As soon as I jump out the magical window, I find myself in a dimly lit tunnel. I look for the source of the light but find none.

'It's me.' I hear Weredra's voice unexpectedly and look around. 'The tunnel is magical, just like the window.' She pauses and continues hesitantly, 'Though, I don't remember how I came across it.'

I nod and walk where the boots were leading me. A few minutes later, Weredra speaks again, 'Cover yourself with the cloak. You are near the exit.'

 I nod again and do as told. Soon enough, I see the end of the tunnel. It's an opening beyond which I can't see anything else.

I exit the tunnel and look around. The moon is full. There is a slight chill in the air, nothing I can't deal with; my boots click as if reminding me that I was here on business, and I start walking again. I have only taken a few steps when I recognize the place; it is the first village we had arrived in the day before.

Keeping myself hidden, I follow the voices that drift over to me. I can hear three voices: two men and a woman. They seem to be arguing.

"We are starving, and you are telling me that the king refuses to listen to your pleas!?" A sharp, clear voice accuses.

"I am done explaining it to you, Fei. I can't put my family in danger anymore." A deep mature voice retorts.

"Father, let us go." The third voice finishes and pulls the older man towards him, "I am sorry, Aunty, if we don't do this, not only our family but everyone else in the village will also suffer. Moreover, look at it this way, the heavens have blessed us with a good harvest this year. If we live frugally, we can make ends meet."

The woman sighs and turns away, "Why should we be responsible for feeding other kingdoms when our people are suffering." With that, the woman becomes one with the night.

I follow the father and son duo, who start pulling a cart out of the village. As soon as they exit the village premises, about ten heavily armed guards join them.

"I hope everything is as it should be?" One of them asks, lifting the cloth covering the merchandise.

"Yes, it is." The young man replies. "Now, will you please hand over my sister?" He adds in a small voice.

The guard kicks the man in the gut, making the man wince and stagger back, "Were you not instructed to keep your mouth shut?" He asks rhetorically.

The young man nods; his father falls to his knees, "Sir, please. She is to be married soon. If the word gets out that... "

"Shut up!" The guard growls, "Take them prisoner!" He orders his men.

"No! Please!" The men beg as two pairs of muscled arms grab them.

Unable to remain silent anymore, I take off my cloak and come to their defense, startling not only the guards but the two men I was trying to rescue.

Even before the other guards can realize what is happening, I have dealt with the two guards who were assaulting the villagers.

"Run!" I yell, but it falls on deaf ears as the two villagers stand rooted to the ground. Having enough on my plate, I don't tell them twice, hoping they will use their brains and busy myself with taking care of the rest of the soldiers.

Barely minutes later, I have incapacitated the guards, all of who are lying on the ground withering in pain.

"Who the hell are you?" One of them enquires; I smirk, "Vagabond." I point at all of them and continue, "From now on, these people are not alone. If you try and hurt them- Ouch!" I yelp, for just then, someone hits the back of my head. I turn to look at the culprit and am shocked to see that it is the father I had saved moments ago! 

"Who the hell asked for your help. Get the fuck out of here!" He bites out before rushing to the guards and helping them up one by one. The young man, his son, gives me a defeated look, "I know you are trying to help, but you can't. No one can help us." The young man follows in his father's footsteps.

What the actual fuck is happening here!? 

'Leave!' Weredra's voice echoes in my head, making me jump. For a moment, I think about asking Weredra why she had said that, but then, feeling a little depressed, I do as told. No one pays attention to me as I leave the scene. 

 So much for being heroic. Ha!

I feel like a fool; no, worse. I feel like an incompetent fool. Even with all the gifts at my disposal, I had failed. 

I return to the room to find Weredra waiting for me with a long face. "You should have waited." She says but doesn't elaborate. I guess she had realized that I had already reprimanded myself enough.

I nod, agreeing with her, and look at the still slumbering Zhan. "Did anything exciting happen?"

She shakes her head and waves her hand, disappearing in a cloud of blue smoke. So much for keeping me company.

I look around and find my regular clothes folded neatly and kept in a pile near the foot of the bed. Putting away my clothes and gear and changing into my nightclothes, I climb into the bed. Not wanting to wake up Zhan, I squeeze myself between the wall and his solid frame.

I find it hard to fall asleep, and like a pervert, gaze at Zhan's resting face, hoping it will lull me to sleep. The calm and serenity it oozes is contagious, and within minutes I fall asleep.

The next morning, when I wake up, I am all alone in the room. "Weredra?" I call, and a split second later, I hear her voice in my head, 'Stay in bed. We will bring you breakfast.'

It is after she mentions food that I realize that I am starving. My stomach grumbles, and for once, I am thankful that I am alone. I go back to bed, but my hunger makes it impossible for me to fall asleep.

Luckily, I don't have to wait long, for just moments after, the door to our room swings open, and Zhan enters with Weredra following few steps behind him.

"Morning!" Zhan smiles, and Weredra throws herself in my arms, "How are you feeling, junior gege?" She demands, oh so sweetly.

"Better," I reply, taking the hint and play along. "Where did you go?"

"The servant from last night had come over to check upon us. He apologized for forgetting to serve us dinner. He took us out to show us around." Zhan explains. Sitting next to me, he hands me a bowl of porridge, and I notice the faint blush on his cheeks.

"You look a little flushed, Zhan ge. Are you feeling alright?" I ask, feeling his forehead. But instead of answering me, he flinches and removes my hand, "I am fine." He nods and gestures me to eat.

As I dig into the tasteless breakfast, Weredra fills me in on all that I had missed.

