When Kyungsoo woke up the first thing he noticed was the thick pungent stench of mold. It was almost impossible to breathe and Kyungsoo coughed several times as he struggled to sit up. 

The second thing he noticed was the complete and total darkness. Whether his eyes were open or closed it made no difference. He stumbled his way around until his shoulder collided painfully with a stone wall. Using that as a guide his walked until his hand met cold metal, wrapping around the bar. 

He knew where he was now, the memories came flooding back as he pulled futilely against the immobile bar, “Father?!” He screamed, his heart hammering in his chest. He had been thrown in a cell. He had been thrown in a cell to die. 

“Soo?” He heard his father’s voice calling back to him and he sank to the ground in relief. His father wasn’t dead, the monster hadn’t killed him. “Soo? Are you okay?”

“I’m… I’m alright,” Kyungsoo answered, not entirely sure that was the truth. He was scared out of his mind, but physically he was fine. A little sore perhaps, but fine.  It was so cold down in the dungeon though, and Kyungsoo was already shivering. His soaked clothes clung heavily to him and he thought about removing them, but there was no way he could let himself be so vulnerable if that monster ever came back.

“I’m so sorry, Kyungsoo. This is all my fault, I should have listened to you.” His father’s quiet sobbing reached him and Kyungsoo blinked back tears of his own.

“No, no, don’t say that! You couldn’t have known the stories were real. It was just a legend, no one knew…” Kyungsoo tried to reassure him. He didn’t blame his father for this. It was entirely Kyungsoo’s fault that they were there. If he had just not been so stubborn and married Jongdae, they would never have needed to go to the convention at all. 

“I’m sorry.” Joonmyeon’s sobs didn’t die down and Kyungsoo knew there was nothing he could do. They were both going to die down there, it didn’t matter anymore who took the blame. 

Hours. Days. Kyungsoo didn’t know, he couldn’t tell time in the infinite darkness. Only that his stomach growled loudly to tell him he was missing a meal. 

He fell asleep at one point, curled up on what he believed to be decaying straw and said his last good-byes, to his father, his dreams, his future, and himself. If he was going to die here, he wanted to do it without regrets. 

Fate, it seemed, had other plans. 

The booming sound of a door being thrown open startled Kyungsoo to wakefulness. He sat upright in shock, almost believing he had died when a sudden light seemed to glow from the distance. 

“Sire, please, perhaps you shouldn’t be so hasty!” Chanyeol’s voice pleaded, and Kyungsoo’s heart dropped to his stomach and he immediately retreated as far into the cell as he could, crouching down against the wall and curling up. 

“They trespassed in my home!” A booming snarl echoed through the dungeon, and Kyungsoo whimpered in fear at the sound of it. 

“Well, yes, that is true. But, that doesn’t mean they both have to die,” Chanyeol pointed out quickly. Kyungsoo still couldn’t see them but he was thankful for that. He didn’t want to put a face to the nightmare image of the monster he had in his head.

“They trespassed, the punishment is death.” 

“So you’ve made that quite clear,” was Chanyeol’s rather dry response. “However, I just thought you might be interested in breaking that nasty old curse. I suppose I was wrong.”

For a few heartbeats there was silence, and Kyungsoo swore his labored breathing sounded like cannon fire and he struggled to quiet himself down.

“What are you talking about, Chanyeol?” The monster demanded, sounding like a building thunder storm in his anger. 

“The boy, sire. I believe the boy could be the one.”

“What makes you so sure?”

“Look at him, sire! He is a pretty one, a gentle soul. I could feel it the moment I saw him. He is definitely the one!”

Kyungsoo felt his heart fill with dread at hearing Chanyeol’s words. He was selling him out to the monster! Kyungsoo had no idea what breaking the curse might entail but he wanted no part of it. He had accepted that he would die, he didn’t want to be played with first.

