I step through the portal into an empty tent. I can hear voices from outside, but they’re too soft to make out. I spin around at a loud ugh, but it’s from the other side of the tent canvas.

  Keeping my Movements of The Silent Monster active, I stay still and listen for any sounds of movement. One side of the tent is quiet and Shia confirms no one is there.

  I cut a hole into the side of the tent, and am greeted by the side of another rge tent.

  Using the The Movements of The Silent Monster I walk between the tents, slowing my breath and ducking into shadows whenever Shia tells me people are walking by.

  I am in a military encampment of some kind.

  It isn’t rge, and there aren’t too many warriors, but the warriors I do see wear matching uniforms in a style I don’t recognize.

  I don’t hear the sounds of children, and the women I see wear different uniforms from the warriors and don’t carry any weapons.

  By the time I reach the outer ring of tents, I hear shouts from where I entered through the portal.

  Either my pursuers had followed me through, or they’d noticed the giant hole in the side of one of their tents.

  The shouts distract the one man standing guard and I slip into the forest unnoticed.

  My heartbeat quickens as I break into a run through the narrow trees. The Movements of The Silent Monster is a strong technique, but it isn’t perfect. I’m not sure if they’ll be able to find me or track me if I stay too close to their camp.

  I run for a while, my breathing becoming unsteady.

  Once I feel that I’ve lost them, I look for a pce to rest. A rge crevice inside the roots of a tree is the first thing I find.

  I fall into it, my legs colpsing from their use.

  I lean into the crevice, resting my head against the bark of the tree as I try to catch my breath.

  “Are you alright Shia?” I whisper.

  “I will be, little one. Protecting myself from their initial attack drained what little qi I have.” Shia says. She slithers out of my robe, her tongue tasting the air.

  Of course the shield wasn’t meant for me. It could almost be called luck that she protected me along with herself during the attack.

  I close my eyes, forcing my breathing to quiet. Images of dead disciples, and the men I killed fill my eyelids.

  I open my eyes, my gaze nding on the foliage of the trees. “Do you recognize these trees?” I ask.

  “They are unfamiliar to me.” Shia says. She looks around us, her head moving in a circle. “We should continue, we don’t know how far they may search for us.”

  I nod in agreement and stand, only to stumble and fall back to the ground.

  My gaze nds on my arm, which still has blood flowing down it, before my eyes close to darkness.

  ______

  The pungent smell of herbs greets me when I wake up. I squint into the sunlight, surprised by the comfortable fur bnket I’m lying on.

  “Are you awake?” A voice asks.

  I turn my head to see a boy a couple years older than me, sitting on a log and writing something in a book.

  My eyes widen when they meet his eyes. They are a crimson color and shaped like a northerner’s. His brown hair is cut short and his skin is a pale brown.

  He smiles as our gazes meet.

  “I was worried for a second you might’ve lost too much blood.” He says, putting his book aside. “Thankfully, the magic in you is strong, easily making up for what I ck.”

  I sit up, my shoulder twinging with discomfort as my bnket falls down.

  I look down at myself, finding myself naked except for my underthings. I look up as I realize my state.

  I pull the bnket back up and gre at him.

  He averts his eyes as his gaze matches mine.

  My right hand grabs at my sword, which he had pced next to me, while the other keeps the bnket up.

  “Whoa, whoa! No need to stab me.” The boy says, “I had to undress you to get at your wound. I was a complete gentleman, I promise.”

  I gre at him for a second longer before looking around the clearing again. My flute and the talisman I’d bought long ago sit on top of my robes, next to my sword.

  I examine my flute, looking for any markings or cracks from the battle. I breathe a sigh of relief when I realize it is fine, then continue my search of the surroundings.

  Two horses are tied to the tree next to us, grazing on grass. Shia is nowhere to be found, causing my heart to tighten.

  “Are you hungry? I have some bread.” The man says, drawing my attention back to him. “I’d have meat, or a meal, but I didn’t want to leave you to hunt for something.” He stands up, and my grip on my sword tightens.

  He walks over to the saddlebags on one of his horses, and pulls out a loaf of bread. He walks back over to me and breaks the bread in half, holding the broken piece out to me.

  After a moment’s hesitation, I let go of my sword. I bow my head as I take the bread, “Thank you.”

  “So you can talk! I was worried you might not be able to understand me.” He says, sitting back down on the log across from me.

  I eat the bread one tiny bite at a time, letting my body absorb the food as I watch him. He continues to write in his book as he waits for me to finish.

