Minseok opened his eyes just enough to catch a glimpse of too-bright light before he closed them again just as quickly. He could feel he was on his bed, he could hear voices talking softly near him; Baekhyun had probably left the tent flap open again, the social butterfly, but hopefully it would draw in a breeze soon. His right foot was throbbing and his head felt like one of the sergeants had slammed him into the wall-

Wait.

It took him a moment to catch up, to realize that the battle had not been a nightmare but very, terrifyingly, real. He should not be in his bed.

His eyes flew open, even though the light was too bright and it hurt, and he sat up with a gasp, swaying a bit with dizziness. A wet cloth fell off his forehead (it was warm by now, not really wet anymore, and felt gross) and he looked around.

He was in a tent, what looked like a medical tent. The tent had a frame to it and netting over a few windows to let in light and air but keep out mosquitos. Minseok’s head was pounding and the light shining in was far too much.

There were two rows of beds; Minseok could see by the dirty, non-descript, clothes that the beds were full of his fellow omegas. There might have been more beds, Minseok couldn’t see light beyond the flap of the tent, but he couldn’t be sure.

Someone heard him when he gasped. Minseok saw a tall, very tall medic turn around, and as the medic began to approach him, Minseok shrank back when pheromones told him the medic was a beta.

“It’s okay,” the medic’s voice was deep, but not growly, and his tone sounded like he was trying to be soothing. “My name is Chanyeol. I’m a medic. I’m not going to hurt you.”

His brain caught up the rest of the way and Minseok looked around frantically, staring at each face he could see in the beds around him.

“What’s the matter?” Chanyeol asked.

“Jongdae,” Minseok said quickly. “Have you seen an omega named Kim Jongdae?”

Chanyeol looked confused, and Minseok’s heart sank down to his stomach. Then, after a second, his face lit up.

“Your cousin! I told him to go lay down and rest. Don’t move.”

Jongdae was okay. If he’d been told to go lay down, he was okay.

Minseok didn’t move a muscle as Chanyeol walked to the tent flap, and moved it aside to talk to someone briefly before he came back.

“Okay, can I have a look at your head?” Chanyeol asked. “You’ve been unconscious for almost a full day.”

Minseok nodded, but he was confused that Chanyeol even cared. The fact that he and a good number of omegas were in a medical tent at all, and very clearly a Lu medical tent, was weird to him.

Chanyeol probed gently along his scalp, before gently holding Minseok’s head and using a lens to focus light coming in from the window right into Minseok’s eyes. That hurt and Minseok whined in discomfort but didn’t dare try to move out of Chanyeol’s hold.

Chanyeol apologized, and took the lens away as quickly as he could.

There were bandages on Minseok’s hands and his right foot, but Chanyeol didn’t touch those yet. Instead, he just sat back a comfortable distance from Minseok and smiled.

“Well, I don’t think you have any further injuries to your head, which is the best thing we could have hoped for. You might suffer from headaches more but that should be the worst of it. The bandages on your hands can come off tomorrow, probably, but your foot-“

“Minseok!” Chanyeol was cut off abruptly as Jongdae burst into the tent, running for him immediately.

Chanyeol stepped to the side to let Jongdae get to Minseok. Jongdae’s eyes were red-rimmed, Minseok could tell he’d been crying, and when he hugged Minseok he hugged like he was never going to let go of him ever again.

Minseok wrapped his arms around Jongdae and began to rub his back, like their mothers did when either one of them were upset, and Jongdae started crying all over again.

Minseok hushed him quietly, and Chanyeol smiled at him before mouthing ‘I’ll come back later’ and left the two of them be.

After Minseok had cuddled Jongdae into calming down, Jongdae explained everything that had happened in the past day, while Minseok had been unconscious.

They had lost. Minseok wasn’t surprised by this, but apparently it had been a big shock to the Lu battalion that they had managed to win. There had been a retreat when the regiment was down to five hundred. Five hundred. Out of two thousand.

