Changmin got up from his chair on weak legs, and stood his ground between the guards and Chanhyung and Kyuhyun, much braver than he was feeling. His head was blank, and a huge number of possibilities ran through his head.

Gods, they're here to arrest Kyuhyun, was the first thought that came into Changmin's head, but then Changmin's neck would be on the line as well for conspiring.

He just hoped they would spare Chanhyung, if that was the reason why they were here.

"What's going on," demanded Changmin, voice cracking. "I never gave you permission to come inside. Get out."

They didn't.

"We have royal orders to follow. Step out of the way," the head guard said to Changmin.

Changmin didn't back down an inch.

"You will tell me why you are here," said Changmin forcefully, standing his ground.

The head guard looked at Changmin. "We have orders to make sure the Prince's Mihwa eats."

That's what they're here about? Chanhyung?

Changmin stared.

"We just managed to get him to eat."

"We have strict instructions to observe him eating. He can eat some more."

Changmin saw then that one of the servants were carrying a bowl of gruel. Changmin looked at Chanhyung, who was pale and shaking, clearly in panic.

At the same time, Kyuhyun stepped forward. "I am the healer looking after Chanhyung. I can promise you, he will heal in time. You can go back and reassure the Prince that his Mihwa is well taken care of."

"Step aside, both of you," said the guard.

Changmin clenched his fists. Not this time.

Not this time.

"No."

Changmin said through gritted teeth.

"You will not touch my son."

Changmin fought – or at least, he tried to, anyway. He was trained to fight, in the case that Yunho ever needed the protection. However, needless to say, Changmin gave up on the martial arts early on to focus on helping Yunho administratively while the guards still trained with the soldiers every day. Changmin only lasted seconds before being pinned against the wall by a guard. He was momentarily disoriented as the back of his head banged against the wall, and when he oriented himself again, Kyuhyun was also being held back against a wall by a guard.

Chanhyung was still sitting up in bed, pale as a ghost, when the servants approached him with the bowl.

"Gods, please, be gentle," begged Changmin. "Please, don't hurt him –"

"Eat," said the servant forcefully, shoving the bowl and spoon into Chanhyung's hands.

Changmin could see that Chanhyung was so terrified that he could barely even hold the spoon, let alone eat anything. When Chanhyung didn't move, the guards all moved in on him and pinned Chanhyung to the bed and tilted up his head.

Changmin felt his heart drop. "Don't touch him!" shouted Changmin desperately, struggling against the guard's hold. "For the gods' sake, I'll get him to eat it, please don't touch –"

His pleas fell on deaf ears as one of the servants forced Chanhyung's mouth open.

And to Changmin's absolute horror, the servant began to scoop the gruel mercilessly into his son's mouth.

Chanhyung was spitting and choking, and gruel ran down the side of his mouth and neck, and tears leaked from his eyes too. Soon, blood joined the mix and Changmin couldn't watch.

"You – You monsters –" said Changmin hoarsely, trying to push the guard away, which it earned him another shove into the wall.

They continued to force the food into Chanhyung's mouth, forcing his mouth closed between every spoonful, regardless of whether he was choking or crying, and forcing spoons further down his throat when he wouldn't swallow.

Changmin screamed and cried, yelled for the gods and for Yunho, but the horrifying scene before his eyes continued until the bowl was empty.

When they had forced the entire bowl of food down Chanhyung's throat and finally stepped away from the young boy, it was so silent that it was impossible to believe that only seconds ago, the room had been a scene of struggle and cries.

The guards and servants left the room without another word, finally letting go of Changmin and Kyuhyun.

And Chanhyung was still sitting on the bed, eyes blank as if he had no hope left in his little being.

Changmin found it hard to approach his son this time. He was inadequate, not fit to be Chanhyung's father. He hated himself and what he was, and how inadequate he was.

Chanhyung lay back down slowly – he had no more strength to fight the world, no more strength to cry, to feel any sort of emotion anymore. He made to pull the covers over his own shoulders, and Changmin rushed towards his son and tucked him in.

