Exoplanet

Chapter 10: A Cold, Cruel Figure

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When he saw Junmyeon pacing in circles, Tao knew that none of their plans were working.

Two days ago during lunch, Baekhyun had slipped Tao a piece of paper under the table, saying that the king had disagreed with letting Yixing leave with them. Not only that, but the king had also stated that he didn’t want Baekhyun leaving as well. Now, Junmyeon was stressed about trying to convince the king to change his mind.

Luhan was worried, too, although Tao wouldn’t have known if the other hadn’t told him about it the day before. The telekinetic was good at hiding his feelings, reassuring Chanyeol and Tao that they would find a way to get Baekhyun and Yixing out even though Junmyeon’s actions proved that the king wasn’t budging.

Tao and Chanyeol had met Yixing already. However, Junmyeon said that he overheard the servants talking about how Yixing was berated for interacting with them, so nobody had dared to go see the healer again. Junmyeon was most affected by this out of all of them, and Tao often caught him prodding anxiously at his food during meals.

He didn’t see much of Baekhyun for the past couple of days, but he knew that Chanyeol had easily made friends with the Crown Prince. Judging by what he heard from the fire warrior’s ramblings, Chanyeol had apparently started helping Baekhyun control his power. Now Tao knew why he would occasionally see a small ball of light floating around in the hall, only to disappear a few seconds later.

In terms of training, Tao still had not made progress with controlling his power. Luhan believed that Tao’s power over time could be somewhat linked to telekinesis, so he was trying to teach Tao the same methods that he had used to learn how to lift objects with his mind. Tao didn’t think it was working, but Luhan occasionally claimed that he felt a change from the surroundings. Even though he couldn’t describe it when Tao asked, the ex-mercenary decided to trust Luhan and continued to practice.

Unfortunately, it was raining today, and the pounding of droplets against the glass windows constantly disrupted Tao’s focus. Instead of meditating like he usually would, he chose to take a walk around the palace, looking through the windows at the gray sky and watching as big, fat drops left watery trails on the clear surface.

Tao rounded the corner and flinched when he saw the sudden flash of orange light and heard the faint explosion. Recognizing the signs of Chanyeol’s power, Tao hurried forward, nervous that the fiery man was being reckless. He reached the door to the room only to be greeted by Baekhyun’s loud laughter.

“That was definitely,” Baekhyun gasped as he clutched his stomach, “not a bird! Were those supposed to be wings?”

Chanyeol was laughing as well, although his smile was more of embarrassment. “That was a bird! It had different wings, that’s all!”

“Oh, really?” Baekhyun sat up with a challenging smirk. “What’s it called then?”

“Uh,” Chanyeol swallowed nervously as he tried to think of a name on the spot, but then his eyes fell on Tao, who had been standing in the doorway the entire time, and relief spread across his face. “Tao!”

Baekhyun’s eyes widened in surprise when he noticed Tao, and he quickly slid off his bed and bowed. “Hello! I’m sorry I didn’t notice you earlier.”

“I just got here.” Tao returned the bow, surprised at how quickly the crown prince had gone from informal to formal so quickly. “I saw Chanyeol’s fire from the corner and thought he might be doing something reckless.”

“I’m not reckless,” Chanyeol muttered.

“That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard,” Tao said with a straight face. Baekhyun couldn’t hold back his snickers as Chanyeol scowled, kicking at the carpeted floor with the tip of his boot.

“Show Tao your bird, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun suggested.

Tao watched with interest as the red-haired man held out one hand in front of him, gathering ribbons of fire in his palm. The fire coiled and condensed into the size of Tao’s fist, and three strings of fire attached themselves to the fireball: two strings for the wings and one string for what Tao assumed to be the tail.

However, all Tao could see was a ball with three strings protruding from it.

“This…is a bird?” Tao asked dumbfoundedly. From his peripheral vision, he could see Baekhyun bite down on his lower lip, struggling to keep from sniggering.

Suddenly, the ‘bird’ exploded in Chanyeol’s hand, making the fire warrior yelp and Tao flinch. Baekhyun let out a bark of laughter, bowing his head to hide his face. When the smoke in front of Chanyeol cleared, Tao couldn’t help but join Baekhyun in his amusement. The fire user’s face was flustered with patches of soot on his nose, forehead, and cheeks. Completely embarrassed now, Chanyeol covered his face with his hands, unable to look them in the eye.

