Born Of The Lotus

Chapter 4: Heart To Heart

A/N: Hi readers! One of you messaged me in concern with why Yura and Kai were suddenly a couple when they weren't cannon in Renegade Destiny. This is not a plothole, keep reading :) I promise it will make sense.

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Mudan

A creaking floorboard dragged me from my slumber. I groggily opened my eyes to my candle-lit room and saw a petite figure against the wall. I rubbed my eyes to see if they were deceiving me.

"W-Who are you?" I yawned and involuntarily reached for the enchanted dagger on my nightstand.

"Mudan?" My mother's small voice reached me. It instantly sobered me up. I sat upright in my bed and threw the covers off of me.

"Mother? Are you alright?" As I asked, I knew the answer just by looking at her. Not many people knew this, but this was a ritual of ours.

Her eyes were swollen with tears as though she'd been crying for hours. She moved toward my bed with strain, as if it pained her. She sat down beside me on the bed and took a deep breath. My heart sunk in my chest.

"What has he done this time?" I asked lowly.

There were nights my mother would just come into my room to sleep with me, because of my father's mistreatment. Most of the time she wouldn't tell me what he had done to her. She didn't really need to, it showed on her skin whenever it could.

She didn't answer me. Instead I saw it through her silk, silver sleeping gown. Blood seeped through the material on her back in lines, giving me the full idea.

I felt sick to my stomach. "He...whipped you?" I whispered in disbelief. Those were the types of punishments reserved for the most dire screw-ups. What had she done to deserve it?

Nothing. No matter what she did, this was cruel. He whipped her like a misbehaving mule.

She still hadn't said a word and instead stared at the wall with a haunting expression. Perhaps it was best I didn't conjure up the flashbacks of it any further.

"Do you want me to braid your hair till you fall asleep?" I offered instead.

My mother grabbed my arm. I stared at her in complete confusion. "I need to tell you something, but you cannot tell a soul. Do not even think of it in your dream, Mudan. He will know I spoke of it."

Her cold words were filled with fear. It was that serious?

"Okay...what is it?"

She bit on her lip, as if to control sobs. Seeing her like this made me so uneasy. "Your father...he's going to send you out. Like he did with Edrice and Cora. He has chosen you as a Bloomer, Mu. He's going to make you kill an Ajisai spy for revenge."

Her words made my eyes widen. My heart raced erratically. Blooming Season? It hadn't been a full year yet?

"How do you know this?" I questioned cautiously. My father would never tell her that. He was too secretive.

"I heard him while he was in a meeting with the Young Masters-" she explained, but I cut her off.

"You eavesdropped on him?" I gasped. That suddenly explained the bleeding slashes on her back. "Mother, you need to stop doing sneaky things like that. You're going to get worse than whipped, seriously, do you have a death wish?!"

She took my hands in hers. "I don't care about me, Mudan. I care about you. I need you to go away from here before he sends you away. I can't lose you."

I suddenly took my hands back, unable to gather what she was saying. She...wanted me to run away?

Blooming Season was when specific junior Renge were chosen to undergo the ultimate test to see if all the training was worth something. I couldn't believe I was chosen...I had been training all my life for this moment. I didn't know whether to be excited or afraid. I was actually filled with more fear after hearing my mother's proposition.