Chanyeol’s light grew closer and he saw the familiar little flame before the hulking creature stepped up behind him. Kyungsoo’s eyes widened in horror at the sight.

The monster was wolf like in appearance, what Kyungsoo imagined a werewolf would have looked like but bigger. Bigger than any man, even bigger than Jongdae. Fur blacker than the darkness Kyungsoo had woken to. A muzzle too short for a wolf, and thick, filled with teeth the size of daggers. Horns twisted up in a spiral shape from his head, and Kyungsoo could see the ends of it’s massive paw like hands were curved into claws longer than Kyungsoo’s fingers. 

It was a creature straight from his nightmares. Pure terror froze the scream in his lungs as he took in the horrifying sight. 

“You, boy, come closer,” the creature demanded of him. The way it’s mouth moved to the shape the words seemed impossible, and Kyungsoo realized it must have been more magic than biological ability that allowed the creature to talk at all. 

At first, Kyungsoo wanted to disobey, but reason overcame him and he slowly inched forwards. Being defiant could only end in pain, he wanted to die swiftly. He stopped moving forwards when he was only a few feet away from the bars. 

The monster looked even bigger this close and in Chanyeol’s light Kyungsoo saw that the beast was wearing jewelry. It was so strange, almost fascinating, but there were bracelets on the creatures wrists, a necklace with a coat of arms dangling from around it’s neck. Even it’s ear was pierced with bits of gold and gems that Kyungsoo couldn’t quite make out the color of in the flickering lighting. 

It was so odd that Kyungsoo was actually smiling without realizing it. It was almost humanizing, seeing a beast wearing jewelry. 

“What is it doing?” The creature growled in a muffled tone to Chanyeol, and Kyungsoo realized with a little start that it was trying to whisper. 

“Smiling, sire,” Chanyeol answered cheerfully, seeming to glow brighter for a moment before dimming back down. 

“Why?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” 

Kyungsoo actually saw the creature’s discomfort as it shuffled it’s feet and growled softly before looking at him again. “Why are you smiling?”

Kyungsoo wasn’t really sure how to answer that, but he finally settled on the truth because he saw no reason to lie. “It’s fascinating. Seeing a legend in front of me, and seeing him wearing jewelry. I didn’t expecting you to wear jewelry.” 

The creature actually looked surprised by his response and he looked down at his wrists, touching a few of the pieces before huffing. “He’s delusional. Kill him now and put him out of his misery while I deal with the old fool.”

“Sire!” Chanyeol scolded.

“No!” Kyungsoo gasped at the same time, realizing what the monster meant and icy dread chilled him to the bone. “No, please! Don’t hurt my father!” He begged, but the monster was already turning away from him. 

He had to save his father, he couldn’t let his father die because of his pride. “I’ll do anything! I’ll break the curse!” He shouted, before he could think better of it. It worked though, and the monster stopped and turned back around.

“You? You think you can break my curse?” It growled, moving closer and dropping down on all fours to be closer to Kyungsoo’s height. 

“I can. I’ll do it. I promise, just please let my father go,” Kyungsoo begged, taking those last few steps to the bars and wrapping both hands around them. 

The monster studied him critically for a moment before he rose back up, towering above Kyungsoo. “Fine, I’ll release the old man.”

“Oh thank you, thank you!” Kyungsoo sobbed in relief, sinking down to his knees. His father would be safe, he would be alright. 

The beast and Chanyeol retreated across the expanse of the dungeon and opened a cell on the far side. The rusted metal shrieking in protest and the sound set Kyungsoo’s teeth on edge. 

“No! No! Don’t come near me! Don’t you touch me!” Joonmyeon demanded, frantic and fearful. Kyugnsoo had to squeeze his eyes closed trying to convince himself he’d done the right thing. It didn’t matter what happened to him as long as his father would be okay. 

“Don’t touch me you monster!” His father screamed a moment later and then fell silent and Kyungsoo’s eyes snapped open again.