Unfortunately, and the Lu officers said unfortunately, which baffled Minseok, it wasn’t for some time during the battle before they realized they were fighting omegas. So many were dead, their bodies left discarded by their former officers like trash in the clearing. The Lu army had set up funeral pyres, the only way to give the omegas something like a decent burial. And all the wounded, or the friends and family who wouldn’t move from the wounded, like Jongdae, were taken into the Lu army camp. Only about two hundred omegas had made it among the dead and wounded. So about seven hundred total… out of two thousand.

Their entire tent: Jongdae, Baekhyun, Jongin, and Minseok himself, had been taken to the Lu camp. Baekhyun was unconscious, and the alpha Jongin had gotten into hand-to-hand with had told him to pretend to be knocked out. Jongdae was fine, save for some bruising. When Minseok had been knocked out, Jongdae had stayed over him, making sure no one hurt him further, which was why Minseok didn’t have as many bruises as he could have.

“What are they going to do with us?” Minseok asked.

“I don’t know,” Jongdae shook his head.

Jongdae had wanted to stay with Minseok the entire time, but when the beta medic, Chanyeol, came back and told Jongdae that dinner had been prepared for him, Minseok shooed him away.

“Hurry,” Minseok whispered so Chanyeol wouldn’t overhear. “We don’t know when we’ll get to eat again.”

Jongdae nodded, and hurried off, with Chanyeol following behind him.

A different medic came by a few minutes after they’d gone, and brought bowls for each of the omegas in the tent block Minseok was in. When they handed Minseok his bowl, Minseok couldn’t keep his jaw from opening in surprise.

A helping of rice a little bit bigger than the size of his closed fist, and more chicken than Minseok had had in one sitting since he’d left home.

“Is all of this for me?”

“Of course!” The medic raised their eyebrows. “Eat well, someone will collect the bowls in an hour or so, I think.”

It was beyond confusing. Minseok would have been delighted to receive anything at all, and now he was being fed better than he had been back in his own camp.

Someone came by to collect the bowls a little while later, as well as to light lanterns since the sun had gone down, and after that Chanyeol was back.

“I sent Jongdae and your friend Jongin off to the baths,” Chanyeol said, to explain why Jongdae wasn’t back yet before Minseok even had a chance to wonder.

Chanyeol knelt down next to Minseok’s bed.

“Like I said before, the bandages on your hands can probably come off tomorrow. You had some scrapes on your palms, but nothing major. Your right foot, however…”

The look on Chanyeol’s face made him nervous.

“I don’t know how you kept walking. The bottom of your foot looks like meat, to be honest. In a few days I can give you a crutch so you can move around, but the bandages are going to have to stay on your foot for a while yet. I’ll need to put dressing on your foot daily, so you’ll have to sleep in the medical tent until we leave here, but once I can get you a crutch, you can walk around.”

Minseok nodded. “Thank you.”

Chanyeol smiled, “of course.”

“What’s… what’s going to happen with us? After we leave camp?” Minseok had to ask.

“I don’t think a decision has been made yet,” Chanyeol told him, and Minseok just nodded.

The days following were more peaceful days than Minseok had had in months, at least as far as activities went. There was no training, no inspections, no guard shifts… that part of it was wonderful. But at the same time there was an undercurrent of unease. Minseok could see it on the face of every omega, both injured and not. They had no clue what was going to happen to them, and if the medics knew they were being close-lipped about it.

The treatment was confusing, too. Minseok had expected that the omegas would be largely ignored, or paid just enough attention that they got pushed around, like how it was back in their old army camp. But no, even with the un-injured omegas, all the Lu personnel, both army and medic, were gentle with them. Minseok had watched out the window as an alpha carrying a stack of blankets high enough that he couldn’t see had bumped into an omega. He had ignored the fallen blankets and was instead focused on comforting the frantically apologizing omega.

“It’s not your fault,” his tone was soothing. “Did I hurt you?”

“Oh no, no, alpha, not at all!” The omega was quick to tell him, and began picking up the blankets. “These shouldn’t get dirty, where are they going? You shouldn’t have to do this, you’re an alpha, I’ll carry them.”

The moment ended with both alpha and omega walking side by side and each carrying a smaller stack of blankets.

