A/N: Introducing XiuChen here. >o<

"Kyungsoo, come."

The kid ran to his father's lap while a lollipop to his mouth. The King carried him to his lap and caressed his head.

"Your mother told me before she died that you should make friends with that boy you saw at one of the Ice's tower."

Kyungsoo looked up at his father, forgetting the candy, "How did you know, appa? I'm sorry, he just look so lonely up there, that's why I chose to cheer him up."

"Well, one of the servants followed you and they saw you climb that high tower." the King boomed in laughter.

"Hmp." he threw the lollipop on the ground and crossed his arms on his chest in disappointment, "I trusted that servant that he will not tell anyone."

"It's alright, my child." the King chuckled, "Just be careful with the Ices okay? They are evil. But I'm sure that you could easily outsmart them."

"Why should I continue to be friends with him if it would risk my life, appa?" Kyungsoo pouted at the King.

"It's because, I promised to your mother that to keep an eye on him. And promises are not meant to be broken."

"That's not true, appa."

"Why not?"

"Eomma promised me that she will be home immediately two years ago. I'm already six years old, so it's already broken."

The King was sullen and the throne room was filled with unexplainable silence.

.*.

One peculiar thing had happened that kept Baekhyun confused. The man that was introduced to him as his busy brother. Later, he had known him as an evil one for he's an Ice. It's odd to think that he saved him during the war.

Baekhyun was encountering some power knights while fighting with the weapon knights. He reckoned that the second wave would be starting soon.

"Baekhyun!" someone unfamiliar called his name.

He looked around and when he reached his back, a power knight was caught in act hauling ice shards at him, however he ended up frozen and the shards fell on the ground.

Who did that?

Baekhyun gazed at the back of the frozen figure and saw somebody he wasn't expecting to save him.

"Run!" the Ice Prince shouted, "Go and hide! The second wave is starting!"

It was the Ice Prince and he had never thought of it. Baekhyun stalled there confused and was really puzzled about his brother before running away.

Baekhyun knew that the Queen has been looking for him. He reckoned there was something wrong with the Prince and his mother that's why he chose to set him free.

 

Many Fire people died from hypothermia. The whole kingdom was in shambles, it barely couldn't be resided. Some insisted to remain at their pad and cure themselves. The other survivors were kept and cared at the Earth Kingdom. Their hospital wing was a crowded mess and people were placed in beds no matter about the severity of their injuries nor their positions. Baekhyun got few grazes but he's fine, so he spent his time assisting those Healers.

At noon, after the retreat, the remaining knights helped those survivors to be transferred at the neighbor kingdom. The Fire Castle was frozen and was infested with ice spikes thus it can't be entered. The King's Counsel was known to be stuck inside his room at the castle. There were no signs of the Fire King and Queen, but as long as a Prince or a Princess is alive, it's not considered as a fallen kingdom.

The Prince. Baekhyun forgot everything about what happened last night because of the war. Though it hurt him so much, his feet didn't manage to return home for his heart aches to stay so. Chanyeol's condition was the thing he was worried about, seeing him stings but he couldn't avoid watching him from afar and ask the others of how he was doing as he was being treated by the other Healers.

Baekhyun was aware that he was going to pass through Chanyeol's bed again, but he didn't expect that the man would grasp his wrist.

"Baekhyun-ah." he called in a pouty tune.

He turned to Chanyeol and saw his frowning face again. Baekhyun tried not to laugh at Chanyeol's furrowed eyebrows, compressed nose and pouty lips. Instead, he looked away while his wrist was in his hand.

"Baekhyun-ah~" he reiterated in a more yowling way, "Those swords, its blades, those ice shards and its cold won't kill me."

Baekhyun gazed at Chanyeol again with the coldest piercing stare he could give.

"That, that!" Chanyeol pointed at his eyes, "That will kill me. You're killing me, Baekhyun." he sniffed as his eyes became melancholic to be in sight, "It to see that you're avoiding me."

Chanyeol suddenly pulled him to fall on his laps and fastened his other hand around his waist. Baekhyun looked at Chanyeol with his wide eyes.

"It to think that I wasn't able to express properly that I didn't want to lose you." he said softly and the next struck Baekhyun hard in the guts.

"I ing love you, Baekhyun."

His last words last night and right now was no joke. Baekhyun got the answer to the question last night. What happened to the Chanyeol he knew? He fell in love.

Baekhyun thinks he had fallen too but he just couldn't admit it. Perhaps, he don't know how love feels. He slowly touched Chanyeol's wounded cheek and it. A small smile was forming in his lips. Chanyeol had set him free when he needed freedom. Chanyeol cared for him when he needed someone to be concerned about him. Chanyeol loved him when he craved for someone who would love him. Chanyeol was someone to be trusted. Before, he was his friend. But now, he realized that it doesn't look like it. He was in love.

