Empyrean Rebirth |Jing Yuan & Dan Heng|

☾-Tail of a Princess-☽

The star skiff ride for the most part was filled with idle conversation in which the general told a touching story of a pet snow lion he once had. Its name was Snowmoon and after waiting for Jing Yuan's return for three-hundred years, the snow lion had inevitably died in his arms, cuddling up in his warmth like it did when it was a cub. The story moved (Y/n) as she shed a tear before the general laughed it off saying that she shouldn't be so sad over a story like that.

"Though I do miss Snowmoon, the past is in the past as I preserve the memory and loyalty of my pet snow lion," he said with a longing smile. With a sniffle, (Y/n) accepted this. "I have been meaning to ask... how did you become a princess in the Yaoqing? Those of noble status are usually born into it, however, I have never heard of the family name (L/n) before."

"Oh..." (Y/n) sighed. "About that... it's kind of a weird story...? I doubt anyone would believe me if I told them and they'd probably assume it's just some fairytale."

Amused by this, Jing Yuan leaned back in his seat, a glimmer in his golden eyes.

"As I said before, you've become an interesting part in my long life. Indulge me in some more of your stories: I quite enjoy them." She gave him a weird look, but proceeded to tell him about her life as she saw no harm in doing so.

Before moving into the current mansion they resided in (which was the "palace" she lived in) her mother and father, (L/n) An and (L/n) Jun, lived in the outskirts of the Yaoqing. Far from the main city, Jun worked as an arborist. One afternoon, he noticed a strange glow coming from a stalk of bamboo that had never been in their backyard before. Surrounded by many broken eggshells of varying colour, Jun cut the bamboo stalk until it revealed a tiny girl inside.

Jun took the tiny child back to his wife, claiming that this miniature girl was a blessing from the Aeons; a divine being. Together, An and Jun raised the little girl they named '(Y/n)' into a princess. From the same spot he found the bamboo stalk, Jun came across tons of strale and gold; enough to buy all the riches of the Xianzhou if he wanted.

Using all the riches that were now in their possession, Jun bought only the finest of clothes and silks for his dear daughter. (Y/n) would become a proper princess and marry a man worthy of her hand. However, there came a slight problem to his plans: the princess to be was growing tiny horns and a tail which was very unfitting for a soon to be royal. Young (Y/n) had found it amusing that she was growing such things and joked around that she would be the prettiest and the most powerful princess of them all, much to Jun's dismay.

"So... you are a Vidyadhara?" Jing Yuan interrupted with a question. (Y/n) tilted her head to the side in confusion.

"Vidyadhara? I don't know. As far as I know I'm human. My father told me that before we moved closer to the city, my mother and he took me to see countless people to see if they could 'cure' me. I was really little at the time so I don't remember any of that happening. Whenever I asked him about it, he always reassured me that everything was fine and there's nothing to worry about. My mother would then back him up and say that they thought I'd been cursed by some demonic spirit, hence the horns and tail.

"They never mentioned anything about Vidyadhara so I assume some witch or something like that actually did curse me. I mean, it's not uncommon for curses to occur especially within nobility," she answered him. Though the white haired man believed her, in the back of his mind he had his doubts.

"I see... I have never heard of something like that, but I have heard of many stories in which witches or other beings curse others."

"Mhm. Even if I was a Vidyadhara and my parents somehow managed to, I don't know, just erase that from me, no suitor would want to marry a princess who's Vidyadhara. Isn't their whole thing that they can't create offspring and are stuck in an eternal loop of rebirth? Though I wouldn't mind that if I didn't have to marry at all," she chuckled. "As sad as it may sound, I think that my parents, in particular my father, would've handed me off to someone else if I was a Vidyadhara. 'A princess can't be part dragon! Princesses who wish to live a happy life with a providing husband can only be human!' is what he would probably say."

The star skiff had come to a stop which paused their conversation temporarily. Exiting the small ship first, Jing Yuan stood by the door and held his hand out for the young woman to take. As (Y/n) stepped out, she pulled the general's capes tighter, taking his hand and allowing him to pull her close to him to preserve some warmth between the two of them.

"Where are we going, Jing Yuan?"

"Yanqing frequents the training hall in the Exalting Sanctum during the winter when it's too cold out. If we wish to test out your skills with a sword, I have no doubt that we'll find him there," he replied, then added, "Please do continue on with your story. It will make the walk there faster." And so she obliged with a small smile.

Once the issue of young (Y/n's) horns and tail were resolved, Jun, An, and their beautiful daughter moved into a large mansion within the city. Filled with servants and all the riches one could dream of, An, along with a hired governess began taming (Y/n) into a more refined lady, one fit to be a princess. It was not easy for her to change into someone she had not been born to be and the growing girl would often hear her father being ridiculed by other nobles for his foolishness of thinking he could turn a family of nobody peasants into nobles or royalty.

(Y/n) attempted to run away but was stopped by An. Crying out in despair to her mother, the young girl voiced out her despair: becoming a princess was not meant for her. All the etiquette and constant lecturing from the governess was too much for her. What point was there in marrying if the feelings were not mutual? She did not want to marry if it would be loveless. It was then that An brought up the idea that training (Y/n) with a sword would distract her from all the mental pain of becoming a princess.

As mother and daughter trained in secret, (Y/n) grew and attracted many suitors who were interested in her looks, status, and wealth. Five of her many suitors attempted to court her with no such luck. Each compared her to fictional treasures which gave her the idea to create five impossible tasks that were the key to winning her hand in marriage. But when she was deceived by fake treasures countless times, she decided she'd had enough.

"Which brings us to the present," (Y/n) sighed after finishing her life story. It was quite the bizarre one and anyone who wasn't Jing Yuan would've played it off as some fairytale from a children's book.

"Perfect timing," he said warmly. "We've arrived. I shall think of more stories to ask from you while you spar with Yanqing."

"Please don't. I think you've exhausted me of any more stories to tell," (Y/n) groaned as she thanked the general for holding the door open for her to the training hall Yanqing was supposedly in. Jing Yuan simply chuckled at this and assured her that there were many things they could talk about. Time would only tell.

The inside of the training hall was warm and cozy. From not too far away the two could hear the voice of a young boy and the slashing of a sword cutting through the air.

"My instinct was correct," Jing Yuan stated proudly. "Follow me." He gently guided (Y/n) to a large room located in the centre of the training hall which was fully matted so that if one were to fall, they wouldn't be falling onto the hard floor. With his back turned to them, the young blonde was diligently slashing his sword vertically up and down while counting each slash he made.

"Why do I get the feeling that he's going to beat me into a pulp when we spar..." (Y/n) mumbled under her breath as the general slowly made his way over to the young Cloud Knight.

"Yanqing," he greeted, making said boy stop his movements to turn around. Shock was evident on the blonde's face as he hadn't expected his master to show up so suddenly out of the blue.

"General? And... lady from the snowstorm?"