“Father?!” He called out, desperation gripping him as he strained his eyes to try to cut through the darkness to see what was happening. He saw the creature turn, and for just a moment he caught sight of his father’s limp body in his arms before Chanyeol’s light moved and Kyungsoo could see nothing but blackness.

“Father!” His scream was met with silence, and the last thing he heard was the echoing boom of the door closing somewhere above him.

———

He didn’t know what he had been expecting once the deal was complete. His father had been ripped from his cell and Kyungsoo was left alone in the dungeon. 

Only once had Chanyeol and Baekhyun arrived to bring him food, promising they would get him out of there soon and into a room of his own. Kyungsoo didn’t know if he believed him or not, or if it even mattered anymore.

He hadn’t even gotten a chance to say goodbye. The only family he had left in this world taken away from him by a monster in a dungeon darker even than death, and he hadn’t gotten the chance to tell him he loved him one more time. 

All Kyungsoo was left with was his resurfacing regrets. The things he should have done, the things he wished his father had done. He felt bad blaming the man but some part of him did blame his father. 

The darkness was all consuming, it seemed to have a physical presence and he felt it slipping into his thoughts with each breath he took. Until all that was left in his mind was darkness too. 

At first he thought the soft tapping sounds were coming from his thoughts. Until they grew louder, and finally Kyungsoo lifted his head and scowled in confusion.

There was a light. A small one, and it was coming closer. It wasn’t Chanyeol though, it wasn’t talking to him like he knew the little ball of fire would have. 

Slowly curiosity got the better of him and he moved closer to the bars so he could see better. The tapping sounds seemed to grow louder as the light got closer and finally the source of it came into view from the shadows that seemed to be trying to cling to it. 

“So you are Kyungsoo,” the doll spoke to him before Kyungsoo could get his own voice to work. The doll was beautiful, a delicate looking china doll with sad eyes and long dark hair that was tied back in what looked like a ribbon. It was wearing some kind of robe with a floral pattern. In one tiny hand was a small lantern on a shepherds hook. It was so small, maybe a foot tall and Kyungsoo had to crouch down to see it better.

“W-who are you?” he asked, his teeth chattering from the unrelenting cold and the dampness that stubbornly clung to his clothing. 

“My name is Yixing,” he introduced himself with a small smile that seemed as sad as he eyes. “I brought something that may help you,” he explained, he handed over his lantern through the bars and Kyungsoo held on to it as he watched in curiosity. 

The little doll shrugged something off his back that Kyungsoo hadn’t even been able to distinguish from the rest of the darkness. It was bigger than the doll, but only by a few inches and about half as wide as it was tall. The doll, Yixing, he mentally corrected himself, pushed the object through the bars. Kyungsoo took it carefully and handed back the lantern. 

He had to untie the object from the intricate lace work of rope that had made it possible for the delicate doll to carry it. He flipped it around a couple of times in confusion, he didn’t know what it was. It looked like a blank white canvas with a simple wooden border. Kyungsoo flipped it around a couple of more times, trying to figure out how this was supposed to help him.

“What…?” Kyungsoo looked up to ask but Yixing just shook his head and gave another sad smile. 

“He will help you. Please, listen to him. It has been so long since anyone has come to the castle. You are our last hope Kyungsoo, so many have already given up, and the rest of us… we’re growing too tired to carry on much longer. Please Kyungsoo, please, look with your heart, it’s the only way you will understand,” Yixing whispered before he handed the lantern back over once more. “Here, it won’t burn for much longer but you need it more than I do.” 

Kyungsoo watched the little doll step back and he turned away, disappearing into the darkness a few steps later and leaving Kyungsoo feeling hopelessly confused. Yixing had looked so distraught, so deeply sad that Kyungsoo wanted to help him. He really did, but he didn’t understand what he was supposed to do with an empty canvas. 

