Book 11: Chapter 11
We finished repairing Ling Yue’s home. Ling Yue wasn’t willing to continue staying by my side. She chose to stay at home, instead.
The war wasn’t over yet. There was nobody nearby, and the only person to leave the property alive was Ling Yue. The only one who was going to live in the three-storey property with an underground floor was Ling Yue. I looked at her and touched her ear. From the bed, I looked at the curtains above. I asked, “Won’t you feel lonely?”
Ling Yue curled up next to me and answered in a soft voice, “No. I’ve always lived here. This is my home. Why would I feel lonely?”
“But there’s nobody around you now.”
I went to sit in Ling Yue’s room yesterday in the name of not letting her get scared. For some reason, I ended up sitting on her bed. I then held her hand, but she didn’t kick me out. She even revealed her tail, so we tacitly understood each other and, hence, ended up doing it again on the full-moon night.
I didn’t know what Ling Yue was thinking. Normally, she wouldn’t give me the chance. Usually, she’d kick me away as soon as I went up to the bed. She was particularly obedient that night, though. I didn’t know the reason why, but I guessed Ling Yue didn’t care anymore. After all, we might never meet again. Perhaps she didn’t want to bicker with me when we were about to part ways.
Ling Yue faced her back to me and softly said, “It’s fine. I won’t be scared or lonely. This is my home. I grew up here. My parents, sisters and the rest of my family lived here. I won’t be scared even if I’m alone here. I’m where I should be. This place is also where the future of my tribe lies.”
I grabbed her small shoulders. Voice gentle, I said, “Come with me, Ling Yue. Don’t stay here alone. I will help you rebuild your tribe once I conquer the North, but you’re living here alone, eating alone, cleaning alone, sleeping alone on a single bed, doing the laundry on your own, reading books alone, everything is done alone… That must feel… really lonely…”
I know that lonely feeling. A girl I loved behind a black veil once led that sort of life. She lived alone in the elven capital. Nobody stayed by her side, because of her identity and she was unwilling to live the way her fellow tribesmen did. She bit on her blankets on full-moon nights alone and refused to suck blood. She suppressed her own appetite and ate the berries we liked, instead. She slept alone, wrote alone, cut her fruits up alone. Everything she did, she did alone… She was always alone. Seeing her house made me want to tear up, but she always showed me a warm smile.