A pleasant light glimmered off the icebergs that marked the entrance to the busiest and largest port in the entirety of the Northern Provinces, Port Flake. The Prince of the Provinces, a certain Prince Minseok, sat atop one of the massive glacial structures that served as natural gateways, his eyes closed to allow the sun and sub-zero breezes to caress his round cheeks and heighten his already happy mood. Nothing could ruin his euphoric happiness right now, not official matters, not a quarrel between his two Guardians, not even the impending brawl threatening to break out on the docks way below him.

“What’s got him on Cloud Nine?”

“Apparently his next suitor arrives tomorrow.” The squeal of giddy glee that escaped the seated Northern Prince echoed off all the icebergs in the port at least once, making many of the dock workers below look around in slight fear for the source of the sound. Minseok flopped backward onto the ice and stared up at the faces of his two Guardians, a giddy smile on his face.

Minseok was the only Prince to have both male and female Guardians, but he didn’t mind. If anything, they served each other’s weaknesses and strengths better than if they were both of the same gender. His male Guardian went by the name of Kris, and he was a powerful Dragon who was, in most senses of the phrase, a gentle giant. Kris stood at over six feet tall and had a thick curl of onyx scales over the left side of his face, from its tip resting over his brow bone to the end that poked at his angular jaw line. Despite his intimidating appearance at first glance, he had a wide gummy smile that lit his face like a torch and a peculiar habit of collecting stuffed animals, his favourite a snow white alpaca he named Ace.

Minseok’s female Guardian was an exotic-looking Serpent named Tora, whose own turquoise scales rimmed her serpentine golden eyes akin to a mask. She was a generally cheerful lass who always wore a mega-watt smile and had an easy-to-approach attitude, but she could also call some serious thunder if she felt threatened, upset or downright angry. Lucky for the entirety of the Northern Provinces she wasn’t angry often; Tora had a very quick tongue and could talk herself out of trouble faster than she seemed to get herself or any of her accomplices into. So, in a nutshell, she was nice…when she wanted to be.

“So who’s the next treasure hunter brave enough to step into our territory to try and take our Frost Gem?” The gentle smile on Tora’s face made Minseok’s own smile widen further, if such a thing was possible. He stretched out a hand toward the sky and curled his fingers around the tiny snowflakes he was conjuring around his hand.

“You must really like your next suitor,” Kris commented, using one of his own large hands to grab a hold of his Prince’s, making said Prince giggle and conjure a small flurry around their linked appendages, “You’ve never acted like this with any of your others.”

“It’s not his fault. Suho is a horrible matchmaker. You remember Chen, from the Western Provinces?” Tora said, earning a shiver from the Dragon that wasn’t of the cold as he remembered said Western Prince. The shiver was quickly replaced by a sly smile as he recalled the ‘fun’ that he and Tora had with Chen and his Guardians. They’d come out of the encounter with the West with a close friend in the time-controlling Guardian of Chen’s, Zitao.

“You two shouldn’t speak of the High Guardian like that.” Minseok chided lightly, pulling Kris down with difficulty to sit beside him, “Would you two like to hear about Luhan?”

“Luhan?” both Guardians asked.

“He’s the Prince of the Eastern Provinces. We’ve been sending letters to each other for weeks, ever since we met at the last Union.”

“If you’ve been talking to him for weeks, why are we only hearing about it now?” Kris near-growled. Tora stood behind the Dragon and placed her hands on his shoulders, effectively placating him enough for Minseok to continue with his gushing over this “Luhan”. Minseok gave the Serpent a grateful smile, returning his gaze to the crystalline sky stretching above them.

“In his last letter, Luhan told me that he’d written to Suho for permission to come north to try and court me.” From inside his royal blue robe, the Northern Prince produced an official looking piece of paper, the broken wax seal depicting the watery symbol of the High Guardian of the Four Points. Both the Dragon and the Serpent didn’t need to read the document to know that Suho had said yes.

“Will you still issue this Luhan your challenge?” Tora asked, sliding down onto the ice next to Kris and allowing the Dragon to wrap one of his arms around her shoulders.

