Chapter 28: 28

The moment Lu Ren left, Lu Qing did not sit back down. She stood in the center of the room and looked at the map again. Her hands were still shaking, but the crying had stopped. She walked to her large wooden wardrobe and pulled open the heavy doors. Pushing aside the colorful silk dresses and formal robes, she reached for a dark, sturdy bag she usually used for hunting trips with her brothers.

She began grabbing clothes. She didn't take the pretty ones. She chose thick trousers, a dark tunic, and a heavy cloak. She shoved them into the bag, her movements quick and frantic. She grabbed a small dagger she kept for decoration and tucked it into her belt. She looked around the room. Everything here belonged to her father. She left the jewelry on the table. She left the expensive perfumes.

She moved toward the window, throwing the bag over her shoulder. Just as she gripped the window frame to climb out, a sharp knock hit the door.

Lu Qing froze. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She dropped the bag onto the floor and stood still, holding her breath.

"Miss? It’s me, An An. I just came to check on you before I went to sleep."

Lu Qing closed her eyes. She wanted to ignore it, to just jump and run, but she liked An An. The girl had been with her for years. If she disappeared without a word, An An would be the first one questioned. She walked to the door, slid the bolt back, and pulled the girl inside.

An An looked at the room. She saw the bag on the floor and Lu Qing’s dark traveling clothes. Her eyes went wide. She opened her mouth to scream, but Lu Qing clamped a hand over it and dragged her further into the room.

"Be quiet," Lu Qing hissed. She waited until the girl nodded before letting go.

"Where are you going at this time?" An An asked. Her voice was a high whisper. "The gates are locked. The guards are everywhere."

"I’m leaving, An An," Lu Qing responded. She reached down and picked up her bag. "I’m not staying here to be sold to Lord Wei."

"But why? Why now?" An An asked. "We can talk to the Master. We can find another way."

"There is no other way. My father has already decided." Lu Qing stepped forward and grabbed the maid’s hand. "An An, come with me. You know what will happen when he finds out I’m gone. He’ll take it out on the servants. Come with me and we can find a place in the city."

An An looked at Lu Qing’s hand, then up at her face. She looked sad. "I would love to, Miss. I really would. But I can’t."

Lu Qing let go of her hand. "Why? Do you want to stay in this house?"

"No," An An said. "But your father will notice me faster than you. If the morning comes and both of us are gone, he will send the cavalry after us immediately. But if I am here, if I am cleaning your room and telling people you are sick or sleeping, I can buy you hours. If he sees me, he won't suspect you've run away yet."

"She had a point," Lu Qing thought. But she looked at the girl's small frame. "But if I leave you here and he finds out you helped me, he might kill you. You know how his temper is."

"Yeah, but it’s better than endangering your life," An An said. She reached out and straightened Lu Qing’s cloak. "Go on, Miss. Go before it’s too late. The moon is high. If you don't leave now, you won't make the forest before dawn."

"But—" Lu Qing muttered.

"Don't worry about me. I will be fine," An An finished. She turned and walked to the door. She slipped out and slid the door shut from the outside.

A moment later, Lu Qing heard footsteps in the hallway. A guard was walking past.

"Is the Lady still awake?" the guard asked.

"No," Lu Qing heard An An say firmly. "Don't go in. She is sleeping. She had a long talk with the Master and she's exhausted."

The footsteps faded away.

Lu Qing didn't waste another second. She climbed out the window and dropped onto the grass. She stayed in the shadows, keeping her back to the stone walls of the buildings.

Midnight arrived. The mansion was dark and silent. Most of the torches in the courtyard had burned down to embers. Lu Qing moved through the garden, avoiding the gravel paths that would crunch under her boots. She followed Lu Ren's map exactly, counting her steps.

Her heart was pounding so loud she was sure the guards on the towers could hear it. Every time a branch snapped or a bird moved in the trees, she stopped and ducked behind a bush.

She reached the west wall. It was tall and made of grey stone, but the old cherry tree grew right against it. The branches were thick and gnarled. Just like Lu Ren said, the guards were not there. She could see their silhouettes at the far end of the wall, their backs turned as they talked to each other.

She grabbed a low branch and pulled herself up. She wasn't used to climbing, and the rough bark scraped her palms. She climbed slowly. Careful. Her boots slipped on a patch of moss once, and she nearly fell, but she grabbed a higher branch and steadied herself. Her breathing was heavy and loud in her ears.

At the top of the wall, she sat on the stone ledge and looked back. She saw the roof of the mansion, the light in her father's study still burning, and the dark windows of Lu Chen's wing. She was leaving everything. Her name, her status, her family.

She didn't let herself think about it for too long. She turned around, gripped the edge of the wall, and jumped.

The fall was longer than she expected. She hit the ground hard, her ankles stinging from the impact. She lost her balance and tumbled forward into the tall grass.

But sh didn't hit the ground alone. She crashed right into a body. It was warm and solid.

"What the fuck " a male voice said.

Lu Qing scrambled back, her hand going to the dagger at her belt. She was breathing fast, her hair messy and her face flushed. She looked up and froze.

The man sitting in the grass across from her was young. He had sharp features and clear, intellient eyes. His clothes were strange not the traditional robes of the Lu family or the local villagers. He wore a dark, fitted jacket and trousers made of a material she didn't recognize. He didn't look like a guard or a bandit. He looked like a stranger from another world. And not to talk of he speaks exactly like her brother Lu Chen

"I’m sorry," she said quickly. She looked around to see if he had friends nearby. "I didn't see you."

The man blinked at her. He looked at the wall she had just jumped from, then back at her dark clothes and the bag on her back. He didn't look angry. Instead, he smiled slightly.

"It's fine," he said. He held up a small, red fruit. "I was just trying to take a cherry. I didn't expect the tree to start dropping people."

His accent was strange. It was soft and foreign, unlike the sharp dialects of the northern provinces.

"I'm Ryuji," he added. He stood up and brushed the dirt off his pants. He moved with a relaxed confidence that made Lu Qing feel even more confused. He looked like a traveler who had come from a very far place.

Lu Qing stared at him. She had spent her whole life surrounded by the same people, the same rules, and the same expectations. Looking at this man, something in her chest stopped. The panic of the escape and the fear of her father suddenly felt distant.

Then her heart started again. Faster this time.

"Lu Qing," she whispered.

For a moment, the wall behind her and the mansion beyond it disappeared. There was just the dark forest, the smell of the cherry tree, and this stranger who looked at her like she was an interesting mystery instead of a piece of property.

"Well, Lu Qing," Ryuji said, offering a hand to help her up. "Are you running away, or just out for a very dangerous midnight walk?"

Lu Qing looked at his hand. She didn't take it yet, but she didn't run away either.