I. GEMINI 

His twin was dying.

All because of him.

Jongdae ran past the many attendants crowding the hall. They all looked pitifully at him as he sped past, not sparing them a glance. They didn’t bother trying to stop him. It would be futile. Ever since they were born, the two boys have been inseparable. Two peas in a pod. Two beautiful boys cut from the same cloth. And now, as he ran towards his brother’s room, Jongdae couldn’t help but blame himself for what was about to transpire.

His twin was dying.

He should have known earlier. Their nanny had been acting strange since he woke up this morning. She was fidgety, and sometimes Jongdae could see her mind wandering off. She would occasionally look at him with a sort of sadness Jongdae couldn’t put his finger on. He asked to see his brother before lunchtime, but his nanny had told him that his brother was resting. Although the attendants have severely limited Jongdae’s visits with his brother, they have never outright told him no. Jongdae should have known then.

As he got to the double doors, Jongdae took a deep breath, willing his heart not to jump out of his chest. He pushed the mahogany doors wide open.

Everyone hovering over the large bed in the middle turned to look. His grandmother, Queen Miran, was there. Her glossy eyes met his, and Jongdae felt his world tilt.

“Luhan,” he whispered.

On the bed was his twin. Beautiful golden curly-haired Luhan with his eyes closed. His face uncharacteristically pale. His normally pink cupid’s bow lips were terribly blue, and his body was sickeningly still. His twin has never been that still his whole nine years of life.

“Jongdae,” his grandmother called. “I –”

“Nana, what’s wrong with Luhan?” Jongdae approached the middle of the bed, his eyes never leaving his brother’s face. Jongdae saw his tiny chest rising, but aside from that feeble sign, Luhan was too still.

The healers in the room were watching him carefully as he made his way to his brother’s side. They didn’t stop him when he reached out for Luhan’s small hand. Another sign that something was terribly wrong. Ever since Luhan has fallen ill, the healers have persistently told Jongdae not to touch him as much. They never outright told him, but Jongdae knew it was because they feared he would make it worse if he were to come into contact with Luhan.

“Jongdae, I do not think you should be here,” his grandmother stated. Her voice wavered as she looked at Luhan. “The healers have done all they can.”

“No.” Jongdae clutched Luhan’s hand. “No. No. There must be something else you can do, Nana! Anything!”

“Jongdae, darling, we’ve tried.” She covered in an effort to quiet the sob she long held back.

Jongdae gave his brother’s hand a tiny shake. “Luhan.”

His grandmother closed her eyes before she calmly told him, “This is not something I wish for you to witness at your age. You are far too young to suffer a loss, and he is too young to… As your grandmother, I cannot –”

“Can I spend the night with him?” Jongda asked. She opened to argue, but Jongdae added, “To say goodbye.”

She looked like she wanted to say no, so Jongdae pleaded. “Please, Nana. Please.”

With a look of extreme sadness, she nodded her head. “Everyone may leave.” The healers in the room quickly made their way out. Jongdae could see their nanny hovering near the door’s threshold. Her teary eyes were on Luhan, sweet little Luhan. Jongdae knew that, although she loved them both equally, their nanny had a tremendous soft spot for Luhan. His playful nature and lovely personality reminded her of her own son, whom she lost before he could become a man.

Jongdae wished he could hold her hand and comfort her because she was about to lose another.

He looked back at Luhan as the room grew quiet. His grandmother bent down and gave her youngest grandson a kiss on the forehead. Luhan’s long eyelashes fluttered just a fraction.

“Nana loves you,” she whispered as a single tear drop rolled down her cheek. She didn’t say anything else as she left the room, leaving Jongdae to be alone with his twin.

His body moved without him telling it to. He climbed into bed with Luhan, the way he did when they used to share one. He pulled the covers over himself. He reached for Luhan’s hand once again.

“You’ve been sleeping for a long time now,” Jongdae started, his heart painfully heavy. He was a bit surprised he could get his words out. “Nana told me yesterday that you weren’t doing so well, but I shouldn’t worry because you always recover.”

