Ju's first reaction was to lunge towards Renshu, his old friend. He clenched his fists as his silver eyes met Mian's fearful ones, dark thoughts consuming her mind as seconds passed by. If Ju attacked, his wife would be dead. If he stood still, he only delayed the tick of death from scraping her neck. One wrong move, and Mian's fate would be sealed.

"What do you want?" asked Ju through clenched teeth.

Renshu clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth. "Now, is this the type of manners they teach the Crown Princes these days?" he mocked, chuckling to himself. "You have not changed, Zhao Ju."

"Release her."

Mian's captor brought the blade to her neck, cold as ice metal touching her bare skin. She inhaled a sharp breath, body anxiously warning her to keep still. Her back straightened against the strange man, who she deemed an assassin.

The Blood King, she thought, was he not just a legend parents told their children?

She remembered whispered tales of a man of violent nature, one who thrived in chaos and discord. He was one with the shadows, a master of disguise and strategy and said to have knowledge that rivaled the Crown Prince. Those who saw the Blood King never lived to tell the tale.

He haunted the day, but ruled the night.

A chill rolled down her spine, his cold fingers painfully digging into her waist until Mian squirmed. She hated the sickly feeling that rumbled throughout her body from his mere touch. This man held her life in his hands, and if Mian moved an inch, she would be headless.

"Stay still, sweetheart," he whispered. "We wouldn't want the maids to walk into such a bloody accident, would we?"

Tears threatened to spill as a burning sensation numbed her neck like a poison to subdue her. Could it be?

"I have full authority of this palace, Kwan Renshu," said Ju, voice as cold and indifferent as a stoic elder. "One order from me and you will no longer be the Blood King that roams the night like a coward."

Renshu tensed, amber eyes burning holes through Ju. His eyes, intense and blazing with fury, glared at the Crown Prince.

The blade dug deeper into her skin, the numbed feeling spreading into her veins like a snake bite. Acute pain gathered at her temples and cheeks, the room spinning as their words became slurs in her mind. Mian's lungs screamed for release, eyes struggling to focus on Ju.

There was something on the blade.

"Never speak to me about being a coward, Zhao Ju," said Renshu. "You and I are two sides of a coin. That crown does not excuse the bloodshed that you caused."

"This has nothing to do with Mian!" yelled Ju, drawing his sword from its hiding space. His majestic steel glimmered in the dappled moonlight as he swung it in front of Renshu. "Drop your sword."

Renshu smiled.

"I said drop it!"

He dropped Mian instead.

Her slender body fell at Ju's feet, a gasp escaping her lips as she clawed at her tingling neck, breasts beginning to weigh more from the build-up of chemicals in her body. Her cheeks were flushed, eyes losing their spark.

Immediately, Ju fell on his knees, gathering his beloved in his arms gently. Her body was too heated that he almost recoiled as if he touched a burning lantern. Her usually vibrant eyes had turned dull as the clouds that raged outside their room.

"What did you do to her?" growled Ju.

"I poisoned her. Her life slips quickly, so I will give you some options, dear friend," he said in his sing-song voice.

Renshu never had respect for authority, but this time he was pushing the limits with his comments.

"What?"

Renshu bent till he was eye-level with Ju. Feelings of compassion entered his soul, but he quickly pushed it away. Compassion belittled the strong and stripped the weak. Renshu's authority would not be tainted by pitiful emotions.

He plastered a taunting smile on his lips. "Either kill me here and let her die or allow my escape tonight and save her life."

Ju paled. He had been chasing Renshu for years, tortured barbarians for his whereabouts, tracked thousands of miles all to find his childhood friend that he lost to a possession of greed.

They used to be so lively, so carefree, so innocent. Renshu wanted more than simply being a captain of the elite military legion. He wanted to taste power, to feel adrenaline soar through his veins, to bathe in his glory. Renshu lost himself in his reputation.

And Ju was forced to abandon him for the benefit of his people.

