19,995 Years Ago
Waking in his arms, Bai Qian slowly allowed herself to ease into the pleasant feeling of waking up next to him for the first time. Dawn had only just broken but not being one to normally wake so early, she snuggled in closer and closed her eyes.
The night before still felt like a dream. He had been so gentle and so patient with her, but he took her to a place she never knew existed. Of course she had heard how wonderful the touch of a man was, but to feel it for herself, once again had the heat rising.
Initially, she had been embarrassed to show herself to him. She had felt too exposed, but keeping the warm blanket over her, he had made love to her tenderly and slowly. His hands had done things to her that instantly made her blush, but it was when she was at the height of her arousal, that Mo Yuan slowly entered her.
It had hurt. Terribly and she had cried out from the pain. But not allowing him to withdraw, she had insisted that he continue. And so he did, very slowly and with as much gentleness as he could until she felt the pain slip away and the arousal return.
She knew there would be some blood, but she had been quite surprised by how much. Insisting on changing the bedding she had painfully dragged the soiled under sheet from the bed and replaced it, even though her body was aching all over.
Her last thoughts before she feel asleep in his arms were on the emotions that had raced through her head when they made love. Her earlier words to him the night before no longer seemed to hold true, because she felt even more in love with him because of their joining.
Moving slightly to ease the pain in her thighs which were cramping from being in the same spot for too long, she hissed softly as pain flared through her nether regions. It was still a dull ache as long as she didn't move.
"Awake?" his soft voice drifted down towards her having heard the soft gasp.
"mmm...." she smiled against him.
"How are you feeling?" He asked genuinely concerned.
"Sore. But happy" she smiled as her arm tightened against him.
"It will get better, I promise." he said softly down into her hair.
"I know Mo Yuan. I'm not sorry and I don't care about the pain. It is beautiful pain." she said softly.
"Well, you did ask for pain." he reminded her smiling.
Giggling, she didn't answer for a while, she merely relished in his warm embrace.
"What now Mo Yuan." she asked not putting her hopes on anything, but wanting to know where they were exactly in their relationship. Because as far as she was concerned, they had passed a milestone.
"What do you want Qian Qian?" he asked. He had not told her of his request for her hand, this was something he wanted to share with her in private, and it seemed it had come earlier than he expected.
She did not need to think about it. Her trial had given her the answer. Everything she had seen of him in his primitive state, was exactly the kind of man he was in their own world. He was honest, kind, generous, gentle, calm and stable. But he also listened to her, gave her every opportunity to voice her opinions and deemed her worthy enough to share a union she knew eh gave to no one else.
"I want you Mo Yuan. I want an eternity at your side." she said openly and honestly, before moving her body tentatively to look up at him.
Widening his eyes in mock astonishment, she suddenly began to feel as if she had said something she shouldn't have.
"You want to marry me?" he asked sitting up and bringing her up with him.
Marriage. It wasn't what she actually meant, in fact she didn't know what she meant, but the thought of never seeing him again suddenly made her feel so sad, that she wondered if perhaps marriage was actually what she wanted after all and the longer she thought about it, the more she liked the sound of it.
"Mo Yuan. I know it might seem a little forward, but we foxes tend to say exactly what we feel especially when it comes to those we love. So yes, I do want to marry you." she said looking straight back at him.
Mo Yuans eyes remained on hers for some time. He did not say anything as he watched every emotion fly through her eyes, but it was her words that had left him a little speechless. He had wanted to hold off on telling her that he had already approached her parents, because he knew how independent she was when it came to making her own decisions, especially life changing ones. He thought that perhaps she might not take too kindly to him deciding her fate for her but now, he was not so sure.
She had never told him that she loved him, and nor had she ever shown an inclination to wanting marriage with him, but to hear both from her own lips that she wanted him as much as he wanted her was so much more than he could have hoped for.
"Well then. I guess we should do just that." he said smiling at her with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Really? You want to marry me?" she asked stunned. But she did not give him a chance to answer. She immediately threw herself into his arms and knocking him back against the bed. Thought the small gasp that came the moment he hit the pillow, he knew she had hurt herself.
But he too was just as happy as she smothered his face in kissed from the tip of his head to the small scruff of hair on his chin in her excitement, before kissing him softly on the lips.
Tearful but overjoyed, she buried her head into his neck and clung on tightly. "Mo Yuan, we should inform my father immediately." she said as reality began to sink in.
But the small chuckle from above, had her once again lifting her head to look down at him. The sudden sparkle in his eyes, had her knowing instantly that he was up to something. Raising her eyes questioningly at him, he once again forced her back up, only this time, he pulled her up onto his lap while ignoring the wince of pain, because he planned on dealing with that next.
Holding her against him in order to prevent her from rising, he told her how he had already approached her parents.
"You approached them without me Mo Yuan?" she asked suddenly pulling back from him, but he merely held onto her even tighter.
"I know it might seem as if I went ahead with my own desire without asking you first, but I wanted to ensure there would be nothing standing in our way, because your parents have been close friends of mine for a very long time Qian Qian." he said softly.
"But that is something we should have done together Mo Yuan. You should have asked me first. You just went right on ahead and assumed I would agree." she said becoming annoyed and he could feel it.
