“Help! Someone help!”

The two guards at the palace gates sprung into action, running up to the frantic man with dark red hair carrying a person in his arms.

“Help, please!” The man gasped out fearfully, clutching the figure he was holding a little tighter, “I found him on the side of the road, he's bleeding out… please… please let me take him to Prince Youngjae to be healed, he could die.”

Finally recognizing the unconscious man as being the Prince of Darkness, one of the guards stepped closer, “Give him to us, we'll get him healed up.”

“I can't.” The man replied, gesturing to the somewhat awkward way he was carrying the prince, “The wound is on his side, I've got pressure against it, I don't wanna let him go too quickly.”

The two guards exchanged glances before nodding, “Fine. Ok. Stick with us.”

They led the man quickly to the palace, past many confused guards and up to the higher levels where the princes’ quarters were. Running up to a door, the guard pounded on it, “Your Highness! We have an emergency! We need your help!”

The rush of quick footsteps could be heard before the door opened and Youngjae emerged, blinking in confusion, “What hap… pened..?” His eyes went wide when he spotted Jinyoung, battered and bruised, along with the blood stains on the front of the strange man's shirt.

“He's hurt pretty bad, Your Majesty, he needs to be healed.” The man explained.

Youngjae nodded, stepping aside to let him in, “Ok, come on. Put him on my bed.”

“Your Highness.” One of the guards called, causing Youngjae to turn toward them. He continued softly, “Will you be ok? Would you like us to stay in here with you?”

The prince glanced into his room at the scared looking man clutching Jinyoung and then back to the guards, “No. I think I'll be ok. But you guys need to alert the higher ups that Jinyoung Hyung is here. I'll heal him, then he's gonna have to rest for a while. I think they'll want to question him a bit when he wakes up.”

“Ok. We’ll send someone to let them know.” He replied then gestured to the other guard, “In the meantime, we'll be right outside the door if you need anything.”

“Thank you.” Youngjae nodded, closing the door and making his way toward the strange man, “Do you know what happened? How he got hurt-- ah.” He gasped as the Prince of Darkness’ eyes opened and he was quickly let down onto his still tattered feet.

“Youngjae… please…” Jinyoung pleaded, clutching his side protectively.

The healer's eyes widened, “Jinyo… Hyung… what the hell? What's going on?”

“Please heal me. I promise I'll let you know everything soon.”

“But... Jackson Hyung… told me about what happened last night.” Youngjae admitted, still confused, “He was worried and heartbroken and he said you chose to run away and--”

“Did he forget to mention that he was the one that injured the prince?” The third person in the room piped up, looking far less frantic than he had been.

“H-he… Jackson did this?” The healer stammered, horrified eyes locked onto where Jinyoung's hand was pressing against his blood-soaked clothes.

Jinyoung took a painful step forward and placed his clean hand on the younger prince's shoulder, “I promise I will explain. Right now I just… I, uh… had it bandaged up last night but it's not enough, I need you to at least close the wound on my side, please.”

“Hyung…” Youngjae glanced at the door, clearly uncomfortable and Jinyoung felt himself start to panic. He could call for those guards at any moment and their whole plan would be ruined.

The younger prince opened his mouth to say something toward the door – or more specifically, the guards – when, in an instant, there was a hand pressed roughly over his mouth to silence him, fingers digging painfully into his cheeks.

“Don’t you dare...”

“Jaebeom, stop.” Jinyoung grabbed his wrist, trying to pry him away from the terrified young man. The last thing they needed was to freak him out even more, lest he just decide not to help Jinyoung at all.

Jaebeom scowled but let go, staying on his guard as he did so. In a last ditch effort, especially since they were running out of time before someone came to check on them, Jinyoung fell to his knees, causing the healer to take a cautious step back.

“Youngjae, please.” The Prince of Darkness clasped his hands together, “Please. I'm begging you. Please do this for me. I will be in your debt forever, please.”

“Hyung…”

Jinyoung felt awful.

Youngjae was kind and caring and the older prince knew he would eventually give in and help him. He also knew that Youngjae’s power drained the energy of a person while he healed them and Jinyoung would undoubtedly pass out afterwards. Instead of staying put and sleeping it off like he should, he couldn't stick around after he was healed if he wanted any chance of getting back to the town. That meant he was going to have to leave Jaebeom in charge for a bit and, judging by the display from a moment ago, he was not looking forward to that.

He took a deep breath and locked eyes with the younger man, “Please.”

Youngjae looked like he was at war with himself, glancing between Jinyoung and the door, before he placed his hands over his face and groaned. “Fine!” He shouted a little too loudly, arms dropping back down, “Fine. But you have to promise me you'll stay afterwards.”

