Yixing pulled his cloak tighter around him as they crossed the stable yard to arrive at the castle doors, grateful for its warmth. A chill had settled around the castle as darkness had fallen and the advisor found himself freezing cold, all the way down to his bones even with the cloak wrapped around him. "Is it always this dark at this time?" he asked curiously as the caretaker pulled open the heavy doors. A rush of warmth spilled out of the castle and he stopped shivering.

Shinwoo glanced around them uneasily. "I'm not sure but let's go in."

The castle's fire was stoked up high and they found Joonmyun and Yifan at the dining table, Joonmyun with Luhan's head in his lap. The lord had a look of awe on his face as he smoothed his fingers across the prince's head. Yifan on the other hand, had his lips pushed into a pout and was sulking on the other side of the table.

At the sight of Yixing however, Luhan leapt to his feet, wobbling over to the advisor before taking the edge of his cloak in his mouth. "Hello. How've you been." The advisor laughed at the stag's enthusiasm and petted him gently. He shrugged off his cloak and laid it over one arm before moving over to the dining table.

"You guys just rest up a bit while I bring dinner out." Shinwoo smiled, waving off their offers to help.

The moment Yixing settled into his chair, Luhan dropped his head into his lap and he could go nowhere. The advisor scratched his nails gently against the prince's head and he practically purred with delight.

"He was more excited to see Joon than me." Yifan pouted, glaring at his brother.

Yixing laughed and gave the stag one last scratch on the head before pushing him off. "Go to your brother. He's getting jealous."

Luhan popped his hindquarters under him and walked gracefully over to Yifan before plopping his head into the prince's lap and demanding attention. The prince ran his fingers over the silky smoothness of his brother's coat and the hard bony antlers that were digging into his rib cage. "Did you miss me?" he mumbled, tugging the fabric of his cloak up to hide the red blooming across his face at the question. Luhan keened and looked up at him with eyes the colour of melted chocolate. He nuzzled deeper into Yifan's lap in answer and the prince smiled, scratching the stag under his chin.

Yixing reclined into his chair, eyes drifting from the happy prince to the dark windows on the far wall, on either side of the fireplace. The sky was already a deep indigo, contrasting greatly against the red velvet drapes that were pulled so tightly that only a little bit of the outside peeked through. He narrowed his eyes when something glinted just outside the red velvet.

“What are you looking at, Yixing?” Joonmyun asked curiously, following his friend’s gaze to the window.

The wooden chair scraped back as the advisor rose to his feet, the velvet cloak draped around his arms sliding on to the floor. Luhan lifted his head from his brother's lap and followed after him, hooves tapping lightly against the floor.

"Xing?" Yifan called as Yixing drew back the curtains, eyes fixed on the glass.

"There's something out there," the advisor muttered, almost to himself but Luhan's keen ears caught the words and he cocked his head to the side, eying the window suspiciously. Yixing's eyes caught a small movement close to the edge of the window and he jerked away, chills running up his spine when he spied a violet light glowing harshly at the far end of the courtyard. Terror rippled through him and he spun around just as Yifan walked up to him, pulling the drapes shut behind him.

"What is it?" the prince whispered, frowning at the look on his best friend's face.

"Nothing," Yixing muttered, ducking his head to avoid Yifan's gaze. The prince's eyes narrowed and he reached out to grab him, mouth opening to protest.

Shinwoo appeared out of the kitchen cradling a large bowl in his arms. "Dinner's ready," he said, shooting the couple a strange look.

Yixing darted away to the table, a fake smile on his face. "Great! I'm starving!"

Shinwoo shot the stag a worried look when Luhan wobbled weakly over to the table, taking one whiff of the soup and turning his nose away.

“What’s wrong with him?” Yifan asked, a crease appearing in the middle of his brows as he crossed the room to pet his brother on the head. The prince at the soup uninterestedly and leaned his head against his brother quietly.

“He’s ill,” the caretaker answered, pushing the bowl closer to the stag.

“Ge, you need to eat.” Yixing crouched at the stag’s side, pressing his hands against the silky smooth coat. Luhan whined and twisted his neck away to bury his nose into Yifan’s stomach. The prince his hand along his brother’s head, feeling the wetness of the sweat dampened fur. The stag shook his head stubbornly, resolutely keeping his face planted in Yifan’s stomach.

