Chapter 10.

Mark noticed the frown on Ten’s face, the other was deep in thought a he sat with the blank piece of parchment, pen tapping on it in a slow rhythm. Jaehyun was asleep, head on Mark’s lap and Mark caressed the other’s arm as he kept on watching Ten. Mark could see the other was troubled, confused, the sight of Taeyong kissing Jaehyun had affected Ten. This only made Mark worry so much more, what if Ten was interested in Taeyong, after all their fighting?

That couldn’t be right, that couldn’t happen. Taeyong was nice but he was no good. Mark glanced at Johnny who was sleeping, the drawn picture of him hanging above his sleeping spot. Mark smiled a bit, what if Ten fell for Johnny? Wouldn’t that be better, two healthy human beings. Stable and kind.

Mark and Ten looked up as soon as someone stepped into the cave. It was Taeyong, he was talking to Hansol. Ten turned his head to focus on the parchment and Mark noticed Taeyong’s eyes move to Ten. Taeyong sighed and then he looked up to see the drawn picture hang above Johnny’s sleeping form and his expression hardened. Mark wanted to groan out loud, but Jisung, Jaehyun and Johnny were all sleeping peacefully.

They were in enough already, this couldn’t happen.

But it could and it would. Mark tried to stick to Jaehyun or make sure Jaehyun was with Doyoung whom he told about Jaehyun’s condition. Doyoung immediately did extra things for Jaehyun and made sure to keep him company. Mark noticed Taeyong had noticed that too, but Taeyong was still trying to help Ten with even the smallest of things. Like when it was muddy and Ten slipped on the steps, Taeyong reached out a hand to steady the smaller. Ten immediately stepped out of Taeyong’s reach.

Mark was going to practice with Kun on another sunny day feeling relieved to get away from the love drama or whatever it was, but Kun wasn’t in sight. Mark decided to search for him, and eventually followed his instincts, going to find him at Lord Win’s tent. He found the hall empty except for some guards. Mark showed his respect to them, their eyes glowing red in the dim lighting.

He told them that Lord Win had asked for him and the guards let him through. Lord Win hadn’t asked for him, but Mark was worried as to why Kun hadn’t shown up. Kun seemed responsible in some ridiculous way. So Mark knew something wasn’t right.

A sound reached him, a voice. It sounded like someone was talking softly, sometimes whimpering and . Mark froze, feet coming to a halt and eyes growing wide.

  “Come on, Win.” It was Kun’s voice. “You can do it, come back to me.”

Mark frowned. Kun’s voice was thick as if he had been crying and Mark found himself stepping into the room, finding someone kneeling by the bed in the left-hand corner. Mark saw Lord Win lying on the bed his eyes closed and body stiff. Mark felt horror strike at him when Kun raised his head, wiping away a tear from his cheek.

Had Lord Win died?

  “He’ll be okay.” Kun said. “It happens to us all.”

  “What are you talking about?” Mark asked, fingers trembling.

Kun smiled at little. “Sometimes we fall asleep and while we sleep our hearts slow to a stop, we could almost be considered dead. As if the decease finally has us in its grasp. Then we come alive again.” He said and then smiled. “Lord Win is… old… and his body has fought the decease for a long time so when he’s out it sometimes takes him a day to wake up.”

  “Is it often?”

  “No.” Kun answered with a small smile. “Sometimes it’ll be hard to wake Taeyong up, for a short moment he’ll not respond, heart stopped but then he’ll gasp and wake up. It happens to us all.”

  “Have it happened for someone who’s awake?” Mark asked and Kun was silent. Mark gasped, stepping backwards at the realization. You’d have to be strong to take on this decease. Jaehyun’s heart wasn’t strong.

Mark ran out of the tent and through the halls of the tents until he reached the staircase, climbing them with a bit of struggle. Hansol stepped out in his way with a raised weapon, but then he lowered his sword.

  “Why are you running?” He asked and Mark just stepped past him, his hands supporting him on his knees as he looked for Jaehyun.

He found the boy awake and laughing at Johnny who was telling some goofy story. Mark sighed and fell to his knees, to catch his breath.

  “You okay, Mark?” Jaehyun’s voice caressed Mark’s ears and he looked up to see the other kneeling down in front of him, smile lighting up his face and bringing comfort to Mark’s heart. He nodded to reassure Jaehyun whose smile grew wider in relief. Mark glanced at Johnny before shifting his gaze to Jaehyun again.

  “Where’s Ten?” He asked and Jaehyun looked up at Hansol who sighed deeply.

  “He wanted to visit Doyoung.” Jaehyun said and looked at Mark. “Taeyong went with him.”

Mark grimaced before getting up and exiting the cave again. Jaehyun gave him a small smile before Mark left and the younger just groaned to himself while jogging down the stairs.

