Blue Roses

♕ ♚

“Myeonnie!” Baekhyun exclaimed, pushing a silver glass with red wine in it into the fairy’s hand, “finally! I thought you’d never come! I hope you brought our Dae with you!”

“I honestly thought I would not come as well, I swear waiting for his call was making me sweat. Sweat, Baekhyun! You know how I hate sweating!”

“I know, I know, Junnie, I am really sorry for you,” Baekhyun cooed, patting his friend on the shoulder, “but I am more than glad you came, I swear, all these people here are like hyenas, just waiting for my Minnie,” he pouted.

“But oh my, Baekhyun! You’re not gonna believe what I’m about to tell you! On my fairy dust!” Junmyeon exclaimed, jumping in place.

“ Tell me, tell me, tell me!” the other’s eyes shone, and he also started jumping in place.

“Jongdae is the heir to the title of the Lord of the High Gardens!” Jumyeon squeaked, quickly making sure that no one was eavesdropping around them.

Baekhyun’s mouth fell open, and he looked as if someone froze a frame on him for a few seconds, “WHAT?!” he exclaimed, suddenly coming back to life.

“Baekhyun! The child had never been killed! He’s been under hour noses for years!”

“Oh my dear fairy heart, I need to sit,” Baekhyun mumbled, fanning himself with his hand.

“Stop being so dramatic,” Junmyeon rolled his eyes, but once he stopped, he had his friend’s hands on his throat.

“What do you mean stop being dramatic?! How can I?! This is even better than my scenario of inter-class forbidden romance! What a turnout!”

“Baekhyun, this is not one of the episodes of that foreign drama that you watch,” Junmyeon spanned his fingers in his friend’s face, “focus!”

“Where is he?! Where is Jongdae?! Where is my golden child?!” Baekhyun started excitedly looking around.

“I thought Minseok was your golden child,” the other fairy groaned, annoyed with the his dramatic friend.

“Shut up, Myeonnie, we gotta find Jongdae before the queen and her guards do.”

“Why would you —“

“Because they literally passed us a few moments ago,” now it was Baekhyun’s turn to roll his eyes, “and since it was loudly and openly announced that the Lord of the High Gardens had arrived, I believe he is the reason the queen is preparing her assassins.”

“Assassins?!” Junmyeon exclaimed, grabbing his head in his arms.

“And who’s the dramatic one,” Baekhyun huffed as he turned around to start his investigation.

“Still you, you diva,” Junmyeon mumbled underneath his breath and quickly follow the other, carefully looking around the sea of black suits.

♕ ♚

Jongdae had to admit, it was nice. He looked amazing, he was warm, he could eat and drink without any limitations. Regardless his views on the higher classes, the castle was breathtaking, the ballroom kept constantly leaving his speechless upon every new detail that he observed, and he felt like the chandeliers were shining brighter than the sun. Everyone around him was beyond beautiful, women in their long and puffy dresses and men in their suits, everyone pale, soft, white like canvas, perfect like porcelain. And each time Jongdae looked down at his own hands holding tightly onto a glass of golden, bubbly liquid, he was reminded that it was all just a dream.

He had people come up to him even now and then, both beautiful women and handsome men, trying to engage in a conversation. And out of all the things, that was what Jongdae found the most disfficult. To have a proper conversation. Although he looked like one of them, he was not. He was not fit to talk about politics, he was not educated enough to talk about economy, not experienced enough to talk about foreign lands, or read enough to discuss literature. Therefore, even though he did not get to talk a lot, he managed to listen to a whole lot of conversations, and there was one outcome of it. Jongdae actually admitted to have been wrong most of his life, and had to change his opinion on these people. Because what he had learnt from these small talks that he was part of, was that living as a higher class was a constant battle for survival of its own sort. These people were smooth talkers, and everything they talked about, every word they said had to be carefully chosen and used. There was no place for mistakes in their game of diplomacy. 

The night dragged on like this, and after some time Jongdae felt overwhelmed. So he excused himself from the current circle he was in, and left to the balcony, to catch some fresh air. Sighing, as he leant against the stone wall, he ducked down the whole glass of champagne at once. His face turned into a grimace as he looked at the empty glass.

“How can they drink it one by one?” he asked himself. It was his first time having any sort of alcohol in his mouth, and although he knew its effects, he had always considered that it must have been good in tase, having seen the amounts drunkards in town consumed. He was wrong, the taste was bitter and the bubbles felt really weird against his tongue.

But right after he said the words out loud, he heard a chuckle, and startled, almost let the glass fall to the ground.

“Is it not your taste?” someone asked, and it took Jongdae a few seconds to realize there was one other person outside, a few meters away, leaning against the railing. The person was looking at him, a glass of golden champagne in the stranger’s hand, and a crown on his head. Jongdae took a deep breath in, as the realization hit him.

He was standing almost face to face with the Prince himself.