The prince’s condition worried the advisor as he felt along the beast’s neck. Luhan’s pulse was unusually high, beating too quickly to be normal and his body temperature was up too, his amber coat dark with perspiration. “He’s feverish.” Yixing frowned, looking up at the caretaker who had moved to the prince’s side.

“He has been ever since he came back two days ago. I made him a concoction of elderflowers, yarrow and peppermint but it barely helped. He’s only just been able to stand and wobble a few steps.” Shinwoo his hand up and down along the length of the stag’s body as he spoke, Luhan turning to nose at him quietly.

Joonmyun’s eyes narrowed. “Is that not a sign of dark magic having been used on him? Perhaps something of that sort happened two days ago,” he said, mind whirling as he tried to recall all that he had read on the matter.

“What happened two days ago? Why was I not told anything?” Yifan interjected before the caretaker could answer, amber eyes flashing.

Yixing winced and shot Joonmyun a glare. He had informed his friend of what happened to the older prince in the hopes that he would be able to aid him in healing the illness, but he had neglected to mention to Yifan about it as he had not wanted to worry him.

“He had a run in with the sorceress in the forest," Shinwoo answered, blissfully unaware of the mounting tension in the room.

"What?!" Yixing gulped when Yifan caught his eye; his best friend looked murderous. Sweat trickled down his brow as he bowed his head, avoiding looking at the prince as much as possible.

"Will he be alright?" Yifan asked. Luhan nibbled at his brother's shirt, looking up at him in reassurance. The crease between Yifan's brows softened as he gazed upon his brother, smoothing the stag's velvety muzzle. 

"Let's eat first, hopefully he will get up a bit more of an appetite after we're done." Shinwoo rose to his feet, ushering the young men to the table.

Luhan laid his head upon his brother's lap, eyelids fluttering close as the prince and his entourage began their meal. Yifan could hardly concentrate on the food, mind whirling angrily at the fact that he had once again been left in the dark about his brother. He slipped one hand under the table, absentmindedly scratching at his brother's head as he stared across at Yixing who was tucking into his food with gusto and seemed determined not to meet his eyes. 

Yixing could feel the prince's eyes practically boring holes into his skull as he swallowed a spoonful of the stew Shinwoo had made specially for them. The stew was thick, warm and meaty, reminding him of home and his parents but with Yifan's obvious anger simmering on the other side of the table, it was all he could do to gulp down his food. Joonmyun too, seemed troubled by the tension in the room that had gone unnoticed by the caretaker. 

"Does the food not suit your taste, Your Highness?" Shinwoo asked curiously; he could not help but notice that while the stew in the others' bowls were nearly gone, the prince's remained half full.

Yifan startled, tearing his eyes away from Yixing's chestnut hair to look in the caretaker's direction. "No…No. I was just thinking," he hurriedly said, noting the slightly worried look on Shinwoo's face. He dipped his spoon back into the stew, his mind wandering back to Yixing's strange behavior before the caretaker had appeared with their dinner. What had Yixing seen that had frightened him so much?

As the dinner came to a close, Shinwoo, who had finished his meal early, had managed to convince Luhan to consume a small portion of his soup. The stag's unusually small appetite worried the caretaker as he took the bowls away to the kitchen, the advisor having reassured him that they would accompany the prince to the library. 

Luhan leaned heavily against his brother as they clambered up the stairs to the library, Yifan having checked the clock that hung above the mantelpiece and knowing that they had a couple more hours before his brother's transformation was due. "Go ahead first," Yifan said. "I need to have a word with Yixing."

The advisor's face paled, Joonmyun shooting him a sympathetic look before following the prince into the room. Yifan's large hand curled around Yixing's wrist, dragging him out of the room before he could escape. "Yifan..." The advisor whimpered in pain when the prince pulled him higher up the stairs. The tension in the air between them thickened when Yifan pressed his best friend into the wall, so close that they were chest to chest. 

Yixing kept his eyes cast down, feeling sweat bead at his brow at Yifan's intense stare.