It was weird.

Chanyeol was able to find Minseok a crutch like he said, so after a few days of being stuck in bed, Minseok was able to go exploring. He had tried putting weight on his foot and it had hurt enough to bring tears to his eyes, so he had to hobble with the help of the crutch, but it was a lot better than being stuck in bed.

The Lu army camp was in a lot nicer location. There were much fewer rocks than on the other side of the clearing, and the trees weren’t quite as dense around the tents so Minseok didn’t have as much trouble getting around as he thought he might. The breeze ruffled nicely through the camp, cooling everyone down, and Minseok took several moments to just stand there and sigh contentedly. It was cloudy again, nice and cool, and it felt perfect.

Minseok couldn’t immediately tell which ones were the tents for the omegas and which belonged to the Lu army men, which surprised him. Jongdae took him to the tent he was staying in, with Jongin and two Lu betas, and Minseok saw that they had hung up a blanket as some kind of privacy screen.

“The betas did that,” Jongdae told him with a little smile. “They said they don’t want to make us uncomfortable since we don’t have a tent to ourselves.”

Everything was so uncertain, yet at the same time Minseok hadn’t seen Jongdae and Jongin this carefree in quite a while. Minseok watched while they played games with the Lu alphas and betas, and seeing the happy flush return to Jongdae’s face made him smile himself.

Baekhyun regained consciousness not too long after Minseok did, but like Minseok was told to sleep in the medical tent. He was originally in a different section from Minseok, but he pouted and puppy-eyed his way into getting his bed moved right next to Minseok’s. At first Minseok was worried about the medics’ tempers flaring up because of the begging, Baekhyun’s begging could be obnoxious, but they all seemed to like him and so the switch went over without a problem.

“If we were back in our old camp you would have gotten punched,” Minseok warned him when Baekhyun settled into his new bed next to him.

“Why do you think I waited so long?” Baekhyun grinned. “But no, the personnel here are a lot nicer. I knew I didn’t have anything to worry about.”

“Don’t push your luck, though.” Minseok couldn’t keep the worry off his face.

“That’s true. It would be a shame if they punched me in the face and ruined my profile.” His words were serious but his tone was flippant.

Minseok had to , he’d left himself too open for it.

“It would be; your face is your only redeeming feature.”

“Hey!”

Finally, when Minseok was so grimy he couldn’t stand it, Chanyeol said he would accompany Minseok and Jongdae to the baths, if Minseok was comfortable. He could take the bandages off, wait for Minseok to finish, and then re-dress his foot there. As soon as Chanyeol said “bath” Baekhyun perked up, and by the time they were heading toward the natural spring, Jongin had joined in too.

When the ground got too rocky for Minseok to maneuver his crutch well, Jongin carried him. He tripped a couple times and kept asking if Minseok was okay. He was naturally very nurturing and it was sweet. Minseok reassured him he was fine with a bit of teasing:

“Such a sweet kid!” Minseok smiled as he ruffled Jongin’s hair.

Jongin whined a little but not enough to be a real protest. Minseok left his hand in Jongin’s hair, rubbing and scratching his scalp gently as he walked, and smiled when he heard Jongin sigh contentedly.

Finally, they made it, and Jongin set Minseok down on a larger rock so Chanyeol could undo the bandages easier.

“How is it healing?” Minseok asked him.

“I’d rather wait and look again after you wash the old medicine off. I missed more than I thought and it’s making it look worse than it is.”

Chanyeol always wiped off old dressing when he re-wrapped Minseok’s foot, but since he did it in the lower light of the tent, Minseok figured missing some was perfectly reasonable.

Chanyeol turned around while the four omegas undressed, and Jongdae and Baekhyun helped Minseok maneuver into the spring. The water was a little cool, but washing the built up dirt and grime off his skin felt like heaven. The omegas all helped each other wash off their backs; Jongdae and Jongin had had a chance to go several times before, so they weren’t bad off at all, but Minseok and Baekhyun badly needed a wash. After they were clean, Minseok re-braided everyone’s hair, and they looked a lot more presentable than they had before going.

