Blood drained from your veins like your skin was becoming permeable and there were leaks in your flesh. You stood there, unmoving whilst the sun settled behind the leaves. Your chest was tight and constricted like there was fabric around your heart and someone was pulling the string that held it closed tighter and tighter. The men had left ages ago but you still remained immobile, frozen to the lingering traces of their words, chained there like a depraved dog; the cold metal of reality chaining you tight, not letting you go.

‘This would be it’, you thought. History would rewrite itself in revolutionary rebellion and you’d be the pathetic soul to witness it all and hope foolishly for the best. Your actions now could define what generations to come would learn of the great dynasties and the thought rattled your dampening courage, making you shudder subconsciously and whimper in its wake.

The rational conscience of your mind ignited a fire of imminent desire for action and it kicked your stifled joints to movement once again. It wasn’t till you had jumped off the branched and looked around like a paranoid, yet forlorn stray that you noticed your breathing had been soft and shallow. You touched your cheeks to feel their flushed blossoms, trying to calm yourself down in the process and watched the last few moments of twilight flutter past, the sun now fully blocked behind the horizon. ‘This was it’, you repeated once again, forcing yourself to relish the responsibility.

With thoughts zipping through your brain a mile a minute, your first coherent decision was to find the maid and get her to sneak out and meet up with Qi-yan, to call for back up because you’d most definitely need it. The men were talking about whatever operation they had happening tomorrow and you just didn’t have enough time. With that being the first and last thing in your head, you sped off to find your accomplice.

Her face was a wash of pallid white at the blubbering of the news. Without another word, she composed herself and nodded to your orders. “I promise to be back with the team, but you have the most important job of them all,” she had her hands placed on both sides of your shoulders. She looked you dead in the eye, “You. You must be the one to tell the princes…” she paused emphatically and tensed at the sound of servers shuffling around the corridors out from the room you were hiding in – since meal times were approaching, they were usually busy at this hour. “Failure is not an option.” And as she said those words, she bustled out the door as if the meeting never happened. If she could be relied upon to do her job, then you most definitely had no other choice than to complete yours.

Your first thought was to find Chen. Out of all the princes that you had met, he was the most level-headed and he wouldn’t jump to conclusions. He would take it with consideration and plan out his actions henceforth with precision and acuity; plus he owed you anyway, he couldn’t possibly refuse to help, it would be stupid, especially since his country was under threat. Pushing your way undetected among the busyness of the serving rooms, you made for Chen’s room in the direction you had remembered Chen had walked the last time the two of you were together.

You scuffled past the courtyards and finally to the quiet areas near his quarters, the pounding in your chest making up for the lack of sound in your surroundings, reminding you that this was real and going much too fast for your liking. As you slipped into the halls, following down corridor after large corridor to the inner rooms, a hand suddenly pulled you back, yanking you into a film of must and steam.

A shamefully hopeless yelp escaped your lips, a manifestation of your agitation coming to light as you heard the door slide shut behind you. It was a few seconds before you could fully register your whereabouts but the loud flowing of water gave you an idea. It was the bathing rooms, the ornamented wooden tub with flower petals, silk embroided curtains and sweet perfumed incense. Vapour rose up from the humid rushing pool and slathered itself along your anxious expression. Your stance was cautious, weary, already thinking the worst that someone in the short encounter had found out about you eavesdropping and wanted your head.

“Good evening,” came a pleasant voice and you immediately in a sharp breath. It was a prince you had so come rushing to find, but not the right one.

“How have you been, young Miss Anise. I could say it’s been a long time,” Prince Lay’s curious crooked smile peeked over the mist, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“A long time, your majesty.” You tested, eyes narrowing not only in prudence but to get a better look in the fog.

“Has anyone else been clever enough to see your true colours or am I the first? The rumours about the Crimson Lotus still existing are true then? Is it?” He took a slow step closer and you reflexively backed up.

“What?” you asked in response, feigning innocence as you would always but this time you had anticipation already in your heart that he wouldn’t fall for it.

“Please, don’t lie like this. I went out of my way and did some research. I checked and this Liu Anise girl never existed. You and I both know that honesty is the best rule for any relationship.” His eyes were hard and he had on his usual expression of indifference, tinted sometimes with the rare subtle emotion.

