8 General Qui

The Heping Empire's location had been one of the fastest growing cities in a small province before The Wars started. It was far from the centers of war which were the biggest cities and capitals. Conveniently, a palace stood as a musem there which was now being used by the royal family.

The rest of the world seemed to pause. The innovations might have slowed because of The Wars but it didn't stop inside the Heping Empire. However, outside the walls of the Empire, roads were blocked with old cars and ruins. It didn't help that when The Wars started, bombs hadn't been avoided and ruined most of the major roads and highways.

They had no choice but to go back to the old ways of travelling, via horse.

The palace stood afar. It would take a few hours before they could get there but he could not help the feel of relief that he was finally back. There were two layers of wall. One was to protect the palace and the other was for the whole Empire.

"General Qui, we are ready to proceed."

Prince Qui (3rd Prince) took his gaze away from home and looked behind his shoulder. He saw that the people were already getting up. "Let's proceed."

The prince directed his horse to lead the march and closed his eyes. They were moving at a slow pace because the people were tired.

"General, are you excited to be home?" asked one of his lieutenant colonels, Bolin.

"I'm more excited to be in a good bed and sleep for the rest of the month."

"Oh, I'm excited to see my girl," said Bolin even though the prince did not ask.

"Do you really think she stayed faithful?" asked the colonel, Aiguo, in a sour tone. "Nobody waits for almost a year."

"You should believe in love, Colonel. It won't do you harm," teased the younger lieutenant colonel, Feng. "Like me, we've been out the walls too many times and my wife remained faithful every time."

Millions of lives were lost in The Wars and they continue to decrease in numbers because it was not yet over. The General's team was probably one of the youngest ones out there, with him and the colonel being the oldest at twenty-three and the two lieutenant colonels who were both twenty in age. Like the other boys in the Empire, they were taken from their warm homes and trained to become soldiers that would fight for Heping.

It was Colonel Aiguo who changed the subject. "How do you think the emperor would react when you tell him the news?"

Prince Qui trained his eyes on the brown road. He knew this place like the back of his hand and it was safer to travel here in the mornings where they could be hidden by the leaves and the trees. The terrain was slowing them down but it had less risk.

Prince Qui didn't want to think about the news that was brought to them right before they packed to go back home.

Thinking about the news made him miss home again, to think that he hadn't even arrived there yet. He was even tempted to not say a word about it because he knew that the news would require him to leave again.

"Get as much rest as you can," he answered back. "I sense we're not going to be staying long."

**

When Tianshi Xue woke up, she already knew that she was not yet back in her own body. She could remember and still feel the hot hand of Prince Xiaodan (2nd Prince) on her bicep. There were multiple knocks on the door.

"Princess? Are you up?" she recognized the voice as her handmaiden's Howin. "Princess?"

Tianshi Xue opened her eyes and immediately closed them when she saw the brightness of the room. She groaned and buried herself in the blanket.

"Hey," whispered the prince by her ear. "We should get up."

"I don't want to."

The prince shook her shoulder. "We've got lots to prepare for today."

She shook her head, mainly because his warm breath was tickling her ear. She didn't even want to think about the butterflies in her stomach from his sleepy voice.

The door opened and Howin's gasp was too audible that Tianshi Xue's eyes popped opened. "P-Prince Xiaodan, I am sorry to wake you. I didn't know that you slept here."

"It's alright, Howin. It's about time we get up anyway." He turned to the Princess. "Good morning."

Tianshi Xue couldn't help but smile. If this was the face that was going to greet her every morning, life in this palace would not be so bad after all. "Did you say we're going to get married?"

The prince smiled. "Why do you keep forgetting that?" He leaned down and pressed a kiss on top of her head. "I'll see you at breakfast."

Breakfast… meals… she grabbed the prince's sleeve before he was fully out of bed. "Breakfast? You mean, with your father?"

"Yes, with the Emperor. I'll see you in a short while."

The Prince left the room, leaving her in a state of horror for what was to come. Howin straightened when the prince passed and greeted her princess with a huge smile. "I'll set the bath for you," she said and laid down folded clothes at the bench at the foot of her bed.

"No, I can take care of it," said Tianshi Xue as she got up. She tossed the blankets and went to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

"Princess, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, just leave me be."

She couldn't kill herself. It had been twenty-four hours since she was in this dream. It certainly felt like a reality. She had to consider that she was stuck in this world and in this body.

"Alright, let's look at the damage," she said to herself and walked to the mirror.