“Kyungsoo?” A new voice spoke and Kyungsoo started in surprise, looking around for the source. He saw nothing in the faint light of the lantern and he frowned as he squinted into the darkness, trying in vain to make out a shape that simply wasn’t there.

“Ahh, down here,” the voice spoke again and Kyungsoo looked back down at the canvas in his hand. He was so shocked to see a face staring back at him that he actually dropped the canvas with a squeak. 

“Oh! I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you! I’m Taemin,” the voice spoke again, and Kyungsoo just stared at the canvas with wide eyes. He knew there had been nothing there before. He was sure the canvas had been completely empty.

“H-how did you…?” He wasn’t sure if his voice was shaking from cold or just shock this time. Given how much he had already seen, he wondered when the things in this castle would stop surprising him.

“It’s a part of the curse, I can freely roam any canvas within the castle boundaries,” he explained, offering a small smile that did little to actually comfort Kyungsoo. He felt like he was trapped in some kind of bizarre nightmare without the option of waking up. 

“Yixing said you could help me?” Kyungsoo asked trying to cling on to that small hope, though he failed to see how a picture could help him at all. The lantern was more of an aid to him in this dismal cell than the company, however he did appreciate both. It would be easier to hold on to his sanity if he had someone else to talk to. 

“I suppose I should explain who I am first, or who I was in any case. Before the curse took the castle I was the Prince’s stand in, of sorts. I acted on behalf of the Prince when he didn’t want to deal with the affairs, and on occasion stood in for him when his presence was required outside of the castle and he didn’t wish to attend himself.” 

Kyungsoo frowned a little at the explanation. “I didn’t know they were allowed to do that. What kind of a prince was he?” That certainly hadn’t been mentioned in any of the books that talked about the legend of the cursed castle, he knew the Prince had been cruel and selfish, so he supposed it should have made sense that he forced someone else to do the part of his job he didn’t want to do himself. 

“He wasn’t a good man by any measure,” Taemin agreed, sighing softly. “We’re long past blame at this point though. I was the closest one to the Prince, followed by his advisors Baekhyun and Chanyeol, whom you’ve already been acquainted. I’m the only one who knows the full extent of what happened to us and why, outside the Prince himself of course.”

“I’ve heard the story, about how he tried to force that woman to marry him, and he killed her for refusing. Is that really what happened?” Kyungsoo asked quietly, his mind drifting back to the monster he had seen for those brief and terrifying minutes. He could imagine a creature like that having so little regard for human life. He had been so easily willing to kill him and his father the moment he saw them. Kyungsoo didn’t even want to imagine what kind of person he had been when he had been a man. 

“I wish I could say it wasn’t, but the story they wrote in the book is only partially true. There was more to it than that,” Taemin explained with a sad smile that reminded him of Yixing’s. “Jongin did indeed fall for the witch when he met her. She had come to the castle a week prior seeking work, and I was the one who met her first. She was a beautiful woman, golden hair and lips the color of rose petals. She was enchanting, sweet, she thought I was the real Prince at first. Which was the only mistake she made in her conquest. When I told her I wasn’t Jongin she wanted nothing more to do with me, I wasn’t surprised by that but I was suspicious because I had seen the ring on her finger. I made it a point to keep an eye on her after that, and she placed herself in Jongin’s path the following day. 

“The moment he saw her, he was in love. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, and she encouraged his attentions. Jongin started to change though, the more time he spent with her the more irate he seemed to become. He was impulsive, his temper would explode suddenly with little provocation. One night, he decided he had to have her. He ordered me to bring her husband here, and when I refused he had me thrown in a cell in the dungeon while he found a lower servant who would obey without question. I wasn’t there to see Jongin kill the man. But I was there when the witch was thrown into the cell with me. Jongin had forgotten I was there already. 

