Startled by its close proximity, a pair of servant girls, dressed in pink garments, dropped the load on their shoulders. A person from the looks of it. A young girl dressed in a thin white robe, the cloth dirty and wet, completely covered in rough mending’s and newly formed tears. Her wood brown hair, which should be rather long, looks more like a bird's nest with how many knots had tangled it, and the few long strands reaching below her waist were twisted, appearing matted beyond saving. What could be seen of the girl, her small body which is dreadfully thin was sick, without a trace of fat or muscle in sight.

The poor girl's not dead again is she? The shorter servant silently questioned, while she and the other servant draped her back over their shoulders. Although they managed to return to her the breath of life, saving their necks from the cold blade of their masters, the servant girl had doubts in her heart. Those who turned blue in the face would never open their eyes again, everyone knows this, right? So why were they able to save the life when clearly the person had died?

No, it was not her place to question. A flower on the wall with working arms and legs is all they as servant girls are. Death is around every corner in this dreadful place, and ignorance is the herb of life, or at least feigned ignorance masked with wooden faces and war paint. Essentially daisy weeds everywhere with hemlock mixed confidently in sight. When entering this place no one here is unaware of the ramifications, be it intentional or otherwise. Even the lowly animals, without a voice to talk, seemed aware that one slip and the string is cut. All the pieces would fall and shatter without a trace left behind.

It's just—– this daisy weed’s fear——– it's currently eating her alive! This wasn't just some random miss taken off the street. No. This is the manor Lord's niece, Hong Luo! The only daughter of the first master who refused to acknowledge his roots. Which inadvertently allowed the second master, the current Manor Lord, to acquire his position. It was essentially thanks to this niece, the sudden pregnancy that tore apart the first branch from the mother tree, allowing an unwanted marriage to follow through, turning a ‘young master’ into a ‘lord’.

Yet, despite her identity, this niece is abused by the servants. Beaten until near death. Starved to the Bone. Scorned and isolated into ineptitude. Not even the two elder misses' love could save her. Not that they didn't try, and time and time again they tried. Until they realized by trying, the abuse became worse, ultimately trying no longer.

She, this nameless daisy weed of a servant, was there when this niece first arrived. She clearly remembers how the niece was treated and how the girl used to be. A rough personality with a bright shining smile. A small body full of life, full of aspirations! The manor lord excused all her small crimes, the fumbled etiquette, the disrespect. Not even the manor laws, that no one was allowed to break, that 9 times out of 10 could result in near death, did not apply to her. The indulgence the manor lord drowned his niece shot to the sky, and terrified others more than it inspired envy. Their heartless lord acting human felt very wrong in all eyes in the know. Watching as the niece challenged and challenged——–so many years knocked off their lives at the sight.

Now looking back if placing the past her next to the current her, she dare say that no one would think them the same person. The contrast was so frightfully chilling, that those who on normal days would never empathize, looking at her, would die on the inside unable to forget, being haunted by the memory in their dreams. Those desolate soul searing eyes would stay for a lifetime. The monster that had caused it——– truly a beast in human form, but not surprising as that is what he has always been. As much as the servant sympathized, her small existence did not weigh enough to intervene, she would be just another life snuffed out in the long run. Nothing would change for either the niece or herself. All that can be done is watch, be the witness to the dying light that will soon be snuffed out. For it will be gone, nothing survives in this- ‘place’.

They were nearing the 'Forebearing Bygone' courtyard. The large ruined gates could be seen at the end of the overgrown path, vines crawling up the walls and moss hiding its grandeur. The imposing sight instilled even more fear into the servant girl, clearly shaken and legs unstable.

The other servant girl disdained her even more, forcefully tugging the arm of this walking mess of a master. "Weak, cowardly, ignorant. Those stories of ghosts and demons living in these trees and courtyard, you seriously don't believe do you? Those are merely the tales of the elder misses' to give some form of peace to this 'First Miss'. How are you not aware all in the Manor are in the know but feign ignorance. So stop this senseless act and hurry along. The rain waits for no one, and I for one will not get sick with no fault of my own."

She briefly glances at her steaming companion. Although aware of the misunderstanding, she did not clarify. Lowering her sight, the smaller servant girl silently 'acknowledged' her fellow servant's words. Her doubts still torturing her mind with no place to speak them aside from her heart.

Stepping through the threshold, a smell and sensation that usually accompanies ruins, fell upon the servant girls' shoulders. They felt solemn and not at all at peace here. It felt as if the trees had eyes, the ground reaching out to grab at the ankles, threatening to pull you through the ground, and to where? Who knows. Even the building that looked on the verge of collapse was staring down on them, these small insignificant insects that dared enter forbidden grounds. The echo of thunder and crisp claps of lightning pushed them further back, as if telling them 'leave and never come back'. 

When a large boom of thunder rattled the air, they dropped their 'master' to the ground. Scared out of her mind, the taller servant stumbled over herself to leave, not once looking behind her as she ran. As for the shorter servant, she froze in place, clearly scared with her face pale and eyebrows scrunched. 

Silently looking down at her young miss, 15 breaths of time passed, and she did not move an inch. That is not until lightning struck the nearby fig tree, causing her to jump out of her skin in fright. Surprisingly despite this she still did not leave right away. Taking off her outer coat she leaned down and covered her miss. In truth she actually wished to take the miss inside. But whether it be fear or cowardice, something was stopping her. Sadly her backbone was too far bent for her to bear the weight, her legs too weak to push forward.

Finally the servant left, her shoulder drooping in defeat. Although pausing twice down the path, not once did she look back, even though obviously she wished to.

