Of the many chambers within Seutaui, very few were dedicated to sleeping. Amongst the upper floors the royal elves fought for the privilege to own their own sleeping chambers. Logically, the King’s chambers were the largest. King Heenim shared his room with his consort, which had been Lord Leeteuk for the past century. It had been many years since the golden haired lord had slept anywhere except at his lover’s side. Yet, here he was turning down an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar chamber with a meager human standing a few feet away watching him.

    “Since the King insists on that human sleeping in his bed instead of myself, I will be staying here for the night and you will be sleeping on the floor.” Lord Leeteuk informed his new human servant, or more like pet he’d been stuck with. “It’s been a long day and I wish to get some needed rest, so you better not snore or make weird noises when you sleep.”

    “You’re just angry that your boyfriend kicked you out of your room, don’t take that out on me.” Kangin huffed, plopping down on the floor and unlacing his boots in order to remove them. “Why don’t you just tell him where his son is and then maybe he’ll let you back in your room?”

   “I can’t tell him that,” Leeteuk denied, “Him not knowing is better.”

   “Can’t you see he’s upset? I don’t like the bastard, but losing a child is not something I’d wish on my enemy. He’s frozen the world, if you don’t help him remember what happened we’re all going to freeze to death.”

    “We elves will not freeze. Our palace is well insulated and out body temperatures adapt well to weather changes.” Leeteuk explained, “It is your race that will suffer, not ours.”

   “Don’t you care even a tiny bit about our realm?” Kangin asked, his voice sounding appalled as he tossed his boots and socks to the side before standing up and pulling his shirt off over his head, leaving him in just his pants. “You heard what Eunhyuk and Donghae said this morning. We’re all connected.”

   Leeteuk just blinked at the man in front of him, his eyes glued to the mortal’s bare upper half and a warm blush coloring his face. The blush was so intense that it caused most of his body to flush red and heat to build under his skin. Kangin noticed the sudden change in the immortal, his eyes going a bit wide.

   
“Are you alright?” Kangin whispered, approaching Leeteuk where he stood next to the dark wood carved bed. “You’re turning really red.”

    “I…, well…, you…,” Leeteuk stammered, not sure why he was having such an intense reaction to a human man. “I think my magic likes you.”

    “Likes me how?” Kangin asked carefully, “I can feel heat coming off you. Is your skin hot? Can I touch it?”

    “Please..,” Leeteuk whispered, his magic flaring up as Kangin reached out towards him.

    As soon as Kangin’s hand encircled Leeteuk’s wrist, skin contacting skin, heat was exchanged between them, almost scorching Kangin’s flesh. Kangin jerked his hand back and blinked a few times at the blonde in front of him. Though, it had hurt when he’d touched him, there had also been a dull pleasure underneath the pain. Curious about what would happen, Kangin reached out and placed his hands on either side of Leeteuk’s blushing face. This time the pain was minimal and a pleasurable tingle shot through his body.

    Leeteuk stared at the handsome mortal in front of him, his body slowly being drawn towards him and his magic urging him to connect with the human. Before he could comprehend what was happening, Kangin had bridged the gap between them and his lips were on his. The sudden kiss both excited and alarmed Lord Leeteuk, his magic flaring and his heart skipping a beat.

   Kangin wasn’t sure why he’d initiated the kiss. While Lord Leeteuk was handsome, he was also arrogant and quite irritating. Though the reason for the kiss was hard to understand, Kangin was glad he’d done it. As he moved his lips slowly against Leeteuk’s the warmth transferred to him, making him feel toasty inside and out. Overwhelming sensations spread throughout Kangin’s body, both pleasurable ones and some slightly uncomfortable. The longer they kissed, the more intense the heat became and the more aroused Kangin began to feel.

   Moving his hands to Leeteuk’s shoulders, Kangin forced the immortal backwards onto the bed, the kiss breaking in the process. Leeteuk found himself trapped beneath the slightly larger mortal with a pair of searing lips on his neck and a hand snaking its way beneath his robes. Panicked by how fast things were happening, Leeteuk shut his eyes and tried to think about how he was going to stop it. While his mind was confused, his power was clear on what it wanted, and that was Kangin. Leeteuk could feel it calling to the man atop him. He could feel it fueling each caress and kiss, making him wonder if he really wanted this or if it was just the energy inside him finally connecting with its mate.

    As Kangin’s hand found its way to his inner thighs, Leeteuk’s eyes flew open and he felt a surge of power ignite inside him. The next thing he knew Kangin had disappeared and the room he was in was replaced by the King’s chambers. Leeteuk found himself lying on the floor next to King Heenim’s bed, said monarch staring down at him with wide eyes and a confused look on his face. Leeteuk scrambled to his feet, his blush growing deeper as he witnessed what the King was doing. King Heenim was stretched horizontally across the bed, his body bare but for a thin sheet draped across his backside. His long blond hair had been pulled up in a silver clip, leaving his neck and back exposed, and his glowing flesh was covered in a sheen of oils as HanGeng knelt next to him.

    “Teukie?” Heechul spoke as HanGeng kneaded his tired muscles, each press of the human’s hands causing the monarch’s skin to flash and his eyelids to flutter. “Did you just teleport into my room? You haven’t been able to do that for over a century.”

    “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I don’t even know how I did it. My powers have been weak for so long I forgot how to control them. I’m so sorry, Sire.” Leeteuk apologized, waving his hand towards the king on the bed. “I didn’t mean to interrupt whatever this is..,”

    “My back hurt from being on it all day, so Hannie offered to give me a massage.” Heechul explained, “That’s not the point right now. Something has caused your powers to come back, and its turned you a horrid red color. You look sunburned. What happened to you?”

