It wasn't just Ye An who noticed. The soldier on watch came rushing into the commander's post. "Your Imperial Majesty! We've spotted Lieutenant Yun!"

Ye An watched as Xi Chen weaved through the trunks of leafless trees. He was headed to the mountains where he had left from just a couple of nights ago. It wasn't long before it became apparent to Ye An that it wasn't only him. There were a pair of Northerners who were hot on his heels. If she wasn't mistaken, they were the same Northerners who were taken as prisoners during the first battle and subsequently brought back to the North by Xi Chen.

Without a word, Ye An rushed down the tower, bumping into Ah Lin who had just finished sending the other troops off.

"Your Imperial Majesty?" Ah Lin asked, puzzled by the way Ye An hurried down the steps.

"Xi Chen!" Ye An panted. "He's back."

Ah Lin's eyes widened. "Where is he?"

Ye An ran past him and yelled over her shoulder. "He's heading towards the mountain that he had left from the other night."

"Wait-" Ah Lin tried to stop her but it was too late.

The soldier who reported to Ye An followed closely behind her but he couldn't catch up and only bumped into Ah Lin now. "Captain Zhang!"

"Send a troop to the mountains on the east. Use the horses. And get horses for me and His Imperial Majesty." Ah Lin instructed brusquely before running off in the direction Ye An had just disappeared into.

It didn't take long until Ah Lin was within Ye An's earshot. "Your Imperial Majesty! We can't go up the mountain like this! We need horses!"

Ye An had been trying to climb over the jagged stones that were slippery from the melting snow. Those spear-like stones nearly impaled herself far too many times than she was comfortable with. She turned in the direction of Ah Lin's voice. "Did you bring horses?"

"I've ordered my men to get them."

Ye An swiftly returned to what she was doing. "Then, we climb for now."

When soldiers finally arrived with their horses, Ye An and Ah Lin already made significant progress considering the precarious terrain.

The soldier who was on watch earlier brought Ye An and Ah Lin their horses.

"Your Majesty. Captain Zhang." He addressed them as he passed the reins.

Both of them hopped on their respective horses at once.

"Lead the way, Captain Zhang." Ye An ordered.

Ah Lin pulled the reins of his horse so that the animal moved to the tip of their formation. Half an hour had passed when they finally reached the snow-capped peak.

Ah Lin turned to Ye An. "Your Imperial Majesty, how far away was Xi Chen when you spotted him?"

"Probably a couple of miles from the wall."

"He should be here if he took the shortest route." Ah Lin muttered.

"There were Northerners at his feet though. Maybe he took a detour because of that?" Ye An suggested.

Ah Lin furrowed his brows at the new information. "Maybe. Then, we'll descend the mountain."

Ah Lin's tone was severe. This particular mountain worked as a natural barrier between the two countries and the peak was the unspoken boundary line. To descend the mountain meant crossing into the North's territory without clearance. If they were found by any of the warriors of the North whom they met in previous battles, they would have the perfect reason to prosecute them on the spot.

The rest of the scouting party and Ye An knew that as well, but everyone's eyes were resolute. Ye An scanned the routes that would lead them down the other side of the mountain. "Then, I think it's best that we split up."

Ah Lin nodded in agreement. He went to work immediately to segregate the routes to the soldiers. Soon, it was only Ye An and Ah Lin again.

"Ah Lin, I think that we need to split up as well." Ye An announced simply.

Ah Lin cocked his head in confusion. "Your Imperial Majesty, need I remind you that Xi Chen had explicitly requested that I protect you? Besides, there's only one route left."

"There's another route." Ye An remarked calmly and pulled the reins of her horse so that the horse stepped aside to reveal another narrower route that they had overlooked earlier.

Ah Lin was put on the spot. The small space in between his eyebrow creased. "Still."

Ye An knew that it was now or never to put her foot down. "Do you want to find Xi Chen or not?"

Ah Lin sighed in surrender and closed his eyes.

"Besides, I was off on my own yesterday, and look at me now. I'm fine." Ye An stated as a form of affirmation. Ah Lin would have thought that she looked a little smug when she said that if the situation wasn't so dire.

Ah Lin sighed again as he opened his eyes. "Alright."

"So, I'll just take this route." Ye An stated and left through the tighter path, leaving Ah Lin to take the route that they were originally going to scout together.

"Wait, Your Imperial Majesty." Ah Lin rushed his horse so they were now side by side right at the mouth of the narrow route. "Take these. Just in case."

Ah Lin handed Ye An what looked like two small segments of bamboo. One was painted blue and the other was painted red. Each of them was attached to long wooden sticks. On one end of each bamboo, there was a cone-shaped attachment; on the other, there was a string that jutted out from a tiny hole at the center.

