Chapter 11: Divers

The moon was vague against the misty veil enshrouding the island. Lay looked at his silent companion eerily still in the cold night. “Suho” is dressed in a cloak of pure black, the thin cloth billowing in the soft winds cascading through the lush trees. A white mask decorated with ornate designs of black that move serenely through the cover like waves in the ocean adorned his face. The man holds his flute, long and glimmering, made from delicate stone—probably coral—and engraved with similar designs to his mask.

“Your flute is quite exquisite.” Lay says off-handedly, directing his gaze towards his companion, who had stayed still. Suho responds by raising his instrument and playing a soft tune.

Immediately, drops of water condense in the air, gathering and shaping into what looks like a face mask. Suho then stops playing as the water formation moves towards his mask. Suho lifts his mask as the water is placed in front of his mouth.

“Thank you.” A deep voice grumbles from behind the mask.

“Taking all precautions I see.” Lay smiles and settles himself on a rock.

Suho then moves quietly in front of him and sits himself in front of the minstrel. Lay takes to looking at his movements, graceful and ever quiet in the forest. The man was acquainted with silence, if he even was a man, there was a sense of stillness and caution in his movements that, with constant rehearsal, has become his natural stride.

“So, do you know the nature of your powers—” Lay pauses, “Suho?”

Suho nods.

“So you know why I’m here.”

He nods again.

“Good.” Lay beams, “Now that we have that out of the way, we can talk like normal people.”

Suho stays impassive. This does not affect Lay as he relaxes and quietly strums on his lyre.

“I hope you don’t mind if I strum while we talk. It relaxes me.” The man responds with a shrug.

“Maybe we can start with a name?”

Lay could feel the eye roll from where he was seated.

“I tried.”

Suho shakes his head.

“Don’t blame me for trying to make my job easier.” Lay explains, “But maybe we can begin with a reason, perhaps? Why you want to protect your island.”

Suho looks at Lay and heaves a sigh, “Duty.”

The muffled sound may have masked his real voice, but Lay can tell the tiredness in his voice. He knows that slow intake of breath and that exasperated tone.

“It seems like you don’t really like doing what you’re doing.”

Suho shakes his head, “You wouldn’t understand.”

Lay only smiles, “Then make me.”

And Lay sees the subtle pause, the sudden shift in how the man acted. There was a crack to the solid mask he was now looking at.

“It’s not something I want to do, but it’s something that I have to do.”

Lay looks at him, “Who says that you have to do it?”

Suho pauses, “The gods, fate, the village, everyone maybe.”

“I don’t think you have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Suho chuckles, “As if you know anything. This village is virtually defenseless against the naga. You don’t understand the expectations.”

Lay looks at him pensively.

“Maybe I do, maybe I don’t. But I do know that your home is not defenseless”

Suho shakes his head.

“And why would that be?”

Lay stands up, and gestures for Suho to follow him. The minstrel walks to the cliff side, where they could see the outline of the village and the port at a distance.

“The Naga come from the ocean, they can only come from one spot, which is the shore. The other side is made up of jagged rocks, there’s no getting through there.”

Suho nods.

“At that point you have all the advantages already. The village is situated at the perfect point. With the considerable distance between your village and the sea, you would spot any attack before it even begins.”

Suho looks to where Lay was pointing, with minstrel gesturing to the distance between the village and the shoreline. Which was separated by a good few miles of sprawling stairs.

“And all your villagers had been trained in martial warfare, you could decimate an army of slithering water monsters with a few archers, traps and careful strategizing. They wouldn’t even make it up in time before they’re all dead.”

Suho stays quiet as he listens to Lay explains the intricate dynamics that the island had given them.

“So, no you do not have to do this if you don’t want to.”

Suho chuckles.

“For a tranveling minstrel, you sure know a lot about warfare.”

Lay smirks, “We all have our secrets.”

Suho shakes his head as he looks at the soft veil covering the island.

“So why do you have to protect the village, really?”

Suho sighs, “I just have to.”

It sounds like a desperate plea, one that does not go unnoticed by Lay. He’s heard that sight too many time to not know what it meant.

I have to, but I don’t want to

“So, if you didn’t have to protect this village, what would you have been doing?”

There’s a pause as Suho looks at the blurry moon, “Go to where the sun meets the sea, then go farther.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

Suho nods.

