Shaman King Fan Fiction ❯ A Gift of Love ❯ Bie Liao (We'll Never Meet Again) ( Chapter 25 )

I'll be perfectly honest with you; I didn't like writing this chapter. I'm a HUGE sap. When something really bad happens or is going to happen to a character I like, I usually stop watching the show for a few days until I can stomach it. Yeah, I know. I need serious help. -shrug-

 

It took me a while to actually decide how they were going to be torn apart. At first, the engagement was going to be broken for no reason. Then I decided he was going to push her off a cliff into the ocean. Then I thought maybe a girl hired by Suo would come in and steal Ren away and control him, and Pin-Mei would overhear them in the bedroom. None of them really seemed all that plausible.

 

I don't know if any of you have ever had something completely earth-shattering happen to you and gotten the feeling like you couldn't breathe, and you had no idea what to do next, so you just lay on your floor, bawling your eyes out until someone finally comes to your rescue. Well, I tried to recreate that in this chapter, so I apologize if you have no idea what I'm talking about.

 

I'm also listening to Faye Wong's “Red Bean” one of few Chinese songs I know xD The lyrics actually fit pretty nicely. She mentions watching snow together, which is actually a big part of the story.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the ZOMGANGST! chapter.

 

Notes: Just to be clear, Ren did not actually get around to taking advantage of Pin-Mei. He was about to, but that's when Jun showed up.

 

A “kowtow” is an extremely formal bow the Chinese mainly used in front of emperors. I know this is horrible, but if any of you have seen Disney's Mulan, the bow she does while she's singing “Reflection” in the chapel is a kowtow. It's basically like “can I lick your shoes while I'm down here?” It can also be a verb meaning to relent or concede.

 

Just to warn you, Pin-Mei basically cries for this whole chapter. If you find her annoying, then this is not the chapter for you. Oops.

 

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A Gift of Love - Chapter Twenty-Five: Bie Liao (We'll Never Meet Again)

 

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Pin-Mei locked herself in her room and hid under the covers, still wailing. The feeling inside her was hollow and she felt as if she were suffocating. Her head felt light, she felt confused. She had no idea what to do with herself. She rolled around, screaming, and eventually fell onto the floor, wrapped in a cocoon of blankets.

 

Ma Ying appeared near her. “My Lady…”

 

Pin-Mei didn't answer. The spirit tried her best to comfort her.

 

“My Lady, I'm sorry about what he did to you… I never thought he would use you like that… But maybe it is best that you found out who he is now rather than after marriage…”

 

“Leave,” Pin-Mei whispered.

 

Ma Ying was taken aback. “What?”

 

“Leave...You don't know what just happened…You have absolutely…no…idea…” Her wailing started up again as she remembered the events.

 

“Very well, mistress…I apologize if I upset you.” She vanished.

 

Pin-Mei curled up in a ball, remembering what had happened when Jun arrived.

 

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As Pin-Mei cried, and Jun stared at them, bewildered , their parents, along with Suo, rushed into the room. All they saw was Ren on top of a crying girl, and that was all the evidence they needed.

 

Guards rushed in and pulled him off of her, restraining him. It was only then that she realized that others had appeared. She sat up clutching her robes closed, and ran over to them.

 

The couple stared at each other. His yellow eyes glared at her, as if to tell her this was all her fault. She stared back at him with remorseful eyes. They had only come because she had screamed for help. Now, she felt like it had been the wrong thing to do, that she should have just let it happen so that things wouldn't have had to get to this point. To her, it really was her fault.

 

She timidly reached out to touch his face. He froze, and she swore she could see the light returning to his eyes. He blinked a couple times, then looked at her. All he could see was her holding robe closed, and her shattered face, decorated with red marks on her cheeks. He squinted at her, then opened his eyes wide.

 

“Pin-Mei? What--,”

 

A guard delivered a swift and hard blow to the back of his neck, and his body went limp. Pin-Mei gasped as they dragged him out of the room. She ran over to En.

 

“What are you going to do with him?” she cried, her voice frantic.

 

“We are bringing him downstairs. He'll spend some time down there so he can think about this.”

 

“Downstairs…” she whispered, then realized what was downstairs. “No! You can't!” She ran over to stand in front of Ren. “You've already knocked him out…isn't that enough?”

 

He looked at her quizzically. “How can you be so forgiving of someone who tried to violate you?”

 

She tried to smile. “He's done too many good things for me. I can't forget them because of one thing he's done wrong.”

 

He studied her. “Very well.” He turned to the guards. “Lock him in his room.”

 

Suo rushed over to her and cupped her face. “Oh my precious little darling! Are you alright? That must have been so scary for you! Don't worry, I'll make sure it never happens again…”

 

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After a few hours of crying, Pin-Mei got up and started packing. She knew what was coming. It was inevitable. This was what Suo was after all along. This was how she had planned to tear them apart: force Ren to rape her and get caught doing it. Then get hysterical and demand that the engagement be broken. She'd go back home. Be arranged to marry someone else. She would never see Tao Ren again.

 

The thought made her sick to her stomach. She opened a window. Cold air from the early rainy morning rushed in.

 

She looked over at her nightstand, where her rose ring and the butterfly clips sat. Then she glanced down at the engagement ring on her left hand. She closed her eyes painfully at what had to come next.

 

It was time to give them all back.

 

She gathered herself and slipped out of her room and into his.

 

He was sleeping soundly in his bed, and she smiled weakly to see him at peace. He was on his back, face to the ceiling, and a hand outstretched and palm-up. His tongari had rebelled against being straightened, and was now back in its place.

 

Out of the few times she had seen him asleep, she never studied him as much as she did then. She wanted to remember what he looked like for as long as she possibly could. She wanted to remember everything she possibly could. It could be the very last time she would see him like this. See him at all.

