Respect? What’s that nowadays?

                Zitao was left alone on the balcony, staring at the endless ocean cast before him.  The moonlight painted the dark waves and it gave an elegant feeling to it.  Zitao saw this view every night but tonight, it felt more special.  No, it looked more special.  The moon has never shone so bright—at least not for Zitao.

                Prince Yixing’s words were burned into the back of Zitao’s mind, causing him to grip the railings harshly.  He’s got to be kidding right?  There’s nothing about him worth liking.  He’s just a mere servant, a slave, so why would he like dirt?  Zitao was born to a family who starved endlessly, only to have them die.

                The person who killed them is still scarred into his brain.  Zitao can’t wait until the moment he gets his hands on that person and ends his life himself.  As a matter of fact, he sees that person every day.  Little does that person know is that Zitao knows that it was him, and Zitao knows he doesn’t give two fucks about murdering his family before his own eyes.

                Zitao let out a sigh.  Why did that memory suddenly spring up?  He promised to push it behind him, but Yixing’s confession continued ringing in his mind.  Just before he left, the powerful prince muttered one sentence that made Zitao’s heart race at a inhuman speed.  Why would he say something like to him?  Why would he even say that to begin with?

                The olive-toned butler raised his head and gazed at the ocean.  A sigh escaped his slightly chapped lips.  How stupid can he be?  He knew the answer.  He has known the answer since he saw Yixing and his sister leave their vehicle and approach the castle with their butler, alongside them the other princes, their butlers, and other aristocratic guests.

                This could be the perfect chance to finally take revenge, but Zitao’s feelings are in the way.  Why did he develop feelings anyways?  He used to be the most ignorant and apathetic creature in this entire kingdom, but with all the torturing, he managed to soften up.  Zitao curled his hands into fists.  They actually softened him up?!

                “Unbelievable,” Zitao muttered in disbelief.  He has stayed here for too long, and let them control him.  They even managed to play with his feelings.

                But all he wanted now is Yifan’s happiness, but in that moment, he wanted something else.  He wanted something greater than his handsome prince’s wish.  Oh, he could achieve this newfound dream tonight, and he won’t fear the consequences.

                Why, would one ask and the answer would simply be; because no one will know.           

                Zitao began to turn around and head back into the party, but he halted immediately.  What’s going on with him?  He ran a hand through his hair and let out a groan.  He’s letting his bad side get the best of him.  Yes, he let these people soften him up and create the person he is today, but he’s grateful.  They took him in and raised him well after the incidents, putting aside the torture.  Yes, he discovered he could develop feelings for others, especially a certain man.  He frowned.  The thought of falling in love with a man sort of disturbed him.  His mother really wanted grandchildren anyways.

                This man is Wu Yi Fan though, so he made it an exception.

                Back in the party, he heard his name being called.  Turning, he saw it was Yifan.  Beside him was Princess Mei, whose face was bright, cheerful, and beautiful as ever.  She doesn’t exactly look like Yixing, but they both shared dimples and kind eyes.  Yixing was across from them, no emotion appearing on his face. 

                “Yes, your Highness?” Zitao addressed Yifan in his usual fashion.

                “Where were you?” The prince slurred, obviously drunk.  Zitao fought the urge to grin.

                “I was getting a breath of fresh air,” Zitao answered. “I hope your night is well.”

                “It’s perfect! Because I finally have my bride!” Mei giggled beside Yifan as he twirled her into his chest.  The princess ran her hand up his chest. “We shall get married and make beautiful children!”

                Zitao grinded his teeth together, and he saw Yixing do the same exact thing. “That’s marvelous, your Highness.”

                “Are you okay, Tao?” Yifan let go of Mei and leaned forward, their eyes about six inches away from each other. “You don’t usually talk like a robot.”

                “Sir, you are probably too drunk to tell the difference so I believe it is time to retire and head to your quarters to sleep,” Zitao suggested, doing his best to make his words believable. “You achieved what you wanted for this party.”

                “But the party’s just started!” Yifan bellowed, the alcohol making him angry.  In what state in mind does Zitao have to just order him around like this?! He looked down at his butler and his dark eyes only increased his drunken anger. “Who do you think you are telling me to disband it?!”

                “I’m simply your butler doing what is best for you, your Highness,” Yifan clenched his teeth at Zitao’s calm reply.  He ignored the stares he began to receive from the guests.  So, leaving his guests is what is best for him?  That’s nonsense.

                “You know nothing, you pathetic slave,” Yifan snapped at him.  Zitao narrowed his eyes, but Yifan didn’t catch a single emotion cross that face of his. “Now, leave my sight and don’t return until this ball is over.  You’ve already created too much of a scene.”