“It’s a beautiful dream, one that I would love for you to achieve,” Lay says moving closer to Suho.

“But fate says otherwise. I can only watch and dream by the shore.”

Lay looks at Suho closely at the man who had resigned himself to the claws of what fate had supposedly dictated before him. Saw as a man reduced himself to a mere pawn in the fickle game of lady fortune.

“Don’t be daft.” Lay scolds, “The scales of fortune tip every day, and it fervently favors the brave.”

Suho is quiet, “It’s okay. I’ve always been a coward. Everyone says so.” The man then directs his gaze to the ground, the words sinking deep into his heart.

“Stop saying everyone. I’m part of everyone, and I do not believe a word you say.” Lay says sternly, “I once resigned myself to the whims of fortune.”

This makes Suho cast his gaze towards Lay, “It was only when I defied her that I found happiness.”

“Fate is not foretold, it’s created.” Lay pauses, “And I think you can create a fate so much more beautiful and breathtaking than this.”

“Your words are eloquent and melodic. You’re intelligent, I can tell. You have a giving heart, you put others before yourself. You are trusting and kind. But most of all, you have greater, bigger dreams than secretly protecting your supposedly defenseless village.” Lay says while walking slowly into the forest, the light of the moon becoming weaker as the man took a step.

“The only thing you lack is belief.” Lay turns back and looks at the man, “In yourself and others.”

Suho can only look back as a tense silence settles between them.

“I’ll be here tomorrow. I hope I see you again,” he says smiling before he walks into the dark.

What Lay doesn’t know is that Suho, in all his silence and impassiveness had been red the majority of the conversation. He did not know that Suho had been blushing throughout most of the exchange. But most of all, Lay wouldn’t know that Suho’s heart had been beating erratically against his ribs as he walked back to the village.

Lay was uncertain if Suho would be back the next night, but he did not know that the man could not even wait for that time to arrive.

Because for the first time in so long, Suho felt a burst of excitement and heat that he could not describe.

___

Baekhyun was awoken by a gentle prodding on his shoulder.

He opened his eyes, mind still groggy with sleep. He sees the tall figure that is so obviously Chanyeol.

“Baek, Baek, wake up, I want to show you something.

Baekhyun acclimates to his surroundings and notices that there’s barely any light in their room.

“What is it, Chanyeol?” he says groggily as he closes his eyes again.

“The sunrise is beautiful Baekhyun, you have to see it.”

Baekhyun considers the prospect. He remembers the early mornings in Everdale, the sunrise peeking from the horizon, the lights cascading in pale purple, orange and yellow; entwining in the sky like paint flowing in the cold space. He remembers staring at it and feeling the sweet calm that only early morning could bring. The smell of salt and the slow clambering of shoes against the dock as fishermen brought in their fresh haul to sell in the merchant district.

That’s why he later finds himself clinging to Chanyeol’s back as he brought the smaller man to the shoreline to watch the sunrise.

Once they get there, Baekhyun peers into the ocean and does not regret his decision. The lights are serene and beautiful, as breathtaking, if not more, than Everdale. The open sky’s hues grandly mixing in ribbons of unfurling color.

Chanyeol grins beside him as they gaze into the quiet sea, the lapping of the waves and sound of seagulls in the distance calming.

“Thanks for bringing me here, Chan.” Baekhyun murmurs, voice still gravely from the length of not being used.

“I thought of you as soon as I saw it.”

“Why?”

“Anything bright and calming always reminds me of you.”

Baekhyun blushes profusely as he avoids Chanyeol’s smile. He shoves the tall man instead.

“Annoying.”

Chanyeol giggles as he lies on the sand, his robes cascading on the pale sand.

Baekhyun lies down as well, looking into the slowly shifting sky.

He closes his eyes and listens to the sounds of the ocean, the rush of waves against the damp sand becoming his lullaby.

Then he hears a familiar tune.

Hey, hey, hey, the end is near

On a good day, you can see the end from here

He knows the tune, but the voice is different.

Baekhyun opens his eyes and sits up and looks for the source of the tune, he then sees a rather old woman sitting by the dock, her voice gravely and deep as she sings Suho’s Lullaby.

