Everything had gone almost exactly as we had planned, right till the point where I had incapacitated my aunt and dragged her to the tunnel where an unconscious Lung Chi and my two accomplices were waiting for me. The only deviation was that I had underestimated my aunt's strength and tried to go easy on her; she had almost managed to land a blow on my arm with her tiny dagger. Luckily I had ended up with merely a nick on my forearm.

I was feeling hopeful, thinking that the heavens had finally given us a break, that the almighty had sided with us for once.

"Did you encounter any trouble?" Zhan asks, pulling me into a tight embrace.

"I am fine, Zhan ge." No sooner had I reassured him than I feel a sharp pain in my abdomen; my knees give way, and I lean into Zhan.

"What's wrong?" He asks. In a voice laced with concern, he looks at Weredra. Her face clouds. "I can feel him losing his life force."

"What!!?" Zhan pulls me close, "Why?"

"It's not natural. It's magic." She closes her eyes and moves her palm over my chest, "He has been poisoned!"

The excruciating pain spreads to my limbs, and I pull in on myself. I try to hide the pain, but they see through me.

"Quick, wake her up," Zhan instructs, looking at my aunt. Weredra nods. She touches my aunt's forehead.

 My aunt groans and slowly opens her eyes. "Zhan?" She calls in a strained voice before looking at Weredra. A sinister smile graces her face, "And look at what we have here. A Weredragel."

As if scared, Weredra staggers back, "How... "

"Of course I know what you are, my dear, insecure friend. Did the loneliness finally get to you? How are your memories?" She asks, sitting up with her back propped up against the wall of the tunnel.

"You know nothing. Stop trying to trick me and tell me what you did to YiJun." Weredra growls. She still looks like a child, but her voice is deep and gravelly.

"Aren't you the real trickster here? I am just a witch." She smirks, leaning towards me as if to take a closer look, "What puzzles me is this boy here." She catches my eyes, "Who are you, how did you end up with them, and why are you helping them?" Her eyes fall on my sword, and she tries to reach for it. But Zhan grabs it before her filthy hands can taint it.

"You are the one Lung Chi spoke about, aren't you? If you tell me who you are, I will help you stay alive." She pauses and leans closer, "I will tell you how to get rid of the pain."

"I'd rather die than accept your help!" I spite out and cough.

"YiJun! Blood!" Weredra pulls me in her lap and closes her eyes.

"You won't be able to save him with your fading magic. Only I can save him."

Weredra takes her original form, "I can kill you."

The witch laughs, "No, you can't. You can't take a human life. It's forbidden."

"Then I will do it!" Zhan holds the sword to her throat.

Aunt shakes her head and directs a pitiful look at Zhan, "Yes, you can. But if you kill me, who will save everyone that I have poisoned, hum? And even if you don't care about others, what about your father?"

Zhan goes silent for a second then bites out, "I will find a way."

She gives Zhan a once-over. "No, you won't. Everyone who has had my potion will perish if they don't receive the next dose."

"You are lying. That's not possible."

"It is." She chuckles and narrows her eyes. "Just because you did not fall for my tricks... " She pauses, her eyes narrow, "By the way, once we are out of this inconvenient situation, I would love to know who helped you."

Zhan shakes his head. Beads of sweat appear on his temple.

Meanwhile, the witch continues. "Fine, let us presume that I am lying, but are you ready to take that chance?" She grins devilishly, "The only creature strong enough to counter the spell is the creature in front of you." She points at Weredra, "Alas, most of her kind have perished, and this one here, I can feel that her life-force has almost abandoned her."

"Weredra," I try to speak. I want to tell her not to waste time on thinking of ways to save me. But the pain spreading through my limbs doesn't let me.

Weredra lifts me in her large arms, "Hold on, YiJun." She whispers in my ears and closes her eyes. When she opens them, they are glowing blue.

"Ha! I can't believe it. Are you really going to sacrifice yourself for this human? Your curse hasn't lifted yet, Weredragel. If you give up your life force now, you will never be able to return to heaven."

I look at the creature- the child I had come to know and love. Her eyes are swimming with tears, "Weredra, don't." I beg, wiping her tears.

"Sacrificing yourself is not the answer, Meimei," Zhan says, holding her large clawed hand.

Weredra ignores us and puts her hand over her heart just like she had done before.

No. I couldn't let this happen! 

"I can't believe this!" The heartless witch laughs, "How stupid!"

As the evil witch's laugh fills the tunnel, I grab my sword, and before Zhan can notice, I plunge it into my heart.

"Nooooo!" I hear Zhan call my name.

The sound of ugly laughter stops abruptly.

The pain subsides shortly, and I feel numbness spread through my body. I turn to look at Weredra. "I am sorry, Weredra, but I couldn't let you give up your life for me. You are stronger than me. Please save them. You are smart. I know you will find a way."

Weredra shakes her head, "You stupid human! You dumb, stupid human." 

 She mutters. Meanwhile, I look at Zhan, who is just shaking his head, tears rolling down his beautiful cheeks.

I needed to confess to him properly, and I needed to do it now, before it's too late, "Zhan ge, I love you. I love you with all my heart, and I am glad that I met you." I want to say more; I want to look at him some more, but I find myself running out of breath. I close my eyes, and the smiling faces of my parents flash before me. They look proud and happy. It's all I have ever wanted. I try to open my eyes once more but fail. My mind registers a mad woman's frantic screams and the words, "Why did you do that!? How dare you- Ah!" A sharp screech is the last thing I hear before everything goes quiet.

