The Dragon Prince's Warrior

When failure strikes

That feeling of victory and hope had just been thrown overboard in a matter of seconds. A metallic weapon resembling a hook had seized Yun by the neck and brought him crashing back to the ground. The branches had cushioned the fall a bit, but the blow to his head immediately blurred his vision.

Yun only realized that three shadows he couldn’t recognize were in front of him. Before losing consciousness completely, he could hear a deep voice saying unintelligible things and a high-pitched voice screaming something else, but that’s where his awareness ended. The last conscious thought he managed was of his dear mother.

Had he failed? Was it possible that his consciousness wouldn’t return in time? Would he wake up after dusk, having missed the opportunity to save her? He couldn’t even feel hurt by this. He couldn’t feel anything at all, just the presence of darkness and the culmination of all his accumulated doubts.

(...)

The emperor lay devastated at the foot of the bed where An had been battling between life and death. The spasms had left her with very little strength to keep moving. He cared little or nothing that his children were leading a senseless battle or one with an ambiguous beginning. He only knew that without her, his life had no meaning and he was about to lose her.

“Your Royal Majesty, you need to rest,” one of the servants said. “Come with me to your chamber. It’s better that you no longer torture yourself.”

Heng broke free from the grip abruptly, and the look he gave the servant conveyed it all: he didn’t want to be separated from her side, not when she seemed to be taking her last breaths of life. Without a word, the young man understood that he wouldn’t leave the room and withdrew to continue his assisting duties towards the empress.

After that, when Heng thought he could finally revel in his anguish in solitude, one of the palace guards appeared. His breath sounded agitated, but that didn’t make the emperor even turn to look at him.

“Your Highness...” he started and took a breath to continue, “It’s your son Shun, he’s gravely injured. Apparently, it was by a sword, but they’re still investigating the causes.”

For a moment, Heng’s eyes widened, snapping him out of the state brought on by An’s agony. He rose from the floor and hastily straightened his attire, then uttered words after hours of silence.

“Where is my son?” he inquired, feigning seriousness.

"We have him right next to us, my lord. He's being attended to, but it seems like he's losing blood profusely," the guard responded.

Heng said no more and headed towards the adjacent room where his son was. The first thing he identified was a strong groan of pain that squeezed his heart.

"My son... but what have they done to you?" he inquired with anguish.

"Father... I've failed in battle. They are numerous and show no mercy," he said through tears and gasps.

"Is the situation really that dire out there? I don't understand the cause of this ambush," Heng said as he noticed that the tourniquet on Shun's leg wasn't working properly. The blood was flowing freely from the wound.

"We couldn't settle things diplomatically," Shun's breathing was labored. "We also didn't know where those men came from, but things are looking very grim out there, father. Jin is in charge, but he alone won't be able to handle it, I'm sure."

"Jin..." he muttered, remembering one of his rebel sons, and he quickly rose to address the healers and servants. "Look at that bleeding... Attend to it immediately, make it stop, damn it! And open that curtain, I want to see the situation!" Heng exclaimed irrationally and desperately.

When the curtains were flung open, Heng could finally behold the chaos and experience what he had never witnessed in his kingdom: a bloody war. The last sunset to bring the feather was threatening to arrive, and that crimson hue seemed to have heralded it in advance.

(...)

When Yun woke up, he could feel the dizziness from his fainting spell. His head was throbbing, and slowly his vision was starting to work again. The first thing he noticed was bamboo bars right around him, and immediately he feared the worst.

The cold penetrated his bones, and he couldn't help his body reacting with a slight tremor in his jaw and limbs. He managed to calm it as his consciousness returned.

Following that, his gaze fixated on where he was trapped, and his heart skipped a beat. He was atop the mountain, right in front of that long-awaited Fenghuang monument. It felt so unfair to be both so close and so far at the same time. A sense of helplessness, sadness, and anger flooded Yun's heart. He couldn't believe what was happening.

He attempted to move, but he couldn't; something was preventing him. Upon reacting, he realized he was tied to that bamboo cage, both his ankles and his wrists; all he could do was look and perhaps speak. His heart raced as he felt trapped and devoid of options.

When he turned to look beside him, there lay another cage, and within it was Siu, tied in the same manner as him. At the sight of him, she cast him a glance filled with fear and anguish, but... Who had been so sadistic as to dare to do such a thing? And most importantly: Why them?

"Siu..." he uttered with surprise and weakness at the same time, attempting to move towards her on instinct, but to no avail.

"Yun, thank goodness, you're finally awake," the girl said amidst tears and desperation.

"Siu, don't lose hope, please. We don't have much time to talk, but just know that everything will be sorted out. We will get out of here at all costs," Yun assured her as he began to struggle once more to free himself.

"Yun, I need to warn you about the enemies surrounding us, please listen. Do you remember when my father told you that appearances can be deceiving? Well, then..." Siu took a breath to deliver all that she knew in a summarized manner. "The beings that have attacked us since we entered Yumai... they're not human. They are serpent-like monsters. I've seen them," Siu said, her voice sounding fearful.

"What? Is that why, when you shot your arrows at them, they turned into scales, like shedding skin?" Yun asked, horrified and intrigued, as he tried to comprehend everything the archer was telling him.

"Yes, and those things took my parents... I know nothing about them now," Siu replied with a shaky voice. However, that conversation couldn't continue its course, as a presence made their skin crawl as it approached.

Suddenly, amidst the shadows of the trees, a tall and burly figure emerged before them; it was none other than Gao, the one who had provided them with directions to the monument. His expression of hatred and anger sent a shiver down Yun's spine. Now, he truly felt lost, with no signs of the Fenghuang appearing anywhere.