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The Second Chapter

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She tried so terribly hard not to scream. Something inside desperately urged her to scream. To yell at the top of her lungs. Not that anything was immediately wrong. Well, everything was wrong. But no. There was no real reason to make such a fuss. 

It’s just that… 

Sitting here, before Eluna’s full light… Something about that made her – so much – want to shout. Something… fun? Exciting maybe? And Eluna was especially grand tonight. Was she bigger than usual? Brighter? Who knows. All that the girl sitting here knew was that it was the perfect time to scream out to the lune. Just like she and Bah Bah used to on those full lune nights. 

But, no. 

That was a terrible idea. She was in hiding. Well, they were in hiding. The children were told to hide here in the trees until those people came back. Did the children have a choice? Those people were the adults in charge of them now. What else could the children do? 

One thing Pan knew was that she didn’t want to sit waiting with those other three kids. They were miserable. All they’d do is cry, and whine, and beg for their bah bah and mah mah back. The first few times- fair enough. Even Pan was crying and frightened about everything. But after several months already… Pan knew the parents weren’t coming back. 

Pan knew Bah Bah was gone. But she’d find him. Pan could feel that Bah Bah was still out there somewhere. Somehow. She’d just have to survive until she could finally find him. 

Pan sat up high on a thick tree branch. She was far away enough from the other children so that their misery wouldn’t bother her. Up here she could see behind her where they’d be. But she could also see ahead at the road, in case any danger appeared. And of course, up here the leaves and branches made a clearing. So, up here she could enjoy the shine. 

Eluna’s light glowed in her eyes. Would Bah Bah hear her if she cried out to Eluna? 

Pan closed her eyes tight and tensed her body into a tight curl. 

She let the pressure inside squeeze out little wheezings of air – almost as if she was screaming out loud. It did sort of feel like screaming. But it was too soft of a sound to be satisfying. Pan let herself have another quiet bout of silent screaming. She thought she sounded like a little juli hound and how those cute little things would make a little wheezing cry. Eluna was so bright! Pan did a quiet little wheeze again. 

Hold on! Did Pan hear a juli start wheezing away with her? 

Pan kept silent to listen. There was definitely a wheezing sounding close by. 

Pan looked about the forest floor until she saw what it was. One of the other kids. Why did they have to disturb her? And why were they making the weird sound as well? 

“What are you doing?” Pan whispered down. 

“I’m screaming with you, Pan jih” the child below whispered back. 

Screaming with me? Oh. It was just Pyan, her little sister. 

“Go back to the others, Pyan!” Pan ordered, a little worried they were getting too loud. 

“But I don’t want to be alone” Pyan whinged softly. 

“You’re with them. You’re not alone,” Pan grunted. “Go back. It’s dangerous here.” 

“But…” 

“Please!” Pan wiped her hand down her face. “I’ll give you my extras later, okay?” 

“Okay” Pyan sobbed. 

“Go!” 

“Hmmph” Pyan whined. 

“Shhh!” Pan always had to look after Pyan. Bah Bah would get sad if she didn’t. Pan looked below and could hear Pyan make her way back to the other kids. It was better if they all stayed together, so Pan could fetch them quickly if something went wrong. 

Quiet lingered for a while. Where did those people go? Maybe they went to save more people they said they saved the children. The children didn’t need to be saved. The children were in good hands. Pan could tell. She knew Lung Tyen daikoh would take care of them. 

The Lung forces took down the miserable Cor camp. And then they freed the children and the other people made to work there. After the Fù took Bah Bah away, Pan was forced into the Cor camp. Life was miserable. The Cor were miserable. The work was miserable. And even the miserable were miserable. 

But then, the Lung came to attack the camp. That, in itself, seemed miserable. But it wasn’t. The people from the Lung seemed not-miserable. They were nice. And they had real smiles. Especially Lung daikoh. 

Pan remembered Lung daikoh would come and see the children often. He’d come and check on them a few times every day. Well, the children were only with the Lung for about five or six days. But still. Pan remembered it not being miserable. Lung daikoh even let the children sleep in his own tent with him and his son. 

