war
The Red Candle
It was one of those beautiful Thursday mornings when Sehun wished he was out there in the world. Somewhere far away where the sky reaches its limits and the oceans stop dripping. Somewhere like the legendary kingdom of Sorania, somewhere between the fluffy clouds and neverending skyline.
Inhaling the nostalgic fragrance of plum blossoms and fresh lilies in the pond, Sehun closed his eyes and listened to the crisp autumn wind. It whispered sweet nothings to his ear, praised his lush hair and caressed his temples. The wind gave him strength. It pulled him in and out of reverie, telling him stories of the world.
"My Prince! Come down! You will hurt badly if you fall!"
Sehun snapped his eyes open in annoyance. He could have been so furious at the one interrupting his daydream, but Sehun knew he could not stay mad at Zitao for long.
"But I don't want to go to classes. They're boring." Sehun called out for Zitao who was looking up at him worriedly. In one swift motion, Zitao lifted himself up onto the branch and sat down next to Sehun on the plum tree.
"Imagine how disappointed the princess would be when she sees how ungraceful our prince is..." Zitao sighed. How ironic for Sehun. He should be worry about both of their weights threatening to leave a crack on the branch, but the sparkle in Ztao's eyes have him locked in place, unmoving.
"But I don't want the princess! I want you!" Sehun blurted out, and immediately regretted his impulsive remark. Zitao's face fell, distorting into a scowl. Sehun didn't understand what was going on but Zitao was twisting into nonexistent, fading and fading until there is nothing left but a mist of white smoke. Sehun reaches out but his hand stabs right through Zitao's heart.
Then Sehun started to notice that his surroundings were evaporating, too, into translucent matters. Sehun squinted his eyes to see past the shadows in the smoke, but nothing was less clear at the moment.
"My Prince!"
Sehun snapped at the voice.
"Z-Zitao!" He called back into nothingness. There, matterializing in front of him, was a lethargic looking Zitao in torn clothing and patches of dried blood on his face.
Sehun reaches out, relieved when his hand touched the soft contours of Zitao's face. He was not a dream.
Zitao was looking at him accusingly. Sounds of agonizing cries mixed with beastly growls were heard, and the scene at the arena a few months ago played itself in Sehun's head. That warrior...That knight...How familiar all that seemed. How stupid and blind Sehun had been...
"Oh no...I did. I did forget you...No, no, no, no...Oh my god...I forgot about you. I didn't know it was you in that arena. I didn't know you were being killed...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry...." Sehun jerked away from Zitao, afraid of looking into the other's eyes. How could he forget...How could he turn back on a promise he swore to never abandon...
"Why are you sorry? I would have died for you in the end." Zitao wrapped his arms around Sehun's frail body and the ice wrapped around his heart began to thaw. It didn't hurt anymore. Not when it had already hurt too much.
"Are you happy?" Zitao's voice suddenly changed into a deeper shade. Sehun looked up into his own reflections in Zitao's orbs and it pained him to even look at the one he despised the most:himself.
"Zitao...I cannot live like this. Too many have lost their lives because of me. Too much blood has shed...I don't deserve life like this..."
Sehun shivered and watched as Zitao's face morphed into a darker complexion, nose sharpened, lips thikened, eyes less slanted. "Zitao" smirked and Sehun felt his own breath knocked out of his lungs.
Kai.
---
Sehun woke up with a start. He was on the cold tiled floor, his neck aching so much it paralyzes him. The air was thickened with mold and death. A bat flew out of its hiding place and began to swift back and forth across the room. The windows were tinted crimson red. It was not Yi Fan's chamber nor his own. The dragon carvings on the wall remarked that he was still somewhere in the castle and it brought dread back to Sehun's stomach.
"Would you like me to give you the answer to your misery?" A voice sounded off the walls, sour and sarcastic. Sehun found Luhan leaning against the doorframe with a mischievous smirk on his face. His lips weren't moving when the voice started to intrude his mind.
"Little Sehun, doesn't know the order of things.. Tsk...Tsk... Poor Jongin. It's not like he did anything wrong..." Luhan chuckled in the back of his mind, sending his blood boiling.
