Archive of Our Own ^beta

She was holding a letter in her hands, while Baomu behind her was working on her hair, making it look pretty, light and not too elaborate. She read this letter over and over again for who knows how many times. As usual, the day before her usual playdate with the prince, she received a letter confirming that she would come to the palace as usual. However, this time it was more of a package, as there was a blue with green hanfu, which would tie around the chest, even though lately she had been wearing ones that would tie around the waist or be a separate top and bottom piece. But it looked pretty cute and had a lot of flowers and herbs on it, so she accepted it. In the package was also a couple of cute greenish ribbons as well as a couple of smaller ones, but in blue colour. She couldn’t put her head around what possible hairstyle could work with those, but Baomu seemed to know what to do.

It was still weird to her that she didn’t face any punishment. Lakai was sure that for the stunt she pulled a week ago she would face some sort of punishment, but not at all. She was actually expected to be all dolled up and be ready to go somewhere at any time. She thought it was weird. She knew it was weird. Especially because it was all in Zui’s handwriting. Yes, he was writing most of the letters himself, reminding her of his annoying existence, but usually the cover would be written by someone else, Lady Suiren perhaps. But this time even the cover was in his handwriting.

But she just brushed it off and looked at herself in her little bronze mirror. She was surprised as Baomu actually managed to make her hair look cute. Usually she would use only one or two ribbons, relying more on simpler and more comfortable hairstyles. The only times when her hairstyles would have more than that and sometimes some hairsticks would be when she would visit the prince, which sometimes would annoy her. But Baomu made her hair look and feel light, so it was a good thing. She took almost all the hair from her face, leaving only bangs untouched and made them into two small ponytails on the sides of her head, which then she braided and made it look like she had cat ears.

Why? Why would her lady-in-waiting make her look like a cat? She looked up at her in confusion, as a silver necklace with a flower in the center on it was put around her neck. She didn’t say anything, but just smiled at the Young Lady and fixed her eyeliner a bit. It was her third time actually wearing it, before she just tried it on a couple of times. But even so, it still felt a little weird to have something applied to her face and eyes specifically. But at least she looked cute. Or so she at least thought.

«Very well, My Lady. You look perfect. Shall we go downstairs then?»

She was a little scared, but there was no turning back now. She just had to face it. Yes. She can do that. There is nothing hard or scary about going to play with Zui. Perhaps she was just embarrassed to face him after what happened a week ago. Thankfully, her brother and father were at work and her mother left in the morning on her business in the Verdigris House once again. So there wasn’t really anyone who could remind her of that stunt.

Except for herself. She still felt angry. Not really angry, but just hurt, which turned into anger. How could it be fair that Zui broke the promise that he made literally the next day? Did he even feel guilty? Was he actually hurt by what she did after? Whatever. Even if he was hurt, it wasn’t even a half of what she experienced. He will live. He surely will live. It’s not like anyone died from a slight slap, right? She could only breathe in and out and go downstairs. Maybe she can sit in her garden while waiting for him. It’s not like she has anything to do anyway.

Surprisingly, she didn’t have to wait at all, as when she stepped outside, Zui, with the carriage behind him, was already waiting for her. He wasn’t wearing a mask and his outfit was matching hers perfectly, which made her blush for a second. And he wore his hair differently. Usually he would wear a ponytail for training, but then he would get all of his hair in a bun and that stupid cloth. At least he wasn’t wearing a hat. This time, however, he had half of his hair in a ponytail and everything else was down. This looked so much better on him. Especially compared to that stupid bun. 

What was Lakai supposed to say? That she was sorry about hitting him? That she overstepped? She wanted to say a lot of things, but she just couldn’t find the right words. What could she even possibly say? Should she act like nothing happened a week ago? She just stood there frozen, trying to think of what she had to say, but she didn’t have time as Zui just grabbed her hand and dragged her into the carriage without a second thought or look. She looked back helplessly at Baomu, who just waved at her and smiled gently as she walked into the carriage and sat across from the prince.

