The River Maiden (Open)

[Xing Mei]

The Legend of the River Maiden

Since ancient times there has been sightings and stories of the River Maiden. Here is just one of those stories:

There is a time on at a certain point of the Yangzi River where it is covered in a fog. It is only a short time, but it is during this time that the River Maiden rows her boat. She sings beautifully, entrancing all who listen to her as she goes by. They say she wears robes of purple, exotic colored face paint, and the eyes of a goddess. Yet no one has seen her clearly.

Every day at this time, which is dusk, some gather on the edge of the river bank to hear her sing. They say the songs she sings are of hope, love, money, sex, and many other things. Most people agree however, the songs are about happiness. One day, a young man jumped into the river and swam up to her boat. He slid inside and the River Maiden took him away.

He did not show up for another few weeks, naked and dead, with his body ripped to shreds. From that moment on very few dared listen to the River Maiden, but those that did, said they heard songs of sadness and grief, loss, and misunderstanding. The River Maiden had changed her tune. And many did not like it. Soon, no one came to hear her song, yet it carried over the river. Many could hear her softly within their houses.

Until one day a small boy heard her singing. His name was Ma Xiao. Ma Xiao had been helping his father fish all day, which was hard with his deformed leg. But when dusk came, his father hurriedly got them home. However, Ma Xiao left his favorite lure back at the docks, so he snuck out of his house to go find it. He didn't know of the River Maiden, but the only thing that was on his mind was that lure. He had a determined look on his face as he hobbled down the road.

As he reached the dock he spotted his lure. He happily walked up to it and bent down to pick it up. That was when he heard a song. He didn't know how to describe it. But he knew it wasn't a happy song. But it was sung very nice.

"Little child, go to sleep, for the sun will rise tomorrow,
despite all your troubles, do not wallow in your sorrow
Your mother is gone but I am here to take away your pain,
Let your worries wash away, like muck and mud in the rain,
Now child, go to sleep, for the sun will rise tomorrow."

A boat slid up to him, and a young beautiful woman stared at him. Her smile was nice and warm, and it made him smile. He stepped into the boat with her for some unknown reason and they went off. For many weeks his father searched for the boy, but was unable to find him. Two years passed, and the father had given up on his son, when he heard a knock at his door. When he opened it, he saw his son, now with a fixed leg, beaming up at him.

And to this day, no one is sure exactly what the River Maiden is.

Xing Mei sat up on the boat and groaned. She had to steal this from a fisherman a knots back, and while she hated stealing, she had to do it to get away from those bandits. What she didn't get was oars. And there was no sail. So now Xing Mei sat on the boat in the sun hiding under her expensive purple robes. There she sat for a few hours before the sun almost went down. But when it did, a fog arose from the river.

She had hoped that someone would have come by on a boat, but nobody has yet. Little did she know that all along the the Yangzi River, The River Maiden legend was well known. She also didn't know she looked like the River Maiden. In fact she was only aware of the fact of how thirsty she was and hungry. She groaned once more threw her hood over her head. She hated the sun on her fair skin. She sighed and waited for anyone to come by.

[Ao Ai]

Lady Ao Ai

Darkness had descended on the land, with it the temperature dropped and a fog rose from the waters of the YangTze. It was the perfect night, as obscure and silent as the neather itself. A night that lent itself to men with dark desires with corrupt hearts. It was the kind of night that such men used for fear that their actions might be seen in the bright light of day. As a result it was also the perfect night for the young nightingale who preyed on such men. They did not fear her yet, for they did not know her. They only found proof of her actions come the light of day when several of there friends were found missing. She liked to think of it as justice, while others might term it as 'murder'.

Ao Ai was very good at what she did and what she was, was an assassin. She had been born to a good family, her father a wealthy noble in Jing province. She didn't need to kill, in fact she didn't even want to be paid for her services. She simply killed because it was her duty, as a noble she believed it was up to her to protect the people who lived in this land. Status and wealth came with responsibilities to uphold, she has simply chosen an unconventional way to uphold hers. She was young only 18, but already she had killed many men. She moved silently and unseen, leaving only death in her wake, if that made her a heroine or a villain she really didn't know.

Tonight Ao Ai was dressed as usual on such a night in classic black. She wore a tight fitting outfit designed for maximum agility and concealment. The cloth was mostly made out of fine silks, which while providing limited protection was very lightweight. She also had a silk cloth draped across most of her face, leaving only her eyes uncovered. To prevent it catching on anything, she had tied hair into a pony tail at the back, leaving it short at the front and sides. She was armed with a pair of knives for close combat, with a separate set of throwing knives for ranged kills. All in all she looked the part, it was only when one noticed her figure that they would realize she a women.

