Fated (Wangxian)

#18#

Prince Ying denied, screamed, tried to run away from the great, kind princes who saved his life, in attempts to save them from his misfortune but they tied him with ropes, melted his heart with their kind words and brought him to the palace of Xiang Kingdom against his will, all under the order of Prince Zhan.

The palace, where he used to live with his mama and baba, happily, although for a very short while. And the palace where he saw them for the last time... when they were being killed.

But Prince Ying couldn't voice out the feelings of dread, grief and discomfort he felt here because he didn't want to sound ungrateful to his saviours and also because nobody would care even if he said anything about his feelings.

As time passed, Prince Ying's health improved visibly. His beautiful milky white skin regained its blushed glow, silver eyes sparkled with liveliness, soft plump lips shined with moisture, thick lustrous ebony hairs played with the winds and his lithe slender body grew up into a fine young soul with a promising and definitely breathtaking look for adulthood.

This improvement wasn't the result of all kinds of tasteless leftover food that Prince Zhan ordered the street boy to finish, leaving no morsel to waste. Not because of the old warm bed of Prince Zhan, which was given to him to sleep at fixed timings or those barely once a year worn heavy, luxurious clothes of Prince Zhan which Ying was forced to wear despite his obvious disliking...

The only reason for the improvement in his health was…the fallen Prince finally had someone in his painful life who didn’t throw him away like dirt, didn’t scream or curse him and didn’t look at him with fear, anger or disgust

Prince Zhan was known for his stoic, emotionless, cold and aloof features. But to Ying, he was the best person in the whole world.

Oftentimes, even the gracefully polite Crown Prince Xichen too insulted him and glared at him as if he's committed a crime merely by existing but, Prince Zhan......never.

It was true, Prince Zhan never spared him a single glance since the day he saved him and brought to the palace. He never talked or smiled at Ying but he didn't smile at other princesses and princes either, that filled Ying’s heart with happiness and warmth. Because in the last thirty-three long months of them living together under the same roof, Prince Zhan never denied Ying from addressing him as his Zhan gege.

He never pushed him out when Ying went to clean his room as a heartfelt gratitude for saving his life. Never did he stop Ying from sharing his feelings, thoughts, knowledge, experience and everything that Ying wanted to share.

Ying was truly happy. Simply because he finally had someone who accepted his company. Who treated him like a human, making the naïve Prince Ying believe that Prince Zhan likes him. It's during one of those days, when one of the neighbouring kingdom's Princess approached him, bullied him saying he was better off dead somewhere far away than jinxing the happiness of Prince Zhan.

She shouted at him, saying it was his fault that Prince Zhan couldn't talk to her and didn't agree to the marriage alliance from her kingdom as Prince Zhan fears the curse of his life will fall onto her and destroy her life as well.

For the first time in his life, Lan Zhan and Lan Xichen saw Ying mustering up his courage and stopped the Royal Princess from spouting anymore lies.

Ying faced her bravely, in a polite but firm manner, his young smooth voice tinged with anger, “Zhan gege would never say such words! He’s my friend. My saviour! He likes Ying. He'll never call Ying a curse like everyone else!”

Princess laughed at the fallen Prince's oblivious thoughts and utterly bizarre imagination, challenging him to ask in front of everyone if his great saviour, his Zhan gege likes him and considers him as his friend and not a curse that shouldn’t be existing amongst us.

And Ying did.

Feeling extremely uneasy with Royal Princess’s overconfident words, Ying strode towards his Zhan gege’s room and entered without knocking only to find him on the bed wrapped cozily in the arms of a pretty lady.

He stuttered, flustered of barging in without permission but then, for the first time, nerves filled with urgency, Ying dared to raise his head, looked into his Zhan gege's deep golden eyes,  unfazed by the annoyed lady sitting beside him and whispered nervously, “Z-Zhan gege, d-do you consider Ying as a friend? Do you… like Ying?”

By the time Ying finished his words, several other princes, princesses and royalties had entered Prince Zhan’s private chamber, led by the Princess who looked to have everything to do with this sudden change in situation, now was busy giggling and making fun of Ying’s stupidity with others...

Ying's eyes widened when he saw his Zhan gege approaching him with slow heavy steps and standing in front him at a distance of only… three feet away, closer than ever in the last three years while glaring at him with anger, "Who are you?

What do you think you’re doing here in my room with these people, without my permission, and asking me, Prince Zhan, questions that make no sense? Who gave you the right to question a royalty like this?

Consider you as a friend? I don’t even know your name, how can I think of you as my friend?! Isn't it too far for you to dream?

I’m the Prince of Xiang Kingdom! My father conquered this land by killing the previous King and Queen so how can I ever befriend a trashed lowlife who was abandoned by his parents a long time ago? Just because I brought you in the palace, my servants fed you with my leftovers, gave you the clothes I'd thrown away doesn't make you my friend!

At the most, you can only be a curse.

A curse, I brought from the streets and hid away in the palace to save the world from your misfortunes!!!

Ah- about liking you, listen to me very clearly whoever you are, I will never  like a curse like you as long as I am alive, as long as YOU are alive and breathing the same air as me! Now, Leave!” Prince Zhan yelled in anger,  glaring at the princes and princesses who were inside his room without his permission.

While Prince Zhan's glare forced the royalties to take their leave from his private chamber quickly, with polite bows and curt nods agreeing with his words, the silent fallen Prince whose only happiness, a single ray of warm sunshine was cruelly snatched away from him and was heartlessly shaken out of his beautiful dream, left Prince Zhan’s chamber too and for forever...

...but not from the door.

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