«I am sorry that I broke a promise last week. Lady Ah-Duo actually said that what you did was the least anyone could do, so I should be grateful... Especially considering who your father is... I’m sorry. But words are not enough and I know it, so today we are going out of the capital to a small lake with a meadow nearby. I would take you to the lake with a waterfall, but Gaoshun said that it’s too far and we probably wouldn’t be allowed to go there... But we can get a small boat on the lake and swim there a little! If you want...»

Woah. He was actually caring what she thought? What happened? Did someone lend him some intelligence? She could only open her mouth in amusement as the boy in front of her blushed and looked out of the window with a pout, supporting his chin with a hand. Was he actually going to be as annoying as usual? She could only roll her eyes and lean back, looking out of the window herself. The road will probably be long, so she should say something. Perhaps then he would stop looking like it was him who got hurt and not her.

«That would be nice. I never really went to any lakes, so perhaps this one would be fun. I just hope there will be some snakes or something like that...»

The way the boy’s face changed with disgust as she mentioned snakes was just too much for her to handle. She was hoping that she would be better than that, but she just started laughing. She could hear how the boy was trying to argue with her, but she just didn’t pay any mind to him. It is rare for her to laugh, to laugh so loud as well. Especially since she still felt a little hurt, even if he was trying to fix everything now.

She didn’t know for how long she was laughing, but when she finally stopped, she was trying to catch her breath and holding her cheeks since they were hurting her a little from how much she was laughing. The rest of the ride after that was just quiet. Not exactly, as sometimes they would talk about what they saw in the window and she would occasionally ask if they would arrive soon. 

And finally they did. The carriage finally stopped and Master Gaoshun peeked in, letting them know that it was safe to go out. She was about to stand up and leave, but Zui stopped her with his arm. He went out first and then held a curtain for her and reached with his other hand so she could grab on it as she stepped outside. And she did just that. She wanted to let go of his hand, but he just squeezed it, holding it. It was annoying, but she didn’t do anything, instead just followed him as he dragged her somewhere.

And then Lakai just stopped. The view was too beautiful not to stop. The blue lake from which the sun was reflecting playfully and making it look warm, a small boat which was just perfectly waiting for them, the green grass on which they were standing. But most importantly the flowers. She saw a lot of different flowers before, a ton of them. In the brothels, in the palace, but this was something else. They were big, they were smaller, but there were a lot of them. Each so unique, each probably having its own medical effect and value. She heard about some of them, but never was able to see as she never left the capital. She was excited. She needed to grab at least one of each new she could see to try it. Her hands were itching to grab them, to take them, to store them, to try them. But she was quickly snapped out of it by a poke on her side.

«We can collect flowers later. What do you want to do besides that? Maybe we can swim on the boat and then have lunch? And after that we can collect flowers. I think this plan would work perfectly. What do you think?»

She looked up to the boy beside her, who looked concerned a second before, but then smiled and turned his face away, hiding it. Why does he act like that now? It was him who told her to be all dolled up and now he didn’t even look at her. How rude. She wanted to stomp his toes, but decided not to. Just today. The plan actually sounded good. It would be better to have flowers fresher, as there would be more chances that that way she would be able to dry them properly. So there was no reason to refuse him.

«I think your plan is perfect. Shall we go then?»

«Yes. Follow me.»

As if she had any other choice. Zui was still holding her hand tightly as they walked towards the lake and the boat. From afar it didn’t look too big, but as they came closer it was clear that it was quite big. And it only had enough space for two people... It didn’t look like there possibly could be more than two people. And Zui was just grinning and laughing nervously, while tapping with his finger on her hand. Was he not realising that he was doing it? Probably. He seemed pretty oblivious. But the boat looked somewhat secured, even if it was just meant for two people. Zui stepped in it first and then reached with his hand over to her to help her get inside as well. 

It only now occurred to Lakai what a weird shape the boat was. Its walls were higher on her side, but lower on the prince’s, probably so he would be able to control that thing with... What was the name of it he said was? Oar? Something like that. Not that she was really going to remember it anyway. She just couldn’t bother. But it looked pretty hard to control something like that. It looked heavy, and with them inside it was probably not lighter. But they did manage to push the boat deeper into the water without much effort... Maybe it’s just because controlling this thing was hard. 

