pairing: ChenLay
length: 1929 words

“So then I sent Seungwan to investigate. She followed Yoona for an entire week, but that prissy girl caught on to Seungwan and didn’t do anything out of the ordinary as a result. She just played nice and went to every social function like the good girl everyone thinks she is.”

Yixing could feel himself tuning out Soojung’s rambling story as his gaze mindlessly swept around the glittery ballroom.

“But then, after we left her alone for about a month—oh goodness, Yixing, you don’t know how agonizing it was to turn a blind eye for that long—we finally struck gold! I was running late to my art history lesson, since Father wanted me to sit in on an important meeting with some of the governors, when Seungwan noticed that one of the supply closet doors was strangely ajar.”

Good grief, this was the most mind-numbing gossip he had ever been forced to listen to.

“And we caught Yoona ing with Sehun the stable boy! Can you imagine that? Even though she is betrothed to Prince Kyungsoo, she has been lifting her skirts for a lowly servant for who-knows-how-long!”

“Mmhmm,” Yixing absentmindedly answered. He honestly could care less who Princess Yoona chose to take to bed—or to a supply closet, which sounded highly uncomfortable, in his opinion.

“And look at her now,” Soojung hissed as she discreetly pointed to the tall, willowy princess who was standing near the refreshments with her fiancé. “Acting like she and Prince Kyungsoo are the perfect couple, when she’s just a dirty fox who frolics with a stable boy behind closed doors.”

“Soojung, doesn’t this rivalry ever get tiring for you?” Yixing asked while sighing deeply, even though he already knew what the answer was.

“What rivalry?” Soojung scoffed loudly as she flipped her hair. “Yoona is nowhere near my status. Her family’s kingdom would easily get swallowed whole by ours if Father weren’t so merciful. He has already been incredibly generous by letting her stay with us in order to further her education. Prince Kyungsoo’s parents would have never agreed to their engagement if her family hadn’t been allied with ours.” The devilish smirk on her face widened as she continued, “And if word ever gets out that she’s secretly seeing Sehun the stable boy, she can kiss her engagement and her throne goodbye. Which means we’ll be in a better position when alliance negotiations take place this summer,” she smugly continued as she pressed against his side. “Father has great plans for expanding our territory once we’re officially wed next year.”

Yixing’s jaw tightened at her words, but he made no further comment.

Luckily, his savior came in the form of a sealed letter with a familiar yellow mark in the top right-hand corner.

“I was instructed to deliver this to you, Your Highness,” Seulgi the castle maid said as she held out a tray with the envelope on top towards Yixing. “It is from your tutor, Sir Ryeowook.”

Yixing nodded and pocketed the sealed letter as he motioned for Seulgi’s dismissal. Holding the now-empty tray to her chest, she bowed quickly and stepped away from the pair. Yixing then turned to Soojung and schooled in features into an apologetic expression as he gently moved her arm off of his. “I sincerely apologize, Soojung, but I must step away for a bit. This is important.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed, “Why on earth is your tutor contacting you when he knows this is one of the most important social functions of the year?! For us, especially!”

“We have been…conducting some very important research and I believe this is about the breakthrough we have been trying to reach by now.” Yixing quickly scanned the room for the nearest exit route before smiling apologetically at Soojung. “I shan’t stay away for long. I promise to return before your brother cuts the cake.”

“…Alright, fine, if you must,” Soojung reluctantly relented. “I suppose I shall have to find Seungwan and ask her to accompany me while you’re gone.”

Yixing knew that was only a half-truth.

The moment he exited the ballroom, she would traverse the crowd for Prince Jongin and receive several sweet promises that would keep her warm at night. Seungwan, her personal attendant, would loyally keep watch and stage the setting to make it look as though they were simply two acquaintances politely exchanging superficial small talk.

But for her sake and his own, Yixing held his tongue and merely pressed a soft kiss on Soojung’s gloved hand. “Have fun.” He then quickly slipped away and exited the ballroom.

For the most part, the surrounding corridors were empty. Most of the castle staff was either working at the party or stationed outside. Luckily, as Soojung’s betrothed, Yixing had free reign to wander around most of the castle, barring the royal family’s personal quarters. Since Yixing was a royal himself, the king had designated the wing next to Soojung’s quarters as Yixing’s to use whenever he stayed at the castle for extended periods of time. It was unseemly for the two young adults to be sharing a suite when they had not yet wed, but they were otherwise placed in as close proximity as possible.

Knowing that his own quarters were too closely guarded because of his connection to Soojung, Yixing headed up to the topmost tower, which was largely deserted at this time. He did not bother unsealing the envelope that lay in his suit pocket, knowing there was only a blank sheet of parchment inside.

