The Pearls - RUYI

Chapter 11 - Little Brother

"Hahaha! Stop it! Jie Jie!" Enlai roared with laughter as she tickled him relentlessly in the dark cove of their small room. It was Enlai's fifth birthday and Ruyi wanted to distract him from the chaos of the past month.

Their mother had passed away only a month before and most days, it was too miserable to even fake a smile. But she knew for Enlai, she had to try.

Ruyi, seven years old, had prepared a gift for him. They didn't have much, but she wanted him to have something anyway.

"Di Di, I have something for you." Enlai's eyes opened wide, making them glimmer even more beautifully in the firelight. "Open your hand," she said.

He did, and she dropped a small jade necklace in the shape of a dragon into his little palm. His eyes stretched wider if that was even possible, "But Jie, how did you -," Ruyi cut him off as she pressed a finger to her lips.

"Shh...Don't tell Baba. It'll be our secret," she said and held his little hands in hers.

"This will keep you safe. No matter what happens, I'll always protect you, you know that, right?" Ruyi whispered into the darkness. Enlai, always wiser than his years, simply squeezed her hands tighter.

"I know. We'll always have each other."

~~~

There was a loud crash, and Ruyi looked up to see that Enlai had dropped his mortar and pestle, spilling all of its contents, much to her father's dismay. "Enlai! Can't you do anything right?"

On the floor, her brother was already cleaning up the mess, but looked up at her for a quick moment and winked. Ruyi hid a grin and shook her head before continuing on with her concoction. When her father checked it, he gave her a begrudging nod. But to her, even that tiny recognition was better than most prizes.

Later that day, Ruyi and Enlai sat by the pond near their home. They watched the ducks swim peacefully with the fish and fed them old bread.

"You don't have to do that, you know," Ruyi said, and nudged her brother's shoulder. At fifteen, he was annoyingly taller than her. "I know. But you're much better than me at it anyway. It's boring for me," he said. "I want to be a warrior, like General Lang. He's so strong, promoted to General and he's only twenty-three!"

Ruyi sighed, it wasn't the first time Enlai had mentioned the General, who had built a somewhat notorious reputation for himself throughout his years in the army. Men aspired to be like him, fierce, ruthless. But Ruyi hoped the war would have ended before Enlai could be conscripted (or enlisted if he had any say about it.)

Eventually, Enlai sobered and nudged her gently. The warmth of his brown eyes almost made her cry. He had always been the softer one, while she felt that she always had to be more practical. "You deserve to be a doctor, like Baba. And you're good enough too. Always remember that, alright?"

~~~

It was the first time Ruyi had seen him since he was in the hospital recovering. There he sat by the blossoms, at the peak of their beauty in late spring, looking tranquil.

When she reached him, he smiled warmly up at her and grasped her hand. She sat down next to him and rested her head against his shoulder. Now he was harder, stronger than before. How had so much changed since arriving at the palace?

"I was scared. I thought I would lose you," she said softly, allowing the breeze to sweep her words away.

Enlai sighed and fiddled with the necklace she had gifted him on his fifth birthday. It still hung around his neck, fit properly now. But she supposed it had done its job.

"I thought I had it all figured out. But war...it really does seem pointless sometimes," he started. He was staring deeply at the pond, where a mother duck led her children around a bank of water lilies. "That innocence that we all once had, it's lost now. I've hurt men, Ruyi. Men who've done nothing wrong to me but be born a Qing man."

Ruyi felt her heart break at his words. Her little brother, always happy and open, wasn't so little anymore.

"I know. But you're doing it for Baba, to protect him, to protect me. It is pointless. But sometimes all you can do is take care of yourself, and the people you care about," Ruyi said, and pressed her palm against his chest, over the necklace.

"I promise I won't die on you," he said. She smiled at the impossible promise he made.

She looked around the palace grounds, still as overbearing as it had been on her very first day. The sun had begun to set, casting looming shadows over the garden, and she felt that war wouldn't be the only danger for them.