[July 14] [Shendiao Xialu] The Sky Does Not Fall

[lilacfield.livejournal.com]

Title: The Sky Does Not Fall
Day/Theme: July 14/forever was so many different things
Series: Shendiao Xialu
Characters/Pairing: Guo Jing, Huang Rong
Rating: G

Shendiao Xialu © Jin Yong, et al.


On the last morning of their lives together - of the dynasty too, perhaps, but he could not be bothered with details - they climbed up the fortress and stood behind the battlements. On one side of the fortress was smoke, debris, and abandonment; on the other, a low thunder of restrained bloodlust and imminent triumph. There were so few soldiers manning the city now that the two of them could easily choose a spot where they would not be overheard. Her hands when he held them were knobby and dry. He could not remember when was the last time he touched them like this.

"I'm very sorry," he said, his eyes locked on hers. Her features had blurred with age, as his must have, and the grief of this realization broke upon him like slow-moving waves. "I'm very sorry that I couldn't wish we'd stayed on the island."

"Well, I'm not," she retorted, with a hint of the familiar roguishness that only made him sadder. "Defending Xiangyang is the best choice you've ever made. Besides, growing old with just the peach blossoms for company might be stately, but it also sounds boring." She grew more sober. "This is not defeat, not for us. We've done the best we can and much more. You have to understand that, Brother Jing."

He blinked rapidly, looking, he feared, like a bewildered old man. "We've fought for so long."

"So we have. For so very long. And fight was not the only thing we did. We raised children, ours and those of our brothers. We kept a young man from straying too far off the beaten path. Shall I read you a list?" She grinned, a mere brief twist of the lips. "This is not a day when we should remember our mistakes. We'll be too busy for that, in any case."

An expectant roar rose from outside the fortress, and the soldier nearest to them raised his own spear in reflex. Guo Jing released Huang Rong's hands; at the last minute, he caught the tips of her fingers. "If they should take over Xiangyang today, we won't be here to witness it."

"No," she agreed. Her fingers slipped back into his until both were intertwined, and her grip tightened. "No, we won't."