Before he left, Anshi invited all of his family to tea in his tent. Everyone's favorite pastry was present. It was a very private affair and he wanted their last cup of tea to be just between his Mothers and his brothers. He had bid the cousins and nieces and nephews goodbye individually throughout the morning but the five special guests were the most important people in the life he had spent in Cloud Recesses and Yunmeng. Without them, he would already be in another place, paying a heavy price for taking his own life.

They sat quietly, the four brothers and the two women, hearts almost too full to allow speaking. To face parting without knowing if they would ever meet again was a special kind of agony. And the one that everyone worried for the most that morning was Yenay.

Her normally calm and stoic face was pale and strained. Her hands, no matter how she tried to steady them, shook like willow leaves in a remorseless wind. If she had been compelled to hold her sword at any point, she would not have been able to even lift it.

She was disabled, as if a giant fist, clad in heavy armor had smashed deeply into her gut

Her mind was drifting continuously back to a caravan under attack and the screams of a terrified little boy begging her not to die. Every nerve, every fiber was screaming for her to go with him, her Emerald, her Child of her Heart. When Qinyang reached down to squeeze her hands in support, they lay there, limp and trembling. She had retreated into the woods the previous night, refusing to sleep, and returned only just before dawn, exhausted by her private denning and endless tears. This Guardian could not protect herself this day and she was helpless under the onslaught of grief and fear.

Anshi knew this and as he watched her he was close to changing his mind. What would he actually be able to find? Someone as important to him as Yenay was? He knew that was impossible. Her memory had been his mental strength during his years in slavery. the place he could retreat to when the worst faced him. His only hope. And she had found him and given him new life. Yet the primal pull to see who he really was was too much. Whatever it was, a destiny awaited him. But his Yenay, he had never seen her this way in his life. How could he leave her now?

Yenay saw the doubt in his eyes and the way his heart, mind, and soul were warring with each other. She stood for a moment and excused herself, asking Lan Zhan to step outside a moment.

She whirled around, on the verge of hysteria, distraught. "Gege, I need your help. "

His golden eyes were full of tears. He knew how desperate she was right now. She had never asked for his help, not since they met at the age of twelve. He reached over and gave her one of his few and precious embraces.

"Anything JieJie. Anything,"

"Energy. Share energy with me. I feel like it has left my body. I have to let him go. Yet I do not have the strength. He won't leave if I am like this. Yours is the strongest energy I know of and I need it right now."

Lan Zhan nodded and did another rare thing. He took her hand and kissed it before he moved to her wrist and began to share, the other arm steady and firm around her shoulders. She was sobbing quietly into his strong shoulder and he felt the dampness. not minding. Gradually the crying began to ease. He continued to share his energy with her until she composed herself, and they stayed until all trace of her weeping disappeared. He reached up and smoothed her hair.

"Better?"

She nodded. "Then , next time do not wait so long. Do not endure alone all night. Send for me."

She nodded again. "Ready? Then let's return."

They entered the tent again and Anshi stood up, as pale as his mother had been before she left. He escorted to her chair then knelt before her.

"Mother, I am not going. I cannot leave you like this, not after giving me my life back, your undying love."

She smiled. "You must My Emerald, my son. I did not find you, only to be unable to set you free when you need to fly. What sort of Mother does such a thing? Clip those wonderful wings? Never. I was weak for a while, but I am myself right now. I only have two requests."

"Whatever you want, Mother of my Heart."

"That you send for us if you need help."

"Of course. And the other?"

"That you sing me a song before you leave."

The young man buried his head in her lap and she motioned for everyone to leave.

"Give us a little time alone, please?"

She stroked the rich auburn hair as the two of them sat there. Finally, he lifted his head and emerald eyes met copper ones. They gazed at one another and he began to sing.

A lullaby, that started of in a desperate lament of fear and sorrow. Then it segued into loneliness and despair. Notes stretched endlessly in the air, highly pitched and piercing as they searched and searched. There was a pause, empty and desolate, and then a low humming began, a hum of recognition tinged with doubt, then opening and blossoming. A starburst of warmth, primal and deep. A cushioning of safety and acceptance. The breaking open of a heart starved for almost 2 decades of the love all children yearn for and deserve. And it softened into reassurance, a promise to stay safe and the vow to return after his journey was over.

The people outside heard it and the meaning was clear to everyone in hearing distance. Wei Ying held on to Lan Zhan, his head bowed. Lan XiChen listened, standing a little apart as his thoughts drifted to his Ming and his longing for her, Qinyang joined him and clasped his hand, holding on to comfort him and feeling relieved that Anshi had found a way to comfort her Beauty.

And when it was time, the two emerged and joined them, and made their way to the assembled crowd that had arrived to send the caravan on it's way. Families throughout, separated from their loved ones. Drums began to play and flutes joined in. Camels started to groan and bellow, outraged as their beloved peace was disrupted by their handlers. Cattle, goats, sheep and yak were herded by whistles and calls while shepherd dogs nipped at heels. Then Anshi lept to the back of his black horse, waved to the crowd amid cheers and shouts, blew a rakish kiss to his family then turned to race to the head of the caravan.

And above them all, the banners designed by Wei Ying, incorporating the Steppes and the mountains of Cloud Recesses, waved majestically as the Lost Eagle took to the skies, looking for his stolen heritage.

"

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