A Closed Tunnel Of Destruction

"Just on time." Yongzheng said as Atlanta ordered a soft drink at the counter.

She didn't respond to his remarks and instead asked, "Straight to the point would save us time."

Yongzheng refilled his drink, walking off towards the quiet balcony. Atlanta followed him after getting her drink from the waiter.

"Do you know a new lady who arrived in the castle and is quite close with the noble daughter of ….."

"I have only once seen her, when I went to meet the eldest prince to report the situation at the border. She was running away from the second prince's room." Atlanta replied before Yongzheng could finish his words.

"Spy on her for me till the next moon festival." 

Atlanta frowned at him hearing his remarks.

"What do I get in return?" She can't let herself be taken advantage of. Also if she busies herself in this, what if Steven pursues Riwansa to return?

"Is it not enough that despite knowing all your secrets I won't be letting them out?" Yongzheng said in a mocking tone.

"Fine...I will do it, inform the second prince."

Yongzheng hates threats the most. But currently, he doesn't have a choice. He is in a hurry.

"You don't need to worry about that." He said before leaving in long strides.

Atlanta disposed of the cup in the dustbin. She couldn't express her frustration at this moment. All this while it's not like she didn't know that someday someone will definitely discover everything she had done. Yet she gave in to the temptation. The so calm graceful eldest prince is the most shrewd person she has ever encountered. If not for his constant provocation she wouldn't have turned out to be like this. 

She still remembers the day she was practicing water enchantment and the big brother she met in the royal court came to visit her. There was another young boy beside him.

"Hello Atlanta, we met in the royal court. You remember me right?" The person spoke kindly.

Of course, she did, being the only child, deep down she always wished for a sibling. His kindness at the very first time made her feel like he was the elder brother she had always wished for. 

Her attention was soon swayed by the boy with silver locks and golden eyes filled with a charming glimmer. He had a certain charisma even at that age. As soon as she noticed him, she knew it was infatuation. He turned his head away from her immediately. 

Her face turned red in embarrassment and in a slow voice she replied to Zibao, "Yes I remember you."

As if he hadn't noticed the small interactions between the two of them Zihao gestured to Steven to come closer, introducing the two of them.

"Meet Steven, he is my younger brother. He will be teaching you fire control starting next week."

He snorted in annoyance. His eyes held clear contempt for her.

Atlanta tried her best to not cry even though her eyes were reddened by now. She extended her hands to go for a handshake but he simply nodded. She awkwardly pulled away from her hand.

Yeah, that was how pathetic she had been on the very first visit. With a little reluctance, she was ready to not have self-destructive thoughts. 

Whenever she arrived at the castle though she would hear whispers from the attendants and maids about how thoughtfully the third prince instructed them to prepare dishes to her liking. The initial infatuation gradually turned into a deep obsession.

Often when she was learning the scriptures from the eldest prince he would tell her about Steven in between the lessons. It was a slow poison. Unknown to herself she was getting trapped into a closed tunnel. 

_______________

"When are you leaving?" Xixi asked, fiddling with a round golden pebble.

"The day after tomorrow. We will be leaving at dawn, you can start packing the necessary stuff tomorrow." 

Ziran slowly moved the wavy locks from her face.

Xixi awkwardly moved a little away.

"Just how many warnings did Riwansa give you about me to make you so distant?" He asked with a helpless smile.

"I…

"Do I seem like a bad guy to you?" Ziran continued without letting her finish.

"You don't." She replied with a barely noticeable pout.

"You are safe with me. No matter what, I won't ever do anything that will make you uncomfortable." He said looking straight into her hazel eyes.

He passed a piece of yellowish paper. It looked really old. Almost like a shred of historical evidence.

She traced crumpled paper gently. The unknown symbols made little sense to her. She turned the transparent paper over holding it up. She remembered stumbling upon an exactly similar information byte while writing her paper about particle physics.

"Can you recognize these?" Ziran arched his brows. His gaze held a hint of curiosity.

"I am not exactly sure. But they remind me of …." she found herself lost for words. Can she really explain her world's science to him?

"I know you are from a different dimension, just say about it in your terms. I will use a translating device if I don't understand any of them." 

"Well I was studying the quantum spins of various subatomic particles and while comparing between the equations I came upon this equation. However, since it wasn't quite useful for the paper I didn't spend any more time on it." 

She looked up only to see him furrowing his brows with a thoughtful expression. 

She opened her mouth to ask him about his thoughts when he reverted back to his usual expression.