Mian's shivering body tore Ju's thoughts away from his past. Sweat dripped from her hairline, lips losing their color and hand beginning to lose its warmth. The heat dissipated from her, but in its wake lay a freezing chill, life slipping between Ju's finger as if his wife was a cup of sand that he could not hold onto.

"Call the imperial doctor!" he yelled in desperation, bringing her body close to share his body heat. "Guards! Quickly! The Crown Princess is dying!"

Renshu's lips curled into a sinister grin, flashing his canine teeth like a medallion of honor. "Has a woman made you this soft?" he remarked, leaning against the bed frame. "How pathetic."

Ju growled under his breath, muscles tensing at the obvious jab from Renshu. Mian's touch calmed him, helped him see the portrait that he created for their future. She lifted the veils from his eyes long ago, allowed him to see his people in a new light, a new dawn of respect and gratitude.

Rumbling footsteps echoed against the wooden floors, creaking under the weight of an imperial rescue team and royal guards.

Renshu's smile dropped, knowing that his playtime had been disturbed. Swiftly, Renshu swung his legs out the window, bright, amber eyes staring at the loving couple one last time.

Although he hated to admit his faults, a small part of him wondered the validity of Ju's love, of his devotion. He wondered if Mian's spell had truly blinded the prince or had unlocked a new destiny for Ju.

Such a sweet flower, he thought, and such a noble cause. A shame that I had to crumple it.

Ju did not pay attention to the whispers of wind that begged him to chase after his old friend, to bring justice to all those he slayed, or to run the soil with Renshu's blood. No, Ju decided to stay at his wife's side even if she breathed her last.

As the doctors and nurses filed in, frantic and confuse, Ju remained impassive, holding Mian's frozen hands to his cheeks. He closed his eyes, wishing his ancestors for her warmth and comfort. A small, lonesome tear trailed down to her hand, sinking into her skin.

"Please, Mian," he croaked gruffly. "Stay alive for me. Keep fighting for us, my love."

The doctors were in awe as they watched the familiar bustle of ardor engulf the young couple in a realm of fairy tales and happily ever afters. Their hearts broke at the sight of the most powerful man in China fall at the claws of despair.

His wife was his life, his reason to breathe, his sun and moon.

Feng Mian was more than just his princess.

"What are you waiting for?" Ju snapped, glaring at them. "Save her!"

"Yes, your highness! Forgive us!"

* * * *

Ju was kicked from his bedroom as the doctors tried to use healing ointments and other supplies to extract the poison.

Nothing worked, nothing prevailed.

Time ticked faster than the pounding of his heart, and Ju could not save Mian unless he found what poison Renshu used, hence why the Crown Prince and his brother roamed the wild nightlife of China.

"Where did you say Kwan Renshu resided?" asked Lei, peeking through an abandoned shop. "We searched everywhere."

The princes and their legion of forces scouted different sectors of the villages, finding leads from imprisoned criminals that used to have close ties with the Blood King. For hours in disguise, they hunted the scent of a man who left a trail of misery in his ventures, a traitor that reveled in the misery of others, a killer that had no remorse for the lives he took.

"We have to keep looking. Mian's life must be avenged."

Lei stopped abruptly, eyes wide with realization.

Ju raised a brow. "Is something troubling you?" he asked, hand hovering over his sword as he examined their surroundings for lurking danger.

"Ming Lihua... she is standing near that tent," whispered Lei.

Ju followed his eyes, witnessing a woman with a barely covered bosom dressed in expensive jewels and silk, a pale blue that matched the lakes near China's most prestige temples. Her dark eyes were sultry with desire, smirking at the drunk men around her that urged her to see their master.

They were celebrating.

Ju's fists clenched. Something was terribly wrong about that picture, about that dress, about that girl.

Her Crown Princess fought for her life in the palace, meanwhile, the woman Ju promised to give a better life was on the streets flirting her way into a mysterious man's arms.

