the golden fish and the red eyed crow (tgcf au)

[16 ooooooooh drama]

[sorry for long wait I have been having trouble getting motivation to write so any postitive comments or even critism is appreciated to keep me motivated]

Xie Lian was comfortably sleeping in his room peacefully, he had spent the entire night twisting and turning as he had dream after dream of san lang doing this or that with him, the dreams went from sailing on the sea to being held in his arms again dancing on the boat. xie lian felt embarrassed about his dreams, he'd never thought about anyone like this, he woke up slowly as he heard some knocking on the door. as he slowly got up from bed the knocking became more aggressive as if the person was gradually getting more irritated.

xie lian finally walked up to the door quickly forgetting about his prior dreams and thought's about hua cheng and his arms. xie lian opened the door to find mu qing outside with a sour face.

"mu.. qing? what are you doing?" xie lian asked as he noticed it was still a bit dark outside "why did you wake me up so early? its barely morning i'd say" xie lian asked more as he rubbed his eyes.

"well your highness crimson rain over there has some... 'plans' he wants to discuss with you" mu qing said even angrier with a mocking emphasis on plans "he says we're nearing the set destination but he wants to stop on a nearby island and sh!t" mu qing continued explaining "anyways he basically called for a group meeting since we're a mere 3 maybe 4 days away from this place he wants to show you" mu qing said nearly rolling his eyes to the back of his skull.

"oh well ok then let me get dressed in more appropriate attire i guess" xie lian chuckled nervously. just as he was about to close the door and get dressed mu qing grabbed his wrist.

"xie-- no your highness sorry. are you sure you trust that man?" mu qing said as xie lian pretended to not know who mu qing was referring too, despite the fact it was blatantly obvious from the context of their conversation.

"wh-what do you mean mu qing?" xie lian said with a rather confused smile. gentle and kind like always, whoch only further annoyed mu qing.

"you know what i mean xie lian!!!" mu qing said in a louder voice then bit his tongue and retreated his grip from xie lians wrists "im sorry that was rude of me, but thats not what matters what matters is you blindly trusting this man you've never know!" mu qing said with anger and concern "for all you know he could have malicious intentions and this is all just an act to keep you tied around his finger till you get to his 'destination' which could be a mermaid auction for all you and i know!!!" mu qing said as he tightened his fists till his knuckles were white "your highness you may not be royalty by societal standards but you still have royal blood, that means you have a big red target on you back, especially so due to the fact of those damned shackles you begged jun wu to put on your wrist and neck." mu qing said as he was starting to lose some of his anger and annoyance as he finally calmed down to say his final words, he turned around preparing to leave then said to xie lian "im worried for you, whether you like it or not i don't and never will trust a pirate like that and you should understand why, you two are from seperate worlds no scratch that separate universes you two being all buddy buddy isn't natural it isn't correct its dangerous and i hope you notice that soon before its too late" and with that mu qing left xie lian to change and get to the meeting.

As xie lian changed into the white and gold robes hua cheng had so kindly given to him he thought more and more about mu qings words and how he was some what correct in his argument. Xie lian wondered whether or not hua cheng had his bet interest in mind but quickly shooed the thoughts away as he reached the dinning room with food already on the table and h cheng, feng xin and mu qing waiting around a circular table. Feng xin and mu qing eat a seat away from each other (the seat was between them) as hua cheng sat across.

xie lian walked to the seat in between feng xin and mu qing and sat down at the table. "so um whats this "meeting for" xie lian asked with his usual soft smile.

"i called you three to discuss something rather simple about our arrangements here on my ship" hua cheng said with a sly grin as he side eyed feng xin then mu qing. "i plan to set some ground rules for the four of us as well as your 'friends' ideas on how it should work" hua cheng said looking straight at xie lian with a caring gaze in a softer tone than he previously had while side eyeing mu qing and feng xin.

"hes right your highness we have been meaning to discuss some things with this whole situation." feng xin continued "me and mu qing were originally sent out of the heavenly capital for a specific mission, but as it stands now we're here" feng xin said as mu qing cut him off.

"the previous mission we were sent here for is no longer our top concern, rather its you your highness" mu qing said as he looked back at xie lian.

after a moment of silence feng xin decided to break said silence "what we're trying to explain is that we want you to come home" feng xin said blatantly as mu qing got a little baffled by feng xins confidence. xie lian was shocked and confused and hua cheng smile wavered into a frown for a mere second. "your highness we've been looking for you ever since your last banishment" feng xin boldly proclaimed as he tightened his fists. "i know you may be having a blast here but not only is it not safe its impractical! your literally putting your life in this this this f#cking Pirates hands!!!" feng xin said as hua cheng eyed him with a near killing glare. "me mu qing and jun wu all care about your safety, we always have! i know we've been separated for so so long but xie lian you--" he continued berating xie lian without break.

just as feng xin was about to continue blabbering on (in hua chengs words) hua cheng cut him off "i hate to break it to you but gege seems more than capable of making that decision for himself" hua cheng said a he simply brushed aside feng xins irritated gaze from being cut off "i mean f i truly meant any harm to dianxia here why would i let you two of all people on my boat?" hua cheng continued with an egotistical grin "i simply want to show dianxia everything he's been missing while he was forced below the water, and anyways if you have any issues with dianxias decision making skills when it comes to companionship maybe you should take a look in the mirror and self reflect" hua cheng said as he looked back a xie lian as feng xin was nearly boiling in rage

.  "dianxia..." hua cheng said calmly in a kinder tone as he looked at xie lian "i leave the decision to leave onto you, its not my position or anyones position to dictate what you can and can't do" hua cheng said as he looked down at the table "if you want to leave by all means do, i will never tie you down, mermaids like you deserve the freedom to explore but i genuienly wanted to show you all of the land since you seem to enjoy our trips" hua cheng said looking back at xie lian. "all i wished to say in this 'meeting' of ours was that if you do decide to leave with feng xin and mu qing please go with me to one last place" hua cheng said as he stood from the table "you have 3 days to decide" hua cheng said as he started to head back to his room "also you can make the terms and rules by yourselves, i don't care as long as i get my day with gege" hua cheng said and left the dinner.

after the servants on the ship brought their food and they ate silently xie lian returned to his room as his heart beat fast with no seeming end near. xie lian was torn between finally reconstructing the bond with his old friends or making a new one with someone he cares for, rather he cared for both but this choice was too hard to make it reminded him of when he had to choose whether to save his kingdom or himself. the only difference was that back then he wouldn't hesitate, wouldn't turn back and much less it didn't matter where he ended up.

[sorry for long wait again i've had trouble with motivation but i am trying to post at the very least 1 new chapter each month thats hopfully over 700-1000 words long <:)]