Bai Meizhen glanced down at the package in her hands with satisfaction. Within lay a number of unique reagents and a new wine from her homeland, neither of which were yet in public circulation within the Empire. She was quite certain that Qingling would enjoy them.
She paused on the high mountain path which led to her paramours workshop, looking out over the green valleys below. These past few months still felt unreal. When it had begun, she had felt as if she were floating atop the waters of lake Hei, warm and weightless. She still felt a bit embarrassed by it. It was a wonder that none had noticed her distraction or demeanor. Truly, most outsiders were quite thick.
That feeling of unreality had not lasted, the initial haze had faded, awkwardness and uncertainty returned. However, the dream did not end. It just became… grounded. The thrill of avoiding scrutiny for their liaisons, and the warmth in clasped hands and even when she felt daring, Qingling's lips; these replaced the dream-like feeling of those first days. Real things, solid things. Things that did not disappear when she averted her eyes.
This week especially, she had spent almost every day with Qingling, talking, crafting, cultivating sparring. She still felt a touch of unseemly giddiness as she recalled the clever ruse which had left her winded on the ground, Qingling pinning her with steel claws at her throat.
How delicious it would be, when she could reverse that.
Those empty rooms in Zhengjian seemed so far away.
Resuming her walk, Bai Meizhen soon crested the clifftop, reaching the flat plateau which overlooked the ravine where Qingling's workshop hung. If she was honest, she found the lumpy, organic mass of webbing to be a bit uncouth, but she understood that among the Emerald Seas, naturalistic architecture was traditional, even among those who hewed closer to imperial standards.
Therefore, she resolved, she would accept the difference in opinion on aesthetics. This, according to her correspondence with her Aunt, was an important part of 'tolerance'. For much the same reason, she did not nitpick Qingling's choice of garments. Even if she would look very good in a proper dress. Ah, but if she dared to use some of the Duchess' modern fashions, perhaps Qingling could be enticed as well?
Bai Meizhen blinked, and felt a touch of heat rise in her cheeks as she glanced around.
...No witnesses to her moment of distraction. That was good. No one needed to die. There was only her shadow, and the yet nameless spirit of fear that dwelled there was hardly going to gossip. She was allowing herself to dither though, and that was unacceptable. She approached the top of the workshop where it peaked over the cliff, the circular entrance barred by a veil of silken webbing embossed with a few simple words.
'Closed to clients. Return tomorrow.'
She was hardly a mere client however, and a brush of her fingers caused the webs to twitch and jerk away, opening the workshop to her. Qingling had keyed her to the wards. She passed into into the rounded entry passage, her footfalls silent on the slightly springy spider silk. Their vibrations would alert Qingling regardless. She soon came to the first oval chamber, the workshops 'guest room'. Laid out with a few spartan furnishings and lit by faeries trapped in the webs overhead, it was… cozy, she supposed. She really should speak to Qingling about her presentation a little.
It was as she was pondering the possibilities of carpet in a room already made from silk that Qingling arrived.
She emerged from a hidden hole in the floor, standing on the back of one of her spirit beasts many young, a brown hairy spider the size of a large dog. Qingling stepped down from the beasts back, a frown on her lips. She wore her heavy smock today, and her features were smeared with soot save for the pale circles around her eyes that her work goggles protected.
"We did not schedule a date today. What is wrong?" Qingling asked, crossing her arms. Meizhen felt the tingling sensation of the other girl's senses as she was studied.
"Nothing wrong, I simply wished to stop by," Bai Meizhen replied lightly.
Qingling's frown deepened. "We spoke yesterday. You made no indication that you were coming today."
Bai Meizhen's small smile faded. Qingling could be so brusque at times. "Yes, well, I found good reason to come. I r-"
"Bai Meizhen, I am in the middle of a delicate project. I told you I would be," Bao Qingling said. "You cannot just interrupt me whenever you please."
She felt a flash of hurt. Why in the world was Qingling being so confrontational about this? "Are you saying you cannot take even a few minutes from your work for me?"
"Yes," Qingling said irritably. "When you did not even bother to schedule this meeting ahead of time."
Bai Meizhen narrowed her eyes. "What is wrong with you today, Qingling?"
"This is the first day I have been able to work uninterrupted in a week is what is wrong," the other girl snapped, exasperated. "I need my time to work, and I had expected you to respect that. Please leave."
The flash of hurt returned and remained this time. She had thought the last week had been wonderful, they had done something together every day. Was Qingling saying that she had seen it all as a bother, an imposition on her time? "Am I truly bothering you so?"
"Yes, come back tomorrow," Bao Qingling replied, turning away.
Bai Meizhen stared at her back for a moment and then turned away herself. "Very well. Let me stop bothering you," she said coldly.
As a Bai, naturally her voice didn't waver at all. She left the way she had came, moving swiftly to leave the place she had been so eager to arrive at.
Foolish. Her own voice chided in her mind. Once again, she had seen what she wanted to see, and in doing, she had overstepped herself. Her earlier optimism seemed so terribly stupid now. Again.
She did not see Bao Qingling behind her, still standing in the meeting room, holding her hands to her temples.