16. Belong With You. .

The noises were coming closer by any seconds. I panicked from the inside even if I knew there were two incredibly courageous men ready to fight and protect me. I looked at Xiumin who smirked at me before grabbing another weapon from the ground and throwing it at me. I carefully grabbed the sword and smiled. I was ready to fight also.

“ You can’t give her that! She will hurt herself ! “ Yixing said furiously at Xiumin. “ It is not the role of a lady! “ He added and Xiumin almost laughed at his remark. “ She is more than a lady and you know it. “ He simply said before his eyes met mine. I blushed lightly and looked to the ground. Before Yixing had the chance to even breath , the first men came our way. Within seconds there were down , due to the skillful abilities of the two men. I practically didn’t had to move a single finger.

“ There are in the dungeons! Catch them ! It’s an Imperial Order ! “ We heard another man say. This time we had no choices. We had to escape , rapidly. The two men I liked looked at each other and nodded. Xiumin killed man after man to made our way to the nearest escape. Yixing grabbed my arm and dragged me closer. I was protected by his inviting embrace. I felt immediately secured and followed them as we were now making our way to the nearest door. Despite the now sunset who was bringing us deeper and deeper into the darkness , Xiumin easily made his way out of the palace and near the forest. We were about the leave the Imperial propriety when some footsteps were heard. “ Where do you think you are going? “ A man said. We all stopped and I closed my eyes.

Yixing turned around , forcing me to do the same in the process due to our position. “ Xiufeng… “ Yixing said recognizing the man. The so called Xiufeng smirked and crossed his arms against his chest. The army was coming closer and closer and our chance to make it out in one piece was also running away with every seconds we were staying in place. “ Do you really think running away with the new Imperial muse is wise? You will be executed when they will catch you , you know that Yixing…” The man said. That’s when I understood. The armor…his stature… He was one of Yixing’s men before he got caught and put in prison.

“ Is she really worth it? “ He added . “ You know, I heard the Emperor was about to forgive you… if you run away , you sign your death. There will be no turning back. “ He added and Yixing looked at me before smiling tenderly. “ She is worth every risk I am taking. Even more… I know what’s ahead of me if ever I got caught… and if ever I am , I will surrender to death with a good will. I simply can’t give up on her , Xiufeng… I am sure one day you will understand… “ He said looking into the man eye’s and answering truthfully to his question. His honesty shocked me deep inside. Would he really surrender to death this easily if eve we happened to get caught? I knew he was a man of honor but I never taught it would be like that…

The army was coming closer and I panicked. “ We must go… “ Xiumin said to Yixing. Xiufeng sighted. “ I am not surprised by you , Xiumin, to fall for her. You are a really passionate man but you , Yixing, I must admit I am surprise… I guess that must be the kind of love you only live once.. “ He said smirking for himself. As the army was coming close to us I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to see my soulmate , whoever he might truly be , get killed in front of my eyes. I waited for it to happen… a gasp of pain … of surprise… but nothing happened. I only heard a masculine voice talking.

“ There are on the other side! Go find them quickly! “ Xiufeng shouted to the men. I opened my eyes, only to see him smiling to us. “ Xiufeng… “ Yixing said surprised from his sudden action. He saved our lives. He turned around , ready to walk away. “ Run. You won’t have forever before they found out it’s a lie… “ He said simply , about to leave. “ Why? “ Yixing asked him and his face around to look at him for the last time. “ You have been a good man. A good General , Yixing … a courageous man… I believed in your convictions… if you believe this woman is worth the risk of being killed, she must be really special. Go ahead and hide. I truly hope you will found a place to be safe. May god have pity on you… because the Emperor won’t …  “ He said terribly serious before he walked away, taking away with him the sound of the soldiers walking. Yixing crisped from the inside. “ Wait! “ He said but Xiumin quickly pushed him down to the ground to shut him down.

“ Don’t argue anymore , Yixing, we don’t have a single second to waste , hurry up!” He said to him but Yixing seemed still quite traumatized by the act of his late soldier. “ But he will be killed Xiumin! He will be killed when they’ll found out he lied! “ He said panicked. Xiumin helped him coming back on his feet. “ He knew the risk he was taking… He sacrificed himself to the profit of something bigger … you would only bring shame to his honorable sacrifice if you’d stay here any longer ! “ He replied. I stayed there, mesmerized by their discussion that was so heart touching.

“ If you truly love her, we should leave… she won’t make it that long if she gets caught.. neither will the two of us… “ Xiumin added and that’s when Yixing’s gaze lightened up. He understood that , even if the man sacrifieced himself for us , there was no time to mourned , at least not yet. “ It’s time to go … “ He finally realized and dragged me by the hand outside of the palace’s propriety.

The sun was now down and the night was deep and dark. There was no way to see a couple of feet further in front of us as we made our way deeper into the forest.  We didn’t know where we were going neither for how long we would be safe but we ran for our lives that night. I don’t know how much distance we managed to make but it was enough to lead my whole body to make a total shut down. I was dead , physically and emotionally. I needed some rest but there was no way for us to stop. Soon enough , the two boys noticed that I became slower than before and turned around. “ Are you alright , Meiying? “ Yixing asked me worried as he came closer . I sighed. “ Yeah.. I am just.. “ I yawned. “ Really tired already… “ I said. He smiled sadly. “ come on my back , I will carry you . “ He said about to turn around. Xiumin gasped and came closer to us. “ Are you crazy? You just come out of prison , you probably haven’t eat a proper meal in the past few days and you want to spend all your remaining energy carrying her? At this rhythm , we will be dead by the morning. “ He said and Yixing frowned. He wasn’T entirely wrong. Yixing seemed quite mal nourished and tired himself, even if I don’t think I was that much of an heavy weight , there was no need for me to over use him in any way tonight.

I looked at Yixing who simply smiled at me. “ Don’t worry , I will be just fine! Come on , Meiying. “ He said turning around to make me climb but Xiumin grabbed his shoulder to stop him. “ Yixing… it’s not a great idea…” He added. “ What do you want to do then? She clearly can’t walk anymore.