“Of course I will. Just because he’s a Prince doesn’t mean he deserves to be treated different.” Minseok almost sounded offended, “Besides, you two know how much I value loyalty above all else. After all, you’re both like my family.”

There was a pause, then a loud exclamation of, “Kris is going to cry!”

“Am not!” The sentimental moment atop the iceberg broke when Tora lunged at Kris, catching him off guard and rolling around in the ice until they balanced almost life-threateningly close to the edge of the berg. Minseok sighed with a smile; how exactly did he put up with those two again?

Standing up carefully, the Northern Prince dusted snow off his legs then carefully neared the same edge of the berg his Guardians perched upon, knowing full well that there were two sets of eyes watching his every move.

“First person to catch me escapes dealing with the brawl on the docks.” With a loud breath of laughter, he leaned all his weight forward and let himself drop, laughing at the scrabbling and cursing he heard coming from the top of the iceberg.

-

Prince Luhan didn’t travel north very often, having never had no real point or purpose to his journeys. But now, even as he kept staring at the letter he’d received from Suho nearly a week and a half ago, he had a real purpose to go north, and his name was Xiumin. The Northern Provinces greeted him with winds that turned his cheeks pink and made grumbling messes of his two Guardians, wind walker Sehun and teleporter Kai, even though they were safe and warm inside his luxury carriage with him. Luhan fought the urge to give them both an eye roll, instead turning his head to look at the beautiful frozen landscapes that stretched as far as his eye could see and beyond.

“Are we even there yet?” Kai whined, blowing on his slowly freezing hands.

“Prince Xiumin said he had an envoy waiting for us just before the inland gates to Port Flake.” Luhan replied, using his ‘I’m-a-Prince-and-I’m-patient’ voice. Kai just grumbled unintelligibly and returned to trying to give feeling back to his frozen phalanges. Sehun followed his Prince’s gaze to the chilly outside world, spotting a pair of seals in the nearby ocean poke their noses above the water briefly before disappearing beneath the dark water. He’d never left the Eastern Provinces before, so to see northern animals in their natural habitat was something of a treat for him. Kai, however, had been all over the Four Points and liked to brag about that as often as he could. If it weren’t for Sehun slapping Kai on the back of his head then the Northern Provinces would’ve been spoiled for the wind walker and he would’ve been in a worse mood than the one he was usually in.

“Halt!” A voice echoed around the snowy plain and the carriage slowed to a stop. A face obscured by a thick beard and moustache appeared at the window, “Prince Luhan, my lords, welcome to the Northern Provinces. My men and I are to you to Prince Xiumin’s castle inside Port Flake.” The envoy gave a short bow and turned to his men, barking quick orders before the carriage rumbled along the icy road again.

“You can’t say his service .” Kai complimented, nodding his approval, “Hey Sehun, what do you think Prince Xiumin’s Guardians will be like?” Sehun turned his head toward his fellow Guardian out of mildest curiosity.

“Doesn’t Prince Xiumin have a male and female Guardian?” he asked.

“Yep. You can’t tell me you haven’t been even the tiniest bit curious.” Sehun had, but Kai usually burst his bubbles long before they could take off into the air.

“You’ll meet them soon enough.” Luhan’s voice finished all conversation as their carriage bounced past the famous Port Flake docks, many of the dock’s workers looking up and nodding their heads politely at the Eastern arrivals. Luhan gave them a short wave and a smile, which made both the sea dogs and the sovereign feel warm inside. Luhan liked making people smile; he just wished that when he met Xiumin it would be just as easy.

The carriage continued to jolt through the port town – many of its residents giving the Eastern Prince and his Guardians a polite greeting of some kind – before it came to a complete halt outside the gates of a large castle that appeared to have been carved out of the ice mountain that sheltered it. Its many spires glittered in the northern sunlight, which had the effect of making the entire structure sparkle vividly. Two lines of Northern guards lined the pathway from the gate to the front steps of the castle, standing at attention as the Eastern arrivals followed their marked path toward the castle.

