Chapter Text
He’s not sulking. A prince does not sulk. Yibo is merely sitting in the shadows of the buildings in the square to keep out of the hot sun. He’s against the wall because it has a good vantage point of the plaza and the apothecary across the way. The plucked leaves of coriander littering the ground are simply due to his boredom and have nothing to do with his growing impatience and longing heart.
A week has passed since he escaped and Yibo has been enjoying every moment. He’s been exploring the kingdom, getting lost in narrow streets lined with stands filled to the brim with goods for sale; candies sweeter than anything he’s had in the palace, fine leather stained and sewn into sturdy satchels and shoes, fresh produce and flowers overflowing from baskets and creating an array of colors against the dull brown of the buildings.
If he’s spent the last couple days keeping one eye out for the slender build of a man with long, dark locks of hair trailing down his back and a head injury, that’s no one’s business but his own. Xiao Zhan never said he would be coming back this way, but Yibo hoped...he thought maybe after figuring out who Yibo was, he might—but no. Xiao Zhan was long gone and probably wouldn’t want to see Yibo again after he lied to him.
So Yibo spent a few days letting himself enjoy his freedom and pretending to be normal for once. But after he’d had his fill, he’d picked up a bundle of coriander from the nearest market and made his way to the apothecary by the West Wall, all the while not thinking of the one who’d given him the information. He wasn’t doing too well with that.
He hadn’t expected to run into anyone in the woods the night of his escape. He and Seungyeon had agreed that as soon as he’d cleared the castle wall that he would run as far and as fast as he could away from the palace, guaranteeing his long awaited freedom. But then he’d heard a quick heartbeat and the uneven breaths of someone running in the woods just beyond the wall and he had to investigate. He was curious—and his panther would never turn down the opportunity to chase something. So he pursued.
Once he took down the boar, he planned to leave. He saved the person, so what more did he need to do? He’d just have one look to make sure the man was okay, and then he’d be on his way.
How wrong he was.
The man, Xiao Zhan, was the most beautiful man he’d ever seen. Even better was his scent, a soft woodsy smell and the mix of paper and paints. Yibo wanted to curl up right next to him, put his nose into his neck and breathe him in for hours.
He remembers feeling conflicted. He needed to clear the area and get away from the palace, but—there was just something about the man that drew him, and his panther, in. It wasn’t until Xiao Zhan had made a small whimper in pain that he’d made his decision. And even days later, Yibo knows it had been the right one.
Yibo reaches for the necklace that he knows isn’t there. He feels naked without it. He never took it off and it had been with him since he was a baby. But after listening to Xiao Zhan’s story about how he’d always wanted to meet the cursed prince—meet him—he could think of no better gift. And selfishly, he’d been hoping that by giving his necklace to Xiao Zhan, it would somehow guarantee a future meeting with him.
But again…maybe Xiao Zhan would throw it right in his face upon seeing him again for lying. Yibo scrubs his head in frustration letting out a small yell. Why didn’t he just say who he was?!
It didn’t help that Yibo has now sat in this square across from the apothecary that Xiao Zhan directed him to for three days. For three days he’s been waiting for this mysterious Seer, and for three days he’s been spiraling through the “what ifs” and “maybes.” If Seungyeon saw him now he’d be rolling on the floor laughing at how pathetic Yibo was being. It’s with that thought that Yibo shakes his spiraling thoughts away and decides it’s time to take action. He’s wasting time just waiting, after all.
Growling, he throws the newly purchased (though now, worse for wear) coriander on the ground and stomps across the plaza to speak to the apothecary. Again..
When he’d come here for the first time three days before, he wasn’t sure what to expect. But it surely wasn’t the man who twirled up to the counter into a deep bow, with an introduction of, “This humble one is called Huang Xiao. How might I help you?”
By not having much experience out of the palace, Yibo supposed that the bright demeanor of the apothecary was normal. His clothing flowed around him as he moved, billowing out, yet somehow still narrowly avoiding knocking anything over. Yibo admired the man and his graceful movements. His image was such a stark contrast to the darkness of the room with only the light from a few small windows seeping through. He seemed friendly, so Yibo thought it best to get straight to the point of his visit.
Placing the coriander on the counter, he asked, “I’m looking for a Seer that I heard frequents this apothecary. Xiao Zhan sent me.”
Just saying the other’s name had Yibo’s heart skipping a small beat, but he ignored it for the time being. Huang Xiao picked the herb up off the counter and sniffed it as if he was smelling a beautiful flower. Yibo’s own nose was trying not to twitch from all of the different plants hanging from the ceiling and he fought the urge to sneeze. He had always been sensitive to different herbs and remedies and didn’t enjoy being in a building that stifled his sense of smell so much.
