Deep Breaths?

"Sorry it took so long. Are you alright?" Xinghua said as he finally made it to the resting area, Sir Erik outside the door as the Imperial Son walked up to Ísar.

The young king had been sitting by the room's window, staring in the direction of his uncle's estate as he tried to piece together what they'd planned yet again.

His thinking was sometimes interrupted by the memory of how he'd acted in the hall in front of Xinghua, the oddly intense jealousy and him making a grown man kneel and the boy would have the urge to scream. But then he'd go back to thinking about their plan, like someone with different personalities.

Some might have called him crazy and he'd have agreed.

He also didn't want to give Xinghua the opportunity to ask him about the incident, so he dismissed the prince's question and let his anxieties of their plan escape. At the very least, their little adventure of breaking and entering was distracting Ísar from his embarrassment.

"This is crazy," Ísar said calmly. "This is downright psychotic. I don't even know why we're doing this. What if we're caught? A king and an envoy sneaking into Grand Duke's home after running away from a ball? It sounds like a bad joke fathers would tell."

Xinghua stood to the side of Ísar, close enough for his warmth to reach the king. Ísar took a deep breath and hopped off the window's seal. He looked up at his friend who only needed to give Ísar that smile for him to calm down.

"It'll be fine. I made sure my intel was airtight and there's nobody that watches the entrance to the tomb," Xinghua said as he took both of Ísar's hands, squeezing them gently. "My subordinate already transported me to the forest so I can get us in and out without a soul knowing. So what do you have to do now?"

"Deep breaths?" Ísar asked, forcing himself to not lean into Xinghua. The Imperial Son nodded, still holding his hands, and let Ísar take deep breaths before he asked, "Ready?"

Gods and Mother, it's time already?

"Just do it before I—," They were no longer at the Viscount's manor and Ísar was now nauseous. They were surrounded by well-trimmed trees and shrubs, a path leading to the back entrance of the Grand Duke's estate very clear on the green floor.

Xinghua lead the way, taking them to the opposite direction of that back gate.

Ísar was about to ask the older boy which way when Xinghua abruptly covered his mouth and jumped up one of the close by trees.

Xinghua was crouched on a tree with Ísar in his arms, one of his hands covering the king's lips. Ísar didn't struggle, trusting the prince more than himself, but he looked down to get a better view of what brought them up a tree in the first place.

There were three knights, clearly returning back from a patrol within the estate's surrounding forests. Ísar could only guess that much going by the leaves and small branches within their heads of hair.

"I really should've applied to be a knight at the castle instead of here. They're having ball and everything too," the voice of a passing knight said, a loud yawn following after. "Nothing ever happens around that old man."

"Learn to control your thoughts if you don't want to be flogged by the commander," another knight, the tallest one with an expressionless face, said in response as they stopped by a tree in front of the two hiding boys.

"We'd get flogged by the commander no matter what we do," the third, a short yet bulky man with a raspy voice, added as the last two began to do stretches. "Fuck me, I hate these patrols. It feels like I'm going on a hike every time."

"You're complaining about the distance, I'm more scared every time we get close to that weird area," the bored knight added with a dramatic shiver. "Creepy fucking place. I heard her grace mentioned once how that area is the reason the Grand Duke couldn't reproduce heirs."

"Oh stop it with those ghost stories. The old man couldn't produce heirs because he's useless between the legs." That got the burly knight a smack on the head from the more noble-like knight. "Fuck you, Antoine! I'm right and you know it. Either that or the rumors that the former king poisoned him are true and I'd rather not speak ill of the dead. I don't believe in ghosts like that pussy over there but I'm not trying to find proof."

Ísar could feel Xinghua staring at him like the boy did whenever his father was mentioned, but he didn't necessarily care about what he was hearing. It wouldn't have surprised him if the former king had done such a thing. It was the kind of man his father was. He was just waiting for the men to leave.

"Let's get going," Antoine, the noble-like knight, said as he picked up his things and began leading the other two men back in the direction of the main estate. "We have other tasks to do and don't forget to report our findings from the Lost Forest."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's not like the reports ever come back different. We went in, went out, nothing happened. You're such a stickler, Antoine," the burly one said, getting up and wiping his butt. He only started leaving after spitting on the floor which made Ísar's expression turn into one of disgust.

At a certain point, he wasn't able to see their shadows through the darkness of night anymore but Xinghua still stayed on the tree, perfectly still with his eyes on the path the three knights had taken.

"Are they gone?" Ísar asked, leaning close to the prince's ear to whisper and was slightly surprised when he felt Xinghua shiver and tightened his hold of him. "Are you cold?"

"No, no," Xinghua whispered back in a hurry. "They're gone. Let's go. The weird place he mentioned is probably our target."

The older boy jumped down from the tree, his steps making not a single sound and Ísar was amazed by him for the millionth time.

His heart swelled up by how gently Xinghua had placed him down and then it just about bursted open when the older boy took his hand and quietly took them into the Lost Forest.

