Exoplanet

Chapter 9: The King’s Prisoner

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Minseok stepped lightly across the black marble floor, skirting around the orc patrols that were wandering throughout the castle. Some of the beasts growled at him while others simply ignored him, yellow eyes flashing in the near lightless castle. The small warrior quickened his pace, leaving patches of frost on the places he stepped on.

As he headed up the stairs, the lit torches flickered and died a bit due to the cold emanating from his body. Minseok wished they would go out so he wouldn’t have to see the ugly Moltuvian symbol carved into the wall.

He passed the large wooden deck that had been built for Yifan’s transformations and turned right. The vast throne room loomed over him as he entered, swallowing Minseok’s tiny frame whole. The stone gargoyle perched on the back wall of the room leered at him, showing off razor-sharp teeth.

“Minseok.”

The king tapped his fingers impatiently on the arm of his throne. Minseok walked the last couple of paces and bent his back in a bow.

“The spy has sent word, Your Majesty.” The words were bitter on his tongue. “They have reached Fluor and have taken up residence within the castle.”

The king smiled approvingly. “Very good. Tell him to proceed with the plan.”

Minseok bowed again. “Understood.” He made to leave, but the king raised a hand, halting him mid-step.

“On your way back to your quarters, tell Yifan that we will be completing the resurrection process in two weeks.”

Minseok’s eyes widened slightly, but he remained composed and acknowledged the order. He hurried back down the stairs, followed by flickering flames as he made his way back to the quarters. He knocked on Yifan’s door and let himself in.

The taller warrior was lying spread-eagled on his bed when Minseok entered, but he sat up when he saw that he had a guest.

“What is it?” Yifan asked tiredly, rubbing at his cheek. The edges of a scar peeked out from between long fingers.

“There is a resurrection happening two weeks from today. He wants to bring back that general who died twelve years ago.” Minseok dropped himself on Yifan’s bed, wincing at the hardness of the mattress as it collided with his head.

“Well, .”

“Yeah,” Minseok laughed humorlessly.

Silence fell upon the pair, but it was a comfortable silence. Sometimes, they liked to just sit with each other, enjoying the company. Words did not have to be exchanged for the two of them to know what the other was thinking.

A brief moment later, Minseok murmured, “Yifan, does this place feel stuffy to you?”

There was a pause before Yifan replied with a quiet, “Yeah.” Then, the man paused again and added, “It’s because we’re prisoners.”

“Prisoners?”

A third pause. “A prisoner does not have to be chained to a wall.”

Minseok did not verbally reply, instead choosing to push himself off the bed and leave the room, shutting the door behind him with a soft click.

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Junmyeon decided to take a walk after breakfast. Living at the palace could easily make him gain weight or become lazy, and he couldn’t have that happen, so he ended up walking around the palace, taking in the royal purple curtains hanging on the walls and the large paintings that they framed. He had asked the others if they wanted to come with him, but Luhan decided to try and train Tao and Chanyeol despite the lack of progress with Tao and having a power that was completely unrelated to Chanyeol’s.

The part of the castle that Junmyeon was wandering in was quiet compared to the rest of the structure. There were still guards stationed at every entrance, but there weren’t as many servants walking through the halls. He would only see a servant or two every few minutes, but Junmyeon didn’t mind the quiet.

As he leisurely strolled down a long hallway, he noticed an enclosed garden outside to his right. A wide array of plants stared up at him from the garden, and those same plants greeted him when Junmyeon stepped into the garden a few minutes later.

The colorful flowers waved gently as a small breeze passed over them. Junmyeon bent over and examined a sky-blue flower, admiring the smoothness of the petals. He glanced down and lightly pressed the tips of his fingers into the soil.

A little dry.

Looking around to check if anyone was watching, Junmyeon didn’t see anyone and commanded his power to manifest. Drops of water gathered in thin ribbons around his hand, and he scattered the liquid in the soil, watering the plants with a few quick flicks of his hand. Once he was finished with those plants, he moved on to the next row, repeating his movements and making sure that every plant could have a drink.

