Welcome to part two.

Over 7k words of....

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you know what just

And I'll meet you at the end

~~

The last chamber maid had left; his basin was filled with warm water that beckoned him. He had already taken off his shirt, his face bright red as he refused to look at himself in the mirror.

He had seen Kyuhyun shirtless many times, and he was sure the image would look no different than it usually was.

His fingers were already on the insides at the top of his trousers but he could not find the confidence to pull them off. If he did so, that would mean that he was . He had felt the flesh beneath the waist band, which meant that Kyuhyun had opted not to wear any under garments. Yesung blushes, withdrawing his fingers. 

His skin felt dirty and he could not possibly apply the ointment while was still dirty. He knew he had promised Kyuhyun that he would stay put until he returned but Yesung figured that the other boy would understand his torment.         

“I’ll just keep the trousers on and rinse the dirt off’ he told himself sternly.

Nodding to himself, he steps into the water with his left foot first and it felt like sinking into quick sand. One minute he was standing upright and the next he was waist deep in the welcoming warmth of his bath. The little stings that came from the water invading his open wounds had bothered him at first but eventually it just became a dull throbbing reminder of an adventure that he longed to forget at the moment.

However, there were some aspects of that adventure that he wished he could live in forever. A certain fairy tale like love story that had taken place between himself and Kyuhyun. A couple of innocent kisses covered only by a deceitful secret that would eventually tear them a part once more.

This time he sighs for another reason as his mind begins to trouble him about his dishonesty. Regret is such an obnoxious feeling. It demands attention and unfortunately as much as Yesung does not want to give it the attention it craves he finds himself thrown into a pitiful flashback of the previous events.

He berates himself for kissing Kyuyhyun in the first place. Now the prince probably thinks that Yesung had only done so in order to manipulate him with intimacy.

With his thoughts battling, Yesung groans. Taking a deep breath he ducks under the water to clear his troubling conscience momentarily.

When he breaks the surface of the water a few seconds later, he almost has a heart attack when he finds Emma leaning over the edge of the basin with a smile on her face and a bath sponge in her right hand.

She frowns at him,

            “My prince, you seem to startle so easily at the presence? What has your time in the forest done to my brave prince?”

            “Uh…Emma. What-What are you doing here?”

Emma tilts her head to side as if surprised by his question. She reaches out and traces a finger over his chest. Yesung shies away the touch, a flush of embarrassment creeping up his neck. She smells weird.

Like she had been swimming in a huge bath of exotic perform.

She pulls back at hand slowly, “Are you not happy to see me? You have not sought me out in…well, I would’ve thought you’d have missed me”

Was Kyuhyun still obsessed with Emma?

How was Yesung supposed to act around her?

The prince had hardly shown any interest in pursuing his feelings for Emma for some time now. And now, after the sorcerer had spoken of a curse, surely the prince would likely be distrustful of Emma.

But why would the Overlord place a lust spell on Kyuhyun but forbid him from being with the girl he craved most?

They would eventually need to get to the bottom of this but for now Yesung needed to make Emma go away.

He takes a breath and looks her dead in the eye, his nostrils flaring a little as her perfume burns at them.     Where the hell does a servant girl get perfume from?

Well…she did belong in the tavern, surely that must be some requirement. All tavern girls probably smell just as intoxicating to men. However it seems to be suffocating him.

            “Emma. I-“, unable to bear the scent he covers his nose and mouth, “I am sorry to say that I am in love with my s-servant and that you must move on with your life”

There, that should turn her off.

…hopefully.

Instead of storming off in a rage at having been rejected by the prince, the young girl’s head rears back as if slapped. Then she bursts out laughing.

            “I-I must have misheard you my prince. I could’ve sworn you…”

Her scent is making him dizzy and Yesung promptly washes his face again, ready to exit the basin.

            “Emma please. Let us not draw this out any longer …”

Emma shoves him back down in the basin when he attempts to rise. For such a petite girl she is packing the strength of ten men.

Yesung decides to play his role and demand that she leave. He starts by saying,

            “You are not…”

The servant is not listening instead her hands are suddenly all over Yesung, her lips dangerously close to his own mouth as she suffocates him with her heavy, seductive scent.

            “Now” she pulls back, smiling as if she had completed some sort of good deed, “how about I give you a proper scrubbing, my prince” she lifts the sponge to his eye level, smirking devilishly.

Yesung shakes his head, both to deny her request and also raid his head of her uncomfortable smell.

            “No. Go. Go away Emma” he stands from the basin quickly climbing out before she could stop him. He knows that he is getting water all over the floor but he doesn’t care at the moment. All that really matters is getting away from Emma.

Unfortunately she follows him into his bedchambers and refuses to leave.

            “Do you seriously consider yourself in love with this…peasant girl”

Yesung picks up the gem from the night table, clenching it into his fist.

He will have to tend to his wounds, get dressed and find Kyuhyun.

            “Emma, leave now. That is a direct order given by your prince! Now go…”

A pair of hands roughly grabs his face and turns his head. Soft lips ravish his mouth in a rough kiss for a couple of seconds before he finally shoves her away. The gem accidentally slips from his loose grip but Emma is quick to catch it.

She eyes it curiously,   “What is…” The servant releases a piercing cry soon after. Yesung is forced to shield his eyes from an impressive white light that envelopes the room.

The devil-like being standing before him is definitely not what he was expecting when he opens his eyes again.

The person is deathly pale; its purple tinged lips are huge on its thin face. Its eyes are bold, the irises flashing with an angry red color. The long white tresses that are springing from its head in disarray surround its face. Yesung would not consider the creature before him beautiful, but neither was it ugly per se.

It wore a ragged grey dress that extended all the way to its bony, pale ankles. Both hands were equipped with crooked, yet sharp looking nails that looked about as deadly as a bed of nails.

She, because it was definitely a she, released another unearthly scream, opening to reveal a complete set of pearly white pricks of teeth.

            “Mermaid magic” she accused Yesung in a deep, husky voice. The gem falls from her hand and Yesung is left even more stunned when he realizes that this ing creature could actually be Emma. The stench of her perfume was definitely stronger and seemed to occupy the entire atmosphere of the room.

Since the gem had rolled closer to him, he quickly bends and retrieves it.

Before he can get a grip on the situation, the creature grabs him by the neck, lifting him easily off the ground as he struggles to break free.

            “Where did you get mermaid magic!?” she demands angrily.

When Yesung doesn’t answer, instead he’s fighting for breath, she tosses him aside with such force that he crashes into the basin, knocking it over.

Yesung moans pathetically as his unhealed injuries complain about being disturbed so harshly.

When Emma appears over him again, she is back in her usual body. However this time her face is less pleasant and more annoyed.

She continues to stare down at Yesung for what seems like hours.

Suddenly she steps back and smiles down at him.

            “You are not Kyuhyun” she states proudly.

Yesung sputters at a reply but she simply shuts him up with a wave of a finger.

            “You must be wondering how I came to that conclusion”

The slave had wanted to deny it and press the issue that he was in fact Kyuhyun, but from the ‘no bull’ face Emma was wearing, he knew that his protests would fall on deaf ears. Instead he chose to simply nod.

Emma smiles, “It’s obvious that my pheromones did not work on you the way they usually worked on Kyuhyun. However that was not what gave you away. Instead it was the fact that you had a gem…one that contained mermaid magic. It only way mermaid magic works effectively is in the presence of a mermaid curse or spell. Mermaids are rumored to have many talents but the main one is notoriously known as ‘Lernero Switniero’. Exchanging spirits. Or as you would call it, body switching. I merely guessed that one of you would be stupid enough to possibly infuriate the mermaid and get cursed. You just confirmed my guess”

Yesung felt like a schmuck. Emma had just been guessing and by not denying her accusation in the first place he had given her the information she needed.

However, despite the fact that he had given away their secret but he now knew Emma’s secret.

She was a magical creature. A human-ish looking one in the form of a crone, but no less magical.

And she gave off pheromones to make herself irresistible!

No wonder Kyuhyun could not get enough of her. The was the one who had kept him under the curse!

But why would the overlord hire her to hold this curse over Kyuhyun but yet restrict Kyuhyun from meeting him.

Emma’s maniacal laugh brings him out of his thoughts.

            “You are an idiot. You do know I just heard every single thought you just had”

Yesung flinches as she pinches his cheek.

‘When did she get so close to him?’

            “It’s an effect of the gem. The holder has no privacy. They reveal their thoughts easily, sometimes without even fully comprehending their actions.”

As his mind races processing the information, he comes to a conclusion and declares.

            “W-which is why you went ugly when you touched it. It made you reveal your true self”

Emma looks surprise at his analysis and gives him a mocking clap,

            “Bravo. You are not as dumb as you look and you look even dumber now that you’re in Kyuhyun’s body”

That !

She felt absolutely nothing for Kyuhyun! She had just been playing him for a fool all this time.

            “Yes. It was his…’father’s’ idea. You see the more he tried to make Kyuhyun stay away from me. The stronger my hold on Kyuhyun became as he disobeyed his father’s wishes to see me”

            “So…all this time, the Overlord has been forbidding Kyuhyun to go after you, it-it only made him want you more. And-and every time, every time he came to you, you would just give him any dose of your pheromones to keep him consumed by lust and therefore under your spell. What-but why go through all this trouble just to make Kyuhyun crave a someone like you?”

