A Tear Frozen in Time

What's in a Name?

That initial meeting was also going through Mo Yuans mind as he stood at the entrance to her army camp and watching her ride away on a horse almost identical to the one he used to own. She may have thought she'd left Kunlun behind, but that alone said her heart was still there no matter what she said.  Even the way she was lightly brushing down its sides was the same.

It was so easy to bring that memory back because it was so vivid in his mind as if it really were just yesterday, though he wondered why he had never revisted that moment until then.

Before he had scattered his soul, he had just taken their close bond as a given, something that would last forver so he had never dwelt too heavily on that initial meeting.  But as his mind went over the shock on her face at being caught by the Master of Kunlun, playing in the valleys with his horse and looking terrified that he might kick her out, he wondered if he should have addressed her disguise instead of allowing the pretence to continue, then perhaps things might be different now, he thought to himself as Zhen took his arm to leave.

"I'm sorry Mo Yuan.  I tried to tell you.  She is not the same girl you left behind.  Her mind is solely on her people and her army, any life she had before you left, she also left behind." he said gently as he steered him back towards the main gates which would take them to the open fields and beyond.

"Whatever is going through her mind, it is not what is going through mine." Mo Yuan replied tersely before snatching his arm away and moving towards the first training ground.  

"You heard her Mo Yuan.  She asked you to leave." Zhe Yan stated firmly.  It may have been polite and subtle, but he knew Xaio Wu, if he didn't leave, she would cause trouble.

But Mo Yuan didn't care.  She had also invited him to view her training grounds before she kindly told him to leave, so taking the first option, he made his way towards a group of men who were in the early stages of sword training.  Many looked as if they really were picking up a sword for the first time, but what surprised him was the routine they were using, it was one he himself had taught her.

It utilized basic thrusts and jabs and when sped up, it gave the impression that one was an accomplished swordman.  It was a routine for show only but it also gave the soldiers an incentive to continue training because they felt as if they were really accompishing something far beyond their capabilities and at first glance, they had all mastered it. 

Only the sight of the girls going through the same routine, soon has his mind once again going back to that valley and a sword routine that her brother had been teaching her, one that utilized every dance skill that she had.

And it was her dancing that Mo Yuan was attracted to.  She may have been very beautiful even as a young girl, but her dancing was what set her apart from the rest rather than her looks, because she was actually very talented.

Many of the moves she used required dexterity and agility beyond most girls her own age, let alone boys, and this is what gave her an edge because the way she held her sword while whipping, spinning, kicking and leaping through the valley of flowers, meant her opponent would be either obliterated within seconds unless he could keep up, which thankfully her brother could, seeing as he was the one who taught her.

Like a petal on the wind, her lithe form flew through the valleys while her sowrd flashed and the laughter rose.  Bai Zhen did not like to lose and the faster she spun the more effort he put in and having remained behind his barrier the entire time, he thought he might have to lower it in order to rescue the girl, only the moment that thought hit, then his horse suddenly galloped into the fray to literally throw itself directly under her so that she had no choice but to land on its back, then rearing its feet up at Bai Zhen who barely missed a hoof to his face, their battle was brought to an end.