Chanyeol almost drank all of the cases of alcohol available at the castle.

He drank all night, draining his anger in those liquids that just burned his throat and sore his mind but it had eased his heart from aching too much. He was thinking of why he had said that.

Why do he had to hurt him when he just wanted to tell that he's so ing worried about him?

Why was he this worried and possessive anyway?

Now sitting on the castle's kitchen, gulping coffee since 3AM just to help with his drowsy self. Not minding those servants who were greeting him Merry Christmas.

That occasion brought by the humans, he doesn't think he will celebrate it though his parents will be preparing a feast at dinner.

Hours later when he felt well physically. He left the dinner table and walked out of the kitchen.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" a messenger came running, "The Ices are attacking the village!"

Chanyeol really had no mood to deal with it, even walking through at first but the messenger was persistent.

"Your Highness! Your Majesty ordered you to lead the Fire knights!" the man caught up with him.

Chanyeol stared boredly at him before asking, "The King wants me..to lead?"

"Yes, Your Highness, you're a prince!"

He rubbed his face in stuffed irritation before stomping away with the messenger.

While on his way to the throne lobby, squires were handing him weapons; from frails, axes, crossbows and swords.

Swords. He stopped dead on tracks.

"Your sword would be a waste if you'll not use it."

Baekhyun had taught him for a month anyway. He's confident that he can use it because he trusted the one who taught him in using that. Though he's apt in using bows and arrows since young, he thought this would be a time for something new.

Baekhyun.

He grabbed his sword with its scabbard, fastening it to him and ran back in hallways.

.*.

Baekhyun wasn't able to sleep.

He was up crying all night, sitting on one of the balconies of the castle and thinking about what happened last night.

That was the question on his mind, what happened to the Chanyeol he knew?

It was past 7AM and Baekhyun was deciding to leave. However, it felt so hard and he doesn't know why. He was worried about Chanyeol but there's the fact that he's hating him. He chose not to think of him right now.

Baekhyun shivered when he felt a chill touching him. It felt weird because he was used to the Fire Kingdom being scorching hot during these hours. He stood up from the balcony seat and leaned over the parapet to get a look of what's happening with the horrid season.

What the.

It's snowing.

A firm grip on his waist made him collapse on the owner of the large hand he would know anywhere. It was Chanyeol. He was not looking anywhere with those mad eyes except the thing behind him.

He turned his head around right when Chanyeol summoned flames to stop the crawling sharp pointed ice spikes from growing longer.

Baekhyun breathed as he looked back at Chanyeol moon-eyed.

He became speechless after what happened. Chanyeol hoisted him back on the ground and zipped through the hallways with his hand in his. There were servants running for their lives but some were impaled. Baekhyun was looking back and saw that the spikes seemed to be chasing them and freezing the castle hall by hall.

They were not reached. Not until they were cornered by overgrowing spikes coming from each side of the hallway's windows. They had nowhere to go except to the door that leads to a room facing the castle's front side.

"Go Baekhyun." Chanyeol urged him, "Get down to that room's window."

Baekhyun shook his head, "No." he tightened his grip on Chanyeol's hand, "I'm not going to leave you."

Chanyeol sighed in bafflement, "You have to. I need to go and find my parents. Meet me at the Earth Kingdom."

Baekhyun looked at their hands as Chanyeol struggled to pull away. It took him seconds to realize that he needed to move. He opened the room's door before the penetrating ice reached him, he closed the door and noticed that he was in a weapon room.

He wanted to help.

He scanned every glass stands and broke the glass that contains swords. He fastened the scabbard at his waist and slipped the sword there. He found ropes and took anything that he could use in his volunteering.

The walls of the room were snapping while it was being covered with thick ice. It's getting wintery in a minute. He jumped out of the window and the scene below caught his breath.

The gates. Baekhyun gasped loudly in shock that he almost fell down. They were open. They were a banner of knights dressed in heavy blue armor and with swords like impenetrable ice clashing with a number of Fire knights. The Fire people were not enough compared to the Ices out there that he could see thousands of them til the next village. Full of agonized cries, angry groans, slicing of flesh and clashing of swords were all that he's hearing and it's making his body tremble.

It was a wave of weapon knights and Baekhyun was expecting that the next wave would be their power knights which was scary because the whole kingdom will be in a freeze and would possibly die of hypothermia.