“People are like herbs.”
Focusing back on the man in front of him, Yibo blinked. What?
“Um, I’m sorry. What?”
The apothecary smiled at Yibo, grabbed a bowl from a nearby shelf and began ripping the leaves from the stem of the coriander to throw them inside.
“What are you doing? That’s for the Seer!” Yibo yelled, reaching to take the plant out of the apothecary’s hands, but the man twirled away, bowl cradled in his arm while a mortar appeared somehow in his other hand and he began grinding the plant into tiny pieces.
“Just as an herb needs sun and a healthy amount of care, so do people. If one is to grow to be fragrant and contribute its properties to the greater good, there must be sun, water, and care. Something tells me you haven’t had much of those.” And with that, Huang Xiao left the front of the shop, Yibo’s coriander gone, and Yibo left staring after him in confusion.
When Yibo finally came back to his senses, he called out for the eccentric shop owner, but with no luck. He decided he’d come back again the next day.
He should have saved himself the trouble.
This time when he entered the shop, Huang Xiao was helping other customers. He seemed to be acting normal with them, so maybe he had just caught the man on an off day! When it was his turn, he strode up to the counter confidently, coriander bundle in hand.
“I’m here for the Seer! Xiao Zha—”
“Xiao Xiao, meow meow. What do you call a cat who’s having a really bad day?” Huang Xiao smiled mischievously toward Yibo, as if he hadn’t interrupted him with absolute nonsense.
Yibo took a deep breath to calm himself before responding. He just knew if he was in his panther form, his tail would be flicking in displeasure. “Look. I really don’t have time for your games. You disappeared the other day, and I just wanted to—”
“A CAT-ASTROPHE!!!”
Yibo had no words. None at all. He knew he was a bit of a recluse, being locked in a castle all of his life and all that, but even he knew when to recognize a truly horrible joke. The apothecary was doubled over laughing and Yibo’s eye was twitching.
“Be calm, young sir. I only meant to have a bit of fun! The Seer you seek is here and there. He’s today and tomorrow, flowing through the tides of time like a ship on endless seas.”
Yibo waited for the man to continue. When nothing came, he finally prompted, “And what does that mean? Will I be able to meet him?”
Huang Xiao picked a white flower from one of the pots on the counter, and pulled it close to him, petting the petals and smelling it.
“This flower is much like you, young sir. It is foreign to these lands, but no less beautiful. It is called an Angrec.”
“And how does that information help me? I’m asking about the Seer.”
The apothecary laughed, “Ah so impatient! This flower here is for the very Seer you await! He’s in the business of diversifying his garden, you know. He’s due to arrive tomorrow.”
Finally! An answer! Yibo could weep in happiness, but instead he just grins and thanks the apothecary in front of him with a bow.
“I’ll be waiting then.”
And wait he did. He’d spent hours in the hot sun, keeping an eye on the apothecary from across the way, thinking dreamily about a boy in the woods—ahem—focusing on finding a solution to his furry problem.
But enough is enough! He throws open the door to the shop, closing it heavily behind him. This time he has no coriander to be stolen (since it’s on the ground outside) and he would not be leaving until he had some answers.
“Hello!” Yibo calls out through the dark building, ringing the bell on the counter in front. His nose immediately starts to itch from the multitudes of contrasting smells in the air. “Helloooo!”
Slowly, as if he hasn’t a care in the world, or a customer at the counter, Huang Xiao floats lazily into the room from the back.
Yibo really thinks he might have liked him, succumbed to his charms like the rest of the customers in this part of the kingdom seemed to, if he would just—stop—talking—in—riddles!
“Moon waning, moon waxing—”
Slamming his palm on the counter, Yibo interrupts Huang Xiao. “No! No moons and no more riddles or fancy words. You told me that the Seer would arrive today. It’s practically sundown and there’s no sign of him! He’s late!”
Huang Xiao smiles coyly and calmly replies, “A Seer is never late, young master. Everyone else is simply early. He will arrive when the time is right.”
Yibo’s ears twitch angrily beneath his scarf, the panther hissing within his head. “Yeah, well. I need that time to be right now,” he says as calmly as he can, but he can feel his temper rising. One day of waiting was fine—expected, even. Two was slightly disappointing and Yibo started to put Yibo on edge. Three days was too long to wait in the limited time Yibo had. If there truly was a Seer, shouldn’t they have seen Yibo coming with all his baggage, familial and curse-related among it, from miles away?
