pairing: BaekChen
length: 3090 words

“How was the border patrol?”

Chen looked up while still kneeling and replied, “It went smoothly, Your Majesty. There was no trouble to be found.”

“Good. It wasn’t difficult to navigate back to the castle in the dark, was it?”

Chen shook his head. “Not having others with me…made it easier to return,” he answered slowly, not daring to meet the king’s eyes. Instead, he focused on the halo of light that seemed to emanate from the seated male’s slender body. The light sparkled and danced, causing the king’s pale skin to look as if it were glowing, and Chen’s eyes began trying to trace the fuzzy edges of the other male’s body.

“…Jongdae, did you hear what I said?”

Upon hearing his real name being used, the soldier immediately snapped his gaze to the king’s face and froze when he was met with a melancholic stare. His throat dried, causing him to audibly swallow whatever saliva that he could. “I deeply apologize, Your Majesty, for not paying my utmost attention to you. If I could humbly request Your Majesty to repeat what he said a moment ago, I give my word that I will answer to the best of my abilities.”

The ends of the king’s thin lips slightly turned up, but his brown eyes still swirled with sorrow. “Never mind. It wasn’t important.” He paused for a moment before saying, “I shall summon you later. For now, get some rest. You are dismissed.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. May the blessings of the sun light your night,” Chen recited, his voice hollow and thin, while bowing his head down. He carefully stood up, keeping his gaze fixed to the ground, and turned to leave the throne room. As such, he missed the way the king opened his mouth, as if to say something more, while the soldier promptly walked away without a backwards glance.

--

A fist slammed against the stone wall, knuckles scraping and red blood beginning to ooze.

Guttural cries ripped from his chest, echoing like a clanging bell in the relatively empty chamber.

Muffled whispers from beyond the wooden door could be heard, but he was too far gone to comprehend them.

All he could focus on was the searing fire that burned his insides, threatening to escape.

All he could hear was a tremendously grating ringing noise reverberating around him.

All he could see was red, like the fresh blood that streamed down his cracked hands.

And it took every ounce of willpower that he possessed to not burst through the giant glass window above him right then and there.

--

“Your Majesty, you mustn’t!”

His eyes narrowed and the maid cowered under the intensity of his gaze. “Seungyeon, I believe that I am the one who decides what I am allowed to do.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. My deepest apologies, Your Majesty,” she hastily breathed out while bowing deeply several times. “But it is not safe to enter.”

The king ignored her warning and instead asked, one hand lightly holding onto the golden door handle, “How long has it been since it started?”

She stared at the ground, timidly whispering, “A-around an hour ago…”

“And it took until now for news of it happening to reach me?”

Seungyeon’s silence and averted gaze were enough of an answer for the king, who sighed deeply before silently motioning for the maid to leave. She was about to protest again, but when met with the king’s steely expression, Seungyeon reluctantly pressed her lips together and bowed before excusing herself from the corridor.

The king looked at the two guards who stood at each side of the door and commanded, “You are dismissed. I shall call you back when my business here is finished.”

“But, Your Majesty, it would be unwise to go in alone, especially when—”

“Since when has it become custom to talk back to the king?” Both soldiers shrunk back under the king’s expression, which had turned even stormier. “Does my authority mean nothing to you?”

“It means everything, Your Majesty,” the two guards immediately chorused while bowing downwards. “We deeply apologize for our insolence, Your Majesty.”

The king’s gaze somewhat softened as he lowered the volume of his voice while saying, “I understand the risks that I am taking and I appreciate your concerns about my safety, but I promise that nothing will happen to me.”

“Your Majesty, may we at least continue standing guard right here?”

He hesitated for several seconds, his fingers still wrapped around the door handle, before finally saying, “I can compromise and allow you to stand at the end of the hallway. If I need you, I will shout.”

“But, Your Majesty, what if we’re too late and—”

The king looked sharply at the soldiers before sighing again. “I appreciate your loyalty, but I am capable of defending myself. Please let me handle this on my own.”

When neither guard continued objecting, he nodded in satisfaction before waving them off. They slowly bowed once more to the king and then marched to the end of the hallway, firmly planting themselves at the entrance while facing the king. Even from this distance, he could see their worried expressions, but his grip on the door handle only tightened and his resolve strengthened.

And with a gentle push downwards, the king gradually opened the wooden door and entered.

--

Suddenly, there were creaking sounds, but he paid them no mind.

All he did was smash his fists even harder against the stone wall while howling at the top of his lungs.

Beads of sweat covered every inch of his bare skin and his dark hair was matted against his slick forehead.

The ringing noise had elevated into earsplitting booms that sounded every other second.

But then he felt a smooth hand land on his shoulder and he immediately whirled around, snarling loudly at the newcomer.

“Jongdae, it’s me.”

It took several moments for the red to disappear from his vision, but when it finally did, he was met with the solemn, sorrowful expression of the one he hated most in this godforsaken world. “Baekhyun,” he spat, not caring that the heavens would most likely strike him down for being so uncouth in front of royalty. “Why are you here again?”

