400 years after the departure of Feng Xin

It's been three days now, three days that Xie Lian has been lying on his bed, staring at the crown in his hand, and three days since the queen has been worrying about him.

The King's death seemed like an eternity to Xie Lian. His father was gone like his friends were four centuries ago, and now the only thing keeping him alive was his mother. Both of them had to endure the hardest loss in their life but didn't dare to talk about it to each other.

Xie Lian knew his father would die, however the circumstances wouldn't let him accept this farewell. All he wanted now was to see him and hug him. But now, the only thing he could do was stare at his crown

With too many days to grieve, he no longer had tears to shed; his body was weak from the lack of food and water, and his face was emotionless.

The queen, as for her, she was heartbroken and shattered. Her beloved spouse's death had been the most terrible and challenging event for her to face. Nevertheless, seeing her child in such a state was what hurt her the most. Her way of accepting death was different from Xie Lian's; she continued to wake up and make breakfast for both herself and him, and even when he refused to eat, she would leave his plate next to him until the next morning. She, one day, insisted that he eat his plate, not tolerating his mental state. She was never ready to hear her son yelling :

- "But nothing tasted right !"

He then saw her gloomy face and hugged her as he whispered with a sorrowful tone "I'm sorry for yelling..."

The next morning, as he was glancing at the crown, he heard footsteps outside the house. Xie Lian knew that the steps were too heavy to be those of the queen, so he stood up and opened the window to see who it was, but he didn't see anything amiss. Intrigued by the stranger, Xie Lian decided to go out and see for himself

He opened the wooden door, and the first glimpse of the stranger froze him. He didn't dare move or speak. Seeing that Xie Lian was staring at him, the stranger ran towards him and hugged him. Taken aback, Xie Lian stayed frozen and just blinked.

Said stranger was Fen Xin; it had been four hundred years since his departure after Mu Quing.

Four hundred years without seeing his friend, and now he's hugging him?

Xie Lian was too surprised, that the only reaction he had was to try to push Fen Xin away, but he kept hugging him and wouldn't let go.

-"Fen Xin? Is that you? Why are you here?" , He spoke with a surprised tone

-"Your Highnesses" , he sighed. " I know that I'm a failure, I'm sorry, so sorry for leaving you, sorry for being so mean, I'm sorry, I really am, please forgive me !" These last words were a whisper of despair.

Xie Lian didn't know whether to laugh or cry. If someone had told him that he would be tackled by Fen Xin after all these years, he would have laughed at the person's face. Always in Fen Xin's embrace, Xie Lian felt drops on the shoulder on which Fenx Xin was pressing his face. Completely lost, he only patted his head and waited for him to calm down. Between sobs, Fen Xin finally spoke, breathing heavily :

- I know about your father, I really ...really, Your Highness?"

He looked up to see Xie Lian not holding on his tears any longer and cried too. It was the first time he cried after his father's death.

- "Your Highness, are you ok?" Feng Xin asked, his eyes showing concern

- "Nothing, I'm just glad you're here..."

Xie Lian finally returned the embrace, and the both of them stayed like that for a long time before he fainted. His body was used to not eating or drinking for long periods. Overwhelmed with grief, he couldn't support himself much longer and fell. Fen Xin caught the Xie Lian's body before he hit the floor.

- "You have kept this bad habit of yours, don't you? Not eating or drinking..."

The rest of the sentence died in his throat as he carried Xie Lian in a hold, his arm steady yet gentle, as if cradling something both fragile and precious, like a princess.

From afar, a pair of crimson eyes watched them intently, shrouded in silence...

Hi everyone! I'm French, so English isn't my first language. If you spot any mistakes, feel free to kindly point them out—I'd really appreciate it!

I hope you enjoyed the first part of my fanfiction! Your feedback means a lot to me, so don't hesitate to share your thoughts or suggestions in the comments. It helps me grow and improve!

Thank you so much for reading, and I can't wait to see you in the next chapter!