Reluctantly, the three of us make our way into the inner city, which had changed beyond recognition since the last time I had set foot in it. Gone were the natives selling unique crafts and stalls selling homegrown fresh fruits.

The heady, musky odor hung in the air, the kind that made it difficult to fill my lungs with air. Everywhere I looked, unsteady gaits, lust-filled gazes, and seductive, beckoning smirks greeted me. The place had lost its rustic charm and innocence. In place of stalls that once lined the streets stood two-storied brothels, taverns, and gambling establishments.

My eyes, as they take in this new Inner City, sting and threaten to expose the side of me that I hate most: the emotional side, the side that still remembers the perfect past.

Father, mother, I miss you.

I feel petite fingers intertwine with mine, pulling me out of my reprieve, and look up to see Weredra giving me a warm smile. A smile that seems to say, 'hang in there, buddy, I am here for you.' I am about to take comfort in that look when the little devil yells in my head, 'Don't tear up now, you moron. Stay in character.''

What the hell, Weredra!?

Anger replaces gloom, 'The last time when I asked  if you had done something to Zhan ge why did you give me a splitting headache instead of answering me like this!?' I yell back and the creature disguised as a cute, angelic munchkin leaves a condescending sigh, looking away, disinterested.

Are you kidding me right now!?
I finally look at Zhan ge. He looks on the outside, how I am feeling on the inside. Just as my eyes are about to move away from the only beautiful sight within ten miles of us: my Zhan ge, he side-eyes me, to check on me, no doubt. He doesn't know that I am feeling fine (at least physically) now the Weredra had stopped shouting in my brain.

A morally correct and ladylike thing to do would have been be to nod and smile or a look that conveys a message on the lines of: Thank you, kind sir, I am fine. But I am neither morally bound to act like an upstanding human (at least now when I have an opportunity to do what my heart desires) nor am I a lady. So I wince and sway, expecting to beautiful land in Zhan ge's gentle embrace, but unfortunately, it did not pan out as planned.

Why do you hate me so, Karma!?

As I pretend to lose my balance, muscular arms snake around my waist, and the next moment, I find myself plastered against a burly stump nosed man's chest.

The Fuck!

The disgusting stink of sweat assaults my nostrils with a vengeance, and I almost throw up. Scratch that, I throw up.

"Aagggrh!" The armor-clad soldier yells, pushing me away and looking disgusted, "The hell is wrong with you, boy!?" He barks.

It's just undigested apples; I swear they don't smell that bad, but I guess puke is puke. That Serves that uncouth fellow right! How dare he touch this amazing hot body that I have acquired after great pains (that's a lie, but whatever)! Moreover, I am royalty. I can't just let any dick come close to me unless I so desire. And right now, the only dick I am interested in belongs to the man who has his arms around my now blessed waist and lucky as fuck shoulders.

"Zhan ge." I whimper, pressing myself as close as I can without it looking as if I am flirting.

'Control yourself, YiJun.' Weredra whispers in my mind, 'Or your sword will start seeking attention.' She warns, and I realize that she has a point.

I try to lean away; two things happen simultaneously. One, Zhan's grip on me tightens, and I find myself blissfully pressed to his chest. Second, the senior guard tries to pry me away from Zhan.

Do you have the hots for my man, Mr. Senior guard!?

Holding me close, Zhan turns to the senior guard, who was at the moment trying to crush my forearm and was now taking us God knows where, "Good Sir, looks like my junior brother is not feeling well. And we are not trying to escape anyway, so would it be alright if I held him. He doesn't like being touched by anyone except family."

The senior guard quirks his brow, but his claws on my arm stay put, "What kind of nonsense is that?" He demands; finally, the devil in disguise speaks, "Gege, my senior Gege isn't lying. My junior Gege is indeed allergic to touch."

The guard's eyebrows crawl up; his mouth falls open in an 'O'. It's not a good look on him. He looks at me, and I nod as if even that small gesture is making me miserable.

Turning my face towards him, Zhan takes out a piece of silk from his robes. His eyes linger on my lips for a few seconds, and then he brings it down on my lips and dabs the corner of my lips gently.

Noooooo! Don't do that, Zhan ge. That's gross. I try to pull away once more, but Zhan doesn't let me budge an inch. He continues to dab my lips till he is satisfied that I am puke free and then smiles, "Don't be a baby."

Fuck. I think I am going to have a heart attack.

I close my eyes, lest my junior makes matters worse, and instantly realize that I had fucked up. For, the next moment, misinterpreting my action, Zhan lifts me in his arms, making my heart almost leap out of my chest.

Thump Thump Thump.

Is that my heart or yours, Zhan ge?

"What happened to him?" The senior guard's hand falls away, and I can feel him step away.

"YiJun! Junior Gege!" I hear Zhan's and Weredra's panicked voices.
'Keep pretending.' I hear Weredra instruct and do as told.

Weredra starts bawling her eyes out, "I think it's the curse. It has to be the curse manifesting for some reason, Senior Gege!"

Zhan stops breathing and stops dead in his tracks. I open my eyes a smidgen and grabbing hold of the opportunity (for all eyes were glued to Weredra), I whisper in his ear, "Play along, Zhan ge."

Zhan gasps, and I get this uneasy feeling that he might drop me, for the man looked like he had a high moral compass, unlike me, who was lusting after his beautiful everything. "Don't drop me, Zhan ge," I add, my voice somehow comes out lower than expected.

Damn, I sound sexy as fuck!

ThumpThumpThump.

I hear a fast thumping rhythm; it's much closer, and it finally hits me: it is Zhan ge's heart that is going wild. 
'Is Zhan ge scared that we might get caught!?' I wonder and decide to rectify the situation by doing that which comes naturally to me; I try to reassure him like a hero. Of course, since I had found the voice that had used recently quite sexy, I continue in that voice, "Zhan ge, I will protect your virtue. I won't let any filthy hands touch even an inch of you. Trust me, Zhan ge. Trust your Didi."

Zhan's beautiful pupils dilate; his eyes fall on my lips and stay there.
Perhaps he is not satisfied with how well he cleaned them. Deciding to give him a hand, I lick my lips and catch his gaze, "Better?" I enquire. However, instead of answering me and calming down, his heart speeds up, leaving me puzzled.

While all this intimate, one-sided communication was happening between Zhan ge and myself, Weredra was spinning a fake tale of how just the day before, we had bumped into a witch who had taken an interest in me. And when I had rejected her, she had cursed me.
"What's the curse?" The senior guard questions, both scared and worried.

"I am but a child, kind sir. I did not understand what she meant, but what she said was," Weredra pauses for dramatic effect and then, to my surprise, hunches over. In a nasal voice, she continues, "None can have what I can't. It will spread from you to your lover's heart. Pain worse than death shall spread; Let go unless you want to suffer a bitter end." She stands up straight and shrugs, "And then she laughed like so, " hunching again, she sniggers, loud and sharp.

Weredra finishes with, "Isn't that right, Gege?" and Zhan, who had until then been staring intently at my (probably sullied) lips, looks up cluelessly, making the soldiers suspicious about the truthfulness of the tale.

'Weredra help!' I yell in my mind, as loud as I can, and a split second later, the soldier who had dared to support me throws up, laying to rest any suspicion that the men in uniform might have had.

As all eyes turn to the man who was retching profoundly, Weredra side-eyes me and winks. The munchkin might get on my nerves sometimes, but I have to admit, having her around was not without benefits.

{Word count: 1538}