Monochrome Paradox

"I'll admit I was a little worried when I hadn't heard from you in a while." Fa Lin sighed, sitting under the shade of the old willow tree in the back. A circle of seven stumps had been planted and cut down to support the weight of seven friends. She crossed her legs and began to peruse the documents in earnest. Khan Qing sat down and leaned back,

"Have to at least play 'pathetic, sniveling daughter' on enemy territory. My elder sister has been looking for ways to bully me again." she said, enjoying the sunlight that dappled through the lush foliage of the nurturing willow. Wen Quinn grinned,

"Yeah, I'll bet! Recently she came into the inner gardens and interrupted my stroll. You should have heard her squeak when I 'accidentally' stepped upon her handkerchief." Khan Qing laughed, almost falling off of her perch, 

"That would totally explain it! Phew, Father had been saying he wanted to get her into the next generation's harem!" she chuckled. Wen Quinn rolled his eyes and sat down,

"Only if she's okay with the cold palace." he muttered. Gong June laughed, leaning back against the tree,

"I highly doubt she'd survive!"

"She might get a stroke just from passing through the front gates." Fa Lin agreed, not looking up from the documents.

Ming Cheng sighed, looking up the sky. A slight breeze blew through the leaves and sent a few falling down to the earth. His eyes glazed over, wondering suddenly how long it had been.

"How many years has it been?" he finally allowed himself to ask this question aloud. A horrible, shuddering silence pressed down on the group. There were many ways one could interpret this question, and for anyone listening from the outside, they might wonder if they meant how long had it been since they were all together in the same place. However, they weren't all together, not without her. 

"6 years." Fa Lin could no longer hold the paper upright. She stared into the void as though she could pull the spirit out that she had exhausted all her resources on. All six of them had been born on the exact hour, down to the exact minute of the same day after being hit by a bus on their way home from the bar. The six of them had found each other on their fourth birthdays when Khan Qing had snuck over to their small gathering from her father's group to ask them if they were hit by the "midnight trolly". 

"I went over to the Eastern borders with my father the other day with hope, but it wasn't her." Gong June said, quietly. All of them had been searching for her, but none more desperately than Khan Qing. Wen Quinn looked over at her.

"It wasn't your fault, you know." he finally said. Khan Qing shook her head, letting out a small sob. He continued, "I was drunk and stupid, clinging to any reason why something… like that had happened. Really, there is no reason why. There never is. I'm sorry for putting that burden on you." The group fell silent again.

"Where on earth is she?" Ming Qing sighed. Ever since they had met at the university, he had been taken with all of them. His younger siblings by bond instead of blood. How many times had he taken them on family trips? How many times had his parents Robert and Michelle Twalle referred to this odd bunch as his siblings? His time as Theo had defined this life, except for his feelings of responsibility only deepened with the loss of Elle. Wei Ning finally found his way to the group.

"Took you long enough." Wen Quinn sighed, he grinned, "Planning on kidnapping the little bunny?"

"Don't even think about it." Ming Cheng growled, feeling his heckles raise. The group broke out into a laugh just as Ming Quan came over.

"What're you all laughing about?" he asked, hoping to get in on the conversation.

"Your brother is already feeling threatened by possible kidnappers of your new little brother." Gong June laughed, her laugh had become very much like her father's— much to her mother's chagrin. Ming Quan puffed up, raising his underdeveloped heckles, 

"Over my dead body!" he shouted, glaring at Wei Ning. He only received a small ruffle of his hair in response. 

At four years of age, these six children had all become promising beyond their years. Ming Cheng had mastered all the basics of swordplay at four and was already learning techniques 13-year-olds would have trouble mastering. Gong June had similar talent in the spear, her mother worried for her daughter in this aspect and could only rely on a wisp of hope that she could fix her daughter before she grew to marriageable age. Fa Lin had already shown interest in court politics and military tactics. She had been studying in the palace alongside Wen Quinn— who had already mastered two of the arts: painting and writing. He had already shown understanding in court relations and politics. He had far surpassed either of his brothers. Khan Qing— though she was only well known thanks to her status as a bastard child with the blood of a lowly whore from the flower houses who had become a concubine— already had found a master to teach her the art of espionage. She had been biding her time in the Khan manor all this time under the guise of useless, spineless daughter. Wei Ning had been studying under Cang Yuan and developing a golden core. All of them had— at some point or another learned how to develop one so that they may enter the cultivation world. It was their final hope of sorts in case they couldn't find her in the mundane world.