"These are?" Ye An asked questioningly as she felt the weight of what sounded like sand shifting in the bamboos as she tilted them from side to side.

"They're prototypes of something that we've been developing for a few months now. Just point the pointed part to the sky and pull the string at the end. Colored sparks would explode into the sky." Ah Lin explained. "Every one of our soldiers has it, including me. The red one is to alert others that you're in danger and require immediate assistance, while the blue one is to alert the others that Xi Chen has been found. Use the blue one only when you've safely returned behind the wall."

Ye An's eyes shined, impressed. But soon came back to reality. She pocketed the bamboos in the saddle that came with her horse. "Alright. See you later. And let's hope that Xi Chen is safely back with us by then."

They gruffly bid each other farewell and went their separate ways.

*******

Even with the sporadic gales of bone-biting wind, Ye An was sweating alongside her horse whose fur was already slick with a shiny coat of moisture.

It was taking longer than expected for Xi Chen to be found. Ye An expertly threaded through the sturdy trunks of bald trees with her horse. After another turn, she pulled the reins to a stop to survey her options before deciding on which direction to take.

Just when Ye An made her decision, she heard the snapping of broken branches. The sound was muffled by the thick snow, but her breath stilled. Even her horse felt the tension and stopped fussing, its beady eyes trained in on the direction of the noise.

This deep in the forest, the trees were more densely packed than the part that Ye An saw from the watch tower earlier. From the tiny slits in between the tree trunks, Ye An spotted Xi Chen's familiar figure. And he was alone. She let out a breath of relief.

Without waiting for another beat, Ye An squeezed her thighs around the horse's torso and urged it into a gallop heading towards Xi Chen.

"Xi Chen!" Ye An breathed as their eyes met. Without waiting for her horse to come to a complete stop, she jumped off her ride right into Xi Chen's open arms. Even the usually sturdy lieutenant general staggered from the impact.

"Ye An!" Xi Chen croaked. Xi Chen's scratchy voice made Ye An pull away to take a closer look at him. Then only she realized that Xi Chen was looking considerably disheveled. His skin was dull and his lips were parched.

Ye An's eyes widened in worry as she held his face, scrutinizing the sunken shadows underneath Xi Chen's eyes. "What happened?"

Despite his appearance, he smiled and shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "I guessed they found out."

Ye An put pulled her hands away and tilted her head down wordlessly, the skin in between her eyebrows scrunched up as she reflexively bit the inside of her lips.

Xi Chen used the base of his thumb in an attempt to smoothen the wrinkle that formed in between Ye An's eyebrows. Seeing that it didn't help, Xi Chen's eyes turned tender as he held the back of Ye An's head gently and planted a kiss on the same area with his chapped lips.

The prickly sensation brought on by Xi Chen's lips caught Ye An off guard. She looked up in surprise.

"I missed you." Xi Chen said bluntly once they made eye contact.

"Me too." Ye An blurted as if mesmerized.

Xi Chen gave her a fond smile. "You're not mad anymore?"

Ye An shook her head. "I was never mad at you. It was me that I was mad at. Of how helpless I had felt."

Xi Chen held Ye An's face delicately as if she was the most precious thing in the world. "Don't be. In the end, I was the one who made the decision. And hey, I'm back."

Ye An gave a slight nod. "Yes. Yes, you are. Thank you for coming back."

Ye An's earnest gratitude stirred something inside Xi Chen. He leaned down and placed a small kiss on Ye An's lips. Ye An naturally closed her eyes. She stood up on her tiptoes and hooked her arm around the back of Xi Chen's neck to deepen the kiss. Lips on lips. Tongue on tongue. Teeth on teeth.

Xi Chen groaned as he slid one hand into Ye An's hair, messing up the neatly tied-up bun, as they devoured each other with closed eyes, the other hand held onto her waist and lifted her up. Ye An instinctively wrapped her legs around Xi Chen's waist as they continued. When they finally stopped, both of them were breathing heavily, their breaths mingled in wisps of white, with their foreheads touching. None of them had opened their eyes yet, both of them took some time to savor the moment.

They opened their eyes slowly and as their eyes met, they chuckled.

Ye An was the one who spoke. Her voice sounded almost as hoarse as Xi Chen's. "Let's go home."

+* Thanks for reading! Please vote, comment, and follow if you like the story!*+

Writer's note:
Xi Chen: Keep my wife safe.
Ah Lin: Can I not?
Xi Chen: No.
Ah Lin: ... You're lucky I like you.
Ye An: *does whatever
Ah Lin: *stressed :)