Lung Plan koh was about the same age as Pan – about 8 or 9 years. And he was definitely not-miserable. He would always laugh that he, Pan, and Pyan had the same sounding name. Said they were brothers and sisters. Everything was going good. Until last night. 

Those people came and attacked the Lung caravan. They came into Lung daikoh’s tent and told the children that they were there to save them. Pan didn’t know about that. Those people did seem like really nice folk and all. But everything was fine while staying with Lung daikoh. 

Oh. That reminded Pan. 

She carefully undid her messy hair bun. And out fell the little jade sculpture. Lung daikoh’s little jade sculpture. 

Pan looked down and around her. The other children couldn’t ever know she had this. What if they told someone? What if they told Plan koh? 

With no one around to see, Pan finally got a chance to look at the thing. It was a sculpture of lom –a mythical beast said to protect the elves from the Wicked. Pan didn’t understand why people were so obsessed with loms. No one was said to have seen one for million years. And yet everybody had statues and paintings of these serpentine loms everywhere. And here was yet another one. A little sculpture of a lom made entirely of jade. Even the square base of the sculpture was jade. So, the thing was a little heavy. It must have been worth a fortune. It would have been a shame if she lost…. 

Movement. Sounding below. A brushing of bush. Someone was walking. 

Pan couldn’t see who or where they were. The shadows didn’t help. But then she saw it. A blueish-purply glow dancing around the air. A spirit. 

Bah Bah… A spirit always danced around Bah, bobbing and floating in the air around him. Said it was his protector. But what if that wasn’t Bah? 

Pan waited until she could get a close enough look. A soldier in Fù’s autumn-coloured uniform. The spirit spun around him like a candle flame set free. Was it Bah? No. The face was different. Young and handsome. Not that Bah wasn’t young and handsome. But it just wasn’t him. 

The soldier was injured. His shoulder was… 

The soldier turned to look up at Pan. She hid her face and closed her eyes, hoping he didn’t see her. 

He continued walking. 

Pan opened her eyes and checked to see if he approached. But he was walking away. A close call. A very close call. What if he saw her? But wait. He was in Fù uniform. What if he knew where Bah was? Maybe she should have… No. It didn’t feel safe, even if he did have a spirit protecting him. Pan had to worry about the other children. And she had to worry about the sculpture too. Right! She had almost forgotten. 

Pan waited until she couldn’t see that guy’s spirit dancing around anymore. It was too dark to see him, but the spirits never needed light to be seen. Once he was gone, she finally had the chance to properly hide the fruit sized sculpture. It was a little heavy, but Pan was already used to hiding things in a bun atop her hair. 

More movement sounded below. Several people walking. More slowly this time. Inching much closer to her tree. 

Oh. It was just them. 

Pan jumped down. 

“Woah!” the female jumped back. The male beside her drew a sword. The big male in front of them both raised a hand to calm them. 

“Relax,” he laughed. “It’s just the girl.” 

“Guard my soul,” the lady cursed. “She scared me.” 

“What was you tryna do? Ambush us?” the other guy put his sword away. 

“Syan yan was keeping watch” Pan told these people. 

“Thank you, syan yan.” The big one gave a gentle bow. 

“Nyomkohs hurt more people.” Pan saw that they now had new swords on them. The big one saw where she was looking. 

“No,” his smile was gentle. “Those soldiers were already shaded when we got there. We just took their things.” 

“Syan yan saw a Fù soldier was hurt.” Pan crossed her arms. “The soldier’s shoulder was bleeding.” 

“A Fù solider?” the guy behind said. 

“Where did syan yan see them?” the big one asked. 

“When syan yan was up there,” Pan pointed up the tree. “The soldier walked past.” 

“Maybe the Fù were responsible” the lady said to the other two. 

“We don’t know, but it’s not our problem.” The big one then faced Pan. “Come on, syan yan. Show the nyomkohs were we left the other children.” 

