Prince. (Xingqiu x Chongyun)

Part one: The String of Fate

I'm sitting amongst the spring grass, leaning against a tree with my nose buried in a book. I hear the faint sounds of laughter and voices from nearby shops. I feel someone rest their head on my shoulder and take out something from their pocket.

"Xingqiu" I barely hear a soft, recognizable, female voice. I look up from my book for the source of the voice.

The person with their head on my shoulder unwraps something and hands me a light blue popsicle. Without thinking I put it in my mouth.

"Xingqiu!"

I jump up, tossing the blankets off my torso and looking towards my door. Hu Tao is there, my older sister.

"Took you long enough," she giggles and sits on the edge of my bed. "Seems like someone was having a good dream."

I smile, "Ah... Well, I seem to have forgotten it." I watch her stand up after sighing and walk to my door.

She looks back to me, "You know the routine, Mom and Dad will be expecting you down for breakfast in a few minutes." Then she skips out the door, humming a tune I can't recognize.

I groan and stand up, letting my hair fall out of place before brushing it back with my fingers. My room is quite big considering my standing, I have a bed big enough for two, multiple wide windows with long draping curtains, a large closet, and even a small second floor with all my favorite books. I usually go with a blue outfit with fancy details that I can't remember the meaning of. My parents expect me to be quick when getting ready, they set high expectations since I'll be king one day. I'm not very close with my parents, they don't know anything about me nor do they try to talk to me outside of politics, I'm closer to my aunt and uncle. I smile to myself thinking about them, my aunt is my mom's sister and my uncle is my dad's brother, Ningguang and Zhongli. I don't see them often, but they act kindly towards me, like I'd expect my mom and dad to.

"Shush, you know he always takes his time." I hear my mom say to my dad as I reach the dining room, I pause before walking in, I didn't think I was late.

"Good Morning," I step into the room and sit at the table, taking pancakes and putting them onto my plate.

"Good Morning. Xingqiu you are aware that you should wait to be greeted before taking food, yes?" My mom speaks with a stern tone, Hu Tao looks at me from across the table and rolls her eyes. She used to comfort me when I was a kid because of our parent's strict behavior, but now she makes jokes about it to make me laugh.

"Yes, I'm sorry." I turn to my dad, my eyes lighting up with excitement. "Dad, my favorite writer released a new book and..." I trail off as one of my dad's most trusted servants approaches him and starts whispering, he nods and stands up.

"Something has come up, please excuse me." He walks out of the room before I can say anything. I let out a soft sigh and finished my food.

~

I'm walking towards my room when Hu Tao taps me on the shoulder, her hands behind her back.

"Xingqiu! So... I was thinking tomorrow night we should go into town together! It's been so long and there's so much you need to hear." She walks ahead of me slightly in the hallway, her room is just next to mine.

I grin at her, "We so should." She giggles and walks into her room and I walk into mine, Hu Tao and I have always loved gossiping about recent events, but recently she's been seeing her friend Yanfei a lot. She's the best lawyer my family knows, I've only met her a few times.

I brush through my hair with a comb and a few minutes later walk out the doors of the castle. The air is beginning to turn crisp and I feel myself shiver from the cold, it's early January which means the Lantern Rite will happen in less than a month. I walk through the familiar streets with a smile, stepping into my favorite bookstore and greeting the owner, Fischl. There's already a display in the corner of the store, there's a young boy I've never seen before in the section next to it labeled: Exorcism & Paranormal. It's a small section and goes untouched, I've only ever taken out a few of the books myself. I walk past the young boy, he has this cool and minty smell to him. I pick up the book I came for and flip it over to read a bit of the summary: