• Please read the A/N at the bottom it's very important!
• This chapter includes some mature [M] context in it, take it into concideration before reading! (there is not much of it, but I warn you)

Promise

The queen was standing on a balcony, looking at a disappearing sun and waiting for stars to appear. It was one of the first warmer evenings. Looking at the bay and the city below, the queen noticed a few trees gaining colors and snow melting in the streets.

“The spring is coming,” a voice came, and when Elsa turned she saw her husband leaning against the doorframe, watching her.

“Yes, yes it is. Again,” she sighed and turned back. “Minseok’s birthday will be in a few weeks,” she whispered, a tear falling onto a stone railing. She felt a pair of strong arms embrace her so she turned and hugged Jack back, “I want my baby back, Jack.”

The man did not say anything, only hugged her tighter. “Are you sure you want to throw the wedding at on the 21^st, Elsa? Maybe we should have it earlier? Or later, even. I am sure April would be just fine,” he asked after a few moments.

“No, Jack. This is not our wedding to just move the day whenever we like. Everything will be fine. Plus, it is the most magical night in the whole year. I want my son to have the best wedding possible. I cannot let him down. I cannot fail again….”

“Elsa, hey, stop it,” Jack took his love’s face in his hands and looked her in the eyes, “my dear, you have never failed anyone. You cannot blame yourself for what happened all your life. You have to move on…”

“I will not move on, Jack! I will not until I know the truth! I wish I had this comfort to just forget and live on but I do not!”

“Forget?! Comfort?! Do you hear yourself?!,” the king started loosing his temper, “I have never forgotten nor will I ever have! I just faced the truth and I try to live my life instead of stopping in one place! We had a kingdom to run, a child to raise and the war to end!”

“But your truth is wrong, Jack! Why do you never listen to me!,” Elsa shouted and a few birds took off from the trees near the castle. “Why do you not believe me when I tell you he is not dead! Why?!”

“Because my heart is too broken, to let any hope inside. And my mind tells me that all is lost, Elsa. We infected him with a drop of moonlight. We practically killed our son ourselves,” he whispered, a shadow falling on his face.

The queen turned around and looked towards the bay. Everything was silent. The city below the castle, the sea, the wind and the trees, even their breaths were not disturbing the peace. Suddenly, a wind blew, ruffling the queen’s hair but nothing more, and brought with it a few colorful leaves. “The night Minseok was taken I went to the old willow and cast a spell,  “the queen started slowly and quietly, never turning to face her husband, “I sent a spirit to find him and keep him save. That was the only thing I could do,” she confessed and broke down.

“Why have you not told me, Elsa? Why are you telling me this now?!” The king was shocked and confused. How could he not know about that for all those years.

“Because you were never listening to me, Jack! You seemed to be deaf to this issue. Whenever I wanted to tell you this, you would always interrupt me and tell to forget, to let go! So I stopped trying. But Jack, you need to understand, our son is alive! Look at this,” she ordered and pointed at something high in front of her. Jack frowned, not knowing what to look at. The queen rolled her eyes and kept on explaining, “the stars, Jack! Do you see that small constellation right above horizon?” she asked, gesturing towards a few small stars floating above the water of the bay. “Have you not noticed how this is the only constellation on the sky that never changes its position? Or in what an unusual place it is!” Jack only shrugged. He liked watching the sky and the stars, but that was it. But maybe she was right.

“Now that you speak of it,” he mumbled, titling his head to the side, “maybe you’re right. But I still do not understand what is this all supposed to mean and what does it have to do with Minseok?”

“Before I cast the spell, I prayed for a long time to the High Spirits. The spirit that I sent was a bear. And this constellation? It being on the sky each night only means that the spell has still not been broken. And the only thing that could break that spell is death, Jack. These stars right there are my hope that my son is alive!,” she turned her back to the king and looked towards the west, “I will find you, Minseok.”

As the words left her lips, the wind came again and blew the leaves off, carrying them away into the night.

Yixing and Junmyeon were lying in the prince’s chamber, looking at the flames playing in the fireplace. It was silent and peaceful, their steady breaths, cracking wood and wind coming through an open window being the only sounds around them. Junmyeon sighed in content, wrapping an arm around his lover.

“Sing for me, Xing,” he mumbled into the other’s arm. But no reply came for a long time, so he looked up and frowned. Yixing was not paying any attention to him, or anything around, only looking outside into the night sky. “Yixing, what is bothering you? Yixing!,” the prince shook the boy to gain his attention. Yixing shivered and looked down at Junmyeon.

