the brothers of wintervale.
a short bonus chapter on what happened to the 3 brothers who were already dead.

It had been passed down for generations, ingrained deep in the memories of each member of the royal family of Wintervale. No matter how many children of the current ruler came of age only one would become the true heir to the throne, a 'competition' that was often sadistic and brutal with only one survivour left to claim the throne. With six sons and the disappearance of his only daughter, the king knew the second his youngest son came of age the battle would begin.

Mere days before the youngest's eighteenth birthday, three of the sons met in a sitting room in a secluded wing of the castle, weary of outside ears.

“It has to be done – he will take us all out one by one the second he gets the chance if we do not.”

“Hyukjae is right, Heechul is the biggest threat to the throne for everyone and it works for all of us by working together rather than playing a fool. He is cunning enough to get away with nearly anything if he has time to make his move.”

“Then what do you both propose? He will know he has a target on his back the minute it strikes midnight on Donghae's birthday. If it is just as you say no one will get anywhere near him.”

The three fell into silence, deep in fault before the eldest exclaimed, “...unless we strike before midnight.”

Siwon gaped. “Jongwoon that is preposterous!”

“No... no it is brilliant.” Hyukjae added. “Won think about it, if we strike just before he goes on watch we have a better chance than trying afterwards. This gives us the upper hand! We just have to ensure he does not die until after midnight.”

“And how do we accomplish that?” Siwon asked.

“Poison.”

“Exactly.” Jongwoon nodded. “We get the poison in his drink during supper and he will be done with by the time we wake up in the morning.”

Siwon sighed in defeat. “Okay then.... whose going to do it?”

Hyukjae and Jongwoon glanced each other, sharing a look before they turned back at Siwon together. “You.”

“Me!?”

“It is merely an assurance in case we get caught.”

“Yeah, the kitchen hands adore you and would let you get away with anything so long as you gave them a smile.” Hyukjae added. “Besides, out of the three of us Heechul is less likely to immediately slit your throat given the chance.”

Siwon grimaced before he begrudgingly agreed, the trio quickly shaking on it before going their separate ways, plan now in motion.

On the eve of Donghae's birthday Siwon managed to slip into the bustling kitchen while Jongwoon sent the bumbling birthday boy to distract Heechul. He went up to one of the maids he knew had a particular crush on him and gave her one of his best smiles, her face turning a bright pink as he approached.

“M'lord, what can I do for you?”

“Heechul asked me to buy him some read wine for tonight's celebrations, so I managed to acquire a rare bottle for him. I was hoping you would make sure this goes to Heechul only for tonight.”

“Oh... oh of course m'lord I would be happy to!” she replied eagerly, taking the bottle carefully from him.

“Remember, it only goes to Heechul or he will have my head.”

“Of course!” she nodded, cheeks turning redder as he gave her one last smile. He quickly left the kitchen and joined the others in the hall, nodding subtly to Jongwoon as he walked over to sit beside an excited Donghae at the table.

“Settle down Hae, Heechul is going to lose his mind if you keep at him like that.”

As Donghae settled back into his seat properly Heechul let out a loud sigh of relief from across the table. “At least one of you still cares for my well being.” he added sarcastically, Donghae giving him a sheepish smile.

Siwon just smiled awkwardly as the king took his place at the top of the table, family falling into various chatter as the food was brought out to the table. Watching, Siwon's eyes followed the maid as she placed the goblet in front of Heechul, deep red liquid near the brim, before she looked at him and gave him a light nod.

Realising this was the moment they had been waiting for the three brothers kept one eye on Heechul as he picked up the glass, swirling the liquid gently before taking he sip. He paused for a moment before continuing to drain the glass and the trio inwardly sighed in relief, knowing the deed was finally done.

When dinner was over the brothers separated ways for the night, Siwon walking down one of the many hallways with Jongwoon.

“I cannot believe we did that.” he breathed out shakily.

“Be strong Won, you know this is just the beginning. You will be alright.”

Siwon looked at his brother, nodding tiredly. “It is just exhausting.”

Jongwoon gave him a wry smile. “Go get some rest, it will be a big day tomorrow.” he said gently, giving him a soft pat on the back in comfort.

As Donghae awoke the next morning, now eighteen, he found that not only was he missing one brother, but the fight for the throne had just begun.

“Wha-- how dare they kill me first! I didn't even get a chance to have any fun!!”

*´¨`*

Donghae was known to be be the most popular of all the brothers, the young mans charming smile and overall sweetness a winning combination among both the everyday castle workers and people of the kingdom. It was an unspoken agreement among all the elder sons that given the chance Donghae would easily win the throne from them – no doubt everyone would do anything to help him the second he asked.

Despite this unspoken advantage however, Donghae always appeared to be quite against any sort of plot to take out his brothers, choosing instead to spend his time acting blissfully unaware of the constant threat – often happily following his brothers around the castle or taking the time to refine his swimming down at the lake.

The lack of personal concern for his safety that radiated from the younger man put off Zhoumi in particular, the other never quite feeling safe around the boy. Zhoumi would always know where he stood when it came to the intentions of the others, malicious or not. Donghae, however, was forever a mystery hidden behind kind smiles and ignorance – someone who could be just waiting to stab him in the back when he least expected it.

