Urgent meeting
1084 Words
Prince Yun had quickly made his way to the meeting room on the second level, but before that, he stopped by the kitchen area. The group of cooks was surprised to see him heading their way.
"Hello," he greeted with a hint of nervousness.
"Your Highness, Yun," the oldest cook greeted, and they all bowed. "It's an honor to have you here. We heard about your recovery and we're delighted to have you back. What's the surprise for? You don't usually visit the kitchen."
Some of them chuckled while discreetly covering their mouths. Yun was somewhat frozen because it was true; he never frequented the servants' areas, unlike his brother Jin or Shun, who had the duty of overseeing the entire palace by their father's orders.
"Well... thank you for your words, and now it's necessary..." he paused to choose his words carefully. "You see, there's a young lady, my guest, fair-skinned, with long, straight hair, wearing a robe like mine. She hasn't eaten anything, so I need you to take breakfast to the infirmary. Thank you," he bowed when he finished his sentence, and the group of cooks returned the gesture with a smile.
"We'll do it, Your Majesty. Don't worry. Everything to attend to your honored guest," the cook replied.
Yun smiled, and footsteps he heard behind him immediately caught his attention. He turned to see who it was.
"Brother, I've been looking for you like crazy, and I had no idea you were here, but just in case, I came to check," Jin said, panting, as he leaned on the doorframe.
Father is furious because you're not here, and he sent me to find you; it seems urgent."
"But, I haven't been gone long," Yun said with a furrowed brow. "Literally, we just met. I came here to ask a favor."
"Have you done it already? Let's go!" Jin pulled on Yun's long sleeve to urge him to go ahead. "Mrs. Xiang, good morning, girls..." he greeted the cooks with a radiant smile.
They all greeted him with joy; that was how they felt in the presence of Prince Jin. He bowed and rushed out to catch up with his brother.
"Hey, Yun, what are you doing? Father is furious?" Jin inquired, somewhat confused and a bit taken aback by Yun's behavior, particularly by their father's.
"That's what I don't understand, Jin. I haven't done anything to make him upset," Yun replied. "Maybe he's like this because of... mother. Perhaps because of Shun. I don't know, I don't really understand what's going on either, but he found me a while ago with Siu in the gardens and was very curt with her, well... with both of us."
Jin analyzed everything his brother said, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't understand what was happening.
"Well, I don't know what's wrong with him, but there's definitely something," Jin said, and both of them began to climb the stairs.
"I know. We couldn't even investigate the dragons," Yun commented with disappointment.
"Well, while you were reuniting with your friend, I found something that might guide us. We'll have to do the research after the meeting with father," Jin assured.
"Sounds very useful; we'll see," Yun said a little distracted because as they passed the infirmary, he couldn't help but turn to look in that direction.
He stretched his neck a bit and saw Siu sitting while she played with the pendant hanging from her neck.
Jin cleared his throat, bringing back his brother's attention.
"She worries you a lot, doesn't she?" Jin asked with an arched eyebrow, cutting right to the point.
"Well... of course she does. She tried to help me in her own way, losing her parents in the process, just like us losing our mother. We've been through a lot in such a short time, and even though it may sound crazy, I feel like I've known her for years... I don't know how to explain it better," Yun said, and immediately felt a warmth in his cheeks after letting out such a confession he had wanted to keep to himself.
Jin smiled at that but didn't say everything he thought because something had changed in his brother on this journey. He wanted to make more comments, but as soon as both brothers realized it, they had reached the entrance of the royal meeting room.
"Well, father... Just get to the point of what you want to talk about," Jin said, relaxed, with a smile that was more of a nervous one.
"Jin, get your feet down from there! Oh, Buddha, what did I do to deserve such a disrespectful son?" Heng exclaimed as he brought his hand to his forehead.
"Sorry, I thought this would be an informal meeting, don't get angry," Jin immediately obeyed while pouting.
Yun shook his head and pursed his lips to prevent himself from laughing. His brother was becoming bolder than usual, and what surprised him about himself was that miraculously, he no longer minded his brother's behavior.
"What's happening to me?" he wondered inwardly.
"Well, my sons, let's get to the point," Heng immediately began. "First of all, I want to give you the news that Shun is out of danger." Both princes genuinely smiled upon hearing this news. "Next, we have to discuss what lies ahead. As you know, the Forbidden City has had a tremendous impact on our streets and in our hearts..."
Both Jin and Yun nodded because their father was absolutely right. Heng continued his short speech.
"Today, I am preparing to give a speech to all the victims who are still suffering the aftermath of this tragedy; it's not easy, but now I feel like I can finally face it. We must move forward and continue restoring the people, investigating who ambushed us, where those beasts came from to eradicate them, as they are a threat to our people. Ah, and one very important thing. Both Shun and you..."
Yun settled into his seat to listen better, and Jin leaned closer, his face full of intrigue. Heng took a deep breath before continuing.
"You see, we need to forge connections with other centers of power, meaning that... You all need to commit as soon as possible," Heng stated with his arms crossed.
Both princes turned to look at each other with wide-open eyes, utterly surprised by their father's statement, but by the way he said it, it wasn't a suggestion; it was an order.
- Writer