The king calmly slipped off his heavy cloak and held it out to the soldier. “I was worried that you might be having hard time going to sleep tonight.”

Jongdae laughed derisively, his voice high-pitched and tinged with insanity, before batting away the cloak. “Get out of my sight,” he bit out. “You know that it’s a mistake to be here. I’m as wild as they say when the summer storms hit. As removed as I am from the rest of the court, I still hear the whispers that go around whenever I appear in the dining hall or the throne room. Even when I walk through the courtyards or head to the stables, I still hear what everyone says about me.”

“What they say isn’t important, Jongdae. You know that.”

The soldier’s eyes flashed with anger as he stated, “You lied to me, Baekhyun. Nothing has changed. Absolutely nothing.”

“Have you seen that child? The one whose parents recently passed away during that storm?”

“You mean the orphan boy? From the Kim family?”

“He has demon blood in him, from what I heard.”

“Rumor says that he killed his entire family: grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and his older brother. None of them were spared.”

“How awful. Why hasn’t anyone exiled the freak yet?”

“Well, he is just a child.”

“Nonsense. He’s already thirteen. He shall become a full-fledged adult soon enough and then what will happen?”

“We should bring it up during the next Town Hall meeting. The elders will know what to do.”

“And if they don’t agree with us, then—”

His mind was invaded with red again and screams erupted from him as he clawed at the air, desperate for release from the excruciating pain.

“Shhh, I’m here, Jongdae.” Baekhyun daringly took hold of the soldier’s shoulders, even though Jongdae was wildly thrashing about. He began carding his fingers through the shrieking man’s damp hair while murmuring in a soothing voice, “Remember I promised that I’d always be here for you? That I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you?”

“His Majesty King Baekhyun has arrived! All bow down! His Majesty King Baekhyun has arrived! All bow down!”

He surveyed the scene in front of him: dozens of townspeople were on their hands and knees as they respectfully bowed in his presence. “All rise,” he ordered stiffly, subtly wiggling in his seat atop his white steed. He didn’t think he would ever get used to the amount of clothing that he now had to wear as a king. The crown weighed heavily atop his small head and every so often, he would reach up to lightly graze his fingers against it, just to make sure that it hadn’t accidentally fallen off.

“Your Majesty, we shall be here for about an hour at most. The horses need to be watered and the scribes need to gather this month’s reports from the town elders. But fret not for we shall reach our destination before nightfall. In the meantime, you can stretch your legs and rest at the inn.”

Baekhyun hummed in agreement and then swung himself off of his steed. He landed gracefully, albeit a bit heavier than he usually would have; he still wasn’t used to all of these new, heavy trappings. “Please lead me to the inn. I’d like to refresh myself there during the wait.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Right this way.”

The king began following his aide towards the inn. He could hear the townspeople murmuring and see them pointing at him out of the corner of his eye, but tried to ignore their stares and speculation. Instead, Baekhyun focused on the cobblestone road that he was walking on. He could feel the smoothness of the stone under his shoes and an image of pebbles in a calm stream appeared in his mind. The air was balmy, for it was mid-summer, and wispy clouds lazily floated through the pale blue sky.

But there was a ring of men and boys on the way, and Baekhyun’s ears perked up as the noisy commotion soon reached him when he walked closer to the crowd. His aide tried to navigate him back towards the inn, but the king was bent on seeing what all of the noise was about.

“’Fess up, boy. There’s no point in hiding your crime. People saw you attack Euijin earlier.”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened upon seeing a boy around his age kneeling on the floor, blood and dirt smeared on his thin face, with his hair being pulled by an older man. Another man was holding onto the end of a rope that was tightly tied around the boy’s wrists, which were behind his back.

When the boy didn’t answer, the first man pulled the boy’s hair even harder before shoving his head into the stone road. “Answer me, boy! Or I’ll smash up your despicable face even more!”

“Stop!”

The crowd turned to see their king standing amongst them and they all immediately fell down into a bow. Both of the men holding onto the boy also kneeled, the first man’s hand still pressing the boy’s face into the ground.

“What is the meaning of this?”

“Your Majesty, we really should be heading to the inn right now and—”

“Silence!” Baekhyun commanded while sending his aide a stern glance. The king walked up to the trio of males and looked down at the boy in particular. “What is going on, gentlemen?”

“Well, Your Majesty, this ruffian attacked one of the other boys with his freak powers and he is refusing to take responsibility for his violent actions.”

“And you saw it fit to respond with violence as well?” Baekhyun reprimanded harshly.

“He is a freak of nature, Your Majesty. We must keep him restrained or else he shall bring forth lightning storms that will strike us all dead.”

“Enough!” the king’s voice boomed, echoing against the cobblestone road. “You will release him now. I order it!”

Both of the men turned to each other, hesitant, but Baekhyun stood his ground and jutted his chin forward to motion that they begin untying the rope that bound the boy’s wrists together. They reluctantly complied, but as soon as the bonds began to become undone, the boy lunged forward while snarling like a wild animal.

“Your Majesty!”

