A Hostage Prince's Bedmate

A small country in the south was called Shis Lou.

To repel the northern kingdom's invasion, they sent their Crown Prince, Lou Suxue, as a hostage to sue for peace.

When Nan Jichuan first saw him, he felt no pity for the man, despite his severed tendons.

After all, Lou Suxue showed none of the bearing of a crown prince. Instead, he joked and laughed with the enemy kingdom's jailers.

Lou Suxue had seen Nan Jichuan much earlier. Beneath the city walls that year, he had watched this man conquer their country. Blood stained the fearsome mask with its green face and fangs, and it suited him perfectly.

He never expected that beneath the mask was a face... so alluring.

After being released, Lou Suxue once stumbled into the young emperor's bedchamber by chance. But before he could get close, he was seized.

"You--" Nan Jichuan, his long hair loose, pointed at him over the heads of the others with fingers like pearls. "Stay."

Perhaps the young emperor had done too many things to be ashamed of in his life, for nightmares haunted him every night.

Lou Suxue started by stroking his head and rubbing his back. Eventually, Nan Jichuan could only sleep soundly in his arms.

But the man let him hold him, and nothing more.

If Lou Suxue went even a little too far, he would be kicked out of bed.

Then, in the middle of the night, the curtains would be pulled aside again. Nan Jichuan, unable to sleep, would bite his lip and murmur, "Come up. You can... touch me just a little."

Word soon spread that the hostage from the enemy kingdom enjoyed the emperor's favor.

Lou Suxue himself didn't care. Today, he would write poetry with a kindred spirit; tomorrow, he would laugh and play with the palace maids.

Some even asked for permission to take Lou Suxue out of the palace.

"Don't bring this up again." That was the first time Nan Jichuan left a morning court session early.

The young emperor, his face icy, dragged Lou Suxue into the bedchamber.

"Hold me," he ordered.

Lou Suxue smiled. "Didn't Your Majesty say I couldn't touch you?" But even as he spoke, his hand went to the belt at Nan Jichuan's waist.

"You brought this on yourself. Don't go crying later, Your Majesty."

**

Three years later, Lou Suxue received a letter.

The southern wind had finally reached the northern kingdom.

"So you've been deceiving me all along." Looking at the court, both within and beyond the palace, half infiltrated by Shis Lou, Nan Jichuan seemed hardly surprised.

They had just finished making love. Lou Suxue kissed the cold corner of his mouth, his tongue lingering against his.

"Your Majesty, I want one thing in exchange for the country and the throne. It all depends on whether you'll give it to me."

Nan Jichuan had not misjudged him. Lou Suxue truly had none of a crown prince's bearing.

So for the sake of a beauty, he could abandon everything at any moment.

But only if that beauty belonged to him alone.

1. They dote on each other.

2. Neither character is meant to be controlled by fans, and I'm not trying to cater to fans of either role. I just want to try more things and explore my comfort zone.

Theme: Just when all seems lost, a new hope appears.