Ah Xian sits alone in his jail cell, a Lan Clan guard posted on either side of the cell to keep watch over him. A small barred window sits above his head. Sunlight streams in. He has a small piece of glass in his hand, reflecting the sunlight down onto the floor until he successfully burns the characters of his name into the ground.
"Hey, look what I managed to do!" Ah Xian says cheerfully to the guards. "Isn't it cool?"
He is met with silence.
Ah Xian huffs and bends over to burn another message into the dirt, wincing from the pain that splinters up his back. "It must be so boring for you guys just standing there for hours on end, keeping an eye on me. It must get very tiring. How do you keep yourself occupied without getting bored to death?"
The guards say nothing.
"Seriously? Are you really just going to keep ignoring me? Fine, then I'll just look for new friends." He continues to ramble. "Like those guys!" Ah Xian slowly rises to his feet and stiffens. He peeks out between the gaps of his window.
A colony of rabbits roam just outside.
"Hi!" He calls out to the rabbits, waving. "My name is Wei Wuxian. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I'm the one who put you in that hidden meadow with Lan Zhan." His voice drops to a whisper. "Pets aren't allowed in Cloud Recesses, so we could only visit you in secret. Wow. Lan Zhan did a good job hiding you guys; your colony's almost twice its size last time I checked!"
A tiny white bunny hops up to him, sniffing him curiously.
"Oh, hello there..."
He gently cups the little creature in his large hands and brings it in through the bars, dangling it in front of his face.
"You little fluffball. Are you hungry? There's some hay here." Ah Xian grabs a handful of straw and starts to feed the bunny. "Cutie. I'm gonna keep you," Ah Xian declares, cuddling the bunny. The bunny begins to nibble his black robes, beady black eyes large and pleading.
"Oh, no. You're giving me 'the look' aren't you?" Ah Xian pouts.
As if it is able to understand him, its eyes widen even more. A blur of white flashes at the window. Ah Xian looks up. Another rabbit has wandered to his window, purring urgently.
"Ohh, you have a friend! Well then, I better let you go, Fluffy. Be with your beloved," Ah Xian lifts Fluffy onto the ledge of the window. "There you go."
He smiles as the two bunnies touch noses and hop off, back to their herd.
He sighs.
"Well, at least you two can be together."
He stays standing at the window, silently watching the rabbits dig holes, groom each other, and cuddle.
He hears tapping. It's faint, but loud enough for him to hear. Ah Xian turns around. One of the guards is standing opposite him.
"You have a visitor," the guard says. Then he and his associate bow and leave the dungeon. Ah Xian straightens as much as he can and brushes the hay and dirt from his robes, expecting to see Lan Zhan walk in any moment now. To his disappointment, a hooded figure enters the dungeon that is clearly not Lan Zhan stopping in front of Ah Xian. He doesn't have Lan Zhan's majestic height, or broad shoulders.
Ah Xian cocks his head, trying to determine who is behind the hood. He can't discern whether or not he knows him. The stranger's hands, which are hanging out of his sleeves, are pale and dainty.
The figure pulls down his hood.
Ah Xian's eyes are as wide as saucers, threatening to bulge out of his sockets.
"Wen Qing?" he exclaims. "You... you're alive?"
Wen Qing smiles teasingly, "'You're alive.' Is that how you greet an old friend?"
"What? No, no! It's just... it's been so long. How are you?"
"Fine. I've been good."
"Oh, that's great! You know I almost didn't recognise you under that veil," Ah Xian comments. "Come on, take it off; let me see your face."
"Oh, no. You... you don't want to," Wen Qing insists. "By the way, I'm curious. How did you recognise me behind the veil?"
"It's your eyes," Ah Xian replies coyly. "You and Wen Ning have these enormous eyes that fill half of your faces—but, yours are bigger. I would say they're kind of doll-like, but I think they're more bulgy. Like fish eyes."
She raises a brow. "That's how you describe them? As fish eyes?"
Ah Xian shrugs casually, grinning. "Sure. And what about me? It's been 19 years; has anything about me changed, apart from my impeccably good looks and charming demeanour?"
Wen Qing taps her chin, as if deep in thought. "No, but there is one thing..."
"Oh? And what's that?"
"Your body."
"My body?"
"Yes. You've gotten fatter."
"Oh! You break my heart, Ah Qing," Ah Xian wails, clutching a hand to his robed chest. But they're both grinning as he says this. Ah Xian adds, "How's Wen Ning, anyway?"
At the mention of her brother, Wen Qing pauses. She becomes oddly quiet, seemingly wanting to say something. But then the uncertainty almost instantly passes over her face. A stoic expression befalls her. "Wen Ning is... fine. We are fine."
"That's good to hear," Ah Xian says, and begins to rant about Wen Ning and all the things they used to do together in the Burial Mounds, unaware of the dark cloud that was on her face. When he finishes his ramble, he reaches between the wooden prison bars and grasps her hand. "It's good to see you, Ah Qing. I would buy you a drink, but I'm... well. You know."
"Yeah," murmurs Wen Qing vaguely.
Wen Qing says nothing.
"Let's raincheck that drink. What do you want? Ginger wine? Chamomile—say, you've never been to Cloud Recesses before, have you? Well, then you have to try the Emperor's Smile—"
"Ah Xian," the humour and lightheartedness have vanished from her voice. The air shifts. Her head has lowered; she sounds serious now. "Word is spreading throughout the lands. Of... the scandal."
Ah Xian's face falls, "Ah Qing, I didn't assault Gu Meiyou. You have to believe me—"
"I know you didn't."
"—I swear, it's all a... wait. You do?"
"Yes; I'm here to treat your wounds. All you need to do is turn around."
"Huh?" Ah Xian says, brows scrunching.
"Turn around," she says once more. Noticing Ah Xian hasn't done what she told him to immediately, she questions, "Don't you trust me?"
"Uhh, yes. Yes, I do..."
Ah Xian turns around. For a few long moments, nothing happens... then he feels something sharp prick his neck. He hisses in pain. His eyes fly open. He looks down. Wen Qing has stuck a needle into the side of his jugular, and he feels a sudden drowsiness wash over him.
"Ah Qing... what..." he says hoarsely. His eyes glaze over, and he stumbles onto the ground.
The last thing he hears her whisper is, "I'm sorry."
YOU ARE READING
this changes everything. ⟲ wangxian
Fanfiction"Wangji... Rule 2982-" Lan Wangji stiffens. "-you know you can't be with him. It's been many moons for you two now, so I can predict you'll feel... energised. Obviously, your health will improve. And that's what we want; that's what's good for you...
