Tongue of the wise ones you must seek.

"Ackbl nda itewh ixedm ogethert in armonyh.

Erewh ereth is ackbl ereth is itewh, nda erewh ereth is itewh ereth is ackbl.

Ouy illw indf eth neo ithw othb ereth."

 

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geminus | both

 

 

Cirrus was in her room locked up as usual, but found herself drowning in thoughts of the troll that was tied up on deck. There was so much more to him, and she desperately wanted to find out if her hunch was right or not. Were they similar?

 

How could they be similar? She was a woman, and princess of a kingdom where rules were strict and tradition even stricter. He was a man, and troll of an island that seemed to come straight out of a fairy tale.

 

But, she was alone. Even though she had been surrounded by countless people in her life, she always felt alone. She waited for months on end for Suho to visit her, and Cumulus never bothered to spend much time with her even though he lived a few doors down. Cirrus rarely saw her parents, and when she did, they were always the “King” and “Queen” of Pileum, and never mom and dad.

 

Even now, she was alone, and she had a feeling he was too.

 

Cirrus wanted to go onto the deck and speak with him, but she was confined in her room. She sighed and laid in her hammock. She turned to the side and saw the bright moon from her window.

 

For some reason, the moon’s illumination reminded her of sunlight in the night, and she found her thoughts drifting to Baekhyun. Ardent had called Baekhyun “sunlight”, but she couldn’t see why. What was it about him that they all found so bright?

 

I wonder if he ever feels lonely, she thought to herself.

 

Baekhyun was rowdy and confident. He led a crew of 14 men for 8 years, and had bonded with them in ways she would never fully comprehend. Ardent and Niteo didn’t think of him as their “ruler” or “King”. He was their leader, yet Baekhyun treated each and every one of them as an equal.

 

For a princess who had been confined in a palace and drilled with the concept that “she was different than other people because of her status” on a daily basis, Cirrus found the Lux Pirates’ relationship hard to believe.

 

“He would never feel alone,” she muttered to herself. Cirrus found herself staring at the small sliding-door directly above her. She wanted to talk to Jongdae, and the only way out was through him. She balanced herself on the hammock, and stared at the sliding door.

 

Cirrus bit her lip and nervously brought her hand up to the door. She slipped her small hand through the metal bars just far enough so that fingers grazed the wooden surface. She knocked her fingers against the door quietly, only to quickly remove them.

 

She heard shuffling from the other side, and the door slid open. Her eyes met his nearly black ones, but due to their proximity Cirrus discovered that his eyes were actually a deep shade of dark brown. She wasn’t sure if it was because of the lighting in her room, but it looked as if flecks of gold encircled his pupils.

 

“This is the first time you’ve knocked on the door,” he said to her. “What do you want? Make it quick because you’re interrupting my reading of Macbeth.”

 

“You’re reading Shakespeare?” she asked.

 

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair,” he recited the famous Shakespearean quote to her. “Kind of like this island, if you ask me.”

 

“About that,” she started. She had never asked Baekhyun for anything in the past, and she wondered if he would even be willing to listen to her. “I want to talk to Jongdae. I don’t know if I can convince him to give us the translation, but I think I can persuade him to at least give us a clue.”

 

“And why are you confident?” he asked her. “Though, I shouldn’t even be asking that because you don’t sound very confident right now.”

 

She gulped because he spoke the truth. She didn’t have much confidence that she would be able to change Jongdae’s mind, but she wanted to try.

 

“What’s your plan?” he asked.

 

She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. “I don’t have one, because plans are just plans. Whatever happens is a different story.”

 

He chuckled amusedly, then told her, “If you believe you can talk some sense into him, then I don’t see why not. At this point, beggars can’t be choosers. You have 15 minutes with the troll.”

 

He shut the sliding door shut, and Cirrus scrambled out of her hammock. She ran up to the door, and waited eagerly for Baekhyun to unlock it. Within a few moments, she heard a “click” from the other side of the door, and she pulled it open.

 

Baekhyun greeted her on the other side of the door. He led her onto the deck, where she saw Jongdae staring up at the sky. She slowly approached him, and she was sure he could hear her footsteps against the creaky floor, but he never glanced her way. When she was an arm’s length away from the troll, she spoke, “Hi Jongdae.”

 

He whipped his head to look at her and cracked a smile. Now that she was only a feet or two away from him, she saw his smile for what it truly was. The ends were uneven and rough, and as a whole it was unsymmetrical. And it pained her to see it.

