Honoured (NaNoWriMo18)

i. a letter and a scroll

The whispers always followed her. They were always the same, whispered fearfully from those she had once called her friends. She's a murderer, they said. Don't get close or she'll kill you too.

They never got close. They never said a word to her. They never even looked at her for more than one second.

She's a plague.

She was just a bad daughter.

The blossoms fell around her, like snow in the spring. No matter what her friends and neighbors said about her, this was always one place where she could relax and just think.

Across from her, Li Bao sipped at his tea, dull eyes watching his daughter. "What's on your mind, Jun?"

A bird chirped from the tree above them, and Jun sought it out rather than meet her father's gaze. The little bluebird was a stark contrast to the pink of the petals around it as it hopped to a different branch, it's small head tilting when it noticed Jun.

"A letter was sent to the Matchmakers of nearby towns," she finally replied. "It seems there's no marriage candidate in Samcho that would please mother."

She decided not to voice the fact that there were no suitors willing to marry her anyhow. In the village of Samcho, everyone knew about her brother. No one wanted to bring Jun into their family.

Despite the circumstances, Bao gave her a smile, the wrinkles by his eyes growing more prominent with the action. "Any young man would be lucky to have a bride like you one day."

She forced a smile in return. It felt like she would be an unlucky bride.

"We should get you back inside soon," she said instead. She moved to stand from the bench, and the bluebird flew away with an alarmed chirp. "Mother says you shouldn't be out too long."

Bao gave a single sharp laugh and crossed his arms. "She thinks the fresh air is bad for my health! I say the only thing bad for my health is her constant nag-"

He was interrupted by a fit of coughs.

Jun raced to his side, placing her hands gently on his arm. "Father!"

It took another minute for his coughing to fade, and he wiped his face with his free arm, quickly shifting his position to hide the blood now spotting his hand and sleeve. "I'm fine. I'm fine, darling."

Jun narrowed his eyes at him, but didn't question. She helped him up silently, letting him lean part of his weight on her arm.

"My men would have loved to see me now."

She knew his comment was for his own amusement, so she didn't remark on it. Up until a few years ago, he had been a mighty captain in the Zao Army, though Bao always seemed to look back on it with remorse.

She led her father through their small garden, being careful of moving too fast. If he were to have another coughing fit so soon... Jun looked at her father through the side of her eyes, noticing the lack of light in his own. He needed his medicine. Now.

When they finally arrived back at the house, Jun was nearly carrying her father to his room.

"Jun, could you help me cut these ca- oh."

In an instant, her mother was at Bao's other side, helping him up while carrying a kitchen knife in her other hand. Between mother and daughter, the two were able to quickly set him in his bed and get him covered up.

Almost right away, Li Su was out the door, shouting a quick, "I'll get his medicine."

Letting out a deep breath, Jun sat herself next to her father's bed. Originally, he and her mother had shared the double bed, but with his conditioning worsening, Su had decided to give him more space and move to the spare room. Still, looking at the untouched blankets on her side of the bed, it seemed Bao didn't want it.