She was deliberately disrespecting Mian's honor by her scandalous behavior at such a critical hour. His anger heated to another degree, silver eyes blazing with a new determination as Ju realized that Lihua held the goblet of suspicion too close for his liking.

"Follow me, Lei."

His brother nodded.

The two princes cover their faces with a mask, wearing black robes that hugged their bodies and leg braces that protected their limbs from incoming danger. Their long hairs were pulled behind them, flowing with the night winds. With a great deal of stealth, they passed through the haze of drunkards and camouflaged with the night enough to hide near the tent.

Two familiar voices cheered inside, laughing and mocking royalty as if it was another tainted part of China's past.

Ju almost drew his sword in fury, but Lei held his shoulder back, shaking his head.

"Wait a moment longer for Renshu's men to disappear," he advised in a low voice.

Ju nodded. He had to separate his emotions from his militaristic strategies. When personal affairs impeded in a soldier's will, the consequences became deadly and their agility diminished.

The boys continued to listen to the shadows inside the tent, the disgraced members of society that extracted pleasure in the royal discord, thus enjoying the broken tune of Mian's last breaths.

Ju prayed for her life, but he had to know what the poison was. The doctors could only do so much.

Lihua's slow, seductive voice filled the air. "Has the job been done?" she asked as her arms circled Renshu's neck.

Renshu threw his head back in a deep chuckle. "Of course, dear. Do you think so lowly of my abilities?"

"But will she be dead by morning?"

"Yes."

Ju tensed, struggling to pull the reins of his self-control. Fury pulsed his veins, igniting his weapon and his determination to slaughter those who betrayed the crown. He offered Lihua a new life, a new beginning, took her away from her restricted life, promised to find her a worthy husband, yet she threw all his efforts to dust.

She forfeited her freedom to the Blood King's hands.

Still, Ju and Lei listened closely for the drunkards nearby, hearing their fading voices slur into the drugged night of sin. Silver eyes met brown ones, both glinting with assurance of the other's plan. Their bond ran deeper than blood, deeper than brotherhood.

Ju and Lei knew their battle strategies like they knew themselves. Alone, they could take down an entire army of barbarians, could fight for China and a lady's honor with only a sword, could survive a band of assassins with only their wits. They could take down Renshu with ease.

The wait was over.

Ju drew his sword, tilting his head to signal Lei to get in position.

He understood with no hesitation, quietly escaping to the other side of the tent, armed and ready with his spear, one of Lei's favorite weapons on the battlefield. He was most graceful when defeating enemies with nothing but a spear, even mocking the enemy to increase room for error in their military techniques.

When the shadows inside the tent leaned in for a kiss, Ju gave his signal and slashed through the thin cloth.

Renshu and Lihua yelped in surprise, horror lacing their eyes at the sight of Zhao Ju, the Crown Prince of China rightfully taking revenge on those who wronged him. His metallic eyes were cold and void, dangerously glaring at Renshu. Ju's mere presence demanded respect and submission.

Lihua hid behind Renshu in shame, attempting to cover herself. "Y-Your highness, I can explain-"

"Silence!" he bellowed, glancing at her. His jaw clenched. "I did not come for you."

Tears brimmed her waterline at the harsh tone her prince used. Shame covered her body like an itch, prickled her skin like a thousand needles puncturing her. Heat rose up her neck at her compromising position with China's most wanted man.

On the other hand, Renshu was unphased, finding a thrill run across him at provoking his old friend. "How wonderful," he grinned, flashing another devilish smile. "The prestiged Crown Prince finds himself in the presence of a profound assassin. Destiny has a humorous way of unraveling, doesn't it?"

"Kwan Renshu, surrender to the Crown or face an untimely death. By law, I can execute you here for your crimes against China."

"Oh?" chuckled Renshu. "What about your beloved concubine? Will you slay her as well?"

"She was never loved by me."