Did the Overlord wish for them to e and produce some sort of hybrid magical off spring.

Emma rolls her eyes, “Because it kept the idiot out of the Overlord’s way. The prince hardly pays attention to his father’s business while under the curse. You see how he gets. He can be quite demanding at times…”

            “So you’re here to distract him. Keep him occupied while his father does all his dirty deeds. But still…Kyuhyun is the Overlord’s son. Why would he not want to be involved in his father’s dirty business?”

The more Emma reveals the more question seem to pop up in Yesung’s head. Just what did they hope to accomplish by keeping Kyuhyun under this curse.

The girl shrugs, “We just wanted to keep him on our side. His true purpose is…most precious”

Emma’s left hand shifts and pulls until it resembles the claw-like hand that the creature had had. She waves long dirty nails threateningly at him,

            “I would kill you, but unfortunately the prince will need his body but for now, I might as well…”

She grunts in shock, her eyes bulging from their sockets. The way her hands fly to cover her abdomen draws Yesung’s attention to the same spot.

The silver tip of a sword is now poking out of her abdomen. Yesung looks behind her as she makes loud choking noises. When she turns to face her attacker, he easily spots his own body standing bravely with both hands braced on the handle of a sword that is now lodged deeply within Emma’s lower back.

            “Who the are you calling an idiot, you ” Kyuhyun uses all his force and draws the sword upward, slicing roughly into Emma’s chest cavity.

When he releases his grip, Emma tumbles sideways into a cold, dead heap of limbs. Her body shifts into its original form and Yesung notices as Kyuhyun turns green at the sight of it. Fortunately they do not have to look at it long because it combusts into dust a few seconds later.

Kyuhyun is scowling at the grey particles as if he wished he could bring her back alive just so he could have the satisfaction of killing her again.

Yesung eases himself into a standing position,

            “So I guess you heard all of that”

            “Oh, just that Emma is some kind of harlot demon, sent by my father to keep me out of his business…no, not all of it”

            “I’m-I’m sorry” Yesung mumbles when he realizes that Kyuhyun is being too quiet.

It must be very hard to find out that the life you’ve been living for so long is just a spell that was placed on you to control not only your actions but your mind.

            “So I have been betrayed by my father, my, well the girl I thought was my future wife and the girl I liked who turned out to be a boy all in the same day. ‘Sorry’ does not cover most of that”

Kyuhyun turns on his heel and marches for the door. Yesung finally notices what the other boy is wearing. It is a festival kimono, usually worn at the banquets.

            “Why are you dressed like that?”

The prince pauses by door, turning slightly to look at Yesung. He gives him a small, menacingly smile,

            “The Overlord is returning shortly. Let’s go give him a big welcome, shall we?”

Yesung looks down and realizes that he’s still shirtless. His trousers are still wet from his bath but he is still not confident enough to take them off while knowing Kyuhyun is under them. It Would be peculiar if he began to undress Kyuhyun’s own body in front of it’s owner.

            “Let me get dressed first” he scoffs, turning to look for a shirt but not before taking in the fact that Kyuhyun was wearing a cleaner dress and that his wounds looked well taken care of.

‘Lucky bastard’ Yesung thinks grudgingly. Lovelace must have helped him.

            “I heard that” Kyuhyun yells over his shoulder.

Yesung glares in betrayal at the shiny gem that he is currently still clutching in his left hand.

~~

Kyuhyun grabs one of the unlit torches from its holder, drawing the object close to his side as if he to use it as a weapon. A passing guard eyes Kyuhyun untrustworthily however his gaze does not linger once he sees that the prince is also there. The guard nods to Yesung and continues on his way.

            “What’s with the torch?” Yesung asks when they round a corner. From this angle he can see the height of the sun in the sky and quickly determines that evening is rapidly approaching.

Kyuhyun smirks at the torch, holding it out in front of him.

            “It’s all a part of the plan” he snickers, “Come on, let’s go find Lovelace and the others”

A side of the castle explodes loudly, bits of flames and bricks flying everywhere. Yesung ducks, covering his head with his arms; however it doesn’t protect him from the echoing sound of another explosion that takes half of another wall with it.

People are screaming and there are a specific number of louder voices calling orders of combat.

            “Is this a part of the plan too!?” Yesung yells desperately at Kyuhyun as he grabs the other boy’s hand, hoping to lead them to a much safer location.

            “Nope” is Kyuhyun’s reply before he shrieks in surprise as the ground quakes beneath them when another ‘kaboom’ rips through the air. The atmosphere is densely covered in a cloud of dust and smoke but they don’t stop as they rush past terrified servants and the occasional guard.

Yesung shoves Kyuhyun in front of him and they both escape into the open doors of the Throne room. Kyuhyun wastes no time in shutting and locking the door behind them.