“Sorry, Suho, did you say anything?,” he asked, smiling cutely, showing off his dimples.

“What bothers you, my dear?,” Junmyeon repeated, caressing his fiancé’s cheek.

“Oh,” Yixing sighed and wrapped and arm around the other, “prince Jongdae,” he whispered. When Suho looked at him confused he continued, “ he is just such a mystery. When I was healing him, I found…I do not even know how to say it, Suho, it was as if his soul was literally ripped into pieces, floating around him and his mind, oh, if only you had seen his mind. This boy must have been through a lot.”

“Xing but… how would that even be possible? Do you hear yourself? A soul ripped into pieces? It sounds so surreal that it could not even be sold as a bedtime story,” Junmyeon pointed.

Yixing only closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, “I do realize how stupid it sounds, Suho, I just tell you what I found out. And just a few hours ago instead of resting he asked me to bring him all kinds of herbs.”

“Herbs?,” the prince repeated, wanting to make sure he heard correctly.

“Yes, herbs. The ones one uses to make healing potions. But I healed all his physical wounds, Junmyeon,” Yixing said, his eyes founding Junmyeon’s, “and when I was walking here,” he continued in a low voice, “I saw him leave on his horse. He was going towards the bay, and seemed to be in a rush.”

“That truly seems weird. Do you think we should talk to him when we see him next time? This would not be the first time he leaves the castle on his horse.”

“No?,” Yixing asked, surprised.

Junmyeon nodded and added, “I have already seen him doing it once. He left in the evening, in a rush as well, and went to the bay.”

“Interesting. But, Junmyeon, do not dare ask him anything,” Yixing ordered and Junmyeon frowned, “this is none of our business. As long as the agreements are stable and he does not threaten us or the kingdom, we do not have a right to interfere.”

“Pfff, of course, Your Highness,” Junmyeon mocked but Yixing did not like such jokes.

“Stop it, Suho,” he warned

“Oh, come one, Xing, we both know you like being bossy,” the prince kept on teasing and started planting butterfly kisses on the other’s arms.

“Suho, stop, someone may come in!”

“No one will. And even if, you are my fiancé, I should have the right to kiss you, shouldn’t I?”

“We should not even be here together right now, Suho, and you know that,” Yixing said and quickly got up, walking towards the window. Junmyeon got up as well and followed the boy, finally wrapping his arms around Yixing and resting his chin on the other’s arm. “Tomorrow, we should get back to searching, Suho,” he whispered, looking into the distance, “and you need to make your mother let Jongdae back into the library. We need to have an eye on him and he may have information we lack, that will lead us. Plus, there are many books to be read and we need as many minds as possible.

“Alright, but can we now stop talking about that prince, or else, I will start feeling jealous. Your mind should not be occupied with him when you are with me,” the prince murmured, closing his eyes, “can you sing for me? One of that far eastern songs of yours?”

Xiumin was sitting under an old willow, its bare umbrages touching the ground, a few disappearing into a pond near it. The night had already fallen, most of the animals went to sleep, even wind seemed to have gotten tired. It was dead silent, but instead of alerted, it kept Xiumin at peace. He was watching small buds growing on the tree, a green grass appearing in places from underneath the snow and stars smiling to him Cheshire cat’s smile. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of a fresh, almost spring air. He felt a wave of cold air around him and when he opened his eyes he saw a few colorful leaves dancing around in front of him. A small smile appeared on his lips, and as he stretched his hand to try and catch the leaves, he heard a whisper of a woman,“I will find you, Minseok” and the leaves fell to the ground. He quickly got up looking around. “Who’s there?!,” he shouted, but no answer came. With his heart beating like crazy he stood still, looking around. And just as he was about to take a step he felt a sharp pain going through his back and he fell to the ground, his knees and hands ending up in a cold water. He looked at his reflection, feeling vulnerable and exposed. He cursed himself and looked at his reflection in the cold water. He watched as his breath turned into a foam and the water slowly started freezing again. His cheeks seemed to get redder and warmer and he was not sure whether it was a fever of something else. But he knew what that reminded him of, and just as a thought of the night with the prince ran through his mind, his face got brighter and warmer in a moment. But it was too late to stop the train of thoughts from taking him a few nights back.

