Prince. (Xingqiu x Chongyun)

Part 10: Recovery

I woke up the next morning with a horrible pit in my stomach. I must have fallen asleep at the cabin, I barely remember my dad carrying me down and putting me in bed. I don't move, I stare at my wall and curl myself into a ball. I don't want to do anything, Chongyun isn't back at the castle. I would have remembered seeing him last night, unless-

I sit up and immediately jump out of bed, stumbling on my feet slightly unless he is just in his room. I throw on a proper set of clothes and burst through my door, hurrying to his room. I pause outside the door.

Please be in here, please. I slowly grip the door handle, "Please," I whisper.

I open the door slowly, squinting my eyes. It's silent. I open my eyes, he's not in here. I step into the room and close the door behind me, I slide my back against the wall and fall into a sitting position. I bring my knees up to my chest and look around the room, it smells like him. It feels so empty without Chongyun here, everything feels so still.

I stand up and walk to his window, opening the curtains and looking outside. I walk away and let them fall back into place, I sit on his bed and lay back. It's comfortable, a week ago I was lying in it with him. My eyes start to glaze over. Is he really... Dead? Is he gone?

I hear a soft knock on the door and jump, "Chongyun?" I sit up, smiling. Maybe he was getting breakfast or-

It opens and Hu Tao walks in, she looks down and shakes her head. "It's just me." She gently closes the door behind her.

My voice gets caught in my throat and I look down at my legs, I nod. Of course, it wasn't him, I'm an idiot for thinking otherwise.

"Are you..." Hu Tao pauses, sitting carefully beside me on the bed like she's unsure if it's okay, "Are you okay?"

I feel a lump in my throat and wrinkle my nose bridge. "No," I whisper. There's no point in lying. 

She hugs me, "He's okay, I'm sure he is." She runs her fingers through my hair.

I nod and sniffle, "Why did you come here?" I wrap my arms around her.

"I came to check on you and you weren't in your room... So... I assumed you'd be here." She speaks softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

I speak in the same tone, "Oh..."

"He was helping people, isn't that good?" 

"Mhm..."

"He's strong, I've seen him train."

"Yeah..." I start to cry. He's not coming back, is he?

Hu Tao holds me tighter, "I'm sorry." She whispers.

I grip onto the back of her shirt, "It's not your fault."

"You'll tell him one day," she kisses my head. "I promise."

I nod but I know it's just an empty promise. It's like a white lie. Where could he be if not here?

After a few minutes, Hu Tao let go of the hug, "We should get breakfast." She whispers, moving my hair out of my face.

"Okay," I whisper back and stand up, she walks in front of me and out the door.

I take one deep breath and glance around the room, I step outside the door. She smiles at me and walks towards the kitchen. 

"Where are Mom and Dad?" I ask as we walk into the kitchen.

She takes a plate of warm food, "They wanted to help everyone get everything together and clean up."

I also take a plate, "Oh, that's good." I'm not very hungry so I take a small bite.

"Also, when we're done eating you should go back to one of the nurses to check your neck. It should be completely healed by now." She takes a huge bite of her food and nearly chokes.