Maybe Xiao Zhan lied to you. Maybe he drew you a fake map. You helped him only for him to trick you. You gave him your mother’s necklace and now he’s long gone.
No. Yibo pushes those ugly thoughts from his head. Xiao Zhan had no reason to lie to him. Even though Yibo had only known him for a short time, he’s sure Xiao Zhan is genuine. Yibo keeps thinking of Xiao Zhan’s smile, of the gentle expression he’d had when he told his story. It makes Yibo’s heart flutter and a feeling like a stone dropping in his stomach happen simultaneously.
Yibo doesn’t believe in love at first sight. He’s practical and knows the struggles of the world. Love doesn’t just happen like that.
*thump, thump*
He places his hand over his chest as if that will shut it up or keep it from beating so heavily at the thought of the clumsy man. It would be his luck that the first person he runs into outside of the palace walls is the one his heart sets on. It would also explain all the pining he’s done the past three days while waiting in the square of the West Wall.
“Now I’d know that look anywhere. You’ve got someone on your mind. Care to share?” Huang Xiao is bent over with his elbows on the counter and face between his hands smiling expectantly up at Yibo.
Yibo’s hand quickly drops from his chest and clenches it by his side, letting the pain of his fingernails digging into his palm ground him back in reality.
“Look. I can’t wait around much longer. I need to know if this Seer is showing up or not,” he says.
Huang Xiao rises, rolling his eyes, and says, “Well how am I supposed to know when he’ll arrive? It’s not like I’m a Seer!”
Yibo’s patience snaps, and he’s about to reach over and show Huang Xiao just how done he is, when the loud bang of the door being slammed open comes from behind him.
“Xiao-shifu! I’m home from the palace!” A man about Yibo’s height and twice his bulk walks in through the door and beelines straight for the counter. As if Yibo isn’t there, the man pushes past him and falls into the waiting arms of Huang Xiao, who swings over the counter to wrap his arms and legs around him.
“Qiao Zhi! What took you so long? I’ve been so bored without you and have been pestered by customers left and right without you here to scare them away.” Huang Xiao pointedly looks over at Yibo, and Yibo growls.
Growls.
Growls?!
Hand flying to his throat as if to choke off the threatening vibration, Yibo’s panic starts to rise. He has never, in all his life, made that noise while human. Sure, he’s growled and hissed while a panther, but he’s never been able to recreate the noises as a human. Each time Seungyeon had teased him into trying, he was left highly embarrassed at the pathetic noises he produced, and his friend rolling on the floor laughing and crying.
He didn’t really think that his father had been lying when he told Yibo that his panther would start taking over and become more present, but this was the first time it truly came through against Yibo’s will.
“My my, someone is an unhappy kitty. Me-oooww!” Huang Xiao curls his hand toward Yibo in an exaggerated cat scratching motion. “But lucky for you, the fact that my dear Qiao Zhi has returned means that your much anticipated Seer is not far behind!”
Putting the apothecarist back onto the floor, the man, Qiao Zhi, grins over at Yibo. “Speaking of which, I heard all about you on the way here. Unluckily for you, Jiaer isn’t like other Seers and loves to gossip. You’ve got quite the journey coming your way, Your Highness.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Yibo asks Qiao Zhi. He’s so focused on the man that he barely dodges the excited burst from Huang Xiao throwing his hands in the air and exclaiming, “He means love, Prince Yibo!”
Throwing a palm over the apothecary's mouth, Yibo glances back at the door nervously. The last thing he needs right now are curious townspeople coming in to see their mystery prince, or even worse, guards. He was able to escape the palace guards because they’d grown complacent in their watch, but he had no idea how he’d escape a whole squad of city guards.
“Could you be—I don’t know—quieter?”
Qiao Zhi pulls Huang Xiao out of Yibo’s grasp. “Ah, sorry about that Your High–” he stops at the glare Yibo throws his way and says, “–I mean, random customer whose life I know nothing about. My Huang Xiao is easily excited and life around here has been a bit mundane lately. You can’t fault us for being excited about your presence in our little corner of the Kingdom.”
Huang Xiao nods up and down quickly. “He’s right! You’re the hottest gossip on every street corner.”
“What? Why would the people be talking about me? They don’t even know me.”
“But that’s exactly it! No one knows anything about you! You’re mysterious, of age, and a bachelor prince! Half the time I have maidens coming in here asking me for love potions in hopes that ‘My dear Prince will fall in love with me!” Huang Xiao swoons into Qiao Zhi’s arms dramatically and he catches him dutifully. “Anyways, I always send them away with a bottle of citrus oils and tell them to rub it on their wrists like a perfume.”
