7 Rough Morning

-Shen Wei-

Several hours later, Shen Wei wake up as he heard Zhao Yunlan mumble while he slept. He still have the Water Prince closely wrapped in his arms, but Yunlan was once again sweating and mumbling incoherent things over his chest

Wei tried to wake him up, alarmed he may be experience a nightmare or got sick after using star magic, but the Prince did not wake up, no matter how hard he try. Seriously worry, he was going to leave Zhao to ask Wang to have a look at him, but Yunlan had a strong hold on his waist and he could not move away.

"Yunlan, please let go of me so I can help you..." Shen whisper.

"Shen Wei... stay..." Zhao whisper in a barely audible low tone and Shen panic even more. Then, as he could not yell to Wang, Sang or another volunteer healer, which were sat the other side of the ship, he decide to try something else.

He closed his eyes in concentration and try to sense the Water Prince inner energy and find it disrupted, perhaps because of the sudden use of his star magic, which he was not as familiar with, like with his water one. So he thought in trying to balance it with his own and summon green fire in his hand.

That fire was harmless to the skin, as it was meant to heal the body and he put his hand over Yunlan's chest while he held him with his other hand. The flame disappear inside Zhao's skin transforming into healing energy, mixing with Zhao's own. However, his healing touch have an unexpected effect, he didn't anticipate.

Somehow, Shen Wei found himself transported into Yunlan's consciousness, which greatly resemble the Star Chamber, with a dark void filled with countless stars shining brightly. He saw Yunlan sat, lotus style, breathing in and out quite slowly. Obviously he was trying to meditate, perhaps in hope to keep his star magic in check.

"Yunlan... are you alright?" Shen whisper behind him and Zhao smiled, losing his focus completely.

"Shen Wei... sit behind me..." Zhao whisper back and Shen moved to comply with Yunlan's wishes.

"What do you need?" Shen asked softly from behind the Water Prince, willing to help him with whatever problem he was facing.

"Just do what you were doing before, hold me. I'm a bit tired." Zhao said and Shen Wei sat closer and hug Yunlan from his back, then Zhao recline his body on Shen's chest, intertwining his fingers with the Water Prince, who was obviously getting used to his touch.

"What happen? Is this because you use star energy to help me before?" Shen whisper in Zhao's ear.

"No... this has nothing to do with you. It's a pull of magic, just a bit ago I was in contact with Lord Shi, we can communicate this way sometimes. He was giving me a warning, because he had a vision of our coming days. We will not have it easy in our end, then I try to concentrate in have a look to our future... but I only saw flashes that barely make sense and out of the sudden, you came to me... which is a quite odd. How did manage to find me here?" Zhao asked, intrigued.

"I sense a disruption of your energy, so I try to stabilize with my own healing fire and somehow I found you meditating in here." Shen whisper, as he blushed. They were in an intimate embrace, that despite not sharing it in real bodies, it make his heart race like crazy.

"I guess we are truly meant to be, otherwise you would never had been able to get in, let alone find me without even looking for me." Zhao said, closing his eyes and gently nuzzling Wei's neck, which involuntary, make Shen shiver.

"So your trying to have a glimpse of our future, unbalance your star energy?" Wei asked curiously, he needed a distraction from Zhao's playfulness.

"Yes... I don't have enough control over it." Zhao whisper, relaxing in Shen's arms, while the Fire Prince sighed.

"Zhao Yunlan, please take better care of yourself... I was... worry." Wei whisper and Zhao slightly move to look at him.

"You kiss me, right?" Shen blushed madly at the same time he avoid Yunlan's gaze.

"No..." He poorly lie, making Zhao laugh.

"You are such a bad liar... I felt soft lips press against mine and there was a very faint hint of fire... yours, my Wei." Shen blushed even more and said no further words. Then Zhao closed the distance between their faces and kissed the young Prince, although Yunlan's lasted longer than Shen's. When Shen Wei open his eyes again, he was back to the ship, lying in the wooden floor with Yunlan enclosed in his arms, who looked at him with that mischievous smile pasted on his lips.

"Now we are even..." Zhao whisper and was about to kiss him again when Zhao felt something huge in the water coming their way. His playfulness die right away and he sat in haste, getting out of Shen's protective embrace.

"Yunlan, what...?" Shen was about to ask, but Zhao urge him to be quiet.

