I didn't want to wake you. We have hours before morning.
[ But he walks to Shahryar, regardless, because this is his Sultan.
Sehara sleeps well alone, but he's noticed lately he usually sleeps better next to Shahryar, for the fact that while Sehara can still hear Shahryar's breathing and can still smell Shahryar's hair under his nose, they are both safe. Those thoughts weren't entirely conscious, but they are now, and Sehara is reminded that Shahryar is affected by his own presence.
He looks, apologetically, at his Sultan. He won't do this again. The last thing Shahryar needs is to believe anyone's walking out of his life.
They have kind of an odd relationship, it seems, and sometimes that scares Sehara more than it comforts him. He thinks too much about it sometimes, and then he needs to remind himself they are Sultan and bard. Shahryar is an anchor, and Sehara looks at him because when he does, he carries the strength to chase away his conflicting self-argument.
He smiles, because he's not sure Shahryar knows just how powerful he is. ]
[ Sehara sits down next to Shahryar, but then he thinks he'll save them both the time and lies himself down; the grass is soft and plush, but ticklish against his cheek. ]
I was thinking of you.
[ It's true. He's usually thinking of Shahryar, or a story to tell him, or just something that reminds Sehara of him. Everything he knows tells him this is what love is, and he's too smart not to believe in his own knowledge. But he asks himself a lot, how did this happen?
He loves Shahryar because Shahryar is... fun, and oddly charming, and he's a good leader whom Sehara believes in. In a lot of ways, there are things about Shahryar that are destroyed, and even if they are rebuilt, it will only be over what originally stood. He cannot ensure a life for Shahryar with no regrets, but he can hope for a life with no new ones.
Ceriu isn't helping. ]
I was also thinking I'd like to tell you the story of Yingtai the scholar.
[ Cold as it is, Shahryar's always warm. Sehara settles in, one hand over the fingers currently close to his heart. ]
There were once two friends from two neighboring villages in China, who had children named Xianpo and Yingtai. They were both exceptionally bright, but Yingtai was a girl, and she wasn't allowed to go attend university. After pleading with her father, she dressed as a boy and was sent to Xianpo's class.
The two of them quickly became friends; Xianpo could not find a more equal match in chess, and Yingtai could not find a better partner to discuss literature with. They were poor students, so they moved in together and shared a mattress, though every night Yingtai put a bowl of water between them and decreed that if either of them knocked it over, they would have to pay the other a fine.
Yingtai even dressed by putting new clothes on over her old ones, and when asked why, she told the boys that scholars such as themselves should never expose their god-given bodies in such a way as peasants do. They all began to follow suit, and though they went to school for many years, none of them suspected Yingtai of being a girl, who was now a fully grown woman.
She received news that her father died, and her sister-in-law beckoned for her to come home immediately, so that she could marry Dr. Ma, and their family could continue living in wealth. But Yingtai did not want to leave her studies, and she did not want to leave Xianpo. She had fallen in love with him, but she thought he would not love her in return, so she called him over. Instead of revealing everything about herself, she recited him a poem.
I am on the river, ready to leave, Cheers and stomps of my neighbors fill my ears, The water of Taohua is thousands of feet deep, But still cannot compare in depth to a loved one's goodbye.
He beamed at her, but he interpreted her recitation to be platonic. Originally, the poet and the person for whom the poem was written were great friends, who had faced many trials together. Honored that she saw their friendship so strongly, he wished her well and promised he would visit.
For a year, Yingtai returned to dressing like a woman, and by request of her sister-in-law, began to cook and clean-- extra, for all the time she missed. Every day, Dr. Ma would come visits with gifts to try and win over her heart, and though she was polite, she could not love him. Yingtai told her sister-in-law she wanted to marry Xianpo, but Xianpo was not as rich as Dr. Ma, and her sister-in-law forbade her to seek him out.
And so, when Xianpo came to visit, he asked around the village for a boy named Yingtai. The neighbors were gossiping about a strange man who thought Yingtai was male, and the sister-in-law, greedy and sinful, hatched a plan. She invited Xianpo over, stating she would go fetch Yingtai from work, and then poisoned the tea she served to Xianpo.
When Yingtai returned home, the sister-in-law explained that Xianpo had died of shock when it was revealed that Yingtai was a woman. The sister-in-law stated that he was disgusted with her, and that she should marry Dr. Ma, who loved her for who she truly was.
Yingtai agreed, but she begged for Dr. Ma to let her go to Xianpo's funeral. Dr. Ma consented, because Yingtai had never asked him for anything.
Upon seeing Xianpo being buried without a coffin, Yingtai was overwrought with grief and cried, and the pitiful heavens joined her in mourning. Dr. Ma grabbed her arm and twisted it, so she threw herself into the grave with Xianpo. Dr. Ma ordered they be dug up at once, but instead of two bodies, they found two pure white stones. Furiously, Dr. Ma tossed them on the road, where two stalks of bamboo shot out of the ground. Again, Dr. Ma took up the shovels and knocked both of them down, whereupon the gods became angry and turned the couple into something even Dr. Ma couldn't destroy.