“Youngjae, I…”

“Promise me, Hyung.”

Jinyoung's gaze dropped to focus on the younger's feet, “I… can't.” He looked back up, “I don't wanna lie to you, Youngjae. I can't stay here. The truth is; I don't even fully understand what's going on, but I promise I will tell you everything as soon as I do. I promise. Please just… trust in me.” He lowered his head in a deep bow, knowing that this was all he had to offer and he was screwed if Youngjae didn't agree.

He heard the sound of rustling in front of him and suddenly he was being pulled into a hug, simultaneously feeling the pain in his body subside along with the comforting warmth that always accompanied Youngjae's power.

“Please don't do anything stupid…” the younger whispered, receiving a weak nod and Jinyoung's arms finding purchase around his waist as the Prince of Darkness felt himself getting more and more tired as every cell in his body worked overtime to repair itself.

Jinyoung went limp as soon as he was fully healed, his face buried in the other’s shoulder. Youngjae looked up at Jaebeom, “I don't know how you're planning on getting out of here. He was hurt pretty bad, he's gonna be out cold for at least seven to eight hours and I highly doubt you'll be able to carry him past the guards.”

Jaebeom leaned down and lifted Jinyoung out of the healer's arms with ease. He moved to the nearby window and opened it before turning back to Youngjae and smirking, “You underestimate me.” He winked then tilted his head, “You know, now that I think about it, you wouldn't happen to want to join us, would you? We could use a healer.”

“Get out before I alert the guards.” The younger hissed, distrust clearly evident on his features.

Jaebeom shrugged, “Suit yourself. But if you ever decide to get out of this stuffy palace, hit me up. You and I could have a lot of fun together, Your Majesty.” With that, he stepped out through the window and was gone in the blink of an eye.

Guilt started creeping up in Youngjae’s mind as he slumped down on the floor. His default mindset was to help anyone and everyone in need, but it didn’t take long for him to start questioning himself for healing the wayward Prince of Darkness.

Had he made the right decision?

•┈┈┈••✦✧✦••┈┈┈•

When Jinyoung woke up, the first thing he saw was the orange sky dotted with a few clouds that looked almost purple. It took a moment for him to realize that the sun was setting and that he was, once again, looking at the sky through the missing roof.

The second thing he saw was, sure enough, Mark. He was staring out the window panel, this time illuminated by the soft orange and pink glow of the evening sun.

Jinyoung giggled as soon as he realized that he was lying in Mark's lap again, catching the attention of the other man. “We really need to stop meeting like this.” The Prince of Darkness mused softly, lifting a hand to cup the other's face.

“You pass out too much.” Mark joked back, “I've had to be your Knight in shining armor twice now.”

“Well…” the prince started, pouting a little, “I'm pretty sure you're not the one who's carried me here two days in a row.”

Mark raised an eyebrow, “Really? You'd rather I be Jaebeom right now?”

Jinyoung chuckled again and sat up, enjoying not having a large gash on his side this time as he twisted so that he was facing his companion, “I'm kidding.”

“No no.” The other continued, crossing his arms and legs over dramatically like a pouty child, “By all means, tell me about how you wanna my brother.”

“You know I’m joking.” The prince insisted, keeping the interesting fact that Mark had just referred to Jaebeom as his brother in the back of his mind. He stole a kiss from the other man before sitting back comfortably, facing him.

“Ok, so…” he started, “I'm awake, I'm alert, I'm not injured and I've already hurt two people that I love. Tell me what's going on.”

“Ah, right.” Mark relaxed and let an easy smile cross his lips, leaning over to grab a thick blanket lying nearby. The blanket was then thrown over both of them, creating a little makeshift tent and blocking out the soft light coming in from the open roof.

“What are you doing?” Jinyoung asked, confused.

“Patience, Love.” The other replied lightly, “There's something I wanna show you.”

The prince waited silently, trying to see whatever this elusive thing was that Mark was trying to show him in the dark.

He waited.

Nothing happened.

Jinyoung chuckled, “Mark, what are you doing?”

The other man’s lips were suddenly pressing firmly against Jinyoung's, catching the prince off guard. Confused but pleasantly surprised, he let his eyes flutter closed, finally able to enjoy the feeling of being intimate with him. He reached a hand up and threaded his fingers through Mark's hair, tilting his head and deepening the kiss.

The first and last time they had done this, Jinyoung had been in both physical and emotional pain. This time, with his body healed and his mind just a little more at ease after speaking with Youngjae, everything felt ten times more amazing. Jinyoung tugged on Mark's hair, causing him to gasp into the kiss. The prince took advantage of the situation and s his tongue into the other's mouth, dragging slowly against his own.

