001 :: Warp 1 ʃⁱ Part I
Leydik
For a while, all he heard was the sound of blood pounding in his ears but it passed. Disoriented, he tried to spread his consciousness to scan the surroundings. After covering a mere two meters, a searing pain crushed his mind in waves preventing further actions. He groggily assessed his situation. After being sucked into the rift, no, he was riding his horse.?
‘I am? What?’
“Is my Royal Brother yet to wake up?” a loud booming voice reverberated in the room.
“We greet Second Royal Prince.” several female voices speak at once.
Distinct and heavy footsteps are heard walking towards the room. A smile crept across the visitor’s face.
“Leave us.”
“As you command” Clink. The door closed behind those female servants.
“So when are you planning to haul your lazy ass up, oh-so important Crown Prince?” the cold voice lost politeness.
“…”
“I know your awake, so get up. The councils are making the situation worse by provoking the neighbors across the eastern borders. So you better raise your self and doll up or i’ll drag you the council room wearing night gowns.”
“Ugh.” A sweet rebellious moan escaped the lips of the Crown prince. He lazily open his eyes and stared at the visitor, his Second Royal Brother. Base on the tone alone, he knew the seriousness of the situation. And sending his busy Second Royal Brother to wake him up, His Majesty, His Royal Father must have been getting impatient.
“…” The visitor smiled at his brother. Even with the dark circles around his eyes, the second prince is really handsome. He has an elegant, angular visage.
“Xiu Mei.” A velvety voice so gentle reached the ears of the head servant of the crown prince. A beautiful lady in embroidered white linen served the crown prince.
“Would it hurt you to be gentler to your injured elder brother?” complains the crown prince as he raise his hand and allow his servant Xiu Mei attend him. His complaint received a raised eyebrow.
“Would it hurt you to stay in the palace and do your duty as the crown prince?” The visitor take a sip on the tea served by his head servant.
“…” If he said he’s bored, his brother would surely reprimand him and lecture him about responsibility, nobility and what-nots. He’ll be in for an earful, lengthy sermon. He can only answer this question with silence.
“Who ask you to sneak outside, without any of your personal guards? Oh, that reminds me, your loyal head guard almost pulled all his hair in worry.” He took another sip.
“…” He hung his head thinking of the following days when his loyal head guard would surely stick to his side. He slightly felt bad for his head guard but as selfish as he is, he could only care less.
“Who told you to go on a trip outside the eastern gates and get yourself be ambushed and be stabbed to death.” The visitor raised his cup and openly mock his actions with that irritating smile.
“…” It wasn’t like he wanted to expose himself in danger. It’s just that he felt tired with all the annoying conspiracies within the council. So, he decide to take a break when he heard the that the crimson lilies on the eastern borders are currently in full bloom. He really like those flowers. Knowing the difficulty of obtaining the flowers, he became more and more interested. So, he just up and left after spending a great deal of time and strategies to shake off his personal guards.
“You should understand, I’m being lenient and gentle.” The second prince’s “leniency” made him roll his eyes and snort on the irony.
“Be good for now. Stop running around getting yourself hurt. Our Royal Mother even fainted after hearing what happened to you. When she came to, she immediately send out to take care of you. She is so worried that she never left your side once and refuse to sleep unless sure of your safety. If it wasn’t for Our Royal Father personally begging her to rest, i bet she will be the first one you’ll see when you wake up.” The visitor emptied his cup.
“She’s fine now, don’t worry. But you should visit her after the council meeting. You owe her that much.” His brother assured him.
“…Is that so.” His voice almost inaudible. When he heard their mother fainted, his heart skipped. As his brother speak, he felt more and more guilty about his latest escapade.
‘Our Royal Father!’ His Royal Father has to come personally to fetch his Royal Mother. “Oh, Holy Nu1” He gasped and stared at his brother in horror. ‘You should understand, I’m being lenient and gentle.’ His stomach twisted into knots. He just realized what his brother’s sinister smile earlier meant.
1 [nʌ:] deification of the primordial watery abyss
vyssini 