9 (NO ONE POV)

Silence filled the room. No one even dare to speak a single word. This was what happened when the king was mad. No one will even dare to speak up. His aura was too intimidating that made people cowered away. But then, there must be someone who was brave enough to speak and that is the queen.

“What happen?” the queen asked. At that time, she and Tao were summoned by the king to his office. Once they entered the office, they knew that something was not right, and something must have happened.

“Yifan, or should I call Kris sneak into the tower. Do you know anything about this?” the king asked in a calm voice which actually scared the queen and Tao.

“Wh…Wha..What do you mean?” the queen asked, shocked. Tao’s eyes went wide.

Seeing the queen reaction, the king assumed that they didn’t have anything to do with Kris being in the castle. Without the king knowing, they do actually know everything except for the fact that Kris tried to sneak into the tower. The king was too dumb to realize the fact. After all, even though he never cared about his family, he knew that the queen won’t broke the promise of not seeing Kris anymore and he thought that Tao never knew the existent of Kris. But, he was wrong! Which mother would stand it not seeing her own child without her own will? And of course, she must have told Tao everything so that he knew that he had a brother.

“Tao…you could go back to your room. I need to speak to your mother,” the king said after a sigh. Tao just nodded. He was too shock about what the king just told him. Even if it just one sentence, he knew that Kris was in big trouble. Probably Suho was too.

After Tao went out of the room, the king stared at the queen. His expression was blank. It made the queen nervous as she was scared that the king knew that all of this was their plan. She don’t mind if the king wanted to punish her but she didn’t want Kris and Tao to be in trouble.

“When was the last the last time you see Kris?” the king asked.

“Well…it’s…12 years ago,” the queen replied. She was slightly nervous and was hoping that she wouldn’t do anything wrong in the king’s eyes.

“You know that Yifan is Kris, right?” the king asked again. This time, he stood up and walked towards the queen, standing a few inches in front of her. The queen stared into the king eyes in shocked. She tried to find a word to answer the king but nothing came out. She could only stared and do nothing. The king sighed and got back to his previous sit.

“I always keep an eye on him. Once a year, I would instruct one of my loyal men to go and check on him. When he got there 3 days ago, he found no one in the mansion, not a single life. I was starting to suspect that he might have run off somewhere with the servant. He is a new servant after all and I haven’t met him before and didn’t really trust him. But you know that I would never allow Kris to roam around freely. He might come back to the palace and try to destroy our country so, I asked the men to look for him. And guess what I got! He and his servant were here in the castle,” the king started.

The queen felt her heart stop. This was bad news. She didn’t know what she should do. She just kept silent and let the king continue.

“I was starting to like Yifan. He had a brain and definitely strong and not to mention he got the face. But I was a bit disappointed after I knew that he was actually Kris, our curse son,” the king continued.

“W…what do you mean?” the queen asked in a quiet tone. Her eyes getting teary at each word uttered by the king.

Not answering the queen question, the king continued, “It would be nice if Kris wasn’t the curse prince, right? It would have been great to have such a brilliant prince as our son but that never happen. Our curse son, is here…in the dungeon. He was caught for trying to steal the prophecy book. I had to take action. You haven’t forgotten right? If I see him for the second time, I will have to kill him.”

“B…but…your majesty…c…couldn’t you let h...him go? He is my son, our son!” the queen pleaded, tears streaming down her face.

“I’ve told you and the decision is final,” the king replied. He kept a stoic face in front of the queen. He should never show any emotion no matter what happen but he didn’t know why, a part of his heart hurt as if someone was squeezing it. He never cared about Kris, heck, he never cared about any of his son but why he felt this way. But then, the devil always wins. He won’t let anything, not even his own family, to get in his way of becoming the most powerful ruler.

“No one should know about this. They shouldn’t know that the curse prince is still alive. Tomorrow morning, he and his servant will be sentence to death. I’ll let you meet him in the morning if that is what you want,” the king continued. He didn’t look at the queen at all. He started to do his work without caring about the queen pleas.

Tired of pleading, the queen ran out of the office. She couldn’t take it anymore. She never thought that the one she love would turn out this cruel, this heartless. She regrets marrying him but still, she could never hate him. She loves him too much that it hurts.

When Kris was born, she was really scared knowing that Kris was the curse prince. She had begged the king not to kill him. She agreed with the king that she wouldn’t go and see Kris as long as Kris was safe. She didn’t even mind if Kris had to be kept alone in a mansion in the forest as long as he was okay. The king had totally changed after Kris was born. She couldn’t do anything about that. When Tao was born, she hoped that the king would change, but he never did. He even became much worse than before. He never gave Tao his love. He never played with Tao like any other father would do. It hurts her so much.

The queen was running in the hallway with tears in her eyes. She didn’t even care if anyone saw her weak state right now. What she only cared about now was the safety of her beloved son, Kris. She suddenly bumped into someone. She looked up and her tears became much heavier than before.

“Tao…” she choked. She hugged her second son, hoping that it would ease her sadness.

“M..Mom! What happen?” Tao asked, bewildered. He returned the hug which he knew his mother really needed it. Tao was waiting for his mother at the hallway. He was dying to know what had happened.

“Your father, the king…is going to kill your brother tomorrow,” she sobbed. Tao was shocked. He hugged his mother tighter as if telling her that he understands her feelings.

“He is too much Tao, too much! I can’t take it anymore. I always prayed that he would change. It would be a miracle if one day he would accept Kris again in our family. But I guess, I was too stupid hoping for something that would never happen. I was too stupid! I really hate it! He was not the same man I met 20 years ago. He was not the loving and caring husband I had before. He had turned into a devil. He is even worse than the devil. I just…couldn’t take it anymore!” the queen let out all of her frustration.

She just couldn’t bear with the pain of losing her son not momentarily but forever. Before, she was sad for not being able to be next to Kris physically but she was okay as she knew he was safe but now, everything had ruined. She regretted her decision for asking Kris to come along. If only she just told Kris to stay. If only she wasn’t too excited of having him living together with them. But all the ‘if’ was already too late. Tomorrow would be the last day Kris lived on this earth.

“Mom…don’t worry! I’ll save him for you. I’ll help him to get out. I promise I will!” Tao said in a firm voice. He was determined to help Kris. No matter what happen, he will help Kris. Kris was his everything. He would never let Kris died. He wanted Kris to be with him forever.

“You will? But it’s…its dangerous!” the queen said. She was worried with Tao’s decision. She does love Kris and wanted him to be saved but she didn’t want Tao to get hurt.

“I’ll ask for Yixing help. It will be okay, don’t worry!” Tao assured.

“B..but…I’m worried!”

“No, don’t be! I’ll be fine. I’ll do my best!” Tao said with a smile. He wanted his mother to trust him. He didn’t want her to get worried. He will stay safe and saved Kris from his death.

“Do the best for what?” A voice asked which shocked both the queen and Tao. They looked towards the voice and their eyes widen.