Satisfied with his work, Junmyeon made to leave the garden and return to the castle, but a sudden pain shot up his arm. Holding back a scream, Junmyeon looked down to see a fanged plant gripping onto his upper arm with its teeth, biting so hard that blood was beginning to ooze from the wound.

Hissing in frustration and agony, Junmyeon tried tugging the plant away from his arm, but it was latched on tight and only sank its teeth deeper. When the pain intensified, Junmyeon couldn’t help but let out a loud swear and jumped when someone let out an exclamation behind him.

Junmyeon whipped around to see a well-dressed man hurry over. The water warrior was expecting to be scolded. Maybe he shouldn’t have been in the garden. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken that walk. He was starting to wish that he had just stayed with the others.

He was surprised when the newcomer lightly grasped his wounded arm, reaching out to the aggressive plant soothingly on the bud. Junmyeon watched in fascination and awe as the plant appeared to flex under the attention and slowly retracted its teeth from Junmyeon’s arm, settling back onto its stem and once more looking like an innocent plant.

“I’m so very sorry,” the newcomer apologized, “The plants can be rather hostile towards strangers. Please allow me to treat your arm.”

Junmyeon wasn’t listening. He was focused on the person’s features, taking in the kind and somewhat shy expression, the brown almond-shaped eyes, and the thick lower lip.

“Yixing?” he blurted out and instantly regretted speaking rashly.

The person – Yixing – froze, staring at him in disbelief. There was suspicion in his eyes, and Junmyeon swore that he backed away a little. “How do you know my name?” Yixing asked shakily, eyes darting nervously.

“Wait.” Junmyeon held up both arms, wincing slightly with his injured one. “I’m a guest here. The Crown Prince, Baekhyun, told me about you.”

Yixing paused. “Baekhyun?”

The pain in his arm seemed to be intensifying because at this point, Junmyeon was struggling to hold his arm up. He chose to let it drop to his side and cradled the wound with his other hand. “Yes. My friends and I met him yesterday during dinner, and we spoke to him last night. He told us about you.” He in a breath when the pain suddenly spiked. “Do you have anything I can treat this wound with?”

Yixing nodded and moved closer. “I have some medicines in my quarters, and I’ll be able to treat you there. Please come with me.”

Junmyeon followed Baekhyun’s half-brother out of the garden, allowing Yixing to guide him down the hall. The pain stabbed at his arm with every step, and Junmyeon was thinking that he was going to pass out before they even reached Yixing’s room, but Yixing pushed open the next door they arrived at.

Junmyeon laid down on the bed that Yixing led him to and chewed on his bottom lip as he tried not to cry out from the growing pain, watching the other bustle around the room, getting towels, a bowl of water, a bottle from off the shelf, and another bottle from the table. Yixing placed those down beside Junmyeon and went back to the table, grabbing a pair of scissors from a drawer. He pulled a stool from the side and placed it beside the bed, sitting down as he gently tugged on Junmyeon’s ruined sleeve, making his patient cry out in pain.

“Is that plant venomous?” Junmyeon asked through gritted teeth, “I swear it did not hurt this much before.”

“Yes, it is venomous,” Yixing murmured, “The venom is meant to intensify the pain until the victim passes out. It won’t kill you.”

Great, Junmyeon wants to say, but Yixing chose to peel the cloth away from the wound at that moment.

“Like I said, I can treat this,” Yixing said when he saw Junmyeon’s pained and worried expression, “I have an antidote for the poison. The pain will subside in less than an hour after I administer it.”

He then raised the scissors. “I’m going to have to cut off your sleeve now. I can fix your shirt later if you want it back.”

“It’s alright,” Junmyeon said, hearing the faint snips of Yixing removing his sleeve. A moment later, there was the sound of the scissors being put down, and Junmyeon angled his head to see Yixing pick up one of the bottles and a cloth, wetting the latter with the clear liquid.