            “It seems that someone decided to throw the Overlord an additional welcome party” he says, hissing out a cough.

Catching his breath, Yesung asks,      

“Where-where did you tell Lovelace to meet you?”

Kyuhyun points at the opposite side of the room, “In-In the d-dining area”

Great, now not only were they being attacked by some unknown enemy but they were separated from their friends. Yesung could not help but be a little nervous when he thought about Suzy’s reaction to all that is happening. Even with Lovelace with her, she would still be scared.

They could not stay in this room and simply hide out while God knows what happened to their friends. Whoever these people were they did not belong to Overlord’s knights. Therefore they would not have any remorse in killing anyone that got in there way.

            “Kyuhyun, we cannot stay here”

The prince ignores him in favor of pacing the width of the room.

Not in the mood, Yesung strides forward and grabs Kyuhyun by the shoulders, turning the smaller boy to face him.

Kyuhyun pushes Yesung’s hands off of him, making a frustrated noise.

            “Something’s wrong. Whoever is attacking us…” he trails off, his eyes developing a very spaced out look. “Without the sorcerer we’re-we’re to open…my dad took most of the knights with him, therefore we…”

Yesung shakes the other boy roughly, “Shut up. None of that is important right now…”

Kyuhyun stares up at Yesung as if he has bloody lost his mind,

            “Not important….NOT IMPORTANT? Are you-“

            “I SAID SHUT. UP! God, for the past weeks that I’ve been here you’ve always had something to say, whether it’s utter nonsense or just plain fart, and I’ve been wanting to tell you to stick a sock in it for so long now…First of all, how can you still call that man your father after…”

Not wanting to hear any more of Yesung’s biased words, Kyuhyun forcedly pushed him away, causing the now taller man to lose his balance and stumble back onto his buttocks.

            “My father may have some serious explaining to do, but the fact is this…he is my father, we will always share the same blood and I cannot turn my back on him, on his people until I hear the truth from own lips”

Yesung stares up at Kyuhyun in disgust. He is convinced that the Overlord must have had another spell on the boy since the stupid lad could not see heads or tails when it came to going against his so called ‘father’s’ service.

            “What people. Your father has no people! Everyone here is from…”

Kyuhyun shakes his head, “No. No, you just-“ his eyes plead with Yesung, “You just don’t understand…You never wanted to be here in the first place. My father is all I have and-and he’s all I’ve ever had for a long time. He’s never done anything to make me hate him, so-so I’m wondering if I should believe the words of a lying creature and erase him from my life without even hearing his side of the story-“ he pauses. Yesung still does not look convinced and Kyuhyun is at a loss for words. He turns away from the other boy.

‘He will never understand’ Kyuhyun thinks stubbornly.

Kyuhyun’s scheming brain is running a mile a minute trying to figure out what he can do to help the few guards that remain. when he is harshly pulled by the arm.

Yesung roughly pivots Kyuhyun around to face him and before the other boy can get two words out, he leans forward and kisses him softly. It’s a bit unbalanced at first as they both adjust to their new differences in height. Whereas in the forest Yesung had had to tilt his head up, he finds that being taller means that he now has to bend his neck and also a little at the waist as he seeks to place a palm on Kyuhyun’s hip.

When they gently break a part, Yesung tightens his grip on Kyuhyun’s hip, not wanting the other man to move too far away. He uses his other hand to clasp the back of Kyuhyun’s head and bring their foreheads together.

            “I-I understand why you would still have some loyalty to the Overlord and, and I’m willing to follow you if you only seek to find out the truth from him. But, I must correct you when you say that your father is all you have. He may have been all you had but I can promise you that you have me as well-even-even if you don’t want me in” he trails off, blushing hotly around his cheeks, clearing his throat he continues, “in a romantic way-. I-I can offer you a long lasting friendship with-with no more lies, or secrets. J-just know that you can trust and depend on me for anything”

When Yesung’s soft assurances stop, Kyuhyun finds himself sighing heavily. The kiss had been somewhat of an eye opener. Now that he knew who Yesung truly was, he sensed that this moment right here would either make them or reduce whatever they had been aiming for to a lower level.

He had accepted the kiss despite Yesung’s status as a male. It was also bizarre to be kissing your own mouth but he somehow managed to go through with it since his mind’s eye showed him the image of the spirit within that body.

…a very male spirit…

Boldly, Kyuhyun closes his eyes and brings their lips together briefly, he tugs at Yesung’s hands, holding them at the wrists.

He made a mental note to buy some grease for his lips. They were very dry.

How had Yesung never told him that his lips felt like sandpaper? Or was it that the other boy was not taking proper care of them. He is so irresponsible. Doesn’t he know that Kyuhyun’s lips needed special treatment?

Setting aside his foolish observation, Kyuhyun breaks the kiss gently.

