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Speckled across the sky, the stars sparkled overhead. He Leiwen reached his hand up sluggishly, fighting against the weight of the chains on his wrists and the heavy fabrics of his robes. He made a weak attempt to catch the dazzling lights, closing his hand over a handful of them and yet as they always have, they slipped through his grasp. Further away now than ever before, he watched as their light was distorted by his movements before they fell back into their proper place.
How long had it been? How long did it take for one's conscience to slip away like the rolling tides overhead? He couldn’t possibly know. Never had his tutors taught him something like this, nor did his parents ever mention this to be a possible outcome of his life. He remembered their blunt warnings of everything that could happen to him in and out of the walls of the palace he’d grown up in, had been imprisoned in for his adulthood, yet never did they tell him that this could be its end. Perhaps they had never imagined that the people would turn on them, maybe they had believed their grip was strong enough to continue to push down the riots, ensure they would not join with outside forces.
It didn’t matter anymore, though, they had long since passed on, illness consuming both of them so quickly that no doctor had had any chance to save them, and now He Leiwen would join them in death, consumed by the cold waters. His body had long since given up its flailing to reach the surface, long since given up on proper oxygen. It was almost peaceful to float here now, waiting for it all to end.
It was relaxing as the waters moved around him slowly, lungs no longer burned from the water that filled them, instead, he felt one with it, his eyes felt heavy as he stared up once more at those dazzling lights, far, far away from him… as far away as Xu Ying…
Xu Ying-
Oh Xu Ying… he prayed his loveliest servant… no, the most loveliest, most beautiful being he’d ever caught eyes with was alright. Prayed that he was out there somewhere in the world, perhaps even the heavens… that would be a most perfect place for him to reside now…
A small smile curled up his lips, it almost pained him, how long had it been since he’d smiled? He remembered all the times in which he’d been told not to smile, that he must school his expression to be neutral, intimidating even. Yet, with Xu Ying, all that training was for nought, he simply could not hold it in with the other by his side. He would smile for both of them and smile even wider when it was returned with a lopsided smile from his servant.
“Xu Ying… please…”He whispered soundlessly, though he was unable to finish the request as his eyes closed.
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It was deep in the night, a crutch tapped against the rocks along the natural path that led to the lake, golden eyes glanced around swiftly, searching for someone. He felt he was here, Xu Ying was sure of it, the night had whispered it to him. A shadow fell over his features as he glanced down into the cold waters, surely he wasn’t below the waves… He shook his head and trained his eyes on the trees around the pond. He dared not speak up for fear that the guards patrolling the perimeter would be alerted to his presence, even if he could slip away, his highness would not be able to, if he was out here that is…
His fingers twitched on the handle of his crutch. Maybe he’d been mistaken, maybe it was pointless to keep up this search. His heart squeezed in his chest at the mere thought of giving up. It had been years since he’d last seen the Crown Prince of Xian, sometimes he caught himself wishing that he hadn’t left, that he would have ignored that one request of his highness, defied him just once to stay by his side for as long as their captors would have allowed. Yet he knew better, He Leiwen had ordered him, no-, had begged him with tears in his eyes to leave, to live the life he deserved.
Xu Ying hadn’t quite known what that might entail. In the early days, he’d spent that time running as far away as possible, and then he’d grown restless, worrying himself sick with the horrors of what they might do, might have done to the Crown Prince. Then one day he’d gotten it into his head that perhaps if he cultivated to some degree, he might be able to gain enough strength to fight to return to his Prince’s side… never had he imagined to ascend to Godhood during those years away. At first, he thought it would aid his search, how naive he had been attempting to ask the other Gods to aid him in finding his Highness…
Many of them had been Princes, Princesses, Emperors and Empresses, they didn’t care for his Crown Prince, his Emperor… they were busy with their own matters and did not have the time to aid in his search, even the most kindest of them were all but tied up in their own peoples troubles and prayers, they suggested he move on, that he listen to the prayers of his own people, but when Xu Ying focused on such things he only heard his Princes voice, praying quietly that he was alright, that he was safe, that he had found a beautiful life to live far away from the turmoil.
He closed his eyes for a moment and took in a breath, attempting to focus on that voice again… brows furrowing as his thoughts went silent, save for the waves crashing on the shore, his lips frowned further downwards. A sharp sigh escaped from him, and as he readied to open his eyes and turn away from the waters, it was then that he heard it… a quiet prayer, cut short, yet it felt so loud and clear in his mind,
“Xu Ying… please…”
He gasped, eyes turned wide as they fell on the waters, immediately he threw his crutch to the side, shrugged off his outer robes, and kicked off his shoes as he dragged himself into the cold waters. There was little time for him to reevaluate his decision, little time to remind himself that he didn’t quite know how to swim, but he was a god now, he had to pull He Leiwen to the surface. But was he able to? He wasn’t sure, but he would try, no-, not try, he would succeed, he would have to.
