1. The Beginning

The Kingdom of the East

"You killed a prince!" The voice of the King of the East echoed in the dining hall and the accused slave threw himself on to the floor with terror.

"What shall we do now?" the king asked rhetorically, enjoying the misery of the worm-like slave.

"I didn't do it..." the slave murmured with a low tone although it wouldn't change anything. He was the one who served the wine to the prince of the North and now he was dead, his head resting on the table.

"I will spare your life, but you will do what I tell you, understood?" the king said with a grin, towering over the shaking slave. He knew how to make use of situations for his favor.

The slave nodded whole-heartedly. As he was a mere slave, obeying an order wasn't something new to him. If he was alive, he could explain the situation, that he didn't kill the prince.

As he was highly agitated, he failed to think about the reason why the cruel king would do such a favor for a prince-killer slave or why he was picked to serve the king in the first place.

"Good," the king said, satisfied, "Maids!"

With the command, five maids took a step forward.

"Turn him into a prince, if anyone understands he is not, I will behead all of you."

The maids fidgeted restlessly and dragged the exhausted slave to the baths. There, they washed him, ignoring his objection as well as his abashment. At least, they were kind enough not to comment about the various scars on his fragile body.

After the long bath, the maids applied ointment to his long black hair and braided it before bundling it as a high bun and made him wear a golden ornamented green robe.

The result was breathtaking.

The slave actually had a pale complexion and it made a good contrast with his jet black shiny hair and bottomless big black eyes. His high nose and petal-like thin lips were giving him a charming aura. Although he was short, his body was thin (well, he was a slave, so it wasn't shocking) and the beautiful clothes on him covered his lacking area.

There was one problem though:

He was a born-slave; therefore, he was stooping and avoiding eye contact.

While the maids were trying to teach the slave some manners, the king called his oldest son and made him mimic the dead prince's pose. Then grabbed a random servant and cut his throat before calling out to anyone in front of the main door.

Guards of the East and North barged into the hall with their swords drawn out and froze on their spots, seeing the sight.

Two dead princes lying on the table while the king towering over a dead servant.

"The King of the South sent a spy to kill the princes!" the king declared and all believed as there was nothing else to do.

The very same day, the dead body of the North Prince was placed on a carriage and sent to his kingdom with his guards and a message from the King of the East.

The Kingdom of the North

"What did you say, father?" Han Xin asked with a shaky voice, not believing what he heard. He knew sending his older brother to the North was a mistake, but he didn't think that he would die there.

"Lu Ban is dead, there was a spy from the South and he poisoned both Lu Ban and the oldest son of the King of the East," the king explained with a low tone, the pain was too much for his old heart.

"He is a liar! Do you really believe this nonsense?!" Han Xin exclaimed, boiling with anger.

"There is no proof because the king killed the spy already," the king said calmly, unlike his second son.

"We should declare war against the East! They killed my brother, not a random spy!"

"You are too hot-headed," the king said, "that's why you are not suitable to be a king yet."

"I don't want to be a king! Didn't I support you fully when you chose Lu Ban for the crown?" Han Xin replied, his hands clenched into fists.

"But he is gone now, so you can't run away from your responsibilities from now on. You have to act properly when the prince arrives."

"What prince?" Han Xin asked, confused.

"The prince of the East, the king sends his youngest son for you to marry in order to show he meant no harm."

"WHAT?!" Han Xin was terrified. Not only was his brother killed in an ugly ploy, but also he had to marry an enemy prince. A MAN!

"Neither side has a daughter, so it has to be you and the youngest prince of the North King," the king explained matter of factly.

Han Xin was disappointed as he used to think his father valued his sons more than his crown. "How can you accept something outrageous like this? We are both men, let alone they are the enemy," he said, his tone reflecting the disappointment he felt.

"We can't declare war randomly," the king put his hand on his son's shoulder, "the peace should be retained at any cost."

"I see..." Han Xin uttered and left the hall with fast steps, silently promising revenge for his dear brother.