“Sir! I have a message from the Dragon-King!” A youth of no more than fourteen, sporting bright red hair and a smattering of freckles across his nose, runs into the Great Hall during breakfast, much to the displeasure of the Elders. Breakfast is for quiet and for slowly recovering from hangovers; no one appreciates so much noise at nine in the morning.

Jongdae heaves a dramatic sigh. “Yes, yes, good boy Magor. I did tell you to hand it to the steward, but I might as well have the message now, if you’re here…”

The boy, Magor, stumbles forward eagerly, nearly tripping over his own feet in his haste to hand his precious cargo to his king. Jongdae watches him impatiently, hands on hips as he disturbs the relative peace of breakfast. After the letter has been stuffed in his hand, he rewards the young messenger with a tankard of mead (the people of Stourbridge believe it is never too early to start drinking, and the water’s still under that strange curdling spell) and some food.

He, in turn, hands the letter, complete with unbroken seal, to Yixing, and begins once more to delve into his bacon and eggs. “Well, then.” He rolls his eyes. “You can read, can’t you?” Yixing blinks, then nods, slowly beginning to get used to the king’s somewhat scattered way of behaving. “Open it up and read it to me, then.” Jongdae tuts through a mouthful of scrambled egg, something which Yixing finds to be quite an impressive feat. Zhi Chen, beside him, giggles, clapping tiny hands together at the sight of the dangling seal.

It is that which brings forth Yixing’s first smile of the day, dimples and all.

Clearing his throat, he peels the letter open and starts to read, hoping Jongdae decides not to comment on his lilting accent today. “My dear Jongdae, Witch-King of Men, sprites, and numerous other beings of negligible power I cannot begin to remember – “

“Yes, yes, yes,” Jongdae interrupts, waving a hand carelessly. “Skip past all of the opening insults. I don’t care to hear them.”

Yixing coughs, then clears his throat again as he scans through the letter. “But sir…that’s more than half the letter.” He winces, expecting Jongdae to throw a hissy fit. It would fit his character, after all.

But to his surprise, Jongdae just shrugs. “So? Just read the important parts.”

Yixing wishes he was brave enough to respond with a sarcastic remark. “Right…so,” he hums, once again scanning the letter. “Ah, here! ‘I regret to inform you that I can be of no use in regards to your dragon problem.’” Here, Yixing felt it prudent to use air quotes. “’Cnut is a particularly stubborn dragon, and generally refuses all attempts to move him from his chosen home. Your best bet would be to simply…leave him be.’ Wait, what?” Yixing asks, brows furrowed. “If he’s the Dragon-King, surely he should be able to…control dragons, or something?”

There are disgruntled murmurings coming from the Elders around them, but no shouts of surprise, or even anger. Jongdae shakes his head, one of his rare, serious smiles curving across thin lips. “My dear Yixing, we knew he would reply in this manner.” Yixing stares back, confused, and notices – just out of the corner of his eye – the young boy Magor do the same. “Sending a plea for help was merely a formality. Kris has his own country to run, and he’s a bloody pretentious arse anyway. He would never deign to offer his help, even if he thought he could actually do anything. We just had to act as if we thought he would, so as not to insult him.”

It still doesn’t really make sense to Yixing, but for once, he wonders if he is perhaps underestimating Jongdae’s skill as a ruler. He often thinks of the other man as silly, vain excuse for a king…but when he does things like this, he thinks maybe – just maybe – it’s actually just an act.

He is saved from having to pursue this disquieting line of thought by an indignant shout from Magor. “So you sent me on a three-day ride to Tavii, at breakneck speed, on a mere formality?”

“And you were well compensated for it,” Jongdae replies lazily. “Do not try to make a mountain out of a molehill, young master.” The king’s eyes flash, an eerie snapping of his eyes that sends a strange jolt through Yixing. It’s not often that Jongdae seems worthy of such power, but he is full of surprises today.

A/N: Er...this happened after I watched The Hobbit. I'm thinking of turning it into a drabble series, but quite obviously, it is fantasy...and slight crack. Basically, Jongdae is a Witch-King of a magical kingdom; a kingdom that is passed down not by blood, but magical ability. Yixing is just a man on the run, after his town was destroyed. He has an adopted son, a boy who lost his parents when the town was destroyed, and this boy has been prophesied as Jongdae's heir apparent. So Jongdae sort of...steals him, and then finds out that Yixing kind of comes as part of a package deal. Oh, and there are dragons. .-.