summercomfort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
summercomfort) wrote2010-02-15 09:30 am
summercomfort) wrote2010-02-15 09:30 am
Day 4.1
Wow, the thing last night made no sense whatsoever.
Tingyan had heard some sounds of fighting coming from the Far Courtyard, but it didn't sound anything too out of the ordinary -- some muffled thumps, a scream or two, and then a large crash that seemed to indicate the end of the fight. She sighed as she continued her work of patching up some bed sheets. There might be more fix-up work tomorrow in the Far Courtyard. Hopefully the hole in the west main room hadn't gotten larger. Hopefully there weren't bodies again...
"Excuse me, Miss? I need your help with something in the courtyard." Mr. Li's voice broke through her reverie.
Help? From her? This was unexpected. Usually the martial types would simply skip out after a ruckus like tonight, the more thoughtful ones leaving a tael of silver for "clean up expenses". She eyed Mr. Li. His eyes seemed tired, but his stance was alert.
"Sir? I don't usually leave the front desk after hours..." Tingyan much preferred to deal with the Far Courtyard in the light of day.
Mr. Li sighed like any other stressed scholar up past his bedtime, but the topic was rather far from the Confucian texts. "Look. I need someone to hold a lantern in the courtyard while I deal with some things. I promise no harm will come to you."
"I will only hold a lantern? Nothing else shall happen?" Tingyan chose her words carefully. These martial types always kept their word.
"No harm." Mr. Li placed a tael of silver on the desk.
So it was that Tingyan found herself walking down the same corridor and hallway as she did an hour ago, with the same lantern and the same scholar, headed toward the same courtyard. But when they turned into the courtyard, Tingyan couldn't help gasping. There, glinting in the lantern light, hundreds of needles stuck straight out of the ground, densely covering almost the entire courtyard. In the middle of the field of needles stood a large man.
Tingyan had heard some sounds of fighting coming from the Far Courtyard, but it didn't sound anything too out of the ordinary -- some muffled thumps, a scream or two, and then a large crash that seemed to indicate the end of the fight. She sighed as she continued her work of patching up some bed sheets. There might be more fix-up work tomorrow in the Far Courtyard. Hopefully the hole in the west main room hadn't gotten larger. Hopefully there weren't bodies again...
"Excuse me, Miss? I need your help with something in the courtyard." Mr. Li's voice broke through her reverie.
Help? From her? This was unexpected. Usually the martial types would simply skip out after a ruckus like tonight, the more thoughtful ones leaving a tael of silver for "clean up expenses". She eyed Mr. Li. His eyes seemed tired, but his stance was alert.
"Sir? I don't usually leave the front desk after hours..." Tingyan much preferred to deal with the Far Courtyard in the light of day.
Mr. Li sighed like any other stressed scholar up past his bedtime, but the topic was rather far from the Confucian texts. "Look. I need someone to hold a lantern in the courtyard while I deal with some things. I promise no harm will come to you."
"I will only hold a lantern? Nothing else shall happen?" Tingyan chose her words carefully. These martial types always kept their word.
"No harm." Mr. Li placed a tael of silver on the desk.
So it was that Tingyan found herself walking down the same corridor and hallway as she did an hour ago, with the same lantern and the same scholar, headed toward the same courtyard. But when they turned into the courtyard, Tingyan couldn't help gasping. There, glinting in the lantern light, hundreds of needles stuck straight out of the ground, densely covering almost the entire courtyard. In the middle of the field of needles stood a large man.
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Only one suggestion: "rather" is a rather wishy-washy word, so if your scene isn't being wishy-washy, take it out or rephrase. You won't miss it!
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