The Water Sprite

A New Beginning

Looking back at her mother with large tearful eyes as the frightful memory came back to her, she cuddled in closely as her mothers arms enveloped her closer.  

"I just wanted to hear the bell ring mama." she whispered against her.

Sighing the Empress merely smiled down at her, but she had to talk to the girl before her father got his hands on her.  It was why she had slept on her bed while she slept, because Bai Zhi had been so enraged and so embarrassed, she knew the moment Bai Qian surfaced, she might not be able to stop him from hurting her.

"My dear, I know you wanted to hear the bell ring, but what were you doing on Kunlun Mountain in the first place?" she asked as gently as she could, knowing how stubborn her daughter could be if she felt she was in trouble.  But if they were to help her, she had to gain an understanding of what went on in her mind.

And it was then that she told her mother of their argument, her fathers desire to see her become a Kunlun Mountain Disciple, the way he always tried to rule her life, the way he never listened to her, even though she thought her mother had good ideas, before moving on the Master of Kunlun Mountain and his school for boys only.

"I heard Zhe Yan tell you he didn't want me.   And he doesn't want me just because I'm not a boy.  Why are boys so special, why do they get everything and we girls just look pretty, like little trinkets for boys to admire, while they get to do all the fun stuff.  Everything is run by boys, are we not good enough mama?" she asked tearfully up her.

Chuckling in disbelief and shaking her head gently, the Empress was just given a little insight into her daughters mind.  Though she did think it was perhaps a new thought, a sudden flash of understanding from her young point of view, one her mother saw some sense in, but could not allow her to believe it, because ultimately it was not true.

"So is that why you went to Kunlun Mountain?  Because you wanted to see what an all boys school was all about?" she asked smiling down at her.

Shaking her head, which was still snuggled into her mothers chest, she poked her bottom lip out defiantly. 

 "No!  I wanted to give that Mo Yuan High God a harsh telling off, because he shouldn't be mean to girls, then I was going to show him exactly why he should take girls, but then I saw the bell so I thought I would play with it, because it looked so pretty and if it annoyed him then that would be just as good as telling him off, but it didn't quite work out, because the bell frightened me." she said sadly, before crying over the terrifying memory of the loud bell and raised voices.

Sighing again, the Empress turned her around to face her.  This would be the first time she would have a heart to heart talk with her daughter, because it was long overdue.  And as she talked, Bai Qian listened.  She not only learned about the Bell and what ringing it meant to the entire world, but she also learned what she had done to Mo Yuans birds, as well as his wine cellar.

But no matter what her mother said, she just couldn't help but feel she had succeeded after all.  Accidentally of course, and though she did feel sorry for his birds, and she did feel a bit guilty about waking up the whole world and breaking his mothers wine bottles, in her young mind, a win was a win.

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Mo Yuan once again found himself in a meeting with Zhe Yan, though Bai Zhi would have been there, he had a wayward daughter to attend to.

"I know you said you wouldn't take her in Mo Yuan, but you've seen first hand how terribly naughty she is.  Surely you can see how beneficial it would be to take her under your wing and train her.  Please Mo Yuan?" Zhe Yan pleaded once again.