"What was that about?" The prince growled, feeling his temper rise at Yixing's guilty look. The advisor bit his lip nervously, feeling Yifan grow more agitated as the silence dragged out. "Can I not trust you to tell me about these things anymore, Xing?" The prince deflated, all the anger rushing out of him as he stared desolately at his best friend.

"I... just didn't want to worry you," Yixing mumbled, seeing Yifan so disappointed hurting way more than if he had yelled at him.

"I need you to tell me these things Yixing. I want to be able to trust you," Yifan mumbled as he pulled away, Yixing staring up at him in surprise at the sudden show of emotion.

"You can trust me, Fan." Yixing cupped his best friend's cheek and rose onto his tiptoes to press a chaste kiss on his lips. Yifan accepted the kiss silently, feeling a rush of love sweep through him as Yixing embraced him, burying his face into the prince's chest with a low mumble of "I'm sorry."

“You better be. Come clean now, what else are you hiding from me?” The prince tried to be stern even as he melted into Yixing's arms.

Face hidden in Yifan’s chest, the advisor bit his lip as his mind wandered to the massive secret that he was keeping and mumbled. “I've told you everything.” He pulled away, keeping his face as straight as possible as he gazed into his best friend’s eyes.

Yifan shook his head, brushing a thumb across Yixing’s bottom lip tenderly. “I still trust you,” he murmured and Yixing’s heart clenched.

He fought desperately against the urge to drop his head in shame and instead, leaned up to accept the kiss the prince bestowed on him. Yifan pulled him closer, the kiss suddenly deepening into something more passionate. Yixing saw sparks when he felt the prince’s teeth dig into his lower lip, the spike of pain shooting straight to his groin as he was pushed up against the wall. “Yifa… We can’t… oh!” When Yifan’s tongue slipped into his mouth, the advisor’s eyes rolled back and he clung desperately to his best friend, barely able to stand upright as his knees turned to jelly.

 

-

 

“Well you guys were gone a long time,” Joonmyun commented as the library door swung open and Yifan stepped in, looking as collected as ever. The prince smiled and straightened his collar, keeping a straight face when his brother lifted his head from the book Joonmyun held in his lap. Yifan held the door open and Joonmyun smirked and dropped his eyes back to the book when Yixing stumbled into the room, hand held over his neck as if he was in pain.

The advisor’s face was flushed so red that he practically had smoke coming out of his ears. “I…” Yixing stuttered but Joonmyun waved him off, still smirking. Even Luhan had an odd twist to his mouth as he leaned against the lord. The stag nosed playfully at the advisor as he sat down, causing a red flush to spread up Yixing’s pale neck. Yifan settled on his other side, leaning over to lay a hand on his brother’s warm back. Luhan ed his nose at Yixing’s hand, forcing it away from his neck to reveal a purplish love mark on his pale skin.

“You guys had a nice talk?” Joonmyun looked over, smirking when Yixing blushed harder, tugging at his shirt collar helplessly to try and cover the mark. Yifan on the other hand, looked very satisfied with himself as he picked a book off the floor next to him.

 

-

 

Yifan stirred awake, a heavy book sliding off his lap and onto the floor with a thud. His heart chilled when he glanced across the darkened room towards the doors and saw a ball of eerie violet light hovering in the air. Looking down at Yixing, he could tell that his best friend was sleeping soundly. The light flickered, as if beckoning him forward. Yifan shook his head violently, reaching over to grab Yixing’s shoulders. “Xing. Xing, wake up.” The advisor was dead weight under his hands, chest rising and falling peacefully.

The prince could feel a buzzing in his ears and the edges of his vision blurred. The ball glowed brighter, more insistently. He gripped Yixing’s shoulders tighter, trying to ground himself. “Xing…” The advisor snored on, peacefully unaware of what was happening around him. “Yixing?” Yifan breathed, feeling short of breath as his fingers uncurled from his best friend’s body, realization dawning upon him. He was under a sleeping spell.

Yixing was a light sleeper and the appearance of the light should have woken him immediately. “Yixing!” Yifan grabbed his friend roughly and shook him hard, terror rippling through him as the light flashed, drifting closer and closer to the bed. His breaths came out in short, harsh pants as he struggled to wake his best friend. “No. No,” he cried out as he was wrenched roughly from the bed by an unseen force, pressure from behind shoving him forward.

