The Dragon Prince's Warrior

Mourning and Disappointment

The night was long, and the pain was immense, like hell itself. The devastated emperor, who from that moment could be considered a widower, had no strength for anything but lamenting the death of An.

Although his two sons were in intensive care, he hadn't even gone to see if they were stable. He had not wanted to move from the side of his lifeless wife's body. In fact, it was too difficult to take her away for the corresponding funeral rituals.

Heng did not allow anyone to enter the room, despite the servants and advisors' insistence; he did not want to be separated from her, even though he knew her soul had departed from her body several hours ago.

Meanwhile, in the midst of all the chaos, the two princes who had fought a bloody battle against an unknown enemy were struggling with their own injuries in their respective rooms.

Shun was on the brink of death, having lost too much blood and was in a coma. On the other hand, Jin was conscious, although he had serious bruises on his head, chest, and many injuries on his neck, ribs, and legs.

The middle prince couldn't help but overhear the murmurs of the entire medical team regarding the strange tattoo-like marks with the silhouette of a dragon on the left arm of both brothers, which had appeared after that war.

Those healers were familiar with the three brothers and had never known those tattoos on them until that moment. Not even Jin had any idea why this strange phenomenon had occurred since he had never considered getting a tattoo in his life, but that topic was not the most important thing. Jin had been the only one to learn about his mother's death.

A part of him was in denial. Perhaps his mother was in a coma, just like Shun, and she could wake up at any moment. The idea that he would never speak to her again was not in his system; he couldn't conceive a world without his mother present.

"This can't be true! I have to see it with my own eyes. I don't believe any of you. I order you to release me now!" he shouted loudly.

The healers and other servants tried to calm him down, but it was futile. Jin had risen with the little strength his body had left. He struggled with a couple of nurses and left the room. He walked with a strong stride, stumbling occasionally, but finally managed to reach his mother's room, which was closed, and the advisors and priests were waiting for Heng to come out.

Upon seeing Jin, everyone stepped aside and bowed. Jin gestured with his hand for them to stand; it wasn't the time for such ridiculous formalities, in his opinion.

Without waiting for anyone to say anything, Jin began to knock on the large wooden door, decorated with ornamental paintings.

"Father, open the door! It's me... your son, Jin!" he exclaimed, but received no response.

Jin frowned and knocked again until his father finally deigned to speak.

"Go away, Jin. I don't want anyone to enter, not even you, my son. Everyone, stay away from here," he said from inside, his voice trembling.

"Father, let me see Mother... I have just as much right as you do. Please!" Jin demanded, still pounding on the door.

His father gave no response, and a feeling of anger pierced the middle Qing brother's chest. His eyes ignited again, and that dragon-shaped tattoo, which seemed perfectly traced and detailed in black ink, lit up, astonishing the onlookers.

Jin kicked the door and split it in two with the tremendous force he had applied. Heng was stunned and couldn't do anything to stop his son, who reached his mother's side and checked on her.

It was true... His mother no longer had a pulse, and her body was as rigid as a rock. There was no color or sign of life left in her skin. Her once silky and shiny hair now looked lifeless and dull. Jin saw this and felt as if a thousand swords had pierced his chest.

The middle Qing brother let out a cry of pain, anger, and absolute sadness. Heng cried inconsolably, not even having the strength to argue with his son, who was as broken as he was. Lamentations filled the entire room and spilled outside of it. Everyone grieved for the beloved Empress, who had been declared dead in that moment.

"Prepare the funeral," Heng said. He had finally come to accept the inevitable.

(...)

Despite the momentary joy Yun might have felt upon waking up, feeling alive, and seeing her, it didn't last even a second. While it was true that Siu had risen to look at the prince, the young woman's demeanor looked terribly ill, pale, and haggard.

"Yun... I'm... glad you're... okay," she said in a weak voice, her breath ragged.

"Siu..." he murmured with a faint smile, which disappeared as her eyes closed slowly, and she became dizzy, causing her to fall back down.

Yun had to admit that he was grateful to the universe for a new chance to open his eyes and breathe, even though it still hurt, but that didn't stop him from wondering how he was going to help her. They needed to get to the village, and he knew well that the journey was not short; they had to move if they wanted to truly survive this situation.

The prince closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried by all means to get up, but being so weak, he didn't have enough strength, coupled with the piercing pain in his ribs, so he fell once more under his own weight, hitting his head.