When he opens his eyes again, he finds Yesung staring down at him hopefully,

            “Just as I have been fair to you and have forgiven you for withholding such important details from me, it would only be fair as well if I did the same for my father”

Thinking this over, Yesung groans lightly. However, he does nod.

            “I just want to hear what he has to say for himself”

Moving his hands from Yesung’s wrist, Kyuhyun grasps the other boy’s hands, intertwining their fingers, and gives them a single, hard squeeze.

            “And you’ve always had my friendship”

At those words, Yesung gives a small smile. It’s not exactly the confession he was hoping for and it saddens him a little but he accepts it all the same.

            “We need to find…”

The door to the throne room is suddenly being pounded on hurriedly. Releasing Yesung’s hands, Kyuhyun curses and flies over to the side of the room in order to grab one of the weapons displayed on the wall.

            “Kyuhyun! Kyuhyun! Yesung! Are you in there!?” Hyukjae’s familiar voice shouts from the other side of the door.

Exchanging a glance with Kyuhyun, Yesung rushes forward and undoes the locks on the door.

Suzy is the first person who runs in, her little legs carrying her all the way over to Kyuhyun before she jumps onto him for a long hug. Yesung watches them with sad smile. On one hand he enjoys seeing that Kyuhyun had not managed to scare Suzy off but on the other hand he wishes that it him being hugged right now. He needed a little comfort as well, even if it came from a 5 year old.

Lovelace leads a waddling Amber inside and Yesung moves to help them.

Choi, Donghae and Hyukjae are the last to enter and they make a point of slamming the door behind them, putting the locks back into place.

            “Your highness” Hyukjae approaches Yesung. The knight looks like he’s about to discuss some very serious business, Kyuhyun lifts Suzy into his arms and begins walking towards them.

Of course General Choi steps in his path, blocking Kyuhyun from going any further.

‘Why did they even bring him’ Kyuhyun rolls his eyes as Siwon begins to pour his heart out. Kyuhyun side-steps the other man and continues toward his destination.

With his back turned, he misses the way Suzy sticks her tongue out at Siwon.

Siwon flicks his own tongue at her in a very childish manner as well.

Kyuhyun gets there just in time to hear Yesung asking Hyukjae,

            “But why would you even want to go there? Wouldn’t they kill someone like you on sight?”

Hyukjae raises an eyebrow at the phrase ‘someone like you’ however he chooses to ignore it.

            “I have-I have something that they want” is all the knight replies as a means of an explanation.

Both Yesung and Kyuhyun share a confused look.

Kyuhyun, who doesn’t know the full extent of the information, begs to be filled in. Hyukjae waves him off, informing him that it was none of his concern and Yesung later blurted out,

            “He wants us to go to Monte F’aire”

Everyone stares at Hyukjae as if he had sprouted two heads.

Donghae approaches the knight, “Hyukkie are you alright?” he makes a show of checking the man’s forehead for a fever. Hyukjae bats his hand away.

            “We’d be killed for sure if we go there now. That’s if we can even make it out of the village. It’s a war zone out there” Choi comments.

            “We won’t be killed”

Hyukjae reassures Siwon, but the answer only sparked the question of  ‘why’ and ‘how do you know that for sure?’

            “Because-Because, you guys-you just have to trust me okay. I know what I’m doing”

            “Clearly you do not, or else you would not be suggesting such a-a suicidal mission” Amber chimes in, her tone heavy with mockery.

Yesung took in the way Hyuukjae’s eyes kept flicking over to him and he knew there was something the other man was not telling them. If only there…

An idea sparked to life in Yesung’s mind and he casually reaches into his back pocket for the gem.

            “Hyukjae, uh, before we discuss your plan. Can you, could you tell us what this might be”

Yesung gives himself a pat on the back when Hyukjae willingly accepts the gem without question. Being the prince definitely had its benefits.

He can see Kyuhyun giving him a lost look, obviously not following what Yesung’s intentions were.

            “Where did you get this?” Hyukjae asks, a frown of concentration on his face.

Ignoring the question for the moment, Yesung leans back smugly and asks, “So Eunhyuk, why do you think we’d be able to get into Monte F’aire without getting killed?”

Still a bit distracted by the gem, Hyukjae looks up so that he can ensure Yesung that he is paying attention despite his lack of eye contact. His eyes go back to the gem as he answers.

            “Because I have something they would desperately love to have back” the knight says softly, his voice far away and when he answers again, his tone is a lot more confident, “They might be our only hope. I-I-As you all may know” he looks around at all of them, “I have never been completely loyal to the Overlord. I have my own purpose for being under his servitude”

Siwon stiffens a little at news but only Yesung is paying enough attention to him in order to see it. A few seconds pass before Siwon quickly hides his shock behind a mask of indifference. Yesung reminds himself not to let his guard down around Siwon from this point on. The man of course was still one of the Overlord’s generals and his loyalty was still in question and therefore made him as much as a threat as the Overlord.