"It's coming... go wake the others, but don't make loud noises... we will have our hands full with this one." Shen nodded in understanding and stood up, walking slowly to Guo, who was the closet and wake him up, giving him the message to the rest of the group, then going back to Yunlan, which was standing with his eyes closed and several big water dragons flying around the ship.

"Yunlan... what is coming our way?" Shen asked, ready to act at any second.

"A Leviathan... a very ancient one, quite powerful. The only creature in these waters that can defy my control. It's huge, so let us keep it away, because if it reach the ship, it will shatter it like glass. Be very careful, my Wei... don't let it come close to you, it can also use a bit of fire." Zhao said as he looked back at him.

"Worry not, fire is what I know best. How long until is close enough to attack us?" Shen asked.

"About twelve minutes, maybe a bit more, because it's old, it doesn't had much speed." Zhao said and Shen moved to put his hand over Yunlan's back.

"Then we have enough time to stabilize your energies." Shen offer.

"You are such a caring lover." Zhao joked as he closed his eyes, wishing for what he saw to never come true.

"We are not lovers." Zhao chuckle. Shen was still reclutant, but he had the feeling he will gave in very soon.

"But we already kiss... and twice at that." Shen blushed.

"That was... never mind. Ready yourself..." Wei said, before he close his eyes and concentrate in Yunlan's energy. They needed the Water Prince at his best, so Shen diligently help Zhao to restore the balance.

Soon, they all were ready to face their new challenge. They divided in tree groups, in front middle and back of the ship. Sunrise was upon them and the fireflies who had protected their ship during the night, were now beginning to disappear.

As soon as the last one was gone, with the first ray of sun coming from between clouds, the water became turbulent with the coming of small fish getting away from the coming battle and so the ship slightly begin to move from side to side with coming waves.

Zhao steady the ship, calming down the water, but at some point it was going the get more harder to keep the ship from moving, that part of the river was colossal wide and the coming monster equally huge.

"Get ready, it's coming! Don't let it too close to the ship!" Zhao yelled at the same time a few huge tentacles came from under the water and collide with strong force against the river surface, sending a big wave in their way, but Yunlan part it in half and redirect it out of their way with ease.

Guo sent away his white flying swords and moved them to trust underwater, but as they impact the Leviathan thick skin, they bounced back to the surface and so the beast reveal itself. Only Yunlan was not taken aback by the monster size and appearance, because he had saw it when trying to have a glimpse of their future, but for the rest, it was quite the sight.

The water beast was a creepy combination of an octopus with a sturdy crab. The brownish shell was way too thick to be pierced and the tentacles long and strong. The legs ended in sharp claw that could destroy the ship in mere seconds and from it deformed mouth, anyone could see a hint of fire, although its main element was obviously water.

The thing was in fact quite the monster, that will take time to defeat and despite Yunlan having absolute control over water, the others could not help themselves but felt vulnerable, fighting such beast from inside a wooden long boat that could be destroyed at any moment.

More tentacles came their way, yet Guo's swords keep them at bay for a while.Those were the only soft part of the thing, so they could be cut. Nonetheless, harming the tentacles only enraged the beast and the thing open it big mouth to spray water on them, with incredible speed and pressure, but bYunlan raised a water wall, instantly crystalizing in ice, stopping the water that could had shatter the ship, instead of the ice Zhao created.

Then it moved forward and Zhao created a huge whirlpool that completely surrounded the water beast, then turning it to ice, making the monster hard to keep up, but eventually getting away with the help of his long extremities. Da Qing try to use the earth from below the river, but it was too wet to manipulate and he didn't have anything solid to control from a mile away. Yet, he try hard to at least slow the thing even further, by trying to hardened the mud under the claws, along with them, but it didn't last long.

Zhao created huge spikes of ice to stop it advance, sending them in all angles, but the thing broke through all of them. Lin try his wind next, but the Leviathan was too heavy to be affected even by a twister mixed with the water and Chu tried his strongest strings barely doing any difference from the others, just slow it for a minute, then it was gone.

The Leviathan sent more tentacles, disturbing the water around the ship even more, but Zhao manage to keep his control, maintaining the ship in place, at the same time he froze more water.

Poison was useless, so were needles, which frustrate the healers and Zhu Hong, as they could do basically nothing in that fight. Zhao raised a huge wave around the Leviathan, which took the form of a crystal clear lotus flower, then solidify over the monster, as the petal closed, but just a bit after, they saw as the sharp claws broke the ice and escape once more. Zhao keep up his effort to keep the monster as away as possible, trying different combinations with his team, however all failed.

