Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 
Everyone were sleeping inside the camp, the fire still burning, warming the warriors inside their blankets. Ming was sleeping next to the fire with no blanket, but he was half-asleep, his ears always ready to hear what his sister is saying or what is doing. He opened his eyes and sat, looking around at the camp.
Everyone were in his or her respective blankets and places; Dawn Star and Wild Flower were sharing a blanket, Sagacious Zu was sleeping in a corner of the camp, Henpecked Hou and The Black Whirlwind were sleeping back to back. The snores of the larger man made Ming a bit annoyed.
But his eyes haven’t caught up Wu…or that annoying rouge. Ming stood up and walked at the right side of the camp. He caught Wu sitting on a tree, looking at the moon and her hands held in a prayer.
Ming shocked his head and smiled, he knew that Wu could do something like that and she would never do such a foolish thing. Ming knew his sister better than anyone did; Wu was always serious, focusing on the martial arts and on her prayers to the Gods or even on the training. However, Wu was known for being a kindhearted woman. Ming knew that her heart is pure as the finest gold, something that he would never know.
Wu tried so many times to remove that rotten part of his heart, unsuccessfully. In addition, when they argued, it always ended up in a fight. Bruises were always on her body, leaving marks.
Both being fighters, but they were different; Wu fought for her life, and only when it’s necessary. For example; In the Pirate Lair she fought bravely to be uninjured… but she, unwillingly, had to kill Gao the Greater.
“I wished I haven’t done that…”, she told him once they came back to Tien’s Landing, and… they argued once again, but this time they didn’t fight with their hands.
“You’re so weak!”
“Excuse me? There is no need that the blood spills everywhere! You know that I don’t like to see blood on my hands!”
“And you know if you insist on not fighting for your life, your body will be covered in blood?”
Ming didn’t loved when he and Wu argued. He loves her to death and he would do anything to protect her. He knows that she can handle herself; both he and his sister were the best students of Two Rivers. Maybe it’s because he’s the eldest between the two of them.
Ming took his gaze away from his sister and noticed that Sky was in front of the entrance of Tien’s Landing, and then he remembered that it was his turn on guarding the camp, if any Lotus Assassins approached them.
Ming looked once again at Wu, still praying at the moon on the tree, and his smile faded.
I’m sorry for the things that I’ve said and done to you sister… with that thought. He came back to sleep, next to the fire.

 
Wu opened her eyes, interrupting her prayer to the moon and looked at it. Feeling relieved after her intimate moment with herself during the prayer.
As she looked at the moon, she thought of the argument with Ming after they came back from the Pirate’s Lair. She felt her heart aching in her chest, wishing that her brother wouldn’t be so bitter with her.
She jumped off the tree and landed gracefully on the grass. She touched the grass with her hand before getting into a straight position and performed a short kata to center herself. Her heart still exploding in her chest, eyes ready to become waterfalls.
Wu knew that Ming is a good person, but he saw strength and the lust for getting what he wanted in every moment in the first place, maybe he saw also the wellness of her in the first place among these things, but she wasn’t sure of that.
Wu breathed slowly and opened once again her eyes once she centered herself.
“I could see that you have grace…But not like that” Wu felt her heart beating faster and she moved her hand on her chest, to calm down. Then she looked at the source of that voice; it was Sky, standing with his arms crossed and leaning against the wall.
Wu sighed in relief and smiled at him “Sorry…You scared me.” He laughed as he uncrossed his arms and walked towards her.
“I thought you were asleep Lotus Blossom” Wu took a lock of her hair and caressed it, nervously. “I can’t sleep sometimes…”
Sky’s lips formed a smirk “Too much excitement for tomorrow?” Wu didn’t answered his question.
Then, Sky’s smile disappeared from his face, and he looked at the ground. He had once seen one of the many fights that she and Ming had. Their loud voices could have woken up anyone, or the beatings that he gave to her when the two disagreed on something.
And he saw when Wu covered her scars with a bandage and cried herself to sleep, to wash away the pain and the disappointment towards her brother.
Wu accepted that side of Ming, unwillingly. He didn’t forbid her everything when they were in Two Rivers. But something broke inside him when the village was destroyed, maybe because he saw their childhood home getting burned, the people who were their family… their dead bodies in thousands puddles of blood or being killed by Gao’s Mercenaries…
Wu looked at Sky and shocked her head, finally answering his question. “No.” she said in a weak voice and looked up at the moon once again.
