Yuxuan

1

It was late in the night. Usually, the palace was quiet around this time, because it was commonly known that there will be a major penalty to any servant who woke members of the royal family. However, on this night, it was very different.

The loud pitter-patter of a little boy's feet clicked against the courtyard tile, as the sound of heavier footsteps chased after him. The little boy glanced behind him as he hid behind a thick pillar. He heard those heavy footsteps pass him by and took several deep breathes.

The little boy, no older than nine years of age, was no servant. He was of royal blood, heir to the throne. But the reason he was running wasn't to playfully dodge the royal guards, as he had before. It was because he didn't want to die.

He found out that his uncle Yiwei, another noble during the Qing dynasty, had made barbaric plans to murder him so he could be the only one to succeed the throne next. The emperor, his father had warned about Yiwei's greed for power but never expected for it to affect him. He and his uncle were close, so he had thought.

The little boy ran in the opposite direction. He reached a wall, which was put in place to protect the royals by keeping commoners out and placed crates and stools against it. However, he was too short to climb up and over it. He was going to have to jump and pull himself over.

He placed the pile of furniture and crates neatly, then hopped on each surface as he ran across them. He hopped into the air as high as he could, grabbed the wall, and pulled himself using as much as his strength would allow him.

Once he was over the wall, he released it and tumbled onto the ground below him. His feet were a little hurt from the impact, but he brushed it off and bolted for the city, where peasants and other common people ran their shops.

He decided to make his way through the city and towards the docks, where merchants often used ships to trade. He hid behind a tree, and waited until the next sunrise. In his mind, by morning, the guards would eventually give up chasing him, and his father would be up to handle royal duties. When his father was awake, no one would be able to touch him, he'd still be safe another day.

The next ship arrived by dawn, and he heard shuffling behind him. The little boy's heart pounded as he glanced behind him and saw two soldiers, who dressed in a similar uniform to royal guards running towards him. He gasped and ran onto the ship, on the main deck, and hid behind a stack of crates.

The soldiers stopped a few of the merchants and exchanged a few Chinese words with them.

'Prince Yuxuan is missing.' One of the soldiers said. 'The emperor has issued a search for his son. We have to look on your ship.'

The little boy, Yuxuan clasped his hands together, praying to his ancestors that the traitors wouldn't find him onboard. The merchants stepped aside, allowing for them to roam around and examine the ship. Yuxuan held in a breathe once one of them had reached him. But he stepped away, not being able to see him from behind the crate.

Once the soldiers finished their search, they bowed their heads at the merchants and left. Yuxuan sighed in relief and relaxed against one of the crates.

Perhaps leaving China completely was a better option? He knew the amount of influence his uncle had, knowing that he wouldn't stop acting on his plans. Once he resolved in his mind that he'd be killed if he went back, he decided to see where the ship would take him, in hopes that Uncle Yiwei would be caught in his evil doings so he could return home.

The boat jerked forward, as the merchants released its bound to the docks. They lowered their sails, letting the wind carry them across the ocean.

Many hours had passed, and the sky darkened. Yuxuan, still hiding behind the crates, gazed up in fear, realizing that they were storm clouds. The rain started to fall, eventually forming puddles of water onto the ship. The waves pounded against the sides of the boat, some seeping over the edge and washing on the mast as it rocked from side to side.

The merchants struggled to raise the sails, many of them not paying attention to the direction they were headed. A large brunt force of the water knocked Yuxuan into a pole, and he wailed out in pain, earning a few glances from the sailors. They decided not to pay much attention to him, saving the ship from this weather was more important.

Yuxuan pulled himself up, only to be knocked down by another wave. Then the ship made a large cracking noise. The little boy looked to his left and saw that water was filling up the boat quickly, and sinking. It took damage from a large stone in the water.

The sailors and merchants panicked as they tried patching up the large hole, some of them even throwing some smaller boats into the water and hopping inside of them, and rowing away to safety. Eventually, Yuxuan was left alone, and had nowhere to run to.

He made up in his mind that if not at the palace, he'd die here and become a victim of people who were lost at sea.

A large wave knocked him off the ship. He fell into the water headfirst and struggled to swim back up to the surface. He grabbed onto a plank of wood that was floating above him and pulled himself up.

The heavy rainfall pelted against his skin, and he slouched over the plank for dear life, praying that his ancestors would save him. He was losing hope of making it out of this storm alive.

~

"Mm.." A groan from Yuxuan escaped his lips. He sat up slowly, feeling a cold and wet stone underneath him. He was still drenched, some of his royal garbs were torn. He looked around carefully, taking in his environment.

He was surrounded by tall trees, a river, and a waterfall.

He stood slowly and began stripping off his clothes, because the weight was pulling him down, taking more of what little energy he had left.

Although he didn't know where he was, he considered it a blessing that he was still alive. One thing was for sure, he was hungry, and if he didn't find any food soon, he'd starve to death. If his ancestors had brought him this far, he refused to let death overtake him so easily. It was a strong-willed rule that his father taught him.

~