The Princess Weiyoung: Out of The Darkness

Chapter 1: First Flight

Weiyoung had untied all four of the soldiers' horses, and tied the reins of one to the saddle of the horse she had chosen to ride. She had mounted her horse already, and had three sets of reins gripped in her hands.

"The horses' saddlebags all contain provisions, Your Highness. I thought that if we took them all we could have more provisions without over-burdening the horses we were riding".

It seemed the most ludicrous time to observe titles and formalities but Tuoba Yu gave a dispassionate nod. "That makes sense. Besides, as long as no-one searches the house they might think that the soldiers are still on our trail."

"Exactly. I tied one horse to mine, but thought you would prefer to choose which of the remaining horses to ride."

"Thank you."

Tuoba Yu gave a small sigh, knowing that riding further would injure him further. He sized up the pair of horses that Weiyoung had left for him. Tuoba Yu was a seasoned rider, and quickly chose which horse to tie to the other's saddle. He clenched his teeth and, quickly as he could, mounted the stronger one. Pain made his eyes water. Reaching up, he felt the arrow wound on his shoulder. It was still bleeding. Not a good sign.

Of course, it's when the pain stops mattering that I know I'm in trouble. He thought with a grimace. Out loud he declared:

"We will ride north-east of here at a trot until we either see somewhere safe to shelter, or until dusk falls".

So they rode for several hours in silence. Tuoba Yu stared ahead, trying to focus on the path. Each hoofbeat made his body twitch with pain. If he had been alone, he might have whimpered with agony. As it was, Tuoba Yu was determined not to lose face by showing the slightest hint of weakness. As dusk started to draw in they arrived at the foot of the first mountain in a short mountain range. Weiyoung looked over at Tuoba Yu for the first time since they had set off, and a worried expression appeared on her face.

"Prince Nan'an-"

"Please call me Tuoba Yu," he glanced at Weiyoung, and saw that she was about to object, "just while we are alone and while I'm unwell. Names, not titles, speak to our hearts..."

Weiyoung's faced twitched uneasily at the mention of 'hearts', but she nodded. Tuoba Yu noticed her unease and tried to set her mind at rest.

"... by which I mean, bring us comfort."

She had already started moving away from him, and called back over her shoulder.

"Tuoba Yu, I'm sure there will be a cave ahead. Could you take care of the horses while I look for one?"

In response, Tuoba Yu dismounted with a gasp and started to lead his horses over to a nearby tree. Stars flashed in front of his eyes for a moment, then his whole body felt weightless, and he thought he was floating. Distantly, he thought he could hear someone, Weiyoung perhaps, call his name worriedly.

The next thing he knew, Tuoba Yu was lying on his front with what felt like a rock under him, shivering violently. The pain that had clouded his every thought for the last few hours was gone at last. Now he felt weak as a kitten and could barely force his eyes open.

"Your High- Tuoba Yu?" Weiyoung's voice came from close behind him. "You've woken up at last. I was so worried."

"What happened?" He tried to say, but the words were so faint he doubted that she could hear them.

"Please save your strength. You lost too much blood from your wound and collapsed after dismounting. Forgive me: I had to apply some medicine to your wound, and bandage it as best I could."

"Apply medicine?" Tuoba Yu rasped out, closing his eyes. He heard the familiar sound of a person dropping to their knees in apology.

She didn't just remove my clothes.