He was the sweetest thing he ever had in his life.

"I ing love you more, Chanyeol."

It felt like an invisible rope that was tied around his neck as Baekhyun couldn't resist to smash his lips into Chanyeol's and locked it in passionately.

He was thankful that the room got lots of bed vacancies and it's not the room that would start rumors and gossips about what happened right now.

.*.

The Storms Kingdom lies at the north of the Earth Kingdom, it is the world's pioneer in distributing electricity to both urban and rural areas. It has many powerplants powered by their neighboring kingdoms such as the Fire Kingdom's volcano geothermally. The kingdom was urbanized with buildings and uses cars as transportation like the Lights, the Time Keepers and the Psychokinetics. Unlike the others, using of powers were not common with the Storms. The kingdom was the rural area's bridge to the urbanized ones.

Chen lived differently. He wasn't used to horses though the kingdom had for battles. He used limousines as carriages. He lived like the royalties in Earth's modern day England.

At exact midday, the servants were arguing with each other outside the castle's chamber door.

"We must tell the Majesty about this!"

"No! We must bring him to the hospital wing first!"

"But it's the Earth Duke! Our Majesty must be expecting him here-"

"Yah!" Chen shouted, running to the servants, "What's the commotion all about and-Kyungsoo!"

He rushed down to Kyungsoo who was crouching in pain, gasping for air and looking ashen at the middle of the staircase. Chen held his arms and made him look at him.

"Kyungsoo! You must be with Kai! Where is he?" he asked worriedly.

Kyungsoo was squeezing his chest, he replied with difficulty, "He..got frozen.."

"Frozen? Where is he?" Chen was trying to keep him awake when he was starting to lose his consciousness, "Kyungsoo!"

"Hyung..." he said faintly that he almost couldn't hear it, "..border..f-fire.."

Kyungsoo collapsed on Chen's arms, startling him. He hoisted him up in his arms and asked for the servants to call their Healers.

 

Chen couldn't recall when was the last time they visited each other. He was sure it was a decade ago when they still loved to play and we're not busy. Kyungsoo was his best friend since they were young and nothing had changed.

"Hyung.."

He perked up on Kyungsoo's voice, he smiled in seeing him awake. Chen approached his friend and brushed his hair using his fingers. Chen couldn't distinguish how Kyungsoo's look changed from being vividly joyful because of his strange disease.

"Yah." Chen said, "You better get well. I missed you."

Kyungsoo chuckled lightly, "Me too." he made a slight smile, "Let's catch some butterflies and pretend that you were a dinosaur that lived at the Earth."

Chen laughed, "Why not? I would love to." he winked at him, receiving a punch from Kyungsoo.

There were seconds of silence before Kyungsoo asked, "Chen-hyung. What about Kai?"

The question reminded Chen of what happened to the Teleportation Duke. He was reminded of Kyungsoo's pale face a while ago that appeared to be beseeching him to deliver him.

"Please save him for me." Kyungsoo asked with a breaking voice.

Chen turned to his servants and commanded, "Tell the knights to prepare my stallion."

.*.

Xiumin wasn't able to take his headache pill this day and it just felt weird. He felt a bit of forced and half of not. He was suddenly becoming aware of what was happening around him and how cruel her mom is. He felt free and his head wasn't aching. However, he was experiencing something in his head that he doesn't know what he had done lately.

That medicine, they said that he had an illness that was making his head ache frequently, so he had to take it since he was young.

Xiumin took that medicine bottle and drained all of its contents at his bathroom's sink. But he pocketed a piece for evidence.

He was sure that his mother was hiding something from him. Xiumin left his room and sneaked his way to his mother's place that he had never entered. Or maybe, he had entered it but he couldn't remember. It looked absolutely normal, not when he accidentally stepped on a block of ice, the floor formed a circular stairs that lead to somewhat evil.

And yes, it was. The secret room was overflowing of things that seemed to come from the Dark Kingdom.

The Dark Kingdom, the kingdom reigned by an evil man called Anonymous that fell to extinction a hundred years ago by the light emitting kingdoms–Fire and Light. Those who were exiled from their hometown and those who were punished with a heinous crime were thrown there. It was known to bear the darkest creatures in the world. Also, Anonymous' brother, Nescius, who possessed all of the powers like him was the one who guards the cursed kingdom from doing abominable things to the other kingdoms.

So, what the are these things doing in his mother's room?!

