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We drink tea to forget the noise of the world — Lu Yu
Only one thought resounded inside you at that moment: go as far away as possible.
How long had you been wandering aimlessly away from home? You didn't know yourself, your mind tired from lack of sleep. Only your aching feet and the cold air sweeping across your face kept you awake. That, and your determination.
Engaged against your will, you had witnessed the conspiracies and cruelty of this world, and had chosen to run before your life fell into someone else's hands and destroyed all that you once were. With only a few provisions and your most precious belongings, you left before daybreak.
The supplies you had thoughtlessly taken with you turned out to be much less than you expected, and you were already running out of food. Now it wasn't just the cold you had to brave, but also the nagging hunger that weighed on your stomach.
Although it was difficult to estimate how long you had been walking like this, you noticed that a new dawn was now beginning to appear, a sign that you had already been gone for more than twenty-four hours.
The landscape around you was completely unfamiliar, and the air was gradually getting warmer. Around you, high chalky mountains and densely vegetated forests were visible. A little further from the path where you were walking, a long shoreline with water slightly greened by seaweed could be seen.
But through your half-closed eyelids, you could see something even more imposing. Behind a whole row of trees, a large and luxurious mansion stood there, with no other traces of habitation around. From the sumptuousness of it, it probably belonged to someone very rich. As you got closer, you even noticed that it was curiously high up in relation to the rest of the landscape. Then, as you looked closer, you realized that it was actually located on top of a hill.
Normally, you would have looked at it from a distance with a curious look, would have imagined a thousand crazy scenarios about its potential owner, and would have simply continued your way. But at this exact moment, you’re weren’t master of your movements anymore. Only your fatigue was telling you what to do. And now it was just reminding you what your body was craving: Warmth. Food. Sleep.
With your head and stomach completely empty, your legs began to drag you to that unknown mansion, and your arms, caught in a sudden rush of adrenaline, began to climb the hill. Its owner would most likely chase you away, but you didn't care. To be out of the cold for even a few seconds was all you wanted.
The front door was getting closer and closer, and your mind was starting to fly away.
"I'm almost there, I'm almost there..."
After a great effort that cost you more than you imagined, you reached the top of the hill, and after another series of steps, your hand finally landed on the handle of the door that separated you from the warmth you so badly needed.
But surely because of the great physical effort exerted by your weakened body, a dizziness took you suddenly, and you let yourself fall on the door, which, to your great surprise, opened under your weight. You fell forward at the entrance of the mansion, and managed just in time to slow your fall with your hands. You managed to get inside and for the first time in a long time you embraced the feeling of having a roof over your head, but you were completely slumped on the ground.
You tried to get up, but your frozen limbs wouldn't respond. You gave up trying to get back on your feet, and let your heartbeat gradually calm down. Your eyelids became heavy, and your mind began to fade with each beat of your heart.
Soon you surrendered your consciousness to the arms of Morpheus, and the last thing you saw before falling into a deep sleep was the elegant, lanky figure of a man with golden eyes.
"Did you sleep well?"
As your eyes slowly opened and your mind gradually returned to the real world, an unfamiliar voice roused you from your slumber. It was a somewhat haughty sounding voice, and the tone of it immediately reminded you that you were not at home.
Now fully awake, you glanced around. The room you were in was rather big, but it still had a warm atmosphere. As you straightened up to get a better look around you, you noticed that you were currently sitting in a large dark wooden chair. A multitude of plants with long leaves surrounded you, and a huge glass window constituting the whole of a wall offered a vision of the outside. Behind it, it was dark.
Finally, your gaze was caught by the person you just heard. Further back in the room, he was sitting in a seat identical to yours, a cup of tea in his hand. Your eyes looked him up and down. It was a man with long black hair tied in a low ponytail that went down his shoulder. His clothes, covered by a long coat with black fur on the collar, suggested that he was someone of high rank. He wore a monocle over his right eye, and a deep amber-colored gaze could be discerned behind it.
You finally got out of your contemplation and said to him, stumbling on your words:
"Wh- Who are you?!"
"That would be my question to ask since you are here in my home," he said.