He could feel everything, as if reliving the night at that very moment. Each touch and shared breath, each thought, or rather the lack of them, and each curse. Every kiss and whisper that he and the prince exchanged. He remembered being pushed on a bed, the prince’s soft hands working on his loose trousers, “stop it,” he whispered weakly like a mantra for gods know which time, as he tugged on the other’s shirt and pulled it off of the boy. He remembered how soft the prince’s body felt under his fingers, how perfect it was, with no scars and marks, in contrast to his own. Coldness hit his tights and calves as his trousers fell to the ground, landing next to Jongdae’s shirt. “I will not stop, until you scream my name,” Jongdae replied between the kissed and Xiumin felt two fingers running down his chest and bare stomach and grasping at the hem of his underwear, just to pull it off a moment later. He felt exposed, bad and insecure, lying under the prince, but there was not much time given to him to focus on these thoughts as he felt Jongdae’s hand wrap around his and start moving. He took a deep and sudden breath, not expecting such an action. He opened his eyes and threw his head back, breaking the kiss. But Jongdae did not mind that, quickly starting at the other’s neck, loving the reaction he got. Quickening the pace, Jongdae was slowly turning Xiumin into a mess, and he loved it. He loved being in control of the other. The boy’s beneath him cheeks were getting redder and warmer, a small drops of swear were appearing on his forehead, as Jongdae brought him pleasure. With having his lips slightly parted, Xiumin looked picture perfect. Jongdae wished he could see him like that all the time. It almost felt as if he was in control of the other, and he loved the feeling of it. But he also felt something else, something, he could not quite put his finger on. Xiumin panted, his hands wrapping around Jongdae, “oh, gods, it feels so good,” he said shameless, loving the pleasure the other brought him, “but I think I’m gonna…”, he started panting, but then Jongdae stopped, moving his hand away. Xiumin whined, opening his eyes, “why would you…,” “Because I have other ideas,” the prince smirked, not letting the other finish and not breaking the eye-contact, he lowered himself and slowly the tip of Xiumin’s member, putting his hands on the other’s tights and feeling the shivers run through him. “Scream, baby, scream for me,” the prince whispered and took Xiumin’s into his mouth. The sensation was a new feeling for the boy and he did not know how to deal with it. His chest rose, one of his hand ran to the prince’s head, gripping tightly at his hair, the other rested on the sheets, grasping at it for dear life. Xiumin tuned into nothing but a mess and he did not even care whether he was loud or not. They were alone after all, and from a fact he knew no one would bother to came and check on him. At least he hopped so. “Jon…Jongdae,” he panted, trying to catch a breath, “faster,” he ordered and the prince smirked, starting to move his head faster. Xiumin opened his eyes for a moment and looked down at the prince and for a moment he was sure he would come just from looking at the boy. His messy hair wet from sweat, his dark eyes focused on him, cheeks hollowed and lips wrapped around . He felt a weird feeling in his stomach and knew he would not take any more, “Jongdae… I’m gonna…,” “Do it, baby, for me,” Jongdae whispered, raising his head for a moment and going back to abusing Xiumin’s a minute later. Within just a seconds the boy came with a loud, high scream of pleasure. His head fell back, his chest rose up, every other part of his body felt weak. “Was it good enough for you, baby?,” Jongdae whispered right into his ear, which sent shivers down his spine. Xiumin only nodded, still not able to put a coherent sentence together. He closed his eyes for a moment, breathing heavily. He knew the prince was whispering something else to him again, but he did not catch that, too caught up in his own thoughts and feelings. It was not until he felt a wave of a cold air hit him that he opened his eyes and looked around, just to see the door close. Jongdae was gone, and Xiumin was left alone once again.

Xiumin shook his head, pulling up and sitting back on a dry ground. He looked at the stars and sighed. It had been three days and the prince did not show up. He had promised him a cure, yet he still was not there. The boy felt a sharp pain of disappointment going through his chest. A feeling new to him, just as many others, or maybe only forgotten and now found again. He was not sure about that, but he knew he hated feeling disappointed. He should have never trusted the prince in the first place. After all he was nothing but a storm bringer. And yet, there he was, sitting by the pond, thinking of nothing but the time the prince gave him a . “No,” he thought to himself, “not a prince. Jongdae.”

The wind blew again and then he remembered. The voice. The one he had heard each year when the spring was just around the corner, the one promising to save someone. He had always wondered who was that person and he felt bad that they had not heard that promise. Xiumin believed in nature and the spirits, and he could not understand how was that possible that such an important message was not delivered to the right person.

As much as he wished to be saved, he knew, there was no escape for him.

