The man gently tapped his quill against the parchment before him. His father was waiting for his report back in the capital, but Jonghyun had to wait until he received his own reports before he could write them out. His men were out on the battle field, counting the dead and helping the wounded, and chaining the prisoners up in the tent in the middle of camp. 

 

He looked up when he heard the deep cough of the captain of his guard. Jonghyun nodded softly and motioned for the man to continue. Minho bowed at the waist, "My Prince. The prisoner is secure and ready for your intregation."

 

Jonghyun nodded, and after pulling on his coat, followed the man out of the tent and toward the small tent that their special prisoner. The flap of the tent was held open and he ducked through. 

 

The inside of the tent was illuminated dimly by the lantern on the table. It was the only thing in the space, besides the huge stake that was pressed into the middle to hold it up, and the creature handcuffed to it. It stared at him, it's gaze a glare as the Prince moved closer to him. His golden armor was still on his frame, and where it should be scratched and dented it wasn't. 

 

It hissed at him as Jonghyun drew closer. He just snorted. "Hissing at me won't do you or your people any good."  He fought against his binds, knowing it was futile, as he spoke. His native language washing over Jonghyun in an attempt to control him but his chains burned red against his skin and he groaned as his spell was cut short. Jonghyun just laughed. "Don't try your magic on me Elf." 

 

The Elf spat at him. "Don't you dare touch me you flithy beast." 

 

 Jonghyun just kneeled in front of the other, curling his fingers around the man's metal armor and tugging him forward in order to get a better look at him. "I will do what I wish. You may be a Prince and a god in your stupid people, but here you are just my prisoner. Tell me what I want to know, and no harm will come to you." 

 

The man glares, and spit in Jonghyun's face. "Do what you want, but I will never tell you a single thing." 

 

Jonghyun just wiped his face with his sleeve, and when he walked out of the room he nodded at Minho. "Tighten the chains. Turn up the awareness." 

 

Let's see if you're a little more talkative in the morning. 

 

He wasn't.

 

When the armor was untied, and pulled off of him the Elf had snapped his teeth at the two men, almost latching onto their bodies. Of course those two soldiers never went near the tent or the creature again.  

 

When the medic entered to check the Elf's wounds, he managed to get up onto his feet and kicked the man's legs right from under him before slumping back against the wooden stack like nothing had happened. Needless to say the medic didn't return when ordered to try again.  

 

He refused to eat. Refused to talk. Refused to do anything but glare at whoever entered the tent, and do whatever he could to make them leave and never want to return again. The only one who did return was Jonghyun. 

 

He knelt in front of the man, eyeing him cautiously as he slowly moved to look at his wounds. The man inched away, glaring hard as his eyes calculated the best way to make the other man leave.  Jonghyun just scowled and sat back onto his feet. "Fine, but if you don't allow somebody to look at that, you are going to die." 

 

The Elf flicked his longer hair out of his face as he said with a hiss. " If it weren't for these cuffs, I would be healed already." 

 

Jonghyun just smirked alightly, before shrugging. He wiped his hands on his pants as he stood. "Because if you are who I think you are, I don't think letting them off is a very good idea." 

 

"I promise I won't destroy everything. Just the filthy beasts." The elf promised. "I'll leave the horses alive." 

 

"I'm flattered you think of me as a beast, but you alive and not talking or dead means the same to me." He turned to leave, "Hope you enjoy you accomindations." 

 

Before he made it out of the tent though, he heard the soft angry wait. He looked back to see the creature's down, his dark hair hanging in his face as he looked up slightly. "At least allow me to heal. Please." 

 

"Let me help you then." Jonghyun countered.

 

After a moment the Elf reluctantly agreed. "Fine."

 

And when Jonghyun approuched him the man didn't pull away or attack. When he slowly moved to touch the man to see the wound, he allowed him to. From then on Jonghyun was the only one he would ever let near him, and Jonghyun didn't know how he felt about that.

                                                                                                      xoxox

 

Their races had been at war for as long as Jonghyun could remember. He had been born in the middle of the conflict, and ed into the bloody war as soon as he came of age. His father never told him why they were at war with the Elven people, but it seemed that no one seemed to remember the reason. There were rumors, about how their King used a human woman and threw her back, or the one about the dragon egg being stolen by the human's and how the Elves just wanted it back. Either way, Jonghyun was tired of the fighting and of the death.

 

He didn't like elves, they were foreign magical beings that given the chance could kill him with a flick of their finger, but he didn't hate them. He didn't believe they deserved to be forced to fight humans, and die in thousands with his own men. 