Be silent, little one. Or you will wake the others. A soft, sultry voice filled his ears as he fought against the magic working upon him.

Raven. He thought, wildly swinging his head around in search of the source. “Hel…” Yifan’s voice was abruptly cut off and he was pushed harshly out the door and up the stone stairs.

I said silence. The woman sounded annoyed as the prince was yanked up a set of spiral staircases. He was led into a dead end and just as he thought his ordeal was over, there was a murmured command and the wall in front of him dissolved into smoke.

The smoke was black and gray, struck through with violet light. Its scent reminded Yifan faintly of the time when he had watched the men of his father’s hunting party skin a large bear. The memory struck fear into the prince’s heart as he began to struggle anew, terror running rampant through his heart as he could not see past what was behind the smoke.

The black smoke stretched out its tendrils, curling around the prince’s body, pulling him into its depths. Yifan’s lips parted as he screamed silently, no sound leaving his mouth as he was dragged into the swirling mess of smoke and dark magic. The world around him lost colour, his vision turning black as he was into a vortex, his last memory, a pair of glowing violet eyes staring mockingly at him.

 

-

 

The floor was cold and damp through his pants as Yifan regained consciousness. His head felt as if it was on fire as he pushed himself into a sitting position. There was a strange smell in the air that he could not place as he peered groggily into the gloom.

“Welcome to my humble abode, little prince.” A woman’s mocking voice pierced through the mist in his mind.

Yifan struggled to his feet, hand reaching for the dagger strapped to his hip. The dagger made a scraping sound as he unsheathed it.

The woman sighed. “Oh put that away. You won’t be needing it.”

Yifan cried out in surprise when the knife was forcefully pried from his fingers and sent clattering across the stone floor a good couple meters away. The prince dove for it but an invisible band seemed to wrap around his body and limbs, immobilizing him. Terror raced through him as he struggled against his restraints, that seemed to tighten as he fought.

“Be still or they will eventually choke you to death. We wouldn’t want that, would we?”

The woman sounded much closer now and Yifan’s blood chilled. He went limp, the bonds loosening slightly as he did so and watched as the smoke around him parted to reveal a slender woman draped in deep indigo robes. Her hair was as black as ebony, hanging to her waist and her skin was as pale as snow. The most striking thing about her was her eyes which were a curious shade of violet. Yifan was stunned by how much her eyes resembled Yixing’s besides the odd colour. The woman wore a crystal shard on a leather cord that hung down her chest, glinting and reflecting the little light in the room. 

“Raven,” the prince snapped, his eyes darkening, his fear dissipating at the sight of his brother’s tormentor.

The woman’s eyebrows raised as if she was surprised but a smile then graced her features as if she had realized something. “Well growing up in the palace hasn't taught very much manners has it?” she taunted and Yifan resisted the urge to struggle out of his bonds and hit her.

“But then, aren't all royals like that? Rude and arrogant. Always thinking that they know best, that they are all powerful?” Raven sneered, the raven that had fluttered down to perch on her wrist. The raven cawed as if in agreement and the sorceress smoothed its head gently.

Yifan's lips parted as if to protest but Raven waved her hand, silencing the prince before his words could escape. Yifan’s eyes widened and he thrashed violently, the invisible bands growing so tight that he could hardly breathe. His face paled as he fought desperately, his lips turning blue as his bonds tightened. The sorceress watched him quietly, regarding his struggling body with cold cruel eyes.

Yifan's eyes glazed over as he choked, gagging and gasping desperately. His fingers twitched and worked in their bonds, straining to get free. He gurgled, the sound going unheard because of the sorceress’s spell. His ears buzzed, his vision blurred and suddenly, an image of Yixing rushed into his fatigued mind. The sight of his best friend fueled the prince’s strength and he fought anew, though the band around his throat was so tight that he could no longer breathe.

The prince was sure he was going to die, right there and then but a raven on the wall croaked loudly, pointing its beak in the direction of the mirror. Raven’s perfectly plucked brows furrowed and she stepped towards the hanging mirror, lifting the crystal hanging from her neck. The mirror rippled and through his blurred vision, Yifan could see his best friend’s silhouette and the worried look across his face.