The servant boy from the night before, Bai Luo, was Lung Chi's servant. After Lung Chi had found out about our respective curses, he had wanted to throw us out, but having paid a lot for us, he did not want to throw us out without, at least, getting something out of us. So, he had decided to make us work at the Tunnels.

"What's that?" I enquire, to which Zhan replies, "Apparently, the king has ordered to build an underground tunnel. But except for the higher officials, no one knows its purpose."

"That doesn't sound too bad," I observe, to which Zhan nods, looking relieved. "Our Meimei refuses to tell me what she had told Lung Chi. But whatever it was, it made Master lose interest in me." 

 Zhan smiles but doesn't go into the details of it; I do not push either.

Seeing as we had both gone quiet, Weredra continues, "You both will work in the Tunnels, and I will be your collateral."

"What!?" I exclaim, feeling agitated, but Weredra smiles goodnaturedly, "It's fine. They will provide us meals and a roof over our heads. He just wants to make sure that you both cooperate and don't try anything funny." She pauses and hands us brown, ugly masks. Winking at me, she concludes, "Master wants both of you to wear it all the time so that your curses won't get triggered." 

As I sit processing the information, there is another knock on the door. Zhan immediately wears the mask; I do the same.

The door opens to reveal Lung Chi. Unlike the night before, he is all business, "Looks like you are feeling better. I hope that these two have filled you in."

I nod, and he continues, "Good. The harder you work, the earlier you can leave from here."

When I nod again, he looks at me wistfully and purses his lips, "The cart is here. You will be blindfolded till you have reached your destination. Here are your temporary permits." He states, handing over two pieces of parchments, one each to Zhan and me. "Have it on your person always, or else, be ready to get flogged to death."

What!? 

I fume internally but nod, lowering my eyes.

"Aigooo, such a waste of beauty." He sighs and gestures Bai Luo to enter. "Tell them the rules they need to follow. I will hold you responsible if they fail."

Bai Luo bows his head as Lung Chi walks off and lays down the neatly folded pile of clothes on the bed, "Here are two pairs of clothes, one for day and one for night, that you should dress yourself in during day and night respectively. Since you will be working at the tunnel, Master has provided you work clothes as well." He points at a pair of dull grey garments, "When you return, please refrain from entering the main mansion until you have cleaned and changed." He looks at me, "Your siblings will fill you in on everything." He shifts his focus on Weredra, "Meimei, you will help with the laundry and in the kitchen." He purses his lips and sighs, "We all have to pull our weight, after all."

With that, he turns, "Wear them and come outside at the earliest. Master doesn't like to be kept waiting." he says, leaving, closing the door behind him.

I turn to Weredra, and she is all smiles as she hugs me, "Don't worry, I will be alright." Then she lowers her voice and whispers, "A parting gift."

"Mn?" I lean away and search her eyes, but instead of replying, she winks again. "Have a nice ride." She adds and sprints off towards Zhan. The two hug, and Weredra leaves.

A few minutes later, we join others like us (tunnel workers) dressed in work clothes. However, we are the only ones with masks over our faces. We look like village bumpkins who may or may not be on the receiving end of a ridiculous prank. 

 "Zhan ge," I start, wanting to know more in detail about what I had missed, but the guard slaps the back of my head, "Shut up!"

My hand moves to my side to grip the hilt of my sword and hangs there uselessly when I remember that I had nothing on me. I look up and catch Zhan's eyes. He shakes his head and smiles. 'Hang on.' he mouths before closing his eyes. It is then that I notice faint dark circles under them.

'Looks like he couldn't sleep last night.' I reason, and with nothing better to do, close my eyes as well.

'Poor Senior gege, he surely must have done something to offend the Gods to have ended up with such a tease.' I hear Weredra's voice, but even before I can wonder what she means, I see myself going off to bed and gazing at Zhan's face.

It doesn't take me long to realize that they were the images from last night. My apprehension builds as the scene starts progressing rapidly. For a few seconds, nothing happens. I am about to let down my guard and breathe a sigh of relief when it happens.

I throw my arm on Zhan, startling him awake. As expected, he shifts away and places my arm over my chest; he closes his eyes and turns the other way. I wish for it to end, but it doesn't, for soon, my arm is back on him. This time, I go a step further and plaster myself to his side and nuzzle into the nap of his neck. I see Zhan's eyes snap open. He tries to do what he had done before, but I don't let him, "No! Stay!" I exclaim and kiss the nape of his neck!

Fucking fuck! 

I watch Zhan go still as I press myself closer and throw my leg on him.

Noooooo! Stop. 

I watch him struggle discreetly to get out of my octopus-like grip. But I don't relent, not even a little bit. He turns and tries to lean away, but instead of letting the poor soul go, I grunt something incongruent. And, as if I had not embarrassed myself enough, I commit the ultimate crime. I lean in and put my lips on Zhan's while he is busy freeing his lower body.

 Both first and second-hand embarrassment floods me, and I can feel my cheeks heat up. Yet, a part of me shamelessly sighs for not being able to remember the taste of Zhan's lips.

I expect Zhan to push me away and reprimand me. Instead, he closes his eyes and sighs as if in surrender, and as I make a meal out of his tempting lips, kissing, nipping, and licking them, he fists his fingers at his side and lets me have my way. After what feels like hours, but was probably a few minutes, I let go and turn to the other side. It is then that Zhan leaves the bed slowly and lies down on the cold hard ground.

As the scene dissolves, I am left feeling like a pervert. But what I don't understand is why Zhan hadn't stopped me. Not only that, he hadn't even brought it up in the morning. Though I have a burning desire to know the answers to these questions, I know better than to mention them to Zhan, least he distance himself from me.

Yes, things were alright...no, they were more than alright between us. And there was absolutely no point in bringing it up now- or ever.

{Word count: 2485}