 

She took a deep breath and said to him, “You don’t have to pretend around me.”

 

Jongdae flinched, and she could see his smile falter. But he was stubborn and continued to smile at her. “I’m just happy that hime’s visiting me,” he responded.

 

“Why do you always smile?” she asked.

 

“Because there are things to smile about,” he told her. Jongdae’s head was turned towards her, but she could tell he wasn’t looking into her eyes.

 

“You’re a lot of good things, Jongdae,” Cirrus started. “You’re a performer, an acrobat, a dancer, and a great seeker but an even greater hider.”

 

“I am all of those things, aren’t I” he said with a hint of pride.

 

“You’re also a very good actor,” she said with a sad smile.

 

Baekhyun watched the two from afar. The silence of the night allowed him to tune in on their conversation with ease. His lips tugged into a smirk as he listened to Cirrus interact with Jongdae. She had a way of looking at things that he wouldn’t ever be able to see, and the thought intrigued him. She could read a language he couldn’t and could see things he was blind to. What else was there to her?

 

“Yes,” Jongdae replied softly. Then he took a breath and continued, “I’m a wonderful actor.”

 

“Sometimes with you, I can’t tell the difference between what’s real and fake,” said Cirrus.

 

Jongdae sighed and titled his head up so he was staring at the sky again. “Sometimes, I wonder that about myself too.”

 

Cirrus inched herself closer to him. They stood in silence for a while before she decided to speak. “Do you want to hear a story I once heard as a child?”

 

Cirrus took his silence as a “yes” and began the story. “Once upon a time there was a bird who lived in a cage. She had lived in the cage her entire life, and her owner kept her cage next to a window. Directly outside the window was a large tree, and the tiny bird would spend all day staring outside. She would see wild birds come and go, and wondered what it felt like to fly.”

 

Jongdae hummed while she told the story, as if he empathized with the bird.

 

Cirrus continued, “So one day the bird started flapping her wings as hard as she could. Her owner wasn’t very happy that she was causing such a ruckus, so he reached into her cage and broke her wings.”

 

Jongdae winced at the imagery, but Cirrus continued to tell the story, “The bird’s owner told her that he broke her wings to keep her safe because her cage was the safest place in the world. The bird couldn’t cry, but in that moment she wished she could. And so, the bird lived the rest of her days in that tiny cage by the window, staring enviously at the birds outside.”

 

Cirrus remained quiet for a few seconds, and Jongdae took that as a hint that the story was finished. He chuckled and told her, “You’re a liar, hime.”

 

“How so?”

 

“You didn’t hear that story as a child. You are the story,” he said. When she didn’t say anything in response, he continued, “You are the bird.”

 

She nodded her head slowly and flashed a smile – one that even he could tell was solemn. “You’re right.”

 

That caught Baekhyun’s attention. Was she lying? Princes and princesses were born into a life of fortune and could no doubt attain anything their heart wished for. He wondered why Cirrus referred to herself as a “bird with broken wings”. He wanted to sneer at her comment and call her a liar, because how could a princess be anything but blessed? She hadn’t lived through storms, nor climbed her way up from the darkness. She wasn’t like him.

 

But maybe there was something else.

 

“Do you want to hear a story I once heard as a child?” Jongdae asked Cirrus. She nodded her head, though Jongdae would have started talking even without her permission. “Once upon a time a troll was born. Except he wasn’t really a troll. He was half troll and half human. His mother was a troll and his father was a hunter – he was human.

 

The young boy grew up on his mother’s village, because someone born with a tail and pointy ears would never fit into a human village. But he definitely fit the description of a troll. But then he started to grow, and grow, and grow until he was twice the height of any troll in his village.

 

Because he was different, people started to shun him. His mother abandoned him and fled the village, and he was alone in the world because his father wasn’t even aware of his existence. He visited the human village every week, and with each visit it became more and more clear that he wouldn’t ever fit in there either.

 

The young boy was in the middle of everything. He wasn’t troll, nor human. When it came to him, there was neither black nor white. There was only gray, and he drowned in it until he eventually came to the conclusion that he was a mistake. A mistake and a failure.”

 

Jongdae’s figure started to blur and contorted in different directions. It wasn’t until she felt a hot sensation down her cheek that Cirrus realized she was crying. She choked back a sob, and in the most stable voice she could manage she told him, “You’re a liar too.”

 

Jongdae thought he let out a chuckle, but what really came out of his mouth was a silent cry. It was the first time he had told anyone the story. He felt like a weight was lifted off his chest, yet at the same time it felt incredibly heavy.