 

The next morning after allowing Jonghyun to patch him up, the army was on the move. The Elf was the Prince's personal prisoner, always being around the man. He would walk beside Jonghyun's horse with his hands chained in front of him, and if needed he would be thrown over the Prince's lap when they rode a faster run.  Which is where the Elf was as Jonghyun pulled on the reigns to slow the horse down.

 

"You'd think I'd get to know your name before I'm thrown across your lap." He commented bitterly as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve. 

 

"My name means nothing to you." Jonghyun grabbed the back of the man's shirt, and tossed him hard down to the dusty ground. 

 

The Elf just sat on the ground and glared up at him as the man dismounted. "You know mine." 

 

"I know what you call yourself yes." Jonghyun commented as he shuffled through his saddle bags. "But do I know your name? Thee name? No I don't Onew." 

 

Onew smirked, skillfully standing up without using his hands and cocked his head to the side to look at the man. "But no one knows that." 

 

Jonghyun rolled his eyes, and continued to search for what he was looking for. Because of this he didn't notice when Taemin came over and tossed a piece of meat at the elf and yelled catch this, before laughing when it just slapped against the man's face. Onew just sighed and shook off the meat. "Imbecile." He muttered under his breath, and Taemin fumed off before he could hear his Prince chuckling to the single word the Elf said. 

 

                                                                                                                  xoxox

 

Months passed, and Jonghyun was no where closer to getting what he needed from the man. He was losing his paticious, mainly because the longer this took, the harder it was to tell himself that he hated the creature. 

 

So as they sat in his tent, the elf laying on his cot as he sat a little ways off writing his orders, it took Jonghyun everything not to keep looking up at him, but every time he did Onew was staring right at him. He'd curse at focus back on the paper before him, and he would hate how that little smirk of the Elf's was still planted in his mind. 

 

Later that night when Jonghyun looked back up to go to bed, Onew was asleep and curled up on the cot. Usually he slept on the mat across the room, his hands chained to the metal stake there, and usually Jonghyun would move him, but he didn't feel like it tonight. He didn't feel like interupting Onew's sleep, because he looked so peaceful.. so beautiful like this.

 

So against his better judgement he climbed in behind the man, wrapping an arm around the Elf's waist, and slowly fell asleep. Little did he know that Onew was awake, fully awake, and could attack him at any moment, but he didn't. He just sighed and leaned into the hold, knowing full well he shouldn't, but for one night he told himself it was okay to give in. He told himself that for a single night, Jonghyun wasn't a human prince and he wasn't an elf prince. They were just two people who could do whatever they wanted, and not enemies by birth and circumstance. Just for one night.

 

And when Jonghyun awoke the next morning Onew was still in his hold, just turned toward him with his arms tight against their close chests sleeping soundly. He gasped softly, at how close he was and how much he found out he loved the feeling of his breath on his face. He quickly shut his eyes, because he wanted to enjoy this, if only for a few more minutes. A moment later he withdrew from the cot, and the man, and went to get dressed for the long ride ahead of them, thinking that Onew was none the wiser about last night. 

 

                                                                                                          xoxox

 

"How am I to bathe Jonghyun?" Onew asked as he stood behind him.

 

Jonghyun looked over his shoulder at the Elf, and quickly turned his head again. "I don't know. Just jump in the river?" 

 

The two of them were off a little ways away from the rest of the army, because Jonghyun liked it when he was able to bathe alone. Onew just happened to accompany him.

 

"I can't necessarily wash myself with these cuffs on."

 

Jonghyun huffed and walked over to him, "What do you want me to do? Wash you?"  His tunic was off, only his pants were on with his boots tossed off to the side a little. 

 

He could have sworn he saw the man smirk. "Well, you're going to have to undress me first." 

 

Jonghyun just pressed his lips together, but relented nonetheless. Before he knew it he was standing behind a very Onew, himself, washing the elf's hair. He hated to admit it, but he loved the feeling of it through his fingers. It was soft and long, back as night, and he had to force himself to ignore how he heard the other man softly moan as his fingers did their bidding.

 

But then it was all over, and he was moving to climb out. Onew wouldn't allow that though, because he couldn't hold back anymore. So, he wrapped his hands around the man's wrist and tugged backwards. Jonghyun looked at him confused, wondering if maybe this was a bad idea, but then Onew had his lips pressed against his own and all coherant thought escaped him.

 

He did think that maybe this just was the elf's way of lureing him in here, just to drown him, but Onew just lifted his connected arms over the man's head and pulled him hard against him. 

 

And Jonghyun didn't even think to stop him as he kissed Onew back.