Jongdae stopped his horse, and after leaving it hidden between the trees he walked towards the wooden hut. What got him wondering in the first place was darkness inside, no candles being lit and no fire being started in the fireplace. He knocked a few times but after hearing no answer he decided to walk in. It was dark and cold. Too cold for his liking. He started wondering how was that possible for Xiumin to live in such conditions. He looked around and realized there was enough wood for a few days put near the fireplace, so the boy could not have been out to get it. Looking to the other side he saw nothing new or particularly interesting. As he had managed to realize earlier, there was nothing interesting in Xiumin’s hut. It was plain and simple with only the most needed things. No pictures, no sculptures, no flowers or books. Nothing.

What finally brought his attention was a small mountain bear lying on the boy’s bed, sound asleep. Jongdae took a step and hit the chair which moved loudly on the floor. The bear raised its head momentary and looked around. When it spotted Jongdae, it started growling lowly, showing off its fangs. The prince swallowed and took a deep breath, “I cannot be afraid of such a baby. No way.” He took a step foreword and knelt on one knee, “Okay, listen here, little boy. We are going to settle things before Xiumin comes back or I swear I will throw you out of the window,” he said and thought of what his parents would do to him if they had seen him talk to a mountain bear in a stranger’s hut in the middle of the woods. Shaking the though away, he reached for the bear and started slowly, “look, see? I do not have anything. I am not going to harm him, okay? Whatever you are and whatever you are doing here, I am only here to help him now, okay? We might want the same, so you need to let me help him and take care of him, alright?,” he confessed, looking firmly at the bear, trying to keep his voice calm and soft. A few moments had passed before the bear took a few steps foreword and neared the prince. It started sniffling him and then moved to the side, sitting there and looking at the boy. Jongdae looked at him suspiciously but when the bear did nothing, he took it as a good sign. Standing up he looked around. “And where are you now, Xiumin?,” he asked aloud but no one in particular, as he was the only person in the room. He felt a tug on his trousers and looked down. The bear was biting on the fabric, as if trying to get the boy’s attention. When Jongdae knelt again, the bear ran towards the door and waited there for him. “Do you want to show me the way?,” he questioned and decided there was nothing to loose he got up and followed the animal’s lead. But the moment he opened the door he was met with Xiumin’s surprised and tired expression.

“Jongdae?,” he asked, looking him up and down and then resting his eyes on the little bear and his eyebrows raised even higher.

“We were just going to look for you,” he cheered, beaming and stepping to the side to let the boy in.

“What… what are you doing here?”

“What do you mean,” Jongdae asked, pretending to be confused, “I promised I would bring you the cure. So here I am,” he smiled, pulling a small bottle from his pocket, “I apologize it took so long. Some things… happened,” he explained himself, smiling again, but as Xiumin realized, none of the boy’s smiles ever reached his eyes.

Xiumin felt a massive weight disappear from him chest, a wave of relief wash over him, but to him surprise it was not a relief that Jongdae brought the cure, but just that he came, “you owe me some explanation, don’t you, prince?”

“Do I?,” Jongdae raised his eyebrows, “no strip, Xiumin, we need to cure your back as soon as possible,” he smirked and the laugher followed.

But the other boy only frowned, not convinced with the prince’s words. He took a good look at the westerner and titled his head, biting his lower lip. The prince looked tired and wasted, his skin paler then the last time, black circles under his eyes, his shoulder tensed. He was no longer emitting with the self-conscious and proud he had just a three days ago. He looked… smaller. But first things first. Xiumin’s goal was to get better, so he obeyed, and took his shirt off, throwing it to the ground. He shivered upon seeing how the prince’s eyes turned darker, glutted to his chest, his tongue running on his lower lip. “Sweet,” he heard the other whisper and closed his eyes, choosing to ignore it.

Suddenly, he felt scratching in his throat and heaviness in his lungs. He fell to the floor and started coughing with blood, creating a small pool on the wooden floor.

“Xiumin?! Xiumin!,” Jongdae knelt down to him, terrified. He wanted to place a hand on the boys back but quickly remembered about the wounds. Taking a peek at them, he held his breath upon seeing how bloody they were. He felt a sting of guilt in his chest. Had it not been for his stupid act, he would have been here earlier to help him. And he lost whole three days. “Get up and lay on bed, Xiu, I will treat your wounds. The sooner we heal you, the better,” he said softly, helping the boy up.

“Do not fool yourself, prince,” the boy answered in between the attacks, “I can not be healed.”

Jongdae ignored the other words and after struggling a little, he managed to place Xiumin on bed. He laid him flat on his stomach, after making sure he was no longer spitting blood, and sat at the edge of the bed. He quickly opened the bottle and started slowly pouring the potion on the boy’s wounds.

