The Men at Her Feet

When she opened her eyes the next morning, she found herself in an unfamiliar room, it was huge and exquisite with a huge window. The warm sunlight shone through the window, bringing her warmth and hope as she laid on her bed, enjoying the view of the beautiful clear sky.

Strange huffing noises and the sound of a sharp blade could be heard from the outside, and in her curiosity, she crawled weakly out of the bed and limped slowly towards the window.

The man was emitting a unique gentleness as he practiced his martial skills with his sword, his moves were filled with justice which somehow coexists perfectly with his gentle aura. The sword was like an extended section of his arm as he moved around smoothly and beautifully, and for a moment she almost thought he was an angel from the heavens, it was like a dream.

Noticing her presence, the young man stopped his morning practice as he turned towards her, his face lit up brightly and a warm smile spread across his cheeks as he stared at her. She stared back at him in a daze, his looks were really unique, it was not like Fu SiNian’s strikingly handsome and mature looks, or You HanGuang’s young and cheeky looks, or Pei JingZhi’s calm and elegant looks, or even Gu QingChen’s gentle and caring looks. This man was her Brother Yan Gui, whose gentle smile was too contagious and would allows ignite a sense of happiness and warmth inside of her.

Noticing her blank stare, Yan Gui called out gently to her, “Ah Luan, do you still remember the sword arts I taught you when you were young?”

She nodded as she walked towards him while Yan Gui grinned softly as he placed his sword in her hands.

“Ah Luan, please end me here, Brother Yan Gui begs of you.” He smiled warmly as he pointed the sharp edge of the sword at his heart.

“What?!” Princess QingLuan jumped in shock as she let go of the sword, “Brother Yan Gui, what are you saying?! How can I... how can I do that...”

Yan Gui sighed deeply as he picked up his sword and held it firmly in his hands, “Ah Luan, I don’t have much time left...” He said grimly, “If he fully takes over this body once and for all, do you know what will happen and how crucial it’ll be?”

“He would start a rebellion and he would kill Ah Zhao, replacing him as king.”

“Brother Yan Gui, please stop this nonsense, you’ll definitely recover from this illness!” Princess QingLuan rushed up to him as she snatched the sword from his hands, throwing it on the ground in horror.

“Brother Yan Gui, I’ll follow you back to the North...” She wept sadly into his chest as she hugged him tightly, “I will take good care of you and make sure your illness doesn’t happen again!”

“Ah Luan, it won’t work, he’s not and never had been in my control... I know you’re a kind and gentle woman, hence what you’re feeling now is a sense of guilt towards me because of our cancelled engagement. I do not know what happened to cause it but I trust in Ah Zhao’s decisions.” He murmured gently as he stroke her back, calming her down, “I can’t bear to see you live with grief, and it hurts me a lot to see you cry, I want you to search for your own happiness, that is why I’m here as I want to let you know that I wanted the engagement to be annulled too, that it’s not your fault or anyone else’s fault.”

“Ah Luan, he’s in my body and in my mind, always hanging on maliciously inside of me, waiting to cause harm to everyone I love. We’re totally different men but the only similarity we have is that both of us loved you.” He continued murmuring softly as her weeping slowly subsides, “Ah Luan, this is why I need you to end me because I cannot allow anyone to hurt you, even if it’s the other me... Please... You’re the only one who can remove us from the world...”

Princess QingLuan smacked her lips tightly onto his, silencing his words as she stared at him in rage while her tears dampened his cheeks, “I don’t care! There’ll be a way... I’m sure there’ll be a way...” She muttered unendingly, to convince herself or maybe to convince him.

She stared at him with her big almond tear-stricken eyes, begging silently as sorrow filled her eyes, causing his heart to skip a beat at her beauty.

He pressed her head down and kissed her fiercely, as if he could not live without this woman. His masculine scent filled through her nose and mouth, causing her to almost lose her breath to his passionate kiss.

This kiss they shared was so filled with emotions and love that she would never forget it in her life, it was full of uncertainty and confusion but at the same time, filled with the love and care she had craved from him since she was a young child, somewhere deep inside her, she knew this was a kiss of separation, a kiss of goodbye. Her tears streamed down her face once again as she chose to drown in his warmth.

But the kiss they shared was short lived, as Yan Gui pushed her away suddenly, “Little Luan Er, why are you crying? Your husband is not dead yet!” He smirked at her as their eyes met, her eyes wide in confusion and his eyes, cold and apathetic.

“Men, come here and send my wife home!” He yelled loudly at his servants before walking up to her, pinching her chin tightly with his fingers, “Little Luan Er, I will not allow you to become a widow at such a young age. Go and clean yourself up, my men will send you home.” He growled deeply at her, “As for me, I will have to clean up your mess and destroy anyone who would get in our way.”

Princess QingLuan kept her eyes downcast as she was lead away by his hand-maidens.

Author’s note:

Mother of god! Why do I feel like I’m writing a love story? Gentle Yan Gui might be a gentleman, but he’s really a sly man, see the way he pursued the woman he loved, any woman would fall for him!