And it was at that moment, that Mo Yuan realized he had just done exactly what she had to done all of her life. He never normally made assumptions, but this time he had literally taken it for granted that she would accept and the thought that he had entered her trial in order to teach her the affects of assuming too much, suddenly had him chuckling at the irony.
"It's not funny Mo Yuan. I'm serious, you should have asked me first." she said still annoyed with him.
"I'm sorry Qian Qian. You are right. I assumed you would agree, I should have asked you first." he said kissing her head. Then her cheeks and chin before kissing her lips. "But I do want to marry you. Marry me?" he asked and this time it was an official request.
"I already told you Mo Yuan. Yes." she said suddenly giggling as the annoyance left her. She couldn't stay annoyed with him too long, she was just too happy.
But she was soon squealing when she suddenly felt herself being lifted into the air and up into his arms. In one swift movement, he had raised them both out of bed. Wrapped tightly up in the blanket, he carried her out of the hut and down the steps where her parents, brother and Zhe Yan were already sitting down for breakfast.
Looking up wide eyed at them, Bai Zhi took in his daughter being carried out of the hut by an obviously naked Mo Yuan wrapped only in a blanket, a sight they never thought they would ever see.
If he was embarrassed, he didn't show it. "Good morning." he said as he carried her towards the table with all eyes goggling at them.
Coughing lightly, Bai Zhi saw his daughter duck her head down into the blanket in embarrassment which she couldn't hide. But it was the sight of his bare legs poking out the bottom of the blanket that had him gawking up at him in amusement.
"Did you forget your furs Mo Yuan?" he asked gaining a round of roaring laughter from Zhe Yan and soft giggles from her mother.
Chuckling at them, Mo Yuan merely nodded his head at them as he continued onto the path that would lead them into the Grove while Bai Qian kept her head and eyes down, not daring to look at any of them knowing that to do so would only bring more insults, though their laughter followed them for some time before she finally felt it was safe enough to raise her head.
"Where are we going?" she asked as she looked around.
"You'll see." he said as he then entered the clearing to the rock pool.
Then carrying her all the way to the water, she watched as he raised his hand and threw a spell at the water before flicking the blanket off the both of them. Then very gently, he carried her into the water where he lowered her down into it.
Expecting the snap of cold water to hit her, she instinctively clung to him only to be pleasantly surprised at the warmth of the water. It wasn't too hot, but warm enough to ease the pain in her lower region which was why he had brought her there.
"Feeling better." he asked as she looked up at his soft tender eyes.
"Much better." she said blushing against him.
"Good. We can relax here for a while, then when you're feeling up to it, I want to take you back to the Celestial Heavens." he said suddenly becoming serious.
"Celestial Heavens? Why?' she asked becoming nervous.
"Because my dear, we are getting married. I want to announce it as soon as possible." he explained. "And there are certain people that must be informed first." he said as she moved out of his embrace to look at him.
"Lord Di Jun?" she asked suddenly reddening in embarrassment. The one and only time she had seen him, had been at the Festival of Peaches and in her haste to get away, she had almost knocked him over.
"Yes Di Jun along with Lord Pua who is the overseer of all Celestial Marriages." he said looking back at her reddened cheeks but thinking that perhaps the water was too hot for her, he quickly drew her back into his arms before lessening the heat of the pool with another quick spell.
But saying nothing, she merely rested against him and it was then that she noticed her lotus flower. The color had changed again.
"Mo Yuan look. It's deep purple." she said excitedly
"That is because you ascended. Your lotus is an extension of yourself." he reminded her with a smile, but it never failed to amaze him how she could go from one topic straight into another without pause or reason.
Thinking about the conversation all those years ago when he had given her the flower, a small smile of her own began to spread across her face.
"You were very patient with me Mo Yuan. I think I might have fallen in love with you the day you gave me that Lotus. In fact, you never left my thoughts, you were very much a part of my entire childhood." she said before a thought came to her.
"Did my father talk you into being a Water Sprite to teach me?" she asked suddenly.
"No. You did. When you rang the Bell of Kunlun. You gave me no choice." he said chuckling at her wide eyes.
"Ahhhh. That's right, you wouldn't take me because I was a girl." she said hardening her eyes at him.
Tilting his head to the side to look at her, Mo Yuans smile once again grew wider. He knew what was coming, this was the one question she had held onto for centuries and the reason why they had been thrown together in the first place. Yet she had never openly asked him why he only took male students and nor had he explained it. But expecting her to ask now, considering this was the final piece of a puzzle she had held onto for too long, he was pleasantly surprised by what followed, because she answered herself.
Snickering at him, she suddenly spun her body around in the water before running the tips of her fingers up his chest with both hands.
"I think if I had been a Disciple, the Bell of Kunlun would have been the least of your worries." said said as she suggestively wriggled her way back onto his lap to straddle him.
"In fact, I doubt I would have learned much at all being surrounded by all those cute Disciples." she teased him as she edged into his lap even more and making him hiss.
Slowly his hands raised to the back of her head before gently tilting it backwards.
"Careful Qian Qian. I am a very jealous man." he whispered as his head lowered to the side of her neck.