“Oh, you think we have a relationship here?” Instead of dodging his accusation, you pressed on with this subject, knowing that there wasn’t much you could do now – the truth would come out sooner or later and it was inevitable: you had a day. You needed to tell someone about the mutiny and as much as you wanted it to be Chen, if Lay was fated to be the one that heard first, then the gods would make it happen.

“What else could you call this?” His hand gestured casually and his small smile was strained again. “I know who you are.” He played it off with casualty in his voice but the words were tense and firm. “I know who you are and I want to know what you’re doing here. Just this is enough to place me above my brothers in whatever relationship they have with you. Things like these are always blurred and grey.”

“I don’t need this right now. I really…” your voice wavered. You had enough, he wasn’t being fair at all and there was just no chance to tell him your news that overrode any other in importance. “Don’t come asking me to tell you who I am or what I’m doing here. I don’t… I- just, am.” The bravery you had injected into your voice crumbled and faltered and Lay saw the bravado being stripped free off the little vulnerable ghost that hid inside.

You weren't lying when you had told Kris you were nothing. That was one of the few times you were telling the truth and the reality was harsher to bear than false dreams. You had a name, but it changed from mission to mission. You had a face but it was contorted and expressed according to the circumstance, according to what you wanted out of the audience. You had a voice but it spoke what others wanted to hear. For the first time in your life, you doubted this way of life, living in place of another and feeling the temporary satisfaction of stealing another’s identity just for the moment.

The rush of the water was the only constant in the room as Lay bit his lip hesitantly and stepped forward again, and again. He was walking closer to you, his eyes never leaving your face.

“I know you. I know you better than you know yourself.” His words blended into the flow of the water and you wanted to immerse yourself in them to find out for yourself if there was any truth buried there. But your preservation instinct kicked in and you took an equal amount of steps back as he did forward, retreating as he advanced. You first reflex was to reach for the daggers hidden in your robes, one tied to your right thigh, the other concealed against the side of your chest. Nevertheless, confusion hazed over your desire to attack and rather than hurt him as you would originally, you opted to flee, to escape and your fingers loosened reluctantly, clenching into fists as substitute to the emptiness.

Lay’s voice rose again in the turmoil and his comment surprised you at its accuracy. With a lingering agony, he voiced, “I know you want to run, but what do you think you’re running from… I have no intention of hurting you.” He was sincere, but in all of this, you still couldn’t understand why he was doing this.

Scanning your periphery, there were no windows anywhere since it was the bathing rooms to obviously protect privacy, except for large air vents in the middle of the roof, to let out the steam. As much as you wanted to climb out there, the roof was too high, you’d never reach and the holes were too small anyway. Finally, you had backed up till you could no more, your heel already touching the edge of the wooden, in-ground basin, the size four times of your bed filled with steaming water. Water droplets escaped and wetted the soles of your fabric shoes as you tried to balance yourself as further as you possibly could without falling in.

“What do you want from me?” your voice was dry, crackled and broken and Lay was more than thankful because he greedily caught in any response he could get. He didn’t understand the immense need to overwhelm himself with you but the charisma was unbearable.

“For you to admit that this is what you want. That you being here is the right thing. That Luhan didn’t fall head over heels for nothing. I… don’t have all the answers…” He didn’t stop walking and the unavoidable end was that you had nowhere else to go but take the full force of his gaze. He was now a step away from you and the atmosphere was so thick that it could be sliced right through with a knife. He paused, biting his lip again as if he was supressing something from being blurted out of his mouth. His hand rose slowly but surely, reaching out and you cringed away. Before he could get any closer you turned and stepped into water, for a second as if the liquid would take all of your impact, swallowing you up whole without messy spray and droplets like a single globule descending from heavenly rain clouds.

