Of Soulmates and Love

Held Captive

WoH Wen Kexing x Captive Zhou Zishu

A/N: Sorry if the opening note is a bit long, but I feel like I need to explain the theme of this chapter for a little bit. ^^a

I recently read a BL manga called "Tsubanakasu Haru" by Migino Yagi. It tells the story of a postman named Chiaki who fell in love with Mei, a flower shop owner. Since a young age, Mei had been suffering from a hereditary disease called "Spark" that caused flowers to bloom from his body.

I won't spoil the manga plot too much in case you guys want to read it, but while it is quite similar to the more well-known "Hanahaki Disease", there are some interesting points to this "Spark" that inspired me to try writing WenZhou with this condition. If you decide to read the manga later, you'll find some references there that I've incorporated into this story.

Finally, this chapter is not NSFW, but I hope you guys will enjoy it. As always, thank you for reading. ^^

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The Prince of Jin had a treasure.

Deep within the walls of the palace, it was said to be kept in a hidden chamber where only the prince himself and a trusted few were allowed to enter. He loved this treasure so much, words from the court claimed, he did not allow for too many eyes to lay their sight on it. But on the rare occasions when he received honorable guests from lands afar, the prince would have this treasure exhibited for their entertainment in his grandiose main hall. For it was his pride and joy, there was nothing that could please him more than seeing his visitors gazing in awe at the magnificence of this most prized possession, speaking words of praise and wonder for it.

So what kind of treasure was it exactly that made this one seem so special, when a royalty as wealthy as the Prince of Jin must already own numerous gold and silver and all the rare jewels no commoner could dream of obtaining?

Rumors and stories were all those who lived outside the prince's residence ever heard. At first, the shape of the treasure varied from person to person. Some said a maid heard vicious growls from the inner corridors of the palace, hinting that it might be an exotic beast of some sort. Others said a royal guard happened to catch a glimpse of pure white jade from a slightly opened door during his patrol, concluding that it must have been an intricate statue or carving made by a legendary artisan. For several years, there was not one story that was similar to the other, and it was nigh impossible to determine who was lying and who was not.

That is, until a new story never once heard before began to spread among the people.

It was during a certain winter when snow fell softly from the heavens, covering the roofs and ground of the Jin territory in white. Foreign envoys came to visit the prince with a whole entourage, and judging from the affluent appearance of these guests, they must be the kind of important emissaries to whom the prince would show off his most prized treasure to. Indeed, the new rumor started a day after a banquet was held to welcome their arrival. It turned out that a few attendants of the envoys went out to town to sightsee during their free time. While drinking and mingling with the locals, they recounted the unforgettable experience from the night before, one that was enough to render everyone in the main hall speechless, completely forgetting the luxurious meals, music, and dances served in front of them.

"The prince's treasure is a man kept in a glass cage. But it is not just any man; it is an extremely beautiful man, with long black hair falling over his shoulders and back. He was only dressed from the waist down, the upper half of his pale complexion was exposed for all to see in its entirety. Why, you ask? Because on his body, flowers of all colors and sizes are blooming to the fullest, like a flourishing field in the finest moment of spring."