Black and white mixed together in harmony.

Where there is black there is white, and where there is white there is black.

You will find the one with both there.

 

---

 

lux somnia | dream light

 

 

Night fell over and the crew was exhausted from running back and forth between Minseok’s farmland and the ship. They had all taken a bath, and wanted nothing more than to sleep.

 

“Okay, there’s 3 empty rooms, so I guess we’ll split into groups of 5 and each group takes a room like usual, right?” Niteo asked.

 

“Wrong,” Ardent said. “The princess needs a place to sleep as well.”

 

“There’s a fourth room, actually,” Minseok said. Baekhyun turned to look at him in confusion, and the older male continued, “Hana’s room.”

 

Baekhyun flinched at the suggestion, and slowly turned his head away from Minseok. He was sitting on a chair, and he was glad that he was, because Minseok’s suggestion made his heart drop. If he hadn’t been sitting, Baekhyun was sure he would have been on the ground by now.

 

“No,” Baekhyun mumbled.

 

Everyone shot their attention to Baekhyun, and expected an outburst from the captain. But Baekhyun remained silent for what seemed like minutes. Finally, he spoke up, “We don’t all have to sleep in Minseok’s house. Our ship is so close by, after all.”

 

Yes, that makes sense, Baekhyun thought. He was trying to remain calm, but he was starting to wonder if anything that came out of his mouth made any logical sense.

 

“The princess will sleep here, as will a few others. I will as well, since I need to have a constant eye on her,” Baekhyun said. Despite the rationality behind his statement, the pirates knew that wasn’t the only reason why Baekhyun wanted to remain in Minseok’s house.

 

“It’s rude to disrespect the dead,” Baekhuyn finished.

 

The crew nodded their heads silently, and it was decided that 5 of the crewmembers would return to the ship to create a room for Cirrus. She slid into the small room that was filled with hammocks, and wondered how on earth 5 grown men could fit into one room. The window faced the bright Moon, and its radiance acted as her light. It casted a soft glow that embraced the room, and beckoned her to sleep.

 

Cirrus fell into one of hammocks and laid on her back so she was facing the ceiling.

 

Who was Hana?

 

She was Minseok’s late wife, and someone Baekhyun had grown up with.

 

Who was Hana?

 

But that didn’t define who she had been when she was alive.

 

“But, looking back, I think Baekhyun was more messed up by her passing than I was.”

 

“Hana was like a sister to Baekhyun, so it’s understandable that he felt that way.” Minseok’s voice rang in her head.

 

Who was Hana?

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

Baekhyun chose not to sleep in one of the spare rooms. He was never one to share a room with others. Baekhyun grabbed an extra set of covers from one of the rooms and dragged it to the sofa in the living room. He laid down on the wood sofa and positioned his body so that it faced Hana’s portrait.

 

The painting couldn’t ever portray how bright her blue eyes had been when she was alive.

 

“I’m back, Hana,” he said in a whisper. “I still haven’t found it.”

 

There was silence, and Baekhyun let out a chuckle. There was something about Piscari that caused the witty, confident and bold pirate Captain Baekhyun Lux to revert to an emotional, nostalgic and regretful boy. But he supposed deep down, he was nothing more than a boy who was chasing after an unrealistic dream.

 

Baekhyun let out a sigh as he turned around to face the ceiling. It was something he had never told his crew, and yet he felt they all knew.

 

Everyone has a purpose for the things they do in life. Doctors became doctors to save other people’s lives. Musicians became musicians to share their melodies with the public. Pirates became pirates to steal.

 

And that’s exactly what Baekhyun was. He stole, not for himself, but for a frail girl who had been as delicate as a flower. And he would continue to steal until he found what it was he was searching for. Even though she had passed away, he wouldn’t stop.

 

Deep down, Baekhyun was just a boy who couldn’t give up.

 

Baekhyun let out a yawn. His body was exhausted, but his mind refused to let him sleep. If for just a while longer, he wanted to gaze at Hana’s portrait. Eventually, the fatigue won and Baekhyun’s heavy eyelids started to close.

