The Stone King's Lover (石王的愛)

Chapter 13

A/N: PG-13 for some light kissing...

Xie Yi-jun

1294 years after The Long Night

Hêi'àn Palace

<The Prince's Quarters>

A few days before his sixteenth birthday, and Xie Yi-jun had decided to be preemptive about his escape this time. After so many years, all the guards and his mother knew that he always staged a break out on his birthday. It had pretty much become his trademark. Knowing that, it was almost too clever to try to do something now.

Hardly anyone will be on the watch! It's perfect-

Not so perfect however, was the young Prince's plan. At first it had involved ripping up his blankets again; something he despised doing every time. Halfway through scratching his head about how he'd get out, around one AM, a strange sort of clanging sound at his balcony alerted him to the intruder...

Cackling, nearly crashing into his bookcase as he raced for the door, Xie Yi-jun swung it open and caught onto the edge of the railing, where a metal hook had just been tossed up!

"Psst!"

In the darkness Yi-jun's night vision was nearly perfect, and he was able to spot the figure down below, now waving to him.

"No need to come down, we're coming up!" Su Lan hissed, and the Prince's heart pounded in his chest at how risky this was!

It's one thing for me to sneak out, they know what I look like, they won't shoot me-

A strange person shimmying up a rope in the middle of the night to break into my bedchamber?! Su Lan is crazier than me!

That was why they got along...

Grunting from the effort of hoisting his best friend over the railing, Xie Yi-jun was startled and nervous to find that three others were climbing up as well.

"Your birthday present!" Su Lan snickered, quickly going about helping the young women onto the balcony.

"It's freezing!" One cried.

"Let's hurry inside..."

Xie Yi-jun blinked, already feeling heat rising on his face that had nothing to do with the three girls and everything to do with the fact that he'd dumped all his clothes and bedsheets out onto the floor incase he'd be using them as a bungee cord tonight-

"Ouch! What the hell?!"

Colliding with Su Lan to get inside first, it was a rather clumsy, ridiculous little battle between himself and several pounds of fabric before he realised there was no use and he just gave up. Collapsing onto the floor in the middle of the pile, the Prince couldn't figure out what to do with his hands as the four stepped into his room.

"Wow!"

"Look at all these books! It's bigger than I thought in here-"

The girls all huddled close together, taking everything in while Su Lan joined Yi-jun on the little nest he'd made, slapping him hard on the back and sighing;

"You didn't think I'd make it, did you? Well surprise surprise!"

Not only did Su Lan invite others, but he'd also managed to haul several bottles of wine and whisky up! When everyone laid eyes on it there were a few gasps and excited squeals of laughter before Su Lan grinned and put a finger over his mouth.