Changmin then knelt at the head of the bed in shame. He couldn't even lift his head to look at his son. He would have nothing to say even if his son said that he never wanted see Changmin again, or if he decided to disown Changmin as his father.

But as he knelt, hot tears sliding down his face, he felt his son's small, warm, comforting hand on his cheek.

Changmin finally looked up at his baby son. Chanhyung was looking at him with sadness as he wiped the tears from his father's face with his thumb.

"Don't cry, daddy," whispered Chanhyung. "Please don't cry."

Changmin let out a small sob, because he deserved no forgiveness or love from his son.

"Why don't you hate me?" demanded Changmin, reaching up to take his son's hand into his own. "Why, Chanhyung, I'm a useless father who can't even protect you, why don't you hate me?"

Tears gathered in Chanhyung's eyes, too.

"How could I hate you?" said Chanhyung quietly. "You're the only person in the world who loves me."

As Changmin was struck speechless, Chanhyung spoke again.

"I wish we could live together, just the two of us," whispered Chanhyung. "And I wish no one will try to hurt us anymore."

The decision should have been hard, but it was also easy; it should have been hard because Changmin loved Yunho and couldn't imagine a life without him, but it was easy because all Changmin wanted was for his son to stop suffering and be happy.

And so he turned his head to look at the healer, who had been watching their interaction the entire time.

"Kyuhyun," whispered Changmin.

Tears fell from his eyes.

"Please help us."

At one point during the evening, Yunho came by and saw Chanhyung, whose face and whole body was so swollen that he was nearly unrecognizable. Yunho was aghast and stormed out, promising to have a word with his son.

Sungjun himself never came by, this time, Changmin thought, because he was embarrassed at himself. He relayed a word of apology through a servant, which Changmin dismissed on his son's behalf with a huff.

Changmin spent no time at all with Yunho for days, but the servants talked and gossiped; it was the palace after all. Changmin heard that Yunho had been furious at his son and had suspended all of the prince's activities and duties.

"It's true. How would he take good care of his people when he can't even look after his Mihwa?" Kyuhyun had whispered to Changmin. Changmin had shushed him, afraid that someone will overhear.

Sungjun didn't come by for a few days afterwards, but when he came, he had his head hung in shame and didn't even dare look his Mihwa in the eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Chanhyung," he'd murmured to the floor. "I don't expect you to forgive me now, but I hope you'll be able to forgive me in time."

Because of everything that was happening and the fact that Changmin and Chanhyung both stayed in the moment of it all, still all within the realm of the palace, it came as bit of a surprise when Kyuhyun came to them only a day later and spoke discreetly.

"We have been very fortunate," murmured Kyuhyun. "Everything went so smoothly. The carriage will be ready for you tonight. You'll know it's ready when the blanket over your horse at the stables is switched from black to red. You'll be able to see it from your window."

"Y-Yes, of course." Changmin stuttered.

"You have about an hour window between three and four in the morning to get yourself and Chanhyung in the carriage that will be waiting for you behind the West wing. The guards outside your room and the ones at the palace gates will let you through without question. They're with us as well."

"Yes, Kyuhyun."

"The driver of the carriage should drop you off at a field, so he won't be able to tell anyone where your final destination is. My friend should be at the field to take you and Chanhyung to the ferry. From there, someone should meet you to take you to a safe place until Chanhyung gets a chance to heal, and then he'll take you to China once he's well."

"Kyuhyun –" Changmin hesitated. "What… what if… what if I want to… what if I want to say goodbye to the King before I leave?"

Kyuhyun goggled at him.

"You want to do what?"

Changmin swallowed. "What if –"

"Changmin, this isn't play," hissed Kyuhyun, cutting him off. "This isn't pretend. This is real. We worked hard for you. We are risking our lives for yours. For you and your son's lives to be better."

"Y-Yes. I know."

"Don't put us all in danger with silly games," said Kyuhyun angrily. "The King will not be on your side."

Changmin didn't answer, because Kyuhyun didn't understand it.

