The Fallen Prince

⋇- 4: Feverish -⋇

The chirping of the birds met En's ears as a fresh breeze touched his skin. He slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to adjust his vision. As the scenery cleared up, the first thing he saw was a cream-colored ceiling.

Where am I?

En rubbed his eyes as he glanced to his left. He realized that he was in a medium-sized room filled with a small number of furniture. As En attempted to stand up, he saw that the light green curtains, that partially hid the entrance of a balcony, swayed in the wind.

"Ow." He touched his temple as he felt as if a hammer was hitting his head.

He lay on his bed again, still rubbing his temple in an attempt to ease the headache that wouldn't allow him to even have a seat. He examined his surroundings, wondering how he had ended up there. Besides the small number of different furniture that looked really expensive, he spotted a few large vases exhibiting different plants and flowers.

On the beige colored walls, he saw a painting of flowers adding an extra detail on the room's surface. He sensed a sweet fragrance perfuming the air. When his eyes locked on the dark brown nightstand by the bed's side, he saw a small vase displaying a bunch of red heart-shaped flowers.

He rubbed his forehead, trying to remember what happened for him to be there. Only fragments of that day flashed in his mind. The last thing his memory showed was him leaving a bar late at night. He exhaled and a faint pain irritated his nose.

He touched his nose, annoyed. This meant he was about to catch a cold. There was nothing more annoying than having a sore nose or sore throat. He blamed himself though. He wandered around Celestia and Yue Kingdom in light clothing without even bothering to protect himself when the temperature dropped. 

Thinking about his clothes, he wondered who swapped him from his regular clothes to these blue pajamas that had smiley moons and stars spread around it.

I must look ridiculous.

The sound of a door opening pulled him away from his thoughts. Chatter and footsteps filled the atmosphere as someone walked towards his area. En relaxed his hand under the blankets in an attempt to call his sword in case of trouble.

"But Mrs. Yu Yan," said a worried voice, "I don't think it's a good idea to keep him here. If His Majesty finds out, he'll surely be furious."

"It's not good for your health to worry a lot, Hui Yin," teased a cheerful voice. "It's okay. I'll talk to Jian as soon as he comes back from that trip. Besides, he can't get angry; it's his sister's son we're talking about."

En's eyes widened upon hearing the cheerful tone. It wasn't that long ago he last heard of that voice.

Grandmother.

He curled his fingers, realizing that there would be no need to summon his weapon. Even though there was nothing to worry about, his heart couldn't calm down. He took a deep breath to soothe his nervousness.

"Even so," persisted Hui Yin, "it's a bad idea. The King and his brothers never acknowledged him as their nephew."

"Then it's about time for them to accept him," said En's grandmother.

Before En could react to his grandmother's words, he saw two women suddenly stop walking as soon as they noticed him. One was a slim woman in glasses with short black hair that touched her chin. The other was a short elderly lady in a fancy light violet silk that wrapped around her figure and had bell-shaped long sleeves. En recognized Yue Kingdom's traditional clothing known as hanfu.

The old lady smiled at him as soon as she saw him.

"Ah, you're finally awake." En's grandmother quickly ran towards his bed.