Kyuhyun however seemed to wear his surprise openly on his face. His eyes narrows at Hyukjae,

            “So all this time you’ve just been bidding your time for the perfect moment to turn your back on him?” the prince snarls, a bit vulnerable now that he realizes that Hyukjae had been hiding a secret from him as well.

Eunhyuk looks surprised at the short slave girl who is practically glaring at him. He had thought Yesung would be on his side since the young slave hated the Overlord just as much as Hyukjae did. 

Amber, her hand cupping the bottom of her rounded stomach, approaches Hykjae, her face the perfect picture of confusion,

            “What do you mean you have something that Monte F’aire would need?”

Thrown off of his contemplation of Yesung’s reaction, Hyukjae startles a little at Amber’s words.

            “W-what? I never said anything about having something for Monte F’aire”

It is Lovelace who intercedes this time, “Of course you did. We all heard you say it. What is your plan? Do you really have something to bargain for our protection within Monte F’aire?”

As seven pairs of eyes focused intently on him, including Suzy’s innocent puppy eyes, Hyukjae hesitates momentarily.

            “Should I tell them about Kyuhyun.” He said, his eyes flicking guiltily over to Yesung, “No. It would be better if I told him when we got there. It’s too dangerous to waste any more time here.”

With a neutral mask, Hyukjae declares, “I will explain every…”

Kyuhyun shoves Hyukjae roughly causing the knight to step back several times before catching his balance. Hyukjae stares at the slave girl as if the girl had lost her mind.

            “Was she working for the Overlord?” Eunhyuk thought sadly, completely unaware that the entire room had just heard him say it out loud.

When Donghae moves forward to go to Hyukjae, Kyuhyun is already scuffing the knight up by the collar of his shirt. He had finally caught on that the gem was acting as a translator for Hyukjae’s deepest thoughts.

The sorry bastard wasn’t even aware of the hints that he was giving off and the more Hyukjae hinted at, the more frustrated and anxious for the whole story, Kyuhyun became.

He pulls Hyukjae forward until the two of them are almost bumping foreheads.

            “Tell me what the is going on Hyukjae. What is it you’re not telling me! I’ve been hearing a lot of all day and I’m getting rather fed up of everyone thinking they can control me by withholding the truth. Now man up and just TELL ME….NOW!”

Never mind the fact that a tiny slave girl is yelling at him while holding him in a tight grip that is almost choking him, Hyukjae cannot help but lock eyes with Donghae, who is nodding encouragingly. However both Hyukjae and Donghae as well as everyone except Yesung are staring at Kyuhyun with a mixture of bewilderment and curiosity.

            “Yesung, why are you demanding information that is not yours…” Lovelace questions, reaching forward to place a calming hand on Kyuhyun’s shoulder.

Yesung speaks up confidently, “He-She is speaking on my behalf” the man in the prince’s body locks eyes with a stressed out looking Hyukjae, “You heard her. So tell me…now” Yesung folds his arms across his chest and waits.

Hyukjae sighs, using a hand to scrub his weary face. Eunhyuk rocks on his heel gently causing Kyuhyun to loosen his grip and eventually release him. When he is free, he slumps his shoulders as if the burden of the world is on them.

His eyes stray over to Yesung, who is looking nervously back and forth between Hyukjae and Kyuhyun.

            “It can’t be that bad” Donghae whispers.

            “The Overlord…the Overlord is not your father” Hyukjae had not known how to begin, but he found that once is started with the main confession, the rest of it flowed easily. Despite everyone’s skeptical looks, Hyukjae continued,

            “And when I say that, I mean that he is not your biological father. He’s not even a blood relative. He-He kidnapped you from your true parents when you were just a baby. You were raised to hate your true father so that one day the Overlord might have the pleasure of watching you kill your father”

His eyes were getting a little blurry and Kyuhyun found that no matter how much blinked it just seemed to get mistier. There was an annoying stinging sensation at the corner of his eyes as he took in the information.

Kyuhyun eyed the gem in the knight’s hand hatefully.

Hyukjae was being completely honest. The gem would make sure of it.

            “And you. Just who the are you then? How do you even know all this!?”Kyuhyun could not bring himself to look at Eunhyuk any longer as he raked his hands into his hair, trying to control his racing thoughts.

Hyukjae shakes his head, trying to ignore the demanding slave as he focuses his attention on Yesung.

            “I-I was a stable boy in your parent’s kingdom. The day you were taken I-I had been hiding behind some hay in the stables, terrified that he would see me. At first he had simply mounted his horse, however he found that you were quite a handful and-and you wouldn’t stop crying…”  the corner of Hyukjae’s mouth curled up as he seemed to remember the events.