But why should she focus on the boat, when she had water right there in front of her? It was rare to see it just like that. She could help but reach down to it. She dipped just the tip of her finger in it and took a look at her hand. It was nothing, but if she wanted to dip more than a tip of a finger, she probably should roll her sleeves up. So she rolled up the sleeves of one of her hands and laid the other rest on the top of the boat’s wall, laying her head down on top of it, while the hand with the rolled down sleeve reached into the water.

The water was really nice. It was pretty hot today, but the water was of a really nice cold temperature, which made her smile a little. What can be possibly better than a nice cold water on a hot sunny day? Perhaps they should take off their shoes and soak their feet in the water as well. It would surely feel nice. But it would be safer to do on the coast, not the boat that was practically in the middle of a lake.

She wanted to tell Zui about that, but when she looked at him, she just couldn’t help but blush. Why did he suddenly look so cute while frowning? Was it because she felt grateful to him because of what he is doing right now? Or maybe he looked so handsome just because he was, unfortunately, the first beauty in the whole Li. He was a prince after all, who can be prettier than a prince? She could only take a deep breath in and out to calm herself down, before straightening her back.

«Zui. For how long are you going to row? We are in the middle of the lake already. Aside from that, are you alright?»

He looked too red and too tired. His breathing was slow and deep and with the sleeve he was wiping off the sweat from his face as he let the oars go and just leaned back on the wall behind him. Of course he was tired after something like this. It seemed to be harder than any other training she had seen him do before, but she didn’t say anything more and just leaned her head back on her hand on the boat.

«Lakai... I wanted to tell you something...»

Zui wanted to tell her something? How interesting. She didn’t raise up and remained in her leaning on the side position, while he straightened his posture and said perfectly, just like anyone would expect from a prince. What would he tell her? He looked really nervous and scared. He was looking straight at her, straight into her eyes, as if searching for something, but in the end his face was just fully red and he leaned back again, covering his face with a hand.

Was he too hot? Probably. He just worked so hard to get them to the middle of the lake and now they were under the direct sun. Yes, it was definitely overheating. She didn’t have any medicine from it with her, but she did have a handkerchief, so it is not that bad. She reached inside of her sleeve where she hid it and dipped it into the water. After that she squeezed the water out and folded it into a more comfortable shape. She gently tapped with it on the boy’s forehead, which made him remove the hand from his face and she was able to gently wipe all of his face, dipping the handkerchief again and just repeating the process, when he caught her hand and just stared at her, still blushing. Was he embarrassed? Oh wait, he did say that he wanted to tell her something!

«What is it that you want to tell me, Zui?»

«Oh! Yeah... I forgot... I’m sorry. Is there anything you would like to do once we get back to the coast?»

He? Forgot? He, who remembered every single time when she cursed at him? He, who remembered each day and the amount of times she lost to him in every possible game? He, who remembered basically everything, suddenly forgot what he wanted to say? That didn’t seem right. She wanted to confront him, but she needed to get her handkerchief back first. She might’ve tried to help him with it, but she was supposed to be the only one touching it. So she grabbed it out of his hands and dipped it into the water, squeezed it out and then hung it on the wall of the boat so it would dry a little under the sun... What would she like to do on the coast?...

«On the coast you say... Is it possible that we can take our shoes off and just walk in the shallow waters? The water feels really nice, so I think it would also help with heat a little. And it’s actually good for your health. Especially if you ran with your bare feet on the grass after that. Do you think we can do that?»

«Of course, Princess La. Enjoy the ride back then.»

Even though he said it, they didn’t actually move till some time later. She didn’t know exactly how later, but the handkerchief was pretty dry and the sun actually began to slowly go down when he finally got back to rowing. While they were waiting, she could feel how he was just staring at her, while she was making circles with her hand in the water. It’s not that she complained, but it felt a little weird when he just stared at her without saying anything. She hid the handkerchief back after wiping her hand from water and just sat straight, watching how her prince was rowing them back.

