“So,” Eunhyuk started, dragging the word as he watched his personal servant from his bed. “What happened yesterday?”

 

 

            Donghae set a silver plate on the table, neatly placing a goblet of water beside it. He examined the food for the prince’s dinner carefully; half of a chicken freshly roasted, a piece of buttered bread, a baked potato and a few sticks of carrots on the side. Everything was in place and ready for the prince, the servant grinned in accomplishment of his works before turning his body to face the red head casually lying on his bed.

 

 

            “Yesterday?” Donghae tilted his head, smiling evilly at the prince. “Nothing happened yesterday.”

 

 

            “That smile…I don’t trust it.” Eunhyuk said, propping himself up to stare at the younger.

 

 

            “Now, now, your supper is ready, if you will.” The brunet smiled sickeningly sweet and grabbed a hold of the prince’s hand, pulling him towards the table set for one.

 

 

            “What did that bastard peeping tom have to tell you?”

 

 

            “The nice chef in the kitchen has prepared for you some chicken, potatoes, bread and carrots for your dinner.” The boy pushed Eunhyuk into his chair and placed a finger on the elder’s nose. “Make sure to finish everything now.” He sang, turning around to attend to the cleanliness of the prince’s room.

 

 

            “Not until you in’ answer my questions.”

 

 

            “Eat your supper and stop asking things I won’t answer or else I’ll never talk to you again.” Donghae gave the almighty prince an ultimatum, shutting the man up as he grumpily stuffed a chicken leg in his mouth and ripped through the skin and meat. “Good boy~”

 

 

            As the prince ate, Donghae went around the large room collecting fallen garments and pillows that had been strewn all over the floor from the previous morning. After his conversation with the king, Donghae had been confused and worried. He didn’t want to go back to the red head and act as if nothing was bothering him or tell the prince what he had been doing. Instead, the servant had skipped his duties and gone to hide out in the royal stables.

 

 

            One of the days that he had had a few extra minutes to spare, the nineteen year old had gone exploring in the back area of the stables where the hay was kept. Feeling adventurous, Donghae had climbed to the top of the largest hay stacks and discovered a door that lead to a wooden platform that overlooked the horse stables. It was a small hidden room in the roof of the barn, it had probably been built to hold the wood used for building the stables and had never been taken down.

 

 

            There, the brunet used his built up muscles to carry a few bales of hay onto the platform. He had managed to build a fort for himself in the short time of the afternoon, but now that it was over his mind was left to race over his conversation with the king. Donghae didn’t know what to think of everything, he was glad that the king didn’t want to kill him or banish him, and he seemed nicer than his son had been at their first meeting.

 

 

            Although Donghae was happy that his life wouldn’t be ended, he couldn’t shake his hatred for the king or the uneasiness he received from hearing his mother’s name on the bastard’s tongue. It couldn’t be a coincidence that the king knew his mother’s name. Neither could it be mere chance that the mighty ruler believed Donghae to be Kim Miyoung’s son.

 

 

            There was something that connected the brunet his family and the king together, and Donghae feared that the thin line between everything was in fact his father and his untimely death.

 

 

            “Lee Donghae!” Eunhyuk’s loud yell into the room awakened the mentioned boy from his thoughts. He looked up, startled, and almost dropped the laundry basket in his hands if the prince hadn’t been standing close enough to catch it.

 

 

            “Oh, sire, have you finished your supper?” Donghae asked.

 

 

            “Yeah, I’ve been done for the last ten ing minutes.”

 

 

            “Really? Why didn’t you call me?”

 

 

            “I did. A million ing times.”

 

 

            “Is that so? Huh.” Donghae dejectedly stared at Eunhyuk, although his gaze was lazily pointed past the prince’s head and out the window.

 

 

            “Seriously, what the happened yesterday? You disappear for the entire day and now you’re acting like a ing mad man!”

 

 

            “Is that so? I’ll take care of that right away.” The servant’s voice was monotone, he plucked the laundry basket from Eunhyuk’s hands and began to walk out of the room before coming back to retrieve the empty platter.

