Unlike the previous times he had Shimmered alongside Hyesung, this trip felt different.

”No!” came a voice as Eric felt himself through what felt like a very long tunnel, too fast and too chaotic that he had to shut his eyes to keep himself from throwing up. He felt as though he was suspended in time and space, and yet the way his stomach had dropped to the soles of his feet told him he was also blazing forward, no matter how impossible the notion seemed. His lungs contracted the longer they stayed in the transit and he wondered for a brief second if he could perhaps die en route to…wherever it was they were headed.

Death by hitchhiking with a fae, he thought wryly, mindful of the growing ache in his chest and the awareness that he could no longer feel any other presence with him. He was moments from truly passing out when he felt someone’s hand roughly grasp his wrist and give it a sharp tug, and the sensation of movement stopped, leaving him to crash onto his knees against a cold stone floor. 

Pain rang through Eric’s bones and his teeth seemed to rattle in his skull as his body started to realize it was no longer in motion. His head spun as he attempted to right himself, but he ended up stumbling backward, too disoriented to be able to tell which was floor and ceiling. He lay on his back, breathing heavily as his vision blurred and sharpened in turns, and when it finally focused enough, he found himself gazing up at…tapestries?

“Hyes—” Eric started to say, about to accuse the fae of bringing them to a museum of all places to continue their conversation, but was surprised when a hand clamped over his mouth tightly, forcing his lips to collide rather violently with his teeth. Hyesung crouched over him in a kneeling position, and Eric, already tasting blood on his tongue, glared at him as he tried to wriggle free. “Mmmbff!”

“Silence!” Hyesung hissed, and waved a finger over Eric’s throat. A cold sensation seemed to trickle along the underside of his skin, and Eric was overcome with shock as he realized that he could no longer make any sort of sound. He thrashed more violently against the fae, attempting to buck him off, but Hyesung pressed his forearm against Eric’s chest, effectively pinning him down so that the only movement Eric could make was the twitching of his feet as he concentrated on getting air back into his lungs.

Bastard! Eric gritted his teeth as he continued to glower at Hyesung, using monumental effort to pack in all the anger and annoyance he currently felt at the fae into his stare. He still attempted to writhe under Hyesung’s hold, determined to show him that he in fact was not going down without a fight, but Hyesung shifted his weight and pressed down on him even harder, making Eric rethink his stance on how the fae couldn’t possibly harm him, not on purpose at least; he was fairly sure now that one of his ribs had cracked during the whole ordeal of Hyesung wrestling him onto the floor.

“For Danu’s sake, stop moving, I don’t want to hurt you!” Hyesung growled, their faces so close that Eric could feel his breath stripe against his skin. He had already thankfully removed his hand from Eric’s mouth. “You and your asinine impulses are going to get us killed!”

Eric stilled under his hold, partly because his chest hurt the longer Hyesung kept his arm on him. He just wanted him off, but Hyesung seemed to still be preoccupied with something beyond his line of sight to even loosen his hold.

“Unbelievable…” the fae muttered, his whole frame poised as though he was listening in on something that Eric couldn’t hear, “I was certain the wards would trip.”

What wards? Eric opened his mouth to answer, but could only manage for his mouth to flop open soundlessly. He clenched his fingers in frustration.

“I will allow you to stand,” Hyesung said in a low whisper. His lips were so near to Eric’s that Eric wondered how they hadn’t already kissed. “But I will not yet return to you your voice. You are in terrible danger the longer we stay here and if you want to remain alive, you will do exactly what I say and not move.”

Eric nodded, wanting nothing more than to be able to breathe with no hindrance, and Hyesung complied, lifting his arm and standing at full height in one fluid movement. When the fae assisted him to stand, Eric brooked no argument and let himself be led to a nearby chair. His head had stopped spinning but now his chest felt splintered, and he laid his own arm over it protectively, not wanting for Hyesung to go near it again. The fae, however, had already noticed and strode towards him before he could react, then quickly placed a gentle hand on the sorest spot.

“I apologize,” Hyesung muttered. “I do not know my own strength as well as I should most times…do not move.” A familiar warmth spread from his fingers and spread into Eric’s chest, filling in invisible cracks and knitting back together fragments of bone he hadn’t yet realized had actually been broken. It seeped into every crevice of pain that presented itself and washed it clean like water, and Eric couldn’t help but feel amazed at the experience. Hyesung didn’t look at him as he worked, however, as though adamant to make him feel how angry he was despite him being the one who had actually caused him harm. Good, Eric thought, childishly. He didn’t want Hyesung to start an argument now anyway with him not being able to answer back.

“I will need a moment to recover enough of my powers to Shimmer you back safely.” The fae said in a low voice. He retracted his hands and got to his feet, his cloak snapping behind him as he moved. “I cannot discuss this matter with you right now, but I trust you to be aware that your actions have placed us both in grave danger, and we have very little time to set it to rights.”

Eric had no idea what Hyesung was referring to, only that they were likely in a place where one—or both—of them shouldn’t be. The fae stalked over to stand in front of a door made of grand weathered oak, the only entryway into the room they were in, and waved his fingers over it as though muttering a spell. “Stay where you are, Eric Mun.” Hyesung said without turning, and Eric rolled his eyes in reply.

