Again
1946 Words
The cloak Wei Xingyun wore over his light armor concealed him in the darkness. He stealthy traversed in the forest.
As he heard a faint rustling, a very soft wind hit his arm. Survival instinct struck his whole body and dodged, barely avoiding the blades, leaving cuts on his cloak. Without minutes delay, clashes of metals rang in the forest. Fighting at the speed of the fastest beast, two shadows fiercely collided in the darkness.
The trees obstructing them were cut fiercely. Marks of blades left on the wooden body as the fierceness of the battle immense.
The General was a veteran of the battlefield, strength comparable to the masters, with great experience at war, hands tainted with hundreds or thousands of blood that threatened his country. However, the enemy’s nimble movements and fierce yet swift attacks did not lose to him in comparison.
The enemy threw a blade in his direction. The General ducked to his right. Who would have thought that his enemy long anticipated this and General Wei was not his real target but the tree!
As an experienced General, simple tricks wont work on him.When the enemy realized he could not defeat the other person in terms of stamina, the enemy decisively laid non obvious traps by cutting the surrounding trees carefully without letting on the enemy.
Yet, even when a huge tree fell over, the General still attempted to dodge, the hood of his cloak got pulled off in the process. Only, there was another tree already falling over where he landed.
But before it hit him, he was pulled out of harm’s way and landed on a something.
“Your Highness!”
General Wei’s eyes snapped open upon hearing Ging’s voice. What greeted him was familiar eyes staring back at him.
“Y-Your Highness?” General Wei asked in between panting. “Zhuangjin.”
“Xingyun-ge?”
Wei Xingyun did not speak anymore. His blood flowed with both cold and warmth, mixed feelings flooded in his chest.
______
The path to repairing severed ties had been arduous. But now both of them need each other to stabilize the situation.
When Chunan heard the details of what Prime Minister Idjimo did, he could not help but grit his teeth. “He enjoyed his fill, didn't he?”
“What do you want us to do?”
“Take back the throne for the Prince and eliminate all threats,” He looked at Wei XIngyun, XIngyun-ge, will you cooperate?”
Wei XIngyun knelt in front of him, “I, General Wei, vowed my loyalty to you and you only. Nothing will change.”
Vivid memories from the past overlap in Chunan’s memory. The fifteen year-old Xingyun pledging his loyalty to the First Prince, while the former’s grandfather, General Wei Yanxin, was smiling proudly beside his grandson.
Chunan pulled him up but did not say anything about the other’s oath. “I’ll take back the throne for my brother. Help me, Xingyun-ge.”
“Your Highness, even if you were not going to be the king, I will follow you. Whoever you want to protect, I’ll serve with my life, too.
_________
Prince Yoshimura observed the small lights on the horizon. He ordered his men to extinguish the torches earlier. It's about time to catch their prey.
A clip-clop sound was heard as a horse slowly approached their place. He was surprised to see Aijin and Prince Huaixian mounted on the latter’s horse. The horse was still young hence, even if these two had small builds, it's still kind of amusing to see these two people riding a small horse.
“Your Highness,” both of them greeted Yoshimura before greeting the rest of the surrounding soldiers
“It’s dangerous here. Why did both of you come here?.”
“No one can bring the urgent messages so we volunteered. Anyway, it's not important.” Aijin stated to him, “Prince Zhuangjin and...Kazuyuki went missing.”
“Zhuangjin will be back soon. Your...friend is assigned to handle those about to attack the other end of Silver Rain.”
Aijin maneuvered the horse. She was suspicious if the Prince had anything to do with it. She wanted to lash out. In the end, she tried to calm herself down.
The Second Prince isn’t like that, Aijin.
“But Your Highness, the Inner Minister sent a messenger. Masatomo of the Miyazuya Clan had been*”
“Abd*cted?”
“Yes,“ she eyed the Prince.
He just glanced at her, “His cousin really was hell-bent in getting you. To the point where he wanted to get rid of Kazuyuki. I doubt that Masatomo had no plans of getting rid of me, as well. So don’t look at me like that.”
He called one of his officers and signaled one of his attendants to write his decree. He turned to his officer, “Bring your men and ask the Inner Minister for some clue to find Miyazuya Kazuyuki. Arrest Miyazuya Masatomo for treason, willful acts of damage and prioritizing self interest amidst war.”
The officers were a bit confused about the treason verdict but they would not dare question the Second Prince. They gave their salute and left. The Second Prince turned to Aijin, “Go back now. Let’s talk once this is over.”
“Your Highness,” AIjin called out to him. The Prince halted but did not look back. “Please be safe.”
Without waiting, she made the horse gallop. Prince Huaixian smiled. “Benefactor already had a change of heart?”
“Aren’t you too young to mind other people’s issues?”
“Benefactor, I’m not a toddler.”