As Luhan clambered out of the carriage after nearly three days of travel, he happened to look up and catch sight of the reason for his visit walking toward them, flanked by two other people. Prince Xiumin smiled at him warmly in welcome, his flame-coloured hair sitting flat against his scalp. He wore a deep violet cloak fastened with two silver brooches on either shoulder over a royal blue tunic and black slacks, black knee-high boots protecting his feet from the cold. The two flanking Xiumin were who Luhan assumed to be the Prince’s Guardians, the two of them wearing identical uniforms of ice blue and black. They both wore smiles that hid the calculating gazes from underneath the strange markings they had on their faces as the Eastern trio approached.

“Welcome to my home, Prince Luhan,” Xiumin bowed low, and Luhan mentally noted how nice and friendly his voice sounded, “I hope that you enjoy your stay here.” He extended a purple-clad hand, which the Eastern Prince shook.

“The pleasure is all mine, Prince Xiumin. I look forward to my time with you.” he replied jovially, which made Kai roll his eyes at the obvious implications of his statement. Xiumin’s face was suddenly sprinkled with pink and he bit his lip, Luhan’s conscious doing flips inside his head. So cute!

“Allow me to introduce my two Guardians to you, Kris and Tora.” Xiumin indicated his two Guardians in turn, both of them inclining their heads politely at the Eastern trio. Kris kept the hard light in his eyes as he scanned both Sehun and Kai, while Tora merely kept staring at them all with a smile on her face that made both the Eastern Guardians flinch internally. Sehun suddenly had an image of a deep pit amongst the ice filled with the bodies of those who tried to cross the two of them, while Kai was making a mental note to always stay on their good side.

“These are my own Guardians, Sehun and Kai.” Luhan mimicked Xiumin’s introduction, both of his Guardians mimicking Kris and Tora’s actions. Xiumin nodded once and indicated for his guests to follow him along the path and inside the castle, through a rather majestic grand hall with an elaborate icicle chandelier that looked to be made of actual ice, and into a toasty warm library room with half a dozen chair scattered strategically about the place to allow the heat of the roaring fire to permeate throughout the entire space. Both princes sat in the chairs closest to the fire, while the Northern Guardians immediately began to fuss over the eastern Guardian’s state of dress.

“Prince Xiumin, we’ll take these two to get properly fitted out for their stay here.” Kris spoke, his deep voice sending shivers of nervousness down Luhan’s spine.

“We’ll also take them on a tour of the grounds, get them used to the cold.” Tora added. Xiumin nodded at his Guardians, who bowed and began ushering Kai and Sehun out of the room.

“Will those two get along?” Sehun pointed to the two princes by the fire.

“We’ll see.” replied the female Guardian. Xiumin waited until the door was properly closed before transforming his smile from friendly to foxy, sliding out of his chair and hovering only centimetres away from Luhan.

“You’re even more beautiful than I imagined you’d be…” he breathed, allowing his fingertips to ghost over Luhan’s cheekbones and jaw. Luhan leaned into the Northern Prince’s touches, one of the many moments he’d dreamed of with Xiumin finally coming true. He blinked when he realised that Xiumin’s fingers were rather chilled, despite them being wrapped in purple cloth. He also noticed the tiny snowflakes dancing just underneath his line of vision. They weren’t there before, were they?

“Have you heard the rumours about a Frost Gem in the North?” Xiumin asked quietly. When Luhan nodded wordlessly he held up one of his hands, showing the Eastern Prince the flurries around his fingers, “That’s me. I’m the Frost Gem.” To further prove his point, the Northern Prince drew a heart onto Luhan’s cheek, icicles sticking to his skin wherever the finger left a mark.

“Wow…” Luhan couldn’t speak. This beautiful young man, whom he hoped to make his, was sharing a secret so beautiful that all he could do was stare in amazement. He was so wrapped up in his daze he didn’t notice Xiumin sitting back in his seat slowly.

“I have a challenge for you, Eastern Prince Luhan.” The foxy smile was still in place on the Northern Prince’s face.

“Yeah?” Luhan breathed.

“To win my hand and heart, you must show your loyalty to those most loyal to me.”

“Yeah?”

“Luhan, you must be accepted by my Guardians before you can court me.”