Lihua's heart broke into a million pieces, her life shattering behind her as his words echoed over and over again like a broken melody that suffocated her. Her head felt light, eyes blurry with grief. Happiness was nothing but a misled concept. Her prince no longer loved her.

Perhaps he never did, and she had lied to herself.

"Look at how you hurt her, Zhao Ju," mocked Renshu. "You wound Lihua with your cruel remarks."

"You both plotted to kill my wife," he seethed. "I have no remorse for traitors."

"I happily accept that title," smiled Renshu, hand hovering his own sword as the two men circled each other. "What a terrible shame that I have to put an end to your rule so early."

"This ends tonight, Kwan Renshu,": said Ju, tightening his hold on the handle. "The bloodshed stops tonight."

"Agreed."

With that, the two entered an ancient brawl of evil and good, of darkness and light, of death and life. Swords clanked against each other, feet shuffling the dirtied ground, glasses splintering the night in shards. Renshu and Ju fell into their childhood practices, except this time, one of them would not survive till morning.

This time, death hung over them like a reward.

Lihua fell into the depths of her madness in a corner, mumbling curses through her fits of sobs. Neither of the men cared, knowing that she was a lost cause, a petal that lost its life to insanity and heartbreak.

Ju's only focus was avenging Mian. His efforts would not be wasted.

"Feels familiar, does it not?" questioned Renshu as he attempted another shot at Ju's legs.

Ju jumped, kicking Renshu in the process, thus causing him to stumble backwards and into a shelf of poison. The glasses clinked together, trembling under his weight.

"Not anymore," Ju whispered, spitting blood. "You betrayed me."

"And you allowed me."

Ju slashed his sword at Renshu's chest, watching the blood drain as a disgruntled groan escaped his enemy's lips.

Surprisingly, Renshu's agility faltered more as time passed. He could not dodge Ju's hits or speak in coherent sentences anymore. Regardless, he fought with all his strength, smiling as if he knew something that Ju did not.

Until Ju realized the truth.

His eyes widened at Renshu's struggle to stand, body drenched in blood and sweat, eyes drooping with more than just fatigue. His amber eyes lost its brightness, becoming a dull shade of maple, the fire extinguished and ashes as debris.

Breathing heavily, Renshu gave him a tight smile, knowing that his old friend still knew him too well.

"Y-You poisoned yourself..." trailed off Ju in a whisper.

"I... did," he struggled.

"Why?"

"To kill myself before you did," he said, eyes lifting to meet his. Renshu threw his sword at Ju's feet, holding a wooden table nearby. "This is the path I have chosen, old friend. This is the life I led, and I will proudly die for it."

"Are you a fool?" yelled Ju. "You have killed innocents all your life just to destroy yourself in the end?"

He chuckled darkly. "You should know why, dear prince."

Ju's eyes narrowed, knowing that Renshu always had a reason for his actions. There was always a hidden truth behind his lies.

"Don't be noble," said Ju, standing closer. "You have ulterior motives."

Behind Ju was Lihua, a dagger in hand. Renshu and her had a plan in case everything spiralled out of control. She clutched her weapon as if it were her life sustaining force.

No longer did love light her path. No longer did jealousy enrage her blood. Madness possessed her.

Lihua lifted her dagger, tears shielding her eyes from the blood that would soon splatter the ground. Renshu would die, but he would also take Ju with him. They had no future, no afterlife, they had nothing together.

Coherent thoughts no longer registered in her mind. She was empty, broken of all light, void of all logic. Voices screamed in her head, shrieking the doubts that stitched her heart, whispering the lies that blinded her eyes.

"Lei, now!"

In a blink of an eye, a spear ran through Lihua's midsection. Her dagger fell as her body did, shuddering with her last remnants of life flashing past.

Renshu was shocked, speechless for the first time in his life.

Ju took this opportunity to plunge his sword into Renshu, forcing his weapon deep into his body enough to create a fatal wound. Renshu never poisoned himself. He never planned to die.

His plan was to trick Lihua to kill Ju, using her grief as a pawn in his twisted game.

