Dreamwalker

7. Chapter 7

We left the temple together as one unit, with Jun, Renjun, and Monk Yang leading the way. I slowed my pace to walk beside Flora and Lily, who in turn, walked a little bit slower to keep a few steps behind me.

“Did anything happen last night?” I asked the two of them, keeping my face forward so I wouldn’t get lost. Jun smiled at me from the corner of his eyes, before he turned to say something to Monk Yang.

“His Majesty sent you garments to be worn during the parade this afternoon.” Flora dutifully replied, keeping her head low as she spoke. I frowned, wondering how I could get her to relax around me. She didn’t need to be formal with me -- it’s not like I was a real priestess anyway.

“They’re so beautiful! I think it’ll look wonderful on you,” Lily shouted cheerfully, shrinking under the glare her sister shot her, for speaking out of turn. Lily’s excited voice made the guys turn around to look at the three of us curiously.

“Jade,” Jun called, holding his hand out. I lifted an eyebrow, and he motioned for me to come closer, “My priestess should be beside me at all times, don’t you think?”

“Nope,” I deadpanned, even though my feet were already moving towards him. Jun grinned, taking my hand when I finally stood next to him, “Let’s go find Minghao before you get ready for the parade.”

I nodded slowly, recalling his description of his younger brother, “The Eighth Prince, right? Is he your favorite sibling?”

“Absolutely.” Jun replied instantly, his grin spreading across his entire face, “I love Minghao the most.”

“I never took you as the ‘doting older brother’ type.”

Jun shrugged, not ashamed to admit his feelings at all, “I dote on those I love.” He leaned into me, lowering his voice conspiratorially, “Are you jealous? Should I dote on you as well?”

I kissed my teeth, rolling my eyes at the notion, “Keep your weird affection to yourself.”

“Your Highness!”

We all stopped short at the sound of a woman’s voice calling for Jun from the opposite end of the walkway.

A young woman stood in front of us in all-black attire, a group of servants bowing their heads behind her. I recognized her instantly -- she was the person that had a sobbing fit in the throne room. She looked as if she was still in mourning, from the way her tired, russet-colored eyes reflected sadness and exhaustion. Her jet black hair was styled plainly, but her drab clothes and haggard appearance didn’t hide the fact that she was pretty. I imagined if she didn’t look so downtrodden right now, she’d win over more than a few hearts.

Jun slowed his steps, the smile falling from his face almost instantly, only to be replaced with a stern expression. He shot me a look that I couldn’t quite read, and released my hand, whispering, “Jade, stay behind me.”

The group continued to approach us until we were only a few feet apart, every servant bowing to their knees in front of the Eldest Prince. I watched on, curious to see what would happen next.

“Greetings to Your Highness.” She stated evenly, her gaze immediately zeroing in on me even as she curtsied in greeting. She glared fiercely at me, and Jun moved over just a bit to get between us, blocking me from view.

“Did you somehow misplace your manners when you were dragged from the throne room?” Jun questioned coolly, and I stared at his back in surprise. I don’t know what I was expecting him to say, but it wasn’t that, “Others are standing right beside me.”

The young woman dipped her head again, turning towards Monk Yang this time, “Greetings, Uncle.”

Monk Yang cleared his throat, smiling awkwardly, “It’s always good to see you, Niece.”

Jun crossed his arms over his chest, frowning at the woman’s behavior. If I had to guess, he was still waiting on her to acknowledge me, but from the look on her face, he had a better chance of waiting for Hell to freeze over. Her gaze landed on me for a split second (from what I could see over Jun’s shoulder), but she looked away again, probably weighing her options. I didn’t care either way, but Jun seemed more than a little annoyed by her ignoring me.

“Your Highness, may I have a word with you?” She asked softly, trying a new approach, and Jun shook his head.

“You may not. Save any words you have to apologize to my High Priestess,” Jun shot back, striding forward. It was clear he was done with the entire conversation.

We all moved to follow behind him, not sparing the young woman a second glance.

“Prince Junhui!” She pleaded, her voice taking on a tearful edge. “You don’t know her! You don’t even know where she came from! How could you give my position away… to an imposter?!”