  “C-could you please turn around?” I ask, gncing away from embarrassment.

  It takes a second for realization hits him, but he quickly turns to face the opposite direction.

  I watch him with my eyes narrowed as I let the bnket fall and put on my robe. “You can turn back around.” I say, trying to soothe my beating heart.

  He watches me as I put my hair up in a bun.

  “What’s your name?” He asks.

  My hands pause for a brief moment before continuing with my hair. “Lin Jia.” There’s no reason to give him my position or my sect. If the trees are unfamiliar, then it is likely he won’t even know of my sect.

  “It’s nice to meet you Linjia. My name is Matu.” He holds his hand out, and I stare at it before shaking my head.

  “It’s Lin Jia. Not Linjia.” I correct him.

  I grab my things, putting them into my robe. My hands roam over my flute, double checking it for damage.

  “My apologies Lin.” My gaze snaps to him at his casual use of my name. “Your name is unusual to say the least.”

  “Just as yours is to me, Matu.” I look down. “Thank you for treating my wounds. I apologize for my wariness.”

  Matu shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it, I’d be wary too, if I’d just been shot by an arrow.“

  I stand up with care, testing the range of motion on my arm. I pce my sword on my hip, pulling it from its sheath to find it clean of blood. I resheathe it and with a deep breath, I set my gaze in one direction and start walking.

  “Ah- I wouldn’t go that direction.” Matu calls out.

  I look back at him.

  “Lord Doma’s men have been searching for y-, I mean someone. Many of them are stationed in that direction.”

  I frown, hit by the realization I don’t know where I am, where my sect is, or where my enemies are. Tears tug at my eyes, but I blink them away. I’m all alone out here without Shia.

  “I can take you to the nearest city if you’d like. It’s outside of Doma’s domain, and I’m sure you could figure out what you need to do from there.” Matu offers.

  I look at my bandaged shoulder, then back at Matu.

  “I would be grateful for your help.”

  He smiles, motioning for me to sit down across from him. He stands up, walking to one of his horses to grab a bow and quiver. “I’ll go hunt some meat for dinner, might as well stay here for the night since I’ve already set up camp.”

  I nod. He smiles at me one more time before walking off into the forest.

  “I wouldn’t trust him completely.” A familiar voice says.

  “Shia!” I say with relief, as the snake falls down from a branch hanging above me. “What do you mean Shia?”

  “Who knows what his motives are? He could very well sell us out to this Lord Doma. It is quite a coincidence he was nearby when you colpsed.” Shia says, her body resting against mine.

  “I don’t have much choice, Shia. I know too little about where we are.” I look towards the direction he disappeared to. “I have to hope these are the threads of fate, and not just a simple coincidence.”

  “It is not good for one to trust too easily, as you seem to do.” Shia crawls into my sleeve, traveling into my robe, until she reaches my neck. Then she wraps herself around my neck, constricting. “How do you know I won’t kill you right now, for my own gain?”

  I freeze at her words, reminding me of the fear when we first met. I control my breathing, recollecting myself.

  “I don’t know.” I answer, “I would be sad if you did.”

  Shia brings her head around, looking into my eyes. “Why would you be sad?”

  “Because I like you.” I answer, sensing the strange attraction I’d felt towards her when she first decided to accompany me. “And I don’t want you to go through the pain of killing someone who was kind to you.”

  “Who says I would feel pain?” Shia says, before loosening her hold on my throat and returning to my robes.

  Because I feel pain. I don’t say the words out loud, not wanting to y my hurt before Shia.

  My thoughts are a mess, so I do the one thing that seems to express what I can’t say in words. Reaching into my robe, I pull the flute my mother gave me out of my robes.

  I stare at it for a moment, before putting it to my lips.

  The Second Requiem: Remembrance

  The notes are soft and fleeting.

  The first image I see is of a disciple who sat in the wagon with me.

  We never spoke, but she smiled at me when I was exploring.

  She was killed in the very first moments of the battle.

  Her smile was beautiful.

  The image switches to a Master, he expined to me the meanings of different flowers.

  He was cut down while defending others.

  He was too kind.

  I see Qiu Tai, a second mother to me. She was my older sister, my friend, my teacher.

  I see her putting ribbons in my hair for my birthday.

  I put down the flute as I cry, soft sobs rocking my body.

  Why do people kill others so easily?

  Why do people die so easily?

  Why are my hands stained with blood?

  Why do I see their blood on the ground every time I close my eyes?