The soft rustling of leaves outside the tent whispered promises of freedom. Yun Lan sat, her heart pounding in her chest like a war drum. The metal cuff Leon had locked around her ankle the previous day still glinted in the faint morning light. But now, after a full night of silent planning, she had her chance.
Using a broken piece of hairpin she'd hidden beneath the mattress, she fiddled with the tiny mechanism on the cuff. Her hands trembled—not from fear, but urgency. A soft click echoed through the room. The shackle slid open.
She exhaled slowly, slipping her ankle free. She'd left only a short note on the pillow:
Forgive me, Leon. I have to go, please don't be angri and don't try to find me. I like to go alone.
Yun Lan grabbed a small satchel packed with water, dried fruits, herbs, and her dagger. She wore a cloak with a hood and moved like a shadow through the tent door. The horse Leon had tied to the tree the day before was still there. She didn't take it. This time, she ran.
The earth was soft beneath her bare feet, the forest dense and whispering around her as she ducked under low-hanging branches and leapt over tangled roots. She had no clear destination. She only knew one thing:
She couldn't stay. She have to discover the secrets of her and that hidden world.
When Leon woke, the tent was cold.
The chill shot straight to his chest.
"Yun Lan?" he called, his voice groggy but alert.
No response.
He sat up, eyes darting around the room. The note caught his eye.
He snatched it, scanning the words quickly. His chest rose and fell rapidly, his jaw clenching.
"You ran from me again," he whispered. "Lan... I think that I was too good with you."
In one fluid motion, he stood and tore through the tent, scanning the ground for signs. He saw the imprint of small feet—bare, fast, desperate. Rage flared inside him, but underneath it was something worse: fear.
He took off running.
Yun Lan's lungs burned as she pressed deeper into the forest. Memories of her dreams last night haunted her—visions of the field of flowers, the ancient tunnel, the whispering voice that called her by name. The place where she had first found the magical flower... it was pulling her again.
You have to go back, the dream had said. You must know who you are.
She didn't understand it, not fully. But she knew she wouldn't figure it out chained to Leon's side.
She stumbled and scraped her knee against a rock. Gritting her teeth, she pressed forward.
Leon moved like a predator.
He followed the bent branches, the disturbed moss, the occasional drop of blood from her injury. The forest seemed to mock him with every rustle.
"You think you can leave me?" he growled, brushing branches aside. "No, Yun Lan. You're mine. Only mine."
His shirt clung to his skin, sweat glistening along his neck. His hair clung to his forehead, his eyes darker than night.
Yun Lan reached a familiar stream and collapsed beside it, scooping water into her hands to drink. She washed the blood from her knee, wincing.
The reflection in the water startled her.
Her eyes looked different. Deeper. Almost glowing with a green hue.
Was the magic inside her changing her?
She touched her chest where the mark of the flower still faintly shimmered. She had no answers. Only instincts.
A crack of twigs snapped her attention upward.
She froze.
No movement. Only silence.
Then a low whisper through the wind: Lan...
It was his voice.
She pressed her body flat against the rocks, hiding in a bed of tall ferns.
Leon emerged, shirt open, chest heaving, eyes burning. His voice thundered through the trees.
"YUN LAN! Where are you?
She pressed her hand over her mouth to muffle a gasp.
"Come out! You know I'll find you. You're not leaving me!"
Her heart hammered in her chest. He passed within a few meters of her. Her breath was shallow, terrified he'd hear it. But he didn't see her.
He kept walking.
When he vanished from view, she broke into a run in the opposite direction.
But her strength was failing,and her feet hurts.
Leon found a piece of her torn cloak on a bush.
His fingers closed around it slowly.
He smiled.
"Found you."
Yun Lan burst into a clearing, legs shaking, her body aching.
She turned—but it was too late.
Leon stepped out from the trees, silent, towering, dangerous.
She backed away.
"Leon—"
He didn't speak. He crossed the space between them in seconds and grabbed her wrist.
"No! Let me go!" she cried, hitting his chest, struggling.
"You don't get to run from me again." His voice was low, trembling with restrained fury. "Do you understand what you're doing to me?"
"I had to!" she shouted. "You wouldn't listen—"
"Because you keep hiding things! Because you think you have to bear everything alone. I won't let you! I want you to trust me, I'm your husband I need to protect you,how I will protect you if you're running from me."
She gasped as he pulled her into his chest. His arms wrapped tightly around her, possessive, unyielding.
"I'll chain you to my heartbeat if I have to," he murmured against her hair. "But you will not disappear again and that's the final chance I gave to you."
Tears welled in her eyes. She didn't know what to say.
He looked down at her, anger melting slowly into raw pain. "You're mine, Yun Lan. And I won't lose you. Ever."
She wanted to deny it. She wanted to push him away.
But her hands clutched the fabric of his shirt, trembling.
She was just as lost as he was.
She didn't know how she will escape this time from his arms to discover the secrets about her.
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