The Dragon Prince's Warrior

Unexpected proposal

Since the early hours of the morning, the Forbidden City had come out to see what remained of their belongings. Everything had turned into chaos of rubble and corpses that relatives recognized. From the enemy side, there were only piles of strange scales that no one could explain.

The main hall was filled with incense and musicians accompanying this tragic moment. The Emperor led the funeral rituals and knelt before An's exposed body, which lay reclined on a luxurious bed filled with cushions and silk and velvet sheets.

Jin, after being forced to rest and receive medical care for a few hours, joined his father's side and spent hours praying for his mother to find peace in the transition from life to death.

The hall couldn't accommodate all the people from the palace, not to mention the entire town that lined up to offer their condolences, kneeling in front of the portrait of the Empress placed in front of her body.

In front of the people, the ruler appeared cold and stern in his demeanor, but the members of the Council knew how much he had suffered, recognizing that their Emperor hadn't slept all night.

Jin got up and observed the terrible aftermath of that catastrophe from the window. His gaze turned to the sky, and he thought of his brother; he could only hope he made it home safely. Although he didn't know if his father would blame him for that event. He definitely didn't know what to expect from him anymore.

(...)

The shadows had been present since Siu woke up in Prince Yun's arms. Heat had flooded her cheeks when she found herself in that situation, and her heart raced. It wasn't as if she had been displeased at all, but given how distant he always was, the sight of his handsome features and the sensation of his body pressed against hers, warming her, had indeed startled her.

After that moment, Siu became completely immersed in him. Apart from admiring his face, marred by the battle against those malevolent beings, she noticed he still wore the red armor that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere when she had used her earring at the monument; she remembered it almost perfectly.

Siu touched her chest and became distressed, realizing that the earring might have been left at the monument, and she hadn't been conscious to retrieve it.

"Maybe it was fate that my earring stayed in that place, after all, the Fenghuang knows best," she thought, trying to calm herself about what she could no longer control.

Coming out of that thought, Siu's heart ached. She still couldn't believe what had happened to her parents, she couldn't make sense of the events, and it didn't seem real. Could she ever see them again? She was very sure that those dragons held the answers to her parents' whereabouts, and she should find them at all costs; that was the mission she set for herself from that moment.

Siu was so lost in her thoughts, while the sensation of weakness overwhelmed her. No matter how hard she tried to breathe to oxygenate her body, nothing worked. Dizziness set in, and she collapsed onto her hands, right in front of where Yun lay unconscious.

She began to try to revive him, and just when she thought that the struggle was futile, young Yun slowly opened his eyes. She was overjoyed to know that he was alive. After expressing her happiness to him, Siu had faded away and lost consciousness once more, for an indefinite period.

At times, she felt herself swaying back and forth, her feet hanging in the air, and her head resting on something firm, which gave her the sensation of never falling. Siu felt her consciousness returning little by little, but she had no idea what was exactly happening.

The only moment when she was more awake was when Yun had tried to revive her by offering her water. She could see his face and his hand extended toward her, offering the life-giving liquid that her body craved. Was it water from the Yumai River? She was almost sure of it, although she couldn't confirm it.

After the water reached her stomach, Siu felt great relief, and sleep overcame her again. It had become a habit since she was a child, whenever she was injured, for her body to demand plenty of rest.

Her parents had advised her from that time to always listen to her body, so this was why she often entered a phase of rest, sometimes quite long but definitely restorative.

"Wu Siu, please wake up," Yun said, and in the distance, she could hear his voice.

Finally, the girl opened her eyes, the exhaustion had diminished in her body, though it hadn't completely left her. Nevertheless, she opened her eyes with heaviness, and there he was once again, kneeling at the foot of the bed, his arms resting on the surface where she lay.

Apparently, the prince had removed the headgear, which revealed many wounds on his face, glistening with sweat. Besides all that, his demeanor appeared... concerned?

"Prince Yun... What happened?" she inquired as she looked around. "Did you bring me to... my village?" The girl tried to sit up, but her body was still too weak.

"I got as close as I could," the young man said, his voice wavering due to his weakness.

"Thank you so much," she replied with a weak smile, and the eyes of both young people met as they smiled at each other for a moment, until a noise startled them.

Outside the Wu family's house, voices could be heard arguing and muttering unintelligible things. Yun frowned at the commotion but chose to ignore it and turned to Siu.

"I brought you here, but the people, upon seeing you, said you're a murderer. They don't want you to stay here, and if you don't surrender, they... will take you to prison," Yun gently placed his hand on hers, and the touch felt pleasant and comforting. "Tell me, Siu... Can you explain what's going on? Because I had to close the door to prevent them from forcibly taking you away from here."

"I don't even know what's happening myself, but I can explain why they call me a murderer..." Siu sighed weakly, looking at the prince with determination. "In front of everyone, I killed my parents, but I swear they weren't them, but dragons that took their form."

"That sounds like a story that very few would believe," Yun muttered, sighing as he saw Siu's frustrated expression. "How were you so sure they weren't your parents?"

"I... I saw their true forms while I was sleeping. Don't ask me how because I have no idea. I just know that they poisoned the lunch. They wanted to kill me, Yun. I had no choice but to fight them, and yes... I killed those impostors. Although now I'm not sure where my parents are, which is why I came back to find you, to warn you about those beings. But I fear I arrived too late. Do you believe me, Yun?"

Yun opened his eyes with bewilderment. It was clear that she was telling the truth, especially after he had experienced firsthand what those creatures were capable of. But could the people in the village and even the authorities believe such a thing?

"Of course, I believe you, Siu," Yun said as he looked toward the entrance of the house, "although I doubt these people will believe everything we've been through," he added with resignation, and the girl began to breathe heavily, feeling helpless.

"Now I'll clarify everything; it can't stay like this," Siu said firmly as she tried to get up, but Yun held her back by the shoulders, which left her disoriented.

"No... In cases like these, words won't help. It's better to demonstrate with actions; that's the only way they'll believe you once and for all," Yun commented.

"I don't understand what you're talking about. Could you be more specific?" Siu demanded, pouting.

"Dropping your elaborate terms that only confuse her," Yun scolded himself, feeling awkward.

"Talking won't do you any good in cases like these; it's better to demonstrate with actions. That's the only way they'll believe you," he explained more simply.

"But, I..." Siu huffed in frustration. "Alright, for now, what matters most to me is bringing my parents back with me. What do you suggest, then?"

"Well... First, we need to heal our wounds," he said with a stutter in his voice. Why did he feel so nervous?

It was true, where was he going with this advice? Yun couldn't deny that he felt an uncontrollable urge to protect her. He didn't want to leave her to fend for herself, and he didn't want to hide it either. The prince felt his cheeks heat up. For a moment, he looked down, sighed, and then raised his gaze to meet her eyes.

"Wu Siu... Come with me to the Forbidden City," he blurted out, and both their faces turned as red as the armor he was wearing at that moment.