Maybe it was just him, but it felt like his hair was becoming darker. 

If Kris had noticed, he hadn't said anything about it.  Tao himself hardly noticed it at first - the change had been so gradual. 

But...

Tao pulled a lock of hair, drawing it taut as he stared up at it, cross-eyed.

Hadn't it at one point been a light brown? 

Tao wonders if it was the sun exposure.  But if that was the case, shouldn't his skin also be getting darker?  If anything, it seemed paler, these days.

His hair was most definitely more of a warm copper now, and in some ways, that irritated Tao.

If only he had been born with hair the color of...

By the time Tao and Kris are riding atop the hot sands, chasing across the Great Sand Sea in search of Snow White, Tao has already forgotten what Kyungsoo had told him those many weeks ago.

He forgets the fact that he hasn't met a single Prince Charming since the day they had first set out.  He lives instead for the thrill of living each day on the edge, of the feeling of the wind blowing across his cheeks and tossing his hair back, of how good it is to be awake.  He presses his cheek close to Kris' back, holding him steady as the man half-rises from the saddle, leaning forward to direct Pearl into a fast gallop as the rumbling behind them grew.

He hears something burst from the ground behind him, turning back to witness a giant animal emerging from the sands.  The shadow it casts submerges them just briefly in cool darkness, and Tao is lost in its wonder, staring into the creature's eyes as it soars into the sky.

Tao pulls down his shawl from where it had been covering his face, mouth spreading into a wide smile at the sight of an entire sand orca pod forming to their side, swimming through the air beside as they galloped along the tall hills of curving, peaked sand. 

He lets go of Kris to wave at the distant giants.  High-pitched cries begin to pierce the air, an answer back to Tao's shouts of joy that has Tao recoiling in surprise.  Kris turns his head sharply to look toward the noise, and for a second, Tao watches as the sunlight hits the prince's body at just the right angle, highlighting his sun-kissed hair and skin, the sharp lines of his profile, the gleam of his armor. 

The orcas are still calling in the distance and sand is flying through the air.

Tao holds up a hand absently to his face, covering his eyes as he squints into the vision before him.

Blinding.

Snow White and the seven ____.

Sometimes, when you got lucky, they were seven dwarves - because dwarves were easy enough to deal with.  A promise of a round of ale and a decent bribe of gold, and they were more than likely to surrender without a fight.

What you would have to watch out for were when they weren't dwarves.

He'd heard of other such variations - Snow White and the seven goblins, for example, or, (god forbid,) Snow White and the seven ogres. 

So, Kris supposed, they were lucky to have gotten Snow White and the seven almost-cute-miniature-sand-threshers.

They were tiny things, worm-like beasts who moved through the sand like sea serpants, following blindly after their master like a mother and her ducklings. 

Pearl shifted restlessly and Kris pulled lightly on her reins, keeping her in place.  From their vantage point on the sandy hill, they stood downwind of the wandering princess and her guardians, watching as she walked slowly through the desert and toward the oasis in the distance, blissfully unaware of their presence. 

"Alright.  You distract the threshers while I free her from her spell.  Got it, Tao?"

Kris felt nervous fingers grip around his arm, and twisted around to see Tao leaning in toward him, a look of fear on his face.

"...What?  What's wrong?"

"...They look like bugs!"  Came the nervous whisper.

Kris turned back to look at the threshers, still diving in and out of the sand.

"...I... suppose they do."

". . ."

"Don't tell me you're scared of them?"

". . ."

"You've got to be kidding me..." Kris sighed, rubbing his forehead to relieve the sudden pain that spread in his head.  "Fine.  I'll distract the threshers, and you take care of the princess.  Just make sure to keep her ...distracted until after I've killed the threshers.  Sound like a plan?"

"Go, go, go!" 

Kris dug his heels into Pearl's side and she broke into an impossibly fast gallop, quickly catching up to Snow White before she had an opportunity to even turn.  Kris pulled his sword from his sheath at his side, leaning over his saddle to quickly cut down the first sand thresher they met in their path, slicing it in half with a powerful upward slash. 