“Yes, so study hard and be a good king in the future.”
“But the Prince isn’t bad, is he?”
“Maybe no. He’s just too used to hiding his real thoughts.”
They both did not see the small yet kind smile of the usually cold Prince.
He drew his sword, “It’s about time. We may not be the main force but our position is crucial for the victory of our country.”
Another drum of hooves resonated in the area. Chunan arrived alone, “Your Highness, the theory Kazuyuki gave was right.”
Prince Yoshimura nodded, “Have you found that person?”
“Yes. We can rely on him.”
“Good. But you need to stand for Kazuyuki in Silver Rain City. He’s missing.”
“Your Highness, are you sure of this?” Chunan said hesitantly. Even if the country was helping them, he and his brother were still foreigners.
“Go, we don’t have time.”
When Luminous returned, the food was already well-prepared. He forked a piece of pork cutlet and shoved it into his mouth. He saw Chraen smiled while looking at him.
“You,” he started, beaming at the other, "You really can cook.”
Chraen chuckled, “Not really. I only knew how to please those two people with this. Let’s eat?”
No one spoke while eating. However, Luminous can feel Chraen’s gazes. Though he was not uncomfortable about it, he also couldn't help but worry.
He looked up from his food and asked, “Are you worried about something?”
“I’ll tell you after we finish the meal.”
This piqued Luminous’ curiosity. However, he did not expect what Chraen did after the meal.
“This should be the right way or I remembered it wrong?”
It was already their second dead end.
Luminous stared at Chraen’s back as the other person struggled to find their way around the maze garden. He believed wholeheartedly that the Chraen who came to him the other day and this one were two different people.
However, he had no plans of telling him what actually happened right away. He needed to be careful when dealing with these things. Careful not to trigger anything that might endanger Chraen’s life.
Just as he was about to follow Chraen, the other person called him, “Luminous, don’t you think this wall was unusually too thick?”
Luminous pressed his left hand on the wall for support but just as his palm touched it, the area they were holding on to suddenly sunk. Startled, they heard a faint rumbling of unknown machineries. But before they could even look at it, a female’s voice suddenly called for Chraen’s name.
Chraen became stiff all of a sudden, eyes blanked.
Luminous looked at him worriedly. “What happened? Are you alright?”
It took him a few seconds before he finally moved. He slowly stood up, his voice seemed gentler and finer than usual. His eyes curved as he smiled at Luminous, “Let’s go. I’m afraid Mother will get angry if she sees us here.”
Without waiting for Luminous’ answer, Chraen pulled him out of the maze easily. Luminous frowned. Something was wrong with the other’s actions.
The elevated, almost shrieking voice of the woman made Luminous’ frown grow deeper.
“Chraen! Chraen, how dare you bring someone in my garden?! Get out as soon as possible!”
“Mother, we’re almost there, wait a bit.”
As they stepped out of the maze, a crisp slap greeted Chraen’s face.
Luminous pulled him back but he was late to see Celeste’s actions.
“Chraen!” Luminous held and observed the other’s face. Chraen’s cheeks started to turn red.
Celeste turned at him in hysteria, “Who are you?! This kid has no friends. Did you trick him to get in here?!”
Chraen turned his head and looked at Celeste without letting go of the person in front of him. “Madam, don’t you recognize me? I am Luminous Zofel Madrozja. We’ve met before,” he said, clenched teeth. He really did not like her. And now, she abused her step son? Does Mr. Visterdja know about it? Did he really just let her hurt Chraen?
Celeste’s eyes widened. She did not recognize Noctis’ nephew. Trying to save her face, she smiled, “A-ah, it is Young Master Zofel. I’m sorry. Did I startle you? I always tell this kid not to bring people in the maze. Because the maze was rarely maintained. There are areas that need repair.”
Luminous just stared at her. Yes, what she said made sense, but there were too many flaws in her reasons. He looked at Chraen. For some reason, the latter’s eyes downcasted, not even saying a single word. He looked worried and scared. “It doesn’t matter. May I have some ice cubes? I'll take care of Chraen.”
Celeste’s eyes narrowed, “You don’t need to worry about this child.” She tried to pull Chraen but Luminous blocked between them.
“Madam, I’ll bring him to his room. We still need to plan for the school festival.”
Luminous put his arms on Chraen’s shoulder, “Let’s go.” He did not wait for the other’s reply. He led the other into the house to look for Damian.
“Madam sent Mr. Damian to bring the documents Master Bazyli left behind.”
“Then could you tell me where Chraen's room is?”
“Please follow me.”
On the way, Luminous saw a huge family portrait with both Celeste and Chraen on it. Both were smiling as if both had a good relationship with each other. He sighed. Luminous did not mean to interfere with their family affair, but how could he ignore what happened earlier?
“Damn, and here I thought you had a good relationship with your mom.”
Luminous brought him to the
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