#ehehehhhh

Lan Fan hadn’t been expecting his reach for her mask, so when it came she was totally unprepared. They had been playing his favourite game in one of the tinier gardens in the Yao Palace grounds, a small and relatively plain garden that Ling had decided would be theirs, where Ling was the Emperor of Xing and Lan Fan was his personal body guard. They were at her favourite part, a group of assassins try to break into the throne room and both Emperor and Guard fight them off back to back, when Ling reached behind him and took the mask from her face. 

At the totally unexpected removal of the mask she had been told never to take off in the Prince’s presence (Grandfather had used his stern voice) Lan Fan at first just stood quite still. Ling clutched the surprisingly light object close to his body and sprang a few paces away from her, in case she tried to take it back. He grinned at his great success, waiting for Lan Fan to turn around.

“Now I get to see your face! This’ll make it way more fun to talk togeth-” Ling started enthusiastically but stopped dead when his body guard whipped around to face him. 

Lan Fan’s cheeks were a blazing red, and the bloom was even spreading to the tip of her nose. Her eyes were shining with tears of embarrassment and something he didn’t quite understand. He smiled wider, even as she then covered her face with her hands and stammered.

“M-My Lord! I am one of your body guards and it isn’t proper for you to see my face!” Lan Fan pulled her hands down from her eyes to peek at the Prince, hoping he would be returning her mask to her. She was surprised to see that he was indeed now right in front of her, holding the red and white object in his outstretched hands.