Now that he was no longer distracted by pain, Eric started looking at his surroundings in earnest. They were in a spacious circular room, and he was sitting on a chaise lounge that sat at the foot of a large four-poster bed that was covered with a duvet that looked as though it was entirely made of feathers. The floor, which he’d nearly faceplanted on, was made of roughly-hewn black stone, with various rugs placed in certain areas to break up the monotony in color (and possibly cushion anyone who was arriving from a really bad Shimmering attempt, not that it had been helpful for him). The walls were covered in tapestries that stretched from floor to ceiling, depicting scenes that he could hardly decipher. There was a large stone fireplace near them, lit, and bathing the space in a quiet, cheerful warmth, but a draft was coming in through the enormous open window which Eric had his back to, and the ceiling…

The ceiling was moving.

Eric let out a soundless yelp as he stumbled to his feet, his eyes still trained upward. The fresco on the plaster depicted the underside of a forest grove where half a dozen owls were perched, and they were blinking at him; one even flapped its wings as though questioning his presence, and the movement caused a breeze that actually ruffled his hair. Behind the owls was also a starry sky streaked with a shimmering Aurora Borealis and, as Eric stared, it started depicting a meteor shower, some of them even escaping the fresco itself to land soundlessly at his feet.

Hyesung—! Eric tried to call out, forgetting once more that the only indication of him speaking was his lips moving. He found himself backpedaling, not liking how one of the owls was scrutinizing him and was currently menacingly flapping its wings. He only managed to stop when his back met stone, and cold air the exposed skin at his nape and forearms. Instinctively, Eric turned around, not wanting to end up falling through the window that he knew was there, but when he saw the sight before him, he irrationally wished that he had just fallen through anyway, if only it would enable him to be part of the landscape he was seeing. Without him prompting it, his mouth hung open at the view in awe.

Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore…

They were somewhere high up, in a tall structure on a hill that overlooked what seemed to be a sprawling, multi-level town that was bordered by pale shimmering fields and acres of dense forested area that glimmered gold, beyond which lay tall craggy mountain peaks that stretched as far as the eye could see. Houses and structures of different shapes and sizes were placed on cobbled streets that shone like coins, and were kept apart from the area they were in by an opal-green lake that lay directly below, and which fed into smaller bodies of water that coursed through the town. The hill they were on also housed waterfalls set at different heights, and the multiple sprays of water produced hundreds of small rainbows that could still be clearly seen even though it was nighttime. And above them…above them was a vast expanse of stars set in patterns and constellations that Eric had never seen before, with some even moving as he looked. Similar to the fresco in the bedroom, it was streaked with light akin to the Aurora Borealis, and stretched from one end of the sky to the other. Its colors, however, were vastly different; the Borealis that shimmered above them was a mottled red and faded purple, with the occasional scarlet at the fringes, and discolored the stars that managed to show from behind it. In the distance, lightning flashed and crackled through the sky, illuminating and saturating all visible color. The sight reminded Eric of an old festering wound or a days-old bruise, and somehow, looking at it, as majestic a sight as it was, made him feel slightly sick.

Something is wrong with this place, he concluded, although he wasn’t exactly sure what his basis was. He also suddenly felt too exposed, standing at the window in what could be a visible part of the building. He started to back away in an effort to slink back into the safety of the room when a hand grabbed his wrist and sharply yanked him back, the action causing him to collide with Hyesung, who looked more irate than he’d ever seen him before. His stomach dropped to his knees. This time, Eric had the decency to feel ashamed.

. . . He knew he had crossed a line, and he opened his mouth to say so. Hyesung, I’m sor—

But Hyesung didn’t let him finish. Instead he held on to Eric’s wrist tighter and then they were shrinking again, back to a nameless dot that hurled through time and space, the image of the sickly-looking light that hung over the town burned into his brain that he could still see it even after he closed his eyes.

-|-

The trip back didn’t last as long as the first one, and when they finally landed, this time on soft dew-filled grass rather than stone, Eric knew he was back where he was supposed to be, and not…wherever they had been.

“Did I not specifically tell you to follow everything I said?!” he heard Hyesung fume. “Are you hard of hearing or do you just have a death wish because I may just smite you now to save everyone else from the trouble of executing you in the future!”

Eric swallowed, ignoring the slight nausea that Shimmering that far a distance had given him. He shakily got to his feet and warily met Hyesung’s gaze. The fae was still dressed in the same clothes he had been in since earlier, but the sight of him draped in milky starlight, incensed beyond belief, as they stood on the grassy knoll they had Shimmered on, seemed woefully out of place, as though he was once more the odd object out in the whole scene. It was unlike how it had been in the strange tower chamber, where it had felt that Eric had been the one thing that hadn’t belonged. and, as though to prove his point, Polaris glittered in the sky overhead, directly above Hyesung, bathing him in light that seemed to single him out as not of the world they were standing in.

“I’m sorry.” Eric said, and was surprised to hear his own voice rumble through his throat, although it took more strength to get it to the volume he wanted. Hyesung, however, didn’t seem impressed with his efforts inasmuch as he was restrained with his anger; he was glowing more intensely now, like a weapon slowly gathering strength to strike. Eric half-expected the nearby copse of trees to suddenly burst into flames.

“Sorry!” Hyesung raged, and the air around him crackled purple, as though he was surrounded by static. “Do you know how much danger you could have put yourself in had the glamour not been set over the tower? Anyone could have seen you and you would have been executed! Not to mention I would have been charged as well!”

