[🎐] a thousand ceaseless dreams

iv. cornelius

Cornelius didn't really care much about his appearance; things got messy in battle, and if he spent too much time worrying about how his hair looked, he would get his head cut off in seconds. It wasn't like he had enough time to do his hair in the morning, anyway.

But the prince — he always showed up at morning meals with every inch of his hair brushed (which Cornelius found impressive, because Heiyaoshi's hair almost reached down to his feet), his makeup done, accessories in place, and his hanfu adjusted and the ribbons all tied so perfectly. Almost as if he had a group of professional makeup artists do it — but Heiyaoshi had confirmed a while ago that he did it all himself.

Compared to the prince, Cornelius was a pig.

Which was exactly why he woke up an hour earlier that morning to take a bath in the river and wash his hair thoroughly. He even spent way longer in front of the mirror than he usually did, making sure no strands of hair were out of place (which was just as difficult as making new recruits stand at attention in a straight line). He even washed and dried his clothes the night before so he could look at least a little more presentable.

He was going to personally guard the prince for the next three days, after all. He couldn't have the prince thinking he was a slob. He even exercised a little even though that probably wouldn't make him any buffer and most of his body was covered anyways.

Cornelius made sure to be extra polite during the morning meal. He didn't eat as much as he usually did; the prince probably already knew, but Cornelius didn't want him to know that he was kind of a glutton.

Two hours later, and the morning meal was finally over. The emperor ushered Heiyaoshi to the corner for a minute or so before waving him off, to which the prince scurried over to Cornelius with his ears tinted pink. "I-I'm ready to head outside, General," he said. He held his pet rabbit in his arms, petting her gently.

"You sure, Your Highness? No carriage or anything?" Cornelius asked slowly.

Heiyaoshi shook his head. "I asked my father if I could just go out alone today. Just you and I."

Cornelius's heart raced. He clenched his fists in an attempt to slow it down as he nodded. "Alright then. Sounds great, Your Highness."

Cornelius couldn't tell if he imagined it, but the rabbit seemed to stare right at him and then glare. He frowned.

"O-Oh — I'm sorry, Yùtù does that sometimes," Heiyaoshi said quickly. "She doesn't hate you. At least — I'm not sure she does yet, maybe if you pet her?"

"She doesn't bite, right?"

"As long as you're nice, yes, she won't." Heiyaoshi pulled Yùtù closer to him and lowered his head to whisper to her. "Be nice, okay, Yùtù?" He held her out.

Cornelius slowly reached out to stroke Yùtù's head. "You're adorable."

The rabbit suddenly jumped up and clamped her mouth on Cornelius's finger, who immediately recoiled and bit his lip to stop a curse word from escaping his mouth. He hissed and shook his head. "Goddamn. . ."

"Yùtù!" Heiyaoshi quickly pulled her back. "I-I'm so sorry —"

"It's alright, Your Highness," Cornelius said quickly, giving Yùtù a glare. "I — I guess we should head off now."

The two headed out to the courtyard, which was a large, rather empty area with polished concrete for the ground. Two small grass areas had been built in on either side of the staircase to the palace, where two large trees grew and arched over the palace stairs. Past the courtyard lay the river that surrounded the palace, where giant lily pads and lotuses grew next to the bridge arched over the water.