"You... knew... ?" spluttered Renshu in between heaving breaths. "H-How?"

Ju drew his sword back, making Renshu hiss in pain, blood staining the metal like an oil. "Your eyes. You inhaled a depressant, but because of your history as a crime lord, you could hold your ground long enough for someone to kill me," he said, crouching down. "I won, Renshu. Now, tell me the poison you used."

"Never."

"Then you have accepted death," he declared, lifting his sword once more.

The deed was done. Renshu and Lihua died in their own blood, minds lost to insanity and eyes blinded by their miserable lives.

Wait for me, Mian. I am on my way.

* * * *

The two princes practically ran through the palace gates, silent prayers to their ancestors at the tip of their tongues. Their footsteps shuffled against the varnished floors, thundering as they approached Ju's bedroom. Silence halted the halls, murmurs drifting into the ears of servants and guards. A hushed whisper fell across all those the princes passed.

Ju stumbled into the room, panting out of breath. "Where is she?" he asked, observing his parents tearful faces and the stress lines across the doctors' visages. "Is she alive? Answer me!"

One of the doctors bowed. "Your highness, we have done everything that we could. It is in fate's hands now."

His fists clenched, jaw tensing at unfavorable words. "Dismissed!"

"Ju-" tried Lei.

He furiously shook his head. "I need... a moment with her. Alone."

Lei turned to his father for support, but the Emperor exhaled deeply, understanding his son's despair over his wife. Grasping the Empress's hand, he led them away, taking the doctors and nurses with them. With one last lingering look towards his heartbroken brother, Lei closed the doors.

He needed to say goodbye.

Ju knelt beside his bed, shakily inching his hand to touch hers, and immediately regretting the fact that he left her side once again.

He killed Renshu, but there was no pleasure in that, no relief, no pride. The love of his life laid idly on his bed, frozen as stone, and he left her side to chase a criminal.

His heart ripped apart, a void of darkness filling the gaps with doubts of uncertainty and disappointment. Sorrow lined his eyes, despair hissed against his tongue, and the tension of stress coiled around his trembling body. Blood still covering his robes, but he didn't care.

He only wanted his wife to open her eyes once more to reveal the dark eyes he'd come to crave, to reveal the light behind her fierceful personality.

Bringing her freezing hands to his warm lips, he placed a chaste kiss, allowing his lingers to linger. "I miss you," he whispered against soft skin. "I miss you so much that it hurts, Mian."

She remained still, slowly breathing with great difficulty.

Sighing, Ju dropped his head on her lap, allowing a moment of weakness as a sob ripped from his chest, viciously shuddering turmoils throughout his body. He had everything in the world, everything a woman could ask for, everything that could make her happy, yet he could not give her life. He could not save her with his strength.

"Wake up," he begged into the darkness. "Please, wake up. I cannot live without you, princess. I-I love you."

Not a single limb moved, and Ju knew in a couple hours all hope would be lost. He was too late.

* * * *

Mian's body painfully ached like a sword had impaled her. Her eyes would not open, feeling like a heavy cloth wrapped tightly around her head. Still, she persisted, forcing them to peel open towards a blinding light. Her lungs burned and her stomach churned.

Am I dead?

Slowly, she began to adjust to her surroundings, taking in the familiar drapes of the Crown Prince's chambers. Sunlight poured through the curtains, dappled light touching the portraits and paintings that stretched down the room.

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she pushed herself up, sitting against the headboard of the bed. It was then that Mian noticed the sprawled black hair on her lap, the closed eyes of a sleeping prince, and his tear-stained cheeks.

Her heart fluttered.

She remembered falling into his arms, the subduing poison pulsing through her veins, and her hazy vision. She remembered shivering against him, knowing that Ju would protect her from that mysterious assassin, that he could hold onto her till her very last breath. Hesitantly, her fingers stroked the silk curtain of hair away from his face, lightly tracing the scratches which lined his pale cheeks.