“I didn’t mean to…” Eric said, but even to himself his excuse sounded weak. Hyesung had told him several times to stay put and he hadn’t, all because of… “But that ceiling!” He waved his arms wildly, still unable to forget how a painted owl had moved, let alone had silently threatened him. He was sure it had planned to swoop down from its perch and somehow gouge out his eyes had he not tried to extricate himself from its line of sight. From his spot, Hyesung regarded him with a severe glance, as though convinced that he’d turned into a lunatic. “I saw it!” he shouted.

“Are you speaking in tongues or have you ultimately addled the little brain you already possess?” Hyesung hissed, advancing towards Eric. In his clothes, he looked himself like an oversized owl, swooping in for the kill…

Oh. Of course.

Maybe Hyesung was right. Maybe he was an idiot.

“That place we were in…” Eric said, forcing the words out. His throat had suddenly gone dry. “Hyesung. Did you take me to the Underground? And…” He didn’t know why he felt a bit scandalized at the second statement but he did. “Was that your room?”

At this, Hyesung lunged at him, snarling. His hands grabbed Eric’s collar and suddenly the world around them seemed to shift, the stars circling in a vortex and the ground becoming sky while the darkness of the night lay beneath their backs. For a moment Eric thought was imagining it, the sight of the universe looking as though it was being torn apart by the seams, but he could definitely feel nothing below him now, and they seemed to be falling through an ocean of stars as he stared at the earth directly above them.

“What are you doing!” Eric shouted. He was sure the freaky tilt-a-whirl sensation was the fae’s doing, and was afraid Hyesung had somehow broken the law of Physics on purpose. “Hyesung, stop!”

“I did not take you!” Hyesung growled, sounding as though Eric had claimed he had the bottom of his shoe. He shook Eric as they grappled through weightless space. “You had the audacity to come uninvited into my chambers, into the stronghold of the High King and Queen, using the powers of a High Prince. Do you know how serious of an offense that is?”

Eric felt as though he had been punched as the realization of where he had been and how scientifically impossible it should have been to do so sank in. He had only thought of grabbing Hyesung’s hand back in Andy’s room to get his attention; he hadn’t meant for to be a sudden trip across realms. “Why didn’t you say so?!” he demanded, struggling to prevent Hyesung from choking him with his own collar. “You bastard, you could have warned me—!”

“I? I did give you sufficient warning, you miserable loach! You were the one who deemed it useless! You stubborn imbecile. Be grateful that your arrival had not set off any of the protective wards or you would not even be standing here…and neither would I, I imagine! Especially not with Minwoo and Junjin currently indisposed—”

The fae suddenly halted in his speech, as though catching himself, but Eric had spotted it: the tremor in his voice and the shadow of terror on his face. Suddenly, the shifting of the world stopped, and Eric crashed back on damp earth with a loud oof, Hyesung once more standing apart from him, his body no longer glowing but his chest rising and falling in great heaves.

“Indisposed?” Eric echoed. “Hyesung, what’s wrong? What’s happened?”

It was strange how quickly concern for Hyesung and his equally infuriating brothers overrode any other concern Eric had at the moment, specifically the way the fae had literally just warped reality somehow. Now everything had gone back to normal, as though moments ago they hadn’t been floating in the wrong side of space, but Hyesung’s eyes were now shuttered, the black flames of anger that had been directed at Eric now lowered to a simmer. Eric could be an idiot, he knew, but he could tell that something at some point had gone horrifically wrong, and it made him nervous. Everything about Hyesung made him nervous. He got back to his feet once more, rubbing grass stains from his jeans. “Where are Minwoo and Junjin? Are they all right? Is that why you’re here alone?”

“It is not your concern.” Hyesung snapped and a strong wind gusted through the grassy meadow-like area they were in, the sound of it almost like . Despite the hoodie he was wearing, Eric felt the cold like a finger trailing down his spine and he shuddered. He glowered at Hyesung.

“It is so my concern. Don’t you remember the arrangements we had between Andy and Junjin? That Favor?” He ignored as Hyesung’s nostrils flared at the reminder. “Besides, did you ever consider that your brother and mine may be linked?”

Hyesung seemed to find this notion particularly offensive, given the way he wrinkled his nose. “What?” he snapped, his lips curling in distaste.

“Junjin and Andy.” It was a notion that Eric had been considering for a while now, although admittedly he had still not processed it himself in full yet. But the idea that something may have happened to Junjin frightened him, more so because he didn’t know how it would affect Andy. “After that day we rescued him at the lake. My brother and yours said they were able to see each other in dreams and met and played there. I’d considered taking Andy to a shrink but Junjin said it happened to him too and that he couldn’t really control it.”

Hyesung looked as though he was about to roll his eyes in exasperation but was too well-bred to do so. He spoke to Eric slowly, as though to ensure he understood every word. “The Realm of Dreams, yes. That is beyond anyone’s control. It is its own magic.”

“So you’re saying it’s normal that fae can meet with humans in their dreams?”

“I do not know!” Hyesung glared at him. “Lest you forget, we have not been meeting mortals for millennia!”

“Well how and why are they doing this then? Has Junjin even told you it happens to him? Is it dangerous?”

“It is impossible for me to even begin to understand what any of this means!” Hyesung shouted. “Let alone explain it to you well enough for you to understand as well! Things are not as simple as you always try to make it out to be, Eric Mun.”

He seemed to be addressing several issues with that statement, but Eric was too confused and anxious to parse which ones it would be. His main concerns were Hyesung’s agitated state, which could explain the hostile behavior that he had been displaying the whole night, as well as the constant avoidance of mentioning his brothers any further despite having been directly asked about them. Given that he had never seen Hyesung this unsettled before, finding out why took precedence. Eric tried another angle.

