Summary: Because of injustice, JaeJoong has to serve as a ground keeper, without hope of ever finding his soulmate



A/N: Dedicated to my dear friend who inspired this with her tumblr reblog-pictures (you find the links in the text [bold]) and made me write this in 1 1/2hrs instead of studying for clinical psychology *_*
This is not!proof-read. All mistakes belong to the internet.

Warning!: Not really finished

Dismounting his unicorn, JaeJoong gave Adan a gentle slap to his behind, knowing how his friend wouldn’t move too far from their resting place. With his bow and quiver, he strode to the tree he called home and climbed the rope-ladder to find his bed in order, just like he had left it. The chipmunks knew by now not to mess with him; suits them right. He settled the quiver and bow on the nail he had installed into the tree. Eventually, he laid down on his bed  with an apple in his one hand and a book in the other.
Being a ground keeper had its perks because he loved nature and he felt responsible to take care of it for the kingdom. But sometimes, at moments like these, he felt really lonely. Especially, when he was so far out, the Elf capital being a 2 day horse ride away.
He sighed and the light when at last the twilight was getting too dark to read, even with his heightened vision. However, he had to switch off the light soon, because a light in the dark draws the vermin like nothing else.
With a lingering glance to his left hand, where a bonding ring of his soulmate was still missing, JaeJoong turned off the light with a heavy heart.

For the umpteenth time, Yunho cursed himself.
For days he had traveled through the thick forest and now equally thick fog, with no hope of finding his path back to the palast. If only his father’s advisers, Lord Saerembor and Lord Marach, whom he always called SM in his mind, hadn’t insisted to send him to another kingdom to find his soulmate. On their way back from the unsuccessful mission, Yunho and his younger brother Changmin were ambushed by rogue outlaws. Being a commander in their army, Yunho had successfully drawn their attention away. Therefore, he had attracted their interest in following him which made it easy for Changmin to escape. However, Yunho had in his haste lead the outlaws into, for him, unfamiliar territory. Although his faithful companion Philipé outran his persecutors, he found himself now in this predicament of not knowing where to go to.
The fog aggravated his orientation because he was not able to look at the sun’s standing.
Being on the run for three days, exhaustion was taking its toll on him. His water last until today and he had to find a river soon to refill it. Fortunately, he found the land to be copious, and therefore was able to still his hunger for the moment. Yet, he knew if he didn’t find his way back soon, he’d be lost. The forest at the border and at both sides of the different countries stretched on and on.
He thought he heard some yelling and whipped his head towards the direction of the noise. His sight was getting fuzzy and eventually the fog before him turned into black.
 

“There you are!” He heard a melodic voice saying. He opened his eyes to a canopy of trees. For a moment he began to panic that the bandits had gotten him at last. However, his foggy brain analyzed the accent spoken and filed it as his home countries dialect, spoken at the outskirts.
Relieved he searched the Elf, and found a male with jet black haired and snow white skin whom held a cup to his mouth. “You should drink something”, he said and looked him in the eyes.
For Yunho, it was like the world stopped spinning. The forest was silent and vanished in the background. The only thing he was able to see were the dark orbs of the person above him, who looked as equally surprised as he felt. However, as sudden as the moment came, it ended. The sounds of the leaves whispering, the heavy smell of earth, birds and vermin chirping came crashing back.
The other Elf also seemed to get a grip on himself and gently lifted his head. “Here take a sip.”
Yunho followed the instruction without taking his eyes off the person he was sure was his soulmate.
He took in his appearance and a glance at his uniform told him that he must be a ground keeper.
Usually, it was an occupation which filled many with pride but was mostly reserved for Elves who had lost their mate or already procreated and worked only 6 months once a year to spend the rest of the year with their family. The only possibility for him to be here, unbonded and at young age was if he dishonored himself.
Yunho still held his gaze, but the friendly looking lips turned into a firm line, even when the eyes still had a look of concern in them.
“What’s your name?” Yunho rasped.

“JaeJoong,” JaeJoong answered and Yunho was sure to never forget the name.
“Mine is Yunho. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said with what he hoped was a smile, because everything he moved hurt and smiling did especially. His body seemed to notice his state however and he felt drowsy again, trying to fight against unconsciousness. When his eyelids dropped again, he wasn’t sure if he really heard the whispered “Let’s see if you find it a pleasure.”

