Dusk And Dawn ✔️

Caught and Bound

{Note:- Readers discretion advised for content that can make you a little uncomfortable. I will mark it with A/N at the beginning and end if you want to skip it}

The Past

Xian let's go of YiJun reluctantly and cleans both of them up.

In silence, Xian dresses YiJun in his royal robes and combs his hair. Placing the royal pin to hold his hair in place, Xian turns YiJun to face him.

"Remember your promise, Jun." Xian sighs before adding, "Now go be the prince you were born to be."

Xiao Xian bows to YiJun in a mock display of respect, and YiJun frowns.

"Awww...Jun, don't pout. Smile. You look beautiful when you smile." Xian says, kissing YiJun's cheek and pushing him out of their hideout.

YiJun keeps turning to look back at his lover till the hideout disappears from his line of sight. Finally, with a desolate look, he squares his shoulders and makes his way to the palace to quietly get ready for the ceremony. He doesn't realize it, but two pairs of eyes follow him from the time he leaves the cottage till he reaches the palace.

Even though the palace would be celebrating a marriage in decades, it looks more like the servants are preparing for a wake. Everything looks perfect on the outside, but the mood inside the palace walls is dark and depressing.

As the wedding time draws closer, the guests start to pour in. The servants show the guests inside, and YiJun's uncle welcomes them.

YiJun sits in his room, waiting. He expects his uncle to call him at any moment. So when there is an abrupt knock on the door, he opens it immediately, expecting it to be a servant or his uncle.

Shock and pain cross YiJun's features when he comes face to face with his lover, bruised, beaten up, and bound.

"Xian!" YiJun exclaims, catching Xian in his arms, breaking his fall.

"Jun, I am sorry. I couldn't get away from them. Sorry," Xian mutters under his breath loud enough only to be heard by YiJun.

The lady who had pushed Xian so ruthlessly says in a high-pitched sarcastic tone, "So, the prince has a lover. Who would have thought that the mighty warrior would be a cut-sleeve!" A menacing laughter follows the words; YiJun grinds his teeth.

The lady is none other than YiJun's future wife. She smirks, and a few guards enter the room. They close all the windows, plunging the room into semi-darkness.

"Your lover is a beautiful man. If I had seen him earlier, I would have planned differently." The princess says, walking closer to Xian and bending down, trying to touch his cheek.

YiJun pulls Xian closer, shielding him from the woman. "Princess! How dare you!?" YiJun bites out, gritting his teeth.

"Oh, my dear future husband, I dare to do more than this." The Princess turns.

"You can't get away with this. The guests have started arriving. Friends and allies will stand with me." YiJun says confidently; the woman laughs again. "Prince, no one will stand with you today. I have made sure of it."

"What have you done?" Fear grips YiJun's heart.

"Nothing. Nothing that you need to concern yourself with; they were useless anyway. After all, our union doesn't depend on them."

'What has she done? What does she mean by union?' YiJun panics internally and holds Xian closer.

"Are you still under the impression that your love story will have a happy ending? If you still think that, then you are a fool."