Bao Wen's sharp, analytical eyes, trained by years on the battlefield to assess threats and allies in a single glance, did not miss the small, telling moment between Maya and Chen Yu. He saw the way the maid's breath hitched when the scholar's arms closed around her, the delicate flush that painted her cheeks a soft rose before she quickly, almost guiltily, looked away. It was a flicker of innocent warmth in the midst of their cold dread.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Youth, he thought. But the sentiment vanished just as quickly as it had come, buried under the grim reality of their situation. The general in him, the strategist who had commanded battalions, took over completely. Years of tracking enemy movements through treacherous, uncharted forests had honed his instincts into a sixth sense—and every one of those senses was screaming that this forest was a vast, green ocean. Searching it as one group was not just inefficient; it was a fool's errand.
"We should split up," he announced, his voice flat and devoid of any argument. "We'll cover more ground. It's our only logical advantage."
Jun's response was immediate, a reflex born from a deep-seated, almost possessive sense of duty. "Fine," the guard bit out. "I'll team up with Leena." His tone suggested the matter was already decided, that his connection to the prince through her made it an indisputable fact.
Bao Wen's gaze, which had been scanning the tree line, snapped back to Jun. His tone dropped, becoming as icy as a winter stream. "Out of the question." The words were final. "I'm not leaving her alone with you." The unspoken accusation hung in the air between them: Your protection failed once already. It will not fail again on my watch.
Chen Yu, who had been nervously adjusting his grip on the unfamiliar weight of a dagger, saw an opening.
"I should go with Leena as well," he interjected, his voice striving for a reasonableness he didn't quite feel. "She's the only one with a rough idea of where the prince might be. I can help her navigate." His offer was genuine, but it was also layered with a personal desire to be the one at her side, the hero in this desperate story.
But Maya would have none of it. Her voice rose, sharp with a protective fury that made everyone turn.
"And I'm not leaving Madam for even a second!" she declared, planting her feet firmly on the ground. "Every single time I take my eyes off her, someone kidnaps her or tries to kill her! I am not moving from her side!" Her chest heaved with the force of her declaration, her loyalty a tangible shield around Leena.
For a long, heavy moment, the four of them exchanged a volley of cold stares—the soldier, the guard, the scholar, and the maid. Tension sparked in the air, thick enough to taste, a silent battle of wills over who would have the right to protect the one person who could find their prince.
It was Leena who finally broke the stalemate. Her voice, though quiet, cut through the arguing with a firm clarity. "Jun is the prince's personal guard," she stated, her logic a cool balm on the heated emotions. "His entire life is dedicated to Li Wei's safety. It makes the most sense for him to accompany the only person who might actually lead him to His Highness."
She then turned her full attention to Bao Wen, meeting his intense, worried gaze without flinching. She saw the protest forming in his eyes and gently preempted it. "Bao Wen…" she began, her voice softening into a plea. "Could you stay with Maya instead? Please. She's like my sister. If something happened to her while I was gone… I… I couldn't bear it."
She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't need to. The raw fear and affection in her eyes said everything.
Bao Wen's jaw tightened, a muscle feathering along its line. Every instinct rebelled. But the look in Leena's eyes, the absolute trust and the desperate worry for her friend, was a weapon against which he had no defense.
After a tense internal struggle, he gave a single, sharp nod. "…Fine." The word was clipped, conceding the battle but not his underlying concern.
"And me?" Chen Yu asked, sounding genuinely offended, as if he'd just been overlooked for a starring role. "Who am I going with?"
An awkward silence descended. In the intricate dance of protection and rivalry, they had all forgotten he was still standing there.
"With the maid and the general," Jun said without a hint of hesitation or tact. "I don't want a scholar who's never held a blade slowing me down when the prince's life is on the line."
Chen Yu raised an eyebrow, placing a hand over his heart in mock pain. "Offense taken. Deeply. I'll have you know my wit is sharper than any sword."
Leena clapped her hands together lightly, the sound pulling them all back to the urgent present. "Alright, enough. Let's move. We're wasting precious daylight." Her tone held a new note of command, the healer who was used to taking charge in a crisis.
As they prepared to part ways, Bao Wen issued one last stern instruction. "We meet back at the old encampment before dawn tomorrow. Do not be late." His eyes, dark and serious, then landed squarely on Leena, his gaze lingering a moment too long, conveying a volume of unspoken warnings and concern.
She felt the weight of that look, a heavy cloak of care and apprehension. She offered him a faint, reassuring smile, a brave face for his benefit. "I'll be fine," she promised, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt.
Li Wei's POV - earlier
The world tilted on its axis, a nauseating carousel of green and brown. Li Wei staggered, his shoulder crashing against the rough bark of a tree as one hand clutched the seeping wound at his side. The thick, drugging fog that had clouded his mind had lifted, but in its place came the sharp, brilliant bite of pain—and the colder, more terrifying bite of pure, undiluted panic.
Leena.
She was gone. Taken. She had looked at him with those wide, fearful eyes and then vanished into the forest with that snake, Ram Sharan. The memory was a physical blow, worse than any injury.
Crunch.
A branch snapped, too clean, too deliberate, somewhere in the dense thicket ahead.
He turned his head slowly, every movement sending a fresh jolt of agony through his ribs—and froze.
They emerged from the shadows between the trees not like bandits, but like soldiers. Seven of them. Their movements were coordinated, their eyes cold and assessing. Sunlight filtering through the canopy glinted off the naked steel of their drawn blades, winking at him like malevolent stars.
Li Wei's breathing quickened, his chest tightening. He was outnumbered, wounded, and weaponless. He didn't have the strength for this fight… but the steady, advancing footsteps of the men made it clear they weren't giving him a choice.
Adrenaline, that last, desperate reservoir of strength, flooded his veins. He pushed off from the tree and moved, a predator forced into a fight for its life.
He was a whirlwind of desperate motion, dodging a sweeping blade, using his forearm to block a brutal punch aimed at his head. But his body was betraying him. His reactions were a fraction too slow, his balance compromised. As he twisted to avoid another attacker, his boot, slick with dew and his own blood, caught on a loose patch of earth and a tangled root.
His footing vanished.
The ground disappeared from beneath him with a heart-lurching suddenness. The world dissolved into a violent, blurring rush of wind, dirt, and slapping branches. He was falling, tumbling, completely powerless to stop his descent into the ravine below, the triumphant shouts of the men fading into the roar of his own helpless fall.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚ to be continued ᓚ₍⑅^..^₎♡❀⋆｡‧˚ʚ🍓ɞ˚‧｡⋆