Choices - A Perfect Pair Prince of Tennis Fanfiction AU

Chapter 8

Summary: Lu Xia, Zhuo Zhi, and Baiyang go to the Guo Zi castle and demand to be taken in. Jingwu is taken over by something and hands Siyang over to Guan Yue. Mystery escape and recapture and the end!

Lu Xia carefully takes his daggers and puts them in his arm sheaths. Beside him, Baiyang practices with his sword against an imaginary enemy. Zhuo Zhi puts his spear crossed against his back sheath and takes his own sword into his hands. Zhuo Zhi is always like that, Lu Xia thinks. As far as he knows, Zhuo Zhi always takes two weapons with him. Possibly three. 

Zhiming clears his throat. They all turn to look at him. 

"If any one of you gets seriously injured, come immediately. Don't push yourself." He looks directly at Baiyang.

Lu Xia and Zhuo Zhi nod, Baiyang somewhat reluctantly. 

"Okay. Now go. Don't waste any time," Zhiming orders. 

***

Lu Xia leans forward in his saddle. Is that the Guo Zi castle?  From what he knows, each kingdom has a castle and palace. The castle is where the soldiers train and is basically a fortress to protect against invaders. The palace is where the king, servants, etc. actually reside. 

This building is a tall, imposing, gray castle. It has loaded cannons every five feet and ten archers are lined up on top of each side of the castle, scanning the horizon. Or, at least, supposed to anyway. Right now their bows aren't even loaded and they're just joking around with their friends.

"So this is the all-mighty, powerful Guo Zi," Baiyang grunts. "They can't even be bothered to pay attention."

Lu Xia privately agrees. Guo Zi is known for its army, only second to Xing Yao's and third to Hai Guang.

Zhuo Zhi stays silent, something clouding his eyes. 

"Let's go," Lu Xia hisses.

Zhuo Zhi nods. Lu Xia can't help but glance nervously at the forbidding castle. 

Zhuo Zhi appears suddenly at his side. "It's time."

Lu Xia takes a deep breath. He kicks his horse, urging it forward. Zhuo Zhi leaps off his horse once they are directly in front of the castle. The guards finally snap to attention, drawing their bows threateningly.

"Take us to your king," Zhuo Zhi says. Though his voice is quiet, it carries over to the guards on the wind, drifting over like leaves.

When the guards don't say anything, Zhuo Zhi raises his voice slightly. "Take us to your king. We have come to bargain with him." 

The guard in the middle pulls his arrow taut. Lu Xia tenses. 

Then the guard lowers it. He barks a command to a few archers, who relay the message to someplace. The huge bronze doors open silently and six soldiers come out. Two soldiers flank each one of them, and escort them inside.

***

Siyang drops to his knees. 

"Please, Jingwu," he says, his voice thin in the large room. There's a pause.

"I'm sorry, Siyang. I really am. But I have no choice. I am obligated to hand you over. Guan Yue will destroy us if not," Ji Jingwu says finally. Real sorrow glitters in his dark eyes. 

"Destroy Xing Yao, or destroy you," Siyang says, a statement rather than a question.

Jingwu tilts his head up, sighing softly. Then he looks back at Siyang, but his eyes are not his own. They are cold and empty and the face that is known for its handsome looks is cruel and etched of stone. 

"Jingwu, what's happened to you?" Siyang asks, alarmed. Jingwu does not answer. He lifts his hand, but his movements are not the ones Siyang knows. 

"Send a messenger pigeon to him," Jingwu says to his guards, but his voice is different, too. He turns to Siyang once the guards are gone. 

Jingwu binds Siyang's arms together with a thick coil of rope. It chafes against his skin but Siyang does not cry out. He is too busy wondering who 'him' is.

Jingwu looks at Siyang coldly, and he knows that it is not Jingwu who is acting. There is only one person who can be doing this, and Siyang is terrified of what might happen, should the person take over the other kingdoms.

***

He runs through the forest, weaving and dodging between trees. His feet are bare and scraped, but he does not stop, because he is running for his life. He can hear their heavy footfalls, and knows they are not far behind.

He kneels on the ground, strapping something gray and thin to his feet. He climbs up a tree quickly, grateful for having been forced to learn climbing as a child. They stop in the clearing, confused. He knows he has eluded them, but not for long. 

He leaps from tree to tree, silently thanking his ever-patient climbing instructors. His pursuers see him, and he clenches his teeth. They have the advantage of running, and they soon are attempting to climb the tree he is perched on. 

But they'll never get on. He had attached the sharpest, thinnest rocks he could find to his feet, which had slowed him down on the ground, but helped him stay on and climb the trees. 

But he falls eventually, and they bind him tightly. He knows they will punish him terribly for his escape, but it was worth it.

He suddenly screams, flailing his arms and collapsing on the ground. His chest heaves, and he screams again. He cries out in pain as they slap him, dragging him through the pathway they had broken through the forest.

When they get there, his hunters inject something into his wrist. It makes him immediately woozy, and he groans weakly. It feels calming, somehow, too, even as he tries to resist. The soothing feeling spreads through his feet and legs and travels up his chest. He feels even weaker now, and finally gives in. 

As he drifts off into unconsciousness, he hears his pursuers say something although it sounds far away and muffled to his ears. 

The last thing he hears before he closes his eyes is, "Don't worry. We'll kill him before he tries." The words are enough to jolt him awake, but the injection is too strong, and eventually he loses himself in nothingness.

A/N: Yay we hit 1000+ words! (like 1090 words lol) Anyway, there were a lot of skips here because I wanted to show what was happening. And that last scene at the end—try to guess who it is! Try to guess who's controlling Jingwu, too. It should be pretty obvious. (I mean, how many evil people are in this fanfic?) Leave a vote or comment if you enjoyed this fanfiction so far! 

Love you!

~ Willow