A Sister's Keepsake.

Ding Xue dashed through the grove, her heart thumping in her chest. She felt the breeze rustle the leaves, the insects hum in the air. Each sensation a thorn of fear, piercing her with every step. She saw a building ahead, a flash of white among the green. She ran faster, hoping for refuge.

She sprang out of the trees and saw three figures walking along the building corridor. A surge of relief swept through her as she recognized them. The Crown Prince, his guard, and a girl in a white dress. Ding Xue felt a pang of bitterness as she recognized who it was. Liu Fen.

She gathered her strength and sprinted towards them. "Crown Prince! Crown Prince!" she cried, her voice hoarse. "Save me! Save me!"

They turned to face her, their eyes wide. "A'Xue," the Crown Prince said, his voice tinged with surprise. "What brings you here?"

She reached them, panting and crying. She clutched his sleeves, her hands shaking. "I…was, I was attacked." She chocked out.

"Attacked?" the Crown Prince repeated, his eyes scanning the woods behind her. "By whom?"

"I think it is him," she said, her voice trembling. "The assassin who assaulted me by the river. He ambushed me from behind when I was strolling in the grove this morning. I woke up to just now in the shrubs." She pointed vaguely behind her.

"What did he do to you?" he asked. "Are you injured?"

She shook her head. "He did not injure me, but he took the pendant. That's how I knew it was him."

The Crown Prince frowned. "Pendant? What pendant?"

She sniffed, wiping the tears that blurred her eyes. "When he held me hostage by the river, I accidentally grabbed his pendant. I had it with me this morning, but when I came to just now it was gone."

The Crown Prince's guard stepped forward. "Your Highness, when we fought the fake eunuch earlier, I saw a pendant in his hand. A half lotus flower on a silver chain."

Ding Xue nodded. "Yes, that was it."

Her words were cut off by the Crown Prince and Liu Fen as they both gasped. "Half lotus flower," they said in unison, looking at each other.

Liu Fen reached for her neck and took off a pendant. A half lotus flower on a silver chain. Ding Xue's eyes widened. "Why do you have it?" she asked, disbelief in her voice.

"This one is mine," Liu Fen said.

The Crown Prince nodded. "Yes, this belongs to A'fen," he confirmed. "But there was another like it. It belonged to my late little sister A'Xin."