 

Xiumin rode his horse away from the castle, stealing a necklace with a Dark Kingdom pendant. He was now on his way to the Earth Kingdom to surrender and to ask help for his mother who was possibly possessed by one of the Evil's devoted servants.

"Yayayayayah! Yah!" a man stopped him bravely–but it sounded like he was trying, pointing a finger on him.

The man on a white horse was with knights about five and all dressed in all gold battle armor. They must be from the Kingdom of Lightning. They appear to be taking a frozen statue that seemed to be a victim of the war a while ago.

But who is this? He couldn't remember who that guy was. That man knew him but he doesn't know him. Xiumin squinted his eyes while recognizing the man.

"Yah!" he shouted again, "Why are you squinting your eyes on me? You don't know me, huh?" he laughed tearfully, "You must be too busy with your eeevil doings!"

Xiumin was offended by what he was saying. Did he became that bad? What in the world was he doing all the time?

"I-I'm sorry, but I-" he made his horse to gallop forward but the man interrupted again.

Swiping his finger in the air and with a face full of false defiance, "No, no, no, no! Don't you dare come near us you evil little munchkin!"

Little munchkin?! How dare this-

"Munchkin? I'm not-" Xiumin moved forward again and-

-stopped, "Yes! You are a munchkin! A scary munchkin! So, you have to stay away!"

"Look, I'm sorry but can you-"

"-no! Look at you! You're already a half a hundred inches away from us!"

"But, I mean no harm. I-"

"-don't you dare come near us! Or I'll-I'll toast you alive!"

"Wait!"

Everything went black.

.*.

"Omo." Chen gasped, "Omo, omo, omo!" he screamed.

The Ice Prince fell off his horse because of what he did. He blew the smoke off from his finger and jumped off his horse. Chen approached the Prince slowly and turned his face above.

"Omo.." he whispered anxiously, sticking his ear to the Prince's chest.

"Your Highness."

"What?!" Chen was surprised, snapping to his servant. He tried not to look nervous.

"What happened?"

"I-It's-none of your business!" Chen turned to the unconscious Prince, "Go! Go back to the palace and take the Duke with you."

"Don't you need some help-"

"-no! Go!"

Chen breathed out in relief when his knights galloped the way away. Now, he had to deal with this scary Prince. Oh god.

He was not brave actually.

Chen carried the Prince to his own horse and rode away, leaving the other's horse (confused?).

.*.

A man and a woman were thrown into the ground. The sack covering their heads were removed by two Ice knights. Both chained, weak and powers diluted.

"Well.." the Ice Queen smiled wickedly, "Look at your castle."

The Fire couple looked at the Fire Castle that stood in front of them. The Fire Queen cried in horror.

"The Fire Castle looked beautiful with those shining shimmering ice crystals." the Ice sighed, "How ironic."

"How could you do this?!" the Fire Queen hissed, "I know we were born blood feuds but why do you have to start a war?!"

"It's because..I'm jealous."

"You're jealous?!" the Fire King growled.

"Yes." the Queen answered, feigning sorrow, "My kingdom was fallen, forced to extinction."

"What do you mean?" the both asked with trepidation.

"You know, we hated the Light."

The Fire Queen remembered the past where the Light Kingdom fell. She looked at the Ice Queen and was surprised to see her staring at her too.

"We hated the Fire also."

.*.

I'll do it. Once. Twice. Thrice. Ugh! Forget it!

Chanyeol had tried to woo Baekhyun again for the third time. He was just passing through his bed like he's nothing to him. And it kills him. He always end up reaching for nothing. Chanyeol was watching him all the time while he was busy accompanying those Healers. He feared that if Baekhyun was a metal, he could now melt him into a malleable piece that would look at him using only his stare. He swore if he had just glanced at him, he could finally swoon, but no. Chanyeol loathed him wearing that cold, thoughtless, murderous look as he walk through his bed. He did that thrice and it murders him again. It's damn frustrating him out of his lights!

He couldn't ease watching Baekhyun being mad at him. He thought that if this was going to continue, he wouldn't be able to recover and perhaps would be the cause that he will remain in that bed forever. Chanyeol sighed heavily as he saw Baekhyun's lips stretched into a comforting smile to a child. He needed him to smile at him like that too. He felt so hopeless, depressed and lonely. Chanyeol just needed Baekhyun at his side.

He needed to apologize and to say that he was just scared to lose him and to tell him that he just loves him so much.

At his approaching fourth passing, Chanyeol took out all of his courage and nerve to pull Baekhyun.

"Baekhyun-ah."

 

Chanyeol breathed out happily. He was watching the peaceful view given by the Earth Garden. Baekhyun left for a moment to get some snacks from the kitchen.

