“..so afterwards we spent four years learning to speak the language even though my mother swore we would never go there again, although my father’s gone back three times since then to get lucrative trade deals on salt and snow wool before the new king was crowned, I think his name was A...O… Aolaf?? The new king, he wanted a higher tax on snow wool being harvested for export but our Queen was upset about that and had to sent messengers to try dissuading the other king from doing that and the trip is of course terribly long in the first place so while she was waiting she also raised taxes on imported snow wool to twenty three, however the children of the last ambassador drowned so-…”
Gege continued speaking as Idony zoned further and further out. Baozi was curled in her lap asleep as though the endless speech on economic trade too advanced for both a pig and an eight year old child to comprehend had knocked it out. Idony herself found her eyelids beginning to droop with sleep, the numbness in her body making it feel easy to just slip back down into the covers. She wanted to dream about her mother, but when she closed her eyes to remember her all that came was those horrific needle teeth.
The door opened suddenly, jolting all three occupants of the room as a new face leaned in. The face reminded Idony of a pretty fox, narrow with bright eyes, black hair done in two ornate loops held a bun with flowery pins. They flashed Idony a friendly smile. Gege’s face was blank in surprise until a smile crept over it, “Rui Yifu!”
The newcomer said something in a sibilant deep voice which was horribly at odds with their delicate beautiful appearance. Gege tipped his head to the side and replied before turning back to Idony with a smile. “This is Rui Yifu! I told you about him earlier! He’s a very nice man, and very intelligent too! A scholar and gentleman!” he clapped his hands together and then held them out towards Rui Yifu to present him to Idony. “He can even play the guqin, and paint!”
Idony waved nervously at the new person while keeping a hand on Baozi’s belly.
Rui Yifu stepped fully into the room and slowly walked over to Idony. She shuffled back on the bed in apprehension as he got onto one of his knees. He said something she didn’t understand, a question, tipping his head. Then he looked at Gege expectantly.
“...Oh! He asked if you’d like a present.”
Idony’s eyes instantly widened in excitement. “A present!? What kind?”
Rui Yifu did not even wait for Gege to translate and held up a pale long nailed hand with a small silvery coin nestled in. Idony examined his clothing a little more closely now that the space between them was smaller. He had all sorts of strange talismans hanging from his belt and a fan. She wanted to reach out and see if the long flowing clothing was as soft and silky as it looked. He said something with a kind smile and waited as Gege began to speak. “He said it’s a good luck charm!”
Idony eyed it for a moment. In the light it seemed almost moon colored and on it was a bird of some sort with spreading wings. She reached out and hesitantly took it from him, her fingers meeting his cool flesh for the briefest of minutes before she weighed the charm in her hand. It felt cold and somewhat grounding in her hand. She gave Rui Yifu a smile, “thank you!”
Gege translated her gratitude and Rui Yifu laughed softly, patting her head kindly before he stood up. He looked over at the young man to start talking to him and Idony gently moved her pig friend onto the empty space beside her bed’s pillow as she laid back down and held the coin above her face, watching as the sunlight was caught upon the silvery grooves.
“Ah, it seems like we need to go see my parents,” Gege spoke apologetically to Idony, “so we have to leave for a while. Please continue resting and if you need anything do not hesitate to ask the servants in the hallway… and remember to hide Baozi if they come!” He laughed a bit before Rui Yifu took him by the arm to lead him out as he waved good bye to Idony, and Idony in turn waved farewell to the two strange but nice new people. After they had disappeared, it vaguely occurred to Idony that asking servants for help would be a bit difficult if they did not understand her. But she was still too exhausted to try chasing the man down to inform him.
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She continued looking at the coin instead, rubbing the impression of the odd bird with her thumb when a shadow crossed from the window to the door. Idony sat up and hissed as nails of pain suddenly flowed into her bones.
At the window a boy stared at her, leaning in slightly to regard her curiously. He looked like he had just climbed out of a pond, water dripping down from his hair and she shuddered a bit at what seemed to be a water bug falling off his sleeve. He had the grin of a boy who just gleefully broke a rule.
“What do you want?” She asked the boy.
“Do you want to play hide-and-seek? ”
“I’m trying to nap!”
“Nap? Here? Why would you want to nap here? There’s better places than this musty old spot. Besides, wouldn’t you rather come out and play? There’s nobody around here for me to play with! Come on, come on!”
Idony shook her head, "I don't want to! I'm tired. I got hurt and I want to sleep," she gestured at her side. "Let me sleep!"
"If you sleep here, a giant snake is gonna creep up and eat you whole!" The boy warned. "It'll get you really fast and slither away!"
"Now you're just making things up," she snapped. "Big snakes aren't real! Snakes only get as big as an arm."
The boy's brows raised at her words which she took to mean that he had no way to counter her impeccable knowledge on snakes. "...What if it's a giant's arm then?"
Idony rolled her eyes at him and stubbornly sat on the bed with no intention of moving one bit. She was comfortable, she had food in her stomach, and as long as she did not move too much then her side would not hurt. Why would she go running around with a random boy?
The boy made an ugly face at her, “...Ugh! Girls always want to nap!” He said sharply, throwing his hands into the air and stomping off. Idony stuck her tongue out at his back as he left her view before flopping back down onto the bed.
“Stupid face,” she hissed while laying back down and closing her eyes.
She felt as though she had only just closed her eyes when the door opened again. This time she found the room bathed in the red light of a setting sun and she felt far more tired than she did when she had fallen asleep earlier. Despite her exhaustion that made her limbs feel like dead fish her nose was still keen and immediately picked up the scent of roasted beef.
Liu Xie stood past the doorway that he had to slightly stoop down to step through. He held a plate covered in beef skewers that he gently set on the table while looking down at the empty cup and the half full bowl of now slightly shriveled rice. “Did you eat?”
“Gege gave me food… and gross juice.”
“It was medicine.”
“Gross juice.”
“...Gege hmm?” Liu Xie was muttering to himself, and suddenly Idony felt a slither of nervousness. She checked under her pillow to make sure the coin charm was still there, then rested her arm on the pillow as if she were simply relaxing. Something told her that she should not let Liu Xie see it.
Idony turned her head away as Liu Xie moved the empty cup and bowl to the other side of the table. He was quiet for a moment and as still as a tree while looking at her. She was not sure what she saw in those eyes. It reminded her of the pity some people back home would give her as they saw her digging through trash or picking berries. But it was not quite the same. There was something else in there. He raised a hand and reached to her and Idony flinched back warily.
Liu Xie’s gaze shifted down to his own hand which he dropped to the side. He rose to his feet slowly while he muttered something in his other tongue, before pointing at the plate of skewers, “if you’re still hungry eat them. If not, feed them to Baozi before they get disgusting and attract pests and spirits.”
She reached down to pick up the still sleeping pig and placed him in her lap. “...I don’t think pigs eat meat,” she mumbled.
“They do,” Liu Xie said, “especially if they’re hungry. Unless Li Baobao was feeding it too many treats.”
“Hm,” was all Idony offered, laying back down and turning away from Liu Xie. How could he be mean to her before, and now act almost kind? He was even giving her food! His eyes… she curled up tight and pulled the blanket back over her and Baozi, making sure to keep her weight off her wounded side.
She heard him sigh, lingering in the room for a moment before the sound of fabric ruffling and the door closing told her he was gone. His footsteps softly echoed down the hall until they entirely faded away.
From the window drifted sounds of strange music and chatting so Idony released Baozi to pull the pillow around her head to muffle out the noise. Getting up to close the window was simply too much effort for her.