107 Reunions (1/2)
Nian Zhen's eyes swiveled to the boy, following the sound of his voice as he and a man in his late forties laughed and gave each other high fives.
Nian Zhen's eyes seemed to burn. He couldn't seem to take his eyes away.The boy looked exactly like him at that young age. Even the cowlick on his hair was the same, and the dimples that will disappear when he grew older was the same.
Nian Zhen stood rooted at the spot even as the world around him tilted to the other side. Gu Sheng was not looking at anyone but at him.Nian Zhen looked like a thirsty man who found water but was scared to bend down and drink for fear that it was all an illusion.The water was not there but the idea of it merely whetted his thirst, making him unable to think of anything else but how it would feel sliding down his parched throat.
”Prince,” Gu Sheng's voice was merely a whisper but it seemed to wake Nian Zhen up from his dream. He blinked and met Gu Sheng's anxious eyes.
”Mom, where is this place? I think I've seen a deer. I want to go and explore,” a young girl's voice asked excitedly.
”Later, darling.You can go when its lighter later this morning. Are you okay?You didn't hit your head or anything when we landed, did you?” An Ning asked tenderly, lightly checking the girl's hair and face with her fingertips.
”How can she?Gran made the perfect landing. Gran, I want you to teach me how to drive,” the boy cut in.
”You're still too young,” the elder man said smiling, affectionately ruffling his hair.”Give it a year or so then I'll teach you.”
”Where is this place, An Ning?” Ceres asked, walking forward, an anxious An Ma behind her.”We're not lost are we?”
”And who are you?” the voice came from the woman who looked exactly like An Ning but older. She was tall and slim but had the perfect figure of a young and gorgeous Jane Fonda in that outer space movie.Her long black hair was unbound, tied with a ribbon in the middle of the lustrous fall, which made her look like a young maiden about to go for a leisurely stroll.She was wearing a stunning dress of gold that followed each line and curve of her body like a glove, the long trim legs encased in long light yellow boots.She was not wearing any jewelry but there was a wide bronze bracelet on her left arm that snaked around her slim wrist and arm like a snarling cobra about to strike.Her eyes were very sharp and direct, missing nothing.And they were staring at Nian Zhen with an imperiousness that brooked no resistance.
Nian Zhen resisted the impulse to swallow.He was about to open his mouth and speak when An Ning walked to his side and took his arm, dragging him forward so that he was finally included in the circle of this vast activity of giggles and laughter, and cursing from An Ma when he stepped on a dead toad, and the warmth in An Ning's eyes as she looked at him.
”He's the king of Chengdi and we are his guests,” An Ning said. ”Grandmama, his highness, Nian Zhen.”
The formal introduction of his name and status stopped all noise and activity from the group.They all looked at Nian Zhen standing like a frozen chunk of meat clutching at An Ning's hand as if it was a lifeline. They saw a tall young man, his ponytail clasped in fine gold atop his head, his robes magnificent on a tall and muscular body, and on his face, that beautiful face that could literally stop traffic on a busy Manhattan street in seconds.
”What a beautiful young man,” Ceres exclaimed, earning the ire of An Ma whose eyes glinted when he looked at Nian Zhen.
”Yes, I would say he is the most beautiful man I've seen in a long while.Beautiful than even Enxuo was at this age,” agreed Hippolyta, whose voice went down a little lower when she looked speculatively at Nian Zhen.That sudden change in timbre caught Li Cheung's attention who strolled forward and grabbed his wife's hand in his.The action seemed to amuse Hippolyta who threw her husband a fond look.
”Beautiful? Where?” Li Cheung asked belligerently, staring at Nian Zhen.”He looks ordinary to me.”
”That's because you're a man, dad,” Ceres said, laughing which turned into a scowl when An Ma pinched her arm.
”Beauty is as beauty does,” An Ma said, giving his wife a threatening look.”Right, darling?”
”If you say so,” Ceres said, pouting. An Ma gently lifted the arm he had just pinched and gave it a soft kiss, causing Ceres to laugh. The two of them ended up giggling like a couple of fools, much to the amusement of their daughter, An Ning. Hippolyta, however, was not.
”Honeymooners,” she scoffed.”I abhor them.”
”The last honey mooning couple you saw was three hundred years ago, darling, and that was when Enxuo married that witch,” Li Cheung reminded her.
”That long?” Hippolyta frowned.”Oh well. And Merius is not a witch, darling.”
”She might as well be, the way she treated poor Enxuo like that,” Li Cheung said. ”And he's now missing, poor chap.”
”He'll be back,” Hippolyta confidently said.
”Why do you say that?” Li Cheung frowned.
”Because he knows by now that I'm here and that I'm back.He'll come looking for me then.”
Li Cheung did not answer, just looking at his wife.
”What?”
”You and Enxuo always had this thing between you. As if it's a secret thing and no one is allowed to know.”
”What thing?”
”I don't know how to describe it.”
”Darling, Enxuo is my right-hand man.I brought him up after saving him from certain death.He has stayed by my side since he was twelve years old. I trust him.He trusts me.That kind of bond existed even before you and I got together. Enxuo thinks of me as his sister. And I think of him as a brother.We may not be blood-related but make no mistake, we are family,” Hippolyta said seriously.
”Where do you think he went?” asked Li Cheung, backing off from his suspicion of Enxuo.
”I don't know. All I know is that he loved his son and his mother...,” Hippolyta stopped. ”Merius is insane.”
”Yu Yan's magic...” Li Cheung trailed off.
”No, I don't think that's it.Merius always had this dark side to her that I tried to contain by not giving her too much power.When I left, that dam broke and there was nobody to restrain or keep her in line anymore.That kind of personality can become destructive if allowed to act on its own unrestricted.But even I didn't expect that she would kill her own son.”
There was silence.Everybody looked at Hippolyta, who was brooding and frowning at some unspoken thought.Li Cheung looked pointedly at An Ning, who nodded.
”Grandmama, you haven't said hi to his majesty yet,” she smilingly reminded Hippolyta.
”His name is Nian Zhen and he is the king of Chengdi.How are you, your majesty?” Hippolyta said, extending a hand to Nian Zhen. But before their hands could touch, Li Cheung grabbed his wife's hand and enfolded it in his. Hippolyta looked at him in surprise.
”Do I need an explanation to hold my own wife's hand?” his tone was belligerent, but his animosity was directed towards Nian Zhen who reddened.
”Grandpapa,” An Ning scolded.”This introduction is already too long. Let's move on and allow Nian Zhen to speak.”