Chapter 3: Run Agate Run
Aarush Sha's eyes shone like bright emeralds. Beautiful dark green gems with flicks of gold were only made more enticing by his long and thick eyelashes, contrasting well with his olive brown skin.
The crown princes eunuch, Lan Min, blushes a slight shade of red through the young boys intense gaze. He was extremely beautiful for a foreigner who served the emperor. No No. There was much more important matters at hand. Aarush Sha yawns, watching Lan Min, wondering why he had called for his services so early in the morning. Such a bother to be interrupted this early.
Nervously twirling his fingers, Lan Min begins to cry, frantically letting out a stream of words. Aarush steps back, shocked.
"I am sorry to bother you so early but really I cannot ask anyone else to successfully and discreetly complete this job. I had just walked in to inform his highness of something, only to notice that he is gone! To think I had believed his lies of dancing and pleasing the princess when I know just how much he had despised her. Gah! Please! Please find him and make sure his safe. The emperor cannot know about this or his majesty will be punished severely. So please do not inform your master the captain and bring him back alone. I beg you."
Lan Min finally stops to take a long breath, wiping his tears and staring at the boy. His exquisite face was enough to shut out his worries for a moment. Aarush Sha. The foreign boy whose back story no one really knew.
No one knew how he had come here or how he had became so incredibly strong . For a boy who was only 18 years old, a year younger than the crown prince, he was a prodigy, second to only the unit commander, the highest position in the military.
Observing the boy, he had a face that defined mysteriousness. A body that was refined through his rigorous training. Truly a marvelous person, that is, if only he did not have a split personality.
In a flash, Aarush steps forward and grabs Lan Min hands, shaking it furiously which causes his head to rattle. "I am honoured! Truly honoured! I would love, love, love to go and protect our dear crown prince. Thank you so much for this opportunity. Just you wait. I will bring him back exactly how he had left this place. Thank you!," Aarush gushes out, his eyes twinkling.
Lan Min immediately removes his hands from the boy, his hand slightly shaking and averts eye contact. Aarush Sha had two personalities which alternated at seemingly random times. No one knows the cause of it or how it originated. The first personality was the more common one. A fierce, genius warrior with a humorous tongue. And the other... was like a little boy who had a deep fascination for the crown prince. It seemed that now he was the latter.
Thank you truly Lan Min, you will not regret it," Aarush says seriously, before a goofy smile consumes his face as he giggles. Lan Min watches him leave, his eyebrows furrowing.
There were alot of things Lan Min should be worrying about. The Crown prince had disappeared. He was in a state of frenzy and distress after finding the Crown princes letter. If the emperor finds out, the crown prince will be punished and himself probably executed. Yes, a lot of things to worry about indeed. However in that moment, he could only think of one thing.
"He remembered my name."
A name that belongs to a mere servant.
Once again Lan Min's face blushes a deep red.
***
To think he could finally meet Zhihuan again after so long. Only a few knew of the princes identity and Aarush was one of them. One day, one day soon he will repay the debt he owes Zhihuan. That Aarush swore too. Cupping his hand towards his mouth, he produces a loud whistling sound and a magnificent black beast trots up to him. A menacing horse that seemed to be 3 times his size with powerful muscles protruding from his body.
"Naw you cutie, come here," Aarush coo's, hugging the beast while burying his head into Agate's thick mane.
"Who's your mummy? That's right, I am" he says, scratching the beast under her neck, chuckling as she lets out a satisfied neigh. In a single leap, Aarush vaults his body over Agate's back. Squishing his bottom onto the saddle until he was comfortable, he straps his large bow and arrow to his back and shouts out the words, "Runnnn Agate runnn," very dramatically. And then their off, disappearing through the castle gates.
"Wow you would think he would get bored doing that every single time," one soldier who was watching mumbles to the other.
"Oh shush. Don't you get bored of saying that same darn line every time he says it?" The other soldier replies smoothly, earning a smack to the head in return. "Plus you are new and naive. Be careful around that horse. In fact its best you avoid it entirely." The soldier says, a worried look crossing his features.
When Aarush finally entered the marketplace, he was in a predicament! Various bok choy, carrots, beetroot and cucumber loiter the floor, half squashed which to his dismay meant joy for a certain other. And that was food, beautiful food for the hungry Agate. Nothing got between her and her food, not even her love for her master Aarush. Aarush tried pulling the reins, stepping down and pushing her butt, promising her apples when they got home. But did she budge? Absolutely not. She neighed in frustration, shoving her huge butt to the side, causing Aarush to fall face first onto some mushy beetroot.
"Gah!" He spits out the putrid taste of beetroot. He hated nothing more than vegetables. Especially beetroot. Wiping his mouth, he finally notices that along with the scattered vegetables, there was loose chicken, broken stalls and various signs of distress as he looked further on. What had happened? Don't tell him that idiot Zhihuan had already gotten himself into some sort of trouble. Asking a nearby shop keeper, his eyebrows furrow.
"Did you just come? You must have missed it. It was awful. About 100 soldiers just barreled through this place, chasing after some escaped criminal. I heard he tried to assassinate the emperor and undress a woman in public from his rage! Public I say! How atrocious," the woman gasps, covering her mouth in shock.
Aarush may be a lot of things, but he was not stupid. If there was surely an assassination attempt, he would be one of the first to know. And 100 guards? Patrolling in the marketplace? Absolutely ridiculous. There was no more than 25 at one time. My God, how woman gossip and dramatise anything. One thing he did know was that Zhihuan was no criminal and thus he had no reason to help capture this so called criminal.
He had other matters at hand and as a result, Aarush ventured in the other direction. Many minutes later that is, after successfully persuading Agate with apples he had to buy. Aarush smiles to himself. If Zhihuan was anything like he was the first time they met many years ago, he would most definitely be fine, snacking away by a tree and possibly reading a new book he had purchased.
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A/N I had to introduce a new character, look forward to the next chapter where much more stuff will happen xD
What are your thoughts on Aarush?
Aarush is pronounced ah-roo-sh , 'oo' same as kangar'oo'
Agate is pronounced ah-gah-tay, 'tay,' rhyming with 'lay'
Hey guys, as a reward for reaching 1000 reads and 100 votes I did a coloured version of how I imagine Aarush to look like. The original line art is not mine and all credit goes to yueruf. Their work can be found https://www.weibo.com/yueruf. This is my first time digitally colouring so sorry if its not that good, however nonethless I am quite happy with how it came out. Hope you guys like it! Expect plenty more of Aarush in the future.
Picture of Agate below
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