Yibo scowls. “I hate citrus smells. They make me sneeze.” His nose twitches just thinking about someone smelling like a lemon approaching him. Also, maidens in love with him? He’s always been told that the people around the kingdom wanted nothing to do with him.
Huang Xiao grins. “Well it’s no wonder! Your kitty nose is sensitive!” At Yibo’s renewed glare toward him, Huang Xiao shrugs in defense. “Don’t get upset about me knowing your little secret! You came in here everyday for the past week and I have great intuition. Tell him, Qiao Zhi! Tell him how good I am.” He grins over at his partner, who moved behind the counter to put a pot of water in the fireplace.
“Of course, my Xiao-shifu is the most wise and intuitive. Prince Yibo, if you’d like to stay for tea I’d be honored to serve you. Jiaer and I were traveling here to meet you when he got caught up in another matter, but he should be here shortly.”
“This Jiaer…he’s the Seer?”
At Qiao Zhi’s nod, Yibo lets his shoulders relax little by little. They had been practically up to his ears in discomfort since the man had arrived, but at his kind offer for tea and the promise that the man holding the answers to his future was on his way, he figures he can be allowed to let his guard down a bit. They know his secret anyway.
Huang Xiao pulls Yibo’s hand to lead him behind the counter, chattering excitedly. “I’ll be honest, I knew there was something about you, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it! The handsome, mysterious aura, I should have known you were the Prince from the start. But I think I got too caught up in teasing you to truly realize who you were. Jiaer always used to say you were a prickly Prince and to be careful not to get clawed, but I’ve never had the best self-preservation!” Huang Xiao pushes Yibo onto a stool and reaches for the scarf covering his head, which Yibo swiftly dodges and slaps his hands away.
“Hands off.” He takes a minute to process everything Huang Xiao said and narrows his eyes. “What do you mean Jiaer used to talk about me? How long has he been sharing his visions of me?” He remembers what Xiao Zhan said about his mother not sharing her visions and wonders why that hasn’t extended to this Seer as well. And wait a min—”I knew you were messing with me! Everything you said made no sense!”
Huang Xiao laughs. “Oh, come on! Like Qiao Zhi said, life can be boring out here and you were the perfect victim.” He smiles slyly before making grabby hands again, “And please! I want to see. Those ears have definitely been twitching all week! And don’t get upset about the visions. Jiaer only told us about our own future when we asked, and he said we’d have an unlikely royal feline visit the shop looking for him. Let me tell you, it puzzled me for weeks!!”
Yibo pauses. “Wait…do Seers speak in riddles too? Am I going to have to figure out what he’s trying to tell me?”
If that happens, then he might as well leave right now. He’s already wasted almost a week waiting for this Seer, and he’s tired of people speaking nonsense around him. Are all the Kingdom’s citizens like this? Why can’t people just be direct?!
Xiao Zhan didn’t speak in riddles. Xiao Zhan was the most honest person I’ve ever met. I wonder how he’s faring at the castle…
“Ohhh would you look at that, Qiao Zhi. It’s that look again. Our very own Prince is in love!” Huang Xiao sing-songs, breaking through Yibo’s thoughts. His ears burn red without his consent and he growls, intentionally this time, and Huang Xiao takes three steps back to hide behind Qiao Zhi.
“Don’t get angry just because I’m right! You should ask us for advice—Qiao Zhi and I are experts in love.”
“I’d rather claw my own ears off.”
Pouting as Qiao Zhi removes himself from Huang Xiao as his shield to pour tea, Huang Xiao mumbles out something that sounds like, He’s a grumpy kitty as well… and finally takes a seat at the table with Yibo.
Qiao Zhi sets a steaming cup of tea in front of Yibo and the smell of it is both pleasant and calming. It blocks out all of the crossing scents filling the air of the apothecary and the headache Yibo felt pounding at his temples slowly starts to retreat. He blows on the tea lightly before taking a sip.
“This is delicious. Thank you.”
Qiao Zhi grins humbly and raises his own tea cup to toast to Yibo, “It’s my pleasure, Your Highness. My grandmother always told me that tea was key to making everything bad melt away, and I have to say I agree. You already look more at ease.”
Qiao Zhi is right. As he keeps sipping on his tea, it’s like all the tension from before begins to dissipate completely. Even Huang Xiao has settled on a stool and is drinking his tea quietly, a completely opposite energy to the kind he had just moments before.
