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one week has passed since the queen's imprisonment. the king had still not informed the public about the queen - who is still in the dungeon. nianzu and prince kun were still at the palace to stay, of course stealing the kings every now and then for 'business' reasons. prince kunhang and xiaomei continued to avoid each other - although they were desperate.
xiaomei wanted her friend back while the prince, he wanted his queen back.
they all continued to rehearse for the autumn festival, which was only two days away. they had gotten used to the idea of dancing with real swords, with the special addition of their styled hanfus.
the days that passed were busy, busier than ever. everyone would run around the palace, trying to get all their errands done. it was normal for the season of autumn to be busy but this year, too many things happened at once.
. . .
xiaomei sat alone on the court of the palace. she sat engulfed in her own sadness with nothing but the cool autumn breeze brushing against her skin. "jiejie?" a gentle voice called for the female. xiaomei turned her head to the side to see renjun. "oh renjun di, what brings you here?" "i should be asking you that. you only ever come outside to the court when you're down." renjun took the seat beside her on the wooden bench.
xiaomei chuckled to herself quietly. "you know me too well, don't you?" "oh c'mon, you, kunhang and i basically grew up together. if it's not kunhang then it's me." renjun laughed. xiaomei nodded her head at his factual words.
it was true, the three of them basically grew up together. renjun's mother had gotten a job offer at the palace when renjun was three years old. renjun and his mother moved into the palace together, living there until now. xiaomei on the other hand, was found abandoned in the forest grounds of Cressida at the age of eleven. so out of sympathy, the guards of Cressida had brought her into the palace.
the two boys, kunhang and renjun, had grown used to the company of xiaomei. the three were nearly inseparable but once kunhang turned 15, he had duties to cover as the heir to the throne. the trio soon broke down into a duo.
"what's on your mind this time, jiejie?" the younger asked, looking down at the garden bed in front of him. "something isn't sitting right with me. the weather has been very dull recently despite the autumn festival and so something doesn't feel right." the older girl explained. "you think something will go wrong, am i right?" xiaomei said nothing and only nodded her head.
xiaomei lifted her head, staring at the dark clouds above their heads. "i'm probably just being delusional, i'm not in the right mind right now." xiaomei let out a bitter chuckle at her own thoughts. "no, tell me. i'm all ears." renjun smiled at the girl softly.
"i may be crazy but, the weather just makes me feel like something big is coming. something dangerous. i need you to help me be on look out the day the festival comes." xiaomei explained. renjun furrowed his brows in confusion but nonetheless still nodded his head.