“He, he was going to drop you. I could see the intent in his eyes and he actually held you off to the side of the horse and I-I just-I may have only been just a child of 9 years, but I knew who you were and I could not just-you were just a baby. So I-I stepped from my hiding spot and v-volunteered to carry you for him. I carried you into the forest before getting picked up by one of his knights. Half a day later I was given the choice either to die or pledge my allegiance” he stops, catching the eye of everyone in the room as he tries to give them a small smile,

“I went with what I thought would be the easiest choice” he shrugs, “But I swore on that day that I would wait. Protecting you became my main priority-“

Kyuhyun interrupts him with a snort, which catches Hyukjae off guard. He had not expected the reaction to come from the slave girl.

            “Who are my parents?” the prince asks hurriedly. Hyukjae looks at him as if he had gone mad.

            “Yesung, why, why are you asking…”

Growling in frustration, Kyuhyun shouts, “THAT IS YESUNG” he stabs a finger in Yesung’s direction and the other man waves sheepishly.

Kyuhyun points at himself, “I am Kyuhyun. The idiot prince who got seduced by a creature. Kissed a man…twice! Was betrayed by the man who he thought was his father. And oh yeah, whose entire life has been a lie”

This new admission leaves everyone, except for Yesung, stunned.

Kyuhyun uses their silence to ask again,

            “Who are my biological parents?”

Hyukjae stammers out his reply, his eyes wide with disbelief as he appears to look over Kyuhyun’s body,

            “The-the K-king and Queen of, of Monte F’aire”

Yesung just about passed out after hearing Hyukjae’s last words before Kyuhyun punched the other man in the mouth. The prince makes an angry, throaty sound before dashing towards the door.

Finding his tongue at last, Yesung shouts for the other boy to stop. The prince begins to unlock the door, leaving Yesung no choice but to run over to meet him.

            “What do you plan to do!?”

Kyuhyun gets the door open, taking a moment to inhale sharply. He cuts his eyes toward Yesung then exhales,

            “I’m going for answers. And then-and then I’m going to kill him” The prince pats Yesung on the cheek, “Take care of them. I’ll try to bring your body back in one piece” and with that, Kyuhyun exited the room.

Even though he was technically bleeding heavily from the nose, Hyukjae still found the energy to kiss Donghae messily on the cheek before running after Kyuhyun. If he truly was the prince in Yesung’s body then Hyukjae still had a duty to protect him.

            “I can’t let him go out on his own”  Hyukjae reasons just before he leaves.

Donghae approached Yesung just as the other man started to close the door. There was a lot of noise coming from outside and it sent a pang through Yesung’s chest as he thought about Kyuhyun being out there.

He wished that he could follow after Kyuhyun but he knew he couldn’t. Not without feeling as if he had abandoned Suzy and the others. Amber was in no condition to be running around with them and Lovelace didn’t appear to be much of a fighter.

A hand on his shoulder brought him out of his thoughts. He’s looks over to see Donghae smirking at him,

            “We are in love with some seriously ed up men” The younger man comments.

Yesung snickers a little at that.

            “Mine likes to wear dresses” he whispers as if it were a serious confession.

Lovelace and the others gather behind them and Yesung turns to give them his full attention.

            “Is that really you Yesung?” Lovelace asks doubtfully. Siwon looks overly suspicious.

Yesung sighs. It’s going to be a long explanation.

~~

Kyuhyun slams his elbow into the face of an unsuspecting arrow shooter knocking the man unconscious. The impact hurts a lot more than it should’ve but rather than cry about it, Kyuhyun is too fueled by his adrenaline to pay it any mind.

He quickly picks up the bow and the remainder of arrows. He had already spotted Hyukjae trailing behind him like some bodyguard and rolls his eyes as the other man tries to stop his bleeding nose while picking up a sword.

The battle is smaller than he had anticipated.

It appeared that it was more of a raid than an actual war.

Monte F’aire had not sent all of its troops, however, Kyuhyun notices that he can recognize some of the faces of the knights as the ones the overlord had taken with him. They were all currently fighting. This meant that his father was back as well.

‘According to Hyukjae, he’s not my damn father’ Kyuhyun sneers in disgust.

Who would take a baby from its parents?!

With such a small attack as this the Overlord was more likely to be in the Main hall than the battlefield. He did not like to get his hands dirty if he didn’t have to.

Kyuhyun is about to head in that direction, when he is suddenly tackled sideways into a pile of boxes.

Hyukjae is already charging toward him, when the warrior breaks out in a wide grin, his soft face painted with smoke, his blonde hair short and tied up in a ponytail.

