1 In the Depths of Night they Met

Lao Mei had been walking in the forest for some time. She looked towards her right side to see the same thing a few hours before; lush green trees, large bushes, small streams, and small stones. She knew she was lost, and yet she couldn't stop walking. She was only seven and had no idea what to do in a situation like this. She would constantly look behind her to make sure there was nothing there. Her legs were about to collapse from walking so long. Her long midnight black hair was flowing from the slight wind, and the rim of her eyes were red. She was at the point of mental exhaustion. If anyone was to look at her they'd know.

Lao Mei had begun to believe she would die in the woods alone. In her head, she thought about how she had gotten there. She was at her courtyard. Her mother was watching her play with her small tiger, Lao Lao. She looked up at her beautiful mother. Her mother had beautiful long silky black hair, perfect black almond-shaped eyes, and a brilliant smile that suited her strong personality. She was wearing a beautiful muslin gown that was vermilion. The tail of her dress spread out like a butterflies wings. Her long loose sleeves were at her sides covering her delicate snow white hands. Her mother had been watching her with a gentle gaze. Lao Mei had been observing her mother for a short while when one of the female servants quietly walked towards her mother," Mistress, the apothecary is ready to see you." Mother nodded her delicate face and followed behind the servant. Lao Mei's mother had been sickly for quite some time.

Her mother was very frail and was incredibly injured when giving birth to Lao Mei. Lao Mei would sometimes see her mother cough up blood. Lao Mei always had a bad premonition about this. She would always want to stay by her mother's side because if she wasn't there, she had a feeling her mother would disappear. Her father hardly even cared about her mother. Her mother was a concubine to father. She was betrothed to him before she was even born. Lao Mei would always use her as an example to never believe in betrothal or arranged marriages. As soon as her mother left, she noticed a beautiful white coated cat. Lao Mei's eyes glowed as she tried to follow it. Somehow she ended up in the woods. And eventually was in this position; lost, no food, no water.

As a seven-year-old Lao Mei had no idea what to do at this time. It didn't even cross her mind that she was valuable to her father, who would most likely ask for retrieval. Lao Mei thought she was totally alone.

She continued to walk wearily down the long, dark, and ominous path. Her delicate legs were about to collapse under pressure. Suddenly, as she took several steps forward into a lush grove of undergrowth. She suddenly tripped over a large shrub. She landed head first into the ground. Her head was hurt quite badly. She had a small stream of blood running down her forehead from her hair. She had a searing headache that made her ears ring. She struggled to sit on her backside. She noticed that when she moved her leg, a slight bit of blood flowed from a scrape. She slowly moved her leg in front of her. Her porcelain-like legs were not only gushing out a cherry red substance but also had a deep purple color towards the ankle.

Lao Mei didn't need to be a doctor to know she twisted it. She was in a tight bind. She was stuck in the woods alone, with several cuts, and a twisted ankle. Lao Mei was too busy to notice the scenery in front of her. Lao Mei was focused on the cut that wouldn't stop bleeding. She finally decided to look at her surroundings. As Lao Mei looked up, her mouth showed a small gap. In front of her beautiful almond eyes, there was a beautiful glistening lake. Lao Mei slowly limped over to the water edge. As her gaze met the water's surface, she saw that the water was crystal clear. The scenery was that of a dream. Lao Mei saw the crescent moon reflected on the water making it glow under the light.

For a few moments, Mei had thought she had died and had gone to Tian. She was brought back to her senses when she felt the pain in her leg again. Lao Mei was about to lose conscience from fatigue when she heard footsteps rushing towards her. At that point, Lao Mei was already on her back.

. . .

A young boy who seemed no older than eight was on a walk through the woods. He had his long black hair tied back in a ponytail. With his hair tied back, his handsome face was shown. When he grew up he was sure to have a face sculpted like a god. He wore a red and black brocade robe. He was walking to the sound ahead; water. He continued down the lush greenery. He finally made it towards the clutter of leaves that would lead him to the lake.

He smiled at himself satisfied. He walked calmly under the growth He scanned the beautiful scenery. There was a small lake with glistening clear water that reflected the moon. The grass and undergrowth surrounding it was a vibrant green. His eyes suddenly stopped dead on a petite figure near the edge of the lake. He had the feeling he had to rush there immediately. He soon arrived at the scene to find a girl that seemed around seven. She had long silky black hair. Her eyes were tightly closed. She wore an ocean blue gown. He examined her face to find that she was quite the looker. When she grew up she was sure to be a devastatingly beautiful girl. At the thought of this, the young boy blushed. He observed her closer to find that she had several cuts on her. It seemed that she tripped over something.

She seemed to be exhausted. He had guessed she was lost. Little did he know his guess was on target. The boy luckily had some apothecary abilities He scanned the area for a certain herb. His eyes stopped as his gaze stopped on a white flower. His eyes showed a bright expression. The white as jade flower was, in fact, the herb yarrow. He quickly walked over and picked several stocks of the flower. The boy then walked over to the girl. He put the flower over his palm then ripped off the flowering part of the herb. He then got the stem and began to crush it into a salve. When it was in a sticky form, the boy placed it over the scrapes the girl had.

Lao Mei felt a sticky substance being applied to her cuts. She opened her eyes slowly to find a boy applying what seemed to be medicine. Lao Mei then abruptly sat up. The boy across from her seemed a little shocked. He thought she would be out for at least an hour. His obsidian eyes revealed all though. Lao Mei immediately sought to thank him," Thank you…" Her voice was soft and silky. The boy blushed slightly for a moment too fast for Mei to see. The boy then retained his calm expression," I couldn't just leave you here alone now can I?" Mei looked closely at the boy's handsome face. He had deep black phoenix eyes that held a subtle gentleness but contained darkness in them. While Mei looked into his eyes she didn't realize that he had been doing the same.

