Pillows Do Not Talk

The situation was new to Prince Qui. He had never held a woman this close--and for this long--ever. He was sure that hours had already passed but in reality it had not been five minutes.

To be honest, his muscles were already starting to ache with the way he kept it tense—it was the least form of rebellion that he could do. Without this, the princess might think that he was enjoying.

The princess' head was at the lower end of his bicep, squeezing on his veins and cutting off his blood circulation. But who's complaining? he asked himself.

He could feel the hardness of the body of the princess next to him. He was sure that she was also tensing her whole being right now, also repulsed with their situation.

He sighed. "You should relax. You wouldn't be able to fall asleep like that."

"Last time I checked, pillows DO NOT talk."

The prince thought about what he could say back to that but chose to remain quiet instead. He closed his eyes, wishing that sleep would come to him—just like how he wished for it every night. Most night, his wish was not granted. But on lucky nights, he could drift into a few hours of sleep before jolting awake.

"Are you sick?" he asked. He had been wondering about her warmth earlier. The heat of her neck seeped through his sleeve and to his skin. "Are you having a fever?"

"I'm fine." Tianshi Xue yawned. "It's just that I haven't slept in ages. My body is begging me to sleep."

"So do yourself a favor, and sleep."

"I wish I could. But you being here is making it a hundred times harder." It was a lie. Her neck was almost rejoicing with its new position. The prince's muscles were harder than her normal pillow but that would have to do for now.

The prince was also right about the other thing. There was something with the way that the princess' body was heating up right now… she almost barfed at the thought that it was attracted to the prince and wanted to climb him like a tree.

But she was certainly feeling sick. She didn't want to make more fuss tonight about herself. If she was not going to be feeling better tomorrow then she would consult with Doctor Jung.

Keeping her eyes closed, she could almost feel sleep tugging at her, beckoning her to come. She let it wander in her head, finally relaxing her body a little so it would not be so uptight. She didn't want to touch another part of the prince.

Sharing a bed was already unforgivable enough. All her life, Tianshi Xue never thought that she would be in this position. When she was younger, she had dreamt about marrying one of the princes and mothering his children but when she grew out of her fantasies, she knew that she was not meant for a prince. She was meant to conquer this world (in the sense that she would be one of the richest women without royal lineage).

Thinking about it now, Tianshi Xue could not help but think about her family. Mostly, she thought about her younger sister. It had been a while since she last saw the bubbly face. She was the only family that Tianshi Xue was recognizing. She paid for her school and monthly allowances.

How was her sister taking her body's death? She should reach out, shouldn't she? Let her know that she was not alone in this world?

She still had a lot to do with the case of her death. She needed to find out who it was. Returning to her body was no longer in the cards. She would have to do it in the princess' body.

Now she wondered, what was going to happen with all her money. She did not plan to die at such a young age, so she had not written a will.

She found herself asking the man beside her.

**

Prince Qui was already trying to block thoughts in his mind. It was easier to envision him pushing the thoughts away, leaving him with darkness.

He was surprised when the princess spoke in a soft sleepy voice. He didn't want to acknowledge it but he found the sound adorable. "Say, you're a general, right?"

"Yeah, what about it?" he answered.

"You know something about the law?"

Imagine teaching law to a twelve year old. That had been his life. "Sure."

"Then… if someone dies…" she trailed and he got the impression that she was thinking about the next words that would leave her mouth. "If someone dies without leaving a will where will their money go?"

"Usually to immediate family members. To their children, equally."

"But what if they don't have children?"

Prince Qui did not want to look into this line of questioning but he was suddenly wondering why the princess would ask such a thing. "Like I said, immediate family members. Parents for instance."

The princess turned quiet for the next few seconds that he thought that she already fell asleep. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing. Just wondering."

Prince Qui started pushing things off his mind when the princess butted in again.

"When I become the princess, I get to do what I want, right?"

He sighed. "You ARE a princess."

"But I am not a princess of this land officially. If I become a princess here, people would do my bidding?"

"You're only going to be a princess here once you marry into the family."

"I'm getting married to Prince Xiaodan as soon as we get home. Do you think he could pull some strings for me?"

Prince Qui's eyes snapped open and he turned to her with eyebrows furrowed. "What hideous thing are you planning?"

The princess looked alarmed, the black in her eyes swallowed the silvery blue irises. "I-I am not planning anything. I'm just wondering about the power of this position!"

Prince Qui shook his head. If she thought about going to Xiaodan for help breaking the law, she would be coming to the wrong person. "Suit yourself." He was about to turn away when he remembered something. "Remember, pillows do not talk so stop talking to me."

"Hmp!" the princess said and turned the other way.

**

With the silence enveloping them, a substitute pillow under her head, and the cold of the night beaten by shared heat, it was almost enough to make Tianshi Xue fall asleep—but NO!

She refused to fall asleep!

She refused to make this idea work because if it did, that only meant that she would be sleeping next to the prince for the next few days and that was not something that she was willing to subject herself to.

But her body was tired. It was tired of the sleepless nights and the trying to make herself stop from sleeping.

Her eyes closed on their own and the next thing she knew, she was drifting to dreamland.