The Forest

Meihui rushed up the swirled onyx and emerald stone steps, knees giving
out nearly every step of the way. She probably looked like a madwoman,
long black hair unkempt and flying, robes disarrayed and ripped from
carelessy cutting and bumping sharp corners. Her maidens were shouting her
name, "Meihui! Meihui! My lady, please!" trying to catch up with her. But
Meihui ran possessed. She could not stop; she had to tell her husband.
Meihui knew his itinerary by heart. As the sun ascended, Gui overlooked
his empire from the palace rooftop. He would be alone which is exactly
what Meihui needed.
The guards, clad in the scaly skin uniforms of dragon's hide, the most
impenetrable material within the world, looked most intimidating with
their grave faces and gleaming weapons. But upon seeing their Empresses in
such a worrisome state, their countenances broke, taking on concerned and
slightly panicked faces.
"Empress Meihui, what is the trouble?" the guard on the left blurted out
as Meihui hurried past them. She needed to see her husband.
The two guards, puzzled by their Empress' behaviour, decided to have one
follow her and the another alert the other guards in the event there was
an attack of some sort to worry about.
Meihui burst through the giant crimson doors with a bang that caught her
hunsband's attention. At first glance, he was overjoyed to see her; being
in her pregnancy, rarely did Meihui accompany him anymore to just enjoy
the way the brilliant sun cast its golden light upon the empire. He missed
her delightful aura and was prepared to tell her just that, until he saw
how pale she had gone.
And the blood staining her ivory white silk bed robes near her hips.
Gui's face became ashen too, for he knew what the blood intelled.
No words were passed between emperor and empress as they met in the
middle of the rooftop, Gui craddling Meihui, shielding her from reality
for just a moment, rocking back and forth to soothe her blown nerves. When
the guard that followed Meihui to the rooftop came, Gui sent a fierce look
his way that held the message: Leave us. The guard saluted, hastily
leaving and shutting the doors, granting the grieving almost parents a
sembalance of privacy.
The sun did not shine as it usually did. There were enormous angry grey
clouds that Gui did not notice before. The clouds heavy with rain began to
release cold droplets with all the impact of lead. The icy rain soaked
through Gui and Meihui. They remained there until Gui gathered his wife in
his arms to carry her inside.
The guard that was excused promptly answered the doors sending in a rush
of harsh winds and sheets of rain, along with the Emperor and Empress.
"Is anything the matter, my Emperor?"
Gui shook his head. "No Lei. Tell the Empress' handmaidens to draw a
bath, start a fire, fix a soup that will aid the head and induce sleep,
and add more furs to the royal bed."
"Yes, Emperor." Lei saluted and dashed down the hallways to inform the
handmaidens of the Empress.
Gui knew it would not take the dutiful women long to carry out his
wishes, so he took his time descending the many steps. His wife was a
scared child in his arms; Meihui trembled worse than a leaf in a typhoon.
Her face was hidden, buried in Gui's chest. Even though Gui held her
tight, Meihui managed to make herself smaller in his arms by curling up.
Like she was trying to disappear.
Gently easing the door open with his back, Gui slipped inside the royal
chambers heading to the bathroom.
Comprising the majority of the room was an oval tub, about three feet
deep and covered in cream colored petals. Gui was impressed by the
multitude of candles glowing in clusters on every shelf and sections of
the floor. The aroma was soft, exactly what Meihui needed to calm down.
Gui placed his wife on the crescent wooden bench beside the tub, quickly
undressing himself, and taking much more careful time to undress his
stunned wife. Her body like a puppet whose strings were severed held no
resistance as he gently removed her soiled clothes and tossed them into a
far corner where the handmaidens were sure to find later.
"Let's get into the tub, Meihui." Gui said, wincing a bit when his voice
echoed in the cavernous room.
He delicately guided Meihui into the warm, soapy water. She was unmoving
and unresponsive as Gui washed her.
The candles were dimming to a flicker, wax in small melted pools when
Gui grabbed the plush towels to dry his wife and himself. Meihui's eyes
were droopy as Gui directed her into the bedroom and in the bed, tucking
her in with the think furs.
She looked so tiny in their giant bed, so crestfallen.
Honestly, Gui did not know how to console his wife on this. Yes, they
both lost a child and felt great grief, but Gui could not even begin to
comprehend the tumultuous emotions storming in Meihui, for the child was
developing inside her, a special bond of creation that only a mother
understood.
Grabbing the tray with the soup he requested, Gui spoonfed it to Meihui,
who opened her mouth and swallowed robotically. The giant pillows esconed
Meihui as her posture relaxed and lowered. Soon, she was fast asleep.
Gui massaged the worry line creased in Meihui's procreus with two of his
fingers. He felt drained and tired. He didn't even realize the tears that
streamed down his cheeks.
A tentative knock sounded at the door.
"My Emperor, are you and Empresses Meihui alright?" It was one of the
handmaidens.
Wiping off his tears, Gui strode to the grand door opening it just
slight. The one who knocked was Jiao, the eldest handmaiden who served
Gui's grandmother. With her was Boqin, the leader of the Wu military.
"My wife just had a miscarriage. Jiao, please gather your best nurses to
tend to my Meihui. Boqin, I want you to handle things for today; I must
grieve with my wife."
Jiao nodded and left to get her nurses. Boqin's shrewd eyes studied Gui,
searching for something -Gui didn't know what- until his hard face
softened.
"My Emperor, you knew that this would occur-"
Gui's hand flashed as it raised to stop the general's sentence.
"I do not wish to have this talk, Boqin."
Boqin pouted. "Sir, you will have to tell Empress Meihui sooner or
later!"
Gui's temper was moderately fair; it only serves an emperor bad if he
was volatile and hot.
"Boqin," Gui said sharply "what she doesn't know will not harm her."
 "But what if she wants to conceive another child? Will you deny her and
inform her of the curse so you two can actually do something about it? Or
will you let her try and torment herself again and again!"
The Emperor's mouth gaped fishlike at his general's bold tone. Gui knew
Boqin was speaking truth, but Gui didn't want Meihui, innocent, tender,
compassionate Meihui, to know of the curse.
"She needs to know, your majesty." pleaded Boqin.
Gui swallowed thickly, once, twice, thrice just for good measure before
answering. "I wish for you, Jiao, and Heng, the head history keeper to be
there with me. Tell Heng to collect all the scrolls of my female
relatives' pregnancies, beginning with Chen Wu. If my wife is to
understand this, I need each of you to be there for your personal
accounts. I will call upon the three of you within the next week."
There was a small smile on Boqin's stonelike face, pleased because the
boy heir he once knew was acting more and more like a man. Saluting, Boqin
left to relay the message to Jiao and Heng.