When he put his clothes back on, Minseok examined the bottom of his right foot. It was clearly healing, but it was still all massive scabs, crossing over each other. No wonder Chanyeol had said his foot had looked like meat. Minseok knew better to think it wouldn’t scar, and sighed. Ah well, it wasn’t like a potential future alpha was going to be inspecting the bottom of his feet. He just hoped the scabs healed quickly or he wouldn’t be walking for a while yet.

Chanyeol told him pretty much the same thing while he dressed and re-bandaged Minseok’s foot.

“They’re healing like they should. We caught infection in the early stages. You should be just fine after a while.”

Days passed, and Minseok lost track of time, he’d forgotten how long it had actually been since the battle, when the announcement came. Everyone gathered, omegas included so the officers didn’t have to repeat themselves, in the main compound of the camp. Chanyeol carried him on his back so Minseok didn’t have to move his foot around, and Minseok was grateful even though Chanyeol’s hips were a bit boney. Everyone was quiet: the Lu army out of training, and the omegas out of anticipation, and after the camp had been so lively, the silence seemed unnatural and more than a little unnerving.  

“We’ve received orders to return to the Capital,” the commanding officer told them.

Minseok froze, and just barely felt Chanyeol rub his leg in reassurance.

“We will receive further assignments once assessments have been made. Omega’s will be temporarily assigned service positions within the Capital until a treaty has been reached. We break camp in the morning and begin the march home.”

The Lu army saluted, but Minseok was frozen on Chanyeol’s shoulders. Service positions. That could mean anything, there had been no elaborating on what they’d be doing.

A wave of anxiety washed over the omegas. This was what they had been dreading. Service position could mean hard labor either indoors as a domestic servant or in fields or even a mine or quarry. It could also mean a bed slave. Whether outright or given over as a domestic servant only to become a bed slave from there… it was something they dreaded.

Jongdae was pale and quiet, and Jongin was somber when they went back to the tent they shared with the betas. Minseok was still on Chanyeol’s back, and Baekhyun walked next to them as they headed back to the medical tent.

Chanyeol could tell they were worried, of course he could. He was quiet as they walked back to the tent and when he set Minseok down on his bed. Baekhyun sat down on Minseok’s bed as well, huddling close, and Minseok knew he was wanting to be reassured, even if the reassurance was a bit pointless.

Minseok wrapped an arm around Baekhyun, and Chanyeol knelt down in front of them, so he was looking up at them. Minseok knew he was trying to look as non-threatening as possible, and with his eyes wide and his eyebrows crinkled with concern, it worked, even as big as he was.

“I promise nothing bad will happen to you,” Chanyeol told them softly, his voice a low, comforting rumble. “Any of you. You don’t need to be afraid, okay?”

Minseok nodded minutely, but Chanyeol didn’t have time to stay with them longer. The medics were already starting to pack up supplies and he had to go help.

“Can I sleep in your bed tonight?” Baekhyun asked him softly.

Minseok didn’t think he’d ever seen Baekhyun look this scared. There was something frantic in the way he looked at Minseok, and it made him wonder what he’d seen or what he’d been through. He hadn’t even looked like this the morning of the battle, when they were all convinced they were going to die.

“Sure.”

They pulled back the blanket and squished together on the bed. The bed was in no way made for two people, but Baekhyun was pressed tightly up against Minseok and Minseok didn’t think either of them were in danger of falling. He pulled the blanket over them both, and slid his left arm, which was against the mattress, under Baekhyun’s neck, wrapping the other behind Baekhyun to hold him.

Baekhyun hugged him tightly, and Minseok started to rub the back of his neck and thread his fingers through Baekhyun’s hair. It seemed to work: Baekhyun fell asleep a lot faster than anyone else in the tent: Minseok could hear sniffling and the anxious creaking of movement for a while longer, before he finally fell asleep himself.

In the morning, there were fewer omegas. Nearly fifty had managed to run overnight, even some from the medical tent, who didn’t have leg injuries. No doubt helped by their uninjured friends or family, and Minseok couldn’t blame them. None of the Lu army had said that they wouldn’t be bed slaves, and that was not a risk that sat well with any of them. There were es in their kingdom, of course there were, but there was still a measure of willingness to it. The one law protecting omegas was that they could not be sold into a brothel.