He submerged himself into the waves, and though he was no longer mortal, he almost gasped in a mouthful of the waters as the cold came rushing at him. It took a moment to orient himself, and he stretched out his senses in an attempt to find the Prince, but he soon found a major issue, he wasn’t moving forward at all. Half of his body remained still as the other half fought the waters, thrashing in an attempt to swim. Curse it all, why had no one thought to teach him to swim? He’d only watched as others had done so, and yet how could he mirror their movements without the control of one half of his body? More precious time passed as he tried to figure out how to move with the water and not fight against it. It felt agonizingly long, but with his technique set, he now had to locate his Prince and hope that he was still alright.
Perhaps he’d just been thrown in… It was a pathetic wish if that was the case, he would have heard the commotion on his walk to the pond, would have seen the patrols, he just had to hope that He Leiwen was still alive, still fighting for his last breath.
Fear began to overtake Xu Ying, his senses dulled below the waters, and yet he continued forward, his body working as hard as it could. Just as he was about to break to the surface, it was then that he caught a glimpse of something.
White robes floated in the dark waves, brown hair floating around him and slightly obscuring his face, eyes closed, and his lips had turned purple, yet Xu Ying could not have been happier to see the familiar figure of his prince once more and did not notice the dull paleness of the other's skin. He quickly wrapped an arm around him and, with great difficulty, pulled them to the edge of the pond.
It took him much longer than he could even estimate, or perhaps it merely felt long, whatever was the case, Xu Ying now lay at the edge of the pond, chest heaving in the cold nights air, he was fine given his immortality but as he glanced over at the still figure of his prince he quickly began to notice those grim features that he had not seen under the water.
“Your Highness?”He whispered, lips quivering as he fumbled in his outer robe's pocket for his monocle, and, after some struggle, he managed to fix it to his face once more before dragging himself closer to the still body. His left hand shakily reached out to search for a pulse, first attempting at the wrist before quickly moving to the neck.
“Your Highness, I’ve returned,”He whispered. The world around him was suddenly becoming harder to see, even with the glass over his eye, tears began to well up, and his hand quickly held the body’s cheek, tilting the still face towards him as he leaned over it. “Your Highness… He Leiwen please… I’m here, I promise I won’t leave again, please wake… It’s me… it’s Xu Ying… your servant… I’ve returned to your side,”He gasps out as his shoulders begin to shake beyond his control. With the little strength he had left to give at present, he pulled He Leiwen into his embrace and felt the tears begin to roll down his cheeks.
He had found him… His crown prince… His Emperor… His Highness. But he was too late, too late to see those warm brown eyes glisten up at him once more, to hear the others' laughter, to follow by his side once more.
The other Gods had warned him, had told him that it was possible that He Leiwen was dead already, but Xu Ying had ignored them, would not believe their words because his Prince deserved to live, he had deserved to be able to share his beauty and kindness with so many more people. The despair was so heavy, and with the tears continuing to slip down his cheeks, he did not notice the movement in his arms until cold hands touched his cheeks and brushed away those droplets.
“Don’t cry, Xu Ying…”A familiar voice mumbled to him, half distorted by the water that spilled from his lips.
“Ah-? Your high- your highness?”He whispered, gold eyes catching sight of warm browns once more, though for a moment he could have sworn they were dulled grey and yet the vision cleared almost immediately, and those familiar eyes continued to stare back at him.
For a moment, the man in his embrace was quiet before tears quietly rolled down his own cheeks, “Xu Ying… please tell me you're real… you’re here with me, right?”He asked slightly garbled as more water spilled forth from him, his fingers quickly intangled into the wet robes of his former servant, “Your eyes… they’re like the stars in the night… the same stars I tried to grab hold of, but they slipped away… promise me you will not slip away…”He added, as he stared deeply into them.
“I am here, your highness… it is truly me, I promise you-”Xu Ying responded, his own tears rolling again, “I promise I will not slip away from you”He added as his arm wrapped more tightly around the other.
He Leiwen was dead… of this Xu Ying was certain, but he hadn’t moved on, thrown into the waters and drowned beneath them, He Leiwen had in some way become part of them now, a spirit unable to move on.
Xu Ying thanked the other Gods silently… for his brightest star had returned to his night, and he would not leave its side again.
