DISCLAIMER: I still need to go buy a net and stuff to go track down the Young Lord and his bodyguard. ANYONE KNOW ANY GOOD STALK- I MEAN... NET SHOPS? So ya know, no rights yet... SOMEONE BUY ME THEM FOR MY BIRTHDAY *-* lol my bday's in June anyways. Still, pre-ordering is good :D

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to upload! I have end of year exams in one week. AHHHHH! So yeah I've been revising, so savour the beauty that is this chapter coz I may not write another one for a while.

Chapter 3 – REMEMBERANCE

The Emperor was still shaking and grovelling at Ling's knees when Lan Fan came running over to her Prince and hugged him from behind.

"My Lord! I am so proud of you!" she cried and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Startled and embarrassed, Ling turned his head and saw Lan Fan smiling, that same beautiful smile he had always loved since the day they met. Thinking about it made his cheeks turn a passionate shade of red.

"L-Lan Fan!" he said as he hugged her back. "Thank you," he told her.

"You are the Emperor!" she told him happily as she let go of him and ruffled his hair playfully. Ling's face went slightly redder but after having known Lan Fan for such a long time, he knew that she was only getting him back for him ruffling her hair back in Ling's bedroom.

"And I thought you were just a greedy Prince," she laughed, then having realised what she had said, covered her mouth and bowed apologetically. "Please forgive me, Young Lord."

"No need to bow Lan Fan! It's just me! We're friends!" Ling protested.

He had always hated the fact that Lan Fan was so formal towards him considering the fact that they had been best friends for ten years and were practically siblings at this point – but Ling had still always had another side to his love for Lan Fan, a more romantic and compassionate side which he had been keeping a secret from her for all these years.

The Prince remembered the day they met very well…

The breeze was warm and soothing as it brushed against the Young Prince's back. Ling, aged five, was in search of a man named Fu, a man chosen to be his trainer and guard for the rest of his life. The man was described to him as tall with a black moustache and long black hair; when Ling's mind processed the information, he had concluded that the man was a giant with a black caterpillar underneath his nose.

He began marching around the garden, wandering aimlessly in hope of finding this giant-caterpillar-man. As he observed the pond below the curved, timber bridge he was standing on, he saw a few amber coloured scales squint in the sunshine and then dive below the murky depths of the water-filled-abyss – Ling wondered what it would be like to be a fish – free to meander throughout the seven seas, exploring every depth of the universe, breathing happily in the cold and soothing water which surrounded you. He wished to be free and able to do what he wanted, when he wanted without the need of a guardian, a protector…

Suddenly a pretty pink petal was caught with the wind and it gently came to rest on the pool's edge, sending rings of rippling water through the river and back again, as though the river was afraid of the petal and shaking in fear – at least, that's what the Prince thought. He had an imaginative mind which the Emperor shunned. The Emperor wanted Ling to be like his brothers: strong, courageous, able to do anything, but to the Prince this meant boring and simple minded. He wished to find someone to share his expressions with, someone like him, different.

At that moment he was taken away from his thoughts as a small thud hit his ears. The building behind him was the temple, majestic and grand; it stood tall with its golden roof tops and bleak white walls – who could possibly be inside there? Eager to know, the Young Lord whizzed along the planks of wood and past the entrance lined with large marble steps and tall, elusive red pillars with polished engravings on them. He wanted to know who was in his temple, his own private area – everyone else had gathered for the Moon Festival back in the main palace, who had snuck out? Would it be someone who he could finally play with or another boring adult?

As he ventured further and further in to the room, more towering pillars, coated with vibrant dragons which were just a blur of jade, ruby and gold, flew past him. He continued to keep his chocolate eyes pinned on his goal, the shrine at the end of the room. Despite the fact that it was night he could still make out the faint outline of something moving thanks to the moonlight shining through the top two windows, almost battling with the blackness of the night in order to help the Prince. His feet carried him forward, onward and onward he ran, often skidding on the smooth marble floor. He had no shoes. His feet were cold. He could not care less though. His sense of adventure and exploration had taken control, he felt the air hit his face as he ran faster, it felt cool and inviting towards the shrine.

Ling came closer and closer to his target, the shrine was now only a few feet away and he could make out the outline more clearly now against the snow-white radiance.

When he reached the shrine he trod on a piece of broken glass before seeing anything. The shard went straight into his foot and he yelped in pain. He toppled over backwards as a pool of scarlet liquid began to spread on the serene, white marble tiles. The liquid was flowing everywhere – for one cut it was definitely a lot of blood, meaning that it had gone in deeply and Ling had to take it out. Ling fumbled in the dark and felt the thing poking into his skin. It was actually a kunai...