The Untamed Princess

Chapter Twenty: The Unexpected Ally

It happened almost in slow motion.

The great tree, the old man of the garden who had grown steadily and silently upwards for over a hundred years, began to move.

It unfurled one of its large, gnarled limbs, creaking and rustling, and the branch shot out and quickly wound its way around the prince's waist, stopping his fall not a metre from the rocks below.

Like a giant arm, it lifted Weisheng's still conscious form and placed him gently on the narrow boundary wall.

Too relieved and desperate to properly process what had just happened, Ming Yue reached out again.

"Help us, please," she begged, not realising that in her haste she had spoken the words out loud as well as in her mind.

Two more branches shot up to the edge of the roof where, just moments ago, Ming Yue and Luo Jian had been watching in horror, and wound themselves around carefully around the waists of the two people.  Ming Yue looked at Luo Jian to make sure that he wouldn't try to fight against the help being offered but, probably for the first time in his life, the young man appeared to be frozen in shock.

Then, before she could do anything else, the two of them were lifted from the roof and deposited next to Weisheng on the wall.

The branches quickly withdrew to their original position, and Ming Yue sent a burst of thankful emotions towards their saviour.  She grabbed one of the prince's arms, and Luo Jian, having snapped out of his daze, did the same.  Then, they quickly jumped down to ground level and ran towards the palace.

Luckily the prince was still aware of his surroundings and able to move, so he did not need to be carried, but his actions were slow.  Ming Yue glanced back, expecting to see their pursuers on top of them at any moment but, to her surprise, there was nothing.

Then, she heard a strangled cry from beyond the wall behind them and, as she strained her neck to see, she caught a quick glimpse of a man in black entangled in the branches of the great tree.  Sending another wave of grateful emotion, she continued quickly on, relieved to see that Luo Jian's gaze was fixed firmly ahead, whether by ignorance or choice she couldn't tell.

When they reached the palace, Luo Jian showed his waist token at the gates and they were immediately granted entry.

"Run ahead," he whispered to Ming Yue.  "Tell Eunuch Wang to fetch Doctor Xiao.  He's the only one that Weisheng trusts.  Let no one else know what has happened.  I will bring His Highness."

Ming Yue nodded.  It was a sensible course of action in the circumstances.  Glancing down at the prince, she saw him make a great effort to smile reassuringly up at her as he masked the pain.  After a quick smile in response, she took off in the direction of the prince's mansion, moving as quickly as she could without attracting attention.

***

Eunuch Wang turned a rather ashen shade of grey when he heard the news, but he was nothing if not efficient, and he immediately moved to carry out Luo Jian's instructions.  He sent all of the servants away from the prince's chamber, leaving only a few of Luo Jian's most trusted guardsmen as security, and sent his own personal assistant to fetch Weisheng's preferred physician, swearing him to secrecy in the process.  Meanwhile, Ming Yue busied herself with gathering together clean towels and a bowl of warm water.

Having done what she could, she waited at the far side of the room, and it was not long before the prince and Luo Jian entered the chamber.  Luo Jian laid Weisheng down on the bed, and Ming Yue went immediately across to him.  She leant over to inspect the arrow more closely and was pleased to find that there was no scent of herbs or other concoction.  Weisheng looked pale but, when she placed a hand lightly against his forehead, she felt that the skin was not clammy or fevered, which would have been another sign of poison or infection.