The calm before the storm

The next few days Sabrina spent with Kavan were ones filled with bliss, much like the proverbial calm before the storm. She knew she is on borrowed time. It was a matter of time before Dashen comes back and throw a spanner and maybe even a hammer or possibly the whole toolbox in the smooth clogs of her live with Kavan.

However, it was much worse than she imagined. It was not only Dashen. She was unceremoniously summoned to the Sea Jade palace without so much as a warning. All she managed to do was to leave Kavan a note saying she had to attend a clan meeting and then she was pulled back into the sea. Sucked back violently into the sea jade palace where the clan elders reside. Dashen was seated with the council of 12 elders, his face not too pleased. His two children are nowhere to be seen so she assumed he must have taken them hope and left them with Meera before coming back to this 'urgent' clan meeting.

She was summoned right to the large meeting room where the 12 clan council elders sat in a circle facing her. She felt like a prisoner standing before the jury, waiting for their judgement. All 12 pairs of eyes are staring at her coldly. Even Dashen.

"Sabrina Chang Jun Ying, what do you have to say for yourself?" the head of the elders' council, Ong Shen's voice boomed.

"Well…I think I found my human match," she attempted.

"How dare you!" his voice boomed in cold rage.

She squared her shoulders defiantly despite her shaky knees and an overwhelming desire to shrink in a corner and cower in fear.

"Well, it was an accident, I didn't know he was my human match…" she tried to explain.

"Silence! Such impudence!" Ong Shen ordered. She clamped her mouth shut.

"You know very well you are not supposed to mate with your human match until you are of age! How dare you!" he boomed again.

She refused to be cowed so she continued to look at him defiantly although her face are starting to twitch in fear.

"We may have to get rid of your human match," he continued.

Her eyes widened. What does he mean "get rid of"?! Does it mean they are going to kill Kavan? Not if she can help it! Not her Kavan!

"NO! You can't do that!" she protested.

Ong Shen glared at her and she clamped her mouth shut again.

"Do not speak unless we ask you to! This is your final warning," he bit out coldly. She nodded but kept her head raised, her chin up. She refused to show any fear even though she is quivering like a mass of badly made jelly inside.

"You went against your leader's orders, you knowingly mate with your human match despite knowing it is against our clan rules and you are still underaged to do so, you defied us at every turn and even revealed your true form to a human!" Ong Shen listed out her 'transgressions'.

"Now, tell us, why should be go easy on you? Why should we spare your human match at this rate?" he asked.

"Firstly, I do NOT know he is my human match until much too late, I can't very well stop in the middle of …er…you know, mating..." she said.

"Secondly, I only have 500 years left! It's not as if I am still 1,000 years old,"

"Finally, I served Dashen in my best and full capacity, even taking care of his spawns….I mean, his children and even refereeing his constant quarrels with his human mate," she said.

"And also, I have always followed the rules, I have never done anything against clan rules so that should also count," she added.

"Is that all?" Ong Shen asked nonplussed. He did not seem even the slightest bit satisfied with her explanations.

She nodded silently. She is not a lawyer. She doesn't know how to argue her case in front of these 12 elders. She looked pleadingly to Dashen. He merely glared at her.

"You will have to wait while we make a decision on this," Ong Shen said and waved. She found herself sitting in the waiting area. The name 'sea jade palace' may conjure up visions of a grand palace of jewel encrusted walls and ornately carved pillars but actually, it was just a huge boring looking building that looked like a modern office block with spaces divided inside like offices and meeting rooms and waiting areas.

She didn't have to wait long. She was immediately summoned back.

"Considering the human match is your only one in this generation of humans, we will spare his life," Ong Shen told her, much to her relief.

"However, that being said, you are forbidden to continue staying with him or mating with him ever again for as long as he live," he ordered.

"You will be required back to work in this palace so you will be relieved of your duties as Dashen's human wife the moment his human match marries him in the human world," he announced.

"Your powers will be docked so you will not have any powers from now until you come back here to work,"

She was shocked at the severity of her punishments. She had merely wanted to spend time with Kavan and now they are ordering her to leave him forever. On top of that, they are taking away her powers. That was hardly fair!

"So, what if I failed to comply with any of these orders?" she asked.

"We will make sure that your human match suffers," he told her.

Her eyes widened. What should she do now? She will not have any powers left. She will have to leave him. This is turning out to be such a nightmare. No thanks to Dashen! She gave him a murderous look but he remained unperturbed.

"Can I get at least a chance to talk to him and tell him goodbye?" she asked plaintively. This is the least that they could do. At least, give her some time to say her goodbye. She is unwilling to let Kavan go and she will figure something out. For now, she needed a ruse for them to allow her to see him for one last time.

"Very well, that was a fair request. You will have one day to say your goodbyes and you have to go back to Dashen's and complete your task," Ong Shen said.

She nodded meekly. Make them think she had accepted their decisions when actually she was busily trying to think of ways to circumvent it.

"Why are you still here? Go outside and wait, Dashen will accompany you back to the human world and take you back to your human match to say goodbye," Ong Shen said.

She nodded again and quickly left the room. She tried to summon her magic. It was gone. Now she is fully dependent on Dashen. She has lost all her powers and she is now just like a regular human. She waited for almost two hours before Dashen came out.

"Come, let's go home," he told her briskly. He held her arm and then they are back in Dashen's house. At the front entrance to his mansion, that is.

"Let's get inside first," Dashen said and she followed him. It's not like she had a choice. She is now completely and fully under his mercy. He has all the powers and she has none. She now understand what Meera must have felt like. What every human match must have felt like, standing beside a powerful creature and realising you have none.

Once inside, his two children looked up from whatever they were doing and ran towards them.

"Papa! Papa!" they shouted and climbed all over him. Like puppies greeting their owner, she thought dispassionately.

Then they turned to give her hugs and she hugged them back. They may be Dashen's spawns but they are good children. They can be sweet sometimes.

"Now, run along children, I have things to discuss with Aunt Sabrina," Dashen said.

After the children left, Dashen gestured for her to sit down on the stuffed sofa. She chose an armchair and sink into it comfortably. If anything, she missed the luxurious comfort of Dashen's house. But she would give it all up if she gets to stay with Kavan. No luxury or material item can beat having her perfect match by her side. It was the most fulfilling feeling she has ever felt. She just could not bear the thought of not seeing Kavan ever again. It was a punishment so cruel, they might as well subject her to physical torture of the worse kind like pulling out her fingernails one by one or have her human body drawn and quartered.

"Sabrina," Dashen started to say. He sounded serious and yet, different from his usual pain-in-the-you-know-where tone. She turned her full attention on him.

"Look, if you think I called the council of elders, you are wrong, I didn't want this to happen at all," he said, almost apologetically. She was surprised. Dashen can sound remorseful, even if it was just a tiny little smidgen of remorse, the size of an ant.

"That is why, I want to help you and your match," he continued.

She was shocked. She was beyond shocked. Dashen helping her? He could be kicked out of the council of elders. He could even lose his powers! She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

"Are you pulling my leg right now?" she asked.