                Zitao’s eye twitched as he bowed slightly and turned around completely, walking away briskly and disappearing among the huge crowd of guests.  Yifan heard them whispering and glancing at him curiously, but he ignored it.  The prince looked down and gazed at Zhang Mei’s beautiful, pale face.  Her eyes were wide and round with shock.

                “I’ve never seen you order Zitao so cruelly,” she said in a small voice.

                “He’s just a butler.” Yifan retorted.

                “Yes, but he’s also your best friend,” Mei stepped away from him, but Yifan grabbed her wrist.  The princess flinched and shot him a glare.

                “Where do you think you’re going?” He growled.

                “Away from you until you’ve calmed down.”

                “I’m perfectly calm—“

                “Let go of my sister, you arrogant bastard.”

                Yixing’s powerful voice was strong enough for Yifan to heed and obey.  He let go of Mei’s small wrist and stared at the ground.  What the hell is wrong with him?  Is the alcohol really taking this much of a toll on him?

                “Even if butlers simply are slaves, they help make your job as royalty easy and smooth. They deserve to be treated fairly and not looked down upon,” Yixing began to address Yifan, “Zitao has been an astounding butler for you and he wants nothing but the absolute best for you and your pathetic, spoiled life.  If you can’t even treat your butler, let alone your best friend right, you can kiss marrying my little sister goodbye.”

                Yifan was frozen in place. Each passing second was torturous to him as he held back his boiling anger.  There’s no way he could talk to Yixing the way he talks to others, because one, Yixing is stronger and two, Yifan is simply his subordinate. 

                “All the princes from the other kingdoms are attending this engagement party, so we can help maintain this ball of yours.  I suggest you go back to Zitao and apologize.  A bad relationship with your own personal butler leads to a disastrous future when you rule.”

                “Y-Yes, Prince Yixing,” Yifan simply obeyed, nodding his head and turning around.  He fluidly left the ball room and walked down the deserted hallways of his home.  A knot began to form in his stomach and sweat beaded his forehead.  As his footsteps began to bounce off the walls and echo down the hallways, the knot only grew bigger and tighter. 

                Is Zitao really that important when it comes to being a prince? The prince scratched his head.  He can’t recall a single day where the butler isn’t by his side.  He’s helped him through thick and thin—from healing his minor wounds to serving him tea and lunch.  Yifan stopped abruptly in his tracks.

                Of course Zhang Yixing is right about butlers.  The man himself is right about everything and Yifan should not have once doubted him.  He knows what’s good and bad for everything—living and not living. He sighed and ran a hand over his face. 

                “I really am an idiot,” he whispered to himself.  Yifan knew himself that he was spoiled and took things for granted.  He took people for granted.  He could care less about people, their feelings, and everything else.  If it doesn’t benefit him, why should he care?

                Yifan continued walking down the deserted hallways, glancing through every door making sure Zitao isn’t in them.  Where would he be?  He doesn’t know Zitao that well to know where he would go if he were to be alone.  Surely he couldn’t be back outside before he called him?  All these thoughts plus the effects of alcohol took a toll on him and he stumbled, catching himself by placing his hands on the walls in time.  He took a deep breath and straightened himself out, proceeding.

                A strong, unnerving feeling hit him and his feet started walking on their own.  He has this feeling to go to this certain room that he hasn’t been to since he was younger when he and Zitao would sneak out and have fun breaking that rules. Going through some lesson rooms, he found the secret door and opened it, bright light flashing out and making him go blind for a split second.

                One breath later, a voice spoke out to him, “I’m surprised you remember this room.”

                “I figured you would be here,” Yifan replied, closing the door behind him  He breathed in the dry dust and sneezed, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

                “Did you?” Zitao grinned at him.  Yifan looked up at Zitao, the world revolving around him quickly afterwards.  He caught himself on a nearby chair and steadied his body.  Yifan isn’t quite ready for the hangover tomorrow morning.

                Yifan grimaced, “Where else would you be?”     

                “If I took your words more seriously, not here,” Zitao replied in a monotone.  The monotone in his voice began to make Yifan uneasy.  He’s never been this…robotic before.

                “If not here, then where?”

                “That’s a secret.”

                “Don’t I have a right to know?”

                “It’s a secret for a reason.” Zitao crossed his arms over his stomach lightly. “And you’ll never know what it is, your Highness.”

                “Even if I order it?”

                “No,” Yifan caught a creepy smile crawl on Zitao’s face. “It’ll be quite the surprise for you, your Highness.”

