10 years ago, Winter.

Young Xi Chen woke up from hunger. It was already the next morning when his frosted eyelashes quivered open. When he bunkered down at the bottom of the tree in the midst of the snowstorm last night, he thought that was it. That was the end of his life. But the human body was a miracle in itself. His stomach grumbled, acting as a wake-up call to Xi Chen.

He stared out blankly into the snow piled up around him. The morning sun washed the forest in new light. It was as if the events from the day before never happened. The wind whistled and Xi Chen shivered in response. Xi Chen tried to stand up so that he could get rid of the snow from himself but his knees buckled beneath him. He thought that he should look for some food quickly to replenish his energy. Right now, survival was the only thing at his fore mind.

Xi Chen took a wobbly step on the fresh snow. He tried his best not to think about what happened to his grandparents. His red-rimmed eyes were determined and void of any tears as he made steady headway.

It was the dead of winter, and food was scarce in the wild. Xi Chen had walked for miles and had yet to encounter anything that he could eat. Worse, he was lost. It was the first time that he had ventured so far into the forest. When he was thinking about giving up, Xi Chen came upon a disheveled sign at the base of a mountain which would have blended into the brown of the trees if not for the snow framing it. It was a signpost for the Temple of Ninety Nine Blessings. He had heard of this temple, but never thought much about it and only knew that the monks and residents there removed themselves from the common affairs of the country.

He looked up the mountain and could barely see the highest point of the temple. Xi Chen thought that he should just head to the temple. If there's no food, at least he'll be able to get some direction. As he was thinking of hiking up the mountain, he spotted someone descending it.

As the man came close to him, red tinged Xi Chen's vision. The man was obviously a Northerner. As if he was in a trance, Xi Chen kneeled down and autonomously grabbed the dagger that was tucked in his right boot. The dagger was commissioned by his adoptive grandfather for his birthday last year. Even though they were poor, the elderly man made sure that Xi Chen owned a dagger of his own since they lived so close to the forest. It was just a small simple dagger with minimal design that was more functional than decorative. Since the weapon came into his possession a year ago, Xi Chen never had any encounters where he had a use for it and he had thought that he was never going to need it. It was all going to change now.

As the Northerner came closer to Xi Chen's kneeling frame and thought that the young boy had just doubled over, he looked at Xi Chen in concern. "Are you hurt?"

The man's distinct accent was enough to trigger Xi Chen. His cheek twitched as red veins formed on the whites of his now tearing eyes that were trained on the blinding snow in front of him.

Uncontrollable rage clasped its ugly hands around Xi Chen's heart as he pivoted himself up and stabbed the man in his chest before pulling the dagger back out in one movement. The Northerner's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at the open wound on his chest and the unrestrained wrath in Xi Chen's eyes. Then, he fell onto his knees while he grabbed onto his open wound, not fully understanding what was happening.

Xi Chen's hand actually slipped a little and nicked his own palm in the process of stabbing the man. It was the first time he had aimed a weapon at someone. But out of pure fate, the stab was true.

The moment he saw blood seeping out of the Northerner's chest, Xi Chen already regretted his action. How could this be any different from the Northerners who senselessly murdered his grandparents? The dagger fell on the snow-covered ground as Xi Chen started to cry. He scooted to the Northerner's side to try and stop the bleeding.

Xi Chen pressed his palms on the source of bleeding and pleaded. To who, he didn't even know. "Please! Please! I'm sorry! Please make it stop! Please. Please!"

The Northerner's breath was gradually turning erratic. It was as if his body was fighting to keep him alive. But the effort was all in vain. He was bleeding to death.

"Please! I'm sorry!" Xi Chen cried as he held his already bloody palms against the gush of blood pouring out of the Northerner's body.

Seeing that what he was doing couldn't stop the bleeding, Xi Chen bawled harder and bowed his head down beside the Northerner as the latter took his last breath.

Xi Chen didn't know how long he stayed by the Northerner that way. But his tears were long dried and the Northerner's body had gone cold when he heard the crunch of boots on snow that was coming towards them.

"Enkh! Where are you? I need to tell you something. Enkh!" Young Sze Chang called out in Northern as he unknowingly neared the bloody scene. Enkh's blood had now seeped into the snow around his lifeless body.

When Sze Chang came upon Xi Chen and Enkh, he zeroed in on Xi Chen and the dagger beside him. Sze Chang quickened his steps as he struggled to remain rational. He held Enkh's wrist to detect a pulse. The moment his skin touched Enkh's cold hand, he already knew. But he was still trying his best to deny the reality that was glaring in his face. Tears formed as reality hit.

Sze Chang directed an intense gaze at Xi Chen and hissed in the common tongue. "What did you do?"