“There’s another reason I feel they have some sort of link. Remember that flower Junjin gave Andy? The one he made at the restaurant? Well that night…the night we…” Eric hadn’t considered that in the process of him trying to figure out exactly what was eating at Hyesung he was also going to have to relive one of the most embarrassing moments of his life, and his brain seemed to sputter at the memory. But he was too ahead of himself to stop now. Jesus. When it rains, it pours. “The night we kissed,” he finished, acutely aware of how quickly his heartbeat had sped up at the mere mention of it. “You had left but your brothers arrived at my apartment shortly after, and something…” Well, many things. “Happened.”

He had thought this was information that Hyesung would have already known but his words seemed to capture the fae’s attention in a way that almost threw him off-balance. “My brothers did what?” Hyesung declared incredulously. “Would you care to repeat that, Eric Mun?”

Eric almost laughed at Hyesung’s vaguely threatening tone, as if he had actually wanted to see Dongwan and Minwoo playing tonsil hockey in his kitchen. Absolutely ing not.

“They visited our home,” he confirmed, feeling triumphant at Hyesung's indignant expression. “Andy and Dongwan had let them in, and I arrived shortly after to Minwoo and Dongwan…er…bonding.” He didn’t know if he wanted to tell Hyesung about the kiss; it somehow made him feel worse about their own thwarted one, especially since the two events’ timelines had likely intersected at some point but had had polar opposite outcomes. “Junjin and Andy had been in the bedroom but something had happened and they had to leave right away.”

Hyesung, for once, seemed to be listening to him. “What had happened?” he asked, his gaze more focused now, and Eric had the suspicion that he was being marked as prey should he say anything wrong. Intimidated as he was, however, he did his utmost best to swallow his fear and returned Hyesung’s stare.

“What do you mean what happened? Didn’t they tell you?” Eric found it hard to believe that Hyesung had pretty much no idea what he was talking about. When Hyesung’s blank expression confirmed his suspicion, he grew even more confused. “Didn’t you see what state Junjin was in? Minwoo was practically having to carry him out!”

“Minwoo would not tell me.” Hyesung finally said after a moment’s pause, and his face hardened. Something seemed to flash in his eyes but was gone before Eric could decipher what it was. “After you and I had…separated…I had flown back to the Underground. Shortly thereafter, they had Shimmered in and Junjin’s magic was already drained—”

“Drained!” Eric’s mouth fell in shock. Although his actual workable knowledge of the fae was limited, he was pretty sure that a magical being drained of its magic wasn’t good. Besides, he remembered that time at the restaurant, when Junjin had had a nosebleed, after he had produced the flower….

“Hyesung, is he okay?” Eric asked abruptly, remembering his main point about recalling the flower in the first place, and why he felt there may be a link. “That night…the flower had pretty much lost its glow and Andy would not stop crying, but he couldn’t tell me what was wrong. I was worried sick.” Since they had been staying at home due to the extreme weather the state was being subjected to, Andy had only grown more obsessive about the flower in a jar, and rarely let it out of his sight. The last time Eric had checked, the flower had still been glowing, but just barely. “Is Junjin all right?”

There was a silence so tense that Eric feared Hyesung would turn the world upside-down again, or maybe set him on fire, or banish him to some unknown realm, but what happened next was unexpected: Hyesung let out a shuddering sigh, and his shoulders slumped forward as though in defeat.

“He sleeps.” Hyesung said, misery evident in his tone. “The Queen tends to him night and day. Both the King and I have tried to heal him, but his magic refuses to be replenished. We know not why.”

Eric bit his lip. That…maybe would explain the flower and its lackluster glow. “He’s…he’s just sleeping then?” he asked as his heart started to race, thinking of any possible implications for Andy. “Hyesung, it wouldn’t…it wouldn’t affect Andy, would it?”

Hyesung dismissed him with a wave of his hand. “Your brother is not magically connected to mine. I would have felt it if he was, but…it complicates matters that Junjin himself is out of reach of my own magic. The only viable argument would be their rendezvous in the Realm of Dreams as you had suggested, but as to what occurs there is only known between my brother and yours…” He turned to Eric, for the first time looking concerned. “Young Andy has not been showing any signs of illness, has he?”

“No.” Eric shook his head. The only thing Andy had been of late was anxious and irritable, but it was no more worrying than if it had been any other eight-year-old. The only perturbing thing maybe was that it had been suspiciously easy to get him to eat his vegetables and do as he was told. Eric supposed the whole affair with the flower provided sufficient distraction; it was after all more efficient to obey him and Dongwan rather than waste time and energy arguing over the merits of bath time.

“He’s fine, but he’s just been constantly worried about Junjin. I guess Junjin must have told him something about the flower?” He mulled over the thought. “It’s possible that if it’s not Junjin himself linked to Andy then it’s the flower to Junjin.”

“Quite.” Hyesung murmured and nodded with agreement. “As he had made it with his magic, it may reflect his state. I’ve never really attempted such magic but it seems a logical turn of events. As such, it is harmless to Young Master Mun, so there is no reason for worry.”

“He’s not…” Eric gulped, finding it difficult to voice a concern that he had suddenly come to realize. His stomach started to churn. “Hyesung, Junjin isn’t dying, is he? He should be okay, right?”

The heavy sigh that escaped the fae sounded like chains rattling and, again, magic seemed to pulse purple around him. But it disappeared as quickly as it had come as Hyesung seemed to regain quick control of his emotions.

