On the day of their sixteenth birthday, Prince Li Jun and Prince An Ye celebrated their birthday together. They were born on the same day but from different parents. They were like brothers and each other's best friend and confidant. They shared secrets that other people don't know about. They played together often. They studied together and practiced sword fighting too.
Whatever they do, they do it together. They were inseparable.
On a sunny evening after their birthday, Prince Li Jun and An Ye skipped on stones in the garden pond. The stones were of various sizes from big to small. They played it many times and never got bored of it.
"An Ye! Catch me! Haha!" Li Jun jumped in front of An Ye while quickly getting to the other side of the pond.
"I'm coming!" An Ye trailed behind Li Jun as they played catch.
"Why are you so quick? Wait for me!" An Ye was getting breathless. Since young, he had a weak body and couldn't do many things involving physical activities but as he got older, he got stronger as well.
"You're not even catching me, come on!" Li Jun was already on the other side.
"Let's take a break! You win. I'll let you win this time." An Ye won a lot of times already in the past.
As they went back to the palace, both of them took a bath together as the maidservant prepared their food.
"An Ye, since we are together. Let's have a brother talk." An Ye nodded and listened attentively.
"If we both like the same girl, will you let me have her?" Li Jun asked.
An Ye thought deeply for a while and replied, "It depends on the girl. Whoever she's happy with, that's enough. But to answer your question, that will be difficult." An Ye smiled cheekily.
They both knew that wasn't possible, someone will get hurt.
~
On the day Prince An Ye left, he visited Li Jun one last time. He won't be coming back soon so he will say whatever was in his mind. As he took a deep breath, he entered the palace. There were two guards blocking the entrance. Prince An Ye showed his engraved jade stone, the guards unblocked the entrance.
As he entered Li Jun's chamber, Li Jun was already waiting for An Ye to enter.
"You're leaving right now, right?" Li Jun looked out of the window.
An Ye nodded but he wasn't able to say anything.
"Do you have anything to tell me?" Li Jun waited for An Ye to reply.
"I..." An Ye replied.
"If it's about Su Yin, she will be mine. She doesn't deserve you. What you will do right now will hurt both of you. Do you have anything else to tell me, to my father?" An Ye shook his head.
"I have nothing to say. Forgive me but I won't let you have Su Yin. She's already mine to begin with." An Ye replied as he clenched his fist.
"I'll give you one last chance. Don't do this, you will regret it." Li Jun grabbed onto An Ye's wrist angrily,"You knew about the 500 years old prophecy right? You knew someone opened the box yet you didn't say it. Why did you hide it? How did they find it?" Li Jun's hand shook as he shouted.
"I knew it from the beginning. Even before our sixteenth birthday, I saw someone in your father's room that night. Actually I didn't see who it was, after a while that person held a box inside a wall. It was small door hidden behind a chest. The box had a talisman attached to it. In a blink of an eye, the talisman got destroyed and inside the box contains the information of the prophecy that's been predicted five hundred years ago." An Ye explained, "I heard one or two person talking about the soon coming darkness in the Western Luo Province. I didn't see what they did next because I was hiding."
"Lies, no one actually found the box before. Tell me, it's a rumor!" Li Jun shouted. An Ye didn't say anything, "It's your choice whether to believe it or not. Your parents knew about it too. Didn't they tell you?" Li Jun was unable to continue, "Go! Go!! I don't want to hear any of this!" An Ye sighed and released Li Jun's hand.
"Li Jun, it was my choice to leave. I cannot tell you where I'm going. Until I come back, don't touch a strand on my woman. Also, let's not be brothers anymore." An Ye sternly replied.
"From now on, we are enemies, thanks for the time in being my brother. Take care, Li Jun." Li Jun collapsed on the ground and crying.
As An Ye walked away with tears on his face, he knew the only way to stop the prophecy was to kill the next King. He thought about what his father said, "An Ye, my son. Seems like the rumors were true after all. Western Luo will be in bloodshed soon. I've received an anonymous letter saying some old prophecy will come to pass. An Ye, I don't want you to get involved with that Prince. It's not worth it. Your uncles had been talking about this organization, they are a group of professional assassins whose aim will be targeting the next King. I know this will be hard on you but for my sake, for everyone's sake... I want you to join them. I am sorry, I need to be selfish."
When he got outside, two men with a black cloak were waiting at the entrance.
"Prince An Ye, we've came to pick you up" Two of the men bowed to him.
"Let's go." Prince An Ye got on the horse and went further down into the horizon. He knew it was forbidden to kill the next King but the prophecy has to be stopped.
In a few years, he will soon be able to become one of the top assassin. His main goal will be on the next King.
"I am sorry, Li Jun. Please do not forgive me. Su Yin, my love, wait for me until I come back." He thought to himself as the horse gallops further and further away.
~Things will change rapidly in the next few chapters~