Baekhyun tied the end of the rope on the window and propelled his way down the castle. He scrutinized the battle area of a familiar face but he couldn't see one.

He must've not left him there.

He looked up at the window, thinking about what Chanyeol told him. He must go to the Earth Kingdom. But why?

"We were in alliance with Fire."

Baekhyun remembered what Kyungsoo had said. Perhaps Chanyeol wanted him to be a messenger since their messengers were all dressed up in a way that they appear Fires.

Anyway, he had his mask. He wore it as he sneaked his way to the Earth Kingdom invisible.

.*.

Kai was glad that Kyungsoo wasn't noticing that he was the one who does all of the work of a nurse. He was also glad that he was now awake. Well, it's a great opportunity for him to get some points.

Love for music was something they had in common. Kai felt so relieved by watching him talk so animatedly but he was somehow foiled because there was something he couldn't decipher in his face–that lack of trust.

Two hours before noontime, a servant knocked on the clinic's door before entering.

"Your Highness," the servant was referring to Kai, "the King wants you in the throne room."

Kai was surprised to see the mask-less Baekhyun held by two Ground Summoners and looking rejected.

"You called for me, Your Majesty."

"Kai! Look! Listen Your Majesty! He knows me!" Baekhyun whined, looking at him hopefully.

Kai resisted himself to laugh at Baekhyun's pouty face, he faced the King and bowed.

The King pointed at Baekhyun, "This intruder here says that he was ordered to deliver news from the Fire Kingdom being under attack and now he's claiming that you know him. Do you know him?"

Kai looked up to the King and nodded, "Yes, Your Majesty. In fact, he's a very close friend of their Prince. He just doesn't talk too much, that's why."

He felt really good in making up stories just to cover up something.

Baekhyun looked at the knights beside him with a victorious smile as they released him from being chained, he even shrugged his arms away from the touch of the guards. He showed the scabbard of his sword with the Fire Kingdom's badge stuck into it.

"The kingdom is asking for help, Your Majesty. Yes, the kingdom is under attack of the Ices, there is freeze covering up the nation and their knights are being outnumbered." Baekhyun claimed, sounding like he's going to broke down.

Kai was staring at Baekhyun in shock. It's the second war between the Fire and Ice kingdom since the Evil of this world fell centuries ago. He knew the King was struck by the news and ordered his knights quickly to help their ally.

"Kai!" Baekhyun called, "Chanyeol told me to meet him here, but I'm not going to stay here. I'll go with the knights."

Kai blinked his eyes at the retreating man, "What?! No! Come back here!" he shouted while Baekhyun was running away.

"Kai, " the King caught his attention back, "take the shortest path to the Storms Kingdom, bring Kyungsoo with you. I'm sure that the Ices would be attacking our kingdom. I've sent a messenger to prepare for his arrival." he commanded.

"The shortest path?" Kai shook his head in disbelief, "Why don't we just tele-"

"-no Kai. Teleporting during a war is happening is forbidden. I care about you two and you have to cross the shortcut. At exact noon, Kyungsoo must be brought to the castle." the King said authoritatively.

Kai looked down to think about the shortest path and it made him flabbergasted, "We are going to cross at the Fire Kingdom to get there."

"I trust in you Kai. I know you would not let my son get hurt. I've seen it in your eyes."

Whaat?

Kai quickly bowed in front of the King, "I will protect him. I could lay my life for him, Your Majesty."

"Whoa." the man exclaimed, laughing, "That's a deep submission though." he stood up and placed a hand on Kai's shoulder, "It's better to travel short and rest longer for Kyungsoo."

"I understand, Your Majesty."

Though he would prefer travelling far than to risk Kyungsoo's life.

.*.

Chanyeol couldn't find his parents anywhere. He was caught into the war scenes and has been slicing bellies since who-knows-when. It was getting colder and the raging blizzard was getting bad. He was starting to breath out white smoke.

At the end of the gaze, he saw someone familiar that he could really distinguish him as Baekhyun because of those expert sword skills. Why was he here, Chanyeol thought. He killed a number of knights before he bumped at the tiny man's back.

"Chanyeol!"

"Baekhyun!"

They called out in chorus. Now, in each other's back, they fought in unison.

Chanyeol shouted, "I told to to stay at the Earth Kingdom to be safe!" he slashed one of the knight's neck.