“I know not,” he admitted. “We had feared he was Fading, yet he just sleeps. It’s as though he is waiting, but we know not what for. Both the King and Queen have asked me countless times of the occurrences of our last trip, but I have no answers I can give them. I was, after all, not with him when he had first been taken ill; Minwoo was.”

“And Minwoo is…where?” Eric was surprised that the oldest of the brothers had yet to prove his usefulness in Hyesung’s tale.

“Minwoo.” Hyesung released a harsh breath as he said his brother’s name. “Minwoo is imprisoned.”

Eric’s eyes widened. That was definitely something he did not expect to hear.

“What?”

“He practically designed for it to happen, that utter fool.” Hyesung said bitterly. “He made it so the Queen would not have known we had gone Aboveground. We were very nearly caught upon our return, and had she known we had been here, all three of us would have been imprisoned, or perhaps even sentenced to death…”

“WHAT!” Eric yelped. He couldn’t believe his ears. “Isn’t that…but you’re their kid!”

Hyesung looked at him with a harsh glint in his eye. “As we have told you countless of times, Eric Mun, due to the prophecy it is forbidden for us to be here, no matter our standing or status. But…Minwoo made it so that he alone would bear the punishment.” Eric could see as Hyesung clenched his fists, obviously furious at the circumstances. “He covered our tracks and refused to answer my questions, and in doing so succeeded in his absurd little plan.”

Eric didn’t really know what to say. None of the literature he’d read had ever mentioned the fae being this ruthless, especially to their own kin, and especially if it was over some fortune-telling hoo-hah that had occurred thousands of years before any of them had even been born.

“It’s good…it’s good that it’s only imprisonment then,” he finally said, thinking it at least hadn’t been an execution. When Hyesung rounded on him with his eyes ablaze, however, he found himself wishing he’d just kept his mouth shut.

“Imprisonment!” Hyesung shouted, looking nearly feral. “Yes, of course, it is perhaps better than an execution if you do not take into account the interrogation that will happen during it. When the King, our own father, will penetrate and ransack his mind every day until he finds a suitable answer to Junjin’s condition, Minwoo may as well just wish for death. No one has bested the King’s interrogations; he is far too powerful. He will undo your mind, thought by thought, and will leave you in anguish. Prisoners of the Crown have Faded from it, some much quicker than others, and those who don’t spend the rest of their days begging for death. So do not even begin to assume imprisonment would be preferred. Execution would be the more merciful choice.”

Eric was speechless, unable to utter anything but a stammered, “Hyesung, I’m sorry”, but Hyesung merely held up his palm, smooth and white as alabaster, to silence him.

“I have not seen him since he was taken away and I know not how he fares. It is forbidden for me to see him. While the Crown Prince is in the dungeons, his punishment seen to personally by the King, the youngest prince is in between life and death, and the Queen is with him, wasting away by his bedside. I, however…” his mouth stretched into a painful smile that looked almost frightening, “I, of course, am here in the same realm that has already condemned two of my brothers, to ensure we still fulfill the Favor we owe in order to not condemn us further. And yet…” His voice dropped to a whisper, his eyes ink-black and fathomless. “I feel I am doing nothing but further harm.”

“Hyesung.” Suddenly all the events of tonight made sense, and Eric could only feel ashamed for forcing his own feelings into the matter. “I’m sorry, I didn’t understand—”

“What do you understand, mortal, honestly?” Hyesung growled as he gritted his teeth. “We’ve already established there is very little you can actually comprehend.”

Eric bristled, but brushed the hurt aside enough for him to not start mouthing off. “Maybe I can help? Maybe we could figure out what’s wrong with Junjin? You remember he had a nosebleed before?”

“Do not even attempt to feign concern for our affairs!” The fae cut him off, and even went so far as to send a wave of magic, a wave of invisible force, that knocked Eric off his feet. Eric gaped at him in disbelief; he didn’t know what was more appalling: that Hyesung had actually used magic on him to keep him physically away, or that he assumed that Eric had no sympathy for his plight. “I do not need your empty show of sentiment—”

“You !” Eric couldn’t hold back his outburst as he scrambled back to his feet and stormed back towards the fae before pushing him squarely on the chest. There was a ribbon of satisfaction that sprung in his chest when he saw Hyesung stagger back; he had clearly not expected the blow. “Why would I not care?!”

“Why would you?!” Hyesung was raging, and his skin was taking on that strange glow again, making Eric tense at the sight. Hyesung was seriously testing his patience, but then when did he not? It seemed their dynamic depended solely on arguments. “Why would you care about my brothers, both of whom may be lost to the shadows? Why would you care if the Royal Family got condemned, with the entire kingdom along with it?!”

“That what?” For some reason, Hyesung’s words made Eric feel sick to his stomach, similar to what he had felt when he had first set eyes on the Underground’s blood-colored sky. He realized then that there was something much more complex going on than just Hyesung’s family problems.

“Hyesung, is there something else going on? Just tell me. I don’t want to fight you, Jesus, I want to help you!”

“How? How, Eric Mun?” Hyesung clenched his fists, his eyes dark and blazing. Behind him, the stars had started swirling in complex patterns, manifestations of magic, Eric figured, that he could not – or would not – control. “You simply cannot! I am not of your world. You cannot fix what you do not know and you are a fool to even offer to do so, you troublesome, loathsome, meddling little—”

He didn’t know what compelled him to do it — maybe it was the desperation he felt, or his desire to shut Hyesung up — but Eric lunged, and for the second (and maybe last) time in his life, he kissed the enraged fae with all the strength he could muster and did not stop. Could not stop. Because Hyesung was again kissing him back, and just as hungrily, their anger and frustration at each other or the surrounding circumstance coming together in a greedy entanglement of tongues. This time, Eric was no longer surprised.

