Royal Temptations

Bonus Chapter 14

Ya'll are gonna hate me hard-core for this but we're not just gonna pick up where we left off with the last one. Cause... I don't wanna haha. Instead, an alternate ending time, yes? I've mentioned something with Luhan before.

Current jams: Seventeen's Left and Right and Stray Kids' God's Menu. I always fluctuate over whether I like what has come out from them, so I'm quite pleased these were both successes (don't worry Mayday hasn't gone anywhere).

Final reminder: THIS IS AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE TO MOST OF THE STORY. IT DOESN'T ACTUALLY HAPPEN IN CANON.

...

Yixing's POV

...

"Yixing." I groaned, my eyes fluttering open to pure blackness. At first I thought I'd imagined my name being uttered, but then I felt someone shake my shoulder. I grew a bit more alert as I sat up and looked around. It felt like a night like any other. Dark, quiet room. Dark, quiet palace. But as I listened closely, something felt...off. Subtle scuttling from somewhere deep within the palace. I glanced to my left, where Ying Yue sat beside me, looking just as confused. "What's going on?" my wife asked quietly.

"I don't know," I admitted, throwing the covers back. I rose and threw my robe on before padding quietly to the door, pressing my ear against the door. More shuffling, and a few shouts now joining the mix. I glanced behind me to Ying Yie, who's face morphed into a mixture of terror and determination. I heard pounding feet outside the door, and braced myself for the worst.

"Yixing." I relaxed at Luhan's voice, but only briefly before my instincts took over again. Something was definitely wrong. Especially if Luhan was visiting us in the middle of the night. "Listen very carefully, okay?" He paused. "Someone's broken into the palace." He pitched his voice low, but there was no mistaking the frantic edge in his tone. "Guards have determined them to be armed." And at that statement, my blood ran cold. "Get Ying Yue and get out. Your father and mother will meet up with you at the place we always talked about in training, okay? I'll meet you all there later, when things have cleared up. The police are on their way. Please get out and stay safe."

"Come with," I urged. "I'm not leaving you Lu." As I tried to coax him I could see Ying Yue running around behind me, throwing her own robe on and stuffing a few irreplaceable objects in a backpack to take with us. Many, many practice rounds of this scenario prepared us for this time, but now that it was here, I felt helpless. I couldn't leave Luhan. Not after growing up with him in my life. "Luhan..." But he'd grown silent on the other side of the door. "Ying Yue," I said calmly, turning to face her. She hovered in the center of the room, the backpack slung over one shoulder. "We have to leave," I added, sliding some shoes onto my bare feet. "Now."

"Alright Yixing," she agreed. No argument or fuss. Simply acceptance. She may not have known what was going on, but she could sense the severity of it. I took her hand in mine and we both retreated to the far wall, the one with all the bookshelves of old history books. I fumbled around the very far left shelf until my fingers brushed by the button. And out a bookshelf swung, the one in the middle, to reveal a hidden staircase. It led to a long tunnel underground where we could escape unnoticed. I let Ying Yue go first, slapping the button on the inside door until it popped back into place. I stood there for far too long, my eyes closed, sending up a prayer to every god that would listen to me to keep my family safe. To keep Luhan safe.

"Yixing?" I opened my eyes as Ying Yue called my name once again. I took a deep breath, feeling my chest tighten. Just let Luhan get out of there, please. Then I plunged after my wife into the abyss as chaos erupted above us.

...

Luhan's POV

...

One armed intruder rapidly turned into two. Then three. Then too many to count. The guards did their best to block every available entrance, but the damage had been done. A few had gotten in here. We didn't know their motives, or their plan, but we knew one thing for certain; protect the king and queen at all costs.