Baekhyun stabbed an enemy square to its chest and kicking him away, "I can't just stay there! I'll help!"

Chanyeol spun and slivered flesh of some opponents surrounding them, "You're not even in your battle gears!" he grunted after impaling one.

"I don't care!" Baekhyun groaned with force, "As long as I'm with you!"

.*.

Kai suddenly bursted in the door, making a loud bang that shocked Kyungsoo.

"Kai! What happened?!" Kyungsoo asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

Kai seemed tense, he scampered his way to him and looked at him closely, "Can you travel? Can you fight?" he asked that sounded desperate.

"Fight?" Kyungsoo looked at him confusedly, "What am I? A handicap?" he swung himself off the sheets and his ordinary clothes transformed from soil to battle gears, "What's happening?" he asked Kai that looked astonished now.

"The Ices were now attacking the Fire. There is a strong chance of the war to spread." Kai skipped to the window, he slid it open and stepped on the window pane, "Your father wants you to be in the Storms Kingdom by noon."

Kyungsoo gazed at Kai for a moment, expecting that his next words would be come with me.

"Hyung, you have to come with me." Kai reached out a hand to Kyungsoo, the other holding the top panel of the window.

He knew it. But why does his father trusted him to Kai? Kyungsoo was still staring at Kai. His heart and mind were debating whether to come with him or ask his father of why him.

Kai looked down and looked back with a gloom in his eyes, "Do you trust me?" he asked.

Kyungsoo didn't want to trust because he thinks promises are meant to be broken. So, right now, Kai seemed to be promising that he would protect him. He was afraid that it would end up like his mother who promised to come back but she never did. Same with Baekhyun, that he will be waiting for him but he was nowhere to be found.

Would it be the same?

Kyungsoo walked the way towards Kai slowly with his heart and mind debating.

Should I trust him?

Kai never did anything to make him feel bad except with his constant bugging but that bugging just shows that he's just really concerned about him. And he never felt this kind of full genuine concern before.

Kyungsoo took his hand and they went out of the window.

.*.

An hour before the noon, the Ices never seemed to cease but they multiply or Chanyeol just thought that the number of Fires were decreasing.

Why are they decreasing so fast?

Chanyeol examined the corpses that lay on the snow while battling some Ice-s. His eyes widened when he saw most of the corpses were impaled by ice shards, stabbed by ice spikes and frozen.

The second wave would be starting soon. There were power-using knights scattered out there. Chanyeol remembered that their power knights were granted a vacation this Christmas that's why they were taking long too respond. It would be dangerous for the Fires and to those knights that were just trained in weapons. It would be also dangerous for Baekhyun.

He was now separated with Baekhyun and he doesn't know how did it happened and he doesn't know where he was. His whole body sores from the repeated twist and turns and clash and slash. The cold weather couldn't keep him at his strongest. But he won't give up.

Slicing up the last weapon knight near him, he knelt on the ground and stabbed his sword on the thick snow. Chanyeol was catching his breath when the Prince of the Ice approached him.

At the middle of the battle field, this man still had the urge to make a scene.

He had just summoned a thunderous bang that was the signal of the second wave. Chanyeol gazed up at the Prince furiously and glared as if it could slice him into pieces. He could see the conjuring of Ice spells on his people at the corner of his eye.

"What's the damn reason of why do you have to do this Xiumin?" Chanyeol hissed angrily.

"It's my mother's will, not mine." he replied so simply.

"You're talking like you were just forced to do this, are you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Chanyeol groaned as he summoned a fireball to pitch at the Prince. The Prince must have sensed the incoming ball when he dodged and elicited an ice knife zipping through Chanyeol.

.*.

It's almost noon when both witnessed the battle. It was a bloody scene out there and it was disastrously caught in a blizzard. Kai pulled Kyungsoo behind him to hide behind a wall, they were about to cross the border between the Fire and the Earth.

This is it, Kyungsoo thought, my chance of revenge for my mother.

He stepped in the view of the riot a mile away before being pulled by Kai again.

"What?" Kyungsoo asked, eyebrows furrowed in dismay. Kyungsoo was persistent but Kai was opposing him, resulting to another petulant bickering of both.