Mark was the one to break the kiss, lips still placed gently against Jinyoung's as he smiled, “I love you.” He whispered, “And… there's something really important that you need to know…”

“What?” The prince asked, opening his eyes and immediately gasping.

Jinyoung could clearly see the other man as if it were broad daylight under the blanket.

Mark sat back, smiling contently. “Did you know… that light and darkness need each other to be complete? To create… everything?”

“Y-you're…” Jinyoung stuttered, eyes widening in shock, “But that's impossible, there is no such thing as a… a… light elemental.”

“I promise you, Love,” the other man started, fingertips beginning to glow a soft white, “There is.”

The Prince of Darkness’ heart pounded. A thousand thoughts ran through his head so fast that each one would slip away before he could pin them down.

He knew he should have asked a hundred more questions. He should have asked why literally nobody in the palace – that had housed countless elementals over the centuries – ever said a word about light elementals being possible. Why would they hide it? How come there were no records in the history books of light elementals? What did this revelation mean for him? Why did Mark’s light have such a strong mental and physical effect on him? How many more elements was he unaware of?

Instead of asking any of those questions, however, his instinct caused him to lift his own elementally charged hand and tangle his fingers with Mark's, neutralizing his light with darkness.

Slowly, and still without a word, he increased the intensity of his power, feeling Mark do the same, matching the prince perfectly. It was surreal. Exhilarating. Beautiful, even though it was essentially invisible and, if anybody saw them, it would seem as if they were merely holding hands.

All the previous feelings Jinyoung had when he was around Mark grew more and more intense as their powers did until all the confusion gave way to total tranquility and belonging.

It was euphoric.

Simultaneously, they both dropped their respective elemental charges, Jinyoung sighing in contentment as he did.

“Wow… that’s…” the prince started softly, unable to put how he was feeling into words.

“Yeah…” Mark's smile faltered as he finally broke eye contact to look at their joined hands. He loosened his grip a little to play with the band that sat snugly around the base of Jinyoung’s finger. “Nice ring.” He spoke somewhat bitterly.

Jinyoung flashed him a sympathetic look before speaking softly, “I am engaged, Mark.”

“I know.” He paused before looking back at him, “Tell me… before we met… did you really wanna marry him?”

The prince's gaze fell to the soft quilt they were sitting on, “He's my best friend. He's… I do love him. I love him… in a different way from the other guys.” Lifting his head again, he continued, “But the way I feel about him is also different from the way I feel about you. I don't… ever remember being as happy as I am when I'm with you. Ever.”

“We were made for each other. You were meant to be mine.” Mark concluded. His expression darkened a little as his finger traced the blue strip decorating the other’s ring, “No one else’s…”

Jinyoung his lips, voice dropping to barely a whisper, “Then make me yours…”

Mark didn't waste any time in recapturing Jinyoung's lips with his own, once again tightening his grip on the prince's hand. He moved forward, slowly coaxing Jinyoung to lay back until the back of his head touched the quilt, Mark passionately into his mouth, trying to get as physically intimate as they possibly could.

low in his throat as Mark's tongue battled with his, Jinyoung tangled his fingers in the other's hair before grinding up against him and pulling a gasp from him. Capitalizing on the distraction, the Prince of Darkness tugged on the strands between his fingers, causing Mark to bare his neck with a soft “Ah…” as Jinyoung immediately got to work biting, and on the exposed skin.

Mark realized, in his lust clouded mind, that he was straddling Jinyoung and slowly rolled his hips, the added sensation making him moan unabashedly.

He did it again. And again. And again.

Until Jinyoung slipped his hand out of Mark's hair and trailed his fingers gently down his spine before slipping under his waistband.

Suddenly Mark pulled away, sitting up on his knees, “Wait... Hold on.” he panted out.

“What? What’s wrong?” The prince questioned.

Mark opened his mouth to say something but shut it almost immediately. Opting to stay silent and just maintain eye contact, he leaned forward and rested on one arm, using the other hand to once again play with the ring around the prince's finger. He twirled it a few times before slowly sliding it up to the bend of Jinyoung’s second knuckle.

They paused, eyes still locked, but completely still as neither really heard the dwindling sounds of the town surrounding them anymore over their own deafening heartbeats. There was an unspoken request hanging heavily in the air but Mark didn't push.

Jinyoung gulped as a flash of uncertainty sparked in his eyes before he visibly relaxed and straightened his fingers in a silent form of agreement.

Heart now pounding at a hundred miles per hour, Mark immediately swooped in and crushed their lips together again, making quick work of removing the ring. Wondering absent-mindedly what to do with it for a few seconds, all thoughts left his mind at the first touch of Jinyoung's tongue against his own and he opted to just fling it randomly to the side, not giving a damn about what happened to it as he finally let the light under the blanket dim until it was consumed by darkness once again.