“Blast it. He is stronger than I thought,” Raven muttered, the words barely registering in Yifan’s ears. Distractedly, the sorceress waved her hand and Yifan felt a rush of air fill his lungs when the bonds vanished, leaving him lying on the cold stone floor, trembling. He was spent, barely able to move away when the sorceress moved to his side, crystal glittering in his eye line as she turned him over onto his back. Her violet eyes pierced through as she laid a hand into his chest, her other hand pulling the crystal over her head.

“On the 20^th of April, you will bring him to me. With the breaking of your brother’s curse, he will be returned to me.” The violet eyes glowed, light emitting from them. Yifan was frozen to the floor, transfixed as his mind blanked. The smoke around the woman swirled wildly and the prince felt himself lose consciousness…

 

-

 

“Yifan! Yifan!” He could hear soft sobs coming from his side when light struck him violently across the face. A warm muzzle hard at his left hand and he stirred. His eyes watered as he opened them, the light from the window violent and too bright. Slowly, he set his hands against the soft silly surface and pushed himself to a sitting position, eyelids falling down to shield his eyes from the sunlight.

Yixing was kneeling on the bed next to him, lower lip quivering. “Xing?” The prince questioned, confused as to why his best friend looked like he was about to burst into tears.

The advisor pressed himself into Yifan’s chest, pushing the prince back down onto the mattress as he did so. “You were gone! I woke up and you had disappeared! I went to wake the others and… And then I found you back on the bed. I thought I was going crazy but you… You stopped breathing. I thought you were dead.” The last words were whispered, muffled into his bedclothes.

“I… I don’t understand,” Yifan mumbled as he held Yixing close to him. “What happened?” he asked, looking up at the worried faces of Joonmyun and the caretaker.

“I don’t know. Yixing came pounding on the door and said that you were gone.” Joonmyun shifted uneasily as the advisor clutched the prince’s shirt tightly in his hands.

“Do you remember what happened last night, Your Highness?” Shinwoo asked.

Yifan furrowed his brow as he thought hard. His memories were blurred, faded and did not make very much sense at all. He remembered a dark room, panicking because he could not wake Yixing and a strange violet light.

Yixing’s face was as pale as death when he recounted all that he could remember, stating that his last memory was of the violet light and everything else that had happened after was just a big white blur. “It was a mistake to come here. Now it’s too late. The curse will happen and there will be no way to stop it.” The advisor’s eyes slanted towards Joonmyun, warning him not to say what seemed to be at the tip of his tongue. The lord’s eyes darkened and he shook his head, withdrawing out of the circle.

Luhan snorted and nosed quietly at his brother’s shoulder, chocolate eyes apologetic and Yifan sighed softly, his brother’s velvety muzzle comforting beneath his fingertips as he petted him. “A pigeon must be sent to your father at once.” Yixing decided and the prince’s eyes widened.

“No! He would want us to return home and we’ve only been here a day!” Yifan protested.

Yixing’s eyes were firm. “You’ve only been here a day and Raven already has a hold on you. We must return to the palace and speak with my father to see if there is anything he can do.”

 

-

 

“Yifan is really upset.” Joonmyun whispered softly as he scraped up the last remnants of his porridge from the bowl. Yixing’s eyes were fixed on his untouched food as he stirred the spoon around uninterestedly. Yifan had decided to forgo breakfast in favour of spending time with his brother after Yixing refused to let the matter slide and insisted upon writing to his father.

“Of course he is. He was really looking forward to spending time with his brother here,” Yixing snapped, dropping the spoon into the bowl hard. His chair made a terrible screeching noise as it scraped across the floor when he rose and snatched his cloak off the coat rack. “I’m going to check on Antares,” the advisor muttered, his face turned away from the table.

“I’ll come with you.” Joonmyun scooted out of his seat and hurriedly threw on his cloak, a cold wind sweeping through the castle as Yixing swung the heavy doors open. Their boots thudded quietly on the dirt path as Yixing led the way. “How much reading have you done exactly?” the lord asked as his friend stopped by the stone well, reaching for the bucket sitting on the ground.

“Nothing that I’ve read about will help anymore. It’s all gone to waste. The curse will happen, Joonmyun. We just have to make sure that the curse is broken,” Yixing said, dropping the bucket into the well with a splash. He turned the handle, the old metal squeaking terribly as he brought the water up.