When he reached the topmost tower room, he knocked thrice on the wooden door before slowly pushing it open. And his eyes glowed with love when he spotted Prince Jongdae sitting cross-legged on the floor while reading a book that Yixing had lent him.

“I received your message,” the older male affectionately greeted as he pulled out the sealed letter and handed it to his lover while dropping a kiss atop Jongdae’s soft black hair. “How long have you been waiting?”

“Twenty minutes tops,” Jongdae replied as he shifted to the left so that there was enough space for Yixing to sit next to him on the blanket he had laid out on the floor. “How long can you stay?”

“The crown prince won’t be cutting his birthday cake for another hour at least, so I just need to return to the ballroom before then. And now that I’m here, let’s not waste any more time.” Yixing tenderly cupped Jongdae’s cheeks and then drew him in for a sweet kiss. The younger male duly responded, resting his arms on Yixing’s broad shoulders while his fingers mindlessly played with the ends of Yixing’s dark locks.

As they reacquainted themselves after weeks of separation, Yixing thought back to the first time he had met Prince Jongdae, three warm summers ago.

An armistice had been planned after the two kingdoms had suffered significant losses in their militaries and both males had been in attendance at the negotiations as the crown prince of the respective kingdoms. They had been brought up to despise each other, to look down on the other, and to eventually conquer the opposing kingdom.

However, one glimpse into Jongdae’s warm brown eyes had been enough for Yixing to fall, fall, fall into an ocean that he had no plans to swim out of. And the moment their servants and advisors had shifted their attention to the kings and the army generals, the two princes had hidden themselves away and properly introduced themselves without any clouds of hostility hanging over them.

Reminiscent of that first meeting, Jongdae’s touch was feather-light as he twined their fingers together and deepened their kiss.

Yixing pressed their foreheads together, relishing in the warmth of his lover’s embrace and wishing that the visceral hate between their families did not exist.

Even without factoring in their betrothals to other princesses—Jongdae had recently been announced as Princess Yuri’s intended—it was nigh impossible for the two males to secure a future together. Although the war between their kingdoms was currently at a standstill, there was no telling when the fighting would resume. And when they would inevitably meet each other on the battlefield, fully armed to slaughter the other.

All they could do was secretly meet up like this every so often and relish in a shared fantasy for as long as time allowed.

It truly was a Romeo and Juliet-esque love story. Except Yixing had no intention of following the Shakespearean characters’ foolish fate. Yixing loathed how their unnecessary sacrifice had been glorified in the name of love. If only they had been more patient, more communicative with each other, the two young lovers could have survived and lived happily ever after.

Instead, they were now dead in the ground, forever separated by rocks and dirt as the promise of what could have been lingered over their bony corpses.

It was disgustingly tragic.

So Yixing planned on doing everything in his power to keep Jongdae safe, even if it meant having to publicly wed Soojung and outwardly give his blessings to Jongdae’s betrothal to Princess Yuri. Appearances had to be kept up in order to ensure the safety and longevity of all of their kingdoms. It killed Yixing on the inside to participate in such a grand farce, but his concern for Jongdae’s well-being and his duty as the crown prince of his beloved kingdom overrode any ideas of rebelling against the status quo.

Perhaps, one day, they could run away and start a new life somewhere else. Perhaps, one day, it wouldn’t matter that they were lovers on opposite sides of this generational war. Perhaps, one day, Yixing could hold Jongdae’s hand in public and kiss him with as much fervor as they currently were.

As the atmosphere heated up, Yixing’s thoughts and concerns melted away into white noise until he was focused wholly on Jongdae’s presence in front of him.

Their hour together soon came to an end, to their immense sorrow, and the stars in the night sky twinkled above them through the small tower window as the only witnesses to this taboo meeting.

Their hair and clothes were slightly mussed, although it mattered little for Jongdae, who was dressed in commoner clothing as part of his disguise. Yixing quickly patted himself down so that he looked decent enough before sending his lover a longing glance. “Once you are safely back home, please send me a letter. I should be able to sneak away and visit you in a fortnight. Soojung was invited to attend a debutante ball that weekend, so her family won’t be expecting me.”

Jongdae nodded before letting his fingers trail lightly along the edge of Yixing’s chiseled face. “Now go before they wonder why you’ve been gone for so long.”

“It’s a shame you can’t come to the ball with me. Soojung is especially insufferable tonight,” the older male added with a grimace.

Jongdae let out a low chuckle. “If it were a masquerade ball instead, perhaps I could have gotten away with it. But do not fret. We will see each other soon.”

“Until we meet again, my love.” And Yixing captured Jongdae’s lips in one final, heated kiss to sear this moment in his memory forever.

Yixing knew he was playing with fire by partaking in such a dangerous affair. But indulging in the sweet taste of Jongdae’s mouth was more than enough for him to throw caution to the wind and continue this passionate, forbidden love of theirs.

♈♈♈