Into the Array C16
Hi Ilich, thank you so damn much for your review. It really touched my heart :)!
Thanks BTSarmy too :D!
Ehh... This chapter.. is a little.. happy and sad I think. Depending on who you are rooting I guess.
Thank you to whoever enjoyed this as well.
"We are done!" Ivan exclaimed joyously, looking at his first finished piece with pride.
"You should not have told him that." the 13th prince commented, a little lifelessly as he fiddles with the kaleidoscope in his hand.
"Why?"
"He's going to run away from home again."
"Mind your words, Xiao Bao." Hsiao Zheng interjected, giving a tap on Xiao Bao's head to emphasize his point. "I am not running away from home. It's called exploration."
"Yeah yeah."
"Besides, Father have told me to stay until all the paintings are done. So…" the 12th prince added, looking as listless as the 13th prince. "Can't leave."
Ivan let out a chuckle.
The dignified portrait of Hsiao Zheng, filled with as much life as the living specimen right in front of him, earn its first praise from none other than the 12th prince himself.
"This is really well done. If staying in the palace means looking at more of your paintings, I think it is indeed an honour. I could have a chance to learn a thing or two from you." Hsiao Zheng gushed, standing behind Ivan, admiring his portrait.
"No, the honour is mine. I would love to learn from you too." Ivan replied.
"When is it going to be my turn." Xiao Bao pouted at the side.
"Ah, regarding that. I think it will take some time because I am still finishing up the 9th prince's portrait. And I need to paint for 11th prince too." Ivan explains.
"Them too?" Xiao Bao asked, albeit with a dejected expression. As though he knew or rather, he can guess where they are in a rush for.
"Come on, isn't your 12th brother enough for you?" Hsiao Zheng said, poking him with his fan, his way of comforting his youngest brother. "I'm staying you know?"
"How can you be compared to my brother Yao." Xiao Bao groan dramatically. "Anything you cook turn into char, anything brother Yao cooks turn into food fit for a prince like me."
"Chey. Complaining about things when I tried to cook for you."
"Hmpf, I'm ignoring you and your I-can't-cook-anything ass." Xiao Bao replied, spitting out his tongue at Hsiao Zheng before running out of the house, presumably off to the imperial kitchen again.
"That brat." Hsiao Zheng commented. He turns back to Ivan keeping up his things, letting out a sigh that things are going to get quite boring without a fellow artist for company. "Are you going to brother Yao's place next?"
"No, on the contrary, I am going to the 11th prince place." Ivan replied, a little bothered by something.
"Oh, don't worry. He's.. still pretty professional when it comes to things." The 12th prince said, as if he knows what Ivan's concerns were. Although it has been years since the 3 of them last interacted for this long, he hopes what he said it out loudly to Ivan are still true. A light gnawing sense of concern says otherwise.
"I hope so." Ivan mutter absentmindedly. He can't shake off this apprehension after Yao confirm with him that it was the 11th prince that stood outside of the gate. Somehow Yao seemed really calm, maybe he has a plan to deal with him. Yao did say he will drop by the 11th prince place when they are painting.
A lady in waiting from the house of the 11th prince soon drop by and brought Ivan to his house. She brings him all the way to an empty study room void of any books or stationaries, where the only indication that it was even a study room is the sign hanged outside the room's door.
The lady in waiting placed him here and promptly served tea, she asked him to wait while the prince get ready and indicate that there will be someone bringing in his supplies shortly.
Ivan sipped on his tea, sitting there, awkwardly.
Until the 11th prince opened the door and walk right in, surprising Ivan.
"Goo-" Ivan started.
"Just so you know." Cheng Chang immediately cut him off. "I really hate you." He declares, sitting down on one of the chairs in the room and looking back at Ivan. "So you can drop that goody two shoe pretence of yours and tell me what is your purpose for going so near my brother."
"Oh." Ivan whispered under his breath. That's direct, but it also makes things easier, he thought. "W-Well.. I really do admire your brother. I just.. Really enjoy his company, that's all."
Cheng Chang let out a condescending laugh and did a series of slow clap.
"Wow, what incredibly creative excuse you have used there." He mocked.
"What?" Ivan replied, quite offended by the 11th prince's words. "It's okay if you doubt me. But what I have said are true…"
"You think you are the only one who ever said that?" the 11th prince retorted. "What have you done for my brother? What rights do you have to even get so close to him? You just like him because of how he looks, isn't it? Then let me tell you, you are not good enough for him. Superficial bastards."