“Chen Daiyu!” Jun shouted so sternly that poor Flora visibly jumped at his tone. He kept his back turned, but even facing the other direction didn’t hide how harshly he spoke, “It appears being stripped of your role by my Royal Father wasn’t enough to teach you a lesson.”

Daiyu gasped as if Jun had physically struck her, and I decided that now would be a great time to step in.

“Jun,” I called softly, closing the distance between us and wrapping my arm around his. As I suspected, my actions got his attention immediately, “Aren’t you taking me to meet your younger brother?”

Jun nodded slowly as if he only just remembered what we had been doing before Daiyu showed up, “Yes?”

I smiled gently, hoping he could take the hint, “You’ll have to lead the way. I have no idea where we’re going.”

It appeared my words got through to him, because his feet were moving again, and the distance between us and Daiyu continued to grow. I glanced over my shoulder to find Daiyu staring an angry hole into my back, her fists clenched at her sides.

Lily and Flora rushed to follow us, Lily whispering to her sister under her breath, though I couldn’t hear what it was. Monk Yang had gotten very quiet, trailing along behind us deep in thought.

Renjun tsked, approaching Jun’s left side, “Your Highness, wasn’t that a little harsh towards the Priestess?”

Jun pushed out a breath, “If I’m not harsh with her, she’ll never move on. She needs to realize that we are not fated.”

“The Eighth Prince won’t be pleased to hear how you treated her,” Renjun added matter-of-factly, and Jun sighed.

“I don’t want to upset him, but Xiao Ai was too unruly just now. She’s fighting a losing battle. If my Royal Father finds out how she’s acting right now, she’ll face an even harsher sentence.”

My ears perked up at that name. Jun had mentioned her before, “Xiao Ai is Chen Daiyu? She was your first High Priestess…”

Jun shook his head adamantly, “I’ll only have one High Priestess in this life, and that’s you.” He covered my hand on his arm, and squeezed it reassuringly, “She was promised to become my High Priestess, but as I’ve told you before: she’ll be given to one of my brothers now. Maybe I can convince my Royal Father to hand her over to Minghao....”

“And you’re completely fine with that? You won’t have any regrets later?” I asked, uncertainty making me frown. By stealing Chen Daiyu’s spot, I was probably turning her entire life upside down. The more I thought about it, the more it started to make sense. It didn’t surprise me that she was upset. She probably felt betrayed by everyone around. I had been handed the title she must’ve worked hard for.

Jun stopped walking, making me nearly crash into him, as he turned to face me fully. He grabbed my shoulders and held me still under an intense gaze. The others stared wide-eyed at our sudden closeness, but it seemed Jun was unfazed by them, “Since the moment I woke up with you in my bed, I have yet to regret a single thing. The day you vanished, I vowed to myself that if you came back, I’d keep you beside me. I’m still not sure how to do that yet, but I always keep my promises, no matter what.”

I averted my gaze, not at all prepared for his words. My heart started fluttering despite my apprehension. Accidentally, my eyes landed on Flora, who’s lovely, round cheeks were flushing bright red at the scene in front of her. She covered her eyes and turned her back to us, Lily giggling beside her as she did the same.

“...You hardly know me,” I murmured under my breath finally, biting my bottom lip.

The action earned me a smirk from Jun, who was always ready to tease me, “Did your heart skip a beat just now? Are you ready to devote your life to me?”

“Ugh, you ruin everything you say with your own mouth,” I rolled my eyes, snickering as we continued on our path. Renjun chuckled to himself, and we were back to normal, the entire situation with Daiyu on the backburner.

Once we arrived at the main gate of the temple, we took a long walk to the Royal Library -- a place where Jun insisted we would find Minghao, the Eighth Prince. It was insane to me how massive the palace was since the walk between Jun’s palace and the temple was much longer than I expected.

The Royal Library was an impressive building with black and gold arches, carved with meticulous thought and care. Monk Yang excused himself before we began to climb the ridiculous steps ahead, mentioning something about going to prepare for the parade.

Jun pushed the massive doors open and immediately took off, calling for his younger brother. The robed scholars in the room continued their work, basically unfazed by Jun’s antics as the rest of our group stepped through the door.