 

“I’ll find it. I promise,” he murmured just before everything went black.

 

That night, Baekhyun dreamt of the good times.

 

 

 

“Baekhyun! Found you!”

 

A 10-year old Baekhyun jumped up from the bush he had been hiding in and made a funny face. The young girl standing in front of him started to giggle, and brought a hand over .

 

“You’re so weird,” Hana laughed.

 

“Have you found Minseok yet?” Baekhyun asked.

 

“No,” she shook her head. “Minseok’s better at hiding than you are.”

 

Baekhyun smiled at Hana, because he wouldn’t ever tell her that he had purposefully let her find him. “Let’s look for Minseok together, then.”

 

Baekhyun started running around the park they were playing in. He looked under benches and behind the trees. He ran through the fields, which caused the white spores of dandelions to jump into the sky. He twirled through the fields, jumped and cheered. When the weather was nice, Baekhyun felt like he could rule the world.

 

Eventually, he found Minseok hiding behind a large boulder. Baekhyun poked his head around the boulder and pointed at Minseok. “I found you!” he yelled and clapped his hands together.

 

“I thought Hana was the seeker?” Minseok asked.

 

“She found me, so I became a seeker too,” Baekhyun said.

 

“Where is Hana?” Minseok asked with concern.

 

Baekhyun whirled his head around and scanned the area for Hana. He found her kneeling with a hand over her chest. The two ran towards her frantically.

 

“Hana!” Minseok yelled.

 

Hana looked up at the two of them, and forced a smile. She wheezed and clutched her chest tighter before she released everything and fell to the ground.

 

“Hana!” Baekhyun croaked.

 

Minseok took Hana in his arms and shook her body gently. “Hana! Hana Lux! Open your eyes!”

 

“What do we do?” Baekhyun cried.

 

“Calm down, Baekhyun! This isn’t the first time this has happened!” Minseok shouted, with much less conviction than he had hoped. Despite it being the truth, Baekhyun wouldn’t ever get used to the fluttering of her eyes and her collapses. Hana had a weak body, just like her late father, and every time it happened Baekhyun couldn’t help but think she wouldn’t ever open her eyes again.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

Baekhyun trudged back to his house in the evening, after he had made sure Hana had regained consciousness. He was welcomed home by his mother and father, who were sitting at the dinner table with a hot meal prepared for him.

 

“How was your day, Baekhyun?” his mother asked.

 

“Fine,” he mumbled. “Minseok, Hana and I played in the park. How was the sea today?”

 

Both his parents were fishermen – technically his mom was a fisherwoman, but Baekhyun found the word too tedious to say. His father replied, “Good waves today. Good catch.”

 

“Oh, Baekhyun, one of our customers gave us this book and we thought you might like it,” his mother said. She presented him with a thick, brown book in leather binding. Gold letters carved the words ‘Wonders of the Sea’ on the front.

 

“Thanks, mom and dad,” Baekhyun forced a smile. His parents meant well because they knew he loved to read. But today, he just wasn’t in the mood to flip through any pages.

 

 

 

At the crack of dawn, Baekhyun woke to the sound of sizzling pans and boiling water. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and saw Minseok at the stove, working away at preparing breakfast. Baekhyun got up from the wood sofa and stretched his back.

 

“Morning, Minseok,” Baekhuyn said in a hoarse voice.

 

“Morning,” the older male replied. “You slept on the sofa?”

 

“Yeah, I don’t really like sharing rooms,” he said through a yawn. Baekhyun dragged himself up to Minseok and poured himself a cup of hot water. He sprinkled in few tea leaves and walked over to the dining table.

 

“Did you sleep well?” he asked.

 

Baekhyun wrapped his fingers around the cup and smiled. “I wish I never woke up.”

 

“Wow, you must have been exhausted,” Minseok chuckled. He finished cooking the last batch of pancakes and set them on the table. He took a seat in front of Baekhyun and said, “So, you have the map and the princess.”

 

“Yes,” Baekhyun replied.

 

“And what are you going to find at the end of this?” Minseok asked skeptically.