-------------------------------------

For days, Meihui secluded herself in the bedroom. Half of the time spent
in bed, sleep, trying to evade reality for as long as she could; the other
half spent blankly staring out the window, numbly watching the gardens as
they boasted life.
An unexpected and voracious envy descended upon her. She cursed at the
rich greenery daily that had no problem with the creation of life.
Meihui kept the room dark. Her handmaidens and nurses brought small
glowing stones that illuminated their work on Meihui. They arrived through
the door fastly and left just as quickly too as to not let the bright
lights of the halls flood in.
So when both doors open, allowing the harsh light to chase away the
comforting darkness Meihui dwelled in, she jumps and crowds herself into a
corner.
Four pairs of tentative footsteps enter the room, careful to go slow as
to not frighten Meihui. It is Jiao who speaks first.
"Dear Meihui, come rest on the bed." Jiao shuffles closer to Meihui who
minutely flinches when Jiao places her hands upon Meihui's shoulders to
direct her to the bed. Meihui folds in on herself, meeting the eyes of no
one.
Unable to maintain distance, Gui falls to the floor on his knees near
Meihui's bedside. She was looking down as he looked up trying to catch her
eyes, and when he does they're clouded, glossed over like a heavy fog that
has stole the radiance and joy of the old Meihui leaving her a hollow
version of herself. Any hesistation about Gui not telling, was immediately
gone. He could not let his beloved experience this internal torture.
"Meihui, my dear, please show me a sign that you hear and understand
us." Gui whispered.
Meihui's head bobs once. She was listening.
Exhaling a great sigh, Gui begins.
"Once upon a time.....

