Xie Song-jun

2022 years after The Long Night

Hei’an City

“A’Jun!”

The Princess had already collapsed on the floor, a mess of furrs and the cloaks she’d wrapped them in so that Su Lan didn’t freeze. The journey home had been a grueling one, Song-jun truly having to make use of all the tricks up her sleeve to get them back in one piece.

As her father, Songcai, knelt beside them, Song-jun felt immediate exhaustion and relief sweep through her, heightening when she felt a familiar hand pressing into her wrist to check her qi and pulse.

“You… where have you been?!” Songcai gasped suddenly, his eyes landing on Su Lan, who was still asleep in Song-jun’s arms.

Sensing her father’s confusion and concern, and knowing that it was going to be a long story, the Princess just pulled Songcai’s hand over Su Lan and pressed down…

“Heal first. Talk later-” and then the darkness swallowed her whole.

Song-jun couldn’t recall any dreams. When she woke, it was with a sudden feeling of panic, as the room had abruptly changed and she was no longer wearing her Jun Song disguise. More than grateful to see she had been placed in her bed, the fireplace crackling softly, and her hair having been brushed out, Song-jun began to get up. A soft sigh from the corner made her still and look over.

The King’s face was… strangely darkened. He appeared to have been sitting in the chair by her bedside, perhaps waiting for her to wake up. When Song-jun caught her father’s eye, it was clear that she was already in a fair amount of trouble.

“Before you say anything, let me explain…”

Xie Yi-jun sighed again and rubbed at his temple, indicating he’d probably gone without sleep the last few nights. Song-jun didn’t know how long she’d been asleep, and now she started to worry a little about Su Lan’s whereabouts. Managing to bite her tongue on that for now, the Princess said instead;

“I have many answers. To questions that we haven’t even thought of asking yet,” the more she thought about it, the more Song-jun was just itching to get a hold of some paper and a pen. The things they’d discovered… some of that knowledge could change how they viewed everything!

When she didn’t hear her father, Song-jun looked again, and what she saw tore at her heart. There he sat, Xie Yi-jun, her caretaker and best friend, holding his head in his hands and likely trying to hide that he was… crying?

Song-jun immediately jumped out of bed and went to kneel by his side, tugging at his wrists and begging-

“Baba, please! What’s wrong? Are you…”

The knife that had been plunged into her heart upon seeing her father cry was suddenly twisted brutally as Yi-jun lowered his hands and reached out to her, pulling her into a fierce hug and shaking a bit as he said-

“What the hell is the matter with you, running off like that?! You scared us half to death when we realized what you’d done!”

Her father’s voice wasn’t loud but it was breathy and full of emotion. Song-jun closed her eyes and hugged him back, forcing her throat to unclench as she stammered;

“I’m sorry, I'm s-so sorry baba… I just wanted to be… worthy-” her voice finally broke on the last word as she heard her father gasp, Song-jun finally felt herself burst into tears.

“A’Jun, no!” Yi-jun stroked her hair away from her face and held her gently, “If I ever… gods, if I ever made you feel that you weren’t absolutely perfect in every way… you never had to prove yourself to me, my love. Never.”

Song-jun felt the weight of the words she was about to say as they lay heavy and suffocating on her heart, but the look in her fathers eyes right now as he carefully frowned and reached up to dry her tears… Song-jun suddenly was distinctly aware of how close she’d been to losing it all.

“I know. I’m sorry I lied, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you where I was going. I know you never needed me to prove myself, but I needed it. I needed it, baba… I wanted to feel like I belonged here in every way, so everyone could be proud of me and look up to me the way they do with you and Father. I know I’ve always been your Princess… but I wanted to be your daughter. I wanted to deserve it-”

Yi-jun pulled her close again, sighing loudly and squeezing her shoulders as they both tried to control their tears.

“You do, shh, you do… every day, every week, every year, the more you grow the more I realize that fate led us to you for a reason. A’Jun, my love… being your father was never a hardship, it continues to be the greatest blessing of my life. Don’t ever feel that you aren’t enough. My blood may not run through your veins but you have a heart forged by the fires of this city and you have made me so, so proud. I love you… don’t ever run away again. Songcai and I would have helped you.”

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Song-jun leaned away and sniffed, nodding.

“I know. With everyone worrying about things here in Hei’an City, I thought I could just take care of it myself… I was somehow both ashamed and too prideful.”

When she felt her father take her wrist and carefully hold her hand, Song-jun finally felt her breath settle. She was still so tired, and as she looked at where Yi-jun’s fingers rested over where her King’s Mark used to live, she realized why that might be the case…

“A’Jun,” her father said slowly. “Songcai has made certain you are okay, but… there seem to be a lot of things we need to discuss. The fact that you’re safe is all that matters to me, but… well… among other things, we have a visitor currently staying in the guest quarters. I don’t believe I need to tell you how I feel about it.”

Song-jun’s heart immediately lifted at the mention of her traveling companion.