 

“I don’t know,” Baekhyun shrugged. “But I’ll become King of Pirates.”

 

“Why do you want the title so badly?” Minseok asked. “You don’t have to be a pirate anymore, Baek.”

 

“I’m going to find it,” Baekhyun said with determination.

 

“No, you’re trying to become King of Pirates,” Minseok argued.

 

“There’s got to be something else besides the title,” Baekhyun muttered. “Something tangible.”

 

“Baekhyun,” Minseok sounded like he was pleading. “You don’t have to do this anymore. Even if you do find the Fruit, it won’t do any good. It won’t bring Hana back.”

 

Baekhyun stood up and shuffled out of his seat. He walked towards the door and pulled it open. The familiar Piscari air greeted him, and he took a step out.

 

“I know,” Baekhyun said.

 

“Then why?!”

 

Baekhyun smirked and looked behind him. “Minseok, I’m a pirate now. I’m selfish, I’m greedy, and I don’t really need a reason to steal, do I?”

 

Then, he shut the door behind him.

 

.::.            .::.            .::.

 

Baekhyun ran to his ship and entered the cabins. He pounded a fist on his crewmates’ doors and woke them up.

 

“Report to Minseok’s house for breakfast,” he told them.

 

The 5 crewmembers that had chosen to sleep in the ship trudged out of their rooms and yawned. They greeted Baekhyun, then started to make their way towards the cottage in the forest. Baekhyun made a stop by his room. He waltzed in and stopped before his bookshelf.

 

He knew exactly where each book was, so he didn’t have to look twice for the brown, leather bounded book he was searching for. He pulled it out, and let his fingers graze by the golden letters that spelled “Wonders of the Sea”.

 

Baekhyun knew most of his books by heart, but he knew this book even better than his own heart. He flipped to page 134, and when his eyes laid on the familiar spot of red at the corner of the page, he felt a bitterness in his chest. The red blood which was his own reminded him not of himself, but rather someone who shared the same hair colour as the stain.

 

“Captain?”

 

Baekhyun turned his head around and saw one of his crewmembers at his door.

 

“Umm, breakfast, sir?” he asked.

 

Baekhyun cleared his throat and quickly slid the book back in its place. “Yes, I’ll be there momentarily.”

 

“Were you reading something? I hope I wasn’t bothering you,” the crewmember said.

 

“Nothing important,” Baekhyun replied. He found a similar looking book and picked it up. He glanced at the cover and grimaced internally when he read the title. He forced a smile at his crewmate, then said, “Just reading Romeo and Juliet.”

 

“Ah yes, Captain really likes Shakespeare,” the crewmember hummed. “The princess, she really likes to read Shakespeare too, I heard. Ardent told me.”

 

“Yes, well he does have a lot of fans,” Baekhyun replied as he waltzed out of his room. He locked the door behind him.

 

“Is that book for her?” he asked.

 

Baekhyun glanced down at his hand and hadn’t even realized he brought the book out of his room. “Can I not read it?”

 

“Oh, of course you can read it, Captain Baekhyun! I just figured since you’ve read it so many times that-“

 

“She’s read it just as many times,” Baekhyun cut him off. “The princess, I mean. If not more. She’s a total sap for Shakespeare’s romances. She can even recite the lines, I tell you. That’s how crazy she is.”

 

“But so can you,” the crewmate said.

 

Baekhyun stopped in his tracks and tightened his grip on the book’s binding. “Yes, well I’ve always known I was crazy.”

 

The crewmate threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh. “First you call yourself life’s actor, then you acknowledge the fact that you’re a monster, and now you say you’re crazy. Which one are you?”

 

“I’m all three,” Baekhyun replied with a grin.

 

“I have to disagree with you, Captain,” the crewmate said. “You’re none of them.”

 

The pair made their way onto the dock and started walking towards Minseok’s house. Baekhyun raised a brow at his ally and asked, “Oh really? What am I then?”

 

“You’re our light, Captain,” he replied.

 

“I’m no light,” Baekhyun scoffed. “I live in the darkness, and the shadows.”

 

“But see, only light can live in darkness. Nothing else would survive,” his crewmate said with assurance.