Tonight she had done her job well, leaving a group of local bandits slaughtered as they had slept for the night. The single sentry who had been on watch never saw her coming. It was time now to go home, her father would worry himself sick if she back to late. He might respect her skills but that didn't stop him worrying about her safety. She had a small boat stashed by the river bank, if she was lucky she would make it back to her fathers estate before morning. Following the light from the lantern on her boat she eventually found her way back to where she had tied it up. The only thing she regretted about this was that she had row herself back home. She was still a lady and while she didn't mind her job, she did detest manual labor with a passion. Still there was no help for it, the fewer people who knew about her secret life the better. Also there was the legend of the river maiden to think about. Ao Ai had always loved such tales as a little girl, additional fascinated by 'magic' from a young age she paid special attention to such tales. Still she had worked this route many times before, she had come to think of it as just a legend nothing more.


The light from her lantern guiding her way Ao Ai used her oar to push off from the shore. She had a long to go before morning, so she thought she better get started. She stared off into the fog as she rowed. She had exceptionally highly honed senses, it was one of the things that made her good at what did. Even so it was hard for her eyes to make out anything in this blasted fog. Still there for just a moment she could of sworn she saw something, a shadow perhaps. There she saw it again, startling herself she jumped up into a crouch, hands instinctively reaching for her knives. After a moment a shape came into sight, she realized she was looking at a boat. Immediately she blew out her lantern. Paranoia kept an assassin alive, for all she knew whoever was out there was looking for her with a bow ready and aimed into the darkness. It was then she made her first mistake of the night. For a moment after blowing out her light she was night blind, in that moment she accidentally knocked her lantern over. With an almighty splash that seemed to echo across the water it sunk below the waves. Knowing she may well have just given herself away she quietly she whispered "Oh bother."

[Xing Mei]

Xing Mei had hated it. Night was set now and she still had no oar nor had she made any progress. She lay on her back in the boat staring up into the fog thinking. She had many places left to go, many more people to meet. Maybe a man or a woman for her to love and leave, maybe not. Xing Mei thought these thoughts and was unaware of the woman in the boat some far off.

Xing Mei had an exhausting day. She originally was walking to Shou Chun, but was accosted by several bandits. Many attempted to take their hand where it shouldn't have been, and a one lost that hand to her blade. She then ran all the way to the river, pushed a fisherman out of the boat, and ended up in this predicament. One that she did detest.

She found being outside for too long caused many things, and she tried hard to keep the sun off of her, and she did, as she now examined her skin. Bad thing is that she hasn't had anything to drink or eat this entire time. Xing Mei grimaced as she went through her robes for her water skin. When she pulled it out she saw how little water was in it and groaned once more. She hated drinking river water. She never liked the taste, plus the Gods told her not too.

She closed her eyes and began to pray towards the Gods, asking them for guidance, until she heard a splash. Slowly, she sat up in the boat, now looking around. She heard the splash come off to the right of her. She looked slowly. Nervousness began to set in. And she did what she always did when she was nervous. She sang in a very beautiful voice.

"Little flower, what brings you to my pond?
Nothing lies here, nothing lies beyond
Oh little flower, what brings your sweat soul to me?
To heal your pain? Or to cause you misery?
Little flower, you are a beautiful as you are deadly,
Come hither child, into my arms,
Oh little flower, let all you worries go free,
For no one shall cause you harm."

Xing Mei sighed as she was done and felt the tension relax in her body as her muscles relaxed and untightened. She, however, was still cautious and gripped her short sword under her robe tightly. She was frightened, but she knew that the Gods would not let anyone harm her. She was their prophet. She kept her eye looking out for anything and spotted a shadow out in the distance.

[Ao Ai]

Ao Ai crouched down in the bottom of her boat, nervous now if not fearful. She had messed up, giving away her position and losing her only source of light in a single stroke. What she expected now she didn't know, perhaps a shower of arrows from out of the fog. At least if someone out here really was looking for her. She held her breath as she waited for something to happen, for the moment there was nothing. She was just starting to relax when she heard the voice, a women clearly and singing. She blinked, that wasn't what she expected. For a moment she just sat and listened to the clear a beautiful singing, she felt more at ease as she listened. It was the sort of song her mother perhaps would have sung to her, so strange to here something so enchanting all the way out here.

Suddenly she felt a little ashamed, whoever was out there seemed to be innocent enough, while here she was hiding in the bottom of her boat, her knives out ready for a fight to the death. Was she really doing her part to protect people if she could not even tell who the enemy was. Relaxing a little she quietly slid her knives back into their sheaves on her legs. Still not revealing her presence she simple waited until the women stopped singing, she didn't want her to stop on her account. As her eyes adjusted to the fog she could pick out more details, a women sitting in her own boat. Although she doubted she could see her yet, dressed as she was in black and besides her own night vision was remarkably sharp. She debated now with her self what to do, sensible she should carry on her own way. She needed to get back to her estate before dawn and the fewer people that saw her the better. On the other hand she was quite curious as to what this women was doing out here, she might even need help. Certainly she wasn't the only night predator out tonight. Biting her lip indecisively she swung one leg over the side of the boat, paddling with her foot just in the water.

It was perhaps immature but Ao Ai, sort of thought it might be fun to give her a little bit of a scare. She tended to do that some times, sneak up behind people before yelling 'boo'. Yes she decided it was defiantly an immature use of her skills, still that didn't stop it being a lot of fun. Using her feet she quietly propelled her boat over to the left so she would come up on an unexpected side of this women's boat. She hid a smirk under the cloth covering most of her face as she crossed her arms trying to look totally at ease, like a ninja or something far more cool than she really was.

