GASP.
Pushing himself up, Tao Hua's hair whipped back, with the exception of a few strands stuck to his face. He stared blankly ahead, seemingly at the book on his pillow.
One glance towards the window was enough to tell Tao Hua it was the dead of night.
But what was time in his current state?
After his father found out about his excursion out into town with a stranger whom Tao Hua had acquainted himself with, he was put on yet another house arrest. This time, however, there was no end date in sight.
All the servants, along with Gui Chang, were ordered not to entertain Tao Hua's pleas, and under no circumstances should they be bewitched by Tao Hua's act. He was not allowed to see that man, even if his life were on the line.
This was after his father finally cooled down, shook out the anger, and began playing the role of a loving father. He explained to Tao Hua how the person in question wasn't good for him, a danger to society, and that he was only ever looking out for his well-being.
The typical parental bullshit.
And yet, despite this, Tao Hua couldn't keep him out of his mind. Every thought to every dream somehow involved a man he didn't even know the name of, and now couldn't ever see.
But regardless of his father's orders, nothing stopped him from dreaming of what could have been; solicited or not.
"Wha' the…" he muttered sluggishly, his mouth somewhat still open and chapped. His week had been so boring, and Tao Hua had sped through all the books Lord No-Name bought for him, he resorted to his dreams for entertainment, it seemed.
But, even so…did they have to be those kinds of dreams?!
Tao Hua was an innocent one! He'd never venture toward that side of literature. So why now?!
He shook his head a few times and blinked. In his current position, he looked no better than a man half-attempting weak pushups. It was a miracle he didn't fall face-flat into that book again.
So, in all his dissatisfaction, Tao Hua used every last bit of his waning might and sat up on his legs. The more he thought about everything, the more disgust replaced that half-lidded, tired expression.
In his attempt at distraction, he patted down his sleeve a few times, but even that would prove difficult with how awfully damp his skin was. The damn fabric just clung to his arm as if begging him not to let go.
Ugh!
Therefore, Tao Hua just huffed loudly and gave up. His attention returned to the book on the bed, and my, what a terrible state that new book was in. But what wasn't?
He blinked a few times and rubbed his eyes. Though the world had yet to come back into focus, and only a few things ran around in his mind, Tao Hua could still make out the faint illustration on the page. It was a beautifully drawn woman in a tower. What he could also make out was how the ink smudged in a puddle of drool.
"…"
Pulling his sleeve over his hand, he reached for the book and tried to save the image with a few quick swipes. To Tao Hua's unfortunate dismay, however, he had smudged it so hard the page started to chafe. So, he did the smartest thing he could think of.
He rubbed it harder.
That just ripped the page, hanging by the sole strands of papyrus. And for once Tao Hua didn't care; he just destroyed a book while his mind wandered elsewhere. The deeper he got into those thoughts, the more he'd rub until the page finally ripped out.
That finally snapped the poor man back to reality.
His head fell back as he stared up at each draping curtain, loosely trailing along the top of his bed frame. Then, he glanced sideways as if trying to avoid the inevitable truth hidden in the subconscious of his emotions.
With a hobble left, and a hobble right, Tao Hua swayed his head in an attempt to abolish the thoughts. His eyes travelled along each delicately crafted feature of his bedframe until they landed on the end table next.
On it sat the pile of books—the books that Lord No-Name had bought him earlier that week.
During this moment, a few emotions gripped Tao Hua, and tightly so. The first was agony rooted in the realization that he was permitted never to see this man again, but also that because of him he'd lost his most prized possession.
His book.
Both terribly awful things to happen.
And despite it all…there were still butterflies. Having a week to grapple with the reality of his situation, Tao Hua had somewhat come to terms with the loss of his book.
Granted, it wasn't ideal, and he still ached thinking about it, but not as much as he did knowing his life was over.
Swinging his leg over the edge of his bed, Tao Hua hopped off it and stretched his arms out—like a bird preparing for takeoff. Except this bird was a penguin who couldn't fly.
When he felt steady, he sauntered over to the window and tugged on the metal latch until it flipped open.
That air that rushed toward Tao Hua wasn't uncomfortably hot, but it also wasn't satisfyingly cold either. What it did do was dry up the rest of the sweat that caked his face, although longer than he had hoped.
He crouched forward and placed his arms on the ledge with his head to follow. His chin comfortably sat between the two, and when he was relaxed, Tao Hua glanced out at the still courtyard.
So, he called out, his voice echoing amid the quiet.
Nothing.