It was past sunrise.
"Why...why are you doing this?" Sehun glared at the other who seemed amused. With every step Luhan took closer to him, Sehun backed away, until he met with the wall and there was nowhere to hide but his own misery.
"Don't feel bad about yourself. Sshhh. Don't cry. You look ugly when you cry." Luhan reached out and touched his tear-stained cheeks, sending waves of fearall over his body.
"It's not your fault either, Sehunnie. We don't get to choose our faces, after all." Luhan's fingers trailed the edges of Sehun's cheeks, up to his eyebrows, into his hair and back down on his lips. Every where he touched, Sehun felt numb and paralyzed.
Suddenly Luhan's smile dropped. His eyebrows arched into the scariest scowl. A moment of silent passed by and immediately Sehun felt a spasm of pain shooting through his skull. He cradled his head in his arms as Luhan pulled out the most terrifying and agonizing memories out of the back of his mind.
Luhan wore a satisfied smirk, seeing The other writhe in pain.
"Yi Fan has already sent thousands of men into the battlefield with him. Thanks to you Sorania is now at war with Aquaria again." Luhan spat, venom dripping from his words. Sehun felt the ground leave him, an invisible rope tightening around his neck. His feet left ground as Luhan pulled him up, pinning him against the wall on fine strings of telepathy.
"Do you know what you have done, ? Because of you! It's all because of you! You put a spell on him, you witch!" Luhan yelled and Sehun regretted the air that was leaving him. Before long, dark spots appeared in his vision and everything was black.
---
"Sehun, you are very weak these days. You have to eat. If not for yourself, then for the baby!" The demanding voice of Yixing filled the air, but it wasn't enough to bring Sehun back on his feet. It had been months since Yo Fan decided to conquer another kingdom, six long months of solitude waiting for a miracle to happen.
But nothing did.
Instead Sehun felt his stomach growing larger day by day. He could see the changes happening. The cramps, the stomach pains, the vomitting, the mood swings. And most importantly, Sehun felt himself learning to love the child. If Kai had been here, he would have told Sehun to do the same thing. It was part of him. It was half of his blood. It would have his nose, his lips, his face. It would remind him of Yi Fan, but still it was royalty, descendant to the graceful Ventanian from the twelve meadows and the strong Soranian from the twelve skies.
"I'm sorry."
"Stop saying sorry, Sehun!"
"Is...is Yi Fan still..." Sehun started reluctantly, not looking into Yixing's eyes.
"Alive? Barely. But he refuses to come back. The ocean is a big deal, Sehun. When they venture into the twelve seas, they have little control over what nature could do. Even the dragons wear out at the end of the day."
On Exo Planet, Aquaria was the calmest kingdom. Amidst the alleviating oceans and alluring mermaid songs, one could find Aquaria the perfect place to live in. Yet it held one of the most powerful warriors with amazing abilities. into one of their whirlpools and one is guaranteed death.
"I have to talk to King Suho. He's my friend. We'll find a way to end this." Sehun looked at Yixing expectantly. There was no lives needed to be waste.
"No. Don't go anywhere. You wouldn't make it out of the castle alive." Yixing remarked, and the regret in his eyes told Sehun that it had something to do with the hatred Luhan bore for him.
"Will....Will he be here when...when..." Sehun's voice croaked, the painful reality hitting him with full force. Soranian fighters were strong only when they were inland. Their dragons would collapse in the middle of the oceans eventually, losing flight. Sehun was dreaded to think about sea monsters hiding beneath underwater volcanoes, ready to strike at Suho's command. One snap of the King's finger would be enough to get the Soranian army swallowed alive.
"Let's just pray that he will."
---
a/n guise!guise! this is drawing towards the end. only two or three chapters left so bear with me keke.
i have to admit, I was surprised at the poll results. this started off as a Kaihun fic, I'm okay with that, but as I went on my heart suddenly leaned more towards Krishun. Don't even get me started. I need a . Dang it.
But, results are results. This will end as Krishun, guys.
in the meantime, my next fic is posted. it will also be kaihun and krishun with krisyeol on top so be prepared to be tortured by me with my lousy writing muahahaha
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