“Are you okay?” Baekhyun asked once he stopped laughing, “Are you burned?” He reached forward and pried Chanyeol’s hands away.

“I’m okay,” Chanyeol mumbled, still embarrassed, “My fire won’t hurt me.”

Hurried footsteps sounded outside, and a pair of servants rushed in. “Prince! Is everything alright?” one of them cried, fussing over Baekhyun. The other servant approached Chanyeol, retrieving a cloth from her dress pocket and dabbing at the blackened parts of the man’s face.

“Everything’s fine,” Baekhyun reassured as Chanyeol thanked the servant before taking the cloth and wiping at his face himself. Tao straightened up, swallowing back his laughter as he greeted the servants with a smile.

Just then, a flash of lightning lit up the room followed by the hollow rumbles of thunder. “Is it raining hard?” Baekhyun asked.

“It is, Your Highness,” the servant replied, “It appears that there is a storm approaching.” She took a tentative step towards the window of Baekhyun’s room. “Would you like me to close the curtains?”

“That would be nice, thank you. Are the seaside villages at risk of flooding?”

“Not that I know of, Your Highness,” the servant said as she made light steps towards the window, “I believe that it will be a quick storm: short with little rain.” She reached for the white curtains that were tied to the sides of the window, but then froze and gasped, covering in shock.

“What’s the matter?” Baekhyun stood up from where he sat on his bed and headed over. Tao and Chanyeol followed after the latter handed the cloth back to the servant. All three of them looked out the window.

Tao’s mouth dropped open at the sight of the hungry orange flames that he could see several yards away. Beside him, Chanyeol let out a soft exclamation.

“The fire must have been caused by the storm,” the servant said, “I will go see if they need help.” With that, she hurried away with the other servant, no doubt going to help keep the fire under control.

Baekhyun suddenly moved away from the window and went to the door. “Where are you going?” Tao asked.

“That’s Yixing’s garden!” Tao and Chanyeol didn’t need any more explanation than that. They followed the Crown Prince through the halls and down the stairs. When they arrived at the site of the fire, they saw that Junmyeon and Luhan were already there, along with a crowd of servants and guards who were trying to put out the spreading fire.

Yixing was there as well, and Tao felt a rush of sympathy for the other when he saw how defeated the other looked. Junmyeon and Luhan were talking to him, trying to comfort him, yet the healer showed no sign that he heard their words. Baekhyun pushed forward, intent on heading to his half-brother’s side, but a wrinkled hand suddenly grabbed the back of his collar and yanked him back.

“What the–?” Baekhyun cried indignantly at the rough treatment. “Father?”

Tao and Chanyeol quickly stepped aside to allow the king to pass. The aging man walked forward, stopping behind Yixing. Junmyeon and Luhan stopped their murmurings and bowed to the royal figure. Shaking slightly, the healer turned around and lowered his head as well, half out of respect for the king and half to hide his tear-streaked face.

The king gave no verbal response, merely raising his eyes to watch as Yixing’s garden burned. One of the guards that had been working to put out the fire sidled up to his side, quietly murmuring, “Your Majesty, our efforts are not enough to douse the fire. What should we do?”

A moment passed, although it felt like a long while, before the king replied, “Let it burn.”

The cold reply elicited muffled gasps from some of the servants and a few soldiers exchanged uncertain glances. In the end, Baekhyun was the one who spoke up, voice trembling with rage.

“How can you say that!” The Crown Prince cried, eyes watering at the sight of his brother’s hard work going up in flames, “Yixing worked hard on this garden, and you’re just going to stand by and let it burn?”

“Since this is Yixing’s garden, it is his responsibility,” the king stated uncaringly, “If he cannot take care of it properly, then perhaps he should not have one.”

The onlookers began to shuffle nervously in their places, and some fixed their gazes on the floor and refused to look up. They were acting as though they had witnessed these kinds of altercations several times already.

Baekhyun was still arguing with the king, and Tao noticed that there was a faint outline of light around the prince’s frame. The agitation was manifesting itself in Baekhyun’s power, and Tao briefly worried that it might get dangerous.

“I don’t know why you’re treating Yixing like this,” Baekhyun seethed, “But the servants told me that you used to actually treat him like he is your own flesh and blood. Why the hell did you change?”

“Baek,” Yixing whispered with a horrified expression on his face, “Don’t talk like that.”