 

 

            The brunet’s actions left the prince in the middle of his room, alone and with a confused and clearly pissed off. He couldn’t understand why Donghae was acting so strangely ever since the day before. When Kyuhyun had spoken with Donghae, the prince only thought it was something small, like the servant had forgotten to clean one of the stalls. Now, Eunhyuk was certain that what his best friend had told the brunet, wasn’t good.

 

 

            Sure, he was upset that his best friend had a hand to play in his servant’s odd mood, but he was even angrier that the brunet wasn’t telling him anything. Was it only the prince who thought that they were in a relationship? It wasn’t like they had labelled themselves as boyfriends although the prince had claimed to be courting the other. What? Does the er think he’s too good to be boyfriends with the prince? Just ‘cause he’s got a anger issue for noblemen… Eunhyuk fumed, he clenched his fists and grit his teeth.

 

 

            He really should be calmer about a small issue as his lover acting differently. Other than the small facts that he already knew about the servant, Eunhyuk had only known him for barely a month. The red head sighed, running a hand through his bangs that dipped just in front of his eyes.

 

 

            “Why is everything so hard when you’re in love?”

 

 

 

 

 

            I should really tell Eunhyuk about my conversation with the king… Donghae thought, watching as the dirty water fell from the bucket, cascading onto the grass like a miniature waterfall. But…I still don’t know everything. The boy was stuck between storming into the king’s royal chambers and screaming bloody murder as he tried to figure out why he knew his mother’s name, and going to the prince to ask for a more peaceful manner of getting the truth.

 

 

            The pros and cons of the two options seemed pretty clear. There was simply a fear factor that separated things. Donghae didn’t really want to barge into the king’s room and risk getting killed. But the boy was afraid that if Eunhyuk succeeded in finding the truth for Donghae, they wouldn’t be able to stay together.

 

 

            Donghae didn’t know what the truth held, but he was frightened that it wouldn’t be good. Over the time he spent by himself his mind had gone racing. There were too many scenarios that the nineteen year old had thought up, things that could go wrong and truths that could break him. He had imagined that he could be related to the king in some twisted connection.

 

 

The king could be his real father who had an affair with a peasant and Donghae’s father was killed purposefully because he found out the truth. Or, the king could actually be his uncle and for reasons unknown Donghae’s mother wasn’t allowed to live as a princess. Perhaps the king, his mother and his father were childhood friends who had ended up in the well-known love triangle. There were so many possibilities that it got the young boy’s head spinning until he thought that he would pass out.

 

 

Frustrated and confused, Donghae stood up and carried the empty bucket back inside. Without realising it, the servant had managed to clean every dirty clothing item of the prince’s on top of doing the dishes in the kitchen and cleaning the royal stables. To say the least, the brunet was happy to return to his bed for a much needed rest. Hopefully, he would have a dreamless sleep.

 

 

            When Donghae woke up, the servants’ quarters were empty. He found himself alone in the rows and rows of beds. Startled, the boy quickly pulled on clean clothes and ran out of the room. He looked all around the halls, but there was no one in sight. The boy wondered if there was an event going on that he hadn’t been informed about, yet it didn’t make sense that Amber and Ryeowook hadn’t woken him up.

 

 

            Rushing through the halls, the servant caught the faint sound of a rowdy crowd. Following the sound, Donghae found himself at a balcony that overlooked the castle square. Even though it was high above the ground, the brunet was able to easily make out what was going on below. There was a noose hanging from a large wooden platform.

 

 

            A middle aged man was suspended from the rope tied around his neck. The body swung slowly back and forth until the executioner pulled it and removed the taut rope. The now lifeless body fell limp to the ground, tumbling from the platform and landing on a small pile of bodies. There were half a dozen dead men and women laying deformed on the pavement. Each body a marble white in contrast to the townspeople who stood and watched.

 

 

            The executioner harshly grabbed onto a woman who was standing in line behind the wooden platform. Her hands and feet were shackled, only the chain that attached her to the rest of the prisoners in line was removed as she was pushed to the front. The same noose was pushed over her matted hair and wrapped around her neck. The audience cheered and hollered, telling the executioner to finish his work and kill the woman.

