The Prince In The Tower

Kuai Liang linked his fingers, resting his elbows on the table as he stared at the array of origami animals before him. There had to be almost 100 at this point, the art form one of the only forms of entertainment Sektor allowed him to have. At some point, Kuai had started using them as a substitute for social contact. They were not just his creations at this point, but also his friends.

He was definitely aware that probably made him strange in other people's eyes, but those other people hadn’t been stuck mostly alone in a tower for almost 10 years, so quite frankly they had no room to judge him.

“I realise that recently we’ve had some unfortunate losses amongst us. Pàxiū, Fang Mei and Nián Qīng will be sorely missed.”

It was a tragedy, really. Sektor may have approved of Kuai’s only hobby, but his jealousy was so great it extended to lifeless objects. Every so often, he’d “kill” one of Kuai’s animals, for no other reason than to hurt him. Usually, this meant squashing them, taking them apart or ripping them to pieces. Poor Nián Qīng’s death was particularly traumatic though, Sektor cruelly throwing her into the fire, having some of his soldiers hold Kuai back from saving her.

“But, I have no doubt we will-“

He stopped himself when he heard the door to the tower open. Swallowing sharply, he pushed himself to stand up. He knew if Sektor caught him talking to the bits of paper, he’d have more casualties on his hands. He stilled, listening to footsteps approaching the door to the room he was in. He saw the knob begin to turn, and he held his breath, scared of what tortures Sektor had in mind for him today.

Except, when the door opened, it revealed someone who definitely wasn’t Sektor.

Actually, it didn’t even seem to be one of Sektor’s soldiers, given his armour was a completely different style. He had long black hair tied into a bun, and a short black beard. A long sword was in his hand, but when he saw Kuai Liang, he slowly put it back into its sheath.

“Prince Kuai Liang?” The man questioned, like he wasn’t sure that was who he was looking at.

“Um. Yes?” Kuai fiddled with the hem of his clothing. “Do I know you, sir?”

“No. My name is Hanzo Hasashi,” he replied, walking over towards him. “I am a passing knight who became aware of your plight. I am here to free you.”

Kuai blinked and all that could come out of his mouth was “oh.” It took a couple of seconds to really understand what had been said to him. “Oh! You’re here to rescue us!”

“Yes I- wait… us?” Hanzo raised an eyebrow and briefly looked around the room. “I wasn’t aware anyone else was here.”

“Well, I need to take my friend’s with me.” Kuai gestured towards his army of origami animals. Hanzo stared at the table with a look of disbelief. “If I leave them Sektor will probably kill them all in an act of vengeance.”

“Those are…” Hanzo hesitated, glancing between the animals and Kuai Liang. “Those are just bits of paper.”

“Yes, well, they are bits of paper I’ve formed a bond with, thank you very much,” Kuai snapped, feeling a little bad as soon as he did. He rubbed his arm and looked away. “I’m sorry. They have just been my only companions for the last 10 years. They mean a lot to me.”

Hanzo’s face softened slightly, his confusion replaced by what Kuai could only describe as pity. Kuai should probably have hated that, but instead he decided to take it as a sign of understanding.

“I see.” Hanzo reached around to pull a bag from behind his back. “They may fit in here, but I can’t guarantee they won’t get squashed.”

“If it’s just a little, I should be able to fix them,” Kuai sighed in relief. At least his rescuer was being somewhat kind to him. That already put him leagues above Sektor. He turned away and began to scoop up his companions and gently placed them in the bag. “Thank you…”

“If they are that important to you, I have no room to judge you,” Hanzo replied, eyes darting back and forth as Kuai continued to fill the bag. “Have you really been here for 10 years?”

Kuai hummed in confirmation. “Originally it was just meant to be until I agreed to marry Sektor but uh… That hasn’t exactly happened.”

“You have held off his desires for 10 years?” After Kuai put the last few animals into the bag, Hanzo pulled the strings to close it up. “I will admit, I am impressed by your resolve.”

“Oh, it helps to realise if I were to marry him, his treatment of me would just get worse.”

Hanzo nodded, although there was clear conflict on his face. He put the bag away regardless, and then held out his hand to Kuai.

“Come, let’s get you out of here.”

Kuai smiled, taking Hanzo’s hand and letting him guide him through the corridor, and down the spiral staircase of the tower. As they stepped out into the outside, he had to close his eyes from how bright it was. A couple of seconds to adjust, and he was slowly able to open them and look around.

There were trees, and the light blue sky above him. He could hear birds singing, and a pleasant breeze licked at his skin. In the tower, he had only been able to spy very brief glances of the outside world. Everything looked far more beautiful than he remembered.

As Hanzo tugged on his hand, silently instructing him to follow, Kuai couldn’t help but smile.

He was finally free.

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