A/N:  Just realized a lot of you are coming into reading this without having read I See Fire (which is great!! I’m beyond excited to have new readers!!), but since some things are kind of