“This will hurt a lot,” Yixing said as he picked up another cloth and held it up to Junmyeon’s mouth. “Bite down on this so you don’t hurt yourself.”

Junmyeon gingerly took the cloth in his teeth, biting down on it as Yixing dabbed at his wound. Sure enough, the pain flared, consuming Junmyeon’s senses. The water warrior’s howl of agony was muffled by the cloth and he balled up the sheets in his fist. He hadn’t even realized he was crying until he felt Yixing remove the towel from his mouth and dab at his eyes.

“Sorry about that,” the other apologized softly, “I had to disinfect the wound before applying the antidote. It’ll get better from here.”

Unable to find his voice, Junmyeon nodded, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself. He felt a cool cloth press against his wound again, and he braced himself for pain but was surprised to find none. The throbbing agony from the disinfectant was there, but it did not spike as Junmyeon expected it to. Instead, the pain was slowly fading as though soothed by the liquid that was running down his arm.

“Could you roll onto your side for me?” Yixing asked.

Junmyeon shifted until he was lying on his uninjured side, feeling Yixing lean over him. He watched as the other held the towel over the wound and squeezed until the antidote came dripping out and onto the bite. Then, the healer wrapped the towel around the wound, letting the antidote soak into it.

“Let me know when the bite starts to feel numb,” Yixing directed as he began to clean up the other supplies, “I’ll close the wound and bandage it up, and you’ll be free to leave.”

“Okay,” Junmyeon rasped as the healer headed toward a cabinet nearby. Yixing rifled through the contents for a moment before pulling out a white shirt. He folded it up and placed it on the bed.

“You can have this shirt. Sorry about cutting yours,” Yixing offered with a smile.

“Thank you.” Junmyeon returned the smile with a similar gesture.

There were a few seconds of silence, interrupted by Yixing organizing the various jars of medicine that were on his shelf. Then, the healer glanced over at Junmyeon, who was tracing circles on the bedsheets with his finger. “So you’re like me then?”

Junmyeon paused and looked up. Yixing gestured at Junmyeon’s abdomen. “That mark on your stomach. I have a mark on my chest.”

“Oh, yeah.” Junmyeon lifted the bottom of his shirt slightly to reveal the droplet symbol. Upon seeing the action, Yixing pulled at his tunic, and Junmyeon saw the mark that was placed carefully over where Yixing’s heart is, just like Baekhyun said.

“Is that…?” Junmyeon leaned closer as much as his position would allow.

“A unicorn head,” Yixing said, “Even though unicorns have been extinct for centuries now.”

Junmyeon nodded, unsure of what else to say as Yixing fixed his shirt, but then he remembered what the others had discussed last night.

“Last night, when Baekhyun came to meet us,” he began, “he told us that the king never lets you leave the palace. Is this true?”

Yixing did not answer right away, but when he did, he said, “Well, yes, but I never really ask to go out anyway.” He eyed Junmyeon curiously. “What else did he tell you?”

He mentioned that you two have different fathers, Junmyeon thought but didn’t say. “Nothing much really. He also said that he’s going to try to talk to His Majesty about the prophecy and you two coming with us while we find the others.”

“How many of you are there?”

“We have four now. Including you and Baekhyun would be six, and I know where two more are even though they’re not here, so that makes it a total of eight,” Junmyeon explained, “But only four of us are actively trying to fulfill the prophecy. We want you and Baekhyun to come with us.”

“Really?” Yixing’s tone was hopeful and hesitant. “I-I don’t know how to fight though. I wouldn’t be able to be in the front lines of a battle. Baekhyun has minimal sword training, but I’ve never held a weapon before.”

“One of us is really skilled with swords and daggers. I’m sure he could teach you,” Junmyeon offered, “And even if you don’t know how to fight, you’re still an important part of the war as a healer.” He suddenly remembered his wound, which had lost feeling a while ago. “My arm is numb now, by the way.”