                “What are you talking about Zit—“

                Yifan’s words were cut off when he found himself falling backwards onto the floor and landing painfully on his back.  He groaned in pain and questioned why he fell back in the first place, but what happened next truly shocked him.  Sharp, excruciating pain shot through his mid-section and he could feel warm liquid spread throughout his skin and seep through his clouds, quickly pooling underneath him.

                “If you knew, how could I possibly escape this mess?” Yifan looked up through the pain at Zitao. “I have no excuse for vengeance.  It’s quite funny how I fell utterly in love with you to forget that I wanted to kill you so badly.  That’s the main reason why I became your butler in the first place.”

                “You—“

                “Traitor? Liar? I could say the same for you,” Zitao grinned, wiping his hands and staring down at Yifan. “I wonder how long it’ll take for your petty kingdom to finally discover your dead, rotting body in this room.  ‘Who would murder our prince’ they would ask.”

                “Why, Zitao?” Yifan struggled to talk as Zitao pressed his foot against the sharp object that was impaled into his mid-section.  He bit down on his lip to prevent him from screaming. “I’ve done nothing to you!”

                “You’ve had amnesia for being a stupid child during the time of war,” Zitao growled. “The war didn’t happen fourteen years ago.  We didn’t grow up together.  Those were lies told to you from your parents so you don’t know the truth.  But I, their hostage, know the truth no matter how much torture I was put through.”

                “But…this room—“

                “You’re thinking of another boy,” Zitao cut him off. “But it wasn’t me.  It was never me.  I discovered this room by myself and your grandmother told me how you and he would come in here and play.”

                “Anyways,” Zitao sighed. “I need to go.  I’d love to watch you die, but I have other things to attend.”

                “You’re just going to let me bleed to death?!” Yifan cried, grabbing the object in his stomach.

                “Well, yeah, if that wasn’t obvious enough.” Zitao raised a brow. “But you don’t realize that I’ve actually hit you twice with that sword.  It should be taking place within forty five seconds since the strike is faster than the speed of sound.”

                “Huang Zitao—“

                “I’ll see you in Hell, my beloved prince,” Yifan watched Zitao lean down and press his lips against his. “Have a nice death.”

                Zitao stood up and removed his gloves, walking away and going towards a fireplace.  Yifan struggled to talk as he slowly stared to lose consciousness.  He vaguely saw Zitao start a fire in the fireplace and throw his gloves in there, burning all evidence. 

                “D-Don’t leave me…” Yifan cried.

                The darkness began to consume him as spontaneous pain began to occur straight down him.  He could hear himself scream but it ended too soon.  A grin formed on Zitao’s face when he left the room and hid the door with a bookcase.  Classic right?

                Did you forget, Zitao?  You were supposed to kill your precious prince so we could be together and rule side-by-side.

                Yixing’s words in the balcony repeated in his head and satisfaction spread within him.

                Revenge is good.

                But deep within him, his feelings he developed for Yifan ached.

                This certainly would make an interesting bed-time story, Zitao mused in his head. A butler who was supposed to eliminate someone fell in love with that said person, only to kill him in the end because the butler’s happiness meant more to him than that said person’s.

                It’s quite a plot-twist, considering the one he truly loved knew he liked said person.

IN THE REAL WORLD…

                “Okay, so wait, you kill me?!” He cried eyes wide.

                “Yes, because it goes well that way.”

                “It’s bad enough you made us seem like flaming homosexuals.”

                “You’re the one who wanted me to tell a gruesome story,” the younger one frowned. “And besides, I made it so I was the homosexual.  You just wanted power and marriage.  Cliché, really.”

                “I’m still quite confused.”

                “Good,” Zitao patted his best friend’s shoulder. “I’m not telling it again.”

                “What? Why not?”

                “Wu Yifan, do you truly think that I planned this story?” He sighed and shook his head. “I just bull shitted this story out of my ass to please you.  Don’t take it for granted like you do in my story.”

                “Jerk.”

                Zitao grinned and Yifan added, “So, how does this story end?”

                “Secret.”

                “Oh no.” Yifan began to crawl backwards. “Oh, no, no, no, no.”

                “Oh, yes.”

                _______________________________________________

END

                Yay, I finished this story!

                It’s a story within a story! Quite fitting, considering I’ve written this at 0100 in the morning.  Didn’t it start getting confusing the more you got into this chapter? If so, THEN MY PLAN WORKED.

                I’m actually quite rushed while writing this, so I actually DO NOT know if I put any mistakes in this chapter.  I’ll proofread once my issues in the real world have settled down and I can write/edit comfortably.

                Anyways, please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! <3

                Thanks guys!