V

“Please, your highness, the prince is very busy and begs you to understand,” a nervous servant said with a deep bow. It was the second time she came outside, since Chanyeol refused to leave, and had announced loudly he would stand there all night if necessary, in front of the door that led to the Second Prince’s chambers.

“No, I don’t understand,” Chanyeol said harshly.

The servant walked backwards, back into the Prince’s chambers. Chanyeol stood as still as the guards at each side of the door, staring at it. The door was beautifully carved, with an eagle with its wings spread in the center, the symbol of the Valkean crown. It was the same symbol they carried on their shields and flags during war, a symbol he had learned to associate with imminent destruction and death. Now he associated it with a certain Prince with golden hair. A certain Prince who had locked him in a cell and was now forcing him to beg in front of a door with this emblem, two things he never thought would happen. It was a bit ironic.

After a few minutes, Chanyeol wondered if Baekhyun intended to simply leave him out here.

“Prince Baekhyun!” he yelled at the door. “Please!”

“Your highness, please wait for-” a guard started to say, but Chanyeol interrupted him.

“I’ll keep shouting out here if you don’t come out!” He pounded on the door, earning two sideways glances from the guards.

The servant came back, looking a startled. “The Prince will see you now, your highness. Please, step in,” she said softly, and moved out of the way.

Chanyeol was surprised, he had expected Baekhyun to come out and see him somewhere else, since he hadn’t allowed him into his chambers before. There was a spacious drawing room connected to a balcony, similar to the one in Chanyeol’s guest room. The chairs, the pillows, the couches- everything was in shades of blue and silver, the colors of the crown. The main blue was the same tone of Baekhyun’s eyes. An ornamented archway led to a private dining room, and the closed door must lead to Baekhyun’s bedroom. He tried not to think of being so close to the Prince’s bed.

Baekhyun was standing facing the fireplace, staring at the flames with his hands behind his back. The door closed behind him, the servant was gone. They were officially alone in his chambers.

“Prince Baekhyun?” Chanyeol said softly.

Baekhyun turned his head to look at him, his lips pursed. “You’re right, you’re unlike any other suitor.”

“Do they usually just vanish at the first nasty comment you make?”

“Mostly, yes. Most alphas don’t want omegas that make them feel stupid. They figure it isn’t worth it.” Baekhyun moved to a couch in front of a low table, sat and crossed his legs. He made a gesture for Chanyeol to join him. “And if they don’t, my brother makes sure they understand.”

“I wonder why I haven’t received a warning from him,” Chanyeol said, taking a seat on the sofa in front of Baekhyun.

“He thinks you’re harmless. You’re quite... charismatic. You’re always smiling like a pup, you treat people like they were your friends, your words are warm and it’s hard to believe you’ve been to war. Hasn’t anybody told you that?”

“No, but it’s nice to hear.” Chanyeol grinned. “We had a bit of a misunderstanding this evening, though. Sehun and I. Were you eavesdropping, by any chance?”

Baekhyun shook his head. “But I know you were going to discuss the prisoners.”

“Yes, well, there’s a prisoner in particular... He’s one of my father’s friends, Sehun says his crimes are too grave to be released, but without a trial or even a testimony of what happened, how can we simply accept it?” he explained.

Baekhyun was technically not on his side, but he was the most reasonable, apparently. He nodded understandingly. “Who is it?”

“General Kim Kijung, he fought at Davek. The fort was won, but only for two days before a surprise attack.”

“...Oh.” Baekhyun seemed to grow paler. He looked down at his hands. “Yes, he’s... quite vile.”

“He is? He was one of my father’s most reliable men. He has a family, back in Sejon. Three daughters and a baby boy. They would like to know what happened.”

“Yes, I understand, you do need to know. He...” Baekhyun closed his eyes for a moment, and took a deep breath.

“Prince Baekhyun, are you alright?” Chanyeol asked.

Baekhyun opened his eyes and continued. “Three years ago, when Sejon invaded the castle, there were families hiding there. Noble families, mostly children. He should’ve simply kept them guarded, but he threw them in the dungeons with the soldiers, and then wanted to celebrate. He made the servants throw a banquet. It was so loud, it could be heard in the dungeons”

Chanyeol frowned. “Were you there?”

“Yes, my brother commanded the troops during that battle. He was in the dungeons too, as I was. But we already had a plan, we knew help would come, so all we needed to do was wait.”

“Were you already scheming at fifteen?” he asked fondly.

“Yes. My father had died recently from his illness, my mother was devastated and wasn’t really paying attention, so Sehun had to take responsibility, and he was only nineteen. I tried to help as much as I could.”

“Alright, what happened then?”

Baekhyun took another deep breath, and continued the story in a monotone tone. “After the party was over, it turned out that wasn’t enough for General Kim. He went to the dungeons and he lined up all the young omegas against a wall. He chose one and dragged him with him, to the master bedroom. You can imagine what happened.”

Chanyeol was disgusted. No wonder Baekhyun thought they were savages. “Did he and kill him?”

“He didn’t have time to kill him, but death would’ve been more merciful compared to what he and his soldiers did that night.”

“How do you know? Did he tell you? Who is he?”

“It’s not good for anyone’s reputation to admit the other side utterly humiliated them, but he has a high rank, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I’ll have to write to my father. I can’t decide this on my own, I agree he needs punishment.” Chanyeol sighed.

Baekhyun finally looked up and met his eyes once again. “Did you pound on my door to ask me this?”

“No. I came to ask what your excuse for leaving is.”

The prince shrugged. “I miss my aunt. I’d like to spend the rest of the summer in Haeol.”