The rain halted, Xianpo became a band of red, and Yingtai became a band of blue. Together, they stretched across the sky, and announced to everyone the happiness of their marriage.
I guess the moral "don't try to interfere with someone's happiness because of greed," or maybe "faithfulness is rewarded," but I think tonight I just wanted to tell you a story.
[ He relaxes into Shahryar's arms. It's silly, but he thinks Shahryar might get jealous of the stars if he looks at them too long, so he puts that off and focuses his attention to Shahryar instead. He also thinks, maybe he should think of a story that doesn't involve someone dying. Maybe it would do Shahryar some good to hear a story with a happy ending that involves people running off into the sunset to live out their days.
But he thinks and he thinks and he can't find a story he wants to tell Shahryar where everyone lives to see the next morning. Maybe he could just edit them all to end in something like... severe disfigurement.
Great idea, Sehara. ]
A man told his wife one evening that he heard of buried gold underneath a big oak tree by the bank in a city close by. A jealous neighbor, whose ear was pressed up against the wall in order to try and discover something to blackmail the man with, went to the city and spent all night digging to find a jar. When he unearthed it, he was disappointed to find that it was a jar full of rocks and clusters of dirt.
He ran all the way back home and then opened a window and began to dump the dirt inside the man's home, maliciously exclaiming "Here is the gold you buried!"
The man heard and came running, whereupon he gathered the pieces into his clothes and rubbed them clean to reveal a myriad of treasures, including gold and silver and jewels. "Thank you!" he shouted to his neighbor. "Thank you so much!"
Upon hearing this, the neighbor flipped the jar back so that nothing more would tumble out. There was one piece of gold left, which the man generously decided to leave to the neighbor as wages for his work.
[ Most importantly, no one died. But if it makes a difference, it really doesn't seem like one of Sehara's stories. ]
[ He knows as soon as Shahryar says that Sehara isn't helping that Shahryar's kind of feeling better, because Shahryar doesn't order him to stop telling stories. Or maybe he's just learned a little from their trip, but either way, the lack of command is kind of a sweet gesture.
And so are the words that follow.
Sehara looks surprised, intially.
He sits up and balances his upper body with both arms on either side of Shahryar's face, so that they can look each other in the eye when he speaks. ]
I made a promise to you that I would be here as long as you have need of me.
[ When he speaks, he sounds very sure of himself, but then again-- when doesn't he? ]
It's a promise I don't intend to break.
[ Though he knows dying is not his decision-- and he knows, if Shahryar dies himself, Sehara will never find peace-- he will keep his will to survive. They will both be strong, he's sure. ]
But Baghdad cannot thrive without its Sultan. We'll go home together.
[ But he walks to Shahryar, regardless, because this is his Sultan.
Sehara sleeps well alone, but he's noticed lately he usually sleeps better next to Shahryar, for the fact that while Sehara can still hear Shahryar's breathing and can still smell Shahryar's hair under his nose, they are both safe. Those thoughts weren't entirely conscious, but they are now, and Sehara is reminded that Shahryar is affected by his own presence.
He looks, apologetically, at his Sultan. He won't do this again. The last thing Shahryar needs is to believe anyone's walking out of his life.
They have kind of an odd relationship, it seems, and sometimes that scares Sehara more than it comforts him. He thinks too much about it sometimes, and then he needs to remind himself they are Sultan and bard. Shahryar is an anchor, and Sehara looks at him because when he does, he carries the strength to chase away his conflicting self-argument.
He smiles, because he's not sure Shahryar knows just how powerful he is. ]
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(The comment has been removed)
I was thinking of you.
[ It's true. He's usually thinking of Shahryar, or a story to tell him, or just something that reminds Sehara of him. Everything he knows tells him this is what love is, and he's too smart not to believe in his own knowledge. But he asks himself a lot, how did this happen?
He loves Shahryar because Shahryar is... fun, and oddly charming, and he's a good leader whom Sehara believes in. In a lot of ways, there are things about Shahryar that are destroyed, and even if they are rebuilt, it will only be over what originally stood. He cannot ensure a life for Shahryar with no regrets, but he can hope for a life with no new ones.
Ceriu isn't helping. ]
I was also thinking I'd like to tell you the story of Yingtai the scholar.
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(The comment has been removed)
There were once two friends from two neighboring villages in China, who had children named Xianpo and Yingtai. They were both exceptionally bright, but Yingtai was a girl, and she wasn't allowed to go attend university. After pleading with her father, she dressed as a boy and was sent to Xianpo's class.
The two of them quickly became friends; Xianpo could not find a more equal match in chess, and Yingtai could not find a better partner to discuss literature with. They were poor students, so they moved in together and shared a mattress, though every night Yingtai put a bowl of water between them and decreed that if either of them knocked it over, they would have to pay the other a fine.