Thankfully, the lake wasn’t that big actually, so they managed to get back faster than what them took to get to the middle of it. Since Zui had to turn the boat, he got out first and then again reached with his hand to her to help her to get out, which she did accept this time. She fixed her dress and looked up at Master Gaoshun and Lady Suiren, who were smiling while waiting for them.

«Moon Prince, La Princess, would you like to have lunch now? Or is there anything else you would like to do before?»

Food or water... Lakai was actually pretty hungry and it would be a little better to get some energy to walk in the water, rather than just going out there again. Besides, there might be a higher chance that Lady Suiren would allow something like that if they eat before, so the food seemed like the right option. She looked up at the prince, who was standing next to her and he just nodded. Seems that he was letting her choose once again.

«Perhaps we can have lunch first? Oh, and if it’s alright, is it possible for us to take our shoes off and just walk in the water a little? We won’t go too deep, just to wet our feet a little?»

«After food, of course. Just keep in mind that we need to go back before it gets dark. Let’s go inside the tent, the food is waiting for you.»

This time Zui didn’t try to take her hand and just walked after her, looking away in an attempt to hide his face, which was slightly annoying her. But there wasn’t actually anything annoying about it. The annoying part was how much he was blushing today, which would obviously irritate her. So she rolled her eyes and slowed down to stomp his feet slightly and continued walking forward as if nothing happened.

The feast was really something. They had some rice, a lot of meat and most importantly, Lady Suiren gave her a portion of fugu salad once again. Oh, she was the happiest girl alive while eating it with some juice. Thankfully, the juice wasn’t too sweet, so she could easily drink it and enjoy the meal. It was again happening in silence, but both of them seemed to be too hungry to actually talk, so maybe it wasn’t so bad.

After it, they went outside and as promised went back to the lake. Lady Suiren wasn’t one to take her words back, so she just watched them take off their shoes and leave it behind as they walked closer to the water. At this point, Zui decided to take off his overrobe, leaving only one robe and his pants on, which he could easily roll up, so they won’t get wet. Lakai, however, didn’t have such luxury, so she had to hold her skirt up so it wouldn’t get wet. Which was annoying. Why did she have to suffer even though she was the one suggesting the fun time? But whatever. She just walked into the water, while holding her skirt just above her knees.

The water was actually nice. And thankfully there weren't really any creatures around. Usually on the lake’s coast there would be a lot of frogs, snakes, bugs, sometimes even small fishes. They rather killed all of them, or they just left when they saw someone approaching. Perhaps the second option since when they arrived she could clearly hear a lot of different sounds from the lake. She looked back at the boy and he just looked horrified to step into the water. It wasn’t even deep, it was just covering her ankle. What was he scared about?

«Zui, are you alright? Are you scared? Goodness, the prince is scared of the water...»

«It’s not water! Are there any frogs?... Or snakes?... Or bugs?...»

She raised an eyebrow at him. Was he actually scared of those? She would’ve called him girlish or childish, but her brother and father were also scared of those, so it would be a little rude, so she decided to abstain from such words. Instead, she walked from one bush to the other, looking in the water. She didn’t actually care, but the prince seemed to, so she can help him out. Just this once. There is nothing else to it.

«No, there are none. Even if there would be, they would run away from you. You are too big for them to handle. Come in the water, it feels so nice!»

And finally he stepped into the water. His face immediately shifted from scared to a relaxed one. She couldn’t help but smile at him and just walked around in the water, looking at it and how the sun was reflecting in it. They didn’t do much today, but it still felt like a really long day. And it felt really nice. If she could, she would love to live somewhere near a source of water like that and be able to just come and wet her legs on hot days and relax. That would be really nice... Perhaps she should suggest to father to make a little lake in their garden? No, then she would have less space for her herbs. That just won’t work. 

Lakai shut her eyes tight, thinking about a possible solution to get a small lake or pong in her home garden when she suddenly heard a yell and the sound of something big falling into the water. She almost let go of her skirt as she turned around and saw her friend lying in the water. On his stomach was a little frog, and he was just staring at her, frozen from fear. She rolled her eyes and tried her best to hold her skirt with only one hand, while picking up a frog from him with the other. It looked like just a cute little frog that could not do any harm at all, which made her chuckle.