The memories of everything that had happened before you woke up suddenly came back to your mind. Your escape from home, your struggle to reach the mansion, your fall at the front door. Now that your fatigue had dissipated and your mind was finally clear, the weight of your actions came crashing down on your shoulders: you had broken into someone's house! In a rich man's house, which meant that you were bound to get into trouble. The first thing you had to do if you wanted to keep your head on your shoulders was to apologize right away.
"I'm sorry! I was exhausted, I was looking for a place to shelter and I swear didn't want to disturb you... I'm really sorry, sir...?"
"Dongding Oolong," he answered. "But I'm wondering how you got here, I chose this place specifically because I was guaranteed to be cut off from the rest of the world."
"Well, I just walked... And climbed..."
Wait a minute. Dongding Oolong? You knew that name. In fact, you remembered to have heard the story of a prince with that same name several times. In order to escape the problems associated with his rank, this prince known to all for his laziness suddenly decided to leave everything and settle in an unknown place. No one had any idea where he had gone. It couldn’t possibly be him...?
"You must be an interesting person if you were so motivated to visit my mansion," he said with a tone of curiosity as he got up from his seat. "But I want my peace and quiet so now I have to ask you to leave."
"What?" you spurted. "No, wait... At home, I am forced to follow a role I never wanted..."
His gaze fell on you. Your last words had intrigued him, and it was as if, for a moment, he had found a part of himself in you.
"Family obligations?" he asked.
"... Yes."
"Hm. I know that all too well."
He walked over to a shelf in the corner of the room, where on top of it sat a plant identical to all those that dotted the room, as well as an elegant china tea set. He put his cup down for a moment, then took another one and filled it with boiling tea. He also grabbed some small pink cakes. Dongding Oolong walked closer to you and held out what he had just prepared. His eyes seemed to be filled with softness.
"I don't intend to leave you in the wild like this anyway," he said. "The nights are cold here. Drink this and eat that and we'll talk about it later."
He set the cakes down not far from you, and the tea passed from his hands to yours. When your skin came in contact with the cup, beautifully decorated with blue flower designs, an intense heat went through your body, from the palms of your hands to your cheeks, which turned a pinkish color.
You hesitated for a moment before bringing the drink to your lips. If there was one thing you had been taught since you were a child, it was not to accept food from a stranger, especially when he looked so odd. And if he was indeed the prince of this infamous story, then who knows what he could do to make sure that his hiding place never came to light.
However, the worry was superseded by a more immediate need. You had been able to rest, but you were still dying of hunger and thirst. The fear of ending up potentially poisoned quickly faded, and you took a big sip of your tea, and the wave of heat you had felt earlier got even more powerful. The taste was sweeter than you expected, and the texture was like honey. It didn't take long before you started eating the cakes that were also offered to you, which were also delicious.
As you stuffed your face without worrying about whether you looked elegant or not, your host moved the seat he was currently sitting on to come closer to you and placed it right next to you. He sat there silently and, without saying a word, he began to observe you with an intrigued look, as if he had before him an unfathomable and mysterious creature that he was discovering for the very first time in his life. As you remained focused on your meal, not even paying attention when he approached you, he slowly raised his hand and gently stroked your cheek with the back of his index finger. You stopped dead in your tracks. His hand was burning hot, and you also felt yourself getting hot.
"That's good, your face is getting its color back," he said with a slight smirk. "You were in such bad shape that at first I thought I had picked up a corpse when I found you on my doorstep. I wouldn't have had the energy to deal with all the problems that would have resulted."
Caught in a sudden fit of shyness, you looked down for a moment. The part of your cheek where he had put his finger seemed to be still on fire, as if this act had left a red-hot mark on it. You missed human contact terribly, and this Dongding Oolong, although intimidating, was rather charming, you had to admit.
A little embarrassed and the sweets completely eaten, you finally decided to speak up:
"Uh... How long was I asleep?"
"It must have been a little less than a day," he said, glancing at the full moon that lit up the entire room through the huge glass window.
"A whole day?! And you took care of me all that time?"
"Well, I wasn't going to let you die at my feet," he replied. "Besides, I can't explain why, but there's something soothing about your sleeping face."
Your face flushed again. You thanked him again and again while you fidgeted in your seat, your cup almost spilling more than once. This man seemed a bit strange in his way of speaking and behaving, but his kindness was no longer in doubt.
You swallowed the rest of your tea, which had begun to cool, and placed the empty cup next to where the sweets were. With a determined gesture, you suddenly stood up from where you were sitting.