They had no idea if there was such a law in the Lu kingdom. And none of them wanted to be forced into ion. The kindness of the Lu alphas and betas was not a definite reassurance.

The camp broke down around them: the tent fabric was taken off of the tent frames and packed away, medical supplies were loaded and each of the soldiers had a pack of their own things on their backs. The omegas themselves were helped into both the wagons that had been intended for the injured, and empty supply wagons.

The Lu army managed to fit all of them in the wagons, but it was far from comfortable. Jongdae, Minseok, Jongin, and Baekhyun had stayed together, so they were put in the same wagon, which was the only thing that made the trip bearable.

It was a several day journey. Minseok knew he should have expected it, it had been the first battle of the war, of course the capitals would be farther away, but expecting it or not did nothing to make it more tolerable. The wagons were extremely uncomfortable, and while some omegas were sitting in each other’s laps to make as much room as they could, it was still a far cry from a solution. They were still fed well, which was good, but whether they were moving or stopped for the night, sleeping was almost impossible. Minseok took naps when he sat in Jongin’s lap, and he coaxed Jongdae into napping when Jongdae sat in Minseok’s lap, massaging his neck and rubbing his back.

“This is only temporary,” Minseok murmured to him, saying it for his own benefit as much as Jongdae’s. “When the war ends, they’ll negotiate a treaty, and then we can go see our mothers again.”

“I know,” Jongdae mumbled, but he clung tighter to Minseok all the same.

Minseok had Jongdae asleep in his lap and Baekhyun leaning into him, drifting off, when an excited rumble began to move through the Lu army. Minseok wanted to look around, but Jongdae and Baekhyun had him pinned in such a way that he really couldn’t move much.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his back, and his startle jostled Jongdae and Baekhyun enough to wake them.

It was only Chanyeol, who had ridden close on his horse:

“Look!” his smile was the most excited Minseok had seen in a while, and he pointed off to the right of the wagon trail. Minseok craned his neck to look.

On the top of a hill, sticking out among the trees, was a roof and the upper part of a building. That was all they could see for now, but Minseok knew it had to be a pretty large building for them to be able to see it over the trees, as tall as they were. The section of the upper part that they could see was elegantly decorated, with carvings that Minseok could tell even at a distance would be intricate. The flat surfaces were clean, bright, well-maintained. Even just that small upper section screamed luxury.

“That’s the roof of the palace!” Chanyeol told the four of them excitedly.

The roof of the palace. They were almost there.

As the parade moved closer, the word spread and the excitement of the soldiers was soon met with the anxiety of the omegas. Conflicting waves crashing into each other and creating a muddled atmosphere.

Minseok just kept rubbing Jongdae’s back as if it would protect him from whatever the Lu government had planned for them.

It was almost evening by the time they reached the walls of the city. The sun was beginning to set, but the lower light didn’t take away from how imposing the walls were. Tall, tall enough to pose a serious barrier to any army, and made with massive cut stone blocks.

A team of guards hauled the gates open. Metal gates, Minseok couldn’t tell what kind. The capital city of his own kingdom didn’t even have gates (walls, yes, but just an opening that was designed to make the city easier to defend and not completely protected) and yet the Lu kingdom’s had heavy metal gates as tall as the walls surrounding them.

What immediately took Minseok by surprise were the people, or rather, the lack of them. It wasn’t an empty city by any means; it was full of outdoor market stalls with both vendors and customers, children playing games, running further up the street in excitement as they saw the parade of soldiers. But Minseok looked down alleyways, under any bridges he could see, and he couldn’t see omegas. In nearly all of their cities, the alleys would be full of omegas, trying their best to build a passable shelter out of scrap wood and old clothes. Some would be sitting just off the road, displaying salvaged items on blankets in an attempt to sell enough to buy some bread or a piece of fruit. Omega children, some in worn clothes, some , playing just outside of the alley or trying to get away with stealing some street food. He had only been in the city near his home a few times, when he and Jongdae were tucked under the arms of their alpha uncle, clinging to his shirt hem as he led them to the main outdoor market. It was the same every time, and Minseok desperately wanted to do something for the children, at least, but their uncle said there was nothing they could do.