“Ye – what?” That statement brought Luhan back to reality, where he saw Xiumin pouring him a glass of wine. He had to wait longer to court Xiumin because of some challenge? The universe must hate him or something, because there was no way he would –

Yes he would. Kris and Tora seemed polite and friendly enough, so surely they would accept him fairly quickly, wouldn’t they?

“You cannot ask Sehun and Kai for their information.”

This was going to take longer than Luhan thought.

-

Luhan looked like a right mess the next morning, having been kept up by a combination of carriage lag and an overactive imagination. The servant who took him to breakfast that morning said nothing about his condition, though the Eastern Prince swore to Suho later that he heard giggles after the door to the dining room had closed. Five sets of eyes followed his sluggish movements around the table as he found his seat next to Sehun and Xiumin, finally allowing his head to slam down painfully onto the patch of table in front of him.

“Rough night, Prince Luhan?” called Tora from the door to the kitchens, a glass of water in one hand and a plate of food in the other. She took her seat next to Kris, who saw his opportunity and swiped a piece of toast from her plate he’d been eyeing since she’d entered the dining room. She narrowed her eyes at him, but otherwise said nothing. Luhan blearily lifted his head from the table to make brief eye contact with her before flopping forward again.

“Couldn’t sleep…” he groaned out finally, the delicious smell from the kitchens slowly rousing him from sleeplessness.

“You’ll get used to it here.” Xiumin smiled at Luhan over his glass of orange juice, the filled tumbler hiding the small smile of knowing that danced upon his lips. Another servant placed a plate of food in front of the Eastern Prince, scurrying away at the loud groan of thanks he received to fill everyone’s glasses. The next group of minutes were filled with everyone eating their prepared breakfasts, the occasional comments of “Pass the salt, please”, “Could I please have some more juice?” and “Kris, get your own damn food!” breaking the full silence.

“So what am I doing today?” Xiumin asked once the table had been cleared of all dishes by the servants from the kitchens, one girl throwing longing looks at all the men seated that were ignored.

“You have two ship christenings this morning, followed by a meet-and-greet that we’re all attending,” Kris shot a look at everyone at the table before redirecting his attention to the piece of paper in front of him, “then this afternoon Tora and I are taking you out to the pancake ice. It’s your choice today.” Xiumin nodded, glee lighting up his eyes as he swigged from his glass, which made Luhan sigh heavily into his own glass. Kai shot his Prince a look that was ignored.

“What’s his choice?” Sehun asked.

“Since Minseok’s ancestors first settled up here in the North, there’s always been a custom of the ruler’s Guardians scheduling time for the ruler to do whatever it is they want to do, away from the official business of running the Provinces. It’s a way for the ruler to relax and face their problems with a clear head, and it’s a tradition that’ll probably keep going long after we’re all gone.” Tora explained, dusting crumbs off her ice blue tunic onto the floor.

Luhan blinked with confusion and fatigue. “Who’s Minseok?” he asked stupidly, feeling like he was missing something seriously important. Did Xiumin have a brother the Four Points didn’t know about?

“You would only know me as Xiumin because that’s the name I use when I’m on official business, Luhan.” Explained a rather amused-looking Northern Prince, hiding another smile as the lights came on for the Eastern natives. The trio continued to stare at Xiumin – Minseok – with a combination of amazement because he had two names and bewilderment at why he had two names.

“You two,” Kris pointed to Sehun and Kai, “will be staying with Tora and I for the morning until we get to the meet-and-greet. Minseok will be entertaining Prince Luhan.”

“Why does your Prince get his name while ours gets the formalities?” asked Kai.

“Because between Tora and myself, we outrank all four of you by at least two hundred years of age. And Prince Luhan is a guest.” There was a finality in the Northern male’s voice that effectively shut all argument up from either Kai or Sehun. Tora reached for her fellow Guardian’s hand and squeezed it once, standing up silently before Kris and heading for the doors leading to the hall.

“Minseok, we’ll wait for you outside. Kris and I agreed last night that you and Prince Luhan would ride me, while Sehun and Kai would ride Kris.” she said.