"What do you mean what? It's dangerous out there and-"

"-I was trained for battles. C'mon and I'm ready to slice up some s-"

"-we're not sent here to destroy some dumb dull dunderheaded dorks. We're here to cross and-"

"-kill some of them! Give me my sword right now and I-"

"-I don't have your sword. We are not going to fight-"

"-but I want to get involved in this war, so if you're not coming with me then so be-"

Kai pulled him back again when he tried to escape again.

"-be still. It's a Royal Order and you know what will happen if you'll break it."

Kai gave him a hard stare that halted him from speaking. He rolled his eyes in defeat and crossed his arms in his chest.

"Hyung, listen to me." he bent his head closer to him but he remained frowning down, "You have to go to the Storms Kingdom."

"Your father trusted me that I would transfer you safe. I promised to protect you. And I'm not going to break that promise." he added.

Kyungsoo slowly looked into Kai's eyes. His irises did really write the words concern and trustworthiness. Those brown orbs were so capturing and comforting. He wasn't aware that he was staring at the features of his face too long that his eyes travelled to his lips. Kyungsoo snapped out of his doing when he realized what he was looking at.

"Hyung." Kai said, taking out something from his pocket. He handed him a tiny golden clock hung on a necklace. It was an antique gold clock with Roman numerals as numbers and hands like enchanted finials. There was a small button above twelve and golden dust in liquid stuck at the sides.

"That is a Time Stopper." he explained in a way that his voice was shaky due to anxiety, "Press the button and the clock will be filled with the golden dust at its sides, the time will stop and also the things around you. You can only use that once. The dust would drain within two minutes and everything will move again. When something happens, you have to be fast, you have to be. When something happens.."

Kai looked down at his hands. Kyungsoo knew that Kai was holding his hands and locking the clock inside, but he wasn't aware that Kai's tears were falling.

"Nothing would happen Kai." Kyungsoo said.

Kai pulled away and his back. He could see him looking like he was wiping his tears. Kyungsoo hung the necklace around his neck and walked beside him.

Kai made him ran minutes ago. He was too confused why, but his heart was throbbing again. Kyungsoo was left with nothing except the clock. He found it difficult to process why was he separated with Kai. Kai just said to ran ahead of him. But now he was out of sight.

Kyungsoo couldn't see him.

His chest hurts and his head felt heavy in scanning for Kai. He had no weapons or anything that he could use to fight and he still couldn't use his powers because he was still recovering. Kyungsoo knew he wasn't safe standing out there in that short minute but-

Where are you Kai?

"Kyungsoo!"

It was Kai's resonant voice that drained all of the sounds he was hearing.

Kyungsoo looked around, breathing heavily, "Kai!"

"Kyungsoo!"

He could now only hear his voice.

"Kai! Where are you?"

"Kyungsoo!"

Tears escaped from his eyes when he saw Kai running to him, his face were stained with blood and sword swaying freely in the air.

"Run Kyungsoo! Now!"

What?

"RUN! NOW!"

Kyungsoo turned his back on Kai and was about to ran on the opposite direction.

It all suddenly felt like a dream when he heard a sword fell on the ground, he felt a cold air land on his back but he knew that it wasn't the snowstorm.

Kyungsoo swerved to see the frozen figure in front of him. It should be wrong. It can't be. It can't be that Kai was in there. But it was really him.

He covered his mouth as he gasped in horror. His hands started to shake terribly as he turned to look at the victim's face. Kyungsoo touched Kai's face through the clear thick ice.

His eyes were wide in fear. The word concern was still spelled on his irises. He was in a position where his arms were spread wide to protect something. To protect him.

His hand travelled to the Time Stopper. Kyungsoo pressed the button and threw it on the ground.

"You can only use that once."

Everything went slow until all stopped to move.

2:00

That stupid boy, he never did anything but to care for him.

Kyungsoo collapsed on his knees, he seized the snow below him and cried hard.

"No." he sobbed, "No, no, NO! KAI!"

"Your father trusted me that I would transfer you safe."

"NOO!!" Kyungsoo screamed, throwing handfuls of snow everywhere and the cool air slamming into him, "Why did you have to protect me like this?!"

1:31

"I promised to protect you."

"KAI!!" Kyungsoo kicked the snow below him repeatedly and with desperate rue, "I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry.. so sorry."

He gazed at the frozen identity of Kai above him. Kyungsoo's heart felt literally crushed, his chest was squeezing again and it made him clutch it tight.