 

 

            It disgusted Donghae, to watch as each person waited in line for their death. Each prisoner listening to the strangled noise that erupts as the wood gives way and yet another body is added to the pile. It reminded the boy of his father, how he must have died in war, his body mangled and torn, thrown through the air to land in unrecognizable heaps. Just like the pile of dead men, women, children even, would be set aflame and their charred bodies lost to the air.

 

 

            A pair of strong arms wrapped around the brunet’s waist. Donghae turned around and hid his face in the man’s chest, inhaling the familiar scent. He felt tears slip from his eyes and he brought his arms around to hold the comforting man in front of him.

 

 

            “Are you okay? You’re crying.” Eunhyuk said, softly Donghae’s hair to calm him.

 

 

            Donghae only shook his head, letting out a soft sob once in a while as each new body dropped to the ground.

 

 

            “It’s the monthly execution where we execute all of the prisoners in the jails to make room for more.” Eunhyuk explained, sighing while he leaned against the back wall of the balcony.

 

 

            “W-Why d-do they have t-to d-d-die?” The boy asked, his voice shaky. Donghae lifted his head, showing the prince large and tear filled eyes.

 

 

            “B-Because my father has seen them as criminals, and all criminals must be hung by law.” The red head explained.

 

 

            “N-No one should d-die, especially l-like this…”

 

 

            “It’s the law, there’s nothing that can change that.” Eunhyuk sighed again, seeing his loved one distraught by the executions saddened him greatly. “Knowing your reaction to this, I’m ashamed to say that this event was one of my favourites to watch as a child and growing up.”

 

 

            “R-Really? H-How c-could…” Donghae trailed off, pushing his head into the crook of Eunhyuk’s neck.

 

 

            “Well, I suppose you are changing me for the better, huh?” Eunhyuk chuckled, picking Donghae up off of his feet and carrying him inside the empty castle. “Y-You’re really heavier than you look.”

 

 

            Donghae gave a weak chuckle, “It is all muscle. I actually do manual labour.”

 

 

            “Yah, I do that stuff too! Sword training and lance jousting and other princely duties.” Eunhyuk argued, entering his room and placing the nineteen year old gently on the bed.

 

 

            “You don’t seem like a prince to me, hmm, well I suppose you’re better than when we first met.” Donghae said, he felt better and his mind was far from fretting over criminals with a death sentence or the mystery of his father’s death.

 

 

            “Ah, I remember our first meeting. It was ing epic if you ask me.”

 

 

            “You beat the crap out of, and threatened to kill me.”

 

 

            “But I didn’t, and you looked completely badass catching a sword in midair.”

 

 

            “I wouldn’t have had to catch it and cut my hand if you didn’t throw it at me. Seriously, what kind of grown up man throws a tantrum?”

 

 

            “L-Like you said, I’m better now!”

 

 

            Donghae chuckled, pulling Eunhyuk closer to him on the bed until their legs were entangled and he could feel the other’s breath on his face. Donghae stared into the prince’s eyes, seeing a still changing man. The cold hearted prince was beginning to thaw, he no longer sentenced someone to die at the blink of an eye, and his last banishing was for an actual offense. Besides his royal attitude, the hot tempered red head was opening up to Donghae and others close to him, he had even started to speak with Ryeowook and the other servants and maids who worked around the castle. To say the least, there were less people in the kingdom that hated his guts.

 

 

            The brunet reached for one of Eunhyuk’s hands, caressing the skin and placing a kiss on his knuckles. Donghae blushed, squeezing the other tighter with his legs that wrapped around Eunhyuk’s waist. He continued to scan over the man’s hands, admiring the slender fingers and imagining those same digits holding him close.

 

 

            Eunhyuk watched endearingly as his personal servant held his hands, he liked the tingling sensation it brought him and the sense the he was truly loved. Or the young brunet had a for hands. The prince slowly leaned in, wanting to steal a kiss from the boy, when Donghae suddenly gasped. His eyes were wide and staring at a mark on Eunhyuk’s hand.