    “I need to speak with Eunhyuk, excuse me.” Leeteuk refused to answer. Instead, he turned and bolted from the room.

   Moving quickly through the upper passageways, Leeteuk wound his way towards Eunhyuk’s chambers. He had questions to ask the King’s cousin, ones he hoped the younger had the answers to. If what he felt with Kangin was anything like what Heechul was feeling with his human, then he knew that the ancient scrolls were true. His power had found his mate, and it was a mortal man.

   “Eunhyuk!” Leeteuk shrieked as he barged into said royal’s rooms and was yet again presented with a scene he did not wish to witness.

    Eunhyuk was seated in the center of his bedchambers. His long baby blue robes were in a pile on the floor behind him, so that he was only wearing his cotton undergarments. Eunhyuk’s palms were pressed against Donghae’s, who was seated in front of the blonde immortal in a similar state of undress. Their lips were connected in a passionate kiss and they were both hovering a foot off the ground. The rest of the room’s furniture was also floating, a sign that Eunhyuk’s powers were also returning.

    “Hyukjae!” Leeteuk called out to his friend, causing the younger to break the kiss he was engaged in and lose his concentration.

   A shriek left Donghae’s throat as he fell to the floor with a solid thud, along with Eunhyuk and the furniture. The human looked almost frightened as he looked up and found Leeteuk standing in the door. His eyes darted between Leeteuk and Eunhyuk as if asking the King’s cousin for help. Eunhyuk chuckled at his human’s panic before addressing Leeteuk.

   “Is something wrong, Leeteuk?” Eunhyuk asked with a gummy smile on his face. “How can we help you?”

   “Your power has come back too,” Leeteuk pointed out, “That human did it, didn’t he?”

   “Yes, my power called out to Donghae just like the scroll said happened during King Jaejoong’s reign. I’ve found my mate, Leeteuk.” Eunhyuk explained, wonder and joy present in his voice. “Why are you so red?”

    “Aren’t you afraid of producing an inferior? We mate to strengthen the royal line. If you conceive with this human, you’ll weaken us further.”

   “A mate isn’t just for children. He’s your support and other half. Even if Hae and I never have a child, we will still be bound as mates.” Eunhyuk explained, “Plus, I haven’t felt my cycle in years. I do not know if I’m capable of conceiving a child.”

   “Even so, you will forsake your search for a royal mate because of this human?” Leeteuk asked, his voice slightly panicked, “Hyukjae, as the King’s cousin you have more responsibility than others to keep the line strong.”

   “Why? Clearly, my power has chosen for me. I’m stronger now than I have been in years. Donghae makes me stronger, thus the line is strengthened.”

    “But, your child will be inferior!”

    “I don’t care!” Eunhyuk shouted, causing the bed behind him to rise a foot off the floor before slamming back down again. “Why are they inferior to us, because they have less power? What has power done for this palace but bring it sorrow and weakness? What are you so afraid of, Leeteuk?”

   “I’m not sure,” Leeteuk answered honestly, “Everything is so confusing right now. The King is remembering things I wish he would not, he’s going through his cycle and it may be his only chance at an heir. I’m responsible to give Heechul-ah the royal child he wants, but I know the pregnancy will not be good for him. It’s going to break him, yet I have to do my duty as his consort. Then, there’s Kangin and…,”

   “What about Kangin?” Donghae asked upon hearing his friend’s name. “Is he alright?”

   “He’s fine, I left him in HanGeng’s room, after I teleported into the King’s.”

   “You teleported?” Eunhyuk repeated, “You haven’t had the strength to do that in years. Your powers are strengthening too, aren’t they? Did Kangin do something to cause this? Did you kiss him?”

    “Yes,” Leeteuk admitted, dropping his gaze to the floor. “I could feel my power calling out to him. He’s the reason I’m so red. I think he’s my mate.”

   “That’s wonderful!” Donghae exclaimed, honestly excited for his friends and himself. “I was afraid Kangin wasn’t going to like it here and want to leave, but he has a mate too. Everything is perfect.”

   “It’s far from perfect!” Leeteuk exclaimed, “I’ve been mated to a human and my King needs me to help him conceive an heir. I can’t afford this right now!”

    “But, King Heenim has HanGeng. They can have a child together and..,”

    “NO!” Leeteuk cut off the childish human. “The heir to our kingdom cannot be an inferior! When King Heenim dies, his child will be responsible for bringing in the seasons and empowering the people. If he is an inferior, he will have no powers to do so.”

   “But, elves are immortal.” Donghae pointed out, “You can’t die.”

   “We can die,” Eunhyuk informed, “Disease and injury can kill us. Stab us and we bleed. Our life spans are just longer than those of humans.”

   “How old are you?” Donghae asked, “Twenty-seven?”

    “Try eight hundred and seventy-nine.” Eunhyuk chuckled, “Leeteuk’s older than me. He’s Nine hundred and one. King Heenim’s an even nine hundred. They are the oldest elves in Aleumdaum.”

   “But, you look so young.”

   “We stop aging once we reach maturity. For some, maturity comes later than others, but it’s normally somewhere is out twenties or thirties. We stop aging when we’re at our physical primes. I was Twenty-six when I stopped. Leeteuk was thirty.”

   “Can I sleep here tonight?” Leeteuk asked, interrupting Eunhyuk’s biology lesson. “I don’t think I can be in the same room as Kangin right now. I have to concentrate on the King while he’s still fertile. Tomorrow, I’ll go apologize and we’ll continue trying to conceive. After the King is with child, I’ll address the Kangin issue.”

   “He’s not an issue, he’s your mate.” Eunhyuk clarified, “You’re bound to him for life, you know?”

   “I know,” Leeteuk whispered, placing his fingers on his lips as he recalled how it had felt to kiss his true mate. “The connection between us was electrifying.”

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