His laugh reached her first, cutting through the haze of her headache. It was a commanding sound, one that would forever have her head turning to meet it. Bailu assembled herself with as much dignity as she could, raising her head tall and her limbs straight. It was a posture she held every day she had been under the eyes of more than her mother. The dignified regality that had her son’s father marrying her had never quite left her after he had been gone. She carried herself like the Empress she had never quite gotten to be.

He was imperious in the light, his flurry of words falling on delighted ears. The corners of her eyes softened, and she finally moved to stand when he was standing beside her, and she raised a paw to gently press to his cheek. Her words were soft when she deigned to speak them, after looking over Shēnléi‘s face for any signs of pain, then over his shoulder to check for ruffled fur. Her eyes fell back to his, quietly demanding in a way only she could be with the Emperor.

有一天，你應該有孩子來尊貴你的妻子，但現在我只高興看到你活著。 (You should dignify your wife with children one day, but for now I am only happy to see you alive.) She let her paw drop beside its twin, moving in a slow circle around her son before she stopped in front of him one more time.

你還好嗎？ 沒有人傷害你嗎？ 你吃過了嗎？ (You are well? No one has hurt you? Have you eaten?) The line of questioning was soft, but sharp, as Bailu looked her son in his eyes for a moment before she was looking at their surroundings.

昨天很正常。 我沒有做過任何我以前沒做過的事情。 我查看了你的預約，和你叔叔談過，安排了會議，晚上我送了藥。 我的兒子，這些天我的關節對我不好。 然後我點了香，然後去睡覺了 (It was normal yesterday. I did nothing I have not done before. I reviewed your appointments, spoke with your Uncle, scheduled meetings, and in the evening I sent for my medicines. My joints are not kind to me these days, my son. And then I lit incense and went to sleep.) Her eyes fell caught on more stone, peeking out of the murk across distant puddles, and her nose wrinkled up to her eyes.

這太可怕了。 看看它是如何毀掉的。 天龍不會讓你和我處於這樣的混混。 (It is hideous. Look how it falls to ruin. The Celestial Dragon would not have put you and I in such a mire.) She slipped close, using a paw to skim the water’s surface. It was tepid, somewhere between lukewarm and cold. Bailu flicked water droplets from her paws, then looked over her shoulder at her son.

只有我一個人嗎？ (Am I the only one?) We’re they truly alone here? Or had others slipped through to this strange place. Part of her wished to ask the Dragon what this was supposed to be, but she kept her mouth shut. For now, at least.