But here… there was none of that. No fabric house communities, no dirty children. He saw omegas, sure, but they were clearly not living on the street. They were fully clothed, in nice clothing, and carried baskets full of things they’d probably picked up shopping. They walked with either their mates or in a gaggle of other omegas, laughing and waving to the soldiers passing by. Their cheeks were full, their hair was shiny and pulled back prettily… they looked very well off.

Minseok, Jongdae, Jongin, and Baekhyun all shared Looks with each other.

They got closer to the palace, and Minseok couldn’t keep his mouth from dropping open. It was massive, with perfectly clean walls and carvings which were just as ornate as Minseok had thought they would be. It was obvious from the palace, if it hadn’t been before from the rest of the city, that the Lu kingdom was very wealthy.

There was a military compound near the palace, and the parade continued into it. All at once, there was a flurry of activity. Critically-injured soldiers were moved into the military hospital. Supplies were re-sorted, soldiers and medics alike dropped their packs in their barracks or temporary housing. Everything had to look presentable.

The king was coming.

The omegas were helped out of the wagons by the soldiers, and at first they all just huddled together at the back of the compound. The number of them was too large for the way they were huddled to look anything but pitiful, but none of them cared. Eventually, the officers came over to get them lined up and that, at least, was something they knew. They weren’t in their correct order, and they were from different companies so no one really knew what the order was even supposed to be, but they made several straight lines.

If there was any military thing they knew, it was how to line up, and their lines were perfect both down the rows and columns.

The soldiers lined up in front of them, quickly and efficiently, and the medics lined up in several columns on the side. They weren’t waiting for more than a few moments when the call came from the commanding officer:

“Attention!”

It was ingrained in the omegas, and they all snapped to it as well. Minseok still had his crutch, but he supported the weight on his right side on his wrist so that he wasn’t stooping and didn’t have the crutch at an angle.

Minseok couldn’t see the king and his entourage, but his voice boomed out, echoing off the compound walls. He congratulated them all on their victory, told them a feast had been prepared in their honor, and dismissed them.

The omegas waited in silence, still at attention. The officer standing near them waited a moment before calling out, maybe just on a whim, none of them knew:

“Company, march!”

And they did. Minseok thought he could see some of the king’s entourage raise their eyebrows in surprise, but the omegas all marched forward to the king until the officer called out:

“Company, halt!”

Minseok could see the king now. He was fairly tall, and middle aged, with a long graying beard and a neutral expression. Minseok couldn’t tell what he was thinking when he looked at all of them; his expression wasn’t kind, but it wasn’t a leer, either. Next to him was, presumably, the queen. She was fairly pretty, and was either a bit younger than the king or had on enough makeup to hide wrinkles. Her hair done elegantly with beautiful gold combs, and she had a soft smile on her face that actually did make Minseok feel a bit more at ease. There was one other person standing with the royal couple, the rest were all a pace or two behind them, clearly servants.

The boy on the king’s other side was remarkably handsome. His features were slender, almost delicate looking… something about his face told Minseok that even if he came across him in plain clothes in a market, Minseok would immediately think he was a prince. The way he held himself gave off the air of a quiet, dignified, power. He looked to be about Minseok’s age, and was a bit taller. There was something gentle in his expression that was calming, but at the same time Minseok found himself hoping that the prince didn’t find the group of omegas lacking when he looked at them.

Minseok looked at the king again when he began to speak. His voice was softer now that he wasn’t addressing as large of a crowd, tone a bit gentler, and Minseok hoped for the best.

He told them that they had nothing to fear here. He assured them that their “service positions” were exactly that, domestic servants. Some of them would end up in the palace, some with high-ranking nobles. He told them that if they ever felt uncomfortable, if someone was making ual advances or treating them like slaves, that they only needed to tell a policeman or army officer, and he would make sure they were safe. He assured them that these service positions were only temporary, until the war ended and they reached a treaty with their country, and mostly for the sake of housing. The housing part, Minseok was sure was a lie, but at least he didn’t feel like he was being thrown to the wolves.