*****

If you thought that that was the end of this directionally challenged, foul-mouthed, reckless prince, aka Me, you would be wrong. It so turns out that I was not that easy to get rid of, even if it was me who was trying. 

When I open my eyes, they land on a few familiar faces: in the far right was my uncle, smiling brightly; next to him was LiHua, mirroring my uncle's expression with her mother, LiFen, my nanny, standing next to her looking upset with a hint of anger lingering at the corner of her lips. A little over to the right, I found Zhan looking as gorgeous as ever despite redness around his eyes.

Where is Weredra? 

I turn my head and notice a few unfamiliar faces looking at me with something akin to bewilderment. One of them has Zhan's eyes. I look around.

Where is Weredra?

"YiJuan, " I hear Zhan call me.

Why is he calling me YiJuan? 

"Zhan... "

"Shuuuu." He whispers and sits next to me, "Don't talk yet. You were badly hurt." He advises and looks at the others, "I would like a word with her alone, please." He requests, and surprisingly, everyone, including the unfamiliar people, leave.

As soon as the door closes, leaving only the two of us in the room: my room, Zhan beams, "Welcome back," He pauses and places his warm lips on my forehead, "YiJun."

"Zhan ge, where is Weredra? And, earlier, you called me YiJuan, didn't you?"

"Yes," He replies, helping me sit up and hands me a glass of clear blue liquid, "Drink."

"What's this?" I ask, taking the offered drink and smelling it.

"It's to help you recover faster." He says, urging me to drink, and adds, "Don't you trust me?"

I bob my head and feel my cheeks heat up. I do as instructed and drown the drink in one gulp.

"YiJun, are you feeling shy?" He leans in and wipes my lips. He looks at the side of my face and strokes the shell of my ear, "The tips of your ears are scarlet... It's a good look on you." He whispers seductively before tipping my face up and capturing my lips. I can tell that he is restraining himself from the way his lips move over mine, and I being a shameless person through and through, slot our lips more firmly and try to lick into his mouth. I don't get far.

"Zhan geee!" I whine when Zhan leans away. I hold his hand and voice my displeasure, "Stop teasing me."

He smirks and wipes my lips.

"Fine, then tell me why you called me YiJuan earlier, and where is Weredra?"

He pats my head and looks at the door, "I called you YiJuan because that's what they see when they look at you."

As I contemplate the meaning behind his words, a dreadful thought comes to me. "Did I change back?" I touch my chest to confirm my suspicions and am relieved to find that I am still a man.

"Did I say you changed?"

"But you said.... "

"I said that that's what they see when they look at you." He takes a deep breath and pulls me in his arms. The wound on my chest hurts a little, but I decide to ignore it. After all, I was feeling heavenly, pressed against Zhan's chest like this.

"YiJun, there is so much that I want to tell you, but I don't think I am the one who should do it." He looks into my eyes and probably catches me trying to sneak a look around the room; he asks, "Are you looking for Weredra?"

 I nod.

"She has returned home."

"Home?" I repeat after him, "The cave?"

Zhan smiles and ruffles my hair, "You can say that, I guess." He says cryptically. "YiJun, you will have all the answers soon, I promise. But for now, just be yourself. Remember, except for me, no one can see your true form?"

"True form?"

Zhan nods and opens his mouth to say something more but closes it again when there is a knock on the door and nanny LiFen peers inside. 

 "Prince Zhan, I am sorry to interrupt, but... "

"Please, come in." Zhan requests, and she enters the room. Meanwhile, Zhan leaves my side. "I am done speaking with her. Please don't be too hard on her. It is as I had feared. She has no recollection of the past few weeks. I can't say if she will ever be able to retrieve her memories. Moreover, she is injured." With that, Zhan squeezes my hand, "I will see you in a bit." he reassures and leaves, closing the door behind him.

"I told you to go to your uncle!" She reprimands me immediately and pulls me in a gentle hug, "You stupid girl. How would I have faced your mother if prince Zhan wouldn't have found you!?" Her voice breaks, and I feel her trembling in my arms.

"I am fine, aunty LiFen." I pat her back, trying to comfort her.

She lets go of me and narrows her eyes, "What did he say to you? Did he do something inappropriate? Did he," She hesitates, "try to violate you?"

I conclude that I was not the only one who had heard of Zhan's conquests. I feel my cheeks heat up. I shake my head, "No."

"Oh, dear! That jerk. He touched you, didn't he! I think I need to have a few words with his father!"

"Aunty, he did no such thing, relax."

"Then why are you... do you like him?"

I nod. "Yes, I do."

"Oh, dear! Did you touch him!? You did, didn't you!? A-Juan! How shameless!" She starts hyperventilating, "I need to go and apologize right-"

"Aunty! Calm down. I did no such thing either. He gave me something to drink, and I drank it. He asked me how I was feeling and that he is glad that I am alive and well." I lie through my teeth. It has the desired effect: Aunty LiFen calms down.

Now that she was sure nothing untoward had happened, she asks, "Do you need anything?"

On cue, my stomach grumbles. Having survived almost entirely on fruits and leaves for the past four weeks, I decided to take this opportunity to get some meat in me, "Aunty, I am hungry as hell. Can you get me something with chicken in it?"

She looks at me disapprovingly and sighs, "When will you start acting like a princess?"

"Never," I reply confidently.

Why? Simple, because I wasn't one. 

Days later, when I was finally allowed to leave the palace, I had come to know just how correct I was: how I was never supposed to be a princess at all.

{Word count: 2285}