"Thank you so much for helping me," you said. "Now I must leave, I have a long way to go..."
As you were about to walk towards the exit, you felt a sudden dizziness. You felt yourself fall towards the ground, but Dongding Oolong caught you just in time, placing his two hands around you. He helped you back into your seat.
"What are you talking about, you want to leave now, like that?" he said with a sarcastic tone.
"But I have to get as far away as possible," you retorted, "otherwise they will find me and—"
"No, no, no," he cut you off. "I don't want to hear about problems from the outside here. Whoever these oddballs are, there's little chance of them finding you here." His face suddenly looked more worried. "Do you have a place to go?" he asked in a soft voice.
"Not really."
"Then stay here for a while. You're safe here, and besides, I don’t completely dislike your company."
What was this new feeling that made your heart beat so fast? You had never been shown so much kindness by someone you had just met. Her words had touched you more than you had imagined. "To be safe"... Wasn't that all you wanted all along?
This man was definitely not like the others. Well, to live alone in a mansion on top of a hill, completely isolated from the rest of the world, you had to be at least a little eccentric.
You were now sure of one thing: you were desperate to know more about this Dongding Oolong. But right now, you had a more pressing question.
"Why are you being so nice to me?" you asked. "You don't even know me."
"That's true," he said. "But... I think we're kind of similar, you and I."
"How?"
Looking at nothing, Dongding Oolong turned to the moonscape that could be seen through the glass. From the expression on his face, it was as if he had just recalled a very distant memory, the remnant of a life he was no longer a part of.
"People ask so much of others, don't you think?" he said. "From the moment we are born until the moment we die, we are never really free of our actions, let alone our fate. Family, supervisors, and everyone else in general... They always ask too much. Isn't it enough to be alive? Usually, people think that life is just like that, and that we just can't get rid of all these things that eat us up inside. But you and I both dared what everyone thought was impossible; victims of a society that eats us to the bone, we finally refused what had been imposed on us, and we gave it all up to finally take back our happiness and the hope of a life without the fear of being mixed up with all the darkness in this world."
You couldn't believe what you had just heard. It was as if someone had finally managed to put into words the thoughts that had been bothering you for so long. This stranger had put his finger on a feeling that even you had spent so much time denying, convincing yourself that the unhappiness you were experiencing was normal. For the first time in your life, you finally felt understood.
You let out a little laugh.
"You are good at reading people," you said.
"Well, it's true that I have many talents. Maybe I'll show you one day," he replied, following his words with a wink.
You smiled back, stifling another chuckle at the same time. You felt much more comfortable than when you arrived. Your escape and expedition to the mansion seemed like a distant memory. Was it relief that you felt deep inside? Or was it that you finally had the happiness you had been deprived of for so long?
Finally, now a little more confident, you allowed yourself to ask him the question that had been on your mind since the moment he had shared his name with you:
"Hey... It's you, right?"
"Hm?"
"Dongding Oolong, the prince who suddenly decided to run away from his royal duties and disappear to who knows where," you clarified. "From everything you've just told me, I conclude that it's you, right?"
At these words, his face took on a strange expression. He was smiling, but his golden eyes were staring at you with a serious look. There was a silence for a few seconds, which he soon broke, his previous expression finally dissipating for a lighter one. His eyes, however, kept the same authoritative glow.
"I didn't know I was that well-known," he said. "Of course, the truth is a little more complicated than that, but yes, I am that same Dongding Oolong. And, now that you know who I am, I guess you're going to tell everyone where I'm hiding...?"
"Why would I do that?" you snapped. "I’m not sure people really care where a lazy little prince who sips tea all day is hiding."
He couldn’t hide his surprise at this unexpected frankness. Suddenly, he laughed. When he had picked you up, he had expected to run into a wounded little thing, but ever since you had started talking, the prince had been surprised by the person you really were.
"You, you visibly quite outspoken," he said.
Time passed, and the discussions went on. You discovered a multitude of unexpected common points between the both of you. He told you some anecdotes of his past as a prince, and you told him some amusing facts of your childhood, which he listened to from beginning to end with great attention.