Several men, some townspeople and some royal guards, launched forward to protect the king, but Baekhyun held up his hand. “Tighten the circle. Make sure there are no holes to escape through.”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Within seconds, more people filled in the empty spaces around the four males, ensuring that the boy could no longer flee.

“Get out of my way!” the boy growled, holding up his fists in a fighting stance. Lightning sparks crackled around his blood-streaked, chafed hands. “You’re just like everyone else. I’m a monster to you.”

“No, you aren’t,” Baekhyun answered calmly.

“Liar!”

Ignoring the gasps from everyone around him, the king stepped towards the boy and stared at him. The boy maintained eye contact and refused to back down, even in front of royalty. Baekhyun wondered how to best placate this poor child whose eyes burned with defiance and fear. “My name is Baekhyun. What’s your name?” he asked in a quiet and gentle tone.

“What’s it to you?” the boy snapped.

“Your Majesty, we deeply apologize for this hooligan’s disrespect. He is named Jongdae.”

Baekhyun nodded thoughtfully as he continued staring at Jongdae. “I’d like you to answer my next question, Jongdae, instead of relying on your fellow townsfolk to do that for you.”

“It’s not like I asked them to rat me out,” Jongdae angrily retorted. The lightning sparks crackled even more, but Baekhyun refused to yield.

“How old are you, Jongdae?”

Several seconds passed in silence before the boy grudgingly answered, “Thirteen going on fourteen.”

A warm smile appeared on Baekhyun’s face as he happily clapped his hands and said, “Wonderful! We’re the same age.”

“Tch, so? That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Of course, it does.” Baekhyun took another step towards Jongdae. “I want to be your friend.”

“Your Majesty, please reconsider! He is a freak!”

“Silence!” the king roared as protests sounded from the crowd. “It is my business whether or not I’d like to befriend this boy. I do not dictate which friendships you form and you have no authority to dictate mine.” Once everyone had quieted down, Baekhyun extended a hand to Jongdae. “Let me take you back to the castle. You’ll be safe there.”

“How can I trust you?” the boy asked warily.

Baekhyun smiled kindly again. “You’ll just have to have faith in me. But I promise that I will use my power to protect you and I won’t let anyone hurt you. I’ll always be here for you. You will be safe under my jurisdiction.”

Although his instincts were screaming at him to not give in, Jongdae slowly relaxed his stance and the lightning sparks surrounding his hands dissipated. “I’ll give you this one chance, Baekhyun. Don’t disappoint me.” He then clasped his right hand around Baekhyun’s proffered one, gripping it tightly as they shook hands.

“Of course, Jongdae. I always keep my word.” The king released his hand from Jongdae’s before turning to his aide and ordering, “Prepare a horse for Jongdae. He rides with us from now on.”

“But, Your Majesty, that’s—”

“I command it. You know the penalty for disobeying a direct order.”

“…Yes, Your Majesty.”

Baekhyun held out his hand to Jongdae again and smiled widely. “Let’s go, Jongdae. Let’s go home.”

Jongdae’s breathing had slowly begun to even out and the thrashings were occurring less often as Baekhyun continued the soldier’s tousled hair. The aura of bright light that surrounded the king was enveloping Jongdae as well and even though he tried to fight against it, the light began permeating his tensed up muscles and relaxing the taut tendons.

“I’ve always been here for you,” Baekhyun softly reminded the distraught soldier, seeing that Jongdae was gradually starting to unwind. “Ever since the first day we met. And all I ever asked from you was one thing.”

“Do you promise to protect me at the cost of your life? To do my bidding, no matter what the task is? To uphold the ideals of this kingdom to the best of your abilities?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. I promise.”

“Then, from this day onwards, you will be my personal guard. You will be addressed as Chen by others. Your past as Jongdae will no longer define you.”

Jongdae—now Chen—kept his head bowed, but his heart was stormy. He could already hear everyone in the throne room muttering in disapproval at his appointment.

He was still an outcast and the king’s favor did not help his case at all.

He would only ever be an outcast in this land.

Baekhyun saw how Chen’s jaw tightened as the whispers traveled around the room. Knowing that he had to cement his controversial decision, the king added in a loud voice, “Henceforth, all guards will report to Chen. Anyone who undermines his authority, soldier or not, will answer to me. Your title will be stripped immediately and you will be sent to work in the fields. Should the offense be severe enough, such as causing Chen any bodily harm or threatening his life, your life will be forfeit in return. Rumors and gossip will also not be tolerated.”

The room instantly became silent.

“Remember the promises that we made to each other, Jongdae,” the king murmured into the soldier’s ear as he gently rocked Jongdae to sleep. “We only have each other. I will protect you with all of my power and in turn, please protect the two of us with your powers. Please help me protect my kingdom, despite the wrongs that my people have done to you. I promise that I will make this world a safe space for you one day. It will take time, but that day will come. I promise.”

Baekhyun continued to soothingly whisper to Jongdae, promise after promise, and the soldier eventually fell into a deep sleep as he slumped against the king’s chest.

The red disappeared.

The noises ceased.

The fire dimmed.

And the storm stopped.

For now.

♈♈♈