The bushes rustled as Yun turned around, a dagger already in one of her hands. She kept her eyes on the continued rustling, slowly backing away. It stopped, and someone stepped out from behind it.
Yun sighed as she put down the dagger. "Why do you keep following me, Your Highness?"
For the past week or so, whenever she had gone out on her rounds for herbs, Prince Yufan was always bound to turn up, one way on the other. She had caught him flying overhead on the trees as she did her rounds, sneaking up on her through bushes. He appeared almost immediately every time that she needed help. Sometimes, it was just helping her carry her basket and clearing her path, other times, he would help her get herbs at precarious places or helped to made sure she was safe by lingering at a close distance if she went herself.
He shrugged, and proceeded to stare at her without saying anything, crossing her hands.
"Your Highness, I'm sure that your time will be better spent elsewhere. So, would you please leave me alone? I will be fine."
More silence.
"Or was it something that you needed, Your Highness?"
Silence, with head shaking this time.
"Then, may I please know what do you want?"
"I just want to spend time around here. But you're the only one I know, so, if I am not spending it around you, whom am I going to spend my time with?" He finally said, looking slightly embarrassed as he did so.
"Shouldn't you go back to the Court of Nine Palace soon though, Your Highness?" Her voice softened at that. What he said was true. She hadn't brought him back to the Sky Manor to be acquainted with the other healers before, and she was sort of responsible for that problem.
"I don't really want to." He stated lightly as he walked over to stand beside her, pushing some thorny brambles out of the way. His scales appeared, covering his arms and neck as he did so, holding it for Yun. "It's been a long way since I had the chance to rest, and I really don't want it to end yet, no matter how irresponsible it might be."
He turned over and locked eyes with Yun. And in them, Yun saw the hint of silvery-white again. She didn't know what it was about them, but she thought that they were absolutely breath-taking. Her knees went weak slightly as she stepped forwards, and Yufan's hand shot out to steady her.
"Are you tired already?"
"No." She snapped, her voice a bit louder than usual. "No. Ahem. I'm fine, thank you Your Highness, that was kind of you."
He nodded and let go of her, the warmth of his hand still lingering on her arm. "Where are we going next?"
"I still need some Juling grass before I'm done for the day. But we are going to have to go further into the isle for it, Your Highness."
"Don't call me that." He said suddenly. "You can call me Yufan."
"Yufan?" She turned around to look at him, hesitantly trying out his name. His reaction was somewhat of a surprised one, and his cheeks grew red slightly.
"Yes?"
"It's actually a nice name." Yun said quickly, getting slightly embarrassed herself as she ducked her head to avoid the thicker vines overhead. She was grateful for the thickening canopy, the darker lightning making her flustered face less visible.
"Can I call you Yun?" He asked suddenly.
"Yes. Sure. It's only fair that you can call me by my first name when I'm calling you yours."
Yun paused however, her nerves suddenly set on edge.
Yufan seemed to have the same thoughts as she had. In the dim light, she heard the sound of a sword unsheathing somewhere behind her. Instinctively, she took a few steps further away from him. Although in the times that he had helped her, she had gradually begun to trust him, but that does not mean that she did not going to get wary when he pulled out weapons around her.
Her hands glowed; the warmth trickled down to her fingertips. She raised them, and they glowed brighter, illuminating their dim surroundings.
"Yun, do you see what you need?"
She turned around, scanning the patches of weeds and grass. Then finally at one of the farthest corners in the glade, she saw the stout, thick clumps of the grass with white flowers.
"I see it. It's over at the farthest corner."
"Go slowly, I will be standing beside you."
She nodded, and begun to take small steps across the grass. They were higher than other parts of the forest, and they tickled her shin as she waddled through them. Her feet connected with something though, something like a thick vine. She lifted her feet cautiously to step over it, but it suddenly whipped past the grass. Connecting with her leg again, it wrapped around both her shins, and pulled her down onto the grass.
She fell on her back, and gasped in pain as the basket dug painfully into her skin.
"Yun!"
Before she could say anything however, the vines around her legs tightened, and she screamed as she was suddenly pulled across the forest floor. Her hands tried to grab onto anything that might steady her, but more vines whipped out from the grass, sweeping everything from her path.
When the vines stopped, she was out of breath and shuddering. Lashes were heard whipping through the air. She raised her head, and saw that Yufan was swinging her sword, slowly but steadily making her way closer to her. The blade sliced through each vine that whipped close to him, but more and more rose from the grass.
But as she continued watching, he started to increase his speed, avoiding with them with dexterity as he danced closer.
Yun turned her gaze to her feet next, her blood running cold at how the vines were digging into her flesh. Light seeped through the edges of it though, soothing the pain so that she did not hurt as much. Her eyes darted to the left and right, trying to see if her dagger was anywhere close to her as most of her things had fallen out of the basket.
The gleam of silver rested in the bed of Juling grass that she saw earlier. Casting a wary glance at her feet, she rolled to her side as gentle as possible, and reached out, her fingertips barely brushing against the grass. Taking in a deep breath, she tried again. Her fingers managed to curl around a clump of grass.
This first. She decided, and quickly pulled out another few clumps within her reach.
Her decision to regret what she did came immediately after. The vine around her feet pulled her upside down, and a yell escaped her lips as she was suddenly dangling upside down. Her head hurts and her breath was ragged, and the worst part, she was so much farther from the dagger than she was.
"Don't flail."
She looked up to see Yufan soaring into the air as well, the vines whipping after him. The blade ran through the vine around her feet in one clean slice, and then she was falling again.
