The Princess and the General Part II

===And when the right person and the right time comes.===

Hero stays inside the training room for long hours, the rigorous training and fights he takes are stepping in the lines between necessary and self-abuse. He's been training with his troops for longer hours, sword fighting and fist fighting with them with much more brutality and force than ever before.

He thinks of it as training for himself, a new confounding way for him to take his mind off the nearing copulation between the newly crowned Queen and her King.

His troops and underlings say it's his way of stress relief… Only, they don't know the reason why.

"….pass the precious knowledge to your children."

Darkness has consumed the skies and only the stars and the moon gives light for half of the world to see. The copulation of the Queen and her King is tonight, and that very special moment is announced throughout the whole royal household.

It's a special moment, with the right persons, and what is about to be brought up after this special night is what the Kingdom awaits for after a very long time.

Not everyone is pleased and happy though.

One man remains seated next to his feeding horse. A bottle filled with liqueur in his hand and a handful of kneaded bread on the other. He didn't know that it would be this painful, and at first, he thought he could endure it.

To endure the woman that he loves laying and sleeping with someone else.

To see the woman that he loves build a future and family with someone else. And to protect them, respect them, and love them until his dying day.

He thought that dying on the battlefield would be the most gruesome and pitiful way to die… Never did he imagine that watching someone you love being with someone other than you is more gruesome and terrible, mainly because it kills you and stabs you where it hurts the most.

He takes another sip from the bottle, and another bite from the bread.

Though he's always telling his troops to man up and face your hurts and fears like a man, here he is now doing the exact opposite by acting all betrayed, sad and melancholic.

"Choose this… Face this…." He said to himself before swallowing another mouthful of liqueur.

"Face what?" A voice so familiar answered that Hero jumped up from his seat and turned to face the woman that he's been thinking about.

"Hey…" The Queen spoke, wearing only her white robe and slippers. Her face was painted white, lips as red as a rose and her eyes cheeks were blushingly pink. A look only the Queen could wear once, and that's on her wedding night.

How Hero wished he could be the one to smear her lips. But that's all nothing but a dream.

"…Hey…" He replied back, as if it was the most casual thing to do or say. He shouldn't be jealous nor protective and hurt. He's the one who wanted their union after all. "What are you doing here, your majesty?"

The Queen didn't answer the question; instead she just shrugged her shoulders and continued to walk towards Hero. "I don't know… I just want some fresh air, I guess."

"….I see…"

Pai He sat next to the General, and with her point finger she points at the two objects in both hands of the said man. "You've been drinking all this while?" The Queen asked with a sarcastic smile. "Why, my dearest friend. This image you're showing is farfetched from the man I respect and love. Why? Did the woman that you love get married to someone else?"

The General said nothing, but he did give the Queen a warning look. "Shut up."

A loud laugh, and then an arm wraps around her neck. So casual and surprising. But maybe that's what they needed. "I see…. Would you mind if I drink with you?"

And just for casualty…. "Sure, your Majesty."

===Throughout the journey, temptations will come.===

"So… Is he better than me?!" Hero spat out and his posture was a little unstable and wobbly due to drunkenness. "I bet he's better than me in bed… Does he pleases you more than I do? Maybe because my hands are calloused and all." He pondered and thought out loudly.

Though his words were choppy, discontinuous and incoherent, Pai He still understood him clearly, as if they were both still sane and sober.

"You're drunk." The Queen pointed out.

"No I'm not!" Hero whined like a child with his eyes partly closed.

He took another sip from the bottle and then he threw it away when he realized that it was already empty. "Tell me… Tell me! Is he better than me?" He shrieked while he held on to the folds of the Queen's robe. "I bet he's good at servicing her majesty… I bet he made you happy tonight. He did! Did he? He did…. Right?"

The Queen made a sound of irritation. Though she doesn't like the way Hero is acting, she can't deny the fact that she's clearly amused. "Stop it. Let's get out of here…. I'll take you to your chambers." Pai He strictly commands with her hand holding on tightly to Hero's wrist, but when she pulls him up, the General yanks his hand away with a scream.

"Get away from me! You don't own me so don't you dare command me! You foolish Queen who only selfishly think of herself! I bet you've enjoyed toying with his body because that's what you do! That's what you do —"

A strong slap on his face made him land face first on the ground, with the burning sting from the force still remaining on his already swelling cheeks.

"If you think I'm the type of woman who only thinks for herself then maybe running away from Ye Zi just to be with you is a mistake…" The Queen calmly states before turning her back on Hero.

"If you think that I'm that type of woman, then maybe saying the words I love you to you many times means I only say it to play with you… Then maybe it's time for me to really let you go."

"My Queen…. I'm sorry, I did not mea----

"Enough! That's enough. We're both drunk… enough."

===But you must stand firm and hold your Queen's hand through it all.===

The late Queen, Hua Ping marched through the halls, the soles of her metal slippers making a beating sound against the wooden floors. She doesn't give a damn that a few palace women are looking at her with a confused expression, and she doesn't even care when a senior servant told her twice that the Queen doesn't want to be disturbed.

"Pai He!" She screamed, bringing the Queen's gaze to the fuming woman who was standing in front of her.

"Yes? What is it, my dearly beloved Mother." The Queen answered, all poised, graceful and firm, a smile showing on her lips.

"Stop the flattering words and answer my question with your pride as a Queen on the line, why did you run away from Ye Zi at the night of your copulation?"

Pai He remains silent, avoiding lying and avoiding the truth all at the same time. She stood up from her seat, walked away from her throne and out to the door, but then the Queen pulled on the sleeves of her Hanfu to pull her back in place.

"Answer me!"

Pai He pulled on her robe, removing her mother's firm hold from the smooth fabric. "What I have done that night and where I have been is none of your business." She stepped forward and left the room without another word… But then Hua Ping screamed out something that made her stop and look back.

"You've untied your robe for your precious General!"

Pai He whispered, her voice trembling in anger. "That's none of your concern."

"It's a part of my concern and right now it's my main concern!" Hua Ping retorted.

She holds onto the front garment of her thick patterned Hanfu before walking towards the young Queen who looks like she's at a standstill. "This has been going on for years and I've only known this since yesterday. You've been sleeping and fooling around with him for years now, and both of your actions are beyond disgusting! It's intolerable and I want it to end."

"What I do and who I take my robe off for shouldn't be concerning you! This is my life and I chose this!"

"Then you leave me no choice." Hua Ping said before leaving the baffled Queen alone with the palace women. "He'll be shaved of his pride and his thick armor will be no more! I will parade him around the City like a wounded animal for staining the Royal blood!"

"Don't you dare!"