The boy looked into her beautiful star-like eyes. Her eyes were midnight black with no trace of light. Even without the light, her eyes shone like stars to him. He could tell that this girl was brilliant in many ways, and yet held a clumsy feel to him. She had a solemn look deep in her eyes showing she knew the harshness of reality. Their gazes fell for what seemed to be 10,000 years.

The girl then smiled a bright smile with her pearl white teeth. The boy smiled back at Lao Mei, then asked," So how did you end up here anyway?" Lao Mei blushed a little from embarrassment," Well… you see… I was chasing a white cat…and…" The boy laughed realizing what had happened. Lao Mei gave a feigned angered glance and said quickly," Be quiet!" The boy looked calm on the outside but was actually shocked. No one in his life had once told him to be quiet. If they did they would most likely get a head shorter.

Who would tell a prince to be quiet without courting death? He thought about this as he looked at the girl across from him with puffed out cheeks feigning an angered look. He actually felt happy this girl treated him normal. Then again, he never told her who he was. If he did, how would she react? He couldn't picture her bowing down with respect. He sort of laughed at the thought of that. The girl then blushed even more," What's so funny!?" She asked in such a weak tone the boy couldn't help but feel sympathetic.

The boy took another glance at her cuts," Does it feel a bit better now?" Lao Mei nodded deeply. The boy looked down to notice the deep purple bruise on her ankle," So you also twisted your ankle huh?" Lao Mei looked at her ankle and nodded," I tripped over a large shrub." The boy laughed," Some luck you have. Maybe you should have worn red for extra luck?" The boy smirked at the remark he came up with. Lao Mei puffed out her cheeks then turned her face towards the side.

The boy felt like this she looked like a toddler. She looked super cute. The boy about the fact that the girl didn't look like she had cried after what she went through. He looked at her and admitted that he was pretty amused. This girl was pretty brave.

The boy decided to cheer the girl up," Hmmm….I don't see any tear stains, could that mean you didn't cry? You must be brave if you didn't." Lao Mei's eyes lit up and gave off a triumphant glow," Of course I didn't! Is crying supposed to solve my problems?" The boy gave off a chuckle at that comment," Of course you wouldn't." Lao Mei looked happy now.

For some reason what the boy saw the girl happy, he felt something he had never felt before. He never actually smiled or laughed at anyone. Everyone was afraid of him. And yet this girl was smiling at him.

The boy suddenly heard footsteps in the distance. His hearing was superb so Lao Mei didn't notice. He could assume that people were looking for her. He then decided to leave. He got up slowly from his seating position, then helped the girl up. When he did, the Lao Mei trembled a little. She could still walk slowly with her twisted ankle. The boy helped Lao Mei up, he then examined Lao Mei's expression. She seemed to be in a little bit of pain, but she would be fine. When he was satisfied with Lao Mei's condition he decided to finally take his leave," Since you look fine I'll be taking my leave." Lao Mei's expression saddened. Yet she still nodded," Thank you for helping me." The boy then turned around to take his leave.

He walked towards the lush green forest. He suddenly stopped when he remembered that the girl was lost. The girl knew she was lost, yet didn't ask for his help. She was pretty independent the more the boy thought about it. He turned his soft face," The road is located a few meters that way." The boy pointed towards the trees across from him. He doubted he needed to help the girl since there were people searching for her. He continued to walk forward until he reached the forest edge. The boy walked forward a few feet, then sidestepped behind one of the trees. He needed to see whether it was people looking for her or not.

As he was thinking this, he realized he didn't even know her name. He actually regretted not asking so much, he began to grind his perfect pearl teeth.

A few meters away from the boy Lao Mei realized she should've asked his name. She was a bit frustrated, even so, she had to get out of there and find the road. Just as Lao Mei was going to walk towards the direction the boy told her the road was, loud footsteps surrounded her person. Lao Mei faced the surrounding figures to see that they were her father's men. The head guard of the house, Li Fang, was sent to look for Lao Mei and finally found her. Li Fang got on one knee and held his hand out," Fourth Miss Lao Mei, your father General Lao Liuyun had this servant searching for you. General Lao requests you to return immediately." Lao Mei nodded and took Li Fang's hand.

Li Fang noticed Lao Mei limping," Fourth Miss, were you injured?" Lao Mei looked up at Li Fang," Yes, this miss has a twisted ankle." Li Fang's face had a small trace of concern. ," Would you allow this servant to apply first aid?" Lao Mei eyes looked warm when she talked to the servant," Yes." Lao Mei walked over toward the group of guards with medical expertise. Lao Mei was given proper medical aid and felt much better. Or so she thought. The image of the handsome young boy was still burned into her memory. Soon enough she was lead back to the Lao Manor. Back to her sickly mother and jealous sisters.

The boy hidden in the trees smiled to himself. So the girl's name was Lao Mei. Fourth daughter of General Lao Liuyun. She was actually considered a genius by many people. She was said to be two-faced, and not to mention beautiful at such a young age. The boy continued to smile stupidly as a shadow appeared behind him. " Prince Zhang, the emperor orders you to return to the palace for sword fighting lessons." The boy that had helped Lao Mei was, in fact, Zhang Yun, the third born son of Emperor Zhang Li. Zhang Yun nodded at the tall servant known as Su Long. His face may have shown a stone cold expression, but his mind was the exact opposite. Zhang Yun had a feeling that he would see Lao Mei again, whether it was in the next few days or the next few years, he knew.