Moments later the half covered hand laying silently in the grass showed movement. The fingers twitched. They twitched once again. They curl, digging into the dirt, fisting a handful of grass, pulling out roots and all. As if sparked, setting off a signal her whole body jolts then shakes. Using that arm to be pushed on the side, she curled into a ball. The servant’s cloak slips down those boney shoulders, bunching up around the waist, all the while those tightly closed eyes slowly open. 

What happened? Her head, why does her head feel so muggy as if ransacked by a thieving group of bandits? They came out of nowhere, stole nothing of importance, toppling everything else before abruptly vanishing, leaving behind the dazed victim still processing what happened. In other words, Hong Luo was terribly confused, even somewhat disoriented. The same feeling one would have when awoken from deep slumber. Not quite awake, feeling the surroundings as surreal, and if she weren’t currently freezing, this sensation would surely drag her back down to the ‘pillow’ to continue such wonderful sleep.

That feeling didn’t seem to be satisfied with her mind alone. Her whole body trembles with the sensation, trying to essentially wake itself up. Ignoring the obvious weakness of her limbs she pushed herself up, managing to sit herself in the most least ladylike position, an awkward position indeed. One hand bracing the ground, the other holding her head, both legs spread and her back hunched over. That cloak now only covers one of her legs, completely losing its original purpose.

As that servant from before stated, the rain indeed waits for no one. Within a finger’s snap the rain burst from the clouds, and within seconds the area became drenched, including Hong Luo still fighting for clarity.

Today had been a hot day and the rain was cold, mist clouds the air as these two temperatures face off, so when Hong Luo finally looks up, that’s what she sees. A ruined gate mystified by clouds, harsh rainfall powdering off the tiles, and the trees drooping down obscuring the foreground, the path disappearing into white.

She turns her head, facing the equally ruined courtyard that this gate guards. The beams unstable, the vines and moss growing up the walls, the grass overgrown. Even from what little she could see from the sides, they too had little to no upkeep, but the mist obscured too far back to notice anything but the shadow of a building, and a handful of willow like trees. 

Those legs that attempted to stand collapsed to the knees. Hong Luo struggles to stand back up, to keep her balance long enough to reach the shelter those unstable beams held. Eventually she made it, landing her rear end on the first step of three.

She’s completely out of breath and can’t fathom as to why. Surely she hadn’t been slacking on her physical health? Her morning routine had long become a habit she reluctantly kept up with. Even forcing herself to walk after every meal instead of going right to sleep had not been skipped. Though, quite honestly, she truly wished to. Speaking of which, her hand lands on her abdomen, on the stomach grumbling for food. This irked her. Why was her body clock completely out of sync? Certainly now was not the time to eat?

Rubbing the stomach demons away, a flash struck her mind. Right in that moment her hand paused and her eyes became two clear cups of tea with a blackberry floating in the middle of them. In other words, surprised beyond belief.

“Forbearing Bygone?!” She instantly shoots to her feet, ignoring all signs of nausea and vertigo, staring deathly at the decaying sign. For a time she stood there beyond speechless, rubbing away the illusion in her eyes. One rub, two rubs, over and over she whipped, but why wasn’t it going away?! 

Her head snapped to the side. A rush of adrenaline sent her running across the yard. Even her bare feet did not seem to hinder her much, the rocks and bramble eating into her skin didn’t even seem to tickle.

Reaching the pond she fell to her knees below the burnt fig tree, her palms cut themselves on the stones she slammed them on, her breathing much more rugged than before. Her mind’s so full of thoughts they twist and turn into a jumbled mess, and when she looked into the clear pond water, seeing the impossible reflected back, those thoughts crashed into one another. A stream of bad blood spurts from her lips and she just barely caught herself from falling backwards.

It was all coming back to her now. Liu Rougang, Shira, her world on fire——– the more that came back the less clear minded she became, the more panic stricken she felt.

What bad timing for her to be unknowingly running a fever.

"This is really, truly, myself? This ruined courtyard——– is in Uncle's Manor? And those voices, who were they again? Xiayu, Naoyu—– maybe? They were, but. Wait——– no——– those weren’t them. So who were the last ones?”

A small shadow rushed past her sight, and some clarity seemed to have returned. “Oh!” She exclaimed. “Halona! Where’s Halona? Here? Here! Halona, it's me, Luo Luo! That is you right? ——–right?” 

The newly reincarnated Mozen stumbled to her feet and ran away from the pond beyond disoriented. Looking all around, going in circles, she calls out “Halona, where are you” for several minutes. Her foot sinks into the muddy circle she created, sending her falling down to her knees trembling out “Halona.” Lifting her head to look around, those glazed eyes look outside the gate, unmovable.

A flash of lighting struck the fig tree once more, lighting up those gray eyes, showing obscure clarity inside the fog distorting her mind. Hong Luo looks to the sizzling fig tree, to the gate, then down, her nose to her heart, but her eyes trembling off every stone. Whatever is on her mind, even the rain fogging the air can not peer inside to guess, perhaps even she herself hasn’t a clue what thought is this, and what thought is that.

Only long after Hong Luo’s hair had been drenched and her clothes dripping like a lost rat fished out of the sea, did she budge. One skinny arm rose into the air. Her palm swipes at the rain and pauses. She looks down at her open hand. “Nothing,” she mumbles. 

In a daze her hand falls back to her side. She looks off down the path obscured by the fog, through the cloudy rain at the small critters scurry away to shelter, showing a touch of life in this otherwise gloomy weather.

"Really, truly," mumbling incoherently, she stands up, counting her fingers and estimating something in her mind. She walked outside the gate and took a hard right into the forest away from the courtyard. 

Suddenly she pauses and kicks off her heel. "I'm coming, wait for me. Wait for me!" She takes off running, sprinting out of sight. The look on her vanishing face panicked with heavy urgency.