Carole lay beneath the cherry tree that seemed so out of place on the island. Pink petals drifted down on the wind, weaving a brocade that gradually covered her. At last, the woman beneath the tree rose. Petals fluttered from her as she shook them off, and, carrying her fragrant scent, she slowly followed her shadow in the moonlight toward the castle, where the lights were still on.
The castle doors stood open. Hawk Eye sat on the sofa reading, as usual, waiting for his apprentice to return late from sword practice. But today, she hadn't come back from training.
Carole walked into the castle and toward her master, who didn't look up. She stopped in front of the table, head lowered, refusing to meet his eyes, and said calmly, "I lost." After speaking, she noticed the cup of milk on the table, which seemed to still be steaming. She couldn't remember when it had started, perhaps eight years ago, when they first settled here. The lit-up castle, her master reading the newspaper beneath the lights, the steaming milk... She didn't want to think about it anymore. She looked up and continued, "If I stay, I'll only lose even more badly."
Hawk Eye, seated on the sofa, had set down his book. "Are you giving up? You weren't like this when I took you in."
Carole picked up the milk. The cup still held a little warmth. "I've changed, and I'm tired. I don't deserve to be taken in by you anymore. I don't deserve to be your apprentice."
Hawk Eye looked at his unusually subdued apprentice. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? If you're not feeling well, take a rest."
Carole set the cup down and looked up at her master in his chair. "Are you going to kill me, or let me leave?"
"Leave? Just because you lost once?" Hawk Eye looked at Carole's expressionless face. Usually, she returned drenched in sweat, her cheeks bright red. Today, the floral scent on her was stronger, but she seemed cold and distant all over.
"I'll never be able to beat you, will I?" Her unfocused gaze seemed to be fixed on the hand holding his book.
"You have even less chance of winning if you leave me."
"Twenty-one years. I'm tired. You don't need me anymore, and maybe I don't need you either." She looked away from his hand and headed for the stairs.
"What are you bothered by? That I took him as an apprentice, or his talent and progress?"
She stopped on the stairs and stood at the landing. "Sometimes I just wonder, why wasn't it me?"
"Luo'er, you're already good enough. Don't dwell on one failure. It's normal to fail before becoming the strongest."
"I can't become the strongest, and I won't pursue it. I'm backing down, and I'm giving up." She stepped toward the next stair, but her body didn't move. A few seconds later, she continued in the same pose, "Master, from beginning to end, I was never pursuing the position of the strongest." She paused, then continued, "I was pursuing you, the one who holds that position."
Theme: A master-disciple romance, an older man and a young girl, a fatherly boyfriend