“Oh, I am sorry, I should have mentioned that it would hurt,” he mumbled as the boy on the bed started screaming and tossing around, “but do not move, Xiumin!” Jongdae yelled, trying to keep him in place. The room turned into a chaos. Xiumin was screaming in pain, Jongdae was yelling in frustration and the little bear started growling at the prince, since he was the cause Xiumin’s misery. “Just a few more drops, baby, hold on,” Jongdae whispered, watching the other male’s body shiver underneath each touch. The wounds healed at once, leaving nothing but a light, almost invisible scars. “Done,” Jongdae sighed in relieve and dropped down on a spot next to the panting boy, “you are stronger then you look, you know, baby.”

“Stop it,” Xiumin mumbled into the pillow.

“What did you say?”

“I said stop it. Stop calling me that!,” he repeated, this time turning his head to the side, looking at the prince. A smile grew on the prince’s lips and to Xiumin’s surprise something lit in his eyes.

“Call you what, baby?,” he started teasing and the other rolled his eyes.

“You are so annoying!,” Xiumin groaned but chuckled a moment later.

“And you are beautiful,” Jongdae whispered, pushing a loose strand of hair behind the other’s ear. Xiumin frowned and tried to get up but failed, his back still hurting.

“Now, why this sudden change? You are out of character today. What happened?,” he asked and the prince froze, but then chuckled, trying to hide a slight fear that crept on his face.

“Me? Out of character? What character are you talking about? I have many faces, baby, none of which known to you,” he started softly but ended up hissing the last part, his irritation that had been gathering in his the last few days begging to be released.

“Jongdae…”, Xiumin started, but was not allowed to finish.

“Jongdae?” he laughed, “and Xiumin, is it not out of character for you as well? Since when do you willingly call me by my name? From the moment we met, I was nothing to you but a storm bringer! Do you even know what that means?! You never given me a chance before labeling me! Just as everybody else! Why do you all think you know me?!” he yelled, not realizing there were tears rolling down his cheeks, as he stood in the middle of the room, throwing his hands up in the air, and all his frustration and insecurities at the poor boy on the bed, “you know nothing, Xiumin. Neither you, nor that cold-hearted , or that little tinkerbell from the library! None of you!”

Xiumin did not understand much, and was personally very taken aback when he heard the “cold-hearted ” term and also curious about who the prince was referring to; but he heard loud thunders from the outside and saw bright lightings through the window hitting the ground. He looked the prince in the eyes and saw them changing color to dark purple. Both, terrified and mesmerized, he pulled himself up ignoring the pain and got up from the best, slowly nearing the younger. He sighed, seeing him so bruised and broken. All the words that were leaving his words, instead of sounding like reproach to Xiumin, sounded like a cry. Tired, sad, lonely and on a verge of giving up. Xiumin stood in front of the boy, softly placing his hands on the other’s cheeks and placed a smooth kiss on his lips. There was no heated passion in it, not needy wants or hunger. Instead, there was understanding, sympathy and a promise. The kiss was sweet, soft and quicky and it left Jongdae shocked. The moment he lost the warmness of the other’s lips against his, he almost let out a whine, but did not manage as breath was knocked out of his lungs by Xiumin’s next act. He felt a pair of arms wrap around him tightly, the older’s chin rest on his shoulder, their hearts beating in the same rhythm against their chests.

There he stood, Kim Jongdae, the Prince of the West, the heir of the Western throne, the storm bringer, in a middle of a wooden hut, somewhere in the woods, forgotten by all people, in the arms of a dying man that within only a few acts showed him more emotion than anyone had ever had.

There he was, Jongdae, being hugged, truly hugged, for the first time in his life.

And in that moment, for the first time in a long time, he saw something else than darkness. He saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

A/N

Hello guys!

So, here it is! Next chapter! A bit longer than usual, and not actually as I planned it to be, but there is a readon for it : THIS IS MOST PROBABLY THE LAST CHAPTER THIS YEAR!

Yes, you read corrently. I am really sorry, but I think I will put this story on a 100% hiatus until December. I am going to the US in a week and a half to school, and as I am going there only for four months I am going to make the best out of it or at least try and I do not see myself focusing much on writing during that time.

I AM NOT ABANDONING THIS STORY!

Black Magic will be finished, this one I can promise, I just cannot promise many updates until the end of the year.

Please, try to understand me and do not forget about me this story!

I am more than thankfull to all of you for supporting this story and I can only ask of you to believe in it and wait for it!

Thank you everyone for reading, commenting and subscribing! It means everything to me! 

See you in some time!

Best wishes,

badblood.