She continues unhindered by the pair of eyes observing her. The song ends, the tragic end still grasping on Baekhyun’s heart. But before he can observe the sky once more, the lady sings a new song. It sounds similar to the Suho’s Lullaby, but carries with it a darker tone, a deeper intention.

The diver is my love

(and I am his, if I am not deceived),

who takes one breath above, for every hour below the sea;

who gave to me a jewel

worth twice this woman's life (but would cost her less

than laying at low tide,

to see her true love phosphoresce).

And in an infinite regress:

Tell me, why is the pain of birth

lighter borne than the pain of death?

I ain't saying that I loved you first,

but I loved you best

It was deeper, more poignant and sad. But it carried a more intense longing. Before Baekhyun knows it, he is walking slowly down the crusty sand, his mind being carried by the soft tune. His feet entrapped by the solemn hymn. The floorboards of the dock creak at each step as he walked towards the woman.

She ends.

“Excuse me.”

The woman looks at Baekhyun, caramel skin sunken, deep wrinkles tracing her face. Eyes gaunt and mouth chapped.

“Yes my dear?” her gravely voice asks.

“What is that song that you sing?”

She looks at him with an amused grin, then she points into the ocean.

“The deep ocean carries with it its own secrets, a gaunt darkness only a few will ever be unfortunate to see.”

Her finger then drops to point to a deeper portion of the water.

“In the deep sleeps the darkest of monsters, we sing this for our fellowmen. Those brave enough to the tread the waves of the unrelenting ocean.”

“It is the Song of the Divers. Our hymn of safety.”

Baekhyun looks at her, “Are there other things in the ocean asides from the Naga, things that threaten your island’s safety.”

She chuckles.

“But of course, my dear child. So much more.”

___

“Junmyeon, you look spent. Did you sleep well?” Minho asks his best friend as he walks into the meeting hall.

Junmyeon looks up drowsily at Minho as he yawns in response.

“Couldn’t sleep.”

Minho gives him a look of worry. Junmyeon wasn’t lying. He tried sleeping after getting back from his meeting with Lay, but mostly because he could not make his heart stop beating. It was an extremely distressing situation.

“You should sleep better, Junmyeon. Do you want me to get some drowsing herbs from the garden? I can have some sleeping drought made for you.”

Junmyeon shakes his head, “No, it’s okay. I’ll just take a nap later so that I’m ready for the celebrations later.”

Tonight was the monthly thanksgiving to Suho. On this night, the village asked Suho to rest as they offer things to him, burning them in the flame so that they may reach the heavens. They would prepare their best coconut wine and dance in the night. And though Junmyeon was not overly fond of these types of festivities, he admits that seeing the village so elated did give him a sense of gratification.

“Stop babying him, Minho. Junmyeon knows how to take care of himself.” Jessi says entering a few moments after Minho, “Make sure that you’re well behaved today before you start nagging someone.”

Minho huffs, but stays silent. Everyone knew that Minho would not take anything from anyone in the village, everyone except Jessi that is. Mostly because Minho would be named the fiercest warrior in the village only if Kim Jessi did not exist.

Their small attendant from the day before comes into the meeting hall. Her name was Jiya, the replacement for old Mrs. Kim, who sadly passed away a few days prior. Jiya was quite jittery and awkward most of the time, but she did her work well, especially these past few days. Junmyeon was very thankful for her.

“Mayor, the delegation from Glasskeep are ready for you.”

Junmyeon nods and asks her to let them in.

Kyuhyun and Kangin soon enter the room, their stark white uniforms contrasting against the tropical wood of the hall.

“Good morning, Mayor, Minho, Jessi.” Kyuhyun bows. Kangin follows.  The three nod in response as well.

“Before anything, I would just like to apologize for what transpired yesterday. Kangin firmly regrets his actions.” He says bowing once more, Kangin soon following. The extra nudge from Kyuhyun’s heel did not go unnoticed by Junmyeon, though.

Jessie merely smiled, “likewise,” she says giving a pointed look to Mino, who grumbles but bows his head.

The two proceed to take their respective seats before Kuyhyun begins, “We’ve revised some points in the proposal. In exchange for the full protection of Glasskeep, we require your cooperation. I was thinking that we could just take sole ownership of the docks—”

“But what of our fishermen?” Junmyeon interrupts.

Kuyhyun looks at him a bit taken aback, “Well, they can still fish, but we only at a limited capacity. Are there no other parts that we can turn into a dock?”