He never returned his concerns back, instead, he was pushing him away.

0:47

His heart had a reason to ache that bad. Kyungsoo felt a grave fury embracing him.

He closed his eyes tightly, sending more tears to fall. The face of his mother was appearing in his mind. Those were all the same person. The Ices kept on taking everything he held so dear. Now, they got to take Kai.

They had hurt someone again. Kyungsoo felt his blood boiling in raging wrath despite of his body was trembling because of the extreme cold. His chest was so full of it, crying was not enough to let it all go and he was all hurt. He grasped the ground with his hands tight.

Kyungsoo bellowed and the world shook with an enormous strength.

0:12

"You have to be fast."

.*.

"Chanyeol, let us stop this."

Chanyeol could hear the Prince faintly. He didn't know how long he was lying on the ground. He felt so languished, he couldn't stand up and fight. It's lethally freezing and it's weakening him even more. He had received numerous grazes.

"I won't." he chuckled weakly, gaining all of his remaining strength to stand but it was useless because he fell back again due to a strange event.

The ground shook for a moment. Everyone stood aghast, stopped and were plunged into a deafening silence.

The Ice Prince took out his trumpet and did an ear-splitting blow.

"A MAGNITUDE! RETREAT!"

Chanyeol felt relieved and strengthened by that. He had stood up before he got caught into a stampede as the Ices scampered all away.

.*.

Baekhyun was thankful to the one who did that earthquake. It saved him from being stabbed by a knight. He felt so exhausted and he thought that everything was over when a horn is blown claiming that an Earth Royalty had performed a deadly Magnitude move that creates an earthquake.

And they said, "RETREAT!"

They scattered around like ants that were invaded. Baekhyun felt horrible after seeing those people who got into the stampede, looking like they drowned into a sea of knights. He was near to the gates of the castle, stayed firm at a side while waiting for the scene to be serene.

Baekhyun was worried about Chanyeol since they got separated. Someone might had pulled him away from him. It was sudden, he was already having a sword duel with a knight then Chanyeol was out of sight.

Out in the fading blizzard and the cleared part of the scene, Baekhyun could faintly see through the storm of fine snow a familiar sword that has been stuck into the ground.

It was Chanyeol's sword.

Baekhyun dashed to his sword and uprooted it from the thick snow. He touched the blade that were stained by blood and looked around for Chanyeol.

"Chanyeol!" he cried, dropping his sword to find him, "Where are you?!"

Baekhyun found Chanyeol lying on the ground like one of those casualties. He bolted to him. His heart was throbbing so hard in dread and worry. He turned him over. Chanyeol got so many wounds, from his face to his thigh. All fresh and bleeding. He held his cheeks desperately and cried.

"Chanyeol! Chanyeol! Wake up!"

He could see him struggling to be awake as his eyes flew open and shut. Baekhyun pulled him effortlessly into a hug, he was scared about how Chanyeol's body was shaking due to the cold.

He wished he could bring the summer back.

"Baek.." Chanyeol said so faintly.

"Chanyeol." Baekhyun sniffed, "Just stay, I promise to bring the sun back."

"You..don't need.." he shuddered, "you..stay.."

Baekhyun just locked Chanyeol inside his arms until the blizzard stopped completely.

.*.

"STUPID!" the Ice Queen threw the glass she was holding, "You retreated because of a stupid earthquake! How cowardly of you-!"

"-eomma!" the Prince cut in, "I still don't know why do we have to do this! Why do we have to-"

"-it's because we are born to be blood feud families, Xiumin!" the Queen snapped back.

"That's enough!" Xiumin stood up against her, "No one wants to have wars! Neither I! Nor them! Why do you want to have a war? I'm starting to doubt you as my mother!"

"Xiumin!"

"It's enough! I'm disgustedly sick of it!"

When Xiumin walked away, the Queen screamed in anger. She summoned the messengers and told them something out of justice.

"My son isn't sure if the Fire Royalties are all dead. Send a message to the Water and Wind Kingdom. I'm not satisfied with this."

 

 

 

***

Started: April 12, 2017

Finished: April 14, 2017

A/N: Thanks for subscribing guys! ^^ You're such a blessing. :'** Keep reading and feel free to comment! Lots of looovve! <3

Yeo_Na