Then the monster which should have come out of a legend, use fire on them, but Shen extinguish it almost as the same time it came out of it. He had try to blast it in a few ways, but that had failed too. So as his next attempt, Shen extended his hands in a motion of a shooting arrow and out of nowhere, a fire one materialize in his hands. He shoot freely, the arrow flying at top speed, hitting a shelled leg. At first, nothing seems to happen, as the arrow seemed to have disappear in contact, but a few seconds later, the thing 'roared' in pain as the shell cracked, even if it was a small piece.

"Got you... Yunlan, can you control the water under my feet at top speed?" Shen asked as he shoot another flame arrow, that this time, the Leviathan try to avoided it, moving back, then Wei try a few more rounds, having some effect on the hard shell.

"No, you are not going under that thing..." Shen frowned, as the others keep the beast distracted. A refusal from the Water Prince was unusual, which make Shen remember the warning.

"That was what you were warned for? I mean Lord Shi's warning?" Shen asked as the other combine their attacks.

"You are not going there Shen Wei."

"The damage I can do from this far is not near enough, I need to be closer."

"No."

"Zhao Yunlan, nothing else seems to work."

"We will manage from here."

"This thing shell is too hard, only from bellow I can do enough damage."

"I said no."

"Yunlan!"

"I will not lose you to this monster Shen Wei!" That statement took most of the present by surprise and Shen was shocked for a moment, before he understood why Zhao's energy was so disrupted. Lord Shi had warned him about this and Zhao had look for an alternative ending to that fight, in hope to keep him out of the possible fatal outcome, thus overusing his star energy. Ignoring the stares, Shen moved close to Zhao and hug him for a few seconds.

"If you saw it, then you most know now, what's meant to be will happen one way or another..." Shen whisper to Zhao's ear.

"I will find another way... a better one." Zhao whisper back, holding Shen tighter.

"It's coming!" Lin yelled.

"We don't have time... take care of yourself." Then Shen suddenly kissed Yunlan hard and right after, he escape the Water Prince embrace and ran as fast as he could, jumping out of the boat to dive inside the turbulent waters as the beast was almost upon them.

"Shen Wei!!!" Zhao yelled and ran toward the border of the boat, but was stopped from diving after Shen by both Chu and Da Qing.

"Shen Wei!!!" Zhao yelled, as he try to get away from the other two strong hold, but just then, a mist begin to form and in just seconds, no one could see Shen inside the water. However, as the Leviathan was at reach, they saw a huge flame arrow go up, at the same time the claw of the beast and a tentacle went down right in the same place Shen would be.

"NOOO!!!!!" Zhao yelled in horror, but a second after Shen's arrow disappear inside the Leviathan shell, the thing exploded from the inside out, sending big pieces everywhere. It all had happen so fast that Zhao didn't have the time to pull Shen out of harm's way.

Zhao simply gave a heartbreaking yell that gave gosebumps to both Wang and Zhu, as he let himself fall into his knees, too overwhelmed as he no longer sensed Wei's fire in the water. The others looked around, trying to see thought the thick mist, probably crated by the Fire Prince, to hide himself from the beast.

No one saw Shen coming from the opposite side of the ship, not even Zhao who was too shocked to notice, as the water dragons that Zhao had created to protect the ship, had dive in alongside with him and mix with the water surrounded him, yet not losing their form. They had created a protection around the reckless Prince while he shoot the arrow that pull him backwards just before the huge claw came down or the tentacle could catch him, saving him. Shen boarded the ship once more, wet to the bone, to find Yunlan on his knees and the others desperately yelling his name.

"Yunlan... I'm here, I'm sorry..." Shen said, surprising his companions and instantly, he was back into the Water Prince arms. This time, Yunlan didn't give him a feathery kiss, like he did before, returning his favor, but kiss him with a passion that was hard to control. However, Shen Wei didn't even hesitate to respond back with equal desire, because in the end, what it was meant to be could not be avoided and Yunlan had suffer enough of a heartbreak just now.

"Don't ever do that to me again..." Zhao manage to whisper between kisses as he held the intensely blushing Prince even closer.

"Don't worry... apparently... you won't be getting... rid of me... that easily... my... lover..." Zhao smiled against Shen's lips.

"Damn right..." Yunlan said, glad to have him still and with the promise to never let go of him again.

AN: Thanks for reading. So, was it good? I'm not too good with action scenes, so I hope it come out satisfying for you guys. More Weilan and adventures to come.