It is, of course, in that moment of peace that the door to the apothecary bursts open, the soft rays of sunset pouring into the dark building like liquid gold and showing the dark outline of a young man in a hooded cape. While Yibo attempts to blink the sunspots out of his vision from the bright light, Huang Xiao and Qiao Zhi continue to calmly sip their tea.
Qiao Zhi says, “I understand you’re aiming for a dramatic entrance, but if you break our door again, you’re going to be the one paying for it, Jiaer.”
The man fully steps into the building and shuts the door very gently behind him. “Aha—please don’t. I’m but a poor, wandering Seer.” He pushes his hood back, and Yibo sees the kind but handsome features of a young man. His most arresting feature is, of course, his blank white eyes, which widen as soon as they land upon Yibo.
“I see, I see! So this is the future that will pan out for you. I can’t say this was my favorite of all the possibilities, but still a happy ending. Yes, this will do.”
If Yibo was a normal human, he would have had to strain to hear what the Seer was mumbling under his breath, but with his ears perked beneath the scarf, they pick up every muttered word.
“What exactly do you mean by that? Possibilities?”
Like being shaken awake from a dream, the Seer, Jiaer, suddenly laughs and walks forward. He bends over in a messy bow in front of Yibo. “Oh, my bad, Prince Yibo! Didn’t mean to ignore you standing there! I’m just caught up in this kooky little head of mine” Jiaer laughs, knocking a fist into his head.
Yibo stares at him a bit puzzled. He’s truly the farthest thing from what Yibo imagined a Seer to be like. Jiaer is a young man, with sharp features softened by a friendly face. His hair sweeps over his forehead, almost long enough to cover his white eyes, and the dark robe draped over his shoulders seems to be two sizes too big as it drags on the floor as he walks closer to Yibo. It simply just doesn’t meet his expectation as to what he believed a Seer to be.
So this was the person that had all of the answers to Yibo’s future?
Maybe he shouldn’t have trusted the advice of a random beauty in the woods after all.
“Now, now. I know what you’re thinking. ‘How could this guy be holding all the answers to my future?’ But trust me, I’m legit. I mean, look at the whites of my eyes—I could never fake this!”
Yibo leans back as Jiaer leans forward, presenting the whites of his eyes to him.
“All jokes aside, we should get started. It’s not like you have the most time in the world to figure this out! But first—your offering.” Jiaer holds out his hand expectantly. Yibo stares blankly at his open hand, very much trying not to think of the withered coriander left in the courtyard outside.
“...You do have an offering, don’t you?” Jiaer asks. Yibo’s ears fold back guiltily under his scarf. Oops.
“Um. I kind of threw it in the street.”
Jiaer gasps dramatically, as if the lack of coriander has personally offended him.
“What!” Yibo exclaims. “I’ve been waiting for three days and had no idea when you were going to show up. Can’t I pay you tomorrow?”
Jiaer sniffs and flips his cloak around his body, turning away from Yibo.
“No offering, no reading of your future.” With that, Jiaer blows past Yibo, takes a seat at the table with Huang Xiao and Qiao Zhi.
It’s got to be a joke—there’s no way this is real! Yibo says as much to Jiaer, who turns to him calmly and smiles. “I’m a Seer, not a jester, Your Highness. Though, sometimes Huang Xiao does tell me that I’d be able to hold my own in the royal court—what do you think?”
“I think he’s insane–” Huang Xiao lets out a small, Hey!, as Yibo’s finger points at him “–and that waiting for you was a waste of time. Forget it–I’ll figure this out on my own.”
Yibo bows respectfully toward Qiao Zhi. “Thank you for the tea.” He flicks up the hood of his own cloak and heads toward the exit, ignoring Jiaer’s call of, “You’ll come running back in no time. I know your type!”
Yibo’s mind is rushing in ten different directions trying to think of a new plan and his next steps. He’s got about three weeks left until the Blood Moon, and judging by the growl he let out earlier, his panther will take over his human form more and more as the time passes.
Maybe he should just forget about finding ‘true love.’ It’s not going to happen. And if it did, well. There’s only one person that comes to Yibo’s mind, and he’s halfway across the kingdom at this point. With a heavy sigh, he pushes open the door of the apothecary.
It’s only the soft, “Oh!” he hears that stops him from bumping into the person poised right in front of the door ready to knock. So caught up in his own thoughts, it takes him a second to recognize who’s in front of him. They speak at the same time.
“Xiao Zhan?”
“Yibo! I mean, Your Highness!”
And from behind them, “God, I’m good. Right on time.”