Quickly switching sides, Kris cut down a second, and then a third thresher as they continued to move forward.

When they were finally close enough, Tao leapt from the saddle, pole already twisting above his head as his long legs stretched out in the air.  When he landed with a thump, the four remaining threshers resurfaced, quickly forming a tight circle around Tao, blocking him as he attempted to get closer to the blonde woman.

A loud whinny broke through the air, and Tao turned to see Pearl raising threateningly onto her back hooves, Kris leaning forward with a tight grip on her reins to stay seated in the saddle.  Putting the distraction to a good use, Tao dashed through the open gap between the threshers, moving forward to the princess who turned to meet him. 

And when she finally turned, Tao immediately recognized their mistake. 

Blond hair streaked with black, a sallow, pale face, eyes sunken and crazed. 

As he fell directly into her trap, Tao had just a second to turn to Kris, shouting out his warning to the other prince.

"WITCH!"

Impossible.  There was no way he could fight against this.

Every time he should have landed a hit - whether by pole, fist, or foot - he was met every time with a cloud of dispersing sand and a shrill cackle. 

Kris was calling out toward him, but Tao knew the other prince couldn't help - the miniature sand threshers they had originally thought were her seven guardians, were actually the children of her real guardians. 

Seven massive threshers raising from the sands like giant stone colossi.

Tao was on his own.

He coughed, choking on the grit, covering his face with his shawl as he tried desperately to see through burning eyes. 

He could hear sand shifting - something was forming behind him again and Tao gripped his pole tighter, just barely flipping into the air in time to avoid the sand that raised up beneath him in sharp spikes.  Landing back on the ground, he used his momentum to finally catch the witch in mid-teleportation, smashing his wooden pole through the floating particles of shifting sands.  He heard a shriek, saw a body fall to the ground, and, not wanting to give her a chance to stand, ran toward her - praying, hoping that this time he had the upper hand. 

He wasn't prepared for the inhuman way the witch flipped back to her feet, nor for the way she grabbed at him as he tried to slide out of her way.  Although he was fast, she was faster, getting an iron grip on his shawl and spinning him around to loop it around his neck in a chokehold. 

Throwing him to the ground, the witch crawled on top of him, mouth opening to an inhuman degree revealing teeth filed down to needle points as she cackled at him. 

He felt his shawl beginning to tear, tears forming in the corners of his eyes as he struggled to breathe, hands desperately trying to pull at the clawed fingers choking him into the ground. 

"What's this?  Two princes here just for me?"  The witch pulled in closer until Tao could smell her rancid breath dripping onto him from above. 

"Looks like I'll have a feast of fresh beating hearts tonight!"  With another demonic laugh, she fell upon him harder, grip tightening as he felt his windpipe slowly being crushed. 

His breath was forced from him -

His hands scrambled against the sand -

No, no, no, panic panic panic -

From deep within, a dark spark.

He reached out with a trembling hand, getting a firm grip on the witch's upper arm.  She looked down with a look of amusment that soon turned into a look of horrified surprise as her arm began to fracture, the entire limb from Tao's grip on downward crumbling into wet, dark sand before their eyes. 

She had just enough time left in her life to look down at him with confusion in her eyes.

"...You-"

Her sentence ended prematurely as a sword stabbed through her head, stopping just a centimeter away from Tao's own face.

The witch's body turned to sand.

Tao was staring up at him with panic still in his eyes, body shaking with harsh, coughing breaths, still lying trapped underneath the pile of sand and rags which had once been the witch.

"Tao, are you alright?!"

"S-she's dead."

"Of course she is, you idiot!  I wasn't about to let her kill you!"

Kris threw down his sword, digging through the sand until he was able to wrap his arms around the other prince's midsection and lift the man back onto his feet.

"Thank God I was able to get to you in time.  Thank God."

Tao's shawl fell to pieces onto the floor, completely ruined from the witch's claws. 

