Drabble 29: Secret Meeting Xiuho

Junmyeon, the youngest prince of Rhys, treaded quietly through the debris on the forest floor, the cool night air sliding smoothly across the pointed tips of his ears. No one should be out here, at the conjunction of the two forests as well as the border between the two elvish kingdoms of Rhys and Drualt. Guards on either side from the border watched from afar, but few dared to enter this strip of No Man’s Land.

A soft rustle sounded from the bushes ahead, and Junmyeon backed up, instinctively melting into the shadows of the tree beside him.

Another elf emerged from the trees. “Junmyeon?”

“Minseok!” Junmyeon darted out of his hiding place and stopped directly in front of Minseok, the king of Drualt.

Minseok reached out and tenderly cupped Junmyeon’s cheek. “You look well, my love.”

Junmyeon reached up and pressed his palm over Minseok’s hand, the warmth of Minseok’s body cooling the sting of the night breeze against his cheek. “As do you.”

Minseok chuckled softly. “If you could see me properly in the moonlight, I doubt you would feel the same way.”

Junmyeon’s eyes darkened with concern and he took stepped forward until he and Minseok were toe-to-toe. “Have you not been well?” He released Minseok’s hand in favor of reaching up and smoothing over the crease in Minseok’s forehead with the sides of his thumbs. Minseok’s face instantly relaxed and his hands dropped to Junmyeon’s waist, his eyes warm with emotion.

“I have been busy. There has been unrest with the one of the human villages at the edge of our lands, and my advisors have been keeping me up until all hours trying to come up with a solution.” Minseok sighed heavily, and Junmyeon noticed the dark shadows under his eyes with a pang of sympathy.

“Were you successful?” Junmyeon moved his hands down from Minseok’s forehead to his cheeks, his thumbs now gently brushing beneath Minseok’s eyes.

“I was, eventually.” Minseok smiled warmly and let go of Junmyeon’s waist, reaching up to take Junmyeon’s hands away from his face and tangling their fingers together. “How go the affairs of Rhys?”

“Well enough.” It had been difficult for them to come to an even balance of what to reveal about their kingdoms…but then again, they had been meeting in secret for a very long time. “A new ambassador has arrived from the kingdom of Gryffith. Beyond that, nothing of importance has occurred.”

“The kingdom of Gryffith,” Minseok murmured thoughtfully. “Their kingdom is in the coastal forest of Ziritai, near the Blood Sea?"

“Yes, that is where she is from.” Junmyeon sighed and idly swung their clasped hands back and forth. “She is here to try and negotiate the clearing of a direct path from Gryffith to Rhys.”

“Has she been successful?”

Minseok’s eyes showed only innocent curiosity, but Junmyeon knew that Minseok was a master at hiding his true intentions. “You know that I won’t tell you that,” Junmyeon chided him gently.

“It was worth a shot.” Minseok grinned wryly. “But I’m glad to hear that things have been peaceful for you.”

Junmyeon hummed softly in response, and they simply stood in silence for a few moment, swaying in tandem with the broad pine branches stretched out above them.

Their peaceful silence was broken when a distinctive voice called out. “Junmyeon?”

Junmyeon gasped, and Minseok stiffened in fear.

“Were you followed?” Minseok’s voice was sharp with surprise.

“I must have been. Luhan must have guessed that I was heading this way.” Junmyeon glanced over his shoulder as the sound of Luhan’s voice grew clearer. “You must go, Minseok.”

Minseok leaned forward and brushed his lips against Junmyeon’s forehead. “I’ll see you soon, my love.”

They shared a final look, and then Junmyeon turned around as Minseok vanished back into the forest, gracefully melting in to the shadows.

A minute later, Luhan, Crown Prince of Rhys and Junmyeon’s old brother came out of the trees. “Junmyeon?”

“Luhan!” Junmyeon stepped forward out of his hiding place by the pine trunk and into the moonlight. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you.” Luhan folded his arms and frowned at Junmyeon.

Junmyeon dismissed the question with a flick of his wrist. “You know that I come out here every so often. It is the call of adventure that beckons me.”

Luhan’s jaw remained set with suspicion. “I thought I heard the sound of someone else running away, just a moment ago.”

“It was just a possum that undoubtedly became afraid at your presence,” Junmyeon scoffed. “Did you think that I was meeting someone? If so, then who?”

At that, Luhan relaxed. “Of course not. It is just strange for you to be out at the border in the dead of night. I know that you would never betray our information to Drualt.” Luhan walked forward and extended his hand to Junmyeon. “We had best head back now, before the call of adventure gets us in trouble with the border sentinels.”

“The sentinels cannot see this far into the neutral zone. We are safe here.” Nevertheless, Junmyeon reached out and accepted Luhan’s hand, and they started walking back towards the Rhys border hand-in-hand.

“Nevertheless, it doesn’t do to tarry here—especially since you are a prince, Junmyeon.” Luhan squeezed his hand warmly, and Junmyeon leaned into his arm in response. Junmyeon knew that Luhan loved him dearly as his younger brother, and he was only worried for his safety.

a/n: Sorry, bit of a weird place to end that but I'm sleepy and I can't think of anything better right now. This is an excerpt from a xiuho/luchen elves!au that I'm starting to plan. This drabble series is still on hiatus--I don't think it'll come off until New Years, which is when my last university app is due. Thanks for reading, and comments are always appreciated ^_^