Despite all her talk, she only lasted three days.
Three days she kept him inside, talked and touched, in short tried anything so the spark in his eyes would relight.
It didn't work, the humiliation of a dog collar tightly on his neck was like decoration to a fly.
Unimportant.
He was unbothered, even when she tugged it, he just accepted the fall and what not.
She did however keep it on without the chain as they ventured outside.
As slowly as he had buttoned up his clothes they reached their destination.
"Daughter, have you come.''
''Father, I was busy, it was my fault." With a sad expression depe within her eyes, she regarded him."Lumi, stay here.''
Yawning, he ignored all movement as he settled against a tree.
{System.
Can I listen in?}
"Father, help me.
Lu Ming doesn't want to accept me.
He's cold to the touch and even in love.''
Even the system didn't bother with useless sentiments like words.
"Lu Zhu, you're a princess.
You can have anybody, if he doesn't bow get rid of him.''
''But father, I love him.
I'll rather die myself before getting rid of him, it's just...his attitude, his denial, his..everything."
Now there's an idea.
"It makes me want to wither away.''
Realising the gravity of his daughter's feeling, the father relented.
''Do things together, you've left him alone for the majority of his stay.
If you cut off his alone time, you can cut of his thoughts.
Instead use the time to foster an entire new relationship, you are no longer children, make him realise that.
Take baths together, go on walks together, just have fun like any normal couple would.''
Leaves crunched under her worry as she traced back and forth. ''Don't worry, with love and time he will open up.
He once loved you dearly after all.''
And so he was stuck with her once more.
Convinced, she spent every waking moment at his side, the only peace he got was his bathroom breaks.
Lu Zhu rambled and rambled but only to him, where she in the past spoke to everyone eagerly, she was now occupied with thought after thought.
Her relationships were crumbling and he was to blame as he only responded to her in negative ways.
The more they interacted, the more his last reasons to live dwindled.
How annoying, how did people stand it day in and out?
From alone and content to a continuous presence besides him, behind him or in front of him.
Never wanted yet always there.
Not even time to form a coherent thought as the other kept on speaking, luring or at least trying to lure him over with sweet sounding words.
One of her many tactics she decided where worth trying.
First was different ways of taking a bath.
Warmth, cold, with foam, without.
Then came food
She was blessed, every day without fail her table was filled with the tastiest of tastiest.
And now his too, however she failed to realise that after way too long eating almost nothing, his stomach couldn't handle the delicacies.
Out of everything, he rarely touched anything but the broth.
Heavily marinated dishes would be untouched on his side of the table, even foods he could eat where ignored when he didn't fancy eating it for the third time this week.
It took way too long but soon she realised (probably the cooks though) what the problem was and intervened.
Options opened before him, however much to her ire he still only choose the usual or even skipped it all together.
Then came jewellry.
Had he gotten even one piece in his previous life, he would have sold it and used the money to try all he never could before.
A life without money was restricting, as your hobbies couldn't sing in happiness and neither could you for you had to work for what was decades of your youthfulness.
Upon achieving that, your body will shrink and physically one would never be the same.
Frail would be what defined you, left with nothing as you gave your all to a world that didn't care.
Besides that, the jewelry tower rose.
Insistent...
...but pretty useless.
Clothes, from all the colours one could find in this world to all types of cloths.
She was desperate, it shone of her.
She needed something a bright smiled thank you, a hug or even a plain word full of love.
However it was just that, what she had deemed love was just child like wonder caused by the difference in rank.
The previous owner vision broadened with her help, he saw things like never before but they were just that.
Children who explored, together.
It was that, he found that the original liked.
His parents didn't care, favouring his brother and while his sister didn't notice, so was she.
Lu Zhu, a princess loved and adored by her father still had to spent most of her childhood alone as her father was to busy.
It was ,he found, an unspoken agreement between them that Malachi thought would always just exist between them.
It was a shame Lu Zhu didn't realise that they were just a fated childhood dream.
Nothing more, nothing less.