[🎐] a thousand ceaseless dreams

ii. cornelius

As soon as the prince was out of sight, Cornelius waited a few more seconds to make sure he was out of earshot before throwing one of his arrows on the ground. "FUCK!"

He paced around the training grounds, pulling at his hair and whispering heatedly to himself. "You fucking asshole, Cornelius, he's the fucking prince! You cannot just talk to him like he's a friend! You're supposed to get on both knees and touch your nose to the floor when you see him—he probably thinks I'm some kind of disrespectful slob—it's like what General Tsukuyomi said, you got too cocky and now—fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. . ."

He sighed and plopped himself on a bench pushed up against the wall, burying his face in his hands. He sighed and leaned back, picked up the arrow on the ground, and lazily tossed it at the target, throwing his hands up in frustration when it landed millimeters away from the center.

"And you kissed his hand. You're a commoner and you kissed the prince's hand. If anyone knew, you'd be dead," Cornelius mumbled to himself. He leaned his head back against the wall, staring blankly up at the sky.

What was he even thinking? Why would the prince ever like a commoner like him? He was just some fisherman's kid who didn't have a single ounce of royal blood—why did he even think he had a chance?

Cornelius sat still on the bench for a few minutes, barely moving as his mind reeled with regret. He only moved to pull his coat tighter around himself when a breeze whistled by, but other than that, it was easy to assume that the general was asleep.

Cornelius's head shot up, his head cleared when he heard footsteps. He stood up and slowly walked over to the archway. Who's out at this time? Don't tell me it's Huaqing sleepwalking again—

Cornelius's eyes widened again when the prince's face poked out from behind the wall—no, the emperor. He walked in with the same hesitation as Heiyaoshi did. He was still in his sleeping gown, but he'd thrown his paofu over to look presentable. He was nearly as identical as Heiyaoshi; the only differences between their faces was the emperor's wrinkles, Heiyaoshi's eyes, and Heiyaoshi's hair was a slightly darker shade.

Cornelius quickly fixed his clothes up before bowing at a ninety-degree angle, making sure to keep his gaze pinned to the floor. The emperor's shoes popped in his vision. "Your Majesty," Cornelius said, not looking up.

"Good evening, General Nguyen," the emperor said. He didn't speak in a loud, condescending voice like Cornelius expected most emperors to. "You may stand up now."

Cornelius stood up straight, staring straight ahead. He was a few inches taller than the emperor, but it felt wrong to look down at him, so he just stood still as if he were standing at attention. "Is there something you need, Your Majesty?"

"Yes," the emperor responded. "I assume you know that Zhuimeng has fought a few battles with Fenghuolun, yes?"

"And won them, yes, Your Majesty."

The emperor smiled. "I like your confidence. You're a lot more enthusiastic than our last general."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"You don't have to be so stiff, General Nguyen," the emperor said. "I'm getting quite tired of the assassins being sent here, and I'm sure you are too." Cornelius responded with another metallic 'yes, Your Majesty'. "And I don't want to rage war. Our kingdom is peaceful and tranquil, and I love it. But Fenghuolun thinks otherwise. I'd like to teach them a lesson."

Cornelius hesitated. "I don't think I follow, Your Majesty."

"What I'm saying is, I want a peace treaty."

If it wasn't the emperor saying those words, Cornelius would've cursed at the top of his lungs.

Everyone in Zhuimeng knew that Fenghuolun was relentless—that was how the emperor's wife died, and how Heiyaoshi and the emperor were the only two left in their entire bloodline. "Your Majesty—I understand where you're coming from, but—I'm pretty sure Fenghuolun doesn't even know what the word peace even means," Cornelius protested. "I've caught five assassins in the past two months, and we haven't even done anything to them, so I don't understand why they hate us so much—"

"That's precisely why I want a peace treaty," the emperor interjected gently. "Zhuimeng is a prosperous city and it should be safe. I want my people to feel protected within these mountains. If we're constantly threatened by the neighboring kingdom, then that harms the sense of security my people have when they're hidden behind the mountains."

Cornelius bit his lip and rubbed the back of his neck. "So. . . what are your plans exactly, Your Majesty? Is there something I have to do?"

"Well, I have considered inviting them over for a feast, but I'm aware that they still arrive in our kingdom without invitations. The people don't quite. . . appreciate Fenghuolun, so I thought of doing something more subtle." The emperor paused to brush a lock of his long hair out of his face. "I've decided to pay them a visit and bring them some gifts. Perhaps treating them with kindness instead of blatantly ignoring them will show them that there's nothing they need to fight about."

Cornelius hesitated again. "So—you're saying you're going to take a trip to Fenghuolun with a bunch of gifts? Your Majesty?"

"Quite right. Heiyaoshi and I have decided to go ourselves, but just in case, I wanted to ask you and your best troop to escort us there," the emperor responded.

Cornelius balled his fists. "That's a suicide mission, Your Majesty. Fenghuolun's been trying to kill you and your son for years, and seeing how relentless they can be, they'd probably kill you the moment you step foot in their kingdom. It's too risky."

The emperor only sighed. "I understand, General Nguyen. But it's worth a try, is it not?"

"If the worst thing that can happen is the end of your entire bloodline, I don't think it's worth a try, Your Majesty."

"I don't want us to feel oppressed and live in fear forever," the emperor said. His expression fell slightly, his eyes wandering to the ground. "If I die, I wouldn't worry about that. Heiyaoshi is a smart and independent young man. As long as he stays safe, Zhuimeng is safe."

"Your Majesty?"

"I want you to protect Heiyaoshi no matter what. Can you do that, General Nguyen?"

Cornelius opened his hands. His shoulders tensed and untensed as he lifted his hand to his heart. "I'll do my best, Your Majesty."