The Missing Prince

Wei Sheng stood with his back against the stone earth he now lived in. The cave system had been dug out and recreated into a massive underground compound. Here there were hundreds of people, all of them working hard towards a single goal; Annihilate the traitorous leader of the Nation of Jinrao. Every step he had taken since he was a young boy was leading to this moment. He knew that it was only a matter of time until things were back into place. He clenched his fists together, unable to shake the strange feeling that something was off. He'd sent Wu Zhihao to find her over a week ago.

He scanned the cave, the humidity of the outside crept inside making everything wet and sticky, even in this underground tomb of a home. A few of the women were working on his and the soldier's clothing the idea that in order to become king, he would need to look and act like one, was engrained in each one of these people. His garments were long and golden, the dragon symbol embellished on two different sides, the eyes of one red, the other blue. War, and Peace. Through him, both would come. First the war, and then the peace. The soldier's uniforms were done in the old brown color of his father, before his uncle had murdered him and taken the throne. It had been over 19 years since he had lived in hiding, moving from one place to another, learning and studying, becoming the man that stood here today.

"Are you hungry My Lord?" A pretty woman asked humbly bowing before him as she spoke. This was something new to him. The strange admiration he received. It was so different then all the ways of the past. She peeked up at him with hooded alluring eyes. He could tell she was offering herself to him, but he wasn't interested. He needed this strain in him, at least for now, he would use that strange bubbling hostility he felt now to overcome his enemies.

"Leave me," he grunted. He didn't have time to care about hurting feelings. He was to bound with worry and planning. Why was it taking Wu Zhihao so long? He had followed her to the place she was purchased to work at. He even checked to make sure she was ok at least once a week. So, what was taking so long?

The sound of the horse hoofs coming put everyone on high alert. It wasn't time for them to be exposed. One of the watchmen who stood near the entrance gave a short whistle letting everyone know it was safe. Wu Zhihao pushed himself away from the wall. His long billowing clothes dragged along the floor as he walked. Wu Zhihao stumbled inside after a few tense moments. He was sweaty and frazzled, his eyes panicked. He fell to the floor and crawled towards Wei Sheng.

"What are you doing?" Wei Sheng asked taken aback. "Stand up!"

"I wont my lord, not until I tell you the news, not until you decide if I should live or die." His words struck a chord in him. What did this mean? Was she dead?

He stepped forward and pulled up his old friend. The one man who had followed him to every place he had ever been. The most loyal and trusting steward a person could ever have. But right now, he was consumed with the thought of her dead, cold and lifeless and he couldn't' contain himself. He jerked him around by the color of his clothes, Wu Zhihao' s feet were lifted a few inches off the ground.

"Speak!" He demanded.

"She was gone my Lord," his voice came out in a shaky apologetic whisper.

Wei Sheng heard those words in the only way he could at that moment. 'She was gone' dead. She had died. He let out a loud pain filled wail, followed by an angry look towards his friend.

"Where is she? What have they done with her?"

"I don't know my Lord, when I went to get her to bring to you," he said cowering on the floor, "she was no longer there. I secretly paid one of the servants that I have been working with to tell me what had happened. She is suspected of murder. They said she ran away, and no one knows where she can be. I spend days searching for her, hoping that she would be in one place or the next, but I couldn't find her."

The words fell slowly against Wei Sheng, each one settling in inch by inch, until it hit him. She wasn't dead! "Not dead?" He asked moving closer to the man once again. He lowered down in a crouch this time so that he could see Wu Zhihao face to face.

Wu Zhihao looked up in surprise. "No, my Lord, not dead, just missing. No one suspects her to be dead. I only worry that something might happen to her out there…." He stopped talking suddenly realizing that it wasn't a good idea to draw attention to what might happen to her.

Wei Sheng let out a relieved breath. His entire being had suddenly felt like it was going to drown in an invisible ocean at his words, now slowly the relief of it was calming him. He stood up, the usual look of complexity easily taking over the overwhelming panic from before.

"Li Yuhan, Hu Yong," He called out. Two burly men, both haggard and scared from their years of battles in his father's army stepped forward.

"Yes, my Lord," they both said in unison.

"Bring out the picture of her," he said directly to his personal servant. The young boy quickly ran into the 'room' that belonged to the aspiring king. When he came back, he held a rolled canvas, which he quickly handed off to Wei Sheng. He unraveled it and stared at the young girl that looked back at him. It was amazing how every time he saw this portrait, he felt overwhelmed with a thousand feelings at once. She had unknowingly taken a hold of him he knew he could never shake.

"Have copies of this made, each of you take one, then I want her found. I don't care if it takes a thousand years. She belongs to me, whether she knows it or not. Fen Hua is mine."

He gently passed the scroll to Li Yuhan, his heart beating with anxiety at even leaving it in their care for long enough to make copies. These two men were aware at how carefully they would have to keep this treasure.