Bargaining Chip

"Are we going back?" Tianshi Xue asked, dragging herself out of the water as the prince put on a clean shirt, covering his chest. It was only now that she noticed that he was wearing a necklace.

The chain was made out of leather and hanging from its center was a strange blue green stone that looked almost like a crystal. She wanted to ask what it meant but that would mean that she was admitting that she was looking at his chest.

For the prince to think that she was checking him out was at the bottom of her priority list.

"Yes," he answered her. "Gather your things."

Tianshi Xue wrapped her face again with the shawl. The prince insisted that she only change her clothes once she was back in her shack—as he was not really allowed to let her out of his sight. Especially not now that marrying her was in the cards.

Tianshi Xue already noticed that the prince was being extra quiet as they were walking back to the camp. "Is the news not good?"

She could clearly see it on his face that he was debating whether or not he was going to tell her. "Do you really want to know?"

She almost gasped. The invasion was because of her then? She nodded her head. "It involves me, doesn't it? If it doesn't involve me then we'd be on our way home already."

The prince was impressed by her deducing. "Yes, it does involve you. Your uncle wants to take you from us."

"It's not my brother?"

The prince shook his head, thinking he might get his answer by swerving the conversation this way. He was going to get some insight on how the princess would feel about getting married but not to his brother Xiaodan. "Your uncle already switched banners. He's now with King Tiankong. He wants to take you so you could get married to the king and he would earn a seat in his council."

Tianshi Xue stopped walking. Seriously?! These men only saw the princess as something like a bargaining chip? Lin Yingyue was a princess. A PRINCESS. But these men only wanted to use her for their advantage.

It was bad enough that Emperor Yang kidnapped her from her family when she was five. They all knew that the Emperor was only acting out of fear for his people. He needed a hostage to ensure their safety. That was a pill that Tianshi Xue was willing to swallow as it had a reason and a purpose and it involved millions of people's lives.

But this? The princess' OWN UNCLE was going to take her just for his own benefit? That was not something that she would accept. She was just going to kill the princess' body before she let that happen.

"Is he really going to take me?" she asked.

Prince Qui only held her elbow and made her walk again. "He's never going to touch you. At least until I'm still alive. I have orders. You're not going anywhere without me."

"What if they kill you and then take me?"

Prince Qui laughed like he believed he was someone invincible. "I'd like to see them try to kill me."

"Are you not afraid to die?"

"I'm not going to die."

"How can you be certain of that?"

"Because I believe in the things that I can do. I'm really good at fighting. It would take a lot to kill me. If they succeed, then job well done for them. If not… well, they better kill me because if they don't, I will kill them."

Tianshi Xue shivered. She convinced herself that it was just because of the wind breezing on her wet clothes. But she knew it was because she had never heard someone talk about killing people and be so confident about it.

He's really a monster, she whispered to herself.

The prince cleared his throat, aware that he probably scared the poor princess. What could he do? He was not used to speaking with a filter. Most of his life he had been surrounded by men. The only close female relationships that he had was from his mother and his doctor friend—and both of these people accepted him for who he was.

He wanted to ask her how would she feel if she might not be married to Xiaodan at all. But the look in her eyes when he informed her already answered his question.

She hated the idea into some degree level.

Just wait until she found out she was getting married to the person that she hated the most.