Behind the window, the moon would soon give way to the first rays of the sun. You had felt as if you had been walking for an eternity, but that night had seemed to last only a few minutes. As you watched the light gradually enter the room, you thought to yourself that you wished that the Sun had never risen, and that this night with your first real friend had never ended.
"When I woke up here," you said. "I noticed something right away, "but I didn't dare tell you until now..."
"What is it?" he asked, quite intrigued.
"Your mansion..."
"Yes?"
"It’s a complete mess!"
Indeed, the mess all around you was far from unnoticeable. The floor was littered with piles of books, each one bigger than the next, some of which had even fallen over, taking up even more space. The plants that adorned the room were placed anywhere, even in the middle of the passageway, and it was obvious that the dusting hadn't been done for a very long time. You weren't a neat freak, but you liked things to be tidy at home, and this whole room was upsetting your neat soul. But then again, given his background, it didn't surprise you that Dongding Oolong wasn't much of a housekeeper.
"But, dear, I don't know what you're talking about," he said. "Every object is in its proper place! This room is simply identical to all the ideas that are swarming in my mind. Besides, why bother tidying up now when I’ll have to tidy up again later..."
"I think you're just lazy."
"Oh, really? Well, I think I'm much smarter than all those way too serious people."
You exchanged a long, frank laugh. You weren’t quite the same in your respective characters, but it was as if you shared the same soul and the same heart. You also noticed that your heart was starting to beat fast... Was this love at first sight? And yet, your story was already coming to an end. You knew very well that you couldn't stay there forever.
At last the sun was visible, glowing and shining like a candle. The dawn of a new day. You looked at it for a long time, your eyes a little lost in the void. When your eyes fell back on Dongding Oolong, you saw that he was looking at you, as if he was captivated by the most majestic work of art. His gaze seemed to conceal a certain sadness, but at the same time, there was something else, like a spark that made his big amber eyes sparkle, a sign that a new flame had recently been ignited in his being. This flame, it was burning for you, and he had just become aware of it. He was now sure about it ; he didn't want to see you go either.
But the sorrow that seemed to be in him until then suddenly began to leave him. An unexpected idea had just crossed his mind, and this last thought filled him with a new hope. He cleared his throat politely, and spoke in a more solemn tone than before.
"Listen... I've made a decision," he announced.
"A decision?" you repeated.
"You're going to stay here.
"What? But... Why?"
"What for? Uh... To help me clean up! You complained yourself that my mansion is a mess, so it's up to you to do something about it!"
This conversation no longer made any sense. Both of you were clearly embarrassed, neither of you knowing how to react. Dongding Oolong, caught in a sudden awkwardness, had come out with this excuse without thinking, not having dared to say out loud what he really wanted…
I need you by my side.
As for you, this impromptu request took you by surprise. You certainly didn't expect it, and even less that he would order you to clean his house. It wasn't even your house, so who did he think he was? He may have saved you, but that was no reason to impose his own chores on you. But deep down you knew the truth. Because you too, before he got ahead of you, were secretly thinking of a way to stay with him. You too needed him by your side.
"So, what you propose to me, it is a job within your manor, right?" you asked him with a voice full of malice.
"A job? Uh, well, I guess so, it could be considered a job."
"I've already decided what my price will be."
"Y-your price?"
You approached him with hushed steps. You gave him a wide smile filled with tenderness. He plunged his golden eyes right into yours. Your faces had never been so close before.
"Three meals a day, a room all to myself, and the right to walk around the mansion wherever and whenever I want," you said. "Oh, and if I can choose my own hours of work, that would be ideal."
"So... you agree to live here? With me?"
"Of course I will, Dongding Oolong. But you haven't heard my last condition yet."
"And what is it?"
"To spend more good times with you like we did last night."
A big smile appeared on his face. Your hands linked together without you having to say a word. A warmth of incomparable softness ran through both of you. You both felt it for the first time, this feeling of having finally found the person capable of resonating with your inner self. From now on, this pleasant solitude in this place cut off from everything, you will live it together, and you will finally be free while being there for each other.
Tomorrow you'll have some serious work to do to even begin to clean up. Besides, you both still seem far too shy to venture out of the land of friendship just yet. But that's okay. This is just the beginning of your cohabitation, and at the risk of potentially catching your new roommate's nonchalance, at the top of this hill, even more stronger feelings may appear between two cups of hot tea.