“Is he always like this?” I whispered to Renjun, who just laughed at my question.

“The Prince turns into the sweetest, kindest older brother in front of the Eighth Prince. His younger brother only knows warmth from him.”

“And for everyone else?” I asked curiously, wondering why I’d never seen him this excited in the short time we’ve been together. Then again, I was still pretty much a stranger.

“There’s a reason why our Onyx Prince is not the Crown Prince,” Renjun confessed quietly.

He escorted me to the second floor of the library where Jun was quite literally latched onto a tall, fair-skinned, slender young man with a jawline that was even more defined than his older brother’s. He had small eyes behind his round glasses, and a studious air about him, his dark eyes reflecting intelligence and an uncanny inner calm.

Jun rubbed his cheek against his brother’s face affectionately, making the other young man laugh, as he pulled his glasses off and hugged Jun around his shoulder.

This entire time I thought Jun’s “little brother” was an actual child, but the Eighth Prince was certainly a grown man. They were most likely only months apart, not the years I had imagined.

“Jade, if you continue to stare, I might get jealous. Come meet my little brother, Minghao,” Jun beckoned, and I walked over to the two of them, waving my hand.

“Hey. I’m Jade,” I smiled warmly, wondering if I should bow. Minghao lifted his eyebrow as he regarded me carefully, his eyes looking me over from head-to-toe.

“I truly thought you were a figment of my brother’s imagination. There’s no way I’d believe a beautiful woman just suddenly appeared out of thin air. But here you are, in the flesh. I see why my brother was so determined to find you.”

“Renjun said that too…” I commented thoughtfully, turning my gaze to Jun, “What did you say to them?”

Jun looked up at the sky, turning his head from left to right as if the ceiling was the most interesting thing in the world.

Minghao chuckled, “Either way, I’m glad to finally meet you, High Priestess Jade. I’m glad to know my brother isn’t as insane as they say.”

Jun pouted, “That’s offensive!”

“It was meant to be, big brother,” Minghao teased. He glanced behind me at Flora and Lily, granting them a warm smile too, “And they are?”

“These are Lady Jade’s handmaidens, Your Highness,” Renjun explained, making Flora and Lily get to their knees faster than a pin could drop.

“Stop that,” I chided, moving over to them both, and lifting them by their elbows, “Renjun didn’t bow like that, so why should you?”

Minghao chuckled, “Brother, you have a very interesting Priestess.”

Jun nodded in my direction, a twinkle in his eye as he smiled at me, “I know. Every day with her is a new experience.”

I huffed, “I feel like I should be offended by that.”

That earned me a laugh from both princes. Minghao walked over to a table, placing a bookmark in the book that rested there, “Have you started preparations for the parade? I was surprised to hear Royal Father set one up so quickly.”

“You know how our Royal Father is -- once his mind is set, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop him,” Jun said with a sigh, “I’m sure Royal Mother is furious with him right now.”

“The Empress won’t let him forget this for a while, I’m sure,” Minghao agreed, placing his book back on the nearest bookshelf.

“Mistress,” Flora called from beside me, and I turned her way, taking my eyes off the two princes that were chatting happily together. “There’s a lot to do for the parade, and if we spend more time here…”

I nodded. I didn’t want to get Lily and Flora in trouble for my being late, “I hate to interrupt you both, but...Jun, I have to go get ready. Stay here and have a nice time chatting with your brother.” I waved goodbye to Minghao, who bid me farewell, while Jun stopped short in his conversation, frowning at me.

“You’re going to go without me?” Jun questioned with an adorable pout, and I wasn’t sure why he was so bothered by it.

“Does the Eldest Prince need to be present while I get ready?”

“Jade, this parade is for you, but you’re MY High Priestess. Of course, we’ll be in the parade together,” Jun explained as if this was common knowledge. I gave him an expectant look, waiting for him to elaborate, “I’ll be at the head of the parade to lead you to our Royal Father. Now that Heaven has acknowledged our union, we must be acknowledged in the eyes of the Monarch.”

I heaved a heavy sigh. Another damn ceremony, “Greeaaaaatttttttt.”

End Chapter 7