«Goodness, Moon Prince. It’s just a little frogie. What shall I do with it...»

«Throw it out! Get it away from me, Kai, please!»

Yeah, he was actually horrified. She threw a frog somewhere in the bushes just when Master Gaoshun and Lady Suiren came, gasping and sighing. Master Gaoshun quickly picked the prince up and sat him down on the grass, while she herself went out of the water and was now standing on the grass next to the prince. She tried to look anywhere but at Lady Suiren, who seemed to be very displeased with what just happened, which was unsurprising.

«Moon Prince... Let’s get you wrapped in something warm, since we didn’t take any change with us. I think we will be leaving now. Lady Lakai, you can pick up the flowers while I will get the Prince warm and we will be leaving in a short time. Master Gaoshun will look after you.»

«Yes, Lady Suiren.»

Lakai just nodded as Lady Suiren left with the prince to get him warmed up. Seems like that would be their first and last time they were allowed to have a trip outside of the palace. But she still can get some good out of this if she picks all the flowers she wants. And she surely was going to do so.

The grass felt really nice against her bare wet feet. She did that once when she was younger, but this was so much better than that. This time she can also pick up flowers and different herbs. There weren't many of them, but there were surely a lot of different new flowers for her and she was going to pick all of them. If she could, she would have picked the whole meadow, but that would be too hard and too heavy for her.

She laid the flowers in her hands in a comfortable bouquet, so it was easy, not so much, as there were a lot of flowers and herbs, but it was easier to hold everything that way in both of her hands. She was going to let it go only in her study room, only after that would she be able to rest, but for now, she would have to suffer a bit. As she and Master Gaoshun were walking back, she finally noticed that it was becoming darker and that the horizon looked more orange now, rather than blue. So the sun was already setting. Well, at least they did manage to get back into the carriage before it got dark, didn’t they?

«Zui! Look how many flowers and herbs there were! Next time you should surely just come to my place, so I can show you what I made out of them!»

The girl was finally smiling. She looked at the boy, who was just standing in front of the carriage and waiting for her. He looked at her and just froze in place. In a couple of seconds his face was redder than when they were on the boat under the direct sun. He instantly looked away and tried to hide his face with the long sleeves of his clothes, which were supposed to keep him warm as it seemed. She wanted to complain, but she herself started blushing when she paid closer attention to how he looked. He looked so perfect in that sunset, especially with his wet hair. She could only try to hide her face in her bouquet. She just went inside the carriage first and sat down. 

In a second Zui walked in as well and kneeled in front of her, instead of sitting down at the bench. He rolled up his sleeves and gently took her leg by the ankle, then wiping her foot with a wet cloth. She wanted to kick him off, to tell him to stop, but she just froze and hid her blushing face deeper into the bouquet. That was too embarrassing. He did the same with her other foot and then put her shoes on for her. She couldn’t dare to look at him even as he sat down beside her, instead of across from her. 

«That is not something a prince should do...»

«Well, you are a princess, aren’t you? So there is nothing wrong with it.»

She wanted to argue, but she was too tired to do so. They did so much today that she had practically no energy for anything but to just lean her head on the prince’s shoulder. He probably knew what she meant. He was an Imperial and she was just a daughter of a high noble family. They were not the same. She was called a princess since there is no other daughter in the family, not because she was actually a princess. Thankfully, no one saw that, so there is nothing to worry about.

«You can sleep if you want. I will wake you up when we reach the La residence.»

How did he? No, it wasn’t important. She just rolled her eyes and made herself more comfortable. His shoulder was actually really nice at the moment since he had too many layers on himself. And thus it was soft enough for her to doze off. She just needed to hold the flowers tight. It would be too bad if they just fell out of her arms. But she knew for sure that she would not fall while Zui was sitting next to her, so it was fine to just close her eyes and let herself to doze off for a short while...