“You mean you will make sure the curse is broken,” Joonmyun said accusingly and Yixing’s eyes fluttered towards him. “I’m just an extra piece in this puzzle. Xing, what am I going to tell your father if anything happens to you?”

The water in the bucket slopped hard against the edges, some of it spilling over the edge when the lord grabbed Yixing’s arm hard. The advisor would not meet his eyes, gaze focusing instead on the stable block ahead. “When the time comes, I will follow them. You must ride for the palace as soon as we leave. Tell my father everything,” he said, his tone unreadable.  

"But..." Joonmyun looked stricken as the advisor quickened his steps towards the stable block, eager to escape him.

"The future for me is uncertain but Luhan's fate will be set in stone if I do not intervene," Yixing explained, the metal latch of Antare's Dutch door cold beneath his fingertips as he stepped into the stall. Joonmyun remained silent as he looped the bridle he had taken from outside the stall over Antares’ head and led him out, Yixing holding the door for him.

“Good boy, good boy.” Yixing patted the Arab on the shoulder before crouching to touch his legs. As expected, Antares snorted and tried to side step when Yixing’s hand brushed across his injured knee. “Easy, easy.” He rose to grab the damp cloth that Shinwoo had used the night before, the water icy cold against his skin as he plunged the cloth into it. Water dripped from the soaked cloth and onto the ground as he wrapped up Antares’ knees, the horse snorting in surprise when the coldness made contact with his leg.

“You’re not planning on telling his father are you?” Joonmyun asked after they had put Antares back in his stall.

Yixing bit his lip nervously, pulling his cloak tighter around him. “I must. It is my duty, Joon,” he said, pulling the door open for his friend.

“Yifan won’t want to leave.” Joonmyun warned and the pained smile that appeared on Yixing's face showed him that the advisor knew that all too well.

“You go ahead and talk to him. I’d like to go through some books in the library.” Yixing waved his friend away, knowing that the prince would not be in the mood to see him at the moment. He settled in the tiny desk in the corner of the library, and picked up the quill, internally debating on just not writing the letter all together just for Yifan’s tiny sliver of happiness. But the sense of righteousness overcame his doubts and the ink that bubbled on the surface of the parchment, black as a raven’s feather, seemed to mock him as he drafted the note that would send them all back to the palace.

-

 

Yixing’s eyes were shut tight as he leaned back in his chair, fingers flexing as they relaxed from the cramped position they had been in for the past fifteen minutes. The ink on the parchment had dried and it was ready to be sent but Yifan’s face flickering in his mind kept him from immediately tying twine around the letter and sending it off. Strangely enough, the fear that had gripped him previously when he had first discovered Yifan unconscious had faded, leaving him with a cold determination to break the curse and to keep his lover safe.

“That stag the king had seen, it may have been planned. The King thinks she wants revenge on her pet. But it's more deep seated than that. The one she truly wants is…”

Yixing jolted slightly as the memory of his father’s words returned to his mind, having been spoken so long ago that he had almost forgotten. He sat upright in the chair, mind whirling as he struggled to recall the conversation he had had with Yifan the night he had his first nightmare.

"So the man who caused the uprising was one of your ancestors? And Raven led the uprising as revenge all for a lost child?"

“But here, my father gave me a list of the boy's attributes. Knock yourself out with it. I have yet to find a connection.”

He may not have found a connection then but he sure could now as the images of his nightmare came to his mind, crystal clear, as if they had never been foggy and clouded in his memory.

The woman who cradled a child, a baby boy. The cloth bundle being snuck away and the child dying in his father’s place. The woman’s furious words.

In his impending doom, a kin’s love his only boon.

Yixing finally knew what Raven desired, he finally understood then that all along, Raven had planned every event to occur at such precise timing because her ultimate goal had never been Luhan.

The twisted words of the curse were ingrained deep into his mind, the curse breaker constantly echoing in the back of his mind as he reached for the parchment, feeling the roughness beneath his fingertips as he rolled it up. The paper crinkled as he tightened the twine, a sense of peacefulness overcoming him as he realized that he could fix things, that he, of all people, had the power to stop all of this, that Raven could be satisfied with just him. With a soft, sad smile spreading over his features, the advisor rose to his feet, leaving the scroll behind on the wooden desk.