"That was really quite beautiful." She declared loudly making her prescience known. If she had succeeded in startling her, she was almost certainly going to giggle when she saw her face. Oh yeah some professional assassin she was giggling and sneaking up behind marooned singers.

"Don't worry, i mean you no harm." She said trying to sound convincing, she knew her appearance might make her looking a lot more intimidating that she normal looked. Still with luck her voice would convey her good intentions.

[Xing Mei]

Xing Mei did not jump, but instead her head jolted towards the side, looking directly at the woman who had arrived. It was sudden, but in fact she was startled. However, her eyes were void of all emotion and she only stared at the woman next to her. There, in the moonlight, now shining through the fog, her face looked majestic and otherworldly.

The shadows from the fog caused intricate designs upon her face, and along with her purple robe, she, although she didn't know it, looked like the legend of the River Maiden. Instead of responding in kind Xing Mei only continued to stare at the woman before her, taking in everything about the woman.

Everything about the woman screamed beautiful but deadly. Not only that in fact, but she seemed like an assassin. In her eyes was a cold assurance that she could kill Xing Mei, and Xing Mei saw this. In her eyes she saw a woman who was a murderer, an assassin. Her voice portrayed the intentions of not bringing harm to her, but this did not put her to rest. Any good assassin should be good at disguising her true intentions.

"Why do you come to me my dear assassin? In guidance?" Xing Mei knew she had been slightly popularly as of late. Many of the surrounding villagers had been to see her, originally for her beauty, but also for her divine connection to the Gods. And it was this fact that she drew herself to full height, slightly taller than the average woman as her jade eyes looked over the assassin still without emotion in them what soever.

What ever would this assassin want with me? I'm just a prophet of the truth, She thought. She had not moved at all, but her hand was still in her robe gripping her short sword. She knew that she was probably outmatched, but she wouldn't go down without a fight if it came to that. But fighting would be hard on these small boats.

[Ao Ai]

Ao Ai sat and simply watched this women, for a moment confused as she noticed her appearance. She was striking, not just because she was pretty it was something else, nothing she could words too just a sense of other worldliness. Perhaps it was just the fog but it looked like her robes had some kind of strange design with which she was unfamiliar. Combined with the women's strange eyes and lack of any visible response, it made Ao Ai feel very uncomfortable. She felt almost as if she had stumbled into the middle of a play, watched by thousands and had quite forgotten her lines.

The way this women had reacted was very strange indeed. She had expected the women to jump, or at least flinch away, perhaps yell. Her non pulsed reaction not only spoiled her fun it made her feel ill at ease. As if she had been expecting her or something, this was well outside of her comfort zone. She wondered if perhaps she had not made a mistake by revealing her presence tonight.

"Well i..." She began thinking to tell her that she had come to offer assistance if it was required. The words however just sounded silly in her head. After all an assassin coming out of the fog to help someone, she was likely to just scare the women to death. She could already see what looked like a sword, honestly she could not blame her for that. So what should she say? because hey I'm a good assassin just didn't seem that likely to go over well either, even if it was the truth. This would be so much easier if she was not dressed up like this, but her fine silk dresses were all at home.

As she was thinking how best to explain she took another look at this women. The strange eyes and weird dress and well and unearthly beauty, it was all so weird. Also why was she out here in the first place, all alone on a little boat. Her own reasons were apparent enough however she now felt like she had stepped into a mess that was not her own. For one thing this women could be a ghost or something. She had been told a lot of stories as a child, who could say which were myth and which reality.

"Not to see rude but...who are you and what are you doing out here?" Ao Ai asked looking curiously at this women. She realized of course that she had been quite impolite to ask without first introducing herself. However she really would rather get away without giving out that information, the less people that could connect the young lady women she lived as during the day to this night time assassin the better. She kept her own hands well away from her knives, which were concealed on sheathes on her legs. Of course that would probably not relax the women, assassins or in her kunoichi case just that kind of reputation sadly.

[Xing Mei]

Xing Mei only looked at the woman longer with colder eyes. Her mind flew fast, darting from one thing to the other, unable to decide if this woman was a threat or just plain stupid. She came to the conclusion that this woman was neither, just at the wrong place in the wrong time. Slowly she looked away from her and off onto the river. A small sigh came from her lips. The coldness fell away from her face as she looked around.

"One is rude to ask what one is doing when one has intruded." While the cold demeanor in her manner had stopped, her voice was still as cold as a knife. Her voice was seeped in false anger. Her face was not towards this woman, so she couldn't tell that there was actually relief her own face.
Inside Xing Mei was finally happy that someone had come across her. She had been out here for too damn long and she was getting sick and tired of it. "I ask you this, what is your name and your business? This seems fair does it not? After all, you interrupted me." Xing Mei turned back around with a blank emotionless face.

((Sorry shit post. I was back in the hospital.))