Possibly an double update for some of you, so read the previous chapter if you haven't yet.

     Darkness covered the palace the next morning. Where the halls should have been covered in soft white light, they were shrouded in shadows instead. The power of the great elven king was not there to light his kingdom, or wake his people. For the first time in centuries, the elves of Aleumdaum woke to darkness. Inside the King’s bedchambers, everything was still and quiet, except for the soft sobs of his mate and those who were closet to the monarch.

    HanGeng was lying atop the covers next to his lover on the King’s beautiful canopy bed. The twins were in their bassinets a few feet away fussing loudly as a weeping and very pregnant Lord Leeteuk tried to calm them. Kangin stood with his mate, doing his best to assist him, but the twins would not calm. Their mother lay dying and they would not still when they could feel their parent’s pain.

    King Heenim was tucked beneath the thick white blankets covering his bed. His head was resting against a soft silk pillow, his long blonde hair framing him, his eyes closed and features slack. Doctor Onew sat in a chair next to the King’s bed monitoring the monarch’s condition. King Heenim was barely breathing and his heart rate was slow. The light that normally radiated from his skin when in the presence of his children and mate had gone out, leaving him dim and his skin ashen.

     “When will he wake?” Eunhyuk asked from where he stood in Donghae’s arms at the foot of his bed, Sungmin standing next to him with Kyuhyun. “He’s going to be alright, right?”

    “I don’t know,” Onew admitted, “He lost a lot of power last night. The ritual took a lot out of him. His body is having trouble healing itself with his power drained. If he’s not able to replenish himself, he might die.”

     “Heechul-ah.., please wake up?” HanGeng pleaded, reaching out and taking his mate’s limp hand. “Please, your children need you, your people need you and I need you.”

   Heechul stirred a bit with in response to HanGeng’s contact, his eyes moving behind his closed lids and hand twitching. Seeing this, HanGeng scooted closer to his lover and slid under the covers, before pulling Heechul into his arms. The King’s skin flared for a split second, a very faint spark, before returning to normal.

   “Keep holding him, HanGeng. Maybe his power will reach out to you.” Onew suggested as the door to the bedchamber opened and Yesung came stomping inside with Ryeowook in tow.

    “I see the rumors are true. The king is ill.” Yesung declared, glancing at his monarch and around the room.

    “You’re not allowed in here,” Eunhyuk seethed, “This is the King’s private chambers.”

    “You freed the guards that should be standing outside your door. I just walked right in unopposed. You might want to fix that.” Yesung pointed out, “If the King dies, who shall rule in his stead. HeeLee is only a month old. An infant cannot run a kingdom.”

    “The royal advisor and consort will rule,” Lord Leeteuk recited, “The laws specify this. But, that will not be needed, King Heenim will be alright. He’d just tired.”

     “He looks like he’s dying.” Ryeowook observed, “Also, you’re seven months pregnant with an inferior child. You’re in no condition to rule.”

    “Get out!” Sungmin shrieked, “You’re not welcome here.”

    Sungmin’s outburst alarmed the twins lying in their beds, causing them to cry out. Yesung’s eyes focused on the two infants and a wicked smirk formed on his face. Stalking across the room, Yesung swiped HeeGeng from his bed and held his up like something disgusting.

   “What do we have here?”

   “Put him down!” HanGeng panicked, sitting up and sliding away from his mate to protect their son.

     “So, the king gave birth to a mutt and changed the laws to keep him safe, how sweet.” Yesung chuckled, “I think the people will find this fact very interesting.”

    “The people will accept him as their prince because he is royal, half human or not.” Lord Leeteuk declared, “Now, I suggest you put the child down.”

    “How about I get rid of him and we stop this silly mess that’s been created?” Yesung chuckled, “I wonder if he’ll survive if I toss him against the wall?”

    “Put HeeGeng down!” HanGeng warned, everyone in the room going very still as Yesung tightened his hold on the tiny child. “He’s an innocent child.”

    “He’s an abomination,” Ryeowook huffed, “Kill it, Yesung-ah.”

    “If you harm that child, you will not make it out of this room.” Kangin growled, as everyone surrounded Yesung. “Give the baby to HanGeng.”

    “You’re a filthy human, you cannot harm me.” Yesung spat as HeeGeng began to shriek in his arms. “This child is the cause of all of my problems. It’s because of him that the King wrote those horrid laws. I will not live in a kingdom with an inferior as an heir to the throne.”

    Lifting HeeGeng up, Yesung prepared to drop the screaming child onto the stone floor. Everyone on the room moved at once towards the insane royal elf, but were too late. As HeeGeng fell from Yesung’s hands a gust of wind flew through the room. Yesung was flung backwards against the wall, his head impacting the hard surface and a cry leaving his lips. HeeGeng stopped mid-fall, suspended in the air by a gust of controlled air and cushioned from harm. HanGeng reached out and took his son into his arms as more wind filled the chamber, knocking over items on the dresser and causing clothes and hair to swirl wildly.

    “Let me go!” Yesung shrieked from where he was pinned against the wall by the intense wind.

    “You threatened to kill my son, you deserve death!” King Heenim’s voice seethed causing everyone’s attention to shift towards the bed.

    Heechul was sitting straight up with his hand extended towards Yesung. His ice blue eyes were glowing brightly and his long blonde hair was moving about him like it were alive. Yesung looked terrified as King Heenim rose from the bed and stalked towards him, his blue silk robs moving in the wind and his long thin fingers reaching for a silver ritual dagger that lay on the vanity. King Heenim clutched the weapon in his hand as he knelt in front of Yesung, rage present in his eyes and all rationality lost.