He was grinning widely out of mind, musing about what happened. Baekhyun pulled him into a kiss. It was his first kiss. A kiss that made his heart pound, tickle his insides until they were both out of breath and laughing. Chanyeol never expected the other's confession but it felt like he's literally floating. It was beautiful. He received a kiss from that guy and he craved for more.

He looked back at the passage to the castle then back at the view, wondering where Baekhyun is.

"Look how vulnerable you are."

A voice said, it felt familiar, but it was all different. He doesn't know who said that. He looked around the place apprehensively as the menace inside him grows.

"Who are you?! Show yourself now!" Chanyeol roared and the wind blew hard.

Dust circled in front of him, forming a figure of someone he wouldn't forget for his betrayal.

"Sehun!"

.*.

"What the hell is the Ice Prince doing in here?! I told you to bring Kai! Not the one who started it all!"

"Shh!" Chen shushed Kyungsoo that was hugging all of his blanket on him and screaming.

Chen lay the Prince down on a bed away from Kyungsoo with the servants assisting him.

"Hyung!" Kyungsoo complained, "What did you see that you've got the urge to bring that man here?!"

"Kyungsoo." Chen replied calmly, walking to Kyungsoo, "I've never seen him looking too vulnerable as a while ago."

"Vulnerable?" Kyungsoo grimaced, "That man is wicked! Vulnerable is not in his vocabulary, hyung." he hissed in annoyance.

"Trust me." Chen looked into his eyes, "Don't tell me you still don't know how to trust people."

Kyungsoo looked away from him and lay down again with his back facing Chen.

Chen sighed in defeat, "Kai is at the isolation area."

He hadn't see Kyungsoo got up and gone that fast.

.*.

There were knights holding him tight. His struggles were useless.

Sehun walked more nearer to Chanyeol while he cringes. Chanyeol could still see that metallic shine in his eyes like before. That was the last he saw before the Duke blew something in black.

Everything he saw became like that.

He didn't know that a Wind badge was dropped when he was struggling.

.*.

Xiumin woke up in a very unusual place, with a blanket over him and lemon colored dressed servants attending him. He quickly sat up and the servants called a man he saw a while ago.

"What happened to me?" he asked, head aching because of the fall, perhaps.

The man stuttered, "W-Well..I-I thought-well.."

"I'm sorry, but can I know your name?" he asked reluctantly that shocked the latter.

"You really don't know me?!" he gasped then called a man named Kyungsoo.

This Kyungsoo made his head prick even more. His face was unfamiliar but there was something in his head that tells that he had seen him before.

"Kyungsoo! He doesn't remember anything!" the man shouted to the smaller one who wore a stern expression that somehow didn't matched his baby face.

"Are you sure that he's not pretending?" Kyungsoo asked seriously.

"I'm not, you see, my mother was making me to take this pill everyday and I think it was the cause of I don't know.." Xiumin explained, showing the tablet, "I don't understand. I didn't take it this day and it felt different. It felt like everything's wrong."

Kyungsoo took the pill and examined it, "Bring him to your King, make sure to chain him and I'll call my father." he order before marching away.

Xiumin flinched at the word chain.

"I'm Chen, Prince of Lightning." the man a while ago have him a smile that comforted his uneasy heart, "I trust in you, so I'll not pull you harshly away but you should follow me, alright?"

Xiumin gaped at Chen. He trust him. It felt reliving because he thought everyone would just throw him away and ignore him. Xiumin felt comfortable while Chen accompanied him to the King of Storms.

.*.

Baekhyun cheerfully skipped along the way to the Earth Garden. He was bear-hugging a bunch of snacks he got from the kitchen after waving goodbye to the Earth King who was departing to the Storms Kingdom.

His confession and the kiss colored his day with other beautiful shades instead of being red like blood in the past hours of gore.

He was surprised in not seeing Chanyeol above the bridge that was supposed to be their meeting place.

.*.

Xiumin's judgment was held at the Royal Hall after the Earth King arrived. He was separated from Chen and was chained by handcuffs made with active bolts of electricity. The Royalties were glaring down at him and he was really not used to it.

"Show the Head Healer of the pill he was saying." the Earth King ordered and a servant gave a piece of folded white cloth to a woman of 50s that must be the Head Healer of the Storms.

Her wrinkled face scrunched in seeing the medicine on the cloth, she looked at Xiumin in a scrutinizing way. Xiumin looked down in shame.

"Your Majesty, this is a pill banned by His Eminence, Nescius, for it causes hypnosis." the Head Nurse claimed, "It's the Hypnopills from the Dark Kingdom."