The adults brought the children back to the rest of their band. A small party of eight, mounted on johnnys and one johnny wagon. Farmers, they must have been – or at least they tried to appear to be. Johnnys were a farmer’s trusted beast. Slower and smaller than a hoove, but could pull along just as much weight. Bah always said that hooves were a symbol of wealth and power. But the more modest looking johnny, that was a symbol of a hard worker. 

The adults put on farmers’ robes. Then they hide their armours and nice looking swords under all the grain sacks inside the wagon. The children were allowed to sit in the wagon, atop the sacks. They were small enough. The johnny pulling the wagon didn’t seem to mind. He was bigger than all the other pack-johnnys. And besides, he had to also pull the big guy who would drive the wagon. Poor thing. 

As they set off, Pan noticed there were fewer adults than when they first came to raid the Lung caravan. 

“Daikoh, where are the rest of the nyomkoh? She asked, comfortably sinking into the grain sacks. 

“The ones with us before?” the big guy smiled. “They all went home.” 

“Home? Where?” Pan wondered. 

“Wherever they live, I guess.” He went on steering the wagon. 

“But aren’t all you nyomkoh together?” 

“We all… work together. Yes. For the good of the people,” he cheered. “But we don’t umm… live together.” 

“Why not?” 

“Ummm…. because.” He scratched his head. “We have different homes and… different lives.” 

“Syan yan,” the lady spoke up. “We’re all part of one community, and so we work together. But we all live with our families.” 

“Yeah. That’s it.” The big guy smiled. Everyone’s got their own family to go home to. Didn’t you kids used to live with your own families?” 

Used to… 

No one answered. 

“Jo…” the lady gave him a straight face.” 

He lowered his head. 

“Nyo yans used to live with Bah Bah” one of the other children said. 

“Oh really?” The big guy seemed jolly again. “And where did you all live, syan yan?” 

“Bah Bah was a medicine yan,” the child continued. “So, syan yan used to live with Bah Bah and Pan jih at the shop.” 

Oh. It was Pyan talking. 

“And how about everyone else?” the big guy asked. 

“Syan yan lived near Swayking with Bah and Mah” another young girl said. 

“At the monestary, with daishu Cai” said the little boy with them. 

“Daishu Cai of Mogu?” the big one asked 

“Daishu Cai of Juli Hills” the boy confirmed. 

“Maybe they’re related,” the big guy laughed. “Either way, we’re taking you all to the monastery in Mogu.” Then he faced back to Pan. “And what about you, syan yan?” 

Pan thought he’d already figured out that she was included in what Pyan mentioned. But maybe that wasn’t clear. 

“Jo” one of the riders on a johhny further up called out. “Up ahead.” 

“Oh, jazz” the lady grunted. 

Further down the road, a roadblock was set up. Day light was quickly brightening the sky above and so it was clear to see. Soldiers in dark blue. A miserable dark blue. The Cor. They were clearly checking travelers leaving the area. This was still Cor territory. 

The band pulled up to stop. Several armed Cor yans began checking the johnny packs and wagon. 

“What’s your business?” the Cor officer asked. 

“Daikoh, I’m Bih Jo. A farmer from down at Mogu.” Jo tried to sound his usual jolly self. 

The officer didn’t respond as he looked about the wagon. 

“We bought a lot of lai and tea from Swayking. Traded for all the milt I brought” Jo smiled. 

The Cor officer didn’t smile back. “Daiyan, you hadn’t happened to see a Lung convoy around this area, have you? We’re looking for any armed forces that might have helped them.” 

“No no” Jo answered. “We’ve seen nothing. Just travelled here and back, that’ all.” 

The officer eyed the children and all the grain sacks they sat upon. 

“That’s all the lai we got” Jo explained. “Tea’s with the johnnys.” 

This didn’t stop the officer from inspecting the wagon. “Can we get the children off,” the Cor officer instructed. “We’re going to have to properly check your wagon.” 

Pan noticed everyone grew tense. What’s the worst that could happen? They take the children again? 

“Do a thorough check of everyone,” the officer ordered his troops. “Even the children.” 

“Daikoh,” Pan spoke up. “Can daikoh just let Bah Bah and Mah Mah go so we can go home already?