"Damn it, Yun, you're useless," he scolded himself, feeling vulnerable. "You can't afford to be weak; you must return to your family somehow, and besides... you have someone to protect. You need to take her back home."

With that thought in mind, Yun gathered all the necessary willpower and, despite the pain in every bone of his body, he managed to sit up at last. After this exertion, he felt his head spinning from dizziness, but it wasn't enough to make him faint.

"Come on, you have to be strong, don't give up," he repeated to himself as many times as necessary.

As best he could, the young man slid out of the cave and felt the morning breeze and the temperate atmosphere of the area; the forest's scent was truly unique, special, and he would treasure it in the chest of his memories. Two days ago, he hadn't stopped to appreciate so much beauty, but at that moment, he couldn't help it.

Struggling, he tried to get to his feet, swaying a little; everything felt heavy due to the armor he hadn't even taken off, and didn't plan to, even if he wanted to. That beautiful forest might still harbor the dragons from his nightmares; it was necessary to leave as soon as possible.

Yun leaned over a bit and, with his trembling arms, brought the brown-haired girl who lay unconscious inside the cave closer to him. He managed to lift her, but with great difficulty, so much so that he clenched his eyes in a grimace of pain; it felt like he was lifting a heavy rock, but he knew it was due to his weakened state.

"We need to go... we need to get out of here right now. If only I had my compass..." Yun thought as he walked, searching for the right path to find the way out. "I wish Siu would wake up for a moment; I'm sure she knows the way out."

Leaving that thought behind, Yun lowered his gaze to look at Siu, and he realized that the girl's lips were turning purple. Anxiety washed over him again. He stopped in his tracks and began to look around. He closed his eyes and soon identified the sound of the river, where that tiger had appeared out of nowhere.

Yun decided to press Siu against his chest to give her a little more warmth and began to walk once more. The distance seemed longer than he remembered, but he was sure that if he followed the river, he would be able to orient himself much better. He had no idea how long he had been walking, but it felt like an eternal journey, and the river was nowhere to be seen.

All the paths in that mountain looked the same, and he couldn't even find paths where more people had passed because, as Siu's parents had said, hardly anyone ventured there anymore, except for truly malevolent beings.

Finally, after all that ordeal to find the long-awaited river, Yun's heart rejoiced at the sound of it getting closer with each step. The excitement was so strong that the pain in his tired feet wasn't as noticeable, and he quickened his pace through the underbrush, trying to clear a path with one of his hands, as the other held the girl firmly.

"Water, at last," he thought in relief, and he carefully laid Siu down on the grass.

Yun bent over again with great effort, but the anticipation of being able to drink water and survive made it feel like a reward. With one of his hands, he scooped up the water and eagerly drank until he felt satisfied. He then moved closer to Siu and sat her up, tilting her head slightly. With one hand, he gently pried open the girl's mouth, while the other poured water for her to drink a little.

"Siu... if you can hear me. You need to drink water, or you won't survive," Yun pleaded, and there he realized that she wasn't entirely unconscious because she began to take small sips.

That was a relief for the prince. While he was focused on giving Siu water, once again, that flash of light reflected from some point in the forest, in the direction of the river. Yun didn't know what to think about it, but he didn't know if he should follow it. All he knew was that something told him to follow the water; it would show him a way, and so he did.

"Come on, Siu... I'll take you home," he muttered with a sly smile and prepared to carry her to continue the journey.

A feeling of desperation swirled in Yun's chest. He felt like his body was sweating cold, his legs trembling as if they no longer wanted to respond, on the verge of giving in. Even though, thanks to the river, he could follow the downhill path and drink water whenever he got tired, it seemed never-ending. He couldn't even see that abandoned cabin. How much longer until he saw a sign that they were close? The underbrush didn't allow him to see the path clearly, coupled with the constant blurring of his vision; he felt like he was about to collapse.

Occasionally, Yun took short breaks, sitting wherever he deemed fit, and checked on Siu, who was becoming paler by the moment.

"What if she doesn't make it and dies in my arms?" he wondered as he observed how ill she was, but he shook his head to clear those thoughts. "I won't be negative. I'll make it to the village, and her parents can take care of her."

This thought seemed to have given him a bit of energy to continue. He got up with great effort, his steps becoming heavier, his head throbbing with severe headaches on top of everything else. But soon, the Yumai village appeared. Some men who had rice fields spotted the young man in armor carrying a girl in his arms and didn't hesitate to run to his aid.