"I don't deny that I was initially attracted to him because of his looks, I would be lying through my teeth if I said I am not. He looks otherworldly, someone who demands absolute attention from everyone around him, someone you can admire for eternity if time permits. Then I started becoming compelled to be around him because of the rumours I have heard, he intrigues me. But then the more time I have spent with him, the more fun it gets. The 9th prince is just a person who wants to have fun, and someone who wants …"
"To be free." Cheng Chang continues for him, gritting his teeth, extremely unimpressed with Ivan's speech.
Ivan look back at him, surprised. And somewhat, jealous but somewhat understanding. What confusing feelings, he found himself thinking. Then giving a small smile, he said: "Yes.. to be free."
The distanced shuffling feet and moving sounds prompted the 11th prince to keep his mouth shut, it's not long before there's a knock on the door. An eunuch came in bowing and announced: "Your Royal Highness Sir, the art supplies of Ivan Sir are here."
"Bring them in." he replied. Coldly, and composed
"Yes Sir."
The next few minutes are awkward silence on Ivan's part as he sat in the same room as the hostile prince, while the servants bring in canvases and art supplies, setting it up nicely. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that the incomplete paintings of Mu and Yao was brought in by accident as well. As soon as the servants left, the tense atmosphere fills the air again.
"What are you waiting for?"
Ivan look back at the prince in front of him. "Well, if you don't mind. You can tell me something about yourself while I start."
"Why should I?"
"It… Helps me work faster." Ivan lied. He's just curious.
"No."
"That's fine by me." Ivan quietly said. There is something unsettling with the composed and collected nature of the 11th prince that Ivan tried to steer clear from. It's almost as though his wrath is a beast, hastily thrown inside a wooden cage with a flimsy, lousy lock.
The silence falls inside the room once again. This time a little less awkward as Ivan focus himself on mixing his paint and sketching the silhouette. There's a certain paragon of virtue with Cheng Chang despite his unsettling aura, Ivan observe him with deep intent, the way he inhales deeply and strongly only to exhale harshly as he looks away from Ivan, seemingly lost in his own thoughts.
But there are questions Ivan wants to know, and occupational habit dies hard; Ivan's mouth shoots off questions before his brain can even say no.
"Perhaps you would like to share your first impression of your siblings?" Ivan said, looking at Cheng Chang and back to the canvas, painting over the blank spaces.
"Are we that close?" Cheng Chang replied with disdain.
"There's no need to be this hostile. I am just task with painting you for your people. I do not want to paint a picture of what I think of you, which are incredibly bad by the way, but rather a picture of who you really are." Ivan retorted, a tad annoyed by his hostility at this point of time.
"Who do you think you are talking to huh?" Cheng Chang shouted, standing up.
"Is this really necessary?" Ivan blurted out, he was incredibly pissed as well. He looks up at the nearing 11th prince, annoyance apparent on his facial features.
"What's with that look huh?" Cheng Chang pulled Ivan up to his face by his attire quite violently. "You are talking to a fucking prince, so act like you are talking to one."
Out of reflex, Ivan pushed him away from him. "Are you really trying to do this? I am a guest of Your Majesty, your Father. Is this how you treat your guest." He returns the 11th prince's demand.
Ivan tidies up his clothes clumsily, but before he can even look up. A heavy punch landed across his cheek, it cuts deeply inside his mouth and blood seeps out from the corner of his mouth. This really anger Ivan.
Cheng Chang pulled Ivan by his collar again. "Using my Father against me? You think I would be scared, aren't you? Wrong." He shouted, fingers trembling with uncontrolled rage. He throws another punch across Ivan's cheek again, bruising started surfacing now.
But Ivan is no push over. He did not compete for the crown with his brother and won by luck, he looks back at Cheng Chang and hit him across the cheek as well. This retaliation escalated into an all out fight between the two man.
The loud commotion did not go unnoticed by the servants, and just when persuasion falls on deaf ears and nothing seems to be able to ease the tension. The 9th prince arrives at the gate.
"Go on, announce me." Yao said to the guards at the gate.
A lady in waiting rushes out and pulls Yao by the arms, dragging him in before anxiously said: "Your Royal Highness, our Sir Cheng Chang is fighting with the foreigner. I saw him pulling out his sword, I think he might kill the foreigner if there's any more delay. Please hurry."
"What?" Yao exclaimed, following tightly.
The door to the study room is surrounded by several servants looking in worriedly, one or two them holding onto their head or arms seeping with blood. Yao rushed and burst in to find the two of them still in a fight, with Cheng Chang's sword drawn and swiping in down onto Ivan's shoulder.
