The Merman's Lament - Wangxian

~04~

Lan Wangji couldn't believe he had found the boy of his dreams, the one he never thought he would ever have the chance of ever finding. The human world was very big after all, so what were the odds? He felt like the luckiest merman alive.

The prince, satisfied with the way he was looking, decided to at last leave the cabin and join the sailors in the celebration going on above it. As soon as they saw him, they began singing happy birthday to him, leaving the boy smiling as he also decided to join them. Lan Wangji found himself melting at the sight of that dazzling smirk.

Everything about the prince was beautiful to him: his eyes, his nose, his lips, his smile, his body... He had never felt the way he was feeling just by seeing that black clad young man. No merfolk had ever sparked his interest the way he had, and absolutely none had made his heart race the way he had.

"Wei Wuxian, you are late!" scolded the grumpy boy in purple as he went to smack him on the neck.

The hit was nowhere near harsh, just a way the brothers had of annoying or scolding one another. Wei Wuxian rolled his eyes, something he had taken as a habit from Jiang Cheng.

"Yes, yes, I know, and I know it isn't fit for a prince and blah blah blah."

Jiang Cheng was trying hard to not let himself get carried away by his annoyance when the other boy had decided to mock him.

"If Mother and Father were here they would surely throw you overboard for not behaving like a royal should!"

"Yeah, I know, Jiang Cheng, but they aren't here right now, okay?"

"I'm just saying that for your own good!"

Wei Wuxian smirked at that comment and went on to stand right next to Jiang Cheng so he could tease him.

"Aw, Jiang Cheng does care about me! How sweet!" said Wei Wuxian in a teasing voice. "The grumpy grandpa trapped in the body of a fifteen year old does care about me after all!"

Jiang Cheng immediately felt the urge to throw a punch at him, slightly fuming at the comment.

"Wei Wuxian, you are not making it to your sixteenth birthday!" he yelled as he began chasing him all over, the sailors looking at them amused.

Wei Wuxian just laughed as he kept running away, still teasing the boy dressed in purple as he did.

"How are you going to kill me if you are as slow as a turtle and your arms are shorter than the grass growing in the garden?"

"You-!"

Wei Wuxian easily climbed all the way up the most, though Jiang Cheng didn't get to catch him since he stayed down.

"Wei Wuxian, you are not a monkey! Come down!"

"What? Are you too scared of heights? Weren't you going to kill me?"

Jiang Cheng couldn't help but sigh. He didn't get paid enough to deal with his brother and his mischievousness.

Lan Wangji looked at them amused, finding the prince to be quite a funny and cheerful being. He was way more calm and not as upbeat as him, but he wouldn't really mind being with someone like him in the end. He looked like someone that would be fun to be around and would always make you smile. He was even more interested in him now that he got to see him in action.

Throughout the night, clouds had been forming in the sky and little by little they had covered the sky completely, the moon no longer being visible. It had all been peaceful once they had run out of gunpowder for the fireworks, but in a matter of a few minutes, thunder could be heard roaring in the distance. The waves were also crashing against the ship more violently and they were growing taller by the minute. The ship was becoming unstable and the wind blowing was making it even more difficult. Rain began pouring down as lightning struck, most of them barely missing the ship.

The sailors began panicking as they tried to keep the ship from tilting by the force of the violent waves. Wei Wuxian tried to help them out, but the storm was too strong.

"We need to leave the ship before it sinks! Jump to the water and hold onto the already broken parts scattered in the water!"

Lan Wangji watched as the sailors jumped into the water and held onto wood to keep themselves from drowning. Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian were the only two remaining in the ship when lightning struck one of the masts and it fell down. Before it could fall on Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian pushed him out of the way and into the water, the boy getting stuck underneath.

"Wei Wuxian!"

Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng and the sailors watched in horror as the ship kept sinking even faster, water now entering faster due to the devastation left by the broken mast. Wei Wuxian was nowhere to be seen, and even if Jiang Cheng wanted to go back to help him out, the other sailors didn't want him, the crown prince, to potentially die as well. They had no choice but to swim however they could to the nearest beach.

While they left, Lan Wangji knew he could still do something to help the prince before he could really die. The ship had completely sank by the time the others had left and the storm had mostly come to an end, only light rain still pouring down. He submerged to search all over the shipwreck, trying to find Wei Wuxian. It hadn't been too long since it had completely sank, so he still had a chance to save him. He found him still trapped under the mast and he quickly got him out, having gathered enough strength to lift it. Then, he carried the unconscious boy to the surface and swam in the direction he had seen the others heading to.

When they reached the shore, Lan Wangji laid Wei Wuxian down on the sand and tried to check if he was still alive. He tried to get the water out of his body and give him some air to breathe, having read about it in one of the books he had found. The boy dressed in black managed to spit it out and lightly coughed, trying to open his eyes. However, he couldn't fully open them and get a glimpse of Lan Wangji and that brief moment of consciousness barely lasted one minute before he was out again. Lan Wangji, getting worried again, checked for his pulse and breathing again, letting out a sigh in relief when he found that his heart was beating and he could breathe again.

As the sun rose, he took in the face of his beloved. His eyelashes were long, his nose was round and tall and his lips were thin and rosy. He caressed his cheeks as his eyes kept locking into that beautiful face of his.

He wished to remain like that, to not have to go back to the underwater kingdom. He wanted to be by the prince's side now that he had managed to find him. He didn't want to leave his side.

The sound of bells ringing and footsteps took him out of his trance. He could see at the distance a group of humans heading their way, and out of panic of being seen, he had no choice to retreat. Before getting into the water again, he gave Wei Wuxian a kiss on the forehead and promised that he would find a way to be with him again.

He hid behind a rock to see what would happen. The group was led by a boy in elegant golden robes, probably someone who was also a noble. He knelt down to check for Wei Wuxian's pulse and breathing and then pulled him into his arms.

"He is alive. We should take him to the castle so he can recover along with the rest of the victims of the shipwreck."

Wei Wuxian slowly opened his eyes, finding himself facing a black haired boy with a cinnabar dot on his forehead. He noticed that he was being held, but even though he would have probably joked about it, he barely had any strength to even speak.

"Thank you for saving me..."

The boy in golden robes smiled softly and then began walking away with Wei Wuxian in his arms, now heading towards the palace that was on top of a cliff.

Lan Wangji watched them leave, feeling his heart break. It was him who had saved him, but there was no way for him to even tell him.

He submerged, heading back home with his chest feeling heavy.