The King of Storms reacted, "Dark Kingdom?" then commanded, "Check if he's still under it!"

Xiumin moaned in pain as the knights behind him kicked him to be knelt on the floor and pulled his hair harshly to look up at the ceiling.

"A-Appa!" a voice he knew shouted, "I'm going to check it."

It was Chen. Xiumin breathed easily as it gave him relief. He forgot to twinge in pain when he was near. Chen was gesturing to the knights to move by flicking his hand away. Those harsh hands released him and his gentle hand landed on his forehead as he took a long gaze in Xiumin's eyes.

"If he's under this medication, you can notice the indistinct metallic shine in his eyes and his steady actions in deciding, speaking and moving." the Head Healer explained.

Chen's eyes felt so gentle and kind, there was this shine inside his eyes makes it so mesmerizing, he claimed, "As I can clearly see from him, he's no longer under it." he lifted up his hand and turned to the Royalties.

Xiumin looked back at the Kings hopefully, he added, "My mother was making me taking that medicine for my frequent headaches since I was young."

"Yes," the Head Nurse acknowledged, "It has headaches as its side effect so if she told you to take it when having headaches, you'll keep on taking it like an addictive drug and also you continue to be under her control." she sighed and seemed to hold her breath, "But if you're telling me that you've been taking this since young, it has a dangerous long term effect on your brain."

He blinked his eyes at the woman. Xiumin couldn't believe what he's hearing. He doesn't want to ask what is it. He thought that it's not important, what's valuable right now is his mother and her evil deeds.

"How could an Ice possess such object!" the Earth King roared, "And do this merciless thing to his own son-!

Xiumin interrupted, bowing his head, "-I'm sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty. I'm here to ask help for my mother. I've got a strong evidence that she's possessed by one of Anonymous' loyal servants."

"Anonymous?!"

.*.

"How long are we going to kneel before you, Aki?!"

The Ice Queen laughed sweetly after the Fire Queen asked that question, "Oh Gayeon, I remember my Lord calling me with that name!" she exclaimed.

"Answer my question, you know-nothing!"

"Just wait," she shushed, "We are waiting for your children."

"No!" the Fire King struggled, "Leave Chanyeol and Yoora out of this!"

"I won't do that."

.*.

Baekhyun had dropped all of the snacks when he stepped on a Wind badge, reckoning Chanyeol was abducted by them.

He was now riding a horse to the Fire Kingdom, it gave him second thoughts of going to the Wind or Ice Kingdom to find him but when he chewed over the idea of finding them at their common place, they would look pretty dumb to use it as a hiding place. He was sure that he was brought to his own kingdom as a hostage to what the Ice Queen really wanted.

Everything was neatly planned, they surely thought that no one would find them at the wrecked Fire Castle but nothing isn't hard on Baekhyun. There were Water, Ice and Wind knights surrounding the walls of the castle and he saw the lost King and Queen of Fire kneeling before that evil Ice Queen. The King of Water and the Wind Queen was also there.

.*.

"I spied on her room this day and discovered a secret room to strange things like this that I reckon to belong to the Dark Kingdom."

Xiumin was holding up a snake pendant on a triangle hung on a silver necklace. Chen was surprised by the revelations, wishing that Kyungsoo could hear this for he could trust this poor guy.

"I think that their allies; the Water and the Wind are also using this kind of medicine to their sons." Xiumin added, "They must've been possessed also."

"So, you're telling me that the Evil's servants possessed them to go after the Fire because.."

"If they had the enemy's blood and if the Fire, the last light emitting kingdom fell, they will be able to resurrect the Lord of Darkness!"

Kyungsoo suddenly shouted from the side of the hall. Chen didn't know he was listening after all this time. The Kings were amazed but mostly shaken by his conclusion.

"Prepare the knights!" the King of Storms commanded immediately as the Earth King summoned his knights.

.*.

Baekhyun couldn't hear anything from where him and his horse were standing but he could clearly see with his own eyes what's happening. A chained man was thrown into the ground by a man he had seen before. That Wind Duke. He removed the black sack on the unconscious man on the floor that was revealed to be Chanyeol.

On seeing him, Baekhyun's feet suddenly went into its own accord as it swung itself off the horse and ran before the knights blocked him.

"NO!"

 

 

 

***

Started: April 14, 2017

Finished: April 16, 2017

A/N: Hi guys. TT I'm sorry for very long delay. I've been terribly sick lately, being admitted at the hospital for days and had been recovering for weeks. I couldn't last a second looking at my phone. Haha. >o< Sorry for the long wait. I'm now fine and will be updating! Chuu~ :'*

Yeo_Na