Revelling in the euphoria of finally giving his body up to darkness as well.

•┈┈┈••✦✧✦••┈┈┈•

“He's rebelling. We can't let this escalate any further. You know how dangerous this is!”

Jackson stood his ground, looking up at the intimidating palace official, “I'm aware. But I know him, he wouldn't do something like this without a reason. Give me a chance to get through to him. If I fail… then you can put out the warrant.”

“We don't even know where he is. With all due respect, Your Highness, you're in over your head.” The man replied.

“Give me a day.” The Ice Prince demanded, steely determination showing on his face, “You can at least grant me that.”

The man looked down his nose at the prince before turning around with a huff, “Fine. Twenty four hours. If he's not brought in for disciplinary action in that time, then we officially regard him as a criminal and take him down for treason.”

Jackson nodded as the man left the room, shutting the door behind him harder than he should have.

Silence fell over the room as the Ice Prince didn't move an inch, mind running at a hundred miles an hour trying to figure out how he would save his fiancé. Or if he even needed saving. Or wanted it.

“Hyung…?” Youngjae's sleepy voice piped up from the couch in the corner of Jackson's room. He had knocked on the Ice Prince’s door at 2 a.m, plagued by the guilt of not letting the court know that after he had healed Jinyoung, he then just kind of sat back and let him leave with Jaebeom. He told Jackson everything and the older prince immediately summoned a few guards and a palace official, letting them know that he planned to head to the town first thing in the morning. The official, however, decided that Jinyoung would not get any more chances and wanted to put out a warrant for his arrest.

Jackson let out a deep breath slowly before turning and walking over to the younger, “I don't know what the has gotten into him. He's not like this.”

“I think… he's being influenced.” Youngjae theorized, clutching the edges of the blanket wrapped around him, “That guy he was with earlier, it might be the same guy you saw him with the other night.”

“Yeah. That ‘interesting guy’ he met in town.” Jackson replied bitterly, remembering his conversation with Jinyoung from a few nights earlier.

The healer dropped his gaze, fidgeting nervously, “It's kinda scary, isn't it? It… kinda feels like history is repeating itself.”

“History?” The Ice Prince questioned, “Oh, you mean the old princess thing?”

“Yeah. She also… just started rebelling after she met someone.”

Jackson crossed his arms, “But… why? I don't know anything about the princess, but it took Jinyoung one day to throw away everything he's known his whole life. There's gotta be a good reason, I refuse to believe he just met someone attractive or something like that, he's not that impulsive.”

“Hyung…” Youngjae pulled the blanket a little tighter around him, eyes still trained on the spot just in front of Jackson's feet, “I'm sorry… for not telling you earlier.”

The Ice Prince huffed before sitting down next to him, “Telling me is irrelevant. What I'm really confused about is why you helped them. And even then, why did you let them get away.”

Sighing, since he'd been asking himself that question all day, the younger replied, “He was hurt. I had to heal him or he'd run the risk of getting an infection or having the wound re-open and bleeding out or--”

“When you realized that they were plotting something, why didn't you just call for a guard?” Jackson demanded.

“It's Jinyoung, Hyung.” Youngjae answered slowly, “I've known him my whole life, he's not a threat to me.”

“He might not be, but you invited that guy into your room too. He's the reason Jinyoung got hurt in the first place.”

The healer opened his mouth to say something but closed it abruptly, catching the attention of the older prince.

“What?” Jackson asked, narrowing his eyes.

“Nothing, I just… I heard… something different from them.”

“What did you hear?”

Youngjae fidgeted, “I heard that... you attacked him…”

The Ice Prince winced before looking around the room, trying to think of how to respond to that accusation. He turned back to his companion and replied softly, “It was an accident… I tried to hit the other guy.”

“I see...” The healer mumbled, obviously trying not to mention that Jinyoung also had terrible injuries on both his feet.

Silence fell heavily between them but the subtle tightening of the younger's grip on his blanket didn't go unnoticed.

“Youngjae, you know as well as I do that Jinyoung running away like this can only be bad for the kingdom.” Jackson reasoned, voice low and serious, “I had to do anything I could to stop him.”

Youngjae nodded slowly in an attempt to just get out of this confusing situation, “Ok, Hyung…”

After a beat of silence, Jackson stood up and started making his way to his bed, “Go to bed. Get a couple hours of sleep. I'm gonna head out at dawn.”

There was no way in hell Youngjae would get any sleep any time soon, but he got up anyway. Hopefully, come morning, Jackson will find Jinyoung, bring him back to the palace and things can go back to how they were before.

He knew the probability of that happening was a million to one, but hope was all he had at that point.

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