 

“Perhaps,” Baekhyun mused.

 

The remainder of the Lux Pirates entered Minseok’s house, where a table full of pancakes and scrambled eggs waited for them. The hungry pirates shove the food down their throats, but Baekhyun ate reservedly. He cut each piece elegantly before placing it in his mouth. Cirrus watched the captain eat, and was in awe by his table manners.

 

She picked up the fork and knife, and had almost forgotten how heavy silverware could be. For the past few weeks that she had been on his ship, she had never eaten with silverware. Cirrus cut the pancake into tiny pieces and gingerly placed them in . Amongst all the chaos at their table, the two of them ate in peace.

 

After breakfast, Cirrus went over to the sofa and took a seat. Minseok had to leave to check on his farmland, and most of the Lux Pirates went back to sleep. They were all tired, and she was sure Baekhyun was too. Except, he didn’t go to sleep. He was wide awake and with her in the living room.

 

Cirrus reached for her cup of tea and sipped it in silence. She couldn’t help but let her eyes wander to the ethereally beautiful image of Hana. Hana’s dark locks resembled her own, except her bright blue eyes were a far cry compared to Cirrus’s brown ones.

 

For someone who had lived in her brother’s shadows all her life, she wondered what it would be like to look through such light eyes.

 

Baekhyun caught Cirrus staring at Hana’s portrait and felt like mocking her. “Are you envious?”

 

“Of what?” Cirrus asked.

 

“Her name was Hana,” Baekhyun started. “You’re probably thinking she looks really pretty or something along those lines, am I right?”

 

“I was thinking she looked regal in that portrait,” she replied.

 

“Wow, that’s precious, coming from a real princess,” Baekhyun scoffed.

 

“She is beautiful,” Cirrus said quietly.

 

“Have you fallen in love with her? You’ve been staring at her portrait for ages,” Baekhyun chuckled.

 

“No,” Cirrus replied defensively. Then, with a huff she added, “But maybe you are.”

 

There was a pause, then Cirrus covered with her hands. Her eyes widened in shock, and she couldn’t believe she had let slip like that. Hana had been married to Minseok, and Cirrus knew she had a special place in Baekhyun’s heart as well. She prayed she hadn’t offended Baekhyun, and slowly shifted her eyes to look at him.

 

He had covered his entire face with one hand, and his shoulders were trembling. Cirrus thought for sure he was crying, until she heard the low rumbling that came from his direction. He was laughing.

 

“She was my cousin, though sister would be more appropriate, really,” Baekhyun laughed.

 

“Oh,” Cirrus said. She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.

 

“Hana Lux was her name before she married Minseok. Then it became Hana Glacies,” he told her.

 

“Why… are you telling me this?” Cirrus asked. She had found out a lot about Baekhyun since arriving at Piscari, and sometimes she wondered why the captain told her the things he did.

 

“Everyone in the crew knows too. It’s not new information,” he shrugged.

 

“But I’m not a part of the crew,” she told him.

 

“Princess, you might as well be by now,” Baekhyun said. He reached for the copy of “Romeo and Juliet” that laid on the kitchen counter and dropped it in her lap. “If you’ve got nothing better to do than stare at pictures of the dead, you might as well read.”

 

“So reading about the dead is better than looking at pictures of the dead?”

 

Baekhyun’s next line was so quiet that it was barely audible. She didn’t hear most of it, but filled in the blanks with what she thought he would say.

 

“It’s what I do.”

 

---

 

A/N: *insert Lion King music here* Can you feel the angst tonight? The feels that backstories bring?

Okay but seriously, I think most of you can tell that Baek Lux's past is gonna be an angsty one. You won't see it all right now (I'm gonna reveal bits and pieces of it every now and then bc I'm a tease like that).

Also, to those of you who supported and commented such sweet words in my previous post, thank you so much <3 I feel rejuvenated now, thanks to you guys :D

\\ xoxo

 

P.S. I HAVENT FORGOTTEN ABOUT CUMULUS AND SUHO OK THEY'LL GET THEIR PART (eventually)