“No, the other side of the island is cliffs and turbulent waters. There are no fish there, only rocks.”

Kyuhyun looks at them, then Kangin interjects, “We can carve a hole into the side of the island, create a dock underneath the cliffs. We just have to destroy the rock formation there. It will take time, but we can do it.”

“You will not carve a hole into this island, the limestones that line the cliffs are sacred to our people. No one is allowed to touch them,” Minho pipes, directing a glare towards Kangin.

“We can try to expand the docks. As Kangin said, we have the technology.”

“No you can’t, expanding the dock would affect the fishes there, expanding it will only keep us from getting out food,” Junmyeon pipes.

“It seems that you are more reluctant to come to an agreement.” Kangin responds up, his tone alarmingly venomous.

Kyuhyun shoots him a pointed look, his arms tensing. From his periphery he sees Minho tensing as well. But what was most shocking was that Junmyeon was impassive throughout the entire exchange. Not indifferent, but unconvinced.

“It seems that you are under the impression that the Misty Isles requires your protection.”

Everyone is silent.

“Tell me, why are you so adamant about this agreement?” Junmyeon inquires, “There is little our island can offer. What we have, Glasskeep has in droves. Why our little island?”

Kangin is silently fuming, but Kyuhyun is still convincingly calm. He knows that his spiel about the imminent threat of the Naga was exemplary yesterday, he knew that enough should have convinced them that they required some sort of assistance. But before he can come up with an excuse to mask their true intentions, Kangin blurts out something.

“It’s those blasted druids, whatever they told you was a lie.” Kangin half-screams, frustration clearly displayed for all to see.

“They have done nothing but tell us the truth, unlike the two of you,” Jessi supplies, there’s no venom in her voice, only a calm, calculated ferocity.

“One of them seems to even know the two of you, he even told us to give you guys some credit for being violent oafs.” Jessi spits out, “I’m inclined not to heed his advice,” she says giving Kangin and Kyuhyun the most dangerous stare that they’ve ever seen.

But Kyuhyun is more preoccupied with her words rather than her stare, “Who is this?”

Jessi give stares at him for a few seconds, before relenting, “He goes by Lay, a minstrel.”

Kyuhyun jogs his mind, there are a lot of people he has met throughout his travels, but only a handful ever had good things to say about him. He’s come to accept his reputation, people are wary of him, but he eventually convinces them some way or another. As long as he performed his tasks, he did not worry himself with meager things such as that.

But there are only a handful of people who would ever say good things about him.

“What did he look like?”

Jessi looks at him, but it was Junmyeon who speaks, “He has dark hair, with soft bangs that reach his eyebrows. His has lazy eyes, dark irises. His face is sharp and soft at the same time, a perfect balance. And his smile, it’s soft and inviting. It shows off his dimples.”

Once the words come out of his mouth, Junmyeon is stunned into silence. Minho is glaring at him in a mixture of confusion and something else that he can’t pinpoint. Jessi is giving him an amused smirk, her eyes crinkling with mischief. But most shocking of all was the faces of their two visitors from Glasskeep.

Kyuhyun and Kangin both had a look of utter shock. It looks like two had come across a foreign discovery.

“It can’t be. You’re still spouting all this after everything.” Kyuhyun mutters, and for the first time since the delegation from Glaskeep arrived, Junmyeon sees Kyuhyun display an emotion that wasn’t extreme calm.

“Excuse us. We have to take our leave.” Kyuhyun says before he drags Kangin out of the room. And for the second time in two days, he hurries out of the meeting hall, leaving the three to stare at the positions they once occupied.

Jessi looks at Junmyeon, “So,” Junmyeon warily looks over at Jessi, awaiting the worst, “The dimples got you, huh.”

Junmyeon blushes profusely. Minho scoffs.

“I personally like his hips. They look really solid. I bet he knows how to .”

If Junmyeon wasn’t red already, he now is. Jessi is openly cackling at him, and he has resigned to staring at the floor as he feels the heat invade his body.

 “I don’t really like him,” Minho says from his right.

“Of course you don’t.” Jessi says while rolling her eyes. She stands up and dusts herself, “But Junmyeon seems very much taken by him,” she winks before heading for the exit.