The next time Yunho woke up, it was midday and he felt well enough to sit up. He saw JaeJoong immediately, several meters underneath him on the ground beside what seemed to be a unicorn and Philipé. Obviously, having heard the rustle, JaeJoong looked up and Yunho was once again mesmerized by the beauty of the other.
He looked around for his shoes when JaeJoong came up.
“Are you feeling better, your majesty?” JaeJoong said with no trace of the warmth in his voice from the last time.
Yunho was surprised.
“You don’t have to call me like that,” Yunho tried to explain. He wouldn’t have a mate who used honorifics for him.
“How should I call you then?” JaeJoong replied.
“Yunho. Just Yunho.”
“Yunho… Don’t you think that’s too informal for someone of my rank?” JaeJoong said bitterly.
“What- don’t you think we’ll get to know each other much more intimately to be discussing ranks?” Yunho asked exasperated.
“Oh, really? Why should we? Only because I’m your ma… who would want to have a relation with an outcast?” JaeJoong gritted his teeth and looked away.
“Well, that should be my decision to make, right?” Yunho tried to sooth him. By Galadriel, what did JaeJoong do?
Petulantly, JaeJoong switch the subject. “Get your shoes on if you want something to eat.” With this, he climbed down the ladder.
Yunho looked towards heavens and asked himself what he had done to deserve such a stubborn mate.

JaeJoong, Yunho found out, was a really decent cook. They had some rabbit with cow berry sauce and black salsify, which Yunho praised hugely making JaeJoong blush slightly. All in all they ate in silence but when the day grew colder again, Yunho had to voice his wonder loud.

“Don’t you have to guard the forest?” He always thought ground keepers where scouting the grounds the whole day, looking for holes in the wards and taking care of the forest, only resting at night, when they had no patrolling to do.
“My brothers are taking care of that.”
“Your brothers? They are ground keepers, too?” Yunho was surprised. What had they done?
JaeJoong gritted his teeth again, looking into the fire.
After several moments he began to talk.
“It happened 4 years ago. Harvest was bad, although the amount of rain and sun had been perfect that year. All those years before crop failure were because of the weather, but why did it happened that year? Why, from one day to the next, 70 percent of the fields were destroyed, grains of wheat disappearing from the plant itself. We were devastated. All the hard work for nothing. And our town was highly indebted because of the failures the years before. Eventually, my brothers Yoochun, Junsu and I overheard somebody in town talking to his father through a sphere, how his spell worked out well enough and how his father would finally have the town in his hands, to do as he pleased.
Of course we were furious that somebody was this stingy to get power by destroying our income, that we immediately went to the town chief and told him everything. However, the power of that one person was already too much and nobody believed us. Instead, the son accused us of using magic and the destruction of the harvest.
Therefore, the three of us were sentenced to be ground keepers for life.”
Disbelievingly, Yunho sat at the fire, fury building up in him slowly. How could such injustice take place in his kingdom? He remembered 4 years ago, he had started taking over responsibility slowly but hadn’t any ideas about the politics in the provinces at the outskirts where anarchy of greedy people sometimes overruled the king’s orders. Just last year, he had passed a bill which ensured that occurrences like these would not happen, but it was too late and he had never asked after the wrong doings that could have happened the years before.
“Who..?” Yunho asked. “Who was that man?”
“You won’t believe me”, JaeJoong said at last.
“Who?,” Yunho asked louder.
JaeJoong shrank back, which filled Yunho with regret for frightening his mate despite his fiery.
“ Lord Marach.”
Cursing Yunho sprang up, kicking some leaves into the fire, walking aggravated back and forth. “This Athuum! I can’t believe this slimy git would go this far as to banning people!”
At once, he turned to JaeJoong and went down on one knee.
“I swear to you, as soon as I get back to the palace, I will punish him and throw him and his equally two tongued snake friend out as well. I had already planned to do that however now I finally have a reason. You will come with me, understood? And you will be my mate of whom I’m proud of, as well as my brothers-in-laws.”
And they banished SM from the country and lived happily ever after (especially Changmin who was very fond of JaeJoong’s cooking)

 

THE END

Athuum = Mud crawler :P

Btw: I posted another One-shot but it deserved a single post so it's not in here. It's called 'The haunted forest of Hycrania'