Yunho was on his side. He always has been.

"Be responsible, if only for your son," said Kyuhyun.

"Yes," replied Changmin quietly. "Y-Yes. I… Thank you. Thank you so much."

"There's no need to thank me," whispered Kyuhyun. "Good luck."

Yunho knew something was different tonight. It wasn't necessarily… wrong. But it was different.

It had been a very long time since Changmin and Yunho shared a bed, with Changmin always taking care of Chanhyung.

It had been even longer since they shared a bed properly, as King and Mihwa. So long, in fact, that Yunho couldn't even remember when the last time was that they did.

Yet Changmin was on his knees in the middle of Yunho's candlelit bedroom for the first time in what felt like ages, and was being the perfect Mihwa that he knew Changmin wasn't.

But he was gorgeous, Changmin was; he was absolutely stunning.

They had spent their entire lives together, but every single time Yunho laid eyes on Changmin, Yunho fell in love with him all over again.

Yunho let out a breath and bent down towards Changmin. "You're so beautiful," whispered Yunho. "Gods, I love you. I love you so much."

Yunho was lucky, so lucky that Changmin was his. So, so lucky.

Changmin tilted his head up to let Yunho kiss him, and a bead of his tear rolled down his face.

Yunho didn't know why Changmin was crying, but it hardly mattered.

He just caressed Changmin with as much love as he could muster, and allowed Changmin to wrap his arms around Yunho's waist delicately.

"I love you," whispered Changmin. Another tear rolled down his face. "I love you, Yunho. I love you."

Yunho knew something was different, because Changmin rarely ever said the words, unlike Yunho.

"I know," cooed Yunho, kissing his lover again. "I know."

"I love you," repeated Changmin.

Yunho pulled away for a second. "Baby – Baby, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," said Changmin, voice thick and tears were steadily falling now. "Just… don't ever forget that I love you."

Yunho felt his own eyes fill with tears now, too, because he thought he knew why Changmin was saying this.

But he didn't want to admit to it, he didn't want to make it real.

This… this couldn't be the last night that they would spend together. It couldn't.

"No," whispered Yunho. "No, Changmin, please –"

"I love you," repeated Changmin, over and over. "I love you."

It felt as if he had lost his entire world.

"Go to sleep, Yunho," whispered Changmin, running his hand around Yunho's face.

Yunho didn't want to. He didn't want this to be the last night he looked at the beauty that was Changmin.

He wanted to stay like this forever, lying in bed with Changmin in his arms.

"I want to stay awake and look at you," replied Yunho quietly.

"Please sleep," begged Changmin.

"What if I don't want to?" whispered Yunho.

"You have to, Yunho," said Changmin. Yunho noticed that his eyes were starting to fill with tears again. "Close your eyes."

He ran his fingers over Yunho's eyes to try to close them.

As he did, Yunho felt a tear of his own roll down his cheek.

"I want to see you even though I know you're right here," said Yunho quietly. "I want you to just be right here for me to look at."

"Go to sleep, Yunho," whispered Changmin. "I love you."

Yunho didn't, couldn't sleep. But he pretended to sleep and kept his eyes closed for hours until finally, Changmin got up from the bed. He watched through his tear-strung eyelashes as Changmin bowed to Yunho three times, kneeling and touching his forehead to the floor each time.

And Yunho loved Changmin so much that he just let him leave. 

Leaving the palace was almost anticlimactically smooth and simple.

Changmin had consciously chosen to keep Chanhyung in the dark so that should they ever be caught, Chanhyung would have nothing to do with it.

So when he shook his groggy son awake and quickly got him dressed and carried into the carriage, Chanhyung was lost, to say the least.

Chanhyung laid in the carriage with his head in Changmin's lap, clearly assuming that this was an errand of some kind. However, once the carriage had passed the palace gates and it passed through an abandoned wooded trail, Chanhyung looked at his father.

"Dad?" said Chanhyung with a frown. "Where – Where are we going?"

Changmin let out a breath.

"Away," replied Changmin, his son's cheek. "We're going away."