The young mayor is left with the clearly irate Minho. As much as he wanted to comfort his best friend, the idea of lay ing his hips is too vivid in his mind.

“I, erm.” Junmyeon starts directing his gaze towards Minho, “I’m going to take that nap.”

“What’s that?” Baekhyun asks Chanyeol as they approach the three. Chanyeol groans beside him as he observes the small prince look through the contents of the scroll.

“When Kyungsoo goes into his research, he tends to go a bit overboard sometimes.” Chanyeol whispers to Baekhyun, “Watch.”

Chanyeol directs his attention to Jongdae who is quietly sulking at the corner while holding an end of the scroll.

Chanyeol does some weird gesture towards the hunter, and Jongdae rolls his eyes before doing a weird hand gesture himself. Kai mouths “Help” towards the two. Kyungsoo does not even register that the two have entered the room.

“They’ve been at this since dawn.”

Baekhyun looks incredulous as he stares at Chanyeol.

“How—” the taller man chuckles, “Jongdae and I get dragged into these things more often than we want to. Out of sheer boredom, Jongdae and I created our own sign language.”

Baekhyun looks over at the young prince and notices that he has his eyes glued to the ancient parchment, his nose threatening to come in contact with the scroll.

Then there’s a knock on the door.

The four look to the door, Kyungsoo looking up as well after he notices that his personal scroll mechanism had ceased moving.

Baekhyun approaches the door and reveals Jessi and Junmyeon behind the door.

They walk inside and immediately notice that catastrophe that was their room.

“Um, did we come at a bad time?”

 “NO!” Jongdae and Kai scream simultaneously. Kyungsoo rolling his eyes at the two.

“We just wanted to invite all of you to tonight’s festivities.” Jessi interjects, chuckling slightly.

Chanyeol beams, “Ooh! What are we celebrating?”

“It’s a thanksgiving to Suho for protecting the island.” Junmyeon informs them, smiling at the childish reaction from the large man.

“I thought you guys agreed with us that it’s not really Suho protecting the village.” Jongdae interjects meeting with Kai in the center of the room as the roll up the large scroll.

“We don’t, but the village is unanimous in their belief.”

Jongdae nods at this.

“It’s at the center of the village, there will be a large bonfire and a lot of food.” Junmyeon informs them.

Kyungsoo smiles at them, “We would be honored.”

Jessi merely shakes her head, “It’s nothing. So how’s the investigation going?”

“Kyungsoo thinks that looking through the history of the island would give us a lead to the whereabouts of whoever is doing it.” Kai grumbles, which earns him a glare from the prince.

“Well, you guys saw it yourselves last night, what do you guys think of it?” Jessi asks.

“Definitely, The Twelve.” Baekhyun says, “I’m the newest, and I can already tell.” The others nod at his assessment.

“Hey, where’s Lay?” Junmyeon pipes up suddenly.

Jessi looks at him with an amused expression. He could readily read his sister’s face by now, it was a silent, “Could you even be more obvious?”

“He’s at the gardens, said something about getting herbs to wake up or something.”

Junmyeon’s ears turn pink, “W-Well, tell him about the celebrations tonight.”

“We will, Junmyeon.” Chanyeol smirks, “We’ll tell him that you’re expecting him.”

Junmyeon attempts to protest.

“Don’t even try, young mayor,” Kai begins, “We could you hear your heartbeat over the sound of the waterfall yesterday.”

Junmyeon groans, “Whatever. I have to leave.”

“Do you really think it’s him?” Kangin asks as they approach their little rowboat, two foot soldiers awaiting their return.

“I know that description anywhere, that’s how he used to talk about him.” Kyuhyun grimaces as he sits in the rowboat.

“Then why are you here? You’re supposed to be looking for him, you’re supposed to be beating him up right now.” Kangin scoffs, not moving from where he stood by the shore.

The water moved languidly against the white sand, the sound of the rustling water drowning the silence between the two Vanguards as Kyuhyun sat stoic in the row boat.

“You’re too violent, Kangin. Just get on the boat.” Kyuhyun say trying to calm his nerves. The revelation had left him quite shaken. To realize that he was on the island and helping the druids, it was too much.

“You’re just too preoccupied trying to mask your emotions,” Kangin seethes, “The immovable Kyuhyun. Show a bit of emotion, it’s not like he didn’t hurt you and everyone else.”

