Come with Me

Tianshi Xue did not know what she was supposed to feel. There was just something hollow inside of her right now. She didn't know if she did it willingly--if she had willed herself to stop feeling for a moment because she could not bear it, or was it her brain that did all the work?

Her feet moved fast. As if she could not walk fast enough. Her vision got spotted with dark circles. Her heart was beating too fast that it was all she could hear. The pounding on her ears. Then Lady Nia's throaty screams.

A shiver wanted to run through her spine but it did not come. It was like the rest of her had turned into stone. There was only one thing that her body wanted. It wanted to be cleansed. It needed to be underwater. She wanted to get out of these clothes as soon as possible.

She wanted to unhear everything that she had heard for the last ten minutes.

She was rushing through the empty and dark hallways when the prince pulled her to another corridor. She was about to lash out at him, ready to snarl.

But he said, "The room is this way."

He must have seen the expression on her face because he did not give her a chance to talk back and turned away from her, letting her follow him instead of him watching her go aimlessly through the haunting palace.

She had badly wanted to scream. She should've taken that moment to bite the prince's head off. Instead, she was forced to step after him. When she finally got into the familiar corridor where their chambers are, she ran ahead.

Once inside the room, she kicked off her heels and rushed to the closets and finally in the bathroom. There seemed to have been a lapse in time because the next moment that she had become aware of her surroundings, she was already soaking wet. It seemed like she had also forgotten to take off her clothes.

She pressed both of her palms against her ears, trying to drown the sound of Lady Nia's screams. She closed her eyes. She had never preferred darkness but she would take it any day than the scene as the guards dragged her out, thrashing and fighting.

**

Prince Qui looked at the clock. It was almost an hour now that the princess had been in the bathroom. He could hear the shower going at full speed. She would've already filled a whole pool at this rate. He had already changed out of his formal clothes to a comfortable white shirt and a pair of pajamas.

Five more minutes, he told himself. Five more minutes and he would come and get her.

He didn't want to be the one who would come to her. He didn't want to care for her.

It would not be care, his consciousness told him. It would be just a form of looking out for her. You do remember when you made your first kill. It had not been easy.

Prince Qui sighed. He did not want to engage with this internal battle he was having with himself. The chance of the princess refusing his help was incredibly high. The least thing that he could to is try.

Before he could change his mind, he got up from the bed and opened the door to the bathroom.

**

The floor was cold under his feet. He could not even imagine how the princess was feeling right now. She must be freezing. The lights were all off and he flicked a switch and a small light flickered to life at one corner.

He saw her crumpled silhouette against the frosted glass of the shower. "Princess?"

No answer. Well, he was not expecting her to be able to talk right now. He should be even thankful that she had forgotten to lock the door in her rush.

He stepped closer to the enclosure. "Princess, it's really cold. Let's get you to bed."

He knew that she was still clothed so when she didn't answer again, he peeked inside the enclosure. She saw that the princess was slumped on herself, her head to her knees and hands on either side.

He crouched down and touched the top of her head. "Let me take you somewhere."

She didn't move.

Could she even hear him?

It was possible that the shock was not making her senses work.

The prince groaned. He didn't want to get wet. But it seemed like he had to.

He stepped in the shower and gathered the princess in his arms. Finally, with cold water dripping down on them, the princess lifted her face and looked at him with blank eyes.

"Come with me," he said.