We made it up the 30 flights of stairs and into the penthouse suite that belonged to Wang Chao and Liu Wei. After Liu Yu Zeng deposited me on the couch, he went to the kitchen with the others to try and get things organized.
Feeling energized for a change, I walked after him. "Where do you guys want me to put all your stuff?" I asked as I looked at the four of them in the kitchen washing counters and throwing out things that had gone bad. I waved my hand and in exchange for the old, broken fridge, I replaced it with the brand-new one that I had purchased before the EMP.
With another wave of my hand, I filled it with all the food that I thought was important. I had a bunch of milk, eggs, and meats from the ranch not to mention fruits and vegetables. I would make yogurt tomorrow when I had the time. What else did we need?
I went to look at the pantry and frowned when I saw how empty it was. "You knew the apocalypse was coming, and yet you didn't think to stock up on supplies while you still could?" I asked, looking at the two men in question. Liu Wei had the grace to look embarrassed, but Wang Chao just shrugged his shoulders.
"We hadn't been here in a while and it slipped my mind," said the man honestly. Still. I was not impressed with his lack of preparedness.
"I will make sure that from here on out, all of our homes are well stocked with supplies," said Liu Wei, drawing my attention, and my glare, from Wang Chao. Giving the man a big smile, I nodded my head in approval. With another wave of my hand, I fully stocked the pantry from pasta to sauces, cereals to rice, and everything in between.
I might have even snuck in some chips into the pantry and ice cream in the freezer, but shhh… that was my little secret. There were some things I wasn't willing to share, not even with the boys.
"Remind me to make some yogurt and bread tomorrow. Does anyone want anything else?" I asked, looking at the four men in front of me. "Granola? I have a bunch of different jams in the pantry… butter! I'll make butter at the same time."
All four men just stood there, staring at me like I had grown an extra head or two. "What?" I asked confused. "We are staying here for a while, right? Because no matter how much I trust Chen Zi Han's driving, I refuse to travel across the country in the snow," I said, putting my foot down. There was more than enough room for all five of us here in the penthouse, and even though there were only 4 bedrooms, I could bedhop as needed.
"You know how to make yogurt?" asked Liu Wei like I just said that I was really a mermaid on land.
"You know how to make bread?" added Liu Yu Zeng, a similar look of awe and wonder on his face.
"You know how to make butter?" said Chen Zi Han, just as confused as the other three men.
"What? Like it's hard?" I replied, not knowing where this was all coming from. I had spent my first life trying to perfect all of the basics of a homestead in case I transmigrated into the past. This was just the first time I was able to show off my skills.
"My Queen," said Liu Wei as he picked up my hand to give me a kiss on the sensitive skin of my wrist. "We are not worthy."
"As long as you are aware," I smiled at his dramatics. In fact, I was really looking forward to being able to do all this. Switching out the broken stove and oven for a working one, I took out all of my kitchen appliances from my space.
It might not be the ranch, but I would be able to make this place a home for as long as we were here. Taking out my paper and colored markers, I started making notes on what I wanted to do and what I wanted to change.
As the list got longer and longer, my smile grew more and more. The men left me alone to my own devices after asking for their things from my space and went off to move into their rooms. Wang Chao had the biggest closets out of everyone, so I just put what I needed in there. But let's face it, with my space, I didn't really need any closets or anything like that since I could just pop into my house whenever I wanted to.
Besides, I was completely in my element making lists, an energy surrounded me that I hadn't felt since forever.
"What about that movie?" asked Liu Yu Zeng as he poked his head around the corner of his bedroom to look at me at the dining room table.
"I'm still up for it if you guys are," I said, putting down my pen. I would just leave everything on the table for now. "As long as it's not a clown movie," I added, glaring at the man to make sure he got my point.
"Ok, ok," he said as he held up his hands to show his innocence. "We'll just need you to swamp out the TV and add the DVD player. I can take it from there."
Doing as he asked, I got myself comfortable on the couch and waited for the men to gather around where they wanted to.
----
Honestly, I didn't know if I was awake or dreaming, Hell, it could have been a mixture between the two with all my luck. But what I did know was this was not the same place where I had fallen asleep.
I remember Wang Chao's arms around me, a soft comfortable mattress under us, and his calm steady heartbeat lulling me to sleep.
What I didn't remember was how I got here, to this place, completely by myself.
'Look, remember,' came the voice inside myself, but I had no idea what I was supposed to remember. I had never seen anything even remotely close to this in any of my lives.
I was laying on a soft carpet of grass, my fingers running over its smooth surface as each individual blade tickled my fingers. Overhead, the sky was a mixture of lavender purple and sky blue, reminding me of my flames.
I definitely did not remember a sky with two moons hanging in it, their silver crescent shapes slicing through the night… day? I had no idea because as much as I might not be able to see the sun, I could feel its light and warmth.
Sitting up, I looked down at myself, shocked to see that I was in a flowing white dress, held up by two straps on one shoulder and a small gold belt at my waist. Gold bangles let out a soft sound as they moved about on my wrists up to my forearms.
Looking up further I noticed two gold armbands on each arm, secure but not too tight on my upper arms, a faint design that I could not make out danced in the light.
Feeling something around my neck, I lifted my shaking fingers up to my throat to find a solid gold choker around my neck, spanning the entire length from shoulders to just under my ears. I panicked for a second as a brief feeling of being choked by the necklace appeared, only to be gone once I realized that the gold moved with me.
Stretching my neck from side to side, I was able to move it freely, but the choker gave me a sense of stability and safety.
Reaching my fingers up to my ears I discovered small drop earrings, presumably in gold, decorating my ears.
My feet were bare, but there were small, think anklets, two on each foot that made a small, crystal sound when I moved them.
And finally, a tiara sat on my head, so light that I didn't even notice it at first. I shook my head and watched as my hair fanned out around me, but the tiara didn't move.
Not knowing what to make of everything, I slowly stood up and looked around.
To my right was a clear, blue pond with water so enticing that even I wanted to step in. On my left was a luscious forest of trees so big and green that no matter how high I looked, I couldn't see the top of them.
In the distance in front of me, I could see a mountain range, the valley beneath it stretching out in a carpet of green the color of which I had never seen before.
Turning around, the field continued, almost reaching the horizon. The green was broken up by a scattering of flowers. White, blue, red, purple, and all sorts of flowers littered the ground.
And that's when I saw them, my men, the four of them standing shoulder to shoulder, looking across the distance at me.
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