Jongdae was silent for a moment as he kept his eyes on the ceiling above Luhan’s bed. “I remember when we were six, you fell down a flight of stairs trying to chase me. The healers had to stitch you up, and you were ordered to rest for a few weeks. Nana gave me an earful, saying that I should be more careful while playing with you since you tend to be clumsy. I felt bad, but as soon as I saw your smiling face, I knew you didn’t fault me for what happened.” Jongdae couldn’t help but smile sadly at the memory. “You never faulted me on anything. Not even when I got my Sight and had to spend some time away.”

Jongdae finally turned to look at Luhan. “Not even when you became sick because of me. Because of my Sight.” He scooted closer to his twin. “Nana said I am able to See more, a little further ahead. Days, weeks, sometimes months.”

He gave Luhan’s hand a gentle squeeze. “But I didn’t See this. My visions never told me we were going to be here. I don’t really understand the point of my gift if I can’t use it to stop this.” He sniffed as his eyes began to well up. “I was really happy when I got my first vision, but now, I wish I never got this cursed gift. If it meant I could have you, I would wish for the gods to take it back…”

Luhan did not respond, and Jongdae got the feeling that he hasn’t responded to anything today. Not long ago, he heard whispers from the kitchen staff that Luhan was out of it more and more now that Jongdae’s Sight was becoming clearer by the day. He would go days stuck in a slumber. When he woke, he was far too exhausted to entertain Jongdae. Everyone whispered that this was the consequence of Jongdae’s gift. The gods granted him a knack, the ability to See ahead and across, but as payment, they wanted the only thing precious to him. His twin. His Luhan.

“I know everyone thinks it’s impossible for us to reach our tenth birthday together, but I need you to prove everyone wrong, Luhan. You’re always good at proving others wrong.” He watched as Luhan’s chest slowly rise and fall. His own chest ached. “You’re probably only sleeping this long because I’ve been away from you. I’m here now, so you’ll have to wake up.” Tears he held back were slowly making their way down his cheeks. “What am I going to do without you, Lulu?”

He swiped his face with his other hand. “I don’t know the answer to that, and I don’t want to find out, so you need to wake up. Stop sleeping. Wake up and play with me like you used to.” He could hear the unfamiliar desperation in his voice, but it was the truth. He was desperate to have his twin back. He tried his best to stop from sobbing onto Luhan’s pillow, but it was no use. One thought of not having his twin next to him broke him in ways he didn’t think possible. He was broken.

He was broken because Luhan needed to be fixed.

After his tears had dried, and Luhan had not responded, Jongdae closed his eyes. “You can’t leave me behind,” he said softly. He gave his brother’s hand one final squeeze. “Because I would never leave you behind.”

Most visions start off hazy. Jongdae’s head would momentarily spin before things became clear. It started off with him having severe headaches, but now, it was getting better. He could still tell a vision was coming on, but the pain was never as bad as it was before he learned about his gift. He was receiving daily lessons on how to dial down the pain.

Jongdae’s eyes would eventually open, and he would see things others couldn’t, with the exception of his grandmother, the reigning Queen and previous Royal Oracle. She was also given the gift as a child. It was the royal family’s infamous marker; the extraordinary ability to See into the future and across space. Oddly, the trait would always skip a generation. Queen Miran acquired the gift, and prior to her, it was her grandfather who received the blessing. Knowing this, Queen Miran would spend nights educating her grandsons about her ability. Everyone in the kingdom knew that one of them was bound to be gifted. In Jongdae’s view, it was truly unfortunate that he was the chosen twin.

Right now, as he cleared his head of that familiar fog, Jongdae felt a sharp pang in his chest. He knew that his body was currently asleep on Luhan’s bed, his hand still holding on to his only lifeline. He frowned. What did this mean?

He looked ahead and the Sight in front of him began to rearrange itself. The haze started to clear. An image started to focus on itself. He could see furniture and silhouettes. Shadows of people moving around a figure in the center. He blinked. The vision snapped into place, and he realized he was in the Royal Suite. Against the walls were glass cases of his family’s crowns and priceless relics. He has been in this room on many occasions.