 

 

            “Y-Y-You have a sc-car.” Donghae stated, his finger ghosting over the long pale scar on Eunhyuk’s right hand.

 

 

            “Yes, I do indeed.”

 

 

            “On your right hand.”

 

 

            “Also true.”

 

 

            “H-How d-did…?”

 

 

            “I helped Kyuhyun get out of a sticky situation and some bastards had the nerve to attack me.” Eunhyuk grit his teeth, remembering the people who were rightfully punished afterwards.

 

 

            “So then, y-you’re the one who saved him?” Donghae asked, doubting that a prince could save an orphan.

 

 

            “Oh, did he tell you about his past? He must really like you. I did save him back then, I was actually wandering around the lower towns and I heard his screams. It hurt a lot, but not as much as what he had been through.” Eunhyuk explained, his expression turning grim as he remembered finding a small child, a few years younger than himself, chained to a wall and covered in deep gashes.

 

 

            Donghae whimpered, his eyes welled up and he had to bury his head against Eunhyuk’s chest to silence his cries that would surely follow.

 

 

            “What’s wrong?” The prince asked, upset that he had to see his dear Donghae crying twice in one day.

 

 

            “I-I guess…not a-all r-r-royals are b-bad-d.” The brunet stuttered, inhaling and exhaling to catch his breath. “I-I thought that all people from noble lineage were bad and horrible monsters who wouldn’t care for anyone else. B-But there’s K-Kyuhyun, Siwon, Kangin, and even y-you.”

 

 

            “I feel like I should be at the top of that list. I am your boyfriend,”

 

 

            “B-B-Boyfriend?”

 

 

            “It’s what they’re calling couples nowadays. Boyfriend and girlfriend.”

 

 

            “I-I’m not a girl.”

 

 

            “You’re cuter than a girl, sweeter than a girl, and definitely better than a girl.” Eunhyuk said in a sing song voice, pecking Donghae on the cheek.

 

 

            “You may have changed for good reasons. But all I’m seeing right now is that you’ve become cheesier.” The brunet cringed, squirming from the excess amount of love that oozed out of the prince.

 

 

            “I love you, you know that right?” The red head said, nuzzling his nose against Donghae’s.

 

 

            “How could I not?” The brunet returned the gesture, giggling cutely and bringing his hands to cup the prince’s face. He leaned in closer to seal the space between them with a kiss. Their lips slowly brushed against each other, their pace quickening as things got more heated. Donghae found himself straddling the twenty year old, his head dipped down to devour the elder’s lips.

 

 

            When the two had to break apart for air, Donghae rested his head against Eunhyuk’s beating chest. They were both new to the whole relationship idea, and Eunhyuk had never even thought of courting anyone; he had only imagined being married to someone he didn’t love for the sake of land or peace. Now, the two of them were deeply in love and it seemed like nothing could go wrong.

 

 

            “Donghae, will you tell me what happened yesterday? I don’t like seeing you so down.” Eunhyuk asked, his hand gently caressing the other’s cheek, and the boy leaned into the touch, enjoying the warmth that it brought his troubled mind.

 

 

            “I just, I’ll tell you in a few hours. I want to rest right now, my eyes are tired from all this crying.” Donghae said, leaning in to kiss Eunhyuk again, his teeth tugging and pulling on the prince’s lips. “I love you~”

 

 

            “You’re a ing tease, you know that?” Eunhyuk chuckled, hugging his Donghae close.

 

 

            “But you still love me.”

 

 

            “I do, I really love you, Lee Donghae.”

 

 

            “Who the loves who?!” The king burst into the room, slamming the wooden doors open so that they banged against the walls, causing several paintings to fall down. The two men on the bed looked up with shocked expressions. Their eyes wide and scared as if they had just committed treason. And for all the heatedly fuming father cared, the two of them might as well have just tried to kill the king.

 

And for all this author cared, the two of them can just go ahead and while daddy watches... omg no im sorry i dont know what the is wrong with me

 

Subscribe, Comment, Enjoy~ ^^ ~