He stood on shaky feet, feeling Kris pat the sand off of him with worrying hands.  He stared back at the pile of sand, noticing that the wind had already begun to blow the top layer off, revealing the traces of darker, wet sand underneath.

Tao pulled his arms from his sides, looking down at his hands with shock.

"Tao, what's wrong?"

Tao quickly stuffed his still damp hands behind his back, staring back up at Kris with blown pupils. 

"N-nothing.  I'm fine."

They reached the oasis by nightfall, and Tao let Kris tend to him by the fireside, numbly feeling the man's hands run lightly down his body as they felt him for any wounds.  A hiss of sympathy, when Kris pulled his chin up, revealing the dark, already purpling bruise that circled around his neck.

A hand pet his cheek in comfort and Tao leaned in, taking what little comfort he could in the small gesture.

When Kris nudged him toward the pool of water, Tao began to peel his dirtied, torn shirt off, revealing the muscled, lean body underneath. 

Turning with a suddenly embarrassed cough, Kris returned to stoking the fire as he heard Tao enter the water behind him with a splash.

Briefly, the prince charming entertained the idea of sneaking a glance - after all, they were both men, it wasn't as if there was anything he had to be embarrassed about - but he quickly shook the thoughts from his head.  Still, he had to admit that the urge to steal a glance was strong, if only just for a second.

A couple of minutes of silence as Tao bathed himself, washing away the sandy grit from his wounds, cupping hands to pour water over his head.  Kris remained idly poking the fire, suddenly pulled from his thoughts by the sound of Tao's quiet voice over the crackling of the fire.

"Have you met any other witches before, Kris?"

Kris turned his head to the side.

"Besides that one?  Thankfully, no.  They're hideous, evil creatures."

Tao didn't respond immediately, instead waiting another minute before continuing, hesitantly.

"...have you ever met a Damsel older than you?"

Kris frowned.

"Come to think of it, the only Damsels I've ever met have been very young.  So I guess I haven't.  What does that have to do with anything?"

"You haven't met any before because there aren't any."

Tao slowly splashed water over his bruised body, suddenly unsure about what he was about to reveal to his partner.

"Don't you know what happens to damsels whose prince charmings never come for them?" 

"...they become witches."

Kris in his breath.

"I had... I had no idea.  Do they... do they all go crazy then?"

Tao laughed bitterly.

"They're not all crazy."

"...Why are you suddenly so worried about this?  She's dead, she can't come back to haunt us."  Kris muttered.

Tao almost wanted to laugh at the other's cluelessness. 

"... Say, what would you do if I turned into a witch?"

Kris turned to face Tao, who had sank neck-deep into the water, staring at him quietly across the way with those unnaturally wild eyes of his. 

Kris opened his mouth, only to pause, suddenly at a loss.  What would I...do?

"I would... have to take you to the Witch Council.  It's safer for everyone involved in the end - you'd be kept safe from yourself, and-"

"-would you still want to be my friend?"

"Stop talking such nonsense!" Kris spat angrily, "We'll find your prince charming in time."

Tao sank deeper into the water with downcast eyes, and Kris felt his resolve crumble, his voice softening.

"...we'll find him.  I promise you this."

It didn't look like Tao believed him, though, and Kris felt his insides turning.

He pulled the towel he had set out earlier, gesturing with it toward Tao.

"Now come dry off before you catch a cold."

When Tao stood, Kris stopped breathing. 

The man was still wearing his underwear, but with the way the water clung to his form, it was as if he had been wearing nothing at all. 

Droplets spilling from his body, like rays of light back into the pool.  The moonlight that shone that night lit Tao from the back, illuminating him in such a way that made it seem as if his skin was glowing. 

Dewdrops hanging from his heavy eyelashes, a single bead of water quivering on the bow of his lips.

"...and when she rose from her glass coffin, she truly was the fairest in the land..." Kris whispered.

