For a moment he felt foolish for allowing himself to be overwhelmed by emotion, not only for allowing a drifter with the likeness of his former lord to force him to his knees, but for allowing such weakness to take hold. For whatever response came thereafter, Xiahou Chong immediately began to steel himself, though it seemed even his moment of mental preparation was certainly not enough–not when his emotional unraveling had thereafter been justified.
He was met with the other’s kneeling form and soft gaze. Clarification came smoothly, placing his own once-justified actions in the wrong. Thoughts spun like a whirlwind within his mind, ears ringing with the screaming sound of white noise, and he floundered. He was incapable of understanding the predicament at hand, for one of the fundamental, emotionally taxing turning points that shaped his life and career following had suddenly the very thing he struggled to accept had been a lie.
“But I–” he couldn’t find the words; could not, would not defend himself in light of his lord’s judgment and observation. A sound of stifled frustration at his own ineptness rumbled within him, head dipped respectfully and in preparation of the punishment he so-deserved. So many questions welled up within his throat, but he swallowed every single one of them and simply remained low with his knees pressed into the earth, awaiting whatever fate held in store for him.
But rather than being condemned, he was left to his devices, and Cao Ang rose to his feet. Wild eyes widened as his feet pivoted, suggesting his motion to leave, and Xiahou Chong’s head snapped up, mind only just processing the words that reached his ears moments previous. It was at that point, in fear of being left aimless and having to endure the loss of his lord for a second time, that he beckoned him back and spoke out of place:
“My lord!” He had trouble getting to his feet, stumbling over his own actions as he too eventually found footing, though he continued by tripping over the words that flooded his mouth faster than he could even consider them. “I saw you die before my eyes–your father grieved for you, and still does. The state mourned your loss, yet here you live, do you not think that he will rejoice?” His words stung, but he would not let it show–he couldn’t. He had to remain strong, especially when he felt like he would shatter.
“Zixiu, please–you… You are a victory from loss, life
from death. You are the hope your father needs.
That we all need.”
It was one thing to presume his family had grieved for him. It was another thing to confirm it and know of just how much he had been missed. Cao Ang had opened his mouth to speak, but promptly closed it in contemplation. What he had done... was truly indefensible, wasn’t it? He had abandoned them, the people who had loved him so dearly. Was it really to maintain the memory of who he had been? Was he just afraid? Did they really need him as much as he claimed?
“I should have died at that place,” he started; slowly, uncertainly, an underlying guilt in his tone. For him it had been such a forbidden subject to even recall in his mind, let alone utter it aloud. “I should have--not a day goes by when I do not still feel those arrows under my skin. I remember that suffocating smoke as I still gasped for life, as I escaped that place. All of those people died there, good people. They did not need to die! I had suspicions that something was amiss then and said nothing, but Father would have believed me if I told him. I am certain of it. I still said nothing and so many lives perished. Dian Wei is gone. Anmin is gone. Yet I---”
Zixiu stopped himself. He was getting too emotion-charged over it and felt a pit in his stomach. A slow, quiet exhale, and he shook his head. The damage was already done. If he left, he had doubt that Xiahou Chong would not speak of his survival; even if he was not believed. If he did agree to return home...
He would be lying if he said he did not miss them. He wondered how his brothers and sisters had grown, and of the ones he had yet to meet. “It’s unforgivable to have caused you and everyone else such grief. I will not as you to forgive me now, either, as I cannot agree to return.”
Not right now, he wanted to say, but he felt it would perhaps imply something he was not sure he wanted to commit to.