    “You have no right to threaten me or my child,” Heechul growled, pressing the dagger to Yesung’s throat. “I am done warning you.”

    “Please, don’t hurt him?” Ryeowook begged, “He didn’t mean it!”

    “Silence!” Heechul screamed, swiping his hand in Ryeowook’s direction and knocking him off his feet.

     The slight distraction and displacement of power, gave Yesung just enough time to slip away from his king and crawl towards the door, his skin grating against Heechul’s dagger and creating an angry red line as he did so. Heechul immediately turned back towards Yesung and grabbed hold of his leg. There was a strength inside the king that should not have been there in his weakened state, but his worry for his child was able to overcome his physical fatigue and instill his body with the power it needed.

   Jerking Yesung backwards, Heechul pinned him to the ground and plunged his dagger into his throat. He knew if he left him alive the threat to his family would never stop. Ryeowook shrieked as his lover was slain before him, his eyes widening when Heechul turned his angry gaze towards him. Instead of waiting for the king to turn on him, Ryeowook climbed to his feet and sprinted from the room.

   “Alert the guards to what has happened and have him caught!” Heechul ordered, pointing at Sungmin and Kyuhyun. “I want him imprisoned for what he’s done!”

   “Yes, sire.” Kyuhyun answered with a bow, before pulling Sungmin from the room.

    Pulling his dagger out of the lifeless elf beneath him, Heechul tossed it onto the stone floor and stumbled back towards the bed. The wind stopped blowing as the King collapsed onto the mattress.

    When Heechul awoke later that evening, Yesung’s body had been removed from the room and he was informed that Ryeowook had been caught and was awaiting sentencing in Bimil. Eunhyuk, Donghae, Kangin, and Leeteuk were seated about his chambers speaking softly to another as HanGeng held HeeGeng and watched Onew help Heechul sit up with his back against the headboard. Heechul took deep breaths and tried to calm himself as Onew checked his pulse and made sure he was stable. When the royal doctor moved away from him, Heechul reached out towards his mate.

    “I need to hold HeeGeng. Hannie, hand me our child.” Heechul ordered, “I need to make sure he’s alright.”

   “Heechul-ah, are you alright?” HanGeng asked his lover as he took a seat on the edge of the bed and handed HeeGeng to Heechul. “You collapsed last night and Onew said..,”

    “I feel drained, but I’m fine.” Heechul answered, cuddling his child in his arms and kissing the infant’s forehead. “HeeGeng-ah, it’s alright. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything harm you.”

    “You saved him, Sire.” Lord Leeteuk stated as he lifted HeeLee from his bed and rocked his son to calm him down. “How did you know he was in danger? You were completely out of it.”

    “I felt it,” Heechul explained, “I felt my child screaming. I felt how scared he was and something inside me cracked. I think I used up my power reserves, but I had to save him, Leeteuk-ah. I couldn’t lie there uselessly while my child died; not again.”

    “You will be bedridden for a while, Sire.” Onew provided, “Your body is going to need time to recover.”

    “I know,” Heechul replied as he kissed and played with the infant in his arms. “Leeteuk-ah can watch over things while I recover. Hannie will be here to help with the twins.”

    “We’ll help too,” Eunhyuk offered, “Donghae and I will need as much practice as possible. I’m going to have my first child.”

    “You knocked up yours too, Hae?” Kangin chuckled, “We’re all going to be fathers?”

    “Yeah,” Donghae answered with a blush, “I still don’t know how a feel about it.”

    “You better feel good about it because I am not putting my body through this for fun.” Eunhyuk huffed, playfully hitting his mate’s arm.

     “He’s going to torture you for the next nine months,” Heechul chuckled, “Eunhyuk-ah’s a very demanding person when he’d not feeling well.”

     “Am not,” Eunhyuk argued with a cute pout.

    “Hannie, did the ritual take?” Heechul suddenly asked, his eyes moving to his lover in hope. “Have you checked the symbol?”

     “No, I was too worried about you to even think about it.” HanGeng admitted, opening his robe a bit and looking down at the dark outline of a tree Heechul had painted on his skin.

    “Kangin, hand me a cloth and bowl.” Heechul instructed, “I need to see if I can wash this off.”

    Doing as Heechul asked, Kangin placed an empty bowl on the night stand and handed him a cloth from the vanity. Waving the cloth over the bowl, Heechul used a very small amount of power to fill the bowl with water before dipping his cloth in it. HeeGeng squirmed in his lap as Heechul placed the damp cloth on HanGeng’s chest and took a deep breath. If the symbol was just paint, it would rub off easily, if the ritual worked, the symbol shouldn’t smudge. Moving the cloth across HanGeng’s skin, Heechul began to tear up as he watched the skin stay etched in black.

    “It worked,” Heechul sniffled, “Hannie, it worked!”

    Holding their son close, Heechul captured HanGeng’s lips in a deep kiss, his skin glowing softly as he did so and the other occupants in the room cheering for their King’s happiness. Outside, the land that had once been frozen over in ice in snow was now covered in green grass and beautiful flowers. The King’s heart was no longer a cold a frozen place like the land and seasons he controlled. Love had thawed the King and thawed the land. It took a single mortal man and two beautiful children to chase away the darkness. The elven realm had never seen their king any happier, nor have its people ever been as prosperous. Life had returned to the kingdom and all was well once again.

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