Kyuhyun looks at Kangin, really looks at him and attempts to contain his anger which has been rising exponentially the longer they stayed there.

“Kangin, I just need to get out of this island right now. Everything’s too much.”

Kangin scoffs, “Then leave me. I’ll sleep on the sand if I have to. I’ll look for him myself.”

Out of all the Vanguards, Kangin was the one who really knew how to push his buttons. Kyuhyun rises from his seat and gets off the boat and takes out his sickle, putting it dangerously against Kangin’s neck.

“You are going to get on that boat right now, Kangin.” He orders.

Kangin just smiles.

“You do not meddle in my affairs. Do you understand? You have no right to tell me what to do.” Kyuhyun threatens, the blade coming nearer to Kangin’s skin. The cold steel feeling ominous against him.

“Okay.”

Kyuhyun releases him and waits for Kangin to board the boat. But before Kyuhyun can board as well there is a high-pitched voice calling his name.

He looks back to find Jiya scurrying across the sand.

“Sir Kyuhyun!” She squeaks once more as she finally approaches him. She bows her head trying to catch her breath.

“You can breathe, girl” Kyuhyun chastises.

“The mayor tasked me to invite you to the celebrations tonight. It’s to celebrate the benevolence of Suho. He is expecting your presence.”

Kyuhyun sighs, but nods, “We’ll be there.”

Even if he knew going would also mean catching a glimpse of him, he knows that work comes first. This was an important deal, and he would be damned if does not get this deal, even if the circumstances were less than ideal.

“I will inform the mayor.” Jiya flashes him a smile before ambling back to where she came from.

He gets back on the boat and sits beside Kangin, “I know you like mulling around before you find a way to solve your problems, but sometimes you can’t do that. Sometimes you can only ever dive headfirst and pray you get back up alive.”

“Why do you think I’m so afraid.”

The night had arrived and the village was bustling. Teenagers were filling the streets, colorful masks on display while lugging around baskets of fresh fruit. Children were being herded by parents into the center, their eyes bright with wonder as they looked at the colorful festivities. The center of the village paid host to a rather large bonfire, around it the locals were dancing to a frenetic drumbeat. Neat the fire sat a small stage with two levels, the first sat five rather elderly men, and on the second level the mayor and his two advisors in an ornamented wooden throne.

Lay observed the festivities from the stairs leading down to the center, the other five beside him.

“It’s just like the Festival of Lights!” Baekhyun squeals, “Everything’s so alive.”

Lay smiles at him, the boy had left at the height of the festival if recalled correctly. Seeing something like this must have been a dose of nostalgia.

“let’s enjoy it then!” Chanyeol hollers, taking Baekhyun’s wrist and heading to the center.

“Hey did you get to get that drought?” Kyungsoo asks from his left.

Lay nods, “The perfect amount of wretchedness to wake up any sane person with taste buds.”

Kyungsoo shakes his head before he and the others head to the center as well, Lay taking the rear.

He had been in deep thought the entire day. Mostly about Suho. He still did not know the identity of the masked man, but he knew that he wanted to help him. He knew what the man? Boy? Or whatever was going through, he lived that for the longest time. The feeling of being tied down by duty and what others have laid before you. He knew how helpless he felt, how lost he was. The same was thing was happening to Suho and he couldn’t help but feel a connection to him. Even though they’ve only met for a brief period of time, Lay already felt the need to protect his dreams.

It was weird.

The last time he felt something this strong was with him. But that was so long ago.

He was only set out of his stupor when the mayor had stood up and was addressing the crowd.

There was another peculiar man. It was quite obvious that he did not want to be in his position. He was forced into it, like how Suho was into the world of leadership without consent. It was harrowing how simi—

No.

It couldn’t be that easy. No.

And soon enough, the crowd was applauding and the dancing commenced once more. He could see Jongdae, Chanyeol and Baekhyun joining in the festivities, while Kyungsoo attempted to drag Kai into the dancing circle. The celebrations were in full swing. This was his chance to get some questions answered.  

Lay took this chance to approach the stage, the elders giving him questioning glances.

He approaches the second level, giving him mixed reaction from the three seated there. Jessi is giving him a mischievous smile, the mayor is not even looking at him, and Minho looks right about ready to bite his head off.

