The Silent Guard (mxm)

Chapter 18

The Didui tribe has never had any interest in our lands before...

Qi couldn't wrap his mind around how their friendly coexistence with one of the border tribes had crumbled so abruptly. His memory did not go far enough back for him to understand how their truce had been created, but it had never faltered since. 

He could worry about how it had happened for days, but their time was short and he needed to focus on actually getting back before he stressed himself out about reforging the peace. 

They had all gone to get better dressed for the weather, but when him and Zen returned to the front room, the other prince was actually wearing a tannish-white robe like their own, instead of one of his normal beautiful black ones. 

When he noticed their quizzical stares, he simply pulled his white hood up over his head and smiled as he walked forward. 

"This will be much simpler if we all look the same," he said, making Qi nod at the suggestion. 

It would be safer for himself and Zen... but it would put his highness at greater risk. He wanted to argue, since putting others in danger was not something he wished to do, but the man could make his own decisions, and he doubted that his disagreement would change his mind in the least. 

So, instead of wasting time, he simply pulled up his own hood, then turned to lift his Zen's gently onto his head, making sure to tuck away any stray strands of hair beneath the fabric.  

After double-checking that they had their coin purse from the empress, along with their weapons and what little remained of their lunch from earlier, they stepped outside and into the chilly air. 

The sun had long-since gone down, but Qi knew that the darkness only harbored more dangers. The group quickly made their way to the devil's koi pond, meeting their two horses near the entrance to the secluded area. Both were in excellent condition and had clearly been well cared for.

"Save your breath concerning thanks. You shall need every bit of it in order to help those you care about," prince Yuen said as he swung up onto Zen's horse. 

"You two take the other. You are more in tune with each other's abilities and your little guard is much lighter than me," he said. 

His words made sense, and soon Qi was up on his own horse with Zen right behind him. 

He expected that the other prince might lead them to the back exit again, but instead, he turned Feng toward the pond and nudged him forward. The horse, unsurprisingly, hesitated near the water's edge, clearly sensing that some sort of danger lurked beneath its surface. 

It probably didn't help that the last time the animal had been near water it had gotten sucked down into it, then abruptly pulled back up to the surface a short time later. 

Instead of kicking the horse harder, though, prince Yuen dismounted and took it gently by its mane since they were missing their tack. 

"With me, friend. Your masters need you to do this. I promise you that no harm will come to you," he said in a soothing tone that was quite unlike the stubborn, cocky man he had come to know. Of course, recently he had been seeing new sides to him. 

It only took Feng a few more moments to calm down enough to allow the prince to guide him forward into the pitch-black water. The two slowly disappeared before their eyes, leaving Qi hesitating at the edge of the pond. 

They hadn't needed to wait long before prince Yuen appeared again, walking out of the water as if he hadn't done anything odd. He walked up to Kongqi and reached up to grasp a few locks of his hair, then turned and lead him toward the water.