Jiangyu and his most trusted company crept soundlessly through the
forest, arrows notched to shoot the deer. The doe was truly magnificent,
as if the gods crafted her specially. She was slender and beyond graceful,
moving with an agility that caused the men to fumble multiple times. Her
eyes held an intelligence that Jiangyu witnessed rarely in humans. It was
if she was teasing the entire company - Jiangyu especially.
Suddenly the doe traipsed into a dense prickly part of the forest.
Jiangyu's men knew the exits around the thicket and he ordered them to
guard the exits in the event the doe escaped through one of them. As for
Jiangyu, he plunged inside, cutting away the closest thorns.
Jiangyu reached a clearing. And there, basking in the direct sunlight was
a woman, scarcely clothed in brown furs accentuating the sensuous curves
of her body. Her hair was thick and fell down to her ankles like a liquid
blanket. Her eyes were sharp, as if they could slice through metal.
Or a man's heart.
She beckoned him with a finger, and helplessly Jiangyu came kneeling
before such wild beauty.
"What would you do for me?" her voice was smoke, caressing into his
ears, enveloping Jiangyu's mind to the point where she was the only thing
that mattered to him in existence.
The shiftress sensed this, seeing as everything this mortal man held
dear -his empire, his reputation, his unborn baby, his wife- paled away
until only she was in his little mind.
"Anything." breathed Jiangyu.
The shiftress chuckled at the weakness of this one mortal.
"I want your lineage." crooned the shiftress. "Every time a woman of the
Wu line will conceive, I want those unborn babies. Won't you give me
that?"
"Of course!" cried Jiangyu.
The shiftress laughed hysterically, cackling and high-pitched. Her body
morphed back into an animal; four-legged with giant scarlet hooves as if
painted with the blood of babes. Her body bloated, expanding enormously
with shaggy black fur the color of tar. Spires of twisted horns protruded
from her head, wicked and dangerous. Her eyes, no longer wise, held only
bloodlust within those lurid sulphur yellow orbs. She was monsterous.
Her huge maw fell open, still laughing, revealing rows and rows of
wicked teeth and racid breath. Jiangyu snapped out of his haze at the
sight of such a grotesque beast, stumbling to crawl away.
"You fool!" roared the shiftress. "You just doomed your entire line!"
Jiangyu was horrified; she was right.
"Su...Sur..Surely, you would make another deal with me, please
shiftress? I do not want my blood to die!" Jiangyu was on his hands and
knees, bowing before the beast, too afraid to look the creature in her
crazy eyes.
Entertained, the shiftress considered. "If a woman of the Wu line truly
wants a child, she must be willing to give her life to me. If not, I will
collect the baby. Either way I get my flesh."
"But! There must be another way for both mother and baby to live!"
Jiangyu pleaded, he was sobbing now, wells of tears and snot flowing
grossly from his face. He was pleading with a deranged being.
The shiftress guaffewed, startling Jiangyu and shaking his entire body.
"You beg so earnestly now, little man! Where was this rationale when I was
a woman?" she bellowed. "Fine. If the mother wishes to keep her life and
that of the baby's, she will have to face me!"
Throat too tight to speak, Jiangyu nodded feverishly.
"As for a snack, I will eat your tiny men poised as the exits. Be sure
to tell your wife, daughters, and sons of my curse because of your weak-
willed heart."
 The beast, for its titanic size, moved with the speed of lightning,
dashing out of the thicket. Jiangyu heard the cries and shouts and rips of
flesh as the shiftress consumed his company.
For a fortnight, Jiangyu slowly escaped the forest. When he reached his
empire, the guards bombarded him questions, the doctors with their
ointments and wrappings. All he wanted was to see his wife.
But she could not see him, for her tears clouded her vision. In the time
Jiangyu spent in the forest, Chen delivered a stillborn. She wailed at her
lost, completely ignorant of the guilt that belonged only to Jiangyu.
Jiangyu told her of the shiftress' curse.
That very night, Chen conceived. And nine months later, she passed.
At her burial, Jiangyu craddled his whimpering daughter, fearing the day
she too will rest next to her mother.