“You know that Yue-Liàng is the protector of the women no?” Sky nodded at her question.
She smiled bitterly and united her palms, closing once again her eyes. “I pray to the Goddess almost every night since Two Rivers was destroyed…”
Sky felt a bitter taste inside his mouth and looked at the ground under his feet, he had heard of the attack at the village and he felt his heart aching when Wu said those words. Probably Ming had begun to be abusive towards her because of the attack, or probably because he wished that she listened to him carefully to do not get in trouble…or being kill by the Lotus Assassins.
“Listen…Has…Your brother acted always like that…before…” He felt something in his throat, as if it didn’t make him finish his question. Sky gulped after fighting with himself for a while “Before Two Rivers was destroyed?”
Wu opened her eyes and looked at him, her palms separated. “No…Trust me, he was kinder and gentle when we were at the school…” her gaze looked at the ground once again, chewing the inner part of her cheek.
Sky hesitated for a while, and then he took her hand. Wu looked at him, surprised from his gesture. “Come with me...I want to show you something”
Wu smiled at his words, blushing, batting her eyelashes. She didn’t know what to say, but somehow she found that Sky was bold on saying something like that. It was as if he asked to her a secret date, and not letting her brother know that a man was interested in her.
Sky noticed that she didn’t gave him an answer, he put an hand on her cheek, his face closer to her face. Wu felt her heart bursting out of her chest; her face flushed and felt her cheeks warm.
Sky giggled softly at Wu’s embarrassment “Don’t worry. It will be our little secret. I swear that your brother will never know about this secret rendezvous”
Wu put her hand on her lips, trying not to smile or laugh at his joke, then she moved her hand on his hand and removed it from her cheek. “Alright, what do you want to show me?” she asked him.
Sky shocked his head and left her hand, a smirk formed on his lips.
“You have to see it with your own eyes Wu. I think that this will cheer you up before a good night sleep” he winked at her and mentioned to her to follow him.

 
Sky took her to the back of Chumin the Craftsman’s workshop. It was like a beach: the flowers wet by the river, the dew on the petals. The grass looked lush and green with the gentle waves of the river and the water seems clear as crystal.
Wu noticed that the reflection of the moon could been seen in the clear waters, she felt her heart soothing up at the vision of the moon on the water.
She looked at him, trying not to smile “I…I don’t know what to say” Sky didn’t looked at her, instead he took a few steps back and touched her shoulders.
“Don’t say anything.” He said, softly. Wu closed her eyes once again, feeling lighter from her burdens and relieved. Sky’s company to her was something unexpected. In addition, a wave of new emotions for her, she didn’t experienced similar feelings before.
Wu felt that, when Sky was with her, the knots in her stomach came loose and felt the warm waters of calm and tranquility washing over her.
“Why did you brought me here?” she asked to him, softly, not daring to open her eyes. Sky still had his hands on her shoulders; he began caressing them slowly and closed his eyes, trying to enter in harmony with Wu’s tranquility.
 “You and Ming may be twins, but certainly you two are different; you seek harmony while he seeks chaos whenever he goes. He lacks something that you have Wu…”
Wu extended her left arm ahead and opened her eyes, she turned her hand gently, as if she tried to take the moon with the palm of her hand.
Wu looked at Sky, but she didn’t broke their position. Somehow, she felt comfortable around him, not shying away from his touch. In Two Rivers, nobody dared to get this close to her since Ming was overly jealous of the boys who tried to flirt with her, even Gao the Lesser. But Gao had felt lust towards Wu, and she wasn’t interested in him, since she was disgusted over the way he treated Dawn Star and her brother.
Sky opened his eyes, he removed his left hand from her shoulder and turned his hand in a fist. Delicately, he put his fist on Wu’s palm and she brushed her fingers on his fist.
“And what is what he lacks Sky? If you don’t mind saying it to me?” Wu asked him, with a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Sky giggled once again and, finally, he looked at her into her eyes. “You have some virtues. You pray to the Gods…You always think before you act, you respect what you are.”
“I just have some faith…It doesn’t mean that these qualities that you said are virtues.” Wu broke their position and walked forward the shore of the river. She crossed her arms and looked at the reflection of the moon in the clear waters.
Sky felt something inside his throat, as if he didn’t make him speak his true feelings. He looked at her; Sky knew that Wu is a strong woman and that she can handle herself during a combat, yet she has a struggle within her heart. Maybe it’s because she can’t fix her brother’s rotten heart after the destruction of their village.
