“..t......” The youth whispered. “..w.....ter...”

 Nobody answered, perhaps a louder voice would help.. but the youth could not muster any strength into its throat. It was burning and crackling, like it had swallowed a fire.

 For a time, the youth could only coughed weakly.. it sounded more like a wheeze than a cough. Still nobody came.. Outside, only the sound of drizzle and far away thunder rung. The world felt desolate. As if the youth had been abandoned and forgotten by it.

 Unable to endure the scorching sensation in its throat, the youth sat up. It was a long arduous process.. pushed one hand against the bed and prop the body up..It should be natural.. and yet throughout, something felt off to the youth. But its mind was hazy and the parched throat did not help. The youth tried to walk towards the table, only to stumble upon its own feet and shamefully slammed against the cold floor.

 The impact from the hard surface brought a rush of scorching bile up.. from deep within the pit of its stomach towards its throat. A second later, the youth started chocking.. it gasped for air, wheezed and coughed.. terribly.. uncontrollably.. until in an instant, it managed to vomit out. The scorching pain continued to assail its throat but it was only an aftertaste. The perpetrator, a bile of crimson mucus with hints of purple, was lying on the floor. It was a size of half a fist.

 Blood leaked out of from the youth’s nose whilst saliva flowed down from its mouth after every cough. The cough soon turned into a continuous wheezing sounds, its lungs appeased by the burst of sweet air.

 “..ter..” It wheezed. “..wa..ter..”

 The voice croaked again. It looked up, on the table just a step away was a pot of water. Just before the youth could crawl towards it, the door burst open.

 Xiao yu had fallen asleep outside the room, on the hardwood corridor, and he had just been woken up by the loud sound from inside the room. Noticing the youth on the ground, weakly looking up at him, Xiao yu bruised face turned pale. In an urgent haste, he dashed towards the youth.

 “Prince!” Xiao yu exclaimed as he quickly placed the youth against his body. Xiao yu muscle trembled in exhaustion and pain but he managed to help the youth to return to the bed. “Hold on prince. I will give you water!”

 “Prince..? No, that is not right.. I am.. ... a ...?..” it thought.

But before it could processed its own thought, Xiao yu had returned. He had poured the water into a small teapot like object, similar to the one he had used to feed the youth. He placed the long narrow protruding muzzle against the youth’s lips and poured the water slowly.

The cooling sensation felt soothing against its blistering throat. After gulping weakly a couple of time, it shook its head, signing to Xiao yu that it had had enough.

Xiao yu nodded and placed the pot back on the table. When he turned back the youth had closed its eyes. Xiao yu tiny fingers grasped the thin blanket and quickly tucked the youth back inside the blanket. Silently, he winced and used a small clean cloth to gently wipe the blood on the prince face. He then used the cloth to clean the floor before using it to pick up the grotesque bile.. swearing silently to not let his fingers touch the unknown substance. Finished, he left the room and closed the door.

His footsteps moving away from the room. When the sounds had fully been replaced by the rain shower, the youth silently opened its eyes.

“Prince...? Something is not right..prin..ce..s..s...?” The youth head started to violently pulsate as its thoughts raced through its mind. It shook its head and weakly sat up. The process was still rough but it was not as bad this time around. Carefully, it judged its limit and pushed itself to stand up. Its muscle felt weak, the bone creaked, the flesh screamed. Its body was rioting against the movement.

 It almost stumbled again, it felt strange. Its body foreign from its memories. It was like wearing a dress of mismatched size.. but in its case.. skin. The branches of its nerves felt mismanaged, like its fingertips are tingling from unfamiliar sensation. It was.. bizarre.

 “Slowly..”It chanted in its head. “Carefully..” Someone in its memory seemed to answer back. But it was just a phantom echo in its brains. It shook its head, this was not the time to focus on other things. Things seems to be taller than in the dream and the distance felt longer than what it remembered.. Somehow, it felt daunting but.. curiosity won.

 With countless stumble and unsteady steps, it finally reached the table, the window to outside world laid on its side. It reached out to it..and it stopped. A sudden rush of tingling sensation overwhelmed its spine. A goosebumps stretched from all of its pores.. like little spiders crawling out of their nests.

 On the tables there were many things.. pot of water, cups, cloths... and half full bronze water basin. The reflection.. on the water .. was not ...right.

 It was wrong.

Impossible. But when it moved, the reflection followed. Loyally. Always. 
Yet..that could not be it.. it looked different from all of the one in its dream. It had never seen this reflection before.

 ”W..who am I?” A question popped into its head. For a moment the room started spinning, it was nauseating but it still was bearable. It trudged on. 

“I.. I am.. Xi..a........? Xia... Qi... Qing Yun.” It croaked softly. The name had appeared in its dream. But then, so was another name. Yet, this one felt the most comfortable. Vision of vivid red seemed to enter its eyes.. like a messy drips of ink. Accompanying it was a constant thumping pulse, drumming its temple. Then, its ears were assaulted with inaudible sharp pitch. 

“I..am... a.. princ..e..ss.....was..? “ It hesitantly whispered. It tried to ponder upon the answer despite the surge of pain that assaulted its head. Amidst all of the chaos, it continuously shook its head in an attempt to keep a clear thought.

 “Maybe. Perhaps...” It hesitated.. 

it bit its lips before abruptly declaring, “I.. I am... princess..Xia Qing Yun.”

A blot of redness suddenly soaked the world ..  like thick ink drops that smeared onto rice paper, fracturing the porous fabric of its host.

Her skin started to singe in pain. 

 “Hot..” She wordlessly screamed as her temple burns feverishly, throat parched. The pain progressively slithered outwards, from her head down to the spine and then to each tips of her nerves, devouring her flesh more and more.. reminding her of the heavenly fire in her dream. All of her senses were rapidly overwhelmed by the vivid red blaze. Chaos ensued once more in her mind.

 “It hurts! It hurts! Its burning! I am burning! The fire is burning.. everyone.. anyone.. help...save..” 

In panic, her body trashed around the room and she shrieked horribly. “…SAVE ME!” 
...The world returned to darkness once more.