Despite being in a battle, the warrior did not have much mass muscle mass which made it easier for Kyuhyun to push him off. He’s already trying to line up the bow when the person snaps their fingers at him.

            “”Yesung! Take it easy. It’s me, Luna!” the warrior’s voice is a lot more high pitched than what had been expected and the fact that he knew Yesung had been a surprise as well.

Who was this Luna person?

When Kyuhyun failed to react, the man shook his head at Kyuhyun and undid his ponytail, sending his short hair flying around his face.

‘You’ve got to be ting me’ Kyuhyun sighs as he takes in the honest-to-God feminine beauty before him.

Despite his war garments it was pretty clear to Kyuhyun that this ‘he’ was a ‘she’.

‘Did Yesung just hang out with a bunch of cross dressers daily?’

But still, who was she?

            “Is that anyway to greet your sister” she pulls in for a tight hug, her arms circling his waist and practically clinging to him desperately.  She steps back a little, her eyes scanning him over, “Oh my God! Look at you. What the hell did you do to yourself?” Then it was back to hugging.

Kyuhyun hugs back out of courtesy.

So this was one of the sisters Yesung had given up his true identity for.

‘So cross dressing seems to be hereditary’ the prince ponders as he takes in the girl’s outward appearance but it was the sight of her happy grin turning into a confused frown that made him pause. Clearly she was wondering about the lack of reaction that she was getting from her brother whom she had not seen for a while.   

            “Sister” he greets awkwardly, his smile was probably a little lopsided but the girl did not seem to mind as her grin was back full force.

Suddenly she had a sword pointed at Hyukjae’s throat.

Kyuhyun jerked up on reflex.

Where the hell did that come from? He wonders, looking over at Hyukjae’s startled face and the girl’s sharp tip of the sword that was pressing against the soft flesh underneath his chin.

            “What have you erts done to my brother!?” she demanded, putting a little more force into her attack which made Hyukjae have to tilt his head backward just to prevent the tip of the sword from penetrating his skin. He swings his own sword into action, knocking it against the blade of the girl’s in order to push it out of his way.

This does not please the young lady and she brings her own sword upward, but has to stop when Kyuhyun touches her arm.

            “Sister, stop” Kyuhyun urges, “He is a friend”

            “A friend?” she snorts sarcastically. When she looks back at Hyukjae her nose turns upward in disgust, “Is he not one of the Overlord’s bastard knights”

Hyukjae does not take offence since he has been called worse, he steps forward,

            “Yes I am. But-“ her sword is back but this time it is pressed into his chest, stopping him from moving toward her.

            “Stay where you are!”

Kyuhyun cannot help but feel a little scared of Yesung’s sister. The girl has terrible mood swings.

One minute she was all smiles and hugging, the next she was in combat mode, her voice deep with rage, her face stern and fierce and her sword, trying to kill everything.

She grabs Kyuhyun by the wrist,

            “We must go brother. We are short on men at the moment.”

            “Why are you guys here anyway? I mean this could not possibly be the start of the war? And why are you here?”

Kyuhyun flinches a little after that last question. As her brother he should know whether she was in the King’s army or not.

“This is not an official attack. This is me tired of waiting and coming for my little brother. The King was taking too long and I figured that I had had enough training to do this rescue mission on my own. However, the King found out about my plan but rather than stop me, he sent a selected few of his knights with me and we are here to take all the slaves and return with them to Monte F’aire”

Ah, so no wonder they were so few of them. This was just a search and rescue. They had come for the slaves. to remove them from under the Overlord’s control.

Was she a knight?

But that could not be possible? Why would the King call for women to be made into Knights?

But she was dressing as a man, wasn’t she?

She looks down on herself, “I-I could not just let you go off and get stuck here until the war. I…I just kept thinking about what they would do to you. Or if you-if you were already…d-dead. But I made my decision the day after you left. I took some of G-dragon’s clothes, cut my hair and passed myself off as a man in order to be recruited into the King’s Knight training. It-it was ing hard work, but now…”

Kyuhyun feels it when she releases his wrist. She sees the attacker coming before they do and is quick on her feet, in blocking the attack, sidestepping the counter attack and then driving her sword into the man’s ribs. After the knight collapses she gives Hyukjae a dangerous wink,

            “I’m like a ninja” she giggles.

Giggles!

Who the giggles after killing someone?

A psychopath that’s who!

            “Now come, the horses are on the far side of the Village”

She grabs his hand this time, but Kyuhyun does not move when he asks,

            “What about the prince? D-d-“

The girl turns around and shoots Hyukjae a sharp look that could possibly cut glass.

            “If I see him or his father, they’re dead”

Kyuhyun cannot help but gulp at her serious tone.

This time when she tugs him again, he follows her without pause.

~~       

Tata my lovlies

Until next time :D