The king, queen, prince, and a good number of their entourage left, but some stayed. A handful of guards and an omega.

The omega was dressed in fairly non-descript clothes, which looked like they were a servant’s uniform, but they were far richer than anything any of the captured omegas had ever worn. The omega was shorter than the guards, around Minseok’s size, with full lips, large eyes, and beautiful, thick, eyebrows. His hair was braided and twisted up into a knot that was somehow both practical and elegant.

“I’ll direct you to move to the left or the right. Your left or your right.” His voice was soft, low, but his tone said that he had authority and knew it. “Please stand a few feet away from the unsorted lines on either side.”

And he went down the rows, one by one, telling each omega whether they were to walk to the left or right of the group. Minseok breathed a sigh of relief when he, Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Jongin were all told to go to the right. Whatever they were in for, they were in for it together.

Once the omega was done, he stood in the center again. He looked at the group who he’d instructed to move to the left. There was a much larger number of them than the group on the right.

“All of you will be assigned to the houses of various nobles,” he told them. “A team of guards will you there. You have nothing to fear.”

And then he turned to the group on the right.

“The rest of you, come with me. You’re being assigned to the palace.”

They were led out of the military compound and into the palace gates, through the courtyard, and to several outdoor baths.

“Leave your clothes at the edge of the bath,” the omega instructed them. “You’ll be given new ones.”

Minseok was not the only injured omega, and he watched the omega go around to everyone who was, squatting down next to them and talking quietly, before he came to Minseok.

“We have a medic who will dress and wrap your foot again. Those bandages are too dirty, anyway. Do you have anyone to help you get in and out of the bath?”

Minseok nodded. “My cousin.”

“Good.” And he moved on.

He helped Jongdae, Baekhyun, and Jongin wash, and re-braided their hair. A few other omegas asked him to help with their hair as well and he was happy to.

Their new clothes were simple, the same color as all the other servants, and the same material too, but the material was softer than anything Minseok had ever worn before. It wasn’t silk, of course it wasn’t, but it was smooth, felt sturdy, and wasn’t itchy or scratchy at all. They were even given shoes. Even if they weren’t new, and Minseok couldn’t tell if they were or not, they were far from worn and the sole was wonderfully thick.

Once all the omegas were dressed and the palace doctor had seen to the wounds on any injured omegas, they were led into the courtyard, where a meal had been set up for them. A small wave of excited chatter moved through the omegas. They were clean, with new clothes, and were now about to be fed: they were as happy as they could be in this situation.

“Sit where you like,” the omega told them. “But before you eat, I have a few things to say.”

They all sat down quickly, and looked towards the omega in anticipation.

“My name is Kyungsoo,” he finally told them. “I am the head of the palace servants. If you need anything or have any problems, particularly if you’re about to go into heat or if you fall ill, let me know. I’ll make sure you’re comfortable. But do not cross me. It is a privilege to work here, and his majesty is giving you all a great honor and showing a lot of trust by bringing you here. If you break that trust… I’ll leave that to your imagination.”

He paused, then continued. “After you finish eating, you’ll be given room assignments and shown to them, as I’m sure you’re tired. In the morning, we’ll discuss your duties. Now you may eat.”

There was meat, and there was a lot of it. It was good meat, too: Minseok couldn’t believe the king would order meat like this for servants, especially omegas. Even if it would only be like this for their first meal, it was a very grand gesture. Despite being inside the palace of their enemy… although due to how their own king treated them Minseok doubted that any of the omegas truly saw King Lu as their enemy, there was a lot more laughter from all of the talking groups than there had been since the first few days of their drafting into the army.

As they ate, Kyungsoo began to pair people off, either telling them personally or he got another servant to tell them that they were now roommates. Eventually he made his way to where Minseok, Jongdae, Jongin, and Baekhyun were sitting.

He asked their names, and they told him.

