Chapter Text
She had a feeling something was wrong.
Dài Fen sat with her mother eating. Slowly but surely, the smell of smoke wafted into the room. Every second it grew thicker. Her mother stood and peered outside.
"We have to get out!" she declared. Alarmed, the daughter jumped to her feet and joined her by the window.
The village was burning.
The fire had spread rapidly over a short length of time and now they were stuck. They could brave the Huns in front of the house or the fire at the back of the house. Instinctively, they both grabbed each others' hand and turned to run out of the back way.
Narrowly avoid the flames, they ran out. Their home had caught fire too. They paused - safe for now - to regain their breath even though the air was filled with smoke. Spotting the cause, they knew they had to run.
Huns.
The soldiers fought them in vain, the daughter thought as several were cut down in the space of minutes. The two women ran as fast as they could until the mother stumbled. Falling into the snow, the mother struggled to stand. Fen tried to help, tried to use her weight and pull her to her feet. Both of them knew it was useless but neither would say.
Eventually, Fen apologised to her mother before continuing to run away. But like her mother, she stumbled. A horrible sound of fabric ripping echoed in her ears. Fen scrambled to her knees, then forced herself to stand, ignoring her wet, ripped clothing and the biting cold. She realised the Huns had caught up to her when a falcon cawed in the sky above her; there was no way to outrun them. When she noticed who lead the Huns, she suddenly wished she had her doll for comfort - even if she was deemed too old - but she had lost it earlier in the day. His piercing yellow eyes stared down at her.
Shan Yu.