The Untamed Princess

Chapter Twenty-Three: The Astonishing Aftermath

The sight that greeted them was less like an abandoned summer house and more like a wild jungle.  Branches, vines and leaves were everywhere, covering the floor and walls.  At first glance, nothing human could be seen.

Then, Weisheng noticed an area to the side of the room, near an open window.

No.  The window wasn't open.  It was shattered.  The remnants of the ornate wooden screens were scattered about the floor beneath, meaning that something had broken in, rather than out.  His eyes slid to the left, and landed on a spherical tangle of branches and vines, almost like a cocoon.

Unafraid, but very apprehensive, Weisheng moved towards the shape.  Luo Jian went to step in front of him defensively, but the prince motioned him back.

As he had with the doors, Weisheng slowly reached out.

He heard a rustling of leaves, as if in warning, and he trembled involuntarily.  Still, he kept extending his arm until his hand touched the closest branch.  He closed his eyes, and willed himself to stay perfectly still, keeping his emotions in check.

The rustling stopped, almost as if nature itself was assessing him, gauging his intentions.

Then, slowly but surely, the branches and vines started to recede, and he was allowed to see what they had been protecting so fiercely.

It was as he had both hoped and feared.

She was lying there, so still and so pale.  At first, she looked almost peaceful, as if she might have been sleeping.  Then he focussed his gaze and noticed that her dress was ripped at the shoulder, and blood was drying from a patch of torn skin there.  And there were angry red marks around her throat, and a trickle of blood flowed from her temple.

Luckily, he was relieved to see, the rest of her clothing looked undisturbed, other than the sash at her waist, which was half undone.

Forcing himself to stay calm, Weisheng moved forward to take a closer look, and it was impossible to describe the sense of relief he felt when he saw her chest gently rise and fall as she breathed, slowly but steadily.

He gathered her carefully in his arms and looked around.

There was no movement from the greenery surrounding them, so he took it as a sign that he was being permitted to take her out of their care.  He nodded once to Luo Jian, and the two of them made their way carefully across the floor of the summer house and out of the door.

They had taken only a few steps back into the orchard towards the prince's mansion when they heard a loud, creaking, groaning sound.

They turned around and were amazed to see the vines and branches surrounding the structure tightening, much like a large boa constrictor incapacitating its prey until, eventually, the building shattered and crumbled to nothingness.

With that final act of defiance, nature withdrew, until the forest looked much as it always had.  Tranquil, if a little wild.  Weisheng and Luo Jian gave each other a long look, then headed back towards the mansion, their precious cargo cradled carefully in the prince's arms.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of the palace grounds, the eldest prince had almost been driven out of his mind with fear and, rather than making things better, his constant attempts to recreate the events of the past few hours and make some sense of them were only pushing him more and more into a state of delirium.

He recalled strangling the woman until she passed out, then reaching to undo her sash. Then, he remembered a roaring sound and, when he looked across, he saw a gnarled arm that resembled a tree branch crashing through the wooden window sashes not far from where he was kneeling.