“Baekhyun and Jongin, I’m putting you two together. After you’ve finished eating go see one of the other servants and they’ll take you to a room. Minseok and Jongdae, you’re cousins, yes?”

They both nodded.

“You’ll be rooming together. Minseok, if you’re finished, I need you to come with me.” Kyungsoo turned to Jongdae. “I’ll send him to your room in a minute, go ahead and get your room assignment when you’re done eating.”

Minseok stood up, and got his crutch positioned properly before following Kyungsoo out of the courtyard. He led Minseok down a long hallway, and was careful not to kick Minseok’s crutch.

“The doctor said you should heal and be able to walk just fine in a few days or so.”

Minseok nodded. “There was a medic, Chanyeol, who looked after me. He was very diligent about putting on new dressing.”

“Ah yes, Chanyeol. He’s a good doctor,” Kyungsoo nodded. “While your foot heals, I’ll take you through a sort of training period. Obviously you can’t do too much while one arm is occupied with a crutch.”

“Hopefully I won’t need it for much longer.”

“But there’s no need to push yourself to get rid of it before it’s time. In here, please.”

Kyungsoo opened the door to a small storage room, and Minseok stepped inside, with Kyungsoo following him.

Standing just out of sight of the door were two palace guards. Minseok was suddenly more than a little nervous.

“None of your fellow omegas will be assigned as personal servants,” Kyungsoo began. “His majesty was kind and brought all of you to the palace, but we would hardly allow omegas of an enemy nation to touch his majesty, his food, or his personal property. However, our prince, Lu Han, recently let one of his personal servants get married, and I’ve been looking for someone to fill the open position. From what I’ve seen of you, and from what I’ve been told, I think I can trust you well enough. You’re naturally nurturing, polite from what I’ve heard, and you have family here. You won’t double-cross me or Prince Lu Han.”

Minseok knew what that meant. “No, I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“I’ve decided to add you to the ranks of the prince’s personal servants. Since access to the prince’s personal chambers is restricted, we use a semi-permanent marking to distinguish the prince’s servants from the others.”

Oh dear. “What is that?”

Abruptly, the two palace guards took his arms, and Minseok began to panic. He fought against their hold, his crutch clattering to the ground, and his instincts screaming that they were two alphas and he should have been much more careful. But they were much bigger than he was, and their grip was strong. He couldn’t shake them, no matter how much he thrashed.

Kyungsoo laid a rag on Minseok’s left shoulder, covering most of the cloth of his new servant uniform. He held up a silver earring, but something about it was off. The post that would go through his ear was much thicker than the posts on the delicate earrings his grandmother owned, which he understood were the normal size.

“Ear piercing,” Kyungsoo said gently. “This will hurt, but not for long.”

One of the guards placed something behind his left ear, and Kyungsoo shifted, moving his right hand closer to Minseok’s ear.

It was when Minseok saw the tool in his hand that he began to truly panic. An awl. Far too thick for this, far, far, too thick.

“You’ll be fine,” Kyungsoo said gently, but it didn’t help. The guards only held him tighter, and Minseok couldn’t help it when he started to cry.

It hurt, of course it did. The awl was sharp by most standards, but it was far duller than the needle that would normally be used for ear piercing, and so the cut through Minseok’s ear lobe was far slower than it would have been. Minseok couldn’t stop the scream in his throat, and the feeling of blood dripping down only added to it.

Kyungsoo hushed him gently, his voice almost a coo as he cleaned up, and held him gently when the guards let go.

“Come on, let’s get you to your cousin.”

Minseok didn’t really register where they were going, panic still swirling around in his head. Kyungsoo guided him down the hallways, until he was knocking and opening a door.

“What did you do to him?!” Jongdae sounded terrified and angry at the same time. He grabbed Minseok away from Kyungsoo and steered him toward a bed, holding him tightly as Minseok curled up in his lap.

Minseok heard Kyungsoo start to speak, to tell Jongdae what had happened, right before he fell asleep. 

Author's note: Sorry for not updating in so long! I've been trying to get fest fics and school stuff done and it's wearing me out ^^; I hope you enjoyed the chapter!