 

Cirrus sniffled and wiped the tears away from her eyes. “I don’t think that troll’s a mistake or a failure. I think he’s wonderful and incredibly knowledgeable. He’s a bit strange, but unique and I’ve never met anyone quite like him. He’s like a fresh of breath air.”

 

“Even if he’s both troll and human?”

 

“I like that he’s both,” she told him. “If he’s both, it gives him the opportunity to do what no one’s ever done before. He can be the bridge between the two races.”

 

His face lit up, and Jongdae beamed at her. He flashed a smile, and it was his first genuine one in a while. He had never thought of his situation like that before, and Cirrus’s words gave him hope that there might be more to his future than just gray. There was light in his future, and although it may be small and barely noticeable, it was there. And it twinkled like the stars he loved staring at. It wasn’t a red, white or pink dwarf star. It was his light, and his alone.

 

“Thanks, hime,” he said in a soft voice. “And for what it’s worth, I’m sure that that bird with broken wings has a far more beautiful song than any of the wild birds out there.”

 

She smiled at him, and no words were exchanged. They didn’t have to, because they understood each other completely. It was a state of bliss and silent tranquility, until he decided to break it with a snicker. He was back to being his mischievous self, and Jongdae asked her, “Fun fact: do you know what ‘hime’ means?”

 

Cirrus shook her head and Jongdae continued, “It means ‘princess’ in Japanese.”

 

Her eyes widened in shock and before she could utter a sound he added, “And if the princess wishes it, I must comply. I am but a humble servant. I shall give you the translation you seek.”

 

“Cirrus,” she said without thinking. “It’s my name. But, how did you know?”

 

“I knew it wasn’t Cherie,” he chuckled. “Or Cara or Qin-Ai for that matter. Alright then, if Cirrus wishes for it, I shall gladly give you the translation you seek. Oh, and you should really tell those pirates to stop calling you princess if you wanted to keep that a secret.”

 

When Jongdae had used the term “princess” in context with receiving something simply because of status, Cirrus felt an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. She found she didn’t care for the title like before. She wanted to feel like she was the one who got the translation. She wanted to feel like she had accomplished something because of her own abilities, and not because of a title that had been ed upon her at birth.

 

“Cirrus,” Jongdae repeated her name. “It’s a type of cloud.”

 

“Yes, it is,” she agreed.

 

“So then, you can fly,” he told her. “But you know what clouds need to stay afloat?”

 

“What?”

 

“Sunlight.”

 

She was starting to hate that word.

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

Cirrus made her way back to her room. She felt weird because she was taking the lead, and that was something Baekhyun usually did. He followed behind her, and didn’t utter a sound.

 

That was even weirder.

 

She could feel his intense stare on her, and she gulped nervously. What does he want now? Cirrus questioned.

 

They reached her room but Baekhyun didn’t unlock her door. He stood in front of her and said, “You did it. I didn’t think you’d be able to convince him, but you did.”

 

“Well, I was just rambli-“

 

“Thank you,” he said.

 

She stared at the captain with a dumbfounded look, and he looked at her amusedly. “What?” he asked.

 

“No, it’s nothing,” she murmured.

 

“Do they not teach manners at the palace?” he raised a brow at her and asked.

 

“I just didn’t-“ she started.

 

“… know that pirates knew to say thank you, am I right?” he finished her sentence. Baekhyun wore a smug look on his face, and Cirrus couldn’t deny that he tad taken the words right out of .

 

“You’re welcome,” she told him.

 

“So, you’re not a dog,” Baekhyun said out of nowhere. “You’re a bird.”

 

“Actually, I’m a cloud.”

 

Baekhyun fished the key to her room out of his pocket and slipped it into the keyhole. He unlocked her door and pushed it open. She strode inside, and as he closed the door behind her Baekhyun said, “No, you’re Cirrus.”

 

It took her a couple of seconds to realize that that was the first time he had said her name.

 

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A/N: Firstly, happy birthday, Baekhyun! <3 BBH is literally the sunshine in my life, and I hope he'll continue to always smile because they're always so warm and filled with life. And because it's his birthday today, I just had to update :) I've been in a really bad slump lately but I'm slowly getting back up thanks to all your support and kind words. I can't thank you guys enough :')

 

Anyways, here's a pun since I kinda stopped doing that the past few updates (ty imrapunzel):

Niteo bright like a diamond. --> since niteo means 'shine'

 

\\ xoxo