In the corner of your eyes, you watched as his expression changed to surprise, hand reaching out faster now, snatching you from the fall but missing. As soon as you hit the water, you tried hopelessly to run and reach the other side, to swim out and then leave the stifling room.  Your robes up the water quickly, turning the violet colour a darker, almost menacing shade of velvet night, weighing you down like stones attached to your ankles. Even though the door was on the other side, you were sure that with your stark determination, even the saturated clothes couldn’t drag you back down. There was a splash following yours and panic rose in your system, adrenaline kicking in to move faster, paddle harder. The water came up to mid waist which made running difficult to manoeuvre and the struggle was short lived, when you felt his land grasp onto the back of your collar.

His cold fingers wrapped tightly around the fabric and pulled; sliding the cotton material down your back, robe flowing with the water to the murky depths, exposing your . It seemed that in his steadfast and unrelenting grip, he had caught onto your camisole and undergarments as well, tugging them down in his unembellished determination. His need for you to stay, for you to give him the answers he so deserved was so raw that it seemed the energy had been yanked out of him as he held you down.

With the robes now falling down around your elbows the both of you stood still, his hold still strong and yours just as unforgiving. The piece of fabric was the only thing that connected the two strangers in the water and heavy breathing infiltrated the room. From your saturated locks that splayed down your back in joined threads, what was usually hidden became revealed as he saw the first answer before his eyes. The tattoo, designating your sympathies imprinted courteously below your shoulder blade. He didn’t feel so much as shocked as he did relief, the wave crushing him and alleviating his discrepancies.  

Feeling the first signs of you opening up to him, Lay’s fingers gradually uncurled from his deadlock to touch the new affirmation that the two of you shared. His cold fingers pressed lightly at first like the fluttering of feathers, changing to the hard pressure of his skin on yours. Feeling the hard caress, your shoulders lifted in a cowering manner and wordlessly you pulled the wet robes back over your shoulders, fixing the mess back in place and covering yourself.  All this happened so slowly; there was a silence between the two of you with only the water to make up for the noiselessness.

Now there was nothing more, everything was seemingly drained – just how you’d felt when you’d initially heard the news, completely drained. The irony of standing in the middle of a b tub didn’t help either but Lay’s hand rested itself onto your shoulder, turning your around to face him again. You gave in, surrendered to the coercion and before you had realised it, a mix of tub water had washed itself in tears down your face.

Your expression had crumbled, just like your façade and you didn’t know anymore. You were crying before you had even noticed it and the droplets wouldn’t stop, mingling with your wet clothes, the wet surroundings, like perpetual rain. It had been a long time since you had last cried. You never cried and the action was almost against your body’s natural instinct. It was like you had to break yourself in certain places for the liquid to fall because you’d hardened yourself up all this time that it was painful in another sense completely for the tears to come.

Wordlessly, Lay brought you into an embrace, pulling you into his chest as you wept against his too, already wet clothes. He rested his chin atop your head and breathed in deeply like inhaling for the first time. The water continued in the room, in harmony with your sobbing.

But the gods did not take pity, even when you were at your lowest and the world was expecting the best out of you. Prince Luhan slid open the door with an already sullen expression, looking for his ever-vanishing brother. He had wanted to call him to dinner and thank him these past few days for looking after him, for bringing him brewed teas and honey water to lift his spirits. Luhan wanted to tell lay that the girl would always hold a soft spot in his heart but it was a spot that he could eventually mend. He could have her as his in the sense of a Prince owning a member of the harem but he knew she wouldn’t take it either way; he didn’t want to force the girl to love him back and that forced affection was the worst anyone could ever give.

Luhan wanted to tell Lay that it would all be fine. He’d get over it, but after sliding open the door and seeing the sight, he wasn’t so sure anymore.

Who knew that old wounds could be ripped open so fast and by someone so close – that they were actually festering underneath the fresh skin, just waiting to spill over infection and disease. Who knew?

~

A/N:  Hey guuuyyysss~ I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know you waited for a long time. I have exams and crap on for school so I can only update once in a while. I made sure this chapter was long enough to sustain you for that unknown length of time. I just want you thank you all for getting so far with this pic and for putting up with me~ I always enjoy comments so don't be afraid to pen something down! Thanks for reading~ I really appreciate it! <3 <3 <3 :D

And this chapter, is also dedicated to Lay who is unwell at the moment. I hope all of you unicorn lovers watch out for any news of him getting better. Please don't work so hard, YiXing! You make us fans worried to death!