“Jessi, would you care to join me in a dance?” The woman flashes a grin before turning to her brother, “I’ll be back, don’t miss me too much.” To which her brother groans, eyes still not reaching the minstrel.

They reach the circle and they begin their dance. Lay has to admit, Jessi knew how to dance, and if he weren’t so preoccupied with trying to pry information from her, then he would have thoroughly enjoyed bringing her to the circle.

“So, your brother hates that he’s mayor, am I right?”

Jessie looks at him pointedly, “Yes, loathes it. Wishes all of the elders dead,” Jessie comes closer and places her hands around lay’s neck, “And here I thought you were interested in me.”

Lay chuckles, “I’m sorry, you just seem the closest to him. And you don’t mince your words.”

“True, but I haven’t seen him this flustered in his entire life. For some reason he’s even more flustered tonight than he was yesterday.” Lay places his hands on her waist as the music slows, the two now just swaying languidly to the beat.

“The boy’s been blushing the entire day, and you’re the reason for it. Not to mention how sleepy he was this morning. Did you have some midnight tryst or something?”

Lay is struck. There it was, staring at him in the face, the true identity of Suho, laid right in front of him.

He doesn’t know why, but he’s relieved at the prospect of bringing Junmyeon with them, the prospect of setting him free and making his dreams come true.

It’s odd.

However, Jessi interrupts his thoughts, “Now, go and invite my brother to dance,” she whispers into his ear, “before he crushes the wood of his throne.”

Lay looks into the direction of mayor and true enough the man had the hand rest of his throne in a deadly grip.

Jessi let’s go of the man and heads back to her seat, Lay not far behind.

Once he reaches the second level of the stage he offers his hand once more, but now towards the young mayor.

“Would you care to dance?”

Junmyeon is quiet, but the older man can see the traces of pink and red adorning his handsome face.

He nods before grasping Lay’s hand. The two walk into the circle.

The two sway quietly, Lay diving in and placing his hands on Junmyeon’s waist. Lay can sense how the shorter man tenses at his touch, the red on his pale skin getting more intense.

“Jessi told me you hated being mayor.”

Junmyeon nods.

“If you don’t want to be mayor, what would you want to be?”

Junmyeon raises his head to look at his dance partner, “I want to know more, I want to go away.”

“Where?”

“Anywhere.”

Lay looks at Junmyeon in the eye, “Why?”

“I know the story of my home, I want to know the stories of other homes.” Junmyeon says, “I want to know your story.”

“What?”

“N-nothing.”

Lay does not prod further as he sways the two of them to the waning beat of the drums. They don’t know how long they dance, but the drums suddenly slow and the two have to separate.

“The sky is beautiful, and I have to meet someone.” Lay says suddenly.

Junmyeon looks up at him, “Who would you possibly meet at this time?”

Lay smiles, “Someone really important to me.”

Junmyeon blushes, then feels a pair of plump lips touch his cheek. It was fairly quick and Junmyeon could’ve sworn it never even happened, but the heat emanating from his cheek said otherwise.

“See you tomorrow, mayor. Tonight was fun.”

Lay walks up the steps heading into the forest, his feet and his heart beating really quickly. He had not felt anything so intense since his days in Glasskeep, and it was striking how fast things were developing.

He strides forward not noticing the environment around him, that’s when he collides with a body.

He takes a step back, “I’m sorr—” his words are caught in his throat as he looks into a familiar face, one he hasn’t seen in so many years.

“Kyuhyun.”

The Vanguard stares at him in silence, his eyes unreadable. His eyes move to probe the man, eyes taking in everything about the man in front of him.

Then he speaks, voice calm.

 “Who would have thought that I’d find the Lost Vanguard here of all places.” Kyuhyun says eerily.

Lay gulps.

 “You have a lot of explaining to do, Zhang Yixing.”

Author’s Note:

SO MUCH SULAY! 

The song the woman sings is Divers by Joanna Newsom, the same one who sang On A Good Day. 

So, a lot of things happened in this chapter, and I am quite excited for the next. The secrets of the island are unraveling quickly, and I am beyond excited to write the next few chapters.

But what do you think of the development? Too fast? Too rushed? Just right?  Tell me what you guys think!

If you guys know of any betas that can help me, please do give me their contact details. It’s hard to edit 5k worth of words every chapter. I’ll be eternally grateful.

Till next time!