Which was why Zhoumi decided that he needed to take his youngest brother out.

He chose to wait until most of the family was out on a hunting trip for the day, castle empty except for the odd maid and Donghae. He approached him in the library, the younger man giving him a bright smile when he entered.

“Mi! How are you today?”

“I am fine Hae, I was actually looking for you all morning.”

“Really?” Donghae frowned. “Did I forget something again?”

“No Hae.” Zhoumi laughed. “I was actually looking for someone to go swimming down at the lake with me.”

“REALLY!?”

“Really!” he replied, ruffling the youngers hair. “Everyone else is out for the day so we should go spend some time together.”

“Let me grab my bathing suit and I shall meet you down there!” Donghae exclaimed, rushing from the library to find where he had last left them. Zhoumi just sighed, knowing this was not going to be fun for him.

The pair met down by the lake, large grin fixed on Donghae's face as he jumped into the still water. Hopping in after him Zhoumi shivered at the cold, Donghae laughing loudly as he swam laps around him, enjoying the water.

The swam for awhile, Zhoumi watching as Donghae continued to relax before he swam over to the younger with a wide smile plastered on his face.

“Hae, want to play a game?” he asked.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Lets have a breath holding competition! We both close our eyes and go underwater. First to surface loses.”

Donghae looked at his brother skeptically. “I don't know Mi... that does not seem very fair to you.”

“Whoever wins will have to buy the other as much candy as they desire....”

At the mention of candy the youngers eyes lit up, boy grinning widely. “You are on them! Just expect to have to buy at least your weight in candy after this.”

“We shall see.” Zhoumi replied. “I would not be so confident little brother. Ready?”

“On three.”

“One. Two. Three!”

Shutting his eyes tightly Donghae took a large gulp of air before he dived down, Zhoumi simply watching as his brother disappeared under the surface. He waited for a few minutes, keeping himself just below the water's surface so he could take small breaths to keep him under when Donghae finally floated past him back to the surface, this time not breathing. Zhoumi grimaced, deciding to at least drag the boys body back to shore to be dealt with later.

“...Heechul?”

“Welcome to purgatory little brother!”

Donghae pouted. “That's not fair I totally won, I deserve my candy...”

*´¨`*

Two years passed without incident as the sons grew more weary of their surroundings after the loss of their biggest threat. This meant Heechul remained stuck in limbo with an over-excited Donghae, who had no one else to talk to, the entire time. He was not particularly impressed.

*´¨`*

Each year the kingdom would come together for a festival to celebrate the anniversary of their fathers coronation. Noble families and the general people alike would spend the week in festivity, all leading up to a big ball hosted within the castle itself.

On the night of the ball the party was in full swing, worries forgotten between mountains of food and large glasses of wine, dancers twirling effortlessly around the large dance floor. 

Hyukjae pulled a giggling maiden past the kitchen into the deserted storage room, tipsy  as he pressed his lips firmly against hers, guiding her further into the room. He moved to kissing her neck, the woman laughing breathlessly as he went.

“How scandalous that a son of the king is kissing a noblewoman in the corner of the pantry.”

Hyukjae chuckled, pulling slightly away from her. “Well, we shall just have to keep it between the both of us them.” he winked, quickly connecting their lips once more. 

He moved to unbuckle his belt, pulling at the knots when Hyukjae was hit with a sudden chill, light now washing over the room from behind him. Turning from the maiden he was confused to find the large freezer now wide open, dull blue glow spilling into the dark room.

“What th--” Hyukjae was roughly shoved forwards, losing his footing as he stumbled into the freezer, landing face first on the icy ground. By the time he was able to right himself, slipping awkwardly as he went, the door was already slammed shut, muffled sound of the heavy lock sliding into place filling the small room.

He slipped over to the small  window, peering out to barely see the girl standing just outside the door, apologetic look on her face. He stared at her in confusion, motioning for her to open the door when Jongwoon stepped out of the shadows, confusion making way for anger. 

Hyukjae watched as Jongwoon handed the girl a pouch of gold and shooed her from the room, scampering away as the older man sauntered up to the window, smirk on his face.

'Oops' Jongwoon mimed before he walked away, disappearing back into the darkness.

“Come back here this instant you bastard!” Hyukjae shouted, banging against the door angrily, but nothing more came of the darkness. He spent hours trying to throw himself at the door until the cold finally started to finally seep into his bones, the chef eventually finding him frozen against the door late into the next morning.

“HYUKKIE! I AM SO GLAD TO SEE YOU! Well, I have seen you this entire time, but now you can see me! How could you fall for that by the way, she was clearly out to get you.”

“Wha-- how was I supposed to realise! She seemed into me when we were kissing!”

“Maybe you should think with your head for once then Hyukkie, you would not be here with us if you did.”

“SAYS YOU we all know how you died!”

“YOU KNOW WHAT...”

“I am living in my own personal form of hell.” Heechul whined, desperately trying to ignore the non stop bickering beside him.