“I remember she turned her pretty jade eyes to me and pleaded with me to help her. Claiming the Prince had gone mad and had murdered her husband. I started to believe her, until she whispered in my ear that he needed to be stopped, that I needed to kill him to protect her. I wanted to, for a moment I wanted nothing more than to see Jongin dead at my feet and that terrified me. I told her I couldn’t kill him, and that was the first time I caught a glimpse of the witch’s anger. When Jongin came back down again, he was even more agitated than I had ever seen him. He was pacing, he couldn’t stand still, shouting and raving about how she had to be his. He would have struck her if there hadn’t been bars in the way but she never once flinched. She pleaded for reason, but… there was something off about it. Looking back I can see how she was just a talented actress playing her part a little too well. Saying just the right things to push Jongin’s insanity, until he finally snapped when she refused to marry him. I don’t know how the cell got unlocked because Jongin didn’t do it. The door was just suddenly open. Jongin drew his sword and I couldn’t move to stop him. He plunged the blade through her stomach, I expected her to scream, I didn’t expect her to laugh. 

“Jongin seemed so startled the moment after he impaled her. He let go of the sword and he was shaking as he held her. She was still laughing, and when she finally spoke she was smiling. She told Jongin that for his cruel and selfish heart she would place a curse on him and everyone who resided within the castle walls. She would force his body to reflect the beast he was inside, and  condemn us all to an eternity of despair and a slow lingering death. She said that for the kindnesses she had found here she would grant a small mercy, the curse could be undone but only by an act of truest love. We had until the last petal fell to break the curse, or we would be stuck like this until we gave up and finally succumbed. Then she crumbled into a pile of rose petals, a single red rose laying in the center, it hadn’t even fully bloomed yet. A breath later the curse struck the castle, and we woke up like this.”

Kyungsoo was surprised, more than he thought he would be by Taemin’s explanation of what happened. He had thought the it was simply the Prince’s own cruelty and arrogance that brought the curse, but according to what Taemin had said that might not have been the only contributing factor. 

“The witch was manipulating him?” he asked quietly, leaning against the uncomfortable iron bars to shift his weight. There wasn't nearly enough straw covering the unforgiving stone for it to be comfortable to sit for any length of time. 

“I believe so, yes. Jongin doesn’t see it, but I knew the man he was. Yes he was childish, he was vain, he was lazy, and at times his selfishness brought out a cruelty in him, but he wasn’t a murderer. He would never have killed someone, until that witch came to the castle.”

“What difference does it make now though? How am I supposed to break the curse? By loving him?” Kyungsoo asked, because he wasn’t sure he could do that. Perhaps he could have forgiven the prince for his past because Kyungsoo didn’t know him then, but how was he supposed to forgive him for sending his father away and keeping him down here? Forget the struggle of seeing past the monster visage, how was he supposed to forgive him for what had already been done? To trust and love him, that was too much for Kyungsoo to even comprehend.

“I’m not asking you to love him, not right away. That would be too much to ask of anyone. I’m only asking you to give him a chance, get to know him. We’re all trapped here, this isn’t just your prison it’s all of ours. This curse has taken away so many of the people we love already, your loss isn’t alone. We may not look like people anymore, but our hearts are still here. You’re not alone Kyungsoo, even when it feels like it,” Taemin assured him, the smile that softened his face made him look younger and it struck Kyungsoo that he didn’t actually know how old any of these people were when they were cursed. Taemin was a handsome man, beautiful even, with soft features and kind eyes. The kind of man that Kyungsoo would have pictured a prince to be. 

He was right though, Kyungsoo hadn’t actually been seeing them as people, just as talking objects. While they fascinated him he hadn’t honestly made that connection within himself. Partially because he hadn’t wanted to. Trying to understand, to imagine and to sympathize dragged Kyungsoo’s heart and mind to a place darker even than the cell he had been left in. He couldn’t even begin to imagine being cursed like this, to live a hundred years as nothing more than a picture, a doll, or a lantern. It was a heartbreaking reality, and Kyungsoo felt guilty for be his own fate so much when there were worse things that could have happened to him. At least he still had his own body and could leave the castle if he ever made it outside again. 

