Dance into the Fire

~*~

Living a life in secret

Sometimes isn’t always the best

However there are times

When being able to just be free

Is what drives us all

~*~

Chapter Twenty

The vast white hall was easy to navigate once the bleakness became nothing more than a passing memory and Luhan could barely recall the time when it was more than possible for himself to get lost through this endless white abyss that lead to the Prince’s rooms. It was supposed to be an ultimate defence, something to confuse the enemy and make it so that they would be trapped the large building – he refused to call it a Castle because it was merely a series of superficial rooms that became more bleak and desolate the further in they were – but Luhan had long ago come to the conclusion that it was just another method to dampen the Prince’s spirits and keep them in line. It took a keen, concentrated mind to navigate through these complicated quarters and rooms, so there was no way that fun and games could happen in them.

Letting out a sigh, he turned to the left and headed up an almost undetectable set of stairs before coming to an abrupt stop. There was a figure on the floor, curled up and for a second the doe eyed prince thought about yelling for Yixing but upon a second glance he realised that it was the Healer Prince. Letting out a yell of surprise, he rushed to the others side and knelt down, gently shaking his shoulder, “Yixing? What’s wrong? Why are you...?”

Luhan’s words faltered as he caught sight of the healer’s hands which were covered in blisters that had practically gone red raw and he noticed that the younger man was far paler than he had any right to be. “Yifan!” he yelled out, knowing that the Dragon Prince was liable to be close by since he had requested an informal meeting in his room, “Yifan!”

It took only a matter of seconds for a door to open and the tall prince to appear, casting his dark eyes in the direction of the call before rushing towards the pair on the floor and assessing the situation in a matter of seconds. A frustrated growl escaped his lips as he bent to scoop the Healer up, “Damn it! First Baekhyun and now Yixing? Will they not be satisfied...”

Quickly Luhan threw his hand over the speaker’s mouth, shaking his head rapidly with panic in his eyes and Yifan immediately understood and got on with his self-assigned task. Carefully he pulled Yixing into his arms and carried the too light healer into his room. It was one of the few places where the Princes were not monitored to at least give them some semblance of privacy and Luhan followed along behind almost automatically.

Things had not been easy on the Exo planet since Yifan’s return, their Government seeming to believe that one act of defiance was liable to spread further within the group and cause them all to rebel. Of course, they weren’t to know that the Eastern Princes had all rebelled a long time ago but where merely hiding it from their Masters, but now that the Government was keeping a too watchful eye on everything that Yifan did it made life a whole lot harder. Plus, there were rumblings about another battle looming, troops were being made ready, weapons were being commissioned in far higher numbers than were actually necessary and from what Chen had reported at the last meeting he had been forced to attend in front of the General’s there was a clear indication that they would be going to war.

Luhan couldn’t understand why the Government felt the need to expand their territory, they already controlled a vast number of planets and practically had their own star system as well but there was something very unnerving about the whole proximity of the situation that had Luhan far more worried than he could express. If they were to go to war, then there was liable to be only one place that they would be thinking of going for and that was Mato. A shrinking feeling hit Luhan at that though, making him want to throw up at the thought of going up against that Matoki army again because they had barely survived the last onslaught. In fact, the only reason all the Princes had survived was because of Yixing’s healing abilities but looking at the younger man lying flat out on Yifan’s bed, it would be a miracle if he could heal himself right now.

Though Luhan blinked, “What did you mean about Baekhyun?”

“Suho found him in the gardens, practically burnt black,” Yifan grimaced as he ran his fingers softly through Yixing’s hair, “Took him to the medical wing but they wouldn’t tend to the Princes wounds for some stupid reason.”

Luhan gulped, “Where is he now?”

“Somewhere over in the Western Dorm,” Yifan sighed, closing his eyes, “They’ve locked the door and refused to even speak to me.”

Sinking onto a nearby chair, Luhan felt as though he was deflating, “What’s going on Yifan? Why are they all turning against us?”

Yifan shook his head, “I don’t know. Well maybe I have an idea but I’m not stressing you out with it just as of yet.”

Knowing that he was receiving a deadly glare at that statement, Yifan sighed and shook his head, “Don’t worry, I’m not planning anything dumb or stupid. I just want to make sure that I have my facts straight before divulging anything to you or the others about it.”

Luhan narrowed his eyes, “You’re waiting to find out if we’re going to war, aren’t you?”

A slight blush crossed Yifan’s cheek but he nodded, “Yes. But not for the reason that you’re thinking of.”

“What do you mean by that?” Luhan asked, trying not to get angry at Yifan because that would not help their situation in the slightest.

“I know you visited the doctor on the edge of town the other day,” Yifan said slowly, lifting his eyes towards the love of his life.

Immediately the doe-eyed male looked down, fighting back the tears which were threatening to flow down from his eyes. Not that he could honestly stop them because he was still completely wrecked with guilt for having gone behind Yifan’s back about that whole situation and understood that if he were found out by anyone else then his life would have been forfeit. The Government looked down way too harshly on any form of life that was not taken away due to some violent measure such as battle or a duel but Luhan had known that he had no other choice in the matter. Hands flew to the blond-haired prince’s face, covering it from view.

“I’m sorry,” Luhan all but whispered, “I’m sorry. But I couldn’t. I just...”

“Hey,” Yifan said, his tone soft and gentle as he crossed the room, “I understand.”

“What?” Luhan looked up at him, watery eyes barely concealing the pain and guilt which ate up at him constantly.

Yifan sighed heavily, his lips, “If you had told me, I would have agreed that bringing our child here into this world would have been wrong. But I respect your decision, I just wish I could have been there to help.”

Luhan shook his head, starting to cry harder, “I don’t deserve you. You should hate me for what I’ve done. I killed a life, I should be dead myself.”

“No, no Luhan,” Yifan said, shaking his head before pulling his lover into his chest, “If you die, I die with you. Remember that. I understand why you did it, hell for once I agree with it but you mustn’t blame yourself for having to make that choice. I was the one at fault, I knew the risks and did not think but I still love you and I promise you that we will somehow get away from all of this. I’ll find us a way off this blasted planet and we’ll find somewhere far away from here where we can be free and settle down with a family. Please...please don’t cry anymore.”

But of course, the doe eyed male could not stop crying. Yifan let him, allowing him to get rid of the grief which was clinging to his lover like a leach and draining all of his energy. It was tempting to tell Luhan that he was not the first to lose a child out of the princes but knew better than to spill that secret. Plus, he wasn’t entirely sure if Jongin could handle that piece of information being out in the open. His thoughts drifted back to the Western Princes, wondering why they were being so closed off and refusing the help that Yifan had immediately offered before Luhan had found Yixing in a crumpled heap on the floor. He decided that he would try to get Xiumin to investigate further because at the moment they were still being just a little more friendly to him which was nice.

Gently he sighed, wondering if this was really what his life was going to be become once again but shook that thought off. If they were indeed going into a battle with Mato, then he was positive that it would be easy to engineer a scenario where they would be captured and held prisoner.

Of course, that depended on how this whole situation played out and Yifan could only hope that there would be minimal bloodshed on both sides. Plus, there was also the fact that just maybe Zico wouldn’t quite keep to his word. Yifan knew that Zico was an honourable man but he had sensed something in him that was not to be trusted and Yifan knew well enough now to trust to his instincts.

But that was planning for another time, right now he had to help his lover cope with the stress of what had been done and hopefully find a way to heal the blisters on Yixing’s hands before they became too infected and rendered the Healer useless to the Government. That would undoubtedly mean his death and Yifan already had more than enough blood on his hands.