The Cruel Prince

SECRETS AND LIES

Wang Jian's boots creaked as he made his way to check on Ying Yue, his footsteps were dragged, and heavy. 

The lanterns were bright again, but Ying Yue's heart rate didn't ease. Wang Jian waved Lord Chua to let her go and he did, walking away to gather his imperial guards for an outright retaliation.

Wang Jian didn't speak until he has her in his arms.

"I'm sorry." He said, his voice rough and empty.

'What was that about?" Ying Yue asked, her memory still fresh with the devilish man. She tried not to think about it, but she knew what he meant when he said he'll take the real one next time. "Why does he want me? What did you do, Jian?" She asked, voice filled with confusion.

"No, he won't take you, I won't let it." His hands picked up hers, squeezing it. "I'll have to get you out of the palace."

"I'll leave on my own, you don't have to do anything." She thought this could buy an easy way out. If she was to leave, Banye would leave the palace alone.

"No." He said quickly. "He's on to me, he'll take you no matter what this time. I need to be able to protect you. No more pretending, no more trying to elude him. I only made him angry....and I'm afraid..." He choked. "He'll kill you the most gruesome way just to get back at me."

"Listen to him, Ying Yue." Prince Jungjae interrupted from behind, he looked just as spent as Wang Jian. "He'll break every bone of your body and grind them while he listen to your screams as if it's music soothing him. He's evil."

Ying Yue picked her head up peering aside Wang Jian's head, she met Jungjae's gaze and then Wang Jian's. "What exactly happened for you to evoke his wrath like that?"

The bothers looked at each other, Jungjae at Jian as if asking for permission to tell the story. Wang Jian gave him a nod as to go ahead.

"Nine years ago, there was something terrorizing our villages in the northern part of the country. We sent troops there to contain what's happening. The attacks were simply scaring the people, destroying crops at the beginning, but then killings followed afterwards. Our troops began showing up dead in rice fields, and caves one by one, so we sent more troops in a bigger batalion. But that didn't stopped anything, the killings and the terrorizing continued, and before we knew it, the villagers are getting killed as well. We don't know what's going on, and no one had been able to tell us what or who are we dealing with."

Then, father sent me to assess what's happening and that's when I came across her. A woman so beautiful she almost doesn't look real. She lured me in, she's been blood thirsty and she's wreaking havoc on the villagers and the imperial army. I went in with intention to kill her, but it was a lot harder when faced with such hypnotizing beauty. All I could remember was walking inside the cave, and the rest was lost memory." He paused and looked at his brother.

"I followed after I haven't heard from Jungjae for a few days." Wang Jian continued. "That's when I found him taken hostage by this woman. The most beautiful creature I've even seen. She smiled at me with ferocious gleam on her teeth, stating her demands. She wanted Jungjae's seat in the palace relinquished to her husband.

I didn't know who her husband was at the time and I didn't care. I refused to buy into her bargain. I told her I don't negotiate with demons, terrorist, or criminals. No one. She hissed, and her claws shot out form her knuckles sharp as a reaper's scythe. She aimed for my brother's throat, warning me she's going to kill him if I don't agree to her demands. I cannot allow that, so I lunged at her, she was slower than I thought. I was on her before she can even react properly. I Sliced her throat and killed her, leaving her body bleeding to dry in a cave as I rescued my brother taking him home with me.

You can figure out what happened next, Banye came to me roaring with his wrath, that it sent the entire palace in complete darkness, scaring everyone in it. He wreaked havoc in the palace in demand of me. I thought he was going to kill me, but he knew what his wife was doing.

I saw it in his eyes, he was grieving, he loved her despite the fact of how she was. I mean, I don't blame him, she was unearthly beautiful that any man would fall head over heels for her.

Banye coursed me instead, he said he'll wait until I fall in love and take that person from me."

There was a long pregnant silence, no one spoke for a while.

"Is that why you'd been so cruel?"

His lips brushed softly on her ear, "I'm sorry, it was the only way I could think of protecting you at the time. I wanted to elude him, I wanted to let him think I'm in love with someone else, and drew you away from the palace. It was cruel and it was cold, and it broke my heart to see you hate me more and more each day when I fall in love with you more and more.

Seeing your suffering, how much you endured me, how much you tolerated because you loved me so much. I knew I had to protect you even if I demonized myself. I love you, Ying Yue."

Ying Yue quivered at the word leaving his lips, it was so alien to her that she could hardly believe it was real. "You shouldn't have held all this from me, Jian."

She looked at him, something inside her broke. Her chest caved in scorned by betrayal. The suffering she endured just because he held the truth from her. She didn't say the word back, she was angry at him. "You're foolish Jian! You're so foolish you did things to ruin me! You weren't saving me from damnation! You sent me right to him!"

There was desperation in her voice that surprised the brothers. She drew her dagger out slicing her away from her husband. Wang Jian slide away from her - confused. It was a different reaction than he expected. "Ying Yue?"

"You fool!"

"No, Ying Yue. I swear I will not lie to you anymore. I will protect you here in the palace, I won't let Banye get to you." His voice pleading with the softest caress, Wang Jian's hand lifted as he carefully made his stride back to her.

Ying Yue considered it, she growled with warning and each growl getting louder as Wang Jian got closer and closer. "Back off or I will dig this dagger right in your chest!"

He paused, his eyes never leaving hers. "It's okay, I know it'll be hard to forgive me, but we can't be fighting right now. Banye will see this as his opportunity."

"Ever thought he saw his opportunity a long time ago? You were such a fool, Jian! You should've let me know."

Wang Jian's jaws dropped. "What do you mean a long time ago?"