“And you’re saying all I have to do is give him a chance?” he asked quietly, thinking that maybe in the new light of realization this wasn’t so much to ask after all. He was already here, he had nothing really to go back to except a life he’d been unsatisfied with. A simple chance he could do, even if he couldn’t promise more than that. 

“That’s all we can ever hope for.” Taemin nodded and turned his head back to look over his shoulder at something in the background Kyungsoo couldn’t see. “Jongin needs me. I’ll try to talk to him about getting you out of here. I’ll visit you later if nothing else. Keep your head up Kyungsoo, we won’t let you die down here, even if that isn’t much of a comfort right now.” 

“It’s something, thank you Taemin, it was nice meeting you,” Kyungsoo said, offering a small polite smile of his own. Taemin seemed like a good person, honestly all of them had so far. Only the prince himself scared him still. 

The canvas in his hands slowly bled back to white and Kyungsoo set it down against the wall. The tiny lantern’s light wouldn’t last much longer and Kyungsoo savored the illumination while he had it. Clinging on to it’s feeble radiation of warmth before it finally flickered and died out. 

———

“Your majesty please, I beg you to reconsider!” Chanyeol pleaded, the only one brave enough to approach the prince, as he was the only one whose body could not be broken in his rage. 

“I said no!” Jongin roared, his claws sweeping out to grab the flame but Chanyeol was too quick and he darted away. 

“Jongin,” Taemin tried to reason with him this time from the canvas across the ruined room. In front of him on the only unbroken piece of furniture was a small oaken stand, resting atop it was the glass case holding the enchanted rose. 

“You should probably listen to them,” a new voice purred. Taemin’s expression darkened as a man appeared beside the stand. He was completely ethereal, his hair a pale gold, snow white skin, his lips were flushed the color of the rose and his eyes were an even deeper shade of crimson. 

“Why are you here Luhan?” Taemin hissed, glaring at the unwanted guest. 

“I caught wind of a guest in the castle. I wanted to come and make sure my precious curse wasn’t in danger,” Luhan explained, his ruby red lips curling into a smirk that was as cold as it was beautiful. 

“You aren’t welcome here,” Jongin growled, vibrating with fury as he glared at the witch. His muscles rippled with the urged to lung across the room and tear the wicked vile creature apart. It was a futile desire, no matter how many times Luhan died, he always came back. 

“Tsk, my precious darling, are you mad at me still?” Luhan cooed, moving around the stand and walking over to Jongin. Lifting a pale and delicate hand he  ran his fingers up Jongin’s arm to cup his deformed cheek, it as gently as he would a baby. “You know I’m the only one who will ever love you. This Kyungsoo will only hurt you, just like the others. Save yourself the pain my dear and end him now,” he whispered, pulling back and disappearing into a shower of petals that crumbled into dust, leaving nothing more than the sweet scent of roses behind. 

“Your majesty, you know he is lying!” Chanyeol pleaded, looking to Taemin for help but even he knew there was nothing that could be done now. “Please your majesty!” he feebly tried again to reason with his master but Jongin couldn’t seem to hear him. 

A thunderous roar of rage shook the room and Jongin dropped down to all fours, the yellow of his eyes held nothing human as he stalked from the room. 

“Why would Luhan choose now of all times?” Chanyeol asked in despair, his flames flickering blue around the edges. 

“Because we finally found the right one,” Taemin answered gravely, heaving a sigh as he watched Jongin leave the room. He could only hope that he was right, and that Jongin would see it for himself before it was too late.

———

Kyungsoo was curled up near the small canvas at the front of the cell when the echoing boom of the upper door being wrenched open startled him awake. He sat up in confusion, forgetting for a moment the darkness that eclipsed him and he was disoriented, unable to get his bearings until a light floated between the bars. 