Xi Chen didn't say anything but Sze Chang knew in his gut that this was the person who had just murdered someone he deeply cared for. He didn't even get the chance to confess his feeling. Sze Chang walked around Enkh's body to reach Xi Chen. His hand quickly picking the dagger up and stabbed the boy.

The pain from the wound gave Xi Chen a start. He looked at Sze Chang in shock as he saw the pure menace in the teenager's eyes. Xi Chen instinctively knew that this person would not let him go that easily. He knew that there was a good chance that he might even die under his hands if he didn't run now. Xi Chen, fearing for his life, started running again. This time away from Sze Chang.

As he returned to reality, Xi Chen felt a tug at his clothes from behind him. He turned his body to face Ye An.

"Yes?"

"What were you thinking about so deeply? I've been tugging at your clothes for a while now."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I was just lost in some.. Unpleasant memories."

Seeing as Xi Chen didn't seem like he wanted to explain, Ye An didn't push. "Alright. The past is the past. No use thinking incessantly about it. Let's sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow." She held a hand over his cheek which Xi Chen instinctively rubbed against.

"Alright, let's." Xi Chen helped Ye An pull her blankets up to better cover her and made sure that the others were sound asleep before he gave Ye An a light kiss on her forehead.

*******

It was the darkest hour of the night when Prince Adlai left the room. He noticed that Sze Chang was not by his side when he woke up but quickly dismissed the thought. He had other things on his mind. His meeting with the faceless shadow was more important. Prince Adlai received a discreet pigeon earlier to notify him of their meeting time and venue. How that person was coincidentally here baffled him. But he knew not to question anything he did.

Prince Adlai entered a secluded area that was located on the southeast corner of the military barracks. There stood an abandoned pavilion that used to be the main dining hall before the expansion of the military compound a couple of years ago. He stepped onto the pavilion and met with a man who had his back towards him. The man turned to face Prince Adlai when he heard footsteps.

"Adlai." The man smiled mysteriously.

This was the first time Prince Adlai ever saw the man's face. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the familiar man. "What are you doing here?"

"It's Your Majesty to you." Something shifted in the man's speech.

Prince Adlai was puzzled and looked around the area. Surely, this man wasn't the one who summoned him here. "Are you jesting? Is this a joke?"

The man crossed the short distance between them and held a hand over Prince Adlai's eyes which caused him to flinch.

"Don't move away, Adlai." The man warned dangerously as he held another hand behind Prince Adlai's head to hold him in place as he spoke into his ears. "Listen to my voice. Does it not sound familiar?"

Prince Adlai's confusion slowly cleared as his eyes darted nervously beneath the man's palm. Then, he frantically kneeled and bowed at the man, his eyes trained on the cracks of the wooden floor with fear rapidly spreading into every fiber of his being.

"My apologies for not recognizing you, Your Majesty. I have gravely sinned. Please forgive me." Prince Adlai pleaded.

The man chuckled but his chuckles were as cold as the wintry night air. "No need for such a grand apology. And it was my intention to go undetected before our plans could finally be executed."

That caught Prince Adlai's attention. His pupils wavered as he looked up at the imposing figure with shadows cutting sharply on the planes of his face. "What do you mean, Your Majesty? Was my great-grandfather-"

"Assassinated by one of our men? Yes. To be exact, it was your uncle, Leader Wakhia. It seems like his patience was running thin and he took it upon himself to speed things up. That man really has no patience. But I do admire his tenacity." The man's smile was cold but his eyes held a semblance of respect for the Northern leader.

"What.. Uncle Wakhia murdered my.." Prince Adlai murmured as he stared at the ground once again. Since hearing about Chieftain Burat's death, Prince Adlai had kept his emotions bottled up. Now, the dam finally cracked. "Great-grandfather.."

"Oh. No need to be sad. It's good news for you, isn't it? You're finally free of that old man's clutches." The man scoffed offhandedly. "And.. It's definitely good news for our plan. He was such a stubborn man. Too chivalrous for my taste."

The man tutted distastefully. Prince Adlai could only keep his mouth shut. And so, the man continued. "Now, this is a precarious time. Lee Ye An would be called back first thing tomorrow. While they do that, you will head to the North and gather our forces for war. From now on, everything has to go perfectly."

Prince Adlai was too shocked by the callous way that the man was referring Ye An to process anything else. But that shock was soon overshadowed by the declaration of war.

"W-war? I didn't know that was in the plan."

The man cocked an eyebrow in a condescending manner. "Why do you think I've allowed you and your uncle into my scheme then? Of course that was in the plan this whole time. Do you think I could ascend to the throne by merely strutting into the Throne Hall? Don't be naïve, Adlai."

"But-"

"No buts. See you tomorrow, Adlai. Make sure you have enough sleep. The beginning of both our reigns would start tomorrow." The man grinned coldly and patted Prince Adlai's shoulder as he left.

+*Thanks for reading! Don't forget to vote, comment, and follow if you like what you've read <3*+