 

-

 

“Bring this to my father when the time comes and tell him that I am sorry.” Yixing whispered into Joonmyun’s ear, pressing a tightly rolled scroll into the lord’s hands. Joonymun looked up at him with a worried expression as he mounted his horse in preparation.

The sky was a deep midnight blue, small stars twinkling in the distance. The full moon shone down upon them and a gust of wind whipped Yixing’s blue cloak around his shoulders as he smoothed down Scorpio’s mane.

“Be careful, Yixing.” Joonmyun mumbled, feeling fear and helplessness fill his heart. Yixing was saved from having to reply when the large oak doors creaked open, Luhan’s golden horns a blur as he bolted out of the castle, Yifan close behind him. The prince’s eyes were glowing violet as he swung astride his horse, chasing after his brother with a bow and quiver full of arrows across his back.

“I’ll be going now.” With those last words, Scorpio was off, long legs eating up the ground.

 

-

 

Yixing’s fingers curled tightly into Scorpio’s mane, the coarse grey hair reassuring as he leaned forward, urging his horse on. He could see glints of gold shifting through the trees, hear the heavy hoof beats of his horse strike the earth as they streaked through the forest, chasing after the princes in front of them.

Antares was breathing hard, sweat foaming where the leather of the reins rubbed against his neck. Yifan sat atop him, expression cold and dark as he chased his brother deeper into the forest. He was barely aware of his best friend riding next to him, all his attention was focused on the golden horned stag. Every fibre of his being was telling him to draw his bow and send an arrow flying towards the stag but he remained calm even as his horse leapt over a fallen tree, Yixing following close behind.

The trees slid back around them suddenly and melted into nothing, revealing the stag that was slowly tiring in front of them. Yifan’s gaze hardened and he reached back for his bow. The stag stumbled and tripped, the black horse closing the distance between them all too quickly. Yixing lurched forward, terrified when he saw the stag’s front legs collapse, the poor animal struggling back to his feet again. The mistake had cost him valuable time and the prince was nearly close enough to shoot.

The advisor clamped his legs tightly around his horse and Scorpio snorted, lengthening his stride. His legs practically ate up the distance between him and the black horse racing just ahead of him. Yixing’s heart was thumping wildly in his chest, terror and panic racing through him when he saw Yifan pull an arrow from his quiver. “C’mon boy. Just a little more. A little more,” he coaxed under his breath, fingers starting to cramp up from holding the reins so tight. Sweat poured down his face, stinging his eyes and flattening his fringe to his forehead as he urged Scorpio on.

The white horse whinnied, sinewed body surging forward with one last burst of energy just as the prince let his arrow fly. Yixing yanked hard on the reins and his horse reared, pivoting on its hind legs.

Yifan screamed when he felt his body leave the saddle, his horse rising onto its hind quarters in shock. The wind whistled past his ears as he flew, backwards and away from Antares. He struck the ground with a resounding thud, the air knocked out of his lungs. A shock of pain jolted up his spine upon contact with the ground and the world spun.

As the prince lay on the ground winded and possibly in shock, his arrow flew straight and sure, burying itself deeply into the left side of his best friend’s chest. Red blossomed across Yixing’s shirt, a stark contrast against the white cloth.

Yixing cried out, more in surprise at the foreign object entering his body than in pain as he flung his body weight forward to bring Scorpio back onto the ground. There was a buzzing in his ears, Scorpio’s heavy panting suddenly sounding too loud. “Good…boy,” he managed to croak even as the colours around him became too bright, and he could feel a headache coming on. As the adrenaline faded, his body felt too heavy to hold up and he slumped forward, when the movement jolted the arrowhead inside him.

He lifted a hand to his chest and winced when it came away covered in blood. Even as his hand reached for the arrow’s shaft, the arrow dissolved into violet smoke. The world tilted and the sky went dark, as the trees returned, shrouding them in shadows. The stag had fallen to his knees, screaming as his body contorted through his final transformation. Yixing laid his forehead against Scorpio’s neck, feeling the animal tremble as the sky grew darker and the air filled with a raven’s call. He watched in sick fascination as a trail of smoke travelled through the air, forming into a corporeal shape of a woman.

Raven.