“Probably he acts like that with me because he saw his lover under the ashes of the school…It’s…its like don’t even recognize him”
Sky remained silent, listening respectfully to her personal outburst. “But this isn’t the way…I would listen to him if he asked to me gently to be careful. Or maybe… Saving himself from hitting me.” Wu tossed a rock with her toe to the river. She looked at the moon, silent tears spreading on her cheeks.
“That’s why I was praying to Yue-Liàng tonight. To give me an answer”. As her tears fell from her eyes, she felt that she couldn’t breathe anymore, an ache in her heart that she can’t easily lift with a prayer…
Sky bit his lower lip thoughtfully and looked at her with grim eyes, he saw that she was venting all the stress and desperation to him, as if he was a confident or something else…Someone she could trust. Sky approached her, saying nothing and looking at the clear waters of the river.
He looked at her, her tears continued to fell silently from her eyes, there wasn’t even a hint of a sob. Sky took a long, anxious breathe before speaking up: “It’s not only the virtue of the Spirituality that makes you different from your brother…”
Wu finally looked at him, the tears stopped to fall from her eyes. She opened her mouth to say something but Sky stopped her by putting a finger on her lips.
“Let me talk Lotus Blossom…” he whispered, softly. Wu’s heart skipped a beat and began to breathe slowly, trying to calm herself. She felt that some new feelings would bloom inside her and she was scared of them, but at the same time, she was curious to feel them, to live them.
Silence fell between the pair for a moment, enjoying the silent waves of the river and letting their sandals wet from the water.
After a moment, Sky finally decided to speak; “You are a skilled warrior, yet you don’t pick up fights. You are intelligent and you do not take any vanity from it. You try to embrace the harmony around you, even with the chaos around this world…”. Wu didn’t know what to say. His words somehow soothed her heart…Maybe what Sky has said it’s true.
Wu never looked deep into herself; everyone in Two Rivers respected her for her strength in the Martial Arts and for her respect and devotion to the Heavens. Ming, on the other hand, was respected as well, but not like her. He intimidated people and the girls at the school were fawning for him, probably because of his charisma and his charm and he didn’t shy away to flirt with some girls, inside and outside the school.
However, a few people were afraid of them. Some considered that twins are not a good sign from the Celestial Bureaucracy, a bad omen…
Sky took her hand in, slowly, interrupting her thoughts about Two Rivers and the people who were judgmental over herself and Ming.
“You two may be twins, yet you two are completely different” Wu once again the taste of tears rising upon her throat, completely touched by his words.
Wu remained silent, not knowing what to say or how to reply him.
“You don’t deserve those words that Ming says to you. Because you know you’re much stronger than him…or anyone else.”
Sky removed his hand from her hand, remaining silent and didn’t mention to move. Wu felt her heart hardening inside her chest, her mind became numb, her vision clouded by tears.
Wu, without thinking, took Sky into her arms, transporting him into a thigh embrace. “Maybe I do have these virtues, but I hope that one day Ming will have those virtues too…”
Sky embraced her back, encircling his arms around her waist, his nose and mouth on her hair. “One day he will maybe see your worth, and you will hold your head high Wu. I’m sure of that.”
Sky and Wu remained motionless for a while, underneath the moonlight that enlightened their embrace. Then, she broke the embrace and caressed his cheek with her hand “I think we should head back to the camp”.
Sky nodded at her affirmation “You’re right, I’ll remain awake, to keep the guard…”

The two came back to the camp; Sky remained awake to keep an eye out for any ambush, while Wu headed to the camp and tried to do not awake anyone. She took her blanket and placed it beside the fire.
Wu unleashed her hair and took off her boots before covering inside the blanket.
Once she was covered with her blanket, she looked at the roof of the camp, closing her eyes and breathing slowly, thinking of what Sky has just said to her.
She didn’t felt an heavier mind as usual after a fight with her brother, she felt calm and lighter. Wu rolled to the right and looked at Ming.
He was without a blanket but he looked peaceful in his sleep and she saw a tear on his brother’s left eye. Probably he was dreaming of his lover…or maybe he felt guilty on how he treated her in the past days.
Wu felt an ache inside her heart; she understood his desire to protect her. But not like that, she loathes his methods to protect her.
I don’t know what you think when you beat me Ming, but this is not the way…I love you and I’m willing to hear you, every time you want to talk to someone…
With these thoughts inside her mind, Wu fell asleep, with a new hope in her heart, for her brother…