“Chan—“ 

“Get back! Quickly!” Chanyeol cut him off, the urgency in his voice had Kyungsoo scrambling back into the far corner of the cell. A deafening roar startled a cry from him and he covered his ears in vain. The sound echoed through the dungeon and only seemed to grow louder before silence suddenly crashed back around him. 

He heard the grinding of metal on metal, and then the protesting groan as the cell door was pulled open.

“Your majesty, I beg you, I implore you, to see reason!” Chanyeol tried to place himself between Kyungsoo and the beast, but with no real physical body he was no obstruction. 

Kyungsoo whimpered softly, what little color was left draining from his face as he watched the monster approach him. It was walking on all fours, it’s yellow gaze filled with a murderous intent that reminded Kyungsoo of the wolves in the forest. He was backed up against a wall and there was no way he could out run the creature. 

He was going to die, and as much as he wanted to plead for his life he was too scared to find the words. He knew they would fall on deaf ears, the beast wasn’t listening, it’s fixated gaze was intent on only one thing. 

When it was close enough that Kyungsoo could smell it’s earthy musk, it rose up on it’s hind legs baring it’s elongated fangs in a snarl. 

Kyungsoo knew he had precious seconds left, so he looked for Chanyeol, finding the little ball of flame hovering helplessly just inches behind the monster. “Tell them I’m sorry Chanyeol. Baekhyun, Taemin, and Yixing, tell them I’m sorry I couldn’t do it,” He begged, he needed to say this, to make sure that Chanyeol understood that he had wanted to try. The fear still gripped him and left him paralyzed but this was important and he fought through it’s hold on his tongue. 

“What?” The demand that was spoken didn’t come from Chanyeol. Kyungsoo turned his head back to the monster to see the yellow of his eyes had faded to brown and the rage that twisted his face was slowly being replaced by frustration. “What did you just say?”

“I…I said I’m sorry?” Kyungsoo repeated in a shaky whisper, afraid he’d said the wrong thing and just ensured his death would be much slower. 

“Why would you be sorry?” the creature growled his eyes narrowing and he slowly lowered himself back down to four legs. “Chanyeol, why is he sorry?”

“Perhaps because he angered you?” Chanyeol suggested hopefully, beyond relieved to see his master calmed down from his rage. 

“No, I’m not sorry about that,” Kyungsoo shook his head, wincing a little at the creature’s warning growl at his words. He was dead no matter what, he might as well be honest. “I’m sorry because I told Taemin I would try. He told me what happened to you all, and I… I wanted to help you. I wanted to try, but I guess I can’t after all. So if I'm going to die, then I want you to tell them I’m sorry that I couldn’t do more.” 

“You wanted to help?” the creature growled, only the slight inflection on the last word distinguishing the grumbles as a question at all. 

“Yes, I did. I wanted to try, at the very least,” Kyungsoo explained, feeling his heart rate slowly returning to normal now that the beast seemed to be thinking, he even took a step back and Kyungsoo felt himself relaxing more. 

“How?” the monster asked, his eyes narrowing suspiciously as they flickered over Kyungsoo’s form.

“By… by giving you a chance… Jongin,” he said, finally using the— Jongin’s name. It was hard, looking at the beast in front of him and trying to see the remnants of a man, but now that he was looking it was there. In the light behind his eyes, and the jewelry that he had found so strange and fascinating before, in the discomfort and frustration he seemed to feel trying to carry a conversation. Beneath the monster there really might be a man. 

The use of his name seemed to startle him because Jongin took another step back and rose back up on his hind legs. He shuffled his weight around and huffed, glaring at Kyungsoo. “Fine. You can have the east wing, but the west wing is forbidden!” he snapped, his fur bristling as he turned and stalked out of the cell. He was in such a hurry he forgot he was too tall and his horns clanged against the top of the cell door.