"That was just the account of the first Wu when he met the shiftress.
Heng has all the written records from all the pregancies, miscarriages,
delieverys, and deaths of the Wu women." Gui whispered to his wife.
Overwhelmed with information, Meihui sat still, understanding her fate.
Drawing in a great breath, Meihui prepared to speak. Heng, Boqin, Jiao,
and Gui all leaned in to her the Empress' faint voice.
"I leave at sunrise."

---------------------------------------

Meihui sat atop a speckled brown and white horse with a light gray
falcoln on her shoulder, both animals female as per Meihui's request. Her
eyes were hardened and focused, posture ramrod straight, regal and ready
to face the shiftress.
She resembled one of the fiercest soldiers Boqin ever trained -and, in a
way, she was, for today, she would fight for her right and her unborn
child's right to live.
Meihui was eeriely tranquil, in Gui's opinion. She trained with Boqin
all afternoon and night of yesterday, learning battle techniques with an
adeptness that overshadowed Boqin's brightest pupils. She perused all the
scrolls Heng privately guarded, searching for any time a woman of Wu ever
ventured to the shiftress. None did. Meihui would be the first.
"You do not have to go, my beloved. I could take a concubine, and she,
not being a woman of Wu, will deliver safely. We would raise the child as
ours." Gui weeped at Meihui's hip, clutching the leather saddle.
Curling her lip, Meihui was disgusted at her husband. Was he truly that
weak to let Meihui just watch and standby as he conceived with another
woman in the name of keeping her safe?
"Gui, I want my child, a child that I will carry, so they will know and
respect the sacrifice their mother went through." Meihui stated, plain as
day.
Nodding numbly, Gui stepped back from her horse, standing beside Jiao,
who packed provisions to feed a battalion within two satchels.
Rearing her mare and releasing the falcoln to soar, Meihui rushed off
into the entrance of the trecherous forest.

-------------------------------

It did not take Meihui long to find the shidtress.