“Sounds unlikely,” Chanyeol said with narrowed eyes.

“What do you want me to say?”

“I want to know why you’re running away from me.”

“The world doesn’t revolve around you, Prince Chanyeol.” Baekhyun rose to his feet and stepped towards the door. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“Just tell me! Why do you say I wouldn’t want you?” Chanyeol followed and blocked his advance towards the door. Baekhyun glared up at him. “Please.”

“I have a horrible feeling you will never leave me alone.”

“I will not.”

Baekhyun rolled his eyes. “Fine, I’ll tell you, but you must swear to never reveal it. Swear on your God.”

“I swear to Dal I will never reveal it,” Chanyeol said vehemently, holding up his palm.

“It was me.”

“What?”

“The omega I just told you about. It’s me.”

Chanyeol felt a chill travel down his spine. “No,” he said faintly. He felt suddenly nauseous. Memories came back to him like a cascade of freezing water falling over his head. Baekhyun flinching away from him when he got too close the first few days. Baekhyun shaking when he tried to stop him at the gardens, the fear in his eyes when he had called the guards, the way he demanded not to be touched. His determination when they sparred, the somber look on his face whenever he lost against Chanyeol. His words, weeks before.

“You don’t want an omega like me, and if I let this go on, you’ll blame me in the long run.”

Baekhyun’s eyes were cast down. “Yes. Now leave. Please.”

Chanyeol was speechless, and Baekhyun couldn’t seem to stand staying there. He turned around, hurried to his bedroom, and slammed the door closed. Chanyeol felt like he had suddenly been tossed into a different world, one he absolutely hated, but he had no way to go back. Rage bubbled in his stomach. He couldn’t be in this room anymore.

He scrambled out of Baekhyun’s chambers and somehow found his way to his own room. He leaned against the door, panting. He closed his eyes, he couldn’t stop picturing General Kim dragging a fifteen year old Baekhyun away from his brother. A fifteen year old Baekhyun who had had no one to protect him, which explained why he didn’t trust anyone with his safety anymore. A life changed, just because of that bastard’s disgusting desires.

Chanyeol felt the overwhelming need to do something. His instinct told him to ride to wherever the bastard was and gut him very slowly, like the pig he was.

But that wouldn’t give Baekhyun his sleepless nights back.

How could he have been so calm while telling Chanyeol? How was he so strong, to devise a strategy for peace only two years after a Sejonian had done that to him? How was he so mature to forgive his country when they had wronged him like this?

There were cracks, though. He had seen them, when Baekhyun told him he had wished to see him dead. The Prince knew, however, he had to keep his personal feelings out of this, to the extent he had been perfectly reasonable when it came to the negotiations.

Baekhyun probably thought Chanyeol would think less of him because of what happened, but the more he thought about it, the better his opinion of Baekhyun was. He hadn’t hidden or sought revenge. Instead, he had turned his pain around and done something positive to prevent his experience from happening again, like a true royal.

*

It took him about an hour to calm down and get it together enough to return to Baekhyun’s chambers. He was being followed by a servant carrying a tray, the food covered with a cloche. Baekhyun asked him what he was doing before sighing and reluctantly letting him back in. The servant left the tray on the low table and retired.

“I went to the strawberry orchard yesterday with Kyungsoo,” he said, keeping his voice calm. Baekhyun’s hair looked more tousled than before, and his eyes were slightly red. Chanyeol pushed away the thought of him crying, he didn’t want to get back into rage mode.

“Good for you. You can’t stroll into my chambers whenever you want, you know? Don’t abuse my good manners,” Baekhyun replied.

Chanyeol smiled. “Anyway, Kyungsoo told me it was your favorite fruit, so I asked the kitchens to make all your favorite sweets with the strawberries we picked.” He lifted the cloche, revealing several confections. Small tarts with jelly on top, a very pink mousse in clear glasses, a cake with pink cream, and even a few strawberries dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with nuts. There were two equal portions of each dessert.

Baekhyun blinked twice and looked back at Chanyeol. “What?”

“I thought we could share them. I’ve noticed you love desserts.”

“Prince Chanyeol, did you hear what I said when you were here earlier?”

“I did." He gave a step forward and his eyes met Baekhyun's. "And first of all I want to thank you for trusting me enough to say it. I’m not going to interrogate you, it’s not my place. I’m not going to burden you with my feelings about the issue, either, but rest assured that bastard won’t be stepping out of jail any time soon, even if he’s in Sejon, unless it's to be executed. This doesn’t change anything, though. You’re still the same omega I admire, and I don’t think you’re broken or tainted. I’m here to ask you one last time not to go, to give me a chance, and if you truly want me to leave, if you truly find my company aggravating and don’t wish to know anything else about me, say it now. I’ll leave you alone for once and for all.”

Baekhyun abruptly turned around, giving his back to Chanyeol. He bowed his head and raised a hand to his face. Chanyeol waited, his heart racing. He was terrified Baekhyun would say no. Just as abruptly, he faced the alpha again and raised his chin.

“You have your chance,” he said haughtily.

Chanyeol beamed. “Thank you, Prince Baekhyun, it is a great honor to be able to court you with your permission,” he said formally, with a short bow.

“You may call me Baekhyun.”

“Alright, Baekhyun. Should we try the sweets then?”

Baekhyun smiled.

****

All of you guys got right what Baek's issue was! That's the thing about warnings, they're so spoilery, but oh well. Do you think Yeol handled the situation well??

I love hearing your thoughts ♥♥♥ I mean, reading