The 9th prince ran in and stood in front of Ivan. He held up his hands and grab hold tight to stop the momentum of Cheng Chang's deadly swing.
"What do you think you are doing, Cheng Chang?" Yao demanded fiercely, fresh red blood flows out from the deep wound on his palm from holding the sharp blade.
"B-Brother…" Cheng Chang stuttered in shock. "W-Why are you here?"
Wang Yao tightened his grip and throw Cheng Chang's sword by the blade across the room, all the while maintaining his berating and question eye contact with the 11th prince. "Are you tired of living? You know how Father hated us drawing swords in the palace. And you draw it to fight with Ivan, what if he dies? Are you forgetting that you are military man? Where's your code of honour, fighting an unarmed man."
"Brother Yao, I understand. I am sorry. J-Just, let me look at your palm. It's bleeding badly." The 11th prince plead worriedly. Hands trying to reach out to Yao's bleeding ones.
"It's none of your business." Yao chided, pulling his hands away from Cheng Chang. In the meantime, the dripping blood forms a tiny pool underneath his arms, but it did not seem to bother Yao. "Apologise to Ivan, not me." He added.
"What?" Cheng Chang asked, the pool of blood serves as a pulsing reminder of the guilt for hurting his beloved brother, but this request by Yao caught him off-guard.
"You hurt Ivan. Now apologise to him."
"Why should I? He disrespected me."
"Hey, I did not disrespect you." Ivan retaliated agitatedly.
"Okay, Okay. Stop Ivan." Yao stopped Ivan and turn back to Cheng Chang. "How have he disrespected you."
"He tried to pry into the imperial palace's affair, asking all these personal questions about my relationship with our siblings. Trying to use our Father against us and trying to get close to you. He's definitely a spy for his country. Brother Yao, don't be deceived by this man."
"Spy?" Ivan asked incredulously.
"He's just trying to strike a conversation about your life to do his painting. Don't you find what you are saying makes no sense at all?" Yao sigh, disapproval apparent on his face.
"Are you saying that you told him everything about yourself to him?" Cheng Chang asked, his nose stuffing up, light tears lined his eyes.
"No, we just had a talk casually. We talk about ourselves so that he can draw who we are, isn't that the point Father wanted these portraits to be drawn?" Yao explained.
"WHY?" Cheng Chang yelled, clearly upset. His hands clutch Yao's arm tightly. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" The whiff of the metallic smell from the blood reminds Cheng Chang of what he has done again, and in a mix of rage and guilt, he let out a frustrated growl before running out of the house.
The servants outside the room all ran and followed after the 11th prince, leaving the two man in the room alone.
A sharp sound tore through the air, tearing Yao out from the daze he didn't know he fallen into. Ivan tore apart his own sleeve into a few strips of cloth, Yao turn towards him, knitting his brow.
"What are you doing?" he asks Ivan.
Ivan did not reply, instead he gently took Yao's wounded hand and started wrapping the cloth around the wound. He wrapped it tightly, to stop the bleeding.
"We have clean cloth for that you know." Yao snorted lightly.
"I'm just stopping the bleeding for now. You were bleeding so much. Look, it flows away and stain our shoes now. "Ivan said, lifting the soles of his shoe showing the stained portion. He muses over the face of the 9th prince for a while before saying: "It's a little hard to work with your brother if he keeps being this hostile towards me. I would just like to clarify that I am not a spy for my country."
"I understand. I will talk to him about it. Besides, if you are really a spy, you won't keep asking redundant and boring questions like my father and mother. You will be more interested in my war exploits." Yao answered with a chuckle. "Though I would like to say you would make a very good soldier." He continued, feeling up Ivan's arms and waist.
"O-Ouch, W-What are you doing?" Ivan ask, shielding himself from Yao's touch. It's making him feel weird again, and his body hurts from the fight earlier.
"Wow, I never got a chance to actually touch it when we took a bath together, but you are pretty muscular. And you survive Cheng Chang's attack, great feat I would say. I almost thought I would be too late and bracing myself for a dead body when I comes in." Yao teased.
"I did train a little while I was younger." Ivan shrugged.
"You can always work for me." Yao nudge.
A tattered canvas at the background caught Ivan's eyes. His eyes widened, before the blow finally spread across his whole face. "Oh my god." He cried, walking past Yao and slowly moving towards the broken canvas leaning on the wall. "My painting. It's broken. And to think I was almost done with this piece. Oh my god, what about the others. No….. Princess Mu's painting too…"
"What happened?" Yao asked, squatting down beside Ivan.