Or rather for the shiftress to lead her in the right direction.
 The shiftress wore a short pure white dress, baring her arms and legs,
neck and the majority of her chest. Her hair, the color of autumn, was
crowned with a wreath of frosted leaves and tiny fruit of all colors. She
sat atop a large buck, far bigger than Meihui's mare. The shiftress looked
regal in this element- a force of nature, serene at the moment.
But Meihui would not be fooled; the shiftress was as volatile as a
volcano.
A graceful smile met the lips of the shiftress, acknowledging Meihui.
"So, the first of the women of Wu to come and meet me. It has taken some
time."
"Yes it has, shiftress." Meihui called out, steadying her horse, who
clopped her hooves clearly perturbed at the shiftress' malevolent aura.
Meihui scanned briefly with eyes for her falcon, who had yet to descend.
"Sorry to be hasty with you, shiftress, but I believe you understand why I
am here."
The shiftress' smile went sour. "Pity, do you not wish to see my little
secret before you come demanding?"
Meihui knew better than to upset a supernatural being; yet she kept
caution. "Of course, shiftress, but might I inquire as to what this secret
is?"
The shiftress smiled wider, laughing once. "You will just have to see
with your own eyes, Meihui. Follow please."
The buck ambled to the left where the trees grew thicker and denser.
Hesitant, yet determined, Meihui consoled her mare to tail after the
shiftress and the buck.
All the light vanished as Meihui and her mare were lead deeper into the
cluster of trees. The shiftress glanced back ever so often to smile at
Meihui in a way that raised the hairs on the back of her neck.
Suddenly, light flooded Meihui's eyes and for a moment she was
momentarily blinded. Once she regained her sight by blinking rapidly,
Meihui saw paradise.
A vast and lush green land spread farther than what any fowl could take
in from above, farther than what any beast could run. The lands rolled and
boasted coloful flowers and delicate trees and quaint streams. Joyous
laughter and squeals of children bubbled everywhere. Sweet songs from
mothers flowed over the land. Whatever this place was, Meihui was so
overwhelmed with happiness that she did not realize tears fell from her
face.
"I do not eat the babies nor kill the mothers, Meihui, I keep them here
where they can live without the pressures and harships of the real world.
Here, they are at safe."
Meihui found herself nodding along in agreement with the shiftress. She
could see the children's and mothers' easy smiles and carefree behaviour,
untainted and broken free from problems.
"Would you not give everything you are to let you or your baby live in
this paradise?"
But then, a chill shuddered Meihui when she looked just at the edge of
the clearing. There was a rabbit, dead, chest cavity cracked open, blood
staining the fur, little hands of children prying the ribs and ripping out
bits of flesh.
Meihui nearly vomited.
"You are turning them into you." Meihui whispered, awe for this place
gone as she beheld the horror her eyes missed before. In another area, the
mothers were skinning a man, drawing lines in his body until he was too
marred too mangled to recognize. In one of the many streams, two children
and a mother splashed heavily, parading over and over in one spot; Meihui
did not miss the sick sounds of bone crushing nor gurgled screams.
"How astute of you, Meihui. You saw through my image." There was a gleam
in the shiftress' mad eyes. "You are free to have your baby and raise
them."
Meihui was disbelieving. "That is it? You show me a two-sided scene, and
just like that I am free from the curse?" Meihui could not understand; she
did not want to question the shiftress' easy test, but the way it
concluded troubled Meihui.
The shiftress' posture grew bored. "You are free to have your baby,
Meihui. You should go."
Then it clicked in Meihui's mind.
"You do not take from just the Wu line, you take babies and mothers from
around the globe!"
"Congratulations!" the shiftress said with mock enthusiasm, clapping.
"You wretched beast!" Meihui screeched. She envisioned the countless
babies, innocent creatures, stolen from their parents and raised to become
monsters. And the mothers! Unknowingly sacrificing their humanity to let
their little ones live!
"Well you already came here for what you wanted. Unless you want to, I
don't know, make a deal?" the shiftress drawled, waving her hand.
Meihui did not take long to consider. "Of course."
"Your wager?"
Meihui knew her offer must be more than desirable to the shiftress. "I
wager the all the children dwelling in the Wu empire, as I am their
Empress."
A predatory smile, one with too many teeth and too wide a mouth, spread
across the shiftress' face. "Delightful. Then, seeing as how you will
lose, you can decide what I will give up."
Meihui did not falter at the shiftress' lofty attitude. "If you lose, I
want you to free all the mothers and children here, revoke your curse, and
turn yourself into a baby."
The shiftress snorted. "So many requests, thought purely from the heart
no doubt and to punish me. Are you sure, Meihui?" the shiftress taunted.
"Certainly you know you will lose terribly. Do you really want to be the
one held responsible for the fall of an empire?"
Meihui gave a firm nod.
Barking a laugh, the shiftress said, "Since you are almost fated to
lose, you will decide the deal. Choose foolish girl."
Meihui exhaled a shakey breath, the tiniest ghost of a smile gracing her
face.
"What will soon descend from the sky?" Meihui asked.
"What kind of question is that?!" the shiftress huffed. "Do you insult
my intelligence or have you none at all to challenge a powerful goddess
such as myself? Well, to answer your dim question, it is rain, Meihui,
rain will descend from the sky."
Meihui laughed quietly. "Is that your final answer, shiftress?"
The shiftress whipped her head so quickly in Meihui's direction, Meihui
surely thought it would snap. Her malicious eyes narrowed to slits, making
her more feral. "What do you mean "final answer"?" she gritted out. "I am
right!"
 It was Meihui's turn to smirk. "Well, that is where you are wrong
shiftress." Releasing a high pitched whistle, Meihui's falcon swooped
down, landing atop Meihui's shoulder.

-----------------------------

Gui tripped over his feet as he apribted towards his brave wife. She
looked absolutely victorious, horse galloping proudly, falcon cheerily
squawking, proud smile upon his wife's beautiful face. As she came closer,
Gui could see his Meihui drenched in sweat and in her arms a small baby
swathed in fur.
"Isn't our baby wonderful?" Meihui breathed out.
Gui craddled the underside of his beloved's jaw and the top of the
newborn's head.
"I would do anything for her."