 

                                                                                                                xoxox

 

It was when a small party, of about a dozen men, rode ahead to check out the meeting point where they were attacked. Onew had gone with them, because no one at camp was willing to watch him. 

 

Minho quickly  rushed to Jonghyun, because if anyone was to get to him they would have to go through him.  The attackers were elves, and for a moment the human company thought it was just a plan to get their prince back. As swords were drawn and the fight began, that thought became all the more true. Jonghyun wasn't worried about losing a prisoner, but losing a companion that always was there. He was afraid of having to watch Onew leave.

 

It was a split second mistake, looking over at the elf at the wrong time, and the sword of his attacker was slicing through the air toward his shoulder, but the blow never landed. The attacker had been turned to dust right before his eyes, and he looked over to see Onew standing up, his left hand pointed out in front of him as smoke rose from his fingertips. Jonghyun blinked at the elf, because how did he get out of the cuffs that were now broken at his feet, and more importantly why did he just save him? 

 

But before anything else could be done, he felt the cool metal enter his chest. He heard Onew scream, and run straight for him. The elf that had stabbed him was burned to dust. Before Jonghyun hit the ground though, he found himself in the warm arms of another, and looked up to see Onew looking at him. He thought back to their first kiss, the touches. How he had pushed the elf away because he logically thought it was all a rouse to get him to trust him enough to give him the oppertunity to escape, and or kill him in the process.

 

But now, looking up at his beautiful eyes and his dark hair that was cascaded around his face, Jonghyun thought about none of that. Not even the fact his shirt was not drenched in his own blood, and he was probably about to die didn't cross his mind. 

 

Onew touched his face, and a single tear splashed against Jonghyun's cheek. "You're so stupid." 

 

"You killed your own people." Jonghyun mumbled, "You are free, but you can't go back." 

 

"I don't care." Onew confessed. He ripped open the man's tunic all the way and placed his hand over the man's wound. He looked at Jonghyun's soft, tired features, and bit his lip. 

 

"What are you doing?" 

 

"Say Jinki." 

 

"What?" 

 

Onew leaned down, brushing their lips together. "Say my name Jonghyun." He kissed him once, holding both hands over the wound and when he parted from the man, Jonghyun said his name softly. 

 

All he saw was Jinki's face, slowly disappearing as white light closed around him, before everything went black for him. He could have sworn he heard the Elf whisper one last thing.

 

"I love you."

 

                                                                                                        xoxox

 

When Jonghyun woke up almost a week later, Jinki was curled up next to him. And when he asked the man what all had happened, the Elf told him everything. Jonghyun also asked something softly, hesitantly. “Did I hear you?”

 

"Hear me when?" Jinki asked, rubbing the point of his ear between his fingers, He saw the man shiver, and snapped his fingers. A small flame erupted in his hand, and he held it close to warm the man up, not to mention he allowed some of his own high body heat to transfer to the man.

 

"When I out." Jonghyun said. "Did you say you loved me?" 

 

Jinki blinked once, looking up at him through his hair before a small smile formed on his lips. “Why else would I give up everything just to save you?” 

 

"I don’t deserve this." The human muttered. "I kept you prisoner."

 

The elf leaned in closer, starring straight into the human’s eyes. “I still am, even without the cuffs.” 

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"I can’t go back to my people. I killed many of them to save a human. I can’t go back, because you know my True name, a name only I knew. I’m a prisoner to your wishes, because with that name you can make me do anything. I’m your prisoner because I can’t leave. Your heart is my key. My escape, but also my cage." 

 

Jonghyun blinked at the Creature. He was just a holder of vital information, a prisoner and something to use. He was something that his own people believed to be a monster and thought needed to be killed, but Jonghyun didn’t think that any more, and if he was honest with himself he had always known it was never about this.

 

Since the moment he laid eyes on Jinki, he knew something was up. A connection, a taunt string that could snap at any moment, but it hadn’t. That string of fate that just happened to connect them had just pulled them together, saved both of them from a life they never wanted.

 

"I.. I love you too." Jonghyun whispered uncertainly. 

 

Jinki smiled then, running his fingers over the man’s jawline. “You know we can’t go back. Your people think you’re dead.” 

 

He was free? He was finally free of the life he was born into? No more killing, or death or murder. No more sending his own men to be burned alive by wild fire. No more.

 

Jonghyun wrapped his arms around the elf’s neck, and pulled him closer. “I think I can handle that.”

 

"You’ll be with me until your last days. Just me. Are you okay with doing that with an Elf?"

 

Jonghyun pushed his fingers through the dark soft hair and smiled as he leaned in to brush their noses together. “As long as that Elf is you Jinki.”

                                                                                                    xoxox