"...what?"  Tao asked sullenly, kneeling beside him as he took the towel from Kris' outstretched hands, throwing it over his head.

"Nothing."  Kris muttered, snapping out of his trance to pull a jar of salve from his pack.  Slathering it onto his fingers, he surprised Tao when he reached out, spreading warm fingers against the other prince's still wet skin, rubbing the lotion into the discoloration on his neck.

Tao moaned, the towel slowly falling to his hips as he rolled his neck back, baring the bare flesh for the other to touch.  Kris felt his mouth drying, pupils dilating at the sight of a single drop of water, slowly sliding down the other's neck, dropping onto his chest. 

And for as much as Kris was watching his body, Tao was watching him even more closely, carefully reading his responses. 

Kris finally finished rubbing in the first coat of salve on, turning back to his jar only to find a weight settling against his legs.  When he turned back, he felt the warmth settle firmly on him as the other prince straddled his lap.  Kris in a breath at the feel of another chest pressing against his own, arms looping around his neck.  When he looked up, his eyes were caught in the other's dark gaze.

"You like me, don't you, Kris?"

Kris could only tell the truth.

"...yes."

Tao was smiling in a way that didn't reach his eyes, leaning in to whisper into Kris' ears.

"...do you want me?"

Tao was slipping a hand underneath his shirt, touching his bare skin.  Kris shuddered, closing his eyes. 

"...yes."

Tao was pushing him back against the sand, slowly peeling away his shirt and pressing hot kisses along exposed skin.  Kris groaned, unable to tear his eyes off of the sight of Tao moving over him like an animal, all slim muscles and beautiful grace. 

Tao began to kiss his way upwards, slowly crawling up Kris' body on all fours until his hands were on both sides of the other's head, staring down at him with eyes dark with something. 

"I want you, too."

And then Tao leaned down.

Kris almost let him, almost lost in the swirling dark orbs.

But, at the last moment, he jerked his head to the side, feeling lips press against his cheek instead.  The lips froze in their place for a moment, a shocked silence, before Tao pulled back completely.  Kris turned back but kept a hand covered over his mouth, protecting his lips even as he stared up at Tao with a look that was as apologetic as it was longing.

"I... I can't."

Tao came back again, nuzzling against his hand even as Kris clamped it tighter over his face.

"Why can't you?  You like me, and I like you."

"...because you're not her."

Tao collapsed onto Kris, pressing his forehead against his shoulder, in deep breaths as he tried to pretend not to feel the profound, stabbing disappointment.

"And if I had 'hair like sunshine gold, eyes as blue as the ocean'?  Would you have been mine then?"

"...Maybe."  At first.

"Yes." Kris revised, truthful though it hurt him to admit it.

"I would have- I would have done anything for you to have been...  But you're not. You and I - we're not meant to be."

Kris thought, briefly, that he felt something wet against his shoulder that was much warmer than the water that clung to Tao's body. 

But when Tao pulled back, the man was smiling without a trace of tears, a smile so fake that hurt Kris more than if Tao had been crying.

"I know we're not.  I know."

Tao leaned down one last time, this time to press a warm, lingering kiss against Kris' knuckles - where his lips would have been had his hand not been there.

"But how I wish."

Kris was alone as he put out the fire with a bucket of water, watching the smoke trail into the air before turning to face the tent with sudden apprehension. 

He lifted the flap, only to be greeted by the sight of Tao, still not dressed, shivering in his sleep on the very edge of his bedroll.

Moving quietly so as to not wake the other, Kris took off his armor, looking briefly at his own bedroll before slipping over to Tao's side, pressing in against his back to warm him with his body as he pulled the sheets tighter around them.

After a moment's hesitation, he wrapped a warm arm over Tao's midsection, tugging the man closer into his embrace as he pressed his face into the other's hair. 

"I'm so sorry, Tao."

Long after Kris had fallen asleep, Tao opened his eyes once more, bitterness and anger swirling like magic in his eyes, unfolding his hands to watch as tiny beads of moisture began to gather within them.