Three Lives, Three Worlds: A Fated Love (Dong Hua/Bai Fengjiu)

Whisked away to the Mountain

Dong Hua did exactly as Jiu had requested. After the ceremony, he whisked them both away to Kunlun mountain. Mo Yuan had promised to be ready for them and when they arrived, Dong Hua scooped the princess up in his arms and carried her across the threshold.

She cried out, until her eyes were met with the sight of their suite. Hundreds of lilies were placed strategically about the room. Hanging from the ceiling, curled around the structure of the bed, they were everywhere.

Jiu suddenly became flushed with nervousness. She had dreamt of marrying Dong Hua, but she had never contemplated what came next. He placed her down on the edge of the bed and knelt before her, removing her shoes.
"I wonder how many could boast the privilege of having Dong Hua at their feet?" She thought aloud and he sent her a mischievous grin.
"You shall be the first, Jiuer." He told her, as his fingers encircled her ankle, his fingers playing with the bells that lay there.

Her breath began to hitch as his hand moved up further, caressing her calf.
"We were married before." She recalled, attempting to keep her mind off of what was happening in the moment.
"Yes, we were." He nodded absent-mindedly.
"But we never shared a bed as man and wife do." She added and he looked up at her with a glint in his eye.
"Are you nervous, Jiuer?" He asked and she felt her face flush a deep shade of crimson, answering the question for her.

Dong Hua chuckled. If he listened to the dark part of his mind, he had waited for this moment, where all parts of Jiu were open to him for a long time. He had never looked at a woman with lustful eyes before he had met her. But every quip, every cheeky grin, produced dark thoughts in his mind.

Jiu attempted to calm herself as she laid back on the bed. This was what all married couples did. Just because they had waited for so long didn't make them any different. She felt his hands on hers and he pulled her up, until she was sat, her face close to his.
"Kiss me, Jiu." He ordered her and she knew she could handle a kiss. They had kissed before. She placed her fingertips on the sides of his face, by his ears and pulled him close. His breath hitched as their lips almost brushed one another's.

Dong Hua thought he might implode if she continued her torture. But, before he could protest, she closed the space between them and placed her lips on his. They were so soft, so gentle and the thought that he might kiss them everyday made his core flame alight with joy.

They held their kiss for what felt like an eternity. Jiu felt a heat pool within her as their lips met in soft touches over and over again. She had dreamt about this, in her deepest, darkest of slumbers, the moment when he might be hers, only hers for eternity.

He was shocked when he felt her hands go to the ties of his clothes. He helped her in untying himself, until his bare chest was exposed as the fabric fell open. Jiu could not remember ever seeing him like that, so bare and vulnerable.
"You are so beautiful." She whispered against his neck as she pulled him in for an embrace.

He shrugged the clothes off of his shoulders and stood, kicking off his boots. Seeing her there, laid with her hair strewn on the bed, he thought himself the luckiest man alive. He attempted to ignore his nakedness as he joined her on the bed and climbed on top of her. Hair mingled in shades of white and brown and he clasped her hand in his as he placed feather light kisses on her collarbone.

Just as Jiu felt she was ready for her advances, he stopped. She felt a deep yearning as he rolled off of her and left the bed. How could he tease her so? She couldn't believe it. She watched his back as he poured two cups of water. She could not resist standing and wrapping her arms around his naked chest. He was so hard and warm, like a pebble left out in the Qing Qiu sun all day. Some part of her mind had expected him to be cold and frozen. But he burnt hot.

He quivered as he felt her fingers on his abdomen. No woman had ever touched him in such a way. He watched as the water rippled in the cups as his hands shook and let out a pained sigh. The sunset began to trickle through the window as he ordered her to sit on the floor, on a cushion he placed down before him.

Fengjiu sipped her water as she felt him pull the ornate pins from her hair.
"You looked so beautiful today." He whispered against the silence and she smiled into her cup. She hoped that this delicate attention could become a daily ritual for them in their marriage. She would like nothing more than to sit and feel his skilled fingers against her hair every night, before bed.

He combed her hair for a while, until he realised that he was stalling. He wanted to be the husband that she deserved. She was such a romantic woman, he wanted to afford her all of the romantic gestures that she deserved. But he had never done this before, he didn't know how to make her yearn for him.

Jiu was ready to pounce on him as she felt the pads of his fingers against her scalp. She stood and placed herself in his lap, facing him, so that she might also undress his hair.
"Have I ever told you how much I love your hair?" She asked, as she pulled a strand up to her nose absent-mindedly.

Before he could think, Dong Hua produced a knife and sliced off a lock of his hair, tying it with a ribbon.
"For you, so you will always have a part of me." He told her and she looked down at him with wide, unbelieving eyes. He was so bold, so fiercesome with his knife, it sent a shock of longing through her.

He melted as she placed her lips down upon his again. He was sure that he would be very satisfied to spend the rest of his days beneath her, receiving her kindness. She embraced him tightly and placed her hands deep in his hair, bringing her mouth to his ear.
"I am yours forever now, Dong Hua." She whispered and that was all it took. The confidence rushed through him and that night, surrounded by an endless bloom of lilies, they were united in the way that husbands and queens were.