He woke to a menacing form standing over his hammock in the nearly-pitch darkness. He swallowed the scream of terror that tried to force its way from his throat. His heart was pounding out of his enormous chest. He could see the globes rising and falling rapidly.

This must be what they mean by heaving breasts, he thought rather randomly. 

In the faint moonlight and the almost exhausted firelight, he saw it was Porta Daven; her face was emotionless, the eyes, distant, yet oddly pretty. She stood and looked down as if trying to find words that would not come easily. He waited, never taking his eyes off hers, forcing his pulse to slow and striving for calm.

He said the first thing he could think of...

I know you said not to cook the fish. But it would have spoiled. There is some in the pot for you."

She nodded silently and kept staring. When she spoke it was halting, as if she had never uttered the words before.

"I am... sorry. I do not ever speak of my former life. I was...a little...upset."

Guideline Seven: Raging episodes mean 'upset' to Porta Daven. Be very, very careful in future.

"I am glad you are safe. Eat. You must be starving. I hope the seasonings are acceptable. "

She mumbled around the first mouthful. "It's good." There was a period of silence as she ate ."I don't apologize, normally."

"Nor I."

"Have you at least regretted things you have done?"

"Never."

Silence. Then Lan Qiren spoke in a whisper. "Once."

"What did you regret?"

Quiet, then the sound of deep remorse. "When I ordered the use of the Disciplinary Whip on Lan Zhan."

"Why? "

A deep sigh.

" I decided at the time, that if I did not show he was not different than any other Lan, I would lose control of it all. Instead, I lost the love of my beautiful nephew. Now that I have relinquished control of that place, I wonder if it was all worth it."

She did not respond at first. Finally, "Do not underestimate him or Lan XiChen. And never again, put his Wei Ying at risk. Lan Zhan is hard to figure out. You have to read his silences. They can speak volumes. But Wei Ying is sacrosanct."

 He lay awake for a long time before exhaustion claimed him. Guideline Eight: Rethink the Wei Ying question. 

She let him sleep in the next morning. When he woke, he immediately smelled a a fish omlette. The aroma was tantalizing and he threw on his robe and rushed out, his mouth watering.

"How did you manage?"

"Found mushrooms, wild radishes, a few leeks. Used fish from last night. Robbed a few nests for eggs. Foraging comes in handy. Dig in."

he wolfed it down, and realized the occasional meal with meat was acceptable in case of emergency. It would notn ormally be his preference.

He glanced over, and took a chance. She may kill him or not.

"Its good." He grumbled. She shot him a sharp glance and he saw her smother a wry grin.

"Touche."

""Touche?"

It is French for 'Good hit."

"Ah. What is French?"

" The language of a country in a region known as Europe, in my day. It has not yet been formed in this period. "

"Ah. Were there other countries that formed in this Europe? "

"Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Austria, Switzerland..."

"It sounds confusing."

"All with different customs, forms of government, languages."

"How have they learned to co-exist?"

"Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't."

"Do they coexist in your region?

"They still war there. The wounds of many millennia have never healed. They simply re-label it and keep going at each other."

"Yet you miss it."

"It is my homeland. Who does not miss their homeland? I do not miss the strife. There is enuogh of that here to try and avoid and survive."

He watched her closely as she struggled with some darker force within her. This woman was deeper than he thought. She may be crazy, but she lso may have reasons for choosing her way of survival. 

 She rose and he heard her rummaging around in the hut. 

He heard her mutter, "This should do."

When she emerged, she was holding a woman's dress, ctton in a soft gold color , and a veiled hat. 

:What are those?" He asked, suddenly apprehensive.

"Your new outfit. Time to get used to being my sister, Lan Qiren.