  “Please be at Doyoung’s tent.”

Mark found Doyoung asleep, somehow the other had fallen asleep across a small table and Mark was about to turn back when he remembered what Kun had said. He stepped inside the tent, cautiously walking towards Doyoung and crouching down beside the other. He looked very peaceful while sleeping, beautiful, Mark would say. Mark smiled as he thought of all the beautiful people in his clan, how he enjoyed seeing people smile and laugh with each other.

Mark reached to shake Doyoung’s shoulder and the other as Kun had said didn’t budge. Mark felt panic strike his heart and he shook Doyoung more violently.

  “Doyoung!” He called and fell back when Doyoung flew up, reaching out his hands to grab Mark’s sleeves.

  “HOW DARE YOU WAKE ME?!”

  “I’m sorry! Is that a rule? I didn’t know!” Mark yelled in defense at Doyoung’s outburst and Doyoung’s expression suddenly changed.

  “Oh it’s you, Blue.” He smiled and Mark eyed the other cautiously. Doyoung let go of Mark but the younger kept his hands raised in front of him. Doyoung looked down at the papers he had been writing on before he had fallen asleep. Then he immediately started to work on some drawings and Mark watched him.

  “Have you seen Ten and Taeyong?” He asked after a moment of silence. Doyoung glanced up at him and lightly shook his head. Then his hand froze and he dropped the pen.

  “Ten…” He whispered, eyes growing wide and he raised his gaze, staring straight ahead. Mark didn’t even need to hear it, he just got up and ran out of the tent. He ignored Doyoung calling out for him and made a sprint for Taeyong’s tent. No matter what was going on between Taeyong and Ten and Jaehyun and Johnny for that sake, he couldn’t trust Taeyong alone with Ten he just couldn’t. So he ran and he didn’t even warn anyone before pushing the door away and entering the room. He saw Taeyong kneeling in front of a box that he was rummaging through and to his left Ten stood with a slight nervous expression. Mark grabbed Ten’s wrist.

  “You okay?” He asked the other and Ten and Taeyong both frowned.

  “Yeah.” Ten assured Mark. “I’m okay.”

Taeyong walked over. “Why wouldn’t he be?” He asked and Mark found himself unable to say anything. What was Mark afraid of?

Mark stared at the ground. “Doyoung.” He then said shortly as if that explained it.


  “He dreamt about me?” Ten asked and Taeyong’s frown deepened.

Mark sighed. “He just looked like he was going to give some urgent warning and he said your name so I ran.” He explained and gave them an apologetic smile. “I’ll be going back.”

Ten was okay.

For now.

Kun was ready the next week. Mark didn’t say a word about what he had seen and Kun pretended that he was as tough as always. Mark felt ready today. As if that day he was just ready to fight, ready to win. They had found Jisung whom Ten tried to keep calm most of the time even though he easily snapped at people. Mark caught Ten drawing Taeyong and Taeyong must’ve seen it too because he seemed in a better mood.

Jaehyun was a bit on and off, Mark paid extra attention to him and Jaehyun seemed to enjoy that very much. Mark followed Jaehyun to Doyoung’s tent and napped while they talked. Mark woke up to Jaehyun’s soft voice calling out his name and he liked how Jaehyun held onto Mark’s elbow when they walked towards the cave together. As if Jaehyun trusted that Mark could protect him.

Mark smiled at the thought as he picked up the dagger and looked at Kun who seemed to have been staring at him.

  “You seem different.” Kun said with a smug look upon his face. “You seem determined.”

  “I am.” Mark said and then heard Ten’s laugh as Johnny, Ten, Jaehyun, Taeyong and Jisung came to watch them fight. Hansol and Yuta were trailing behind and Mark was surprised when he saw Doyoung come running.

  “What’s with the audience?” Mark asked and Kun smirked.

  “Doyoung told them to come, he said today looked extra bright and the sky blue.”

Mark glanced up at the crystal blue sky and then to the people who were settling down. He had sensed that today was different as well.

Kun readied himself unsheathing his dagger. “You ready?” He asked as he positioned himself in front of Mark. Mark stepped a few steps back ignoring the eyes upon him and focusing on Kun and the signals he sent him through his body language. Kun looked relaxed, as if his shoulders were lighter. Lord Win was awake again and Kun seemed to finally have been able to sleep and by the slight curl of his lips he was amused and in a good mood. A good mood meant more frequent attacks and Kun would definitely try to play around with Mark. He had to be ready for that.

Mark smiled as well thinking of Taeyong laughing, Ten’s smile, Hansol snapping at some Damned for insulting Mark, Jaehyun falling asleep on Mark’s shoulder, Johnny teasing Jisung but instead of making him angry, making him laugh so hard Jisung had tears in his eyes. Yuta seemed to come more frequently and Doyoung seemed relaxed.

