak past the palace guards with ease.

It wasn’t long before they made it to Wu Jian’s courtyard. Most of the building was dark, but light emitted from a window on one side. Wu Meiying traveled over to that window, where she and Hou Jingshu found Wu Jian already waiting for them with the window open.

“Hurry up. Come inside before the guards return,” he said.

Wu Meiying leapt through the window. Hou Jingshu was a bit slower as she climbed on top of the windowsill. There must have been moisture on the wood because her foot slipped. She almost screamed, but Wu Jian caught her before she could fall or make a sound. Hou Jingshu found herself frozen as her ear pressed against his chest. She could hear his heartbeat thudding in her ears. The warmth of his embrace was one of the most comforting things she had experienced since coming here.

“You okay?” asked Wu Jian.

“I am… fine,” Hou Jingshu muttered. She shuddered once, then pushed Wu Jian away from her. She looked away from the boy who made her heart race, only to find Wu Meiying grinning at her, which made her wrap her arms around herself as though to hide her embarrassment. “What are you looking at?”

“Nothing. Anyway, since you’re hungry, let’s sit down and eat,” Wu Meiying said.

She sat down on the bed and patted it. Hou Jingshu got the hint. As Wu Jian closed the window, she sat down next to Wu Meiying, who had taken out the bag of food.

“Hold out your hand,” Wu Meiying instructed.

Hou Jingshu did as she was told, and Wu Meiying placed several nuts, berries, and some jerky on it. She took the jerky to her nose and sniffed. It didn’t smell bad, but she had heard that dried meats like jerky didn’t taste very good, that they were hard and stale. However, when she saw Wu Meiying begin eating some jerky, she decided to try some herself.

It wasn’t bad per se. However, just like Uncle Liu had said, it was tough to chew and very salty. She didn’t want to seem rude, though, so Hou Jingshu chewed the jerky, swallowed, and took another bite.

“Good?” asked Wu Meiying.

“Very,” said Hou Jingshu.

“You don’t have to lie. We all know jerky is tough and salty. They’re used as military rations or for long journeys because they keep well, but they aren’t very tasty unless you prepare them in something like a stew. Sorry we couldn’t do that.”

“It’s fine.”

As Hou Jingshu and Wu Meiying talked, Wu Jian walked back over to the bed and sat down further away from the two. He crossed his legs, leaned over, and reached into the bag when Wu Meiying offered it to him.

“Oh. Want some, Jian?”

“Thanks. Don’t mind if I do,” he said.

For a few minutes, there was no conversation as everyone ate. Hou Jingshu focused almost entirely on her food. Part of the reason for that was because she had missed lunch and dinner, but another reason was because she just didn’t know what to say. She knew she should probably apologize for her outburst. However, whenever she thought of doing so, her haughty nature would rear its ugly head and prevent her from speaking.