She curled into a ball, trying to follow what Yufan said when she landed into Yufan's arms.
"You got the grass?"
She nodded, holding him tight as he kicked off again, soaring at a higher speed towards the canopy.
"I'm taking you out of here." He murmured into her ear, and she nodded, relaxing somewhat. "I'll keep you safe."
They broke through the thick canopy, Yufan using his body to shelter Yun in his arms as they came out into the open sky. The sunlight made her feel warm. She wasn't sure if it was him or the sun. But she thought it didn't matter.
• ───────────────── •
Ling came inside with another footmen, setting the last of the books onto the stools of her rounded table. The musky scent of old parchment filled the air as Yun lifted one of the scrolls, unbounding the string on it to glance through the text inside.
"That's the last of the books from the library Milady." Ling said as the footman bowed and left the room. "All of the texts on Immortals, and mythology and herbs. My, I even had to fight a scholar just to get this batch today, Milady!"
Yun smiled as she heard that. "I would not dream of holding him away from his studies for long. Once I finish going through everything here, he shall have adequate material to read at the library again."
"Milady, may I ask? Why the sudden interest in all of these books?"
Yun's fingers stopped gliding against the parchment as she heard Ling's question. "I wanted to read more before I leave for the palace, maybe that with my knowledge, it'll be enough for me to secure a place unharmed by the other consorts."
Ling nodded, looking as if she only understood half of what Yun said, but she nodded enthusiastically nonetheless.
"I'll bring you some tea then, Milady." She announced before turning to leave.
A breeze ruffled her clothes as Yun turned her attention back again to the books. There is bound to be something talking about my powers, right?
═════════════════
A few hours later, Yun was proven to be immensely wrong. Day quickly turned into the late evening as she poured over the texts, trying to find even a single piece of writing that talked about her powers.
Although her search did bore some fruit, most of it was futile. The only pieces of information that she had gained included the types of dragons. As it was a famous creature, most of the mythology texts did contain knowledge about it. So, Yun quickly found out the closest type of dragon that she thought Yufan was.
A Celestial Dragon. A dragon that resides in the palace of the Nine Heavens, making the sky their habitat.
Yun continued reading on silently. Dragons are normally revered, even amongst the habitants of the Nine Heavens, as they have strong powers to control the elements of air, water and fire to their will. They are normally the fiercest warriors in the Nine Heavens, and their status is only below the Court of the Nine Heavens.
Flipped back to the front of the book that she was reading, Yun noted the title. It was a piece of mythology, although Yun thought that the author was quite accurate in his description. The reliability however, had left Yun something more to desire.
She flipped back to the end of the pages, glancing through in case she found anything that might interest her. Her eyes quickly paused on one section, the title attracting her attention.
Demons. Her thumb held the page open as she read through the descriptions written by the author.
Demons reside in the Dark Realm. Polar opposite of the Nine Heavens, one aims to purify and safekeep the world while the other yearns to destroy it. Pure demons, like Divine Immortals, were born in the darkness itself, while the others became demon through the influence of the dark or the willingness to oppose the light.
Her fingers suddenly flared with light, causing her to pause. She lifted her hands, turning them around as her eyes scanned them curiously. I'm not hurt. So why did the light flare up?
Placing them down on either sides of the table again, she tried to continue her reading, but she had to stop when the light suddenly coursed through her fingers again.
"What do you want?" She sighed, addressing her hands directly. They did not flare again however.
"You do not want me to continue reading, do you?" Yun attempted to continue reading the material again, and the same thing happened.
"Fine then." She placed it aside, setting it against her notes. She would come back to this later. Giving a final glance at the cover of the book, she saw that the writer had put his name down as Xu Heng, which was a unique name to have. Everlasting Sun. She guessed. I wonder whom would name their son that.
• ───────────────── •
"Are you leaving?"
Yun looked over at the made bed, and the meagre possessions that Yufan had with him, tied together in a bundle of cloth. He looked up as Yun entered the room, his lips pressed together.
"I am." He finally said after several moments of silence. "As much as I want to hide from the world, this is only temporary."
The knot on the package tightened, and he let it sit on the bed.
"I understand." Yun said weakly. "I am... glad that I get to see you off."
"Thank you for all that you've done to help me. I'll keep it a secret, if that is still what you want."
"That would be for the best. Thank you for everything that you have done for me as well, I truly appreciate it."
Yufan nodded, and finally raised his head to look at her. His eyes, his eyes that could tell a million stories in them, were telling one of sadness, and they looked at her intently, like he was trying to remember her for many years to come.
"Will I ever see you again?"
"Maybe."
"Maybe..." He sighed softly. "But still, until our next meeting."
He picked up the rucksack and walked towards her, but rather than stopping, he brushed past Yun, and she turned around as he continued his stride without a second glance back.
He's... gone. Yun found herself thinking. Her fingers shook slightly as she reached for the fabric of her robes, curling them tightly around it.
She turned around and looked at the bed again, a sudden emptiness filling her. She had grown more accustomed than she had thought with Yufan around. And they had grew slightly closer in the last few days, despite both of them behaving a little more strangely than usual.
Yun had found him looking at her when he thought she did not notice. While Yun, although dressed up in the same robes every time she met up with him during meals, and when she was out of her rounds more often, had made sure that she looked presentable, swapping out her earrings or her hair accessories, which she had not done before.
Looking at the bed, she turned around as well and quickly brushed past the vines at the entrance, leaving. If he was gone, then, it meant that life was back to normal. No more sneaking around, no more sharing of meals together, and no more, just sharing the presence of each other.
And I'm sure that I will feel better. She thought to herself. I will.