“M-My prince,” he mumbled, bowing deeply.

“What’s your name?” the man asked, taking a huge sip of his champagne.

“Jon—“

“Minseok!” a voice interrupted them, and another person appeared. The prince groaned, and Jongade was just stunned by the beautiful woman that approached the prince.

“Mother,” the prince whined, “give me a break, I need three minutes away from these people,” he whispered, keeping his voice down, aware of the other boy’s presence.

“You’ve been running around the whole evening,” the queen said, her voice steady, loud, and sounding almost angry. “You go back in there and do your duty. I wish not to face any embarrassment tomorrow, as everyone will be speaking of the prince that never appeared! It is your ball, you should be inside, entertaining people!” she raised her voice, “not getting drunk on a balcony by yourself!” she snapped, grabbing the glass from Minseok’s hand and throwing it onto the ground.

“For your information mother, I am not getting drunk on my own in here, but am currently engaging in a conversation that you rudely interrupted,” the prince barked, clearly loosing temper.

The queen quickly turned around in Jongdae’s direction, and as if on cue, her features softened.

“Oh, good evening, young sir,” she smiled, “please, don’t hide in the shadows.”

Jongdae took a deep breath in, and upon queen’s request he stepped from the shadows into the light that ws shining on the royals. He quickly bowed again to the queen, greeting her the best way he knew how. “Please, excuse me for interrupting the conversation.” She smiled, and as Jongdae straightened his back, she disappeared.

“Please, forgive me,” the prince spoke, and from a closer proximity Jongdae got a weird feeling that the voice sounded familiar, “I did not mean to bring you into this,” the royal explained, and then turned around to face Jongdae again, “what did you say your name was?”

Once they stood face to face, Jongdae’s heart stopped.

There, in front of him, with a crown on his head, stood Xiumin. Dressed in black, with an eye mask hanging on his neck, and a gold crown placed on his dark hair. He couldn’t recognize anything familiar about the person in front of him, except for his face, and especially eyes.

“Are you alright?” the prince asked again, waking Jongdae up from his consternation.

“C-Chen,” he mumbled, still clearly shocked.

“I apologize for bringing you into my argument with my mother, Chen. I wish you had not seen that.”

“It’s — em —it’s okay,” he mumbled again, and the prince—Xiu—Minseok!, Jongdae just got even more confused, only sighed and leant back against the railing.

Silence fell upon them, and as the prince seemed not to be bothered by it, Jongdae was going crazy. First he was just awkwardly standing there, then he started debating whether he should say something, to finally start wondering whether the other would even notice if he was to just leave. But then he started debating whether he was even allowed to just leave a prince like that, because although he should not care, there was a part of him that cared, considering his current situation. He felt very natural in this role he was playing, and there had been thoughts haunting him for the whole evening, that had things turned out differently, that would have been his life. Full of glamour, balls, politics, money and champagne. Had his parents been alive, he would have most probably been growing up friends with the prince—with Xiumin, as he had just learnt. And that part of him, the part of him that did not forget what he had been born into, was telling him to obey court rules. And these rules did not allow him to walk out on his prince. 

“My prince,” he spoke finally, trying to calm his hammering heart, “I believe you would wish to be left alone,” he pointed, “I will take my lea—“

“Stay,” the prince said, “be it you, or anybody else, I will not be left alone until the sun rises, anyway,” he shrugged.

Jongdae frowned upon hearing that, but slowly neared the railing.

“So tell me, Chen, was my champagne not to your liking?” the prince asked, chuckling a little bit as he looked towards confused Jongdae.

The thief smiled a little, upon seeing the other’s face lit up.

“I guess alcohol in general, may not be to my liking,” he replied, and the prince only laughed.

“I wish that was the case for me,” he mumbled, looking at Jongdae, “are you having fun, Chen?”

“Of course, my Pri—“

“Minseok. My name is Minseok, not Prince,” the boy sighed, smiling softly at Jongdae again, “please, call me by my name.”

“O-of course, Minseok,” Jongdae nodded, and he had to admit, he found it endearing, the way the name rolled on his tongue.

“What other alcohols don’t you like, huh?” the prince suddenly asked.

“I—emm—I actually don’t really drink alcohol,” Jongdae explained, and there was a mixture of thousands emotions in his chest.

“How about I introduce you to a few, then, huh?” Minseok suggested, grabbing Jongdae’s hand and pulling him inside the ball room.

“Am I about to get drunk with the prince?!” a voice yelled in his head, as he was being pulled through an ocean of people, his fingers tightly interconnected with the elder’s.

♕ ♚

They were sitting on the other side of the ballroom, by a round table covered in silver cloth, with bottles of different types of alcohol on it. Upon nearing the place, Minseok asked someone named Kyungsoo to make sure that no one would interrupt them, as they proceeded to take their places.

“Chen,” Minseok spoke, pouring a glass of dark liquor, “that is an interesting name. Where are you from?”