Not a soul peeped aside from the rustling of leaves, and what Tao Hua assumed to be an animal scurrying about.
"Some house arrest," he whispered, listening to the rustling sound of foliage.Pursing his lips, Tao Hua jokingly said, "If you're a smart little creature, you'd leave. But if you're courageous…help. Please."
To his surprise, the rustling stopped, nearly making Tao Hua choke on his own spit. Of course, it most likely stopped in fear of the sounding echoes sent through that empty lot.
After coming to that realization, Tao Hua returned to his activity of "leaning on the ledge of a window and whining about his life." It was helpful in preventing many of the unwanted thoughts from resurfacing.
Yet, he couldn't help but envy that tiny critter. Circling his finger on the wood, he muttered, "You only have to focus on food and sleep. No forced marriages. No shitty father telling you what you can or can't do and locking you up. You can do whatever you want. If you want to love someone, you can just…um. Uh."
But he didn't want to finish that statement. Instead, he clamped his mouth shut. His eyebrows pinched as he momentarily glanced down at his reddening fingertips, watching as they gently curled into his palm—as if he was trying to conceal his current state of "unwelcome thoughts."
So, he rammed his head right into his arms, concealing what his ears gave away. "What am I SAYING?! It's only been a week?! Am I that starved?!"
Rhetorical. He knew exactly what he was saying.
But still, he wanted to be that animal. Leave and never come back, even if it risked his life. Such dreams to have for someone as chicken-shit scared as Tao hua—he'd never brave those woods, alone, not in a million years!
Tomorrow was his wedding. The day he would fully seal his fate and prepare to be locked down inevitably. Goodbye hopes and dreams, until next time!
That was his reality, so dreaming about escape was nothing more than a fool's errand.
With a whimper, the quiver of his lip, and muffled speech, he said one final, "I don't want tomorrow to come."
But alas, who was there to listen? The animal scurrying around the courtyard? Even that small thing left at the sound of Tao Hua's desperation.
He couldn't help but think about how nice it must be to have someone who cared enough to drag him out of this place—he'd be fine with that instead of his earlier plea of being saved. Anything, really.
Wishful thinking.
Sighing, Tao Hua pushed himself up and away from the window's ledge, and slowly dragged himself away. He approached the mirror hung opposite his bed, but when he looked at the pair of eyes that stared back at him, he just frowned.
Reaching his hands up to his hair, he shifted it from one side to the other. He did this so often that the feeling nearly numbed his scalp, and once the frustration finally hit, he ruffled it aggressively. It was like a cat scratching at a predator, but the only enemy here was himself.
And his hair.
That poor hair.
Hands pressed against his face and through a loud groan, he said, "Why couldn't I have stayed asleep? Or maybe just sleep forever…?"
At this, he removed his hands from his face and gently grabbed a few strands of his hair. It slipped through his fingers, and when he watched it fall, he found it unpleasant. He didn't like the way it felt when it was himself—better put; the sensation wasn't neither good nor bad.
And to make a terrible night worse, he was making such a fuss that he hadn't realized the floorboards creaking behind him, or the peculiar wind that came rushing into that room. In fact, he was so focused and looking down at the palms of his hands that his surroundings ceased to exist.
It wasn't until he glanced back up at the mirror and past himself that his eyes finally narrowed. Tao Hua held his breath, but something about what he saw looked more familiar than it did terrifying.
To understand Tao Hua's hesitation, he was already used to intruders. It was a common thing in the country and happened often. Especially in homes as grand as the Tao Estate.
Gold and red always ensured a hefty sum when committing illegal acts. Such was the cruel fate of the world.
Fortunately, Tao Hua was already accustomed to this. In fact, he had grown bored with it at this point. It was a dark trail he'd travelled many times over, already knowing nothing was going to come of it.
But the thing was, the trail this time echoed eerily, and Tao Hua understood immediately this wasn't what he was used to.
He looked into that mirror once more, and that's when it finally clicked. It was a sharp realization, almost immediately, and was shown in the way his eyes widened and his hair whipped in a twirl.
Finger lifted, Tao Hua pointed at the intruder—and he looked straight into the eyes that stared back at him. These eyes were pale, and so unique they practically screamed "main character."
"…"
"…"
"…right." For only a second toward a pile of his incomplete bookmarks—the silly little hobby he put his life into. But that was short-lived. His eyebrows pinched, and promptly he returned his focus to the frightening figure, tall and shadowed.
That's when he yelled something louder than he had all evening. Trusting his finger forward with aggressive force, he screamed.
"YOU—mmMMMF!"
Chapter end.