“Why…” he whispered, his breath shuddering against Hyesung’s as he extricated himself for a moment…just a moment. His lips tasted of salt and smoke and the sweetness of a ripening autumn. “Why do you have to ing fight me every single time?”

“Hush.” Hyesung pleaded, and his cheeks were glistening, from tears or moonlight, Eric wasn’t sure. His chest panted in angry heaves and Eric could feel the resounding booming of his heart against his. His eyelashes fanned against his cheek, light and dark at the same time. His hand he placed on Eric’s chest, and warmth blossomed underneath his touch. “Please.”

“Hyesung…”

“Hush.”

And then he leaned in towards Eric and overtook the space between them, his lips fitting against Eric’s so perfectly that Eric didn’t know how he had ever been able to kiss anyone else that wasn’t Hyesung; he knew at that moment that there was no one else who was going to ever be able to take Hyesung’s place, and although the realization scared him, he also felt a secret sort of inner peace at the thought of it will only ever be you.

The warmth grew and the world tilted again, but this time, the magic didn’t threaten to push him off of the edge of the earth; instead, it felt as though it was cradling him in the bliss of the moment, as two hearts finally beat in time with each other, their rhythms finally in sync.

(Do you trust me?)

Eric smiled as he closed his eyes and willingly submitted himself to the unknown.

-|-

They kissed until their lips felt bruised. When it was over, the stars had righted themselves, and they sat inches away from each other on the damp grass, inhaling the cold still air. Hyesung was quiet for a long time, but did not shirk at Eric’s touch when his hand was placed on his.

And then he spoke.

“This place…” he breathed. “This is near where we met for the first time. That day by the great lake.”

“Oh?” Eric spoke more carefully so as not to spook the fae or incite another argument. He didn’t tear his eyes away from his uninhibited view of the night sky. “We’re in Hammonton, then?” Somehow, he wasn’t surprised to hear they were in New Jersey.

Hyesung let out a low hum in response. “I know not your place names. I know only that this area is one where the veil is the thinnest. It is less arduous to travel between realms here and…it is where Junjin had first crossed over to the Above.”

He sighed, almost in exasperation, his head hanging back as he admired the vast firmament. “My brother…he had only ever wanted to see what it was like. He was curious to a fault and the Aboveground fascinated him to no end. We had all been taught about it since we were babes, but of course everyone had always been against even the very notion of wanting to visit. But…you never really could tell Junjin what not to do…”

Eric was surprised Hyesung was still open to talking about his brothers but guessed that it was likely the fae’s own way of processing what had been going on. He found that he didn’t really mind, and prodded a bit more to prompt him. “Minwoo didn’t know?”

“You are mad if you think we would share that sort of information with Minwoo. He would have sent us to the dungeons himself.” Hyesung chuckled darkly. “Ironic, that.”

Eric’s fingers tightened around Hyesung’s in a light squeeze. It was instinctive for him to show comfort, and he knew the fae badly needed it, despite his obstinacy. Hyesung didn’t seem as though he noticed, however, as he continued to recount their first journey to the Aboveground.

“I had caught him planning his escape. Junjin had eventually discovered that not all the gateways to the Above were sealed. We then spent months fighting about it, but it was a lost battle from the start. Once Junjin decides on something Danu himself will not be able to change his mind. I caught him just before he escaped to go Aboveground for the first time, and tried to stop him, but he had crossed over first…and then got caught in that infernal contraption soon after. Shortly after, your brother found him.” A wry smile stretched across his lips. “And then, of course, so did you.”

So did you. Eric’s heart grew warm at the phrase. It also amazed him that out of all the days the two fae had to cross over, it was the one day that they too had been there, especially when they rarely left the confines of the city. It almost seemed like…

“Destiny?” Hyesung said, startling him out of his thoughts, and Eric narrowed his eyes at him in accusation.

“That was a private thought,” he said, not even surprised that Hyesung could actually do it, but Hyesung waved him off.

“Your mind is laughably easy to read as it is frighteningly blank most of the time. But then there are at least the odd moments of lucidity.”

“Hey!”

“Is it written in the stars, for our fates to have intertwined?” Hyesung mused, ignoring his annoyance. “It’s a frightening thought, to have your future already plotted for you while you act it out, scene by scene, like a ghastly theatrical show.” He shook his head. “Not a nice thought to have indeed, especially given the circumstances…”

“Maybe it’s not so bad.” Eric said, choosing to overlook the fae’s irritating habit of peeking into his mind. If he would look into it now, he would be treated with the mental image of the kiss they had both just enjoyed, and he considered that if he hadn’t met Hyesung, he’d have never experienced that particular type of bliss. He was confident Hyesung would feel the same. “I mean, we met, didn’t we? That should account for something.”

“Yes,” Hyesung murmured in response. He lowered his head and seemed to focus on the individual blades of grass. “But at what cost?”

At this, Eric turned to him, suddenly concerned with how…regretful…it had sounded. Hyesung was once more staring up at the vast firmament, but this time it seemed it was in an effort to avoid Eric’s gaze.

“The Underground is in great peril. I am in danger of losing both my family and my home, Eric Mun, and I am…terrified…of it coming to pass.”