 

As the memories flooded back to her, her eyes burned again, but she hurriedly rubbed them to nip it in the bud. She knew it was time to do what she had come here to do.

 

Pin-Mei cautiously approached his bed, her eyes on his open hand. Gently, she placed the hair clips and rose ring in it, along with a folded piece of paper. She took a deep breath. One thing left.

 

She bit her lip and squeezed her eyes shut as her right hand slowly moved to remove the ring on her left. No matter how hard she tried to keep it in, the tears came as it finally left her finger. She looked at it, tried to smile, then placed it in his hand and gently closed it, holding it with both of hers. She knelt down for a moment.

 

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much. I've had the time of my life these past two weeks.” She looked down, almost laughing at herself. “When I first came here, I thought that you were still going to hate me this whole time...but you loved me instead...and I thank you for that. Ren…you made me happy.”

 

She wanted to squeeze his hand, but also didn't want him to wake up. Instead, she stood up and brushed back his bangs. She found herself wishing that she could see his eyes one last time, but that was impossible. After a moment of looking him over, she bent over to kiss him for what she thought of as the very last time. A few of her tears fell on his cheek, but she didn't notice.

 

She made her way to the door, putting her hand on the knob. Before leaving, she looked back at him one last time.

 

“Goodbye, Ren…I love you.”

 

He stirred slightly.

 

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“How could you allow this to happen, Zhang?” Suo yelled at her son-in-law. “Your daughter - my precious granddaughter - was almost raped by that…that beast! Now she's traumatized, up in her room, bawling. At this rate, she'll die of dehydration before we get home!”

 

“Silence, Suo!” Zhang yelled back. “You weren't even invited in the first place! Everything was fine until you showed up!”

 

“Please, both of you, calm down,” En said, getting between them. “I am aware that something horrible has occurred, now is not the time to be fighting amongst ourselves. It is at times like these that we must be mature adults.” He turned to Suo. “As you have requested, the engagement will be broken, and Ren will spend a month in the torture chamber.”

 

“No! Please don't!”

 

They turned to see Pin-Mei standing next to one of the pillars, her hands clutching to it as if to help her stand. Her eyes were swollen with dark circles under them, and she was still shaking. Nevertheless, she left her support and walked over to them slowly. Suo ran over to her.

 

“Pin-Mei, darling! Are you alright? Are you sure you should be walking around, after what that boy did to you?”

 

Pin-Mei glared at her. “Get away from me,” she said coldly. “This is all your fault. I'll never forgive you for hurting Ren.” She walked past her. Suo kept staring at where she had been, shocked by her unusually dark voice. Pin-Mei approached En, still taking deep breathes from crying.

 

“I beg of you…please don't torture him. He never actually did anything to me, and he knew it was wrong. He was…crying…”

 

“Crocodile tears,” Suo muttered. Pin-Mei shook her head.

 

“No, they weren't. I've seen him cry before, and I can say with full confidence that those tears that I felt were real. I'd stake my life on it. He didn't want to do it. It was almost as if he were…” she glared at Suo, “…possessed…” She looked En in the eye. “I will not tolerate anyone hurting him for something that didn't happen…I may be out of line by saying so, but I won't just act like this has nothing to do with me the moment I leave this house. If I must leave…”

 

She dropped to the floor in front of him in a kowtow position.

 

“…then please grant my one wish: don't punish Ren.” She bowed so low that her head touched the floor. Her whole body quivered as she began sobbing again. “Please,” she kept whispering.

 

As he looked down at her, he knew he had no choice. “Very well, Pin-Mei. I will concede to your wish. Ren will receive no punishment for his actions of last night. You have my word.”

 

She looked up. “Thank you so much.” As she stood, Zhang walked over to place his hand on her head.

 

“It is time for us to leave,” he said. His daughter nodded and followed Suo out of the mansion. He turned to En.

 

“Again, Zhang, I apologize for my son's actions, it was-,”

 

“Pin-Mei was correct. Ren did not debauch her of his own free will. Fan Kai put a curse on him. You've been tricked by Suo.”

 

En looked away, thinking about his words. Zhang continued.

 

“If you want proof, go look at your son's back. Now that the curse has been lifted, there is a large scar on his back where the curse seal was burned into him and held him captive. Do not worry; the scar will fade within a day or two.” He turned to leave. “I'll be sending Pin-Mei back to you soon enough, whether you choose to reinstate their engagement or not. I will not deny my daughter the happiness she found in your son. If she is anything like her mother, she will come back to you even before that, and demand to marry him anyway. But then, you know all about that.”

 

He began walking away.

 

“Farewell, En.”

 

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Out in the courtyard, Pin-Mei sat in the horse-drawn carriage, waiting for her father to appear. She turned to him as he got in.

 

“Do you want it?” he asked her. He removed a small liquid-filled vile from inside his robe.

 

She stared at his knee, too tired to think about anything. By this time, she had been awake for close to twenty-two hours. After a time, she finally nodded, making an affirmative moaning sound.

 

“Very well. Come here, my daughter.”

 

He opened the vile and took some of it into his mouth. She leaned as much as she could towards him, barely able to support herself on her hands. He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her what seemed to be a passionate kiss. When they pulled apart, Pin-Mei's eyes were bright and open, and she looked extremely alert. He smiled at her.

 

“I see it worked.”

She gave a subtle nod. The carriage began to move, and she turned to the window and stared out of it.

 

“Pay close attention and remember all that you see,” he told her as they passed through the gates and away from the House of Tao.

 

She nodded as she took one last look back at the house where her everything slept.

 

From the reflection in the window, Zhang could see a flood of silent tears falling down his daughter's face.

 

Don't worry, Pin-Mei. You'll be back. I'll make sure of it.