A Crown for a Tail

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Yea Hua was furious.  Having spent almost an hour in a heated discussion with his brother regarding his plan to abdicate should Princess Mei last the month, he had stormed off.  Not only had his brother told him in no uncertain terms that he would not agree to it, nor would he assist him if he went ahead and did it anyway.

Storming off into the Grove to be alone he closed his energy down so Qian Qian would not find him too quickly, he needed to be alone with his thoughts and to calm his anger down.

Mo Yuan had always stood by him, no matter what stupid thing he did or said but that he so clearly stated that he would not help him this time, the one time in his entire life that he needed him, he could not help but feel hurt at what he saw as rejection.  Rejection of himself and the one woman he would give it all up for.

And as he lost himself to his angry thoughts, not once did he consider the reason why Mo Yuan chose to stand aside this time.  He wanted his brother to fully understand what the consequences would be, not only for himself, but also for Bai Qian and any children he would sire.

The title of Crown Prince is heavenly gifted.  The lightening bolts he took were his acceptance of that gift and their acceptance of him.  To turn away would not only see him physically weakened by having his powers stripped, he would also be ousted from The Celestial Tribe and possibly forced to undergo innumerable trials which would affect Bai Qian and any children until he took back the mantel.  It was not a title one could take and then just give back on a whim.  But love is blind, and he couldn't see it.  

And as he thought about what his brother had said to him, his mind went back to Bai Qian.  He had not told her of his plan to abdicate should Mei last the distance, and that thought also worried him.  He knew her well enough to know, that she would never allow him to go through with it.  She might even leave me if I mention it, he thought to himself and that thought only increased his anger at the situation he was in, a situation he never asked for.

And the hate he held for Princess Mei at that time was so great he could not help but wish ill will on her.  It had been over two weeks and he had done everything in his power to get rid of her, they all had, yet she had stubbornly refused to leave no matter how insanely they treated her, and that also had him wondering why.  Because no sane person would have put up with it.  

"Short of killing her, what more can I do?" he asked allowed as he rose off the grass to walk around.  He could have been preparing for his wedding to Bai Qian, he thought sadly as the thought of returning to the den with that woman seemed like a never ending nightmare that wouldn't end and with just over a week left to go, he was at his wits end.

"Ye Hua." a voice broke the silence as he paced among the trees.

Spinning about he faced her, the one person in the world he had not wanted to see, but was suddenly happy she was there.  Now he was able to fully vent on her as she moved closer.  Though the sluggish way she was walking and the red rimmed eyes did nothing to ease his intense dislike as she stopped just a meter away.

"What the hell do you want?" he asked snapping sharply at her as he moved forward to close the gap, the hate in his eyes glaringly obvious as they bore into her.

Ignoring his tone, which she was now used to,  she held her ground as she looked up at him.  "Could we please talk." she asked softly keeping her tone gentle and lowering her eyes submissively.

Scoffing in her face, he could barely contain the angry laughter threatening to spill out all over her.  "Talk?  You want to talk now?  Why the hell didn't you come and talk to me before you got us all in this damn mess?" He snapped at her.  "Why the hell didn't you come to me first instead of behind my back forcing me into a life I do not want!" he roared as she shrunk back in fear.