Chapter 53 - The Farewell Of A Princess

Early the next morning I found myself talking with Captain Wong An, a man five years my senior who wore a blood-red armor and mask over black clothes. He was the right-hand man of General Fei Hong, who had yet to appear.

Captain An had a jolly character that could find or make everything funny, even his own self. Quite a contrast to his appearance and getup.

“Excuse this servant, your highness, but how far along the way of Dao are you?”

“Stop that,” I said, rolling my shoulders. At some point during the night, I must have moved because my back was killing me. “We will be spending quite a lot of time together, call me Shen Mu.”

He laughed out loud “I shall... but only once we leave the palace, your highness. Decorum demands that we address royalty properly. What would my ancestors say should I fail at something as simple as that?”

“They would tell you to never contradict a Prince.”

His laughter was like an explosion of sound in the silent courtyard.

“I know that laugh” General Fei grumbled, tying up his long hair with a string as he approached, dressed up in the same blood-red armor as the captain. Once he was close, he put his left fist inside his right palm and bowed to me “Good morning, your majesty.”

I sighed, making An giggle, before returning the salute “General Fei Hong. Did you rest well?”

He smiled and nodded. “I trust my captain hasn’t thoroughly embarrassed this General just yet?”

It was my turn to chuckle as An feigned being hurt in the heart.

“General, you wounded me! I would never speak badly of my commanding officer.”

“Not where I can hear you, you don’t.”

They began bickering amongst themselves, making me laugh even harder. They reminded me a lot of the Weasley twins. Clearly, the two of them had been friends for a long time.

They were, however, cut short by a light cough that made all of us turn and stare at a group of women.

None other than Meiling and her maids had come to see us off.

The princess bowed slightly in our direction, to which my two companions responded with a deep bow, while I nodded her way.

“This princess would like to give fourth brother Shen Long a parting gift before he leaves the capital again.” And just like that, the other two men practically disappeared into thin dust. I grimaced inwardly at their retreating backs, before turning to Meiling, who was silently studying my face.

Feeling slightly mischievous, I played the same trick on her as I used to do with Zhi when she was younger. “Is there something on my face?” I frowned and rubbed my fingers on my forehead. “I took a bath this morning, did I miss a spot?”

And just like my sister, the tiny princess giggled, her eyes sparkling like stars.

Huh. Why was I suddenly noticing her good qualities?

I mentally shrugged and smiled down at her, watching as she worried her lower lip.

“C-Can this princess ask the fourth brother for a favor?” to my own detriment and surprise, her bashfulness stirred something in me.

“Ask, and we shall see what we can do about it.”

Suddenly her face was rubbing against my chest, as her small hands grabbed my outer robe. “Please be careful” she begged, and I could hear the unshed tears. Surprised, I looked up from her form to her maids and found them all looking away.

Unconsciously, I patted her head, just like I did when Zhi was younger. “Hey,” I said, but she didn’t look up at me like my sister did. Instead, I tilted her head up by hooking a finger under her chin.

Her cheeks were pink and her eyes sparkled harder as she gazed up at me with worry and an adoration that suddenly made my throat feel quite dry.

Meiling was, after all, a beautiful woman. She may not have been in the same league as Bai Fan, whose beauty could make a man lose his breath, but I couldn’t deny that she was truly an attractive girl. And looking up at me as she was, with that same worry and care... how could I not feel moved? I wasn’t made of stone, despite my best efforts.

Worse yet, my dreams had been full of romantic moments I had once experienced in a coffee shop.

For the first time in my new life, I truly saw Meiling for what she was: a girl in love. Not a princess or a clingy fan-girl, but a woman who was pinning after the man she would gladly give her heart to.

Without really planning to, my hand cupped her cheek while my thumb caressed the skin under her right eye. “I will be fine, don’t worry.”

She bit her lip leaning into my touch. “I will always worry” she answered breathlessly “always and always. Please, promise me that you will be careful and that you’ll return safely. I cannot bear the thought-” a tear escaped her eye and I quickly erased it with my thumb.

“Meiling” I whispered, smiling down at her “I will be fine, I promise. And I will be careful, all right?”

For the first time in this life, I found myself wanting to keep my promise to this girl who had been trying to get my attention for years. Meiling smiled up at me, and it was such a lovely smile that I had to fight the urge to kiss her.

We were already close to a social faux-pas, kissing her now would only bring trouble for us both.

As if trying to make things more difficult for me, her tiny pink tongue came out to wet her lips, and I found my eyes glued to it, as it sensuously moved across the very lips I had been thinking of kissing.

A light cough came from the maid’s direction and, regretfully, Meiling forced herself to take a step back. Watching me with her glorious brown eyes while I too fought the urge to drag her back into my arms.

“Forgive this princess, fourth brother.” she whispered as she clasped her hands together in front of her chest “I wanted to wish you luck in your endeavors, but-”

“Worry not, princess. I apologize too.” I offered her a polite bow, taking advantage of our distance to calm my raging hormones. “...and again, I will come back soon.”

She smiled brightly, watching as I bowed again and turned away in order to catch up with my companions.

Despite the turmoil in my heart and head, I could still feel her eyes on me the whole way.