Kyungsoo let a giggle slip out, having to quickly cover his mouth to stifle it when Jongin spun around to glare at him. He huffed and dropped down on all fours again, stalking out of the cell with his head held high and both Kyungsoo and Chanyeol burst out laughing when they heard the door above them boom shut. Kyungsoo was so relieved he actually felt a little hysterical. 

“Oh you did it! You did it! You did it Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol cheered, flying around his head in glee. 

Kyungsoo found his smile growing wider at Chanyeol’s excitement. “I don’t know what I did,” he admitted, but whatever it was it must have been the right thing. He had been so sure he’d been about to die, again, it was truly a miracle he was even still alive. 

“He’s letting you move in upstairs! He’s letting you in Kyungsoo! He’s never done that before! Wait until I tell Taemin, he’ll tell everyone!” Chanyeol exclaimed, zipping out of the cell only to zip back in a moment later. “Whoops, better wait for you. Can’t have you falling down the stairs.”

Kyungsoo chuckled softly and the smile never fading from his lips. “Thanks Chanyeol,” he crossed the cell and picked up the tiny lantern and the canvas. He wanted to take them both with them, he wanted to return the lantern to Yixing and he hoped he could keep the canvas with him. Taemin seemed like he would be a good ally to have in this, whatever it was. 

The walk up the stairs gave Kyungsoo time to think, about his father, about the village, about himself, and about Jongin. He didn’t truly believe that he could break this curse, but he knew he couldn’t leave. Remembering the deep sadness on Yixing’s face, listening to the truth behind the legend, it was all too real now. 

Kyungsoo had always believed that magic was beautiful, wonderful, fantastical, but this magic came with the bitter after taste of reality tingeing it. This magic wasn’t too good to be true, it was painted with the colors of grief and suffering and that was why Kyungsoo believed it. That was why, as he took the final step out the door and left the dungeon behind him, he knew he would try to break this curse. 

He could give Jongin a chance, for the people he had met already, and the ones he still had yet to meet. This would be his story, even if it wasn’t the fantastical romance he always dreamed of. It was better than being Jongdae’s housewife. 

“Quickly! The east wing is this way!” Chanyeol zoomed back to him and circled Kyungsoo’s head before he flew back down the hallway. He was so excited sparks were shooting out behind him. “I know just the room for you!” He exclaimed, leading Kyungsoo into the grand foyer and up the staircase. 

The castle was truly magnificent even in it’s state of decay. There was a thick layer of dust covering the banister, and the carpeting had holes eaten into it, but it was easy to imagine how stunning it must have been in it’s prime. 

Chanyeol lead him right from the top of the staircase, down a hallway lined with suits of armor each carrying a shield with the same crest Baekhyun and Jongin wore. The little ball of flame hovered in front of a door on the left side of the hallway, only a few doors down from the staircase. 

“In here! In here!”

Kyungsoo chuckled softly and turned the dull brass knob. The door stuck for a moment but he managed to force it open, the wood groaning in protest. The room beyond made him gasp softly in shock. It was dusty, it would definitely need cleaned, but the room was lovely, decorated in rich blues and gold. The four poster bed was huge with a canopy that seemed to be made from a glittering gold net. There was a huge canvas on one wall, the painting of what looked like it might have been the palace garden. On the wall next to the door was a dresser vanity with a mirror that had been covered by a sheet. 

The room was gorgeous, and far bigger than he expected. 

“Do you like it?” Chanyeol asked hopefully, hovering next to Kyungsoo’s right shoulder and the warmth he gave off made Kyungsoo smile again. 

“I love it Chanyeol, thank you,” he said sincerely. It would need a lot of work to clean it up, but compared to the dungeon it was heaven. It would be gorgeous once the dust was gone. Kyungsoo couldn’t wait, maybe he could help to restore the castle just a little bit. Remove the dust, clear the air, and perhaps bring a new hope to this desolation.