At the end of the green path, one could see the greenery get less and less taken cared of, leaving just the opening of the Lost Forest. A place not many could easily enter without any sort of knowledge of the area.

He'd read how the earlier people of their nation had ventured in and it was like the forest moved and breathed. Many civilians described feeling an intense wariness of the place, only knights and mages being able to venture inside.

Ísar, however, didn't understand their wariness. He felt almost serene. It was the calmest he had ever felt in a while.

It almost felt like a kind of home.

"Little ox."

Ísar looked up at Xinghua as they continued to walk.

"Are you okay?" the prince asked, genuine worry in his voice which confused Ísar.

"I mean," Xinghua glanced at the young king before looking forward again. "I mean at the ball. That man. I know it's not the best time to ask but I really needed to check. Are you okay?"

Ah. I really wish you could've pretended you didn't see that, Ísar thought but a smile was spreading across his face. But I adore how you worry even though I shouldn't.

"I am fine." Ísar stepped over a large branch."I don't particularly care about what happened at the ball, I simply wanted to be sure they knew who I am and who I'm not going to be. I do apologize that you witnessed that side of me."

Xinghua let out a short laugh. "I have no idea why you're apologizing to me. It's always fun to witness different sides to you."

Ísar almost tripped on another branch but Xinghua stopped it by using his free arm to balance the king by the shoulders.

"Wha-what side?" Ísar asked shakily as they continued their trek.

"Mm," The prince hummed, "You usually let things pass. I've learned it's because you're not interested in responding but whenever you do snap, it's like watching a sleeping bear wake up. It's so different to how you are around me. I don't know. I like finding out new parts of you."

Why does he talk about me like that? I'm going to die of a heart attack before I'm thirteen.

Ísar was about to reply with whatever his mushed brain could come up with but instead, he fell to his knees in pain as the shadows began to scream. It was ear shattering and made his ears feel like they were bleeding.

He placed his hands on his ears and forehead on the ground as he yelled in pain. The young king could barely register Xinghua's panic through the pain.

Ísar couldn't even decipher what they were screaming to him about and he didn't care he just wanted them to—

"SHUT UP!"

The silence that followed was too much of a relief that Ísar almost fully slumped into the ground. Xinghua had caught him, positioning him so that they were both on their knees facing each other with the Imperial Son cradling his face in worry.

"Ísar? Ísar what just happened? Are you okay? Oh no, you're crying, please don't cry."

Ísar was panting and could feel the tears running down his cheeks but couldn't understand why he was crying. The pain had almost completely gone as soon as the shadows had stopped screaming but the tears continued.

"Keep going, our King."

He got up and kept walking. His surroundings faded as he followed the wispy shadow of his sister, completely forgetting where he was and who he was with. His only thoughts were that he needed to follow at all costs.

He didn't know how or when he'd gotten to the decaying tomb in front of him, surrounded by the thickest trees, but he stood there with lidded eyes for a moment before Xinghua once again brought him back reality with very aggressive shaking.

"—Ísar! Ísar, what the actual fuck is going on? Ísar?!"

"Stop shaking me," he said weakly, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears. "What happened? Where are we?"

Xinghua stared into Ísar's eyes for a moment, his lips pursed, before letting out a shaky sigh and almost slumping on the young king.

"Fuck me. You scared the absolute shit out of me. I don't know what happened. You looked like you were in pain one moment then you yelled and out of nowhere your eyes started glowing white and you ran here! It was like you were possessed."

Ísar blinked at the boy in confusion, unable to recall anything he'd just been told. The last thing he remembered was the pulsing pain then finding himself in front of the almost-hidden tomb. It was all so bizarre.

"Little ox, I think we should go back," Xinghua said in his mother tongue, clearly uncomfortable. "This place doesn't feel right. The closer we got here, the more strange things kept happening. Especially to you."

"Enter, your majesty."

Keep quiet.

"Xinghua, please. I'm sorry that my wishes brought you here but…" He slowly placed a hand on one of the prince's that were still on his face. "But we've come so far. We need answers. I need answers. I can't live with not knowing."

Xinghua actually did rest his head on Ísar's shoulder then, wrapping his arms around the young king's neck. It was starting to look like his favorite position around Ísar.

"How did I know you were going to say that? Fine. Fuck. Fine. Let's go in but I am not letting go of you for a second."

You say that like I've ever minded that, Ísar thought but gave the other boy a weak smile and a slight nod. "Deep breaths?"

Xinghua returned the weak smile. "Deep breaths."

They both turned to face the tiny entrance to the fallen tomb. Ísar could hear moaning, groans of pain and rustling chains from deep inside. He could feel cool gusts of wind escape the tomb and at one point, felt a bony hand on his back urging him to enter.

He looked at Xinghua and the prince looked at him. With a nod from both of them, they entered the abandoned tomb of Ísar's forgotten ancestor.