“Ah, yes.” Yixing grabbed a handful of cloth strips and returned to Junmyeon’s side, gently peeling off the antidote-soaked towel and placing it in the bowl of water. Using one of the strips, the healer wiped at the wound once more before placing a hand over the injury. As Junmyeon watched, a faint green glow emanated from Yixing’s hand, and within seconds, the bite wound had been reduced to a series of light puncture wounds in Junmyeon’s arm. Once the light faded, Yixing bound the wound, carefully tying a knot to make sure that the bandages wouldn’t unravel as Junmyeon watched in awe.

As he cleared away the remaining supplies, Yixing chewed on his lower lip. Junmyeon could tell that he was seriously considering joining the group.

“I’ll go with you if you can convince the king to let me go,” the healer finally said.

“Deal.” Junmyeon was satisfied with the answer since he was sure that Baekhyun would already have persuaded the king to allow Yixing out of the palace. He slid off the bed, gingerly moving his arm around to test for any pain and relaxing when there was none. “Thank you so much for the treatment. You’re really good at this.”

The other smiled genuinely and waved as Junmyeon left. The moment he was out of earshot of the healer, Junmyeon began to jog through the halls, trying to get back to the others as soon as possible without accidentally running into something or someone.

Luhan, Chanyeol, and Tao were still training when Junmyeon found them, but Baekhyun was nowhere to be seen. Junmyeon assumed that the Crown Prince had been called away by his father.

“I met him,” Junmyeon blurted out the moment he stepped into the room. The fireball that was circulating around the room vanished in a flash as Chanyeol lost his concentration.

“Yixing?” Luhan asked, and Junmyeon nodded.

“What happened to your arm?” Tao questioned as he put his sword away, eyes fixed on the bandages wrapped around Junmyeon’s upper arm.

“A plant bit me. I was walking through Yixing’s garden, and I guess it must have thought I was an intruder, so it bit me really hard. Yixing treated the wound using an antidote for the plant’s poison and his healing power.”

“What was it like?” Luhan asked as Chanyeol stared at the bandages in awe. “Wait, did you tell him about our plan?”

“It went well,” Junmyeon answered, shying away from Chanyeol when the other tried to touch the bandages, “I told him about the plan, and he said that he’ll come with us if we can convince the king to let him go. When did Baekhyun leave?”

“A while ago. The king wanted to talk to him before his lessons started. He said he was going to try to ask the king about Yixing leaving.” Luhan lowered his voice. “By the way, I want to speak to you about something. All of you.”

Junmyeon raised an eyebrow. “We’re listening.”

“In private. Let’s go to my room.”

“Is there something wrong?” Tao asked worriedly as they began walking back towards their quarters. Sensing the seriousness of the situation, Chanyeol stopped messing with Junmyeon long enough to hear Luhan’s reply.

“I think so, but I hope not.”

All four of them filed into Luhan’s room, settling down on the chairs and the rug to listen to what the telekinetic had to say.

“I feel like there’s something wrong with the situation regarding Yixing,” Luhan started immediately after the door was tightly shut. “A couple of servants were talking this morning, and they said some things that made the issue between Yixing and the king a little weird.”

“What did the servants say?” Junmyeon questioned.

“They said that the king did not use to treat Yixing like a bastard child. From what I heard, it sounds like the king used to love Yixing, but for some reason, he started changing about ten years ago.”

“Did they say why he started changing?”

“No,” Luhan sighed, “I wanted to ask them, but I felt that that would seem presumptuous of me, so I didn’t. Honestly though, the king isn’t keeping Yixing locked up in the palace because he’s some overprotective father.”

“He’s more like a prisoner,” Tao whispered, “A prisoner in his own home.”

A/N: Back with another chapter! Seems like the Moltuvian king is up to something, and he's dragging Minseok and Yifan with him. Is there more to the relationship between Yixing and the king of Sinseye? What is the plan that the Moltuvian king mentioned, and how will it affect the Exo members in Sinseye? Hopefully, the next chapter will shed more light on these issues.

'Til next update!