“We may need to do something with his curls,” a familiar voice spoke. Jongdae quickly turned his attention to the dais in the room. He spotted his grandmother, arms crossed, as she supervised the proceedings. There were about six other people in the room. All of their attention were on the figure standing on the dais. Jongdae couldn’t see clearly who it was as one of the butlers blocked the figure from view.

“I think we should accentuate them,” said their nanny, who Jongdae just now noticed. Her hair had gray streaks in them, which meant he was currently years into the future. Years?

“Nanaaa,” came a familiar whine. Jongdae’s heart lurched. He knew that voice. He could distinguish it anywhere.

The people standing around the dais split as the figure turned around. Jongdae gasped.

“Nana, how much longer is this going to take? You promised me I could go bother Jongdae as soon as I’m done.” Luhan gave his grandmother a pout.

Jongdae couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing smack in the center was his twin, dressed in his royal garb, white tunic with a golden sash and black trousers, complete with a velvet red cape. The golden curls on his twin’s head were the same, but he was taller and seemed a bit older. Maybe 12? 13?

“We’re almost done, sweetheart,” said Queen Miran, her voice placating. She could never resist Luhan’s pout. “You will have plenty of opportunities to horse around with Jongdae once we’re done here.”

Luhan perked up immediately and spun back around. “I can’t wait to show Jongdae my new cape. He’s going to wish he had one too. Maybe I can let him try it on. Just for a minute.”

Jongdae’s lips broke into a tiny smile, right before the edges of the scene started to blur. He knew the vision was coming to an end, but he desperately wanted to stay longer. Just a little bit longer. Just to see Luhan cheerfully chatting away about his new cape.

Everything faded to black, and normally, Jongdae would startle, as if he was waking up from a daydream. However, this time, he felt warm fingers prodding his face. His eyes immediately flew open.

“Another vision?” Luhan asked, his index finger still poking Jongdae’s left cheek.

“What – Luhan?”

Luhan grinned. “That would be me.”

Jongdae spluttered. He sat up and pulled his brother into a bone-crushing hug. “How are you – I mean, we thought you were – what is going on?”

“I don’t really know. I just remembered feeling really tired, and Nana told me to rest while she called for the healers. I dozed off, and when I woke up, you were next to me, snoring, if I may add.”

Jongdae released his brother. “I do not snore,” he argued, though his lips twisted upwards in a wide smile. “Are you really feeling fine?”

Luhan nodded. “I feel better than I have in months. A little more like myself.”

“We thought you were –”

Luhan held up his palm. “Let’s not finish that sentence.”

“Agreed.”

Luhan scooted closer, his face inches away from Jongdae’s. His hazel eyes sparkled in anticipation. “So…what did you See this time?”

“You know I’m not allowed to tell you.”

“Oh. It involves me.”

Jongdae stayed silent. His eyes scanned his brother from head to toe. This couldn’t possibly be a hallucination, right? He reached out and pinched his brother’s cheek.

“Ah!”

Definitely real.

Luhan pinched him back. “Are we going to inform Nana about my miraculous resurrection or not?”

Jongdae rolled his eyes. “Must you always be dramatic?” He hopped out of bed and held out his hand.

Luhan swung his legs out of bed and happily took his waiting hand. “Since you get to be the future Oracle, let me have my fun.”

Jongdae didn’t feel the need to point out that if he was to become the Royal Oracle, that meant Luhan would be the de facto Crown Prince. His new vision made it quite clear this would be the case. For now, however, Jongdae wanted to bask in this moment.

Just hours ago, he thought he was going to lose a part of him forever, and now he had this precious part of him tugging him along, soft hands firmly holding his, as they left the room to give their grandmother the surprise of a lifetime.

Hiiiii

Firstly, I'm terribly sorry for being away for such a long time. Life happens.

Secondly, I hope you all enjoyed the first chapter of this exciting new story. 

It's not like anything I've written previously. 

(Princes? Oracles? Monsters? Brooding dark lord and sunshine baby?)

Thirdly, I can't spoil much, but just know that FAS is going to take you on a wild ride. 

Thank you so much for patiently waiting!