Eric’s eyes widened at the statement. “What do you mean?” he asked, although he wasn’t as bewildered as he would have been had he not already seen the Underground with his two eyes. The image of the wounded sky and how ominous the air had felt seemed ingrained into his senses, and he couldn’t shake it off no matter how hard he tried. “Hyesung, what’s happened?”

Hyesung let out an exasperated noise, like a cross between a sigh and a groan. He sounded both exhausted and frustrated. “For days one end, the Underground has been plagued by earth-shakes and fire storms. This has never happened before in the history of the realm. But as a result, acres of land have been destroyed, and scores of our people have died as well.”

The tiny hairs on the back of Eric’s neck stood on end as he listened to the description, recalling the strange weather that had also been occurring in New York. It could have been an odd coincidence, maybe, but the similar timing and the scale of damage the extreme and unpredictable weather had brought were enough to make him wonder.

“You’re powerless to stop it?” he asked, unable to believe that beings with magic were unable to do anything to protect each other from weather of all things. At the very least he’d have expected some sort of early warning device so that people (or creatures, he wasn’t really sure) could leave for safety. He was surprised when Hyesung gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Yes and no. Believe me, it has not been due to lack of trying. When the earth-shakes occur, they split the earth throughout the realm and no one is able to tell where it will take place next. It has consumed villages and farmlands alike. The fire-storms are also unpredictable, and the most we have tried to do is for the King to strengthen the wards so lightning cannot strike land. He and the Queen and myself have done everything in our power to minimize the damages done and expend protection for all six kingdoms, but the truth is…our people are vulnerable and are very much afraid.” He shook his head. “None of us have lived through something like this before, and with Minwoo and Junjin unable to help, we are quite disadvantaged.”

“They don’t know what’s happened to Junjin and Minwoo either?”

Hyesung shook his head firmly. “We cannot admit weakness or powerlessness. We should not, for the sake of the people. We also risk an attack should anyone discover that two of the High King’s sons are not fit to rule.”

“Jesus Christ.” Eric couldn’t even imagine the immense pressure Hyesung must be feeling. “And even with all that, you’re still here?”

Hyesung seemed to hold his breath, as though debating over the merits of sharing with him his next thought. “Mother—” he started, before correcting himself, “I mean, the Queen…is fearful it may be linked to the prophecy. She has not shared her thoughts with me, but I can see the fear in her eyes. Especially when she looks at Junjin.”

The prophecy. Eric remembered that was what they had called it, and hurriedly recalled the snatches of conversation that he had had with Junjin about it before: a prophecy made over thirteen generations past. It spoke of a destroyer of worlds, the destruction of the Underground with it…

…It will take two people to bring about the End of Days…

A member of the Royal Family.

And one lowly, insignificant mortal.

Eric gulped painfully.

“Do you think it is?” he asked, turning to the fae and unconsciously reaching out to clutch Hyesung’s hand. He suddenly felt sick at the thought that they may have inadvertently started something that couldn’t be easily reversed, if at all. Despite his staunch belief in science and logic, he was willing to consider that some things were beyond the scope of explanation, especially given the fact that he himself had already teleported several times. “Do you think it is the prophecy?”

Hyesung avoided his gaze. He pulled away from Eric’s hold and instead stared down at the grass where his fingers lay clenched. He didn’t speak for a while, and the silence hung heavy and overbearing between them like a wet coat. When he finally did speak, his voice was so low that Eric wondered if he was actually not talking to himself rather than continuing the conversation they were having.

“Even if it was…” Hyesung said slowly. Carefully. “Even if it was, I would have no choice. We would still need to fulfill the Favor. I cannot risk losing my brother. Not even for the prophecy.”

The fae tensed with frightening determination, and Eric found that he could only nod in agreement. He understood, of course, with all too-painful clarity.

“Do you have a plan?” Eric asked, secretly holding out the hope that maybe all of the events were just part of one gigantic bad week, or even month, across realms. He knew that if Hyesung could provide even the slightest assurance that they weren’t actively playing a part in the destruction of any worlds, he could breathe a bit better.

“I can only do so much in the Underground. The King and Queen have their respective duties, and my role has been relegated to that of one supposed to keep out of their way as to minimize further damage or disturbances. As such, I have sufficient freedom to ensure our unfinished business here is accomplished as soon as possible. By doing so I am hoping that it will stopper one problem and provide a solution for the others.”

“So you’re winging it,” Eric stifled a groan and could see as Hyesung gave him a pointed look.

“Nothing is for certain and we do not have a choice.” The fae snapped. “I will work with the fates we have been dealt with, and unless you could offer any particular assistance, then you’d best keep your unwanted opinions to yourself. Besides…” Hyesung frowned. “I am hoping that accomplishing the Favor would return the balance of things, or at the very least will enable me to focus more on assisting the King and Queen in setting the kingdom to rights.”

“With Minwoo…” Eric hesitated before settling on an acceptable word, “…occupied…wouldn’t you need to step up in his place as the second son anyway?” Although he had never really had any real experience with monarchic rule, even of the mortal kind, the rules for succession had always seemed pretty straightforward.

Hyesung pressed his lips together. “Yes and no. All three of us have been sufficiently trained by our father in the running of the kingdom. However…I am sorely lacking in the training to control my primary powers as compared to my brothers. As a result, the King and Queen do not see me fit to aid them in ruling as yet.”