Yingtai even dressed by putting new clothes on over her old ones, and when asked why, she told the boys that scholars such as themselves should never expose their god-given bodies in such a way as peasants do. They all began to follow suit, and though they went to school for many years, none of them suspected Yingtai of being a girl, who was now a fully grown woman.
She received news that her father died, and her sister-in-law beckoned for her to come home immediately, so that she could marry Dr. Ma, and their family could continue living in wealth. But Yingtai did not want to leave her studies, and she did not want to leave Xianpo. She had fallen in love with him, but she thought he would not love her in return, so she called him over. Instead of revealing everything about herself, she recited him a poem.
I am on the river, ready to leave,
Cheers and stomps of my neighbors fill my ears,
The water of Taohua is thousands of feet deep,
But still cannot compare in depth to a loved one's goodbye.
He beamed at her, but he interpreted her recitation to be platonic. Originally, the poet and the person for whom the poem was written were great friends, who had faced many trials together. Honored that she saw their friendship so strongly, he wished her well and promised he would visit.
For a year, Yingtai returned to dressing like a woman, and by request of her sister-in-law, began to cook and clean-- extra, for all the time she missed. Every day, Dr. Ma would come visits with gifts to try and win over her heart, and though she was polite, she could not love him. Yingtai told her sister-in-law she wanted to marry Xianpo, but Xianpo was not as rich as Dr. Ma, and her sister-in-law forbade her to seek him out.
And so, when Xianpo came to visit, he asked around the village for a boy named Yingtai. The neighbors were gossiping about a strange man who thought Yingtai was male, and the sister-in-law, greedy and sinful, hatched a plan. She invited Xianpo over, stating she would go fetch Yingtai from work, and then poisoned the tea she served to Xianpo.
When Yingtai returned home, the sister-in-law explained that Xianpo had died of shock when it was revealed that Yingtai was a woman. The sister-in-law stated that he was disgusted with her, and that she should marry Dr. Ma, who loved her for who she truly was.
Yingtai agreed, but she begged for Dr. Ma to let her go to Xianpo's funeral. Dr. Ma consented, because Yingtai had never asked him for anything.
Upon seeing Xianpo being buried without a coffin, Yingtai was overwrought with grief and cried, and the pitiful heavens joined her in mourning. Dr. Ma grabbed her arm and twisted it, so she threw herself into the grave with Xianpo. Dr. Ma ordered they be dug up at once, but instead of two bodies, they found two pure white stones. Furiously, Dr. Ma tossed them on the road, where two stalks of bamboo shot out of the ground. Again, Dr. Ma took up the shovels and knocked both of them down, whereupon the gods became angry and turned the couple into something even Dr. Ma couldn't destroy.
The rain halted, Xianpo became a band of red, and Yingtai became a band of blue. Together, they stretched across the sky, and announced to everyone the happiness of their marriage.
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
[ He relaxes into Shahryar's arms. It's silly, but he thinks Shahryar might get jealous of the stars if he looks at them too long, so he puts that off and focuses his attention to Shahryar instead. He also thinks, maybe he should think of a story that doesn't involve someone dying. Maybe it would do Shahryar some good to hear a story with a happy ending that involves people running off into the sunset to live out their days.
But he thinks and he thinks and he can't find a story he wants to tell Shahryar where everyone lives to see the next morning. Maybe he could just edit them all to end in something like... severe disfigurement.
Great idea, Sehara. ]
A man told his wife one evening that he heard of buried gold underneath a big oak tree by the bank in a city close by. A jealous neighbor, whose ear was pressed up against the wall in order to try and discover something to blackmail the man with, went to the city and spent all night digging to find a jar. When he unearthed it, he was disappointed to find that it was a jar full of rocks and clusters of dirt.
He ran all the way back home and then opened a window and began to dump the dirt inside the man's home, maliciously exclaiming "Here is the gold you buried!"
The man heard and came running, whereupon he gathered the pieces into his clothes and rubbed them clean to reveal a myriad of treasures, including gold and silver and jewels. "Thank you!" he shouted to his neighbor. "Thank you so much!"
Upon hearing this, the neighbor flipped the jar back so that nothing more would tumble out. There was one piece of gold left, which the man generously decided to leave to the neighbor as wages for his work.
[ Most importantly, no one died. But if it makes a difference, it really doesn't seem like one of Sehara's stories. ]
Reply
(The comment has been removed)
And so are the words that follow.
Sehara looks surprised, intially.
He sits up and balances his upper body with both arms on either side of Shahryar's face, so that they can look each other in the eye when he speaks. ]
I made a promise to you that I would be here as long as you have need of me.
[ When he speaks, he sounds very sure of himself, but then again-- when doesn't he? ]
It's a promise I don't intend to break.
[ Though he knows dying is not his decision-- and he knows, if Shahryar dies himself, Sehara will never find peace-- he will keep his will to survive. They will both be strong, he's sure. ]
But Baghdad cannot thrive without its Sultan. We'll go home together.
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