The House Of Bloody Lotus

Unexpected Surprise

Lord Chua Chanshin opened the door to the crown prince's office. I stepped inside to find the prince's back turned away. He made no noise, the prince was in quiet solitude as he observed the view of the courtyard before him. I've noticed his office was the brightest place in this dusky palace so far. 

"I brought lady He Lian with me, your highness." Murmured Lord Chanshin.

The prince waved his hand without lifting his eyes away from the courtyard. I found him strangely peculiar. The way he is, the way his benevolent eyes can turn cruel and Maleficent in an instant. How cold he was when he first greeted me. I never knew him well, I never got to know him well. I was so young when he took Ying Yue away. And yet, I sensed this burden in him. As though he carried something unspoken and dared not mention anything to anybody. It was his to carry alone. 

"I've always hated the darkness." He whispered softly, the prince turned around, his face somber this morning. 

I inclined my head low as I regarded him while he did the same thing. 

The prince gestured for Lord Chua Chanshin to leave us be. 

Lord Chuan Chanshin made a quiet nod of understanding, shutting the door soundlessly. 

Prince Wang Jian grazed me with his sullen eyes again.

"Why do you hate the darkness, my prince?" I inquired.

"Because darkness brings nothing but sadness and despair." He said, unable to hide the tang of melancholic on the undertone of his voice.

I made no response as I stood there watching him.

"Please sit down." He gestured to the arrangement of chairs in his office. "You have me for the rest of the day, you may speak however much you want."

Stepped forward and took the closest chair. "My brother, your highness. Please send a rescue team to save my brother."

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I already told you, your brother will survive as long as princess Sui Li continued to fancy him. I can't implicate my kingdom with your family matter, it'll start a war."

"B-but," I protested. "I know the eldest brother, he's not interested in her. He's not going to marry her even if it kills him. Plus, it's your obligation, it became your obligation when you married my sister! You're supposed to come to the aid of the House of Yi no matter what circumstance is." My voice thinned, begging. 

"Yes, that was true, but as I recall telling you yesterday, I'm no longer married to your sister. That part of the bargain dissolution as soon as the marriage was annulled."

A snarl escaped my lips before I could stop it and I heaved a steadying breath as I forced myself to calm down. "Then, take me to my sister, and let me speak to her! Perhaps her new husband will be willing to deploy an army."

Maybe, this was the reason why my sister left you, you have no balls! The harsh words nearly escaped my lips out of frustration. But I was taught since my earliest age that a lady should never speak out of terms, especially to a prince.

There was a quiet snort. "I didn't mean to upset you, lady He Lian. I spoke out of the best interest of my people. I did, however, send a message to your sister letting her know of your arrival. She knows you're here and she knew about your family. I let her know as soon as the news reached me."

I was at the edge of my seat. "When can I expect to see her?"

The prince loosened his breath and strolled closer, he gave me a look of pity and uncertainty. "Soon." He paused and hesitated before continuing. "Now, when you see her, try not to be scared. Your sister looked a little different when from how you remembered."

A knot formed on my forehead. "What do you mean?"

"Let me show you." He sauntered quietly over to the big window overlooking the courtyard and shut it closed, barring the sun from the room, making it dark as possible inside. 

I watched him as did so, wondering what's he's trying to do when something caught my eyes. A figure moved in the corner, the darkest pocket in the room. The hair stood on the back of my neck, and I felt that prickly sensation on my pores rising. My eyes kept a firm gaze at the figure moving, getting frightened the longer I stared at it.  "What the heck was that!?"

"Don't be scared, He Lian." Cooed prince Wang Jian to me. "This is your sister. She looks slightly different now."

My mouth dropped.

The woman emerged out of the shadow, she wore a gothic gown of black and silver that scraped on the floor. Her hair shone like oil even in the darkness. Her skin was pale, smooth and pale like porcelain. 

She's beautiful, lips red as an apple and there's no doubt she's Ying Yue. She looked even more beautiful than I remembered her. But there's something definitely different, her eyes...they have this magnetic lure on them, so deep, so hypnotizing, so dark. Her entire pupil ate away the white of her eyes. She looked creepy, she doesn't look human at all. She looked demonic that I gasped, followed by pants of terrified breaths.

I panicked and yanked myself off my seat, darting to the door.

"Wait, He Lian!" She called after, but her voice had been deep, almost guttural that she did nothing but scared me even more. 

I felt a hand grasped my shoulder, but I jerked it lose. I ran for the door, rattling the handle to escape.

Ying Yue was a blur, she was in front of me before I could even take another breath. She moved fast, so unnaturally fast, that only a demon could do. 

"He Lian...please." She moaned. 

I screamed until my lungs collapse, and my bladder gave out. Everything became dark, I passed out terrified to death by my own sister.