See you again (A Tian Guan Ci Fu One-shot)

See You Again

It was so empty.

At his zenith, Jun Wu been a god. A ruler. An emperor. Now he was nothing more than an empty shell.

Mei Nianqing loathed it. Hadn't he waited, survived so long to see this, the day of a monster's reckoning?

Yet, now that it had arrived, he found he detested it. Justice was bitter, there was nothing enjoyable about it. He had avenged the wronged, but it felt so bleak, so pointless.

Wuxiang's face was blank as he stared at the precipice, hand mindlessly tugging the blade.

Nianqing sighed, before reaching a hand out and slowly pulling him to face himself, "Wu Ying."

The other snapped to attention, staring at him intently. It had been centuries since he had called him that name. A name that stirred memories of when he still had a heart.

It was another one of those days when the young Crown Prince had played truant. The weather was slightly warm, sun smiling down upon the prosperous capital of Wuyong. Mount Tong'Lu stood at the centre of the capital, looking lofty and powerful.

Wearing the garb of one of the palace gardeners, he ran through the streets of Wuyong, the exhilarating feel of freedom threatening to burst through his chest.

The guards were hot on the heels of the 14-year-old royal, but he managed to slip away every time.

He could thank the crowded marketplace for that. It was easy enough for rotund merchant to disappear into the throng of people, let alone the lanky boy with the skills of a slippery eel.

As Prince Wuyong turned back to check if he'd finally managed to shake off the guards, his feet carried him straight into someone.

Both reeled from the sudden crash, landing up sprawling on the ground in a mass of limbs and scrolls alike. The prince glared at the person in front of him, annoyed at the audacity.

The other was also pretty discomfited, scrambling to gather all of the scrolls carpeting the street, before they truly became carpets under the relentless tread of the crowd.

He didn't seem much older than him, dark circles under his eyes, skin pale as though he hadn't seen the sun in days. His hair, surprisingly grey, fell in gentle waves around his shoulders, pinned back neatly with a jade hairpiece. Despite looking sleep-deprived, the boy had a striking handsomeness, someone not easily forgotten.

Had he not been so angry, he might've even stopped to admire his beauty.

"Can't you see where you're going?!" Two voices yelled at the same time.

The other boy looked up from his scrolls, angry, "It's you who wasn't looking. Who told you to tear through a crowded avenue like the Royal Guard was on your tail?"

Crown Prince Wuyong had never had someone speak to him so rudely. He bristled, not ready to back down.

"Who do you think you are, to speak to me in such a tone?"

"And why not? It is you who are in the wrong. How dare you point fingers? You're a mere royal gardener. Do you want me to report you to the palace?" The other retorted.

That's when the darling crown prince remembered that at that moment he wasn't the crown prince at all, having disguised himself to escape. The wind went out of his sails.

It took a lot of effort out of him, but Wuyong finally managed to grit out, "S-sorry."

The other boy looked conflicted as well, "I-it's alright. I-I'm sorry for snapping at you."