Mark jumped on the spot before raising his left arm up in front of him and readying his right hand with the dagger for an attack. They stood for a moment just watching each other before Kun shot forwards, stabbing with the dagger and Mark knocked the blow away. Kun spun around to come at him again but Mark stepped forward and kicked Kun’s side when it was bare. Kun stumbled backwards; laughing before coming at Mark again. Mark avoided a cut by jumping back before grabbing Kun’s arm that held the dagger and stabbing towards Kun’s abdomen. Kun’s other hand caught it and he pulled Mark closed before kicking him and Mark retreated away from Kun’s kicks.

They circled each other, Mark didn’t feel like attacking. Not yet.

Kun came at him again and Mark blocked the dagger with his own before ducking a round-kick. He swiped across the ground to swipe Kun off of his feet but Kun jumped. Mark blocked a kick to his face with his arms and quickly got up from the ground to block another kick with his own leg and then kick Kun in the stomach. Kun bent forwards and Mark tried to grab Kun around the neck, but the other was quick to free himself and stab after Mark with the dagger. Mark barely avoided it and in his attempt to block it, he dropped his dagger.

Kun smirked and Mark’s eyes widened before he avoided the series of attacks Kun made now that Mark was bare. Mark gripped Kun’s arm with the dagger and tried to knee him in the stomach when he came close. Kun spun around and elbowed Mark in the back and Mark cried out as Kun hit his spine.

The dagger lied upon the ground and Mark sprang out for it, gripping onto it and turning around just to see Kun jumping down with the dagger in both of his hands. Mark raised his own and blocked it, using all his strength to keep it away from his chest. Kun was sweating, Mark too and Mark raised his legs and kicked straight up. Kun groaned when Mark hit him right in the crotch and Kun fell off Mark. He took this as a chance to strike back, but Kun didn’t feel pain obviously, because he spun around and swiped Mark off his legs before he could attack. Mark fell onto the ground and rolled away before Kun could kick him.

When Mark got up, Kun had already come closer and Kun wrapped his arms around Mark, but the younger had raised his hands and fought Kun’s arms so that they didn’t close around his throat. Mark bent down and stepped back before throwing Kun over his shoulder. Kun was quick to land on his feet and get back at him.

But Mark was ready for the attack. He caught Kun’s arm and he used his elbow to send a blow to Kun’s face and then his arm. Kun’s grip on the dagger faltered and Mark knocked it out of his hand. Kun punched Mark in the face. Mark heard Johnny gasp loudly. Mark reached out and got his arms around Kun’s neck and face and he dragged down in the other, holding on tightly and avoiding Kun trying to kick his legs away or using his weight to pull Mark forwards and over his shoulder. He placed the dagger on Kun’s throat and Kun stilled. Johnny and Ten roared and Jaehyun, Taeyong and Doyoung clapped while Jisung and Yuta cheered. Hansol nodded with an approving smile and Kun fought his way out of Mark’s hold. Mark raised his hands to show Kun that he was done. Kun sighed, placing his hands on hips. “Okay. I admit defeat.” He said and Mark smiled. Kun grinned at him looking at him out of the corner of his eye. Then he turned towards him and reached out to pat his back. “You’re ready kid.”

Mark huffed, but he felt happiness bubble up in his chest and he limped over to his friends. Ignoring the pain he felt from the fight. Jisung ran over to hug him and Ten and Johnny stood right behind him. Mark hugged them and received pats on the back from Taeyong, Hansol and Yuta. He turned towards Jaehyun who gave him a soft smile and Jaehyun coughed lightly before Mark hugged him.

Doyoung gave him a smile. “You-” Doyoung was interrupted by someone running their way.

  “THEY’RE HERE!” A young girl said, sliding to a stop. “THE 1ST CLAN IS AT OUR GATES!”

Mark’s eyes widened and he turned around to look at Taeyong who had reached out to grip Ten’s wrist. Taeyong looked at Mark. “Hide them.”

A/N:

What - I didn't know I hadn't updated chapter 10? I'll update chapter 11 soon because I just finished chapter 12!! *proud*
So also, I don't know why I expected I had updated this chapter, but it has some important in it, so now you know more! 
Still not too confident in my writing, maybe I'll get back on track again with this story, but I hope you enjoy it!

The Taeten/Johnten discussion is good! Your opinions made me re-think my decision and right now I am definitely sure that there will be both, but maybe also some Johnjae(since there actually is a lot)! Thank you for helping me out by telling me your thoughts, also I am so hyped to continue this now with all the feedback. So inspiring that people are excited for more! 

I will update either Thursday or Friday again! <3 (You deserve it)

Love,
Emma <3