“Longest game of Rock-Paper-Scissors ever.” Kris grumbled as he followed his fellow Guardian out the doors. Xiumin chuckled at the astonished looks on the Eastern trio’s faces. Maybe he should’ve warned them about his Guardians’ deliberately forgetful memories when it came to aspects of Northern life they didn’t know about. Then again, maybe not; those faces were priceless.

“You’ll see what she means when I take you outside.” he said kindly, finishing his drink and leading Luhan, Kai and Sehun out of the dining room and toward the western wing of the castle, stopping in front of a large wooden door gilded and braced with iron fittings that towered impressively over all four of them. Luhan flinched at the sudden short roar coming from the other side that made the doors quiver in their hinges.

Xiumin remained unfazed. “Sounds like someone found a knot in Tora’s feathers. Will you change your mind after you see the secondary forms of my Guardians?” Luhan shook his head defiantly, courage staying deep down in the lowest pit of his stomach and stewing there alongside his heart. Xiumin cast glances over both Sehun and Kai, one of whom had turned paler than the snow outside and the other who had an obvious sheen of sweat on his forehead. He turned back to the doors and pushed them open.

The sight of a large black Dragon and a long turquoise Serpent greeted the Eastern trio, both of them being fussed over by several attendants. Long emerald feathers and onyx scales the size of a child’s fist littered the ground around the small group, more feathers and scales raining down upon the attendants which made them curse and fuss even harder.

“I think they’re ready.” commanded the Northern Prince. The attendants scarpered for fear of being eaten, while the Dragon shot him a disapproving look that Xiumin didn’t buy.

“You would’ve eaten someone, Kris,” he said, “and if not you then definitely Tora.” The Serpent looked offended by the implication of her Prince, but shrugged her large feathery wings in defeat and glanced over at the Dragon, who was flicking his arrow-headed tail against the ground in slight annoyance. Kris looked over at Luhan, Sehun and Kai, all of whom hadn’t moved from their spots since coming out to see them, and flicked his elongated head once in a ‘come-closer’ motion.

“They don’t bite.” Xiumin chuckled, flicking Tora’s muzzle when she shot him a ‘speak-for-yourself’ look. Sehun inched closer first, taking Kai’s soft whimpering to be a sign of him chickening out. Luhan followed in his Guardian’s footsteps, one of Sehun’s hands held out as a defense mechanism in case either of them did decide to eat him. Kris lumbered forward first, blowing a stream of hot air across the wind walker’s palm hat made it tingle with warmth. That tingle was quickly replaced by a long and slightly forked tongue.

“Ew!” Sehun jumped half a metre backward when the wet muscle connected with his palm, rubbing the draconic saliva onto his dark pants. Kris shook his shoulders with what could only be assumed as a laugh, giving the Eastern trio a toothy smile before squaring his large body in preparation for accepting riders.

“So, Kris is the Dragon and Tora is the Serpent?” Luhan asked, running his fingers through the short feathers on Tora’s head that served as an emerald green mane. Xiumin clambered up on top of the long turquoise body and extended a hand to the Eastern Prince.

“That’s right. Riding either of these two is like riding a giant winged horse; you’ve just got to know where to hold on.” Tora’s long body shook the whole time Luhan scrambled up to sit behind the Northern Prince, his arms automatically locking around the shorter Prince’s waist. Kai sat in front of Sehun on Kris’ back, after a short but intense fight which ended with Kai teleporting onto the Dragon’s back and sticking his tongue out at Sehun. Sehun had whined and grumbled but climbed on afterward, digging two fingers into the teleporter’s side hard for good measure.

“You first, Kris.” the Northern Prince instructed. Two large leathery wings shot out from either side of Kris’ onyx body, flapping harder the faster he ran along the ground. His two passengers squealed in surprise as they felt the Dragon leaving the safety of the ground, shooting each other looks that clearly said “We shall not speak of this moment”.

“You be gentle. Remember who’s on your back.” Tora snorted at Xiumin’s comment, tiny sparks shooting out her nostrils, before unfurling her own feathery wings and taking off after Kris.

Author's Note: I'm hoping to keep this to two parts, but we'll see where Luhan's attempts to get into Xiumin's pants family circle goes.

-GuardianOfTheDawn :3