Jongdae swallowed, suddenly feeling an urge to run away.

“Oh, far from here, Minseok,” he chuckled nervously, trying to calm his mind and focus on all the lying tricks he knew.

“And you came all the away just for me?” the prince laughed back, but it sounded almost mockingly.

“For who else would I, if not for the prince?” he asked back, trying to remember what exactly was the whole ball for.

“What title do you hold?” the elder asked, drinking a sip from his glass. Jongdae looked at his won, and had an internal battle with himself,  debating whether he really wanted to drink it.

“I’m a Lord,” he mumbled against the glass, taking a sip of red wine. He must have the bitter taste get the best of his face, as a moment later he saw the prince laughing.

“Chen, not even a wine?! That was probably the best in taste I got to offer,” he said, smiling widely.

“Well, maybe all I need is just some getting used to,” Jongdae replied, smiling softly back.

“What drinks do you drink back home? Maybe there is something I could have prepared for you?”

“Oh, there is no need to trouble. As I mentioned, I am not really an alcohol person. However, I will gladly try anything you give me.”

At that, Minseok only sighed and rolled his eyes, but before he could ask, they heard a high pitched squeak and a moment later Jongdae was being drugged away from the table.

“I am so sorry, Minseok, I tried to stop them, but they —“ Kyungso started, but the prince only waved at him.

“That’s fine, I know them,” he replied, looking at a beaming Baekhyun standing right by his side, and at the other fairy dragging his companion away.

♕ ♚

“Junmyeon?!” Jongdae mumbled, as he finally realized who was holding him.

“Please, tell me you haven’t told anyone yet about your identity?”

“Why would I ever tell anyone that I’m a beggar from the streets?” Jongdae spat, narrowing his eyes.

Junmyeon’s hold tightened as he leant closer, “that you’re the Lord of the High Gardens!” he whispered, looking the boy directly in the eyes.

“Of-Of course not,” the thief replied, feeling uncomfortable.

“Uff,” the fairy exhaled and whipped a few drops of sweat from his forehead, “you cannot tell anyone, you understand?”

“O-okay, but why?”

“The queen and her guards are looking for the Lord of High Gardens. My guess is to put you in prison —“

“What?!” Jongdae exclaimed, “why would they?!”

“Because everyone thinks that the Lord of High Gardens is dead! Your father was the last one to hold the title, and you are believed to have been dead of the last fourteen years, Jongdae!”

Jongdae’s eyes widened in shock, but just as he was about to speak, he felt a hand on his arm.

“Is everything alright?” Minseok asked, looking between the two men.

“Perfectly, your Royal Highness,” Junmyeon smiled, bowing deeply.

“If you don’t mind me asking, how do you know each other?”

“Emm —“ they both mumbled, and Junmyeon looked towards Baekhyun for help, not having thought such a situation through.

“Business!” the royal fairy exclaimed, “here and there, our Junnie likes to distribute his products to new markets! And what’s better our there than have a Lord from the East as your business partner!” he explained, beaming with self-pride.

“So you’re from the East,” Minseok caught, forgetting about any of his previous concerns, and focusing on Jongdae again, “that sounds very interesting!”

“Oh, emm, yeah— certainly, I guess,” Jongdae mumbled, feeling lightheaded. Lying to the commoners in the city was one thing, but lying to an educated elite in the royal castle, where anyone can catch up on his lies at any time, gave him panic attacks.

“I would love to hear more about your home land, Chen,” the prince said excitedly, and his eyes shone.

“Of course. How about we do it with another glass of wine, huh?” Jongdae suggested weakly, hoping he might get a shot at distracting the prince. The elder smiled, and turned around to go fill the glasses. “Help me! What the hell am I supposed to do now?!” the boy turned to the fairies, but they just shrugged.

“Just try not to get caught,” Baekhyun suggested, shrugging, and they quickly disappeared into the crowd.

“Damn fairies,” the thief mumbled, and as he turned around again, he was met with a smiling face of the prince, “oh, Minseok.”

“Here, your wine. Do you wanna go out and take a walk around the garden?”

“I would love that.”

♕ ♚

“This place is mesmerizing,” Jongdae gasped, as they were walking through many allies filled with exotic trees and flowers.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Probably my favorite place,” the prince said quietly, bending down a bit to pick up a blue rose, “here, this is for you,” he smiled, handing the flower to the other boy.

As Jongdae turned and realized that the prince was giving him a rose, his cheeks turned red, “for — me?”

“Blue roses are quite unique,” Minseok explained, “this one matches your eyes.”

Jongdae slowly extended his hand to accept the flower, when his fingers accidentally brushed upon the prince’s. He quickly let go, but Minseok only stood there, still holding the blue rose. “Something tells me these roses may not be the only unique thing in this garden tonight,” he whispered, and Jongdae took a deep breath in.

*makes a comeback*