"Your portrait is ruined. So is Princess Mu's."
"Hmmm.. You can always redraw it."
"That's not the point. I promised your Father to finish up your portrait and the 11th prince's first. I have overheard that things are not so good in the front lines. Your country needs you and the 11th prince. I'll want do my best to help." He looks back at Yao, letting out a smile.
Somehow, that genuine sincerity in that light smile of Ivan's made Yao's heart skip a beat. A fleeting moment but its impact is a little strong. Yao look away from Ivan.
"Oh well." Ivan finally sigh, heart pain over his loss. "I take it as my karma for losing my temper and fighting back."
"You would die if you don't. He did not hold back, I can tell."
Ivan look over sadly at Yao. Musing, he said: "I don't understand why he hates me this much. All I wanted was to draw a portrait where the subject can proudly say, that's me, that's my story and that's what I want people to know."
"I'll talk to him." Yao reassures Ivan.
Empty bottles of wine littered the floor, some rolled away from the main clutter, but they all originated from the round table in the middle of the bedroom. Lying on his arms, wasted on the table is none other than 11th prince. Holding on his free hands is another half-drunk bottle of wine, which he still takes swigs from in between his mumblings.
The door opens lightly. Filling the darkness inside with the moonlight from the outside, the thick intoxicating smell of alcohol are also lightly diluted from the night air. The 9th prince steps inside, the clinking sound of him knocking over the bottle echoes.
"XIAO JU" Cheng Chang blabbered. "Who said you are allowed inside. Have I run out of wine again?"
"It's me."
"Brother Yao?"
"Why did you drink so much. It's not good for your health." Yao nagged, closing the door and slowly navigate his way to Cheng Chang.
"I drink so that I can forget."
"What do you want to forget?" Yao asked, mostly distracted with not falling and pushing away bottles to make way for his feet to stand.
Cheng Chang falls silent.
"Cheng Chang?" Yao probed.
"You." He finally said.
"That's sad. Considering that we have been through so much on the battlefield." Yao continued, inching closer to his brother.
"You know what's sad?" Cheng Chang said.
"What?"
Cheng Chang kept quiet for a moment. "That there's no wine again." He lied.
"I said you need to stop drinking. You forgot about our military code, have you?"
"No, I remember them all too clearly. No alcohol and no prostitute. No killing of elderlies, children, men and women if they have surrendered and absolutely no rape. But I am home right now. I could at least drink." Cheng Chang recited.
"Still.. It is good to adopt these things outside of the military. Now stop drinking and go to bed." Yao said gently, taking away the bottle in his hands and helping him up.
"Why are you here?"
Now it's Yao's turn to keep quiet. But it makes Cheng Chang angry, because he knows what Yao is here for.
"You're here because of that foreigner, right?" Cheng Chang slurred agitatedly. "You are here because of him." The 11th prince sobbed, it's so hard to keep mums about these emotions he always has, and alcohol just seems to tip the cup constantly brimming with this hurt, this loneliness, this unrequited love. So easily.
"Do you how much it hurts?" the 11th prince cried, hugging his brother so tightly. "You are everything to me. Everything."
"You are my everything too. This family is my everything." Yao smiled, and in the darkness, returned Cheng Chang's embrace.
"No. No. No. That's not it. Not like this." Cheng Chang sobbed, shaking his head. "You don't understand."
Yao let out a sigh. He does, he knows. He knew it all along.
"You need rest, Let's talk tomorrow."
"You don't understand." The 11th prince continued crying. He pulled himself apart from Yao and leaned his head close to Yao, greedy lips searched for his, and momentarily Yao is stunned as flashbacks of unpleasant events flooded his brain. Cheng Chang take his inactions as consent, he deepened their connections, drinking and eating him.
Déjà vu.
A smack landed across the 11th prince's face. "I'm sorry." Yao blurted out, aware of his actions and inactions. He pulled apart, standing up. Emotions still in disarray, he quickly added: "I'm sorry. Just.. Just rest well. I'll.. We'll talk tomorrow."
He hastily left.
Maybe, the 11th prince thought. Maybe he could sleep right now and create a beautiful dream, a dream where the 9th prince is not his brother, and that he loves him too. But dreams like these makes waking up a nightmare, it makes everything so much more painful. The untold ache trapped behind the tears glistening against the meagre moonlight, Cheng Chang silently sobbed: "Do you know what's sad? That I can never say I love you."