“No!” The Crown Prince yelled, “I’m sick of asking questions and getting nothing but vague answers every single damn time!”

The sharp crack of thunder drowned out the sound of the king’s palm striking Baekhyun’s face, sending the prince staggering to the side. The glow of Baekhyun’s power that was surrounding him seconds ago vanished as though it had been blown out. A stunned silence hung over the crowd, broken only by the sound of the rain and the occasional rumble of thunder.

Yixing was the first one to move, approaching his brother’s side to wrap an arm protectively around Baekhyun’s shoulders. “Baek, are you okay? How bad does it hurt?”

Recovering from the shock, Chanyeol stepped forward and placed a hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder, murmuring low words to the prince and trying to get the latter to respond. To his dismay, the other stayed quiet, one hand over his reddening cheek.

“Your Majesty, please forgive Prince Baekhyun’s impertinence this time!” One of the servants – an older woman with wrinkles forming on her face – pleaded, dropping to her knees in front of the king.

For a moment, Tao could have sworn that there was a change in the king’s eyes. The brown irises turned pitch-black, shortly followed by the sclera, turning the two orbs into voids. Then, Tao blinked, and the king was back to normal. He glanced around at the others, trying to confirm what he just saw, but nobody else acted as though they had seen anything. They were too preoccupied with the Crown Prince.

The king lowered his hand, no hint of any guilt or regret on his face. “A prince should not be speaking in that manner,” he stated, “Especially not towards a king.”

Junmyeon started forward, but Luhan grabbed his arm and pulled him back. The king turned and stalked off, followed by the pair of soldiers that had arrived with him. An awkward and heavy silence draped itself over the crowd as no one knew what to do or say now that the king was gone.

Finally, Junmyeon cleared his throat and said, “I’m going to put out the fire. Please excuse me.” He gently pushed his way through the crowd and stepped out underneath the pouring rain. The water near him began to gather in thin ribbons as he headed into the billowing flames.

“I’ll go help him.” Chanyeol gave Baekhyun one last comforting pat on the back and followed Junmyeon into the burning garden, absorbing the fire into himself as he went.

Luhan turned to the servants and guards who were still hanging around and thanked them for their help. With the telekinetic’s coaxing, the crowd gradually dispersed until only the four of them remained. Once they were alone, Tao and Luhan approached Baekhyun and Yixing. The latter’s hand was glowing slightly, signaling that Yixing’s power was at work, healing the bruise that was beginning to show on Baekhyun’s cheek.

“Are you okay?” Luhan asked softly.

“We’re fine,” Baekhyun mumbled, one hand clutching Yixing’s free hand for silent comfort.

Nobody really knew what to say or do after that. It didn’t take long for Junmyeon and Chanyeol to return with the fire completely extinguished. They asked the same question, to which the brothers replied with the same answer, except this time, Yixing asked, “Can we leave tomorrow?”

Tao was stunned at the sudden request, and judging by their expressions, so were the others. “I thought you wanted us to convince the king first,” Junmyeon said, blinking rapidly.

Yixing tightened his grip on Baekhyun’s hand. “That was before today.”

Junmyeon ran a hand through his damp hair and glanced at Luhan, who shrugged. “I suppose we could,” the water user said slowly, “But what if the king finds us? How are we supposed to get our horses from the stables without the king finding out? What will we tell him?”

“We’ll just tell him that we’re leaving,” Yixing said with a newfound determination that Tao had never seen before. “He can’t afford to stop us since we’re part of the prophecy.”

In the end, the six of them agreed to meet in the main hall after breakfast with their belongings. They would leave after notifying the king because Junmyeon feared that disappearing without a word would antagonize him, and Baekhyun would share a horse with Luhan and Yixing would share with Junmyeon until they could stop and get two more horses for the brothers.

With their somewhat flimsy plan in place, they parted ways. Yixing headed for his room in the servants’ quarters, and Baekhyun retreated to his room. Tao, Luhan, Junmyeon, and Chanyeol each returned to their own quarters. Tao laid awake in bed for hours that night, silently fretting over the outcome of tomorrow as he listened to the thrumming of the rain.

He didn’t even realize that he had fallen asleep until he jolted awake to the sound of someone hammering frantically on his door.

A/N: This is the first chapter of a double update. There will be a longer note at the end of the next chapter.