“Was that your primary power then?” Eric sat up suddenly as he put two and two together. “When we were fighting and the world…kind of disassembled itself, and fell apart, but in a weird way?”

He didn’t miss the flash of surprise in Hyesung’s eyes, as though he had not expected Eric would catch on. It was very quickly replaced with a guarded look as the fae took on the expression of someone who was calculating his next move. He too sat up and turned to Eric, his eyes narrowed. “You have asked me this before,” he said at last, although not specifying what this was.

“Yeah, but you never showed me. This time…you did.” Eric peered at him through lowered eyelashes, almost afraid of how Hyesung would react. He remembered how defensive the fae had been the first time they had had this conversation in Andrew’s in what already seemed like several lifetimes ago, and he had already been in a better mood then than how he was now. To avoid himself from getting incinerated on the spot, Eric tried to rationalize his question.

“It’s just…half the time I’m with you I don’t know if I’m going crazy or not, and this one really took the cake but I’m not sure if it was all in my head because…” he laughed nervously. “I mean, it’s just not possible, right? You flipping the world upside-down…you were just messing with my head…right? It’s an illusion.”

But Hyesung wasn’t laughing.

“Perspective manipulation,” Hyesung said instead before Eric could even register that he’d spoken.

“I…what?”

“That is my primary power, although I rarely make use of it.” Hyesung tore off grass with his fingers and shredded them with ease. “As you may have seen, the lack of control for that type of power is dangerous. I am usually barely able to have full control of it…. Normally the King is there to ensure I don’t unravel reality altogether, and even with him there, it’s a colossal effort.”

“You mean you can?” Eric gaped at him in disbelief. “It’s not just you arranging worlds like you’re in…I dunno, ing Minecraft or something, but you actually…you actually can warp reality?” He gulped. “Change reality?”

“That is the theory, of course I have obviously never attempted it.” Hyesung frowned. “There are occasions when my control slips and…things…” he says it in such a way that Eric is sure he doesn’t mean just things, “…can get irretrievably lost or destroyed.”

“So, what happened tonight…when you made everything all…wonky. That was real?”

Hyesung nodded. “At the very least, I can bend reality to my will. At worst…” he seemed to shudder in time with a cold breeze passing, but Eric doubted it had anything to do with the chill at all. “I am unaware of what the full extent of these powers can be, and I am not willing to know.”

Goosebumps had risen on Eric’s arms. He had always known he was vulnerable around the fae, but knowing just how vulnerable wasn’t exactly something that set his mind at ease—

“Do you understand now, mortal, just how dangerous it is to be with us?” Hyesung’s voice cut across his thoughts, his tone sharp as a blade. When he looked, his eyes were dark, and Eric was surprised to see the fae seemed equally afraid as him. “It is not a jest. It never was.”

“I know.” Eric said, nodding, and the appalled expression on Hyesung’s face made his heart light despite the ever-present fear. He stuck to his earlier answer without giving it a second thought. “And I've always known. But I trust you. Probably even more now than I ever did before.”

I love you, was also on the tip of his tongue but he held back. They were not words that he could offer so easily. Not even to Hyesung.

“Anyway…” Eric was quick to divert his thoughts from where the conversation was headed before Hyesung could have another chance to sift through his brain. Pausing too long seemed to have that effect. “I’m sorry. I hadn’t known you were going through…all of that.” He felt sheepish and foolish that his own problems paled in comparison to what the fae was dealing with. What was being rejection compared to the possible annihilation of not only your family but your entire race altogether? “I know I’ve been a pushy by trying to make you answer all sorts of questions…”

Hyesung let out a bark of a laugh. “That is being entirely too kind on yourself, Eric Mun.”

“Yeah well…” Eric could feel himself blush, but he considered that it may have been because of the thread of mirth in Hyesung’s voice. His cheeks burned. “I had my own thing going on. I felt like I was going nuts with everything that I was feeling and you were nowhere…. You haven’t exactly been forthcoming either, so what did you expect me to do?”

“You are as dense as a rock wall hence I am not even astonished that leashing your tongue isn’t one of your better talents.”

“Your best talent is popping in and out of rooms as dramatically as possible, not to mention eating everything in sight.” Eric snapped back, unable to resist in taking potshots of his own. “Getting any information from you is more painful than trying to pass a kidney stone.”

“Lest you forget, you had also trespassed into the realm of the Underground tonight and it is only due to my benevolence that you are not in chains and languishing in some dark cell underneath the palace.” Hyesung said, looking deeply unimpressed.

“Lest you forget, you trespass into this realm practically every day and you just admitted to not caring about a prophecy your family has subscribed to for thousands of years for the sake of your little brother, and it’s only with my benevolence that—mmff!”

Eric fell over backward as Hyesung suddenly pounced on him, their mouths once more locked together in a kiss so impassioned that Eric couldn’t tell whether or not the stars that were dancing before his eyes were real. He smiled against the flicker of Hyesung’s tongue against his.

“When you said you could stop the breath in my lungs with you barely lifting a finger,” he smirked at the fae leering over him, “this is what you meant, right?”

Hyesung growled in response, but no longer with any heat. “For once in your pathetic life, Eric Mun,” he said, breath hot against the chill of their skin, “shut up.”

And Eric was only too happy to comply.


tbc


Author's Notes 
This was an absolute MONSTER, but there is a part 2 to this. Ricsyung aren't done yet. :)

P.S. The place they're in is the Blue Hole in Hammonton and it's associated with all sorts of urban legends, notably that of the Jersey Devil. Hehe. Seemed like the best place.