Ju stirred in his sleep. "Mian," he murmured, eyes shut. A tear slipped out as his brows furrowed. "Don't leave, Mian. Don't go."

Mian shook his shoulders. "Wake up, Ju," she whispered, kissing the crown of his head.

He stiffened at the sound of her voice, immediately jolting upright in disbelief. "M-Mian?" he choked. "I-Is it really you?"

She nodded, smiling.

Ju lept into her awaiting arms, embracing her soft body to his rigid one and relishing the warmth that ignited between them, a welcoming fire amongst the agonizing chills that Ju suffered throughout the night. His tears spilled across the silk fabric of her gown.

He pulled back only to smother his wife in kisses, drowning her in his love, his affection, his undying devotion to her, lips leaving a promise on every part of her visage that he could touch.

She could only laugh. "Ju, this is very improper," teased Mian, trying to hide her blush.

Ju pulled back, unable to hide his smile at the sight of her bright and well-nourished face, her intriguing eyes, and soft lips. She was alive. His princess lived. Nothing else mattered. Nothing else existed.

"I am never letting you out of my sight, nor will I ever allow anyone to ever come between us," he confessed, pulling her to his chest. "I love you, Feng Mian, and I always will."

"J-Ju-"

"No, Mian," he interrupted. "When I held you last night, I thought you were well on your way to death's doors. I thought I would never... see you again."

His words were so deep, so thick with emotion that a knot balled in her throat, a hard pill for her to swallow. She spent so long hating her husband for choosing Ming Lihua over her, for abandoning her, yet when their love was tested, he prevailed against all odds.

However, doubts clouded her judgments, the past returning to haunt her present with its snickering remarks.

"What about Ming Lihua?" she asked nervously, hiding her face in his chest. "Will she continue to stay with you?"

"No."

Mian's ears perked, and she lifted her eyes to meet the silver ones that resembled a starry night. "What?"

He tensed. "Lei and I killed Kwan Renshu and Ming Lihua. They died in their own arrogance and insanity."

"You... avenged me?"

He nodded, staring deep into her eyes as the gentle gaze returned. "I would do it a million times if it kept you by my side," he said honestly. Ju pulled her hand to his chest, right over his pounding heart. "This heart, this body, and this soul belong solely to you, princess. I need no other woman but you, and I shall take no other except you."

Mian could not stop the blushing ember that burned her her temples in embarrassment. "Do you mean that?" she asked, lilting voice as innocent as the day they met.

He chuckled, grasping her chin. "Yes," he whispered as their lips connected in a passionate kiss.

The sweet, savory taste of her lips overwhelmed his senses, the sheer desperation gripped at his mind as if she would disappear if he released Mian from his grasps.

She was the woman of his dreams, the angel of his paradise, the queen to his empire. She was the Crown Princess of China, soon-to-be Empress and would always be Zhao Ju's most beloved wife.

When he pulled back, she smiled up at him, eyes glimmering with her elation. "I love you too."

That night, Ju held Mian tightly to his body, forgetting all his royal duties and all his obligations to his crown. All he wanted was to stay at her side, to kiss her lips, to fall asleep with her in his arms.

Feng Mian and Zhao Ju had a love like no other Empress and Emperor. They had a love so strong that the most feared assassin could not tear them apart. They had an ardor so beautiful that the moon and stars smiled upon them.

Indeed, the two royals intertwined their destinies against all odds, against all enemies. Ju and Mian fell asleep in each other's arms as the world around them watched in awe.

With the touch of a soothing Lotus, the Crown Prince's internal scars and inhibitions had vanished. A new Emperor and Empress were born.

----

IT'S A SNOW DAY AYYYYYE!

Well, this short story is now complete. I know it's pretty different from what I usually write, but there's no point in dragging the story when I've given it my all.

I hope you liked the love story of Mian and Ju! I probably won't update with a new short story until I finish BS.

Leave your reviews in the comments and tell your friends! Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow!