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Finding the Prince had been a difficult task. Every time Lan Xichen asked, the servants merely smiled and turned him around. He resented this behavior. After all, had he not just saved their entire kingdom mere hours before? And he had done so at the expense of his own campaign, risking the wrath of his Imperial Uncle. The least these people could do was to give him proper directions to their Prince. Lan Xichen only meant to help.
In the end, locating the Prince had been a matter of sheer luck. Lan Xichen found him, lounging in a pavilion surrounded by lotuses. He was resting on his side, his long hair draped over his back, hiding the wound Lan Xichen had mistakenly given him during yesterday’s battle against the invading Wen Armies. His robes were loose around his shoulders and Lan Xichen thought he could spy some skin. Omega servants were milling about, some in the water and some in the pavilion, itself. One was half out of the water, resting with his arms folded on the pavilion’s edge, at his master’s feet. He said something that sent all the other omegas tittering. The Prince, himself, made no sign that he had acknowledged anything he had heard. The whole scene was rather idyllic and Lan Xichen felt somewhat regretful that he had to end it. But he took one glance at the dagger in his hand and remembered that he was running out of time.
“Congratulations on this victory,” said Lan Xichen as he carefully approached the pavilion. Immediately, the laughter ceased and all the omegas turned to look at him in surprise. The Prince rose and turned to look at him more slowly. Under the moon, away from the battlefield, he looked unbearably lovely. The starlight cast a softness to his, usually, sharp features and made him look like an innocent flower. Like the lotuses surrounding him. As if he had not rent dozens of men in battle just this morning.
“I need to speak to Prince Wanyin, alone,” said Lan Xichen to the servants. “You may leave us.” The omega who had been joking looked up with a frown and pulled himself out of the water. Another servant immediately surged forward to wrap him in black and red robes and hide his skin from the interloper.
“Rude,” said the omega. “Show some respect to His Highness.” Lan Xichen blinked at the sudden hostility. Yet another servant offered a sword to the omega and he looked like he was very much about to use it to avenge whatever slight Lan Xichen seemed to have committed against their Prince.
“Wei Ying,” said the Prince. “Stand down.” Wei Ying immediately did as ordered, but not without casting a most mutinous glare at Lan Xichen. The Prince blinked at Lan Xichen and opened a lantern that had been by his side. With a small burst of spiritual energy, he lit it and closed it. He took his time, forcing Lan Xichen to wait. Wei Ying smirked at Lan Xichen when he realised what the Prince was doing.
“This is Lotus Pier, Your Highness,” said the Prince, at length. “Not your battlefield. No one leaves without my permission.” The omegas tittered even as Lan Xichen’s ears lit up in embarrassment. Perhaps he should have requested an audience through the King, himself. Now that he thought about it, it was highly improper of him to present himself to an unmated omega’s private space without explicit permission from his parents. So, he nodded and turned to leave, intent on asking for an audience as soon as possible.
“Did you not hear me?”
Lan Xichen froze in his tracks.
“I said,” said the Prince, “no one leaves without my permission.” Puzzled, Lan Xichen turned around, only to have the breath stolen straight out of his lungs. There was mischief in this beautiful prince’s eyes and Lan Xichen could only marvel at him.
“It is best that we do not stay alone,” said the Prince, lowering his eye in a coy fashion. Wei Ying snorted and looked at his master with thinly veiled amusement, an eyebrow quirked in question. The Prince did not deign to give him an answer. Instead, he reached out and plucked a lotus from the lake, using the bloom to keep his hands occupied.
“Why?” asked Lan Xichen, deciding to play along in this little game. “Do you no longer trust me?” The Prince smiled and looked at him through his lashes.
“No,” he said as he gently coaxed a petal from the lotus before dropping it into his lap. “It is I whom I do not trust. I may try to attack you in a bid to avenge myself.” His eye drifted to his shoulder where the wound was hidden by his hair.
“It would be your right,” Lan Xichen admitted. “You saved my life and I repaid you with ingratitude.”
“Your Highness saved my Kingdom,” the Prince countered, coaxing yet another petal from the lotus and dropping it.
“For the Prince Wanyin, this Imperial Prince would even offer his life,” said Lan Xichen, playfully. The Prince’s movements stopped at once and he looked up from the flower in his hands. For a moment, Lan Xichen wondered if he had overstepped, somehow. One could never truly know with Jiangs. They were quite the mysterious people and the most innocuous sentence could either win you their hearts or instill lifelong disdain in them. Then, the Prince spoke again.
“I see,” he said. “It would seem that this is a debt that must be settled in privacy, after all.” Wei Ying huffed and rolled his eyes. But he did herd the other omegas away at his Prince’s command. They did not go too far, remaining outside earshot but well within sight. The Prince gestured for Lan Xichen to come closer.
“No one has ever survived my blade,” said Lan Xichen as he neared the Prince. “And yet, Your Highness has survived. The wound must be deep. I have come to see it. Won’t Your Highness show it to me?”
“Jiangs do not make a spectacle of their wounds,” said the Prince with a sneer. He turned his pretty face away from Lan Xichen.
Unacceptable.
Lan Xichen reached forward and jerked the Prince’s robes down so that his back was fully exposed. This earned him a heated glare. But Lan Xichen could not care less. His focus was on the unsightly gash on his Prince’s skin. It appeared red and inflamed, slowly oozing blood. He opened the lantern and unsheathed his dagger. Using the open flame, he heated up the blade and quickly placed it upon the Prince’s wound.
“Aah!” The Prince screamed and, then, a pair of long, delicate arms were around Lan Xichen’s neck, holding him close, seeking comfort from the closest available source. The Prince’s heavy breaths echoed in Lan Xichen’s ears.
“This is dangerous,” said Lan Xichen as he stroked the Prince’s back in a soothing motion. “You should not expose your neck so easily to an alpha.” The Prince chuckled, wetly.
“If you can bite through this leather,” he said, “I will gladly submit to you.” Lan Xichen could not help the answering chuckle. Of course, it would be terribly difficult for him to mate this omega. Jiang omegas wore thick leather collars at all times to keep themselves safe from unwanted matings. Perhaps Lan Xichen should suggest the same to his Imperial Uncle when he returned home.
“Why did you hurt me, again?” asked the Prince, lips moving against Lan Xichen’s ear.
“Forgive me,” said Lan Xichen thoroughly distracted. “There is poison upon my blade. I had to burn you in order to stop its spread.” The Prince hummed and drew himself deeper into Lan Xichen’s embrace.
“Then, Wanyin thanks you,” said the Prince. Lan Xichen took the opportunity to inhale his scent. It smelled like lotuses, of course. But there was also an undercurrent of lightning and rain. Like a storm was brewing just beneath the omega’s skin. Lan Xichen might grow addicted.
“I seem to have seen your wound, My Prince,” said Lan Xichen, at length. “You are no longer a Jiang.” The Prince huffed and drew some ways from Lan Xichen who tightened his hold so that the omega could not go too far. The Prince simply put their foreheads together.
“Your Highness has merely seen the evidence of your attack,” said the Prince. “The wound is somewhere else.” He pushed Lan Xichen away, leaving the latter grasping onto thin air.
“I see,” said Lan Xichen. There was a feeling, slowly arising in his belly, that he had gained something invaluable on this night. And so, in gratitude, Lan Xichen sheathed his dagger and held it out. It had been a gift from his late Imperial Mother. It was the only thing on his person that seemed to match the value of the gift he had been offered. “For you.” The Prince stared at the proffered dagger before looking towards Lan Xichen, his gaze searching. Whatever he found, he seemed to be satisfied with it. He reached for the dagger with a dainty hand and closed his fingers around the hilt. As he inspected it under the moonlight, Lan Xichen’s gut turned with trepidation. Why, he could not have said. Something in him simply knew that this was an important event in his life. Something told him that, one day, he would look back and realise that this was the night his entire life had changed. The Prince brought the dagger to his chest and smiled, softly.
“You may leave, now,” he said, dismissing Lan Xichen. And Lan Xichen agreed. It was time for him to leave. Tomorrow would be a long journey to Qinghe. Besides, it was almost time for him to sleep, per the rules.
Thus, he left without another word.
***
“He is leaving,” said Wei Wuxian as he flopped onto Jiang Cheng’s bed. He began tossing a ball up and down, playing with it while Jiang Cheng placed a lip-coloring paper between his lips.
“And?” asked Jiang Cheng. Wei Wuxian caught the ball and sat up to stare at him, incredulously.
“What do you mean, “and?”” he demanded. “Don’t you want to see him off?”
“No,” said Jiang Cheng. “Not at all.”
“Your Highness,” said Wei Wuxian, exasperated. “It’s not good to be so arrogant.”
“This is not arrogance,” said Jiang Cheng. “This is love.”
“What kind of love prevents one from bidding their beloved goodbye?” Wei Wuxian asked with a frown.
“The sort that could cause my death if I were to watch him go,” said Jiang Cheng, very simply.
“Your Highness,” Wei Wuxian gasped. “Why must you say such unlucky things?!”
“You asked,” Jiang Cheng snorted. He reached for his collar and tied it around his neck, firmly. Then, he picked up the dagger. In the blink of an eye, Wei Wuxian was at his side, rudely grabbing Jiang Cheng’s wrist to stare at the jeweled sheath in horror.
“Your Highness, where did you get this?” he asked.
“His Imperial Highness gave it to me,” said Jiang Cheng with a soft smile. The color drained from Wei Wuxian’s face at the implications of such a thing.
“And you accepted it?” he asked, voice barely higher than a whisper.
“Yes,” said Jiang Cheng. Wei Wuxian let go of his wrist, backing away from the dagger as if it were a venomous snake.
“What have you done?” he asked. What indeed. For, you see, in the Kingdom of Yunmeng, an omega could also be wed through the gift of a dagger.
“I married him,” said Jiang Cheng.