“Baba, I promise I’ll explain everything. Don’t worry so much about Su Lan, okay? I’m sure Father’s also told you that he’s harmless now? He’s human…”

Xie Yi-jun clearly stiffened at the man’s name.

“Yes. I expect that to be explained as well… at length.”

Their dinner that night included the company of both Song-jun’s fathers as well as her Uncle Wen, who smacked her forcefully on the back of the head when he saw her.

“That’s what you deserve for playing us all for fools. Honestly…”

But Reian’s eyes were warm, edged with worry, and Song-jun hugged him for a long time before they all sat down.

Su Lan didn’t join them, and Song-jun isn’t really sure she can blame the man. It had been… difficult, to visit him that afternoon and see how the change had affected him. How his eyes no longer shone with magic. How the strength in him had been stripped away until only a human shell remained. Song-jun had tried to coax him to the window so that they could watch the market far below, but Su Lan had been non-verbal and more than a little despondent. The Princess supposed it might take time. Who knows what the entire thing had done to him. Who knows if he’d recover…

“Alright. Speak.”

Xie Yi-jun was obviously on edge, most likely due to his old friend’s presence. Song-jun was praying that if all went well, she’d be able to help the two of them facilitate some healing. Nevermind forgiveness, they deserved an end to their resentment, at the very least.

A’Jun felt Songcai’s hand on her shoulder, very gently urging her on. With a deep breath in, she began, recounting everything that had happened on their adventure. It couldn’t possibly be Song-jun’s fault that she was a little bit excited to share…

“-so, that’s how I put it all together and learned that what was happening now was far too similar to The Long Night to be a coincidence.”

“A’Jun…” Yi-jun’s tone admonished her. “That was incredibly dangerous.”

“I know, I know! But you were all busy and worried about other things! I’m sorry! I’ll say it again, but it won’t change what happened.”

Songcai sighed and nodded, “We know that well enough. Please, continue…”

Song-jun did. Soon she got up to the point in the story where she’d convinced all the scientists from Xibu Shataar that she was, in fact, a boy. It was clear that her fathers were mildly horrified, especially at her treatment, but Song-jun definitely thought she spotted Wen Reian giving her some strangely amused stares.

Song-jun tried to leave out enough about Su Lan that it didn’t make her father uncomfortable. She wanted them to mend their friendship, but for now, perhaps it was best to let them have a bit of space?

“Well, of course it was stupid of me, but what was I supposed to do?” She shrugged, “When I connected to the tree, I ended up in this strange… nowhere place. Inside my mind? The things it made me see… I really need to get up to the library and write it all down-”

“What was it?”

“... time.” Song-jun said, remembering. “It showed me the world without time, or perhaps outside of it? It wasn’t linear. It felt as if everything happened all at once. I saw the beginning of the world and the end of it in synchronicity. I saw the threads of all our lives, tangled up into this endless web, and how each of us are tied to each other, and to our past lives.”

Song-jun glanced around the table at her fathers and Uncle, recalling just how it felt to see them all at different stages in their current lives, and the ones before and after.

“You,” she smiled. “You’ve met before. Perhaps all of us have. Perhaps the universe has designed itself so that nothing is lost forever, and maybe because of that, we get second chances.”

“A’Jun…” Songcai shook his head, but his eyes held wonder. “What does that mean?”

The Princess didn’t know. She supposed it meant a great many things. For her parents, it meant a love that transcended time and would reconnect them eternally in various ways at various stages of life. For her Uncle, it meant choice. Wen Reian’s soul; forever sculpted by those he loved, and those he chose to sacrifice for… be it Yi-Jun, Songcai, or himself. For Song-Jun, who had seen it all unwind before her, including her own past and future lives, it was humbling in the extreme, terrifying, and yet oddly comforting; the idea that she had a destiny out there just waiting for her to find it, all it required was time.

Time was something Song-Jun had a lot of these days. Though at first Songcai and especially Yijun had resisted it, A’Jun was determined. She wanted the extra workload- and the punishment, so that she was able to prove to herself she was going to learn and make a better choice next time.

Being confined to the palace was a light punishment after all, and now that Song-Jun once again graced the library with so much of her presence every day, it was beginning to feel more and more like things had gone back to the way they were before. Notably, there were a few changes…

“No. Over there, where I’m pointing… by the window, see?”

Song-Jun had decided to take on the precarious task of indexing and re-organizing the library. After about a week, to her great surprise, a familiar face had wandered in and started helping in absolute silence.

Song-Jun knew that, from what little snippets she’d seen, or rather felt of Su Lan’s life, he’d been through more than a normal human could take. The fact that he didn’t say a word as they worked these days, just floated around the library with barely concealed boredom, helping Songjun with odd tasks, told the Princess only that, perhaps, the man was trying to find something stable to hold onto for another rough landing. Songjun, surprisingly, didn’t mind being there to catch him.

Perhaps, and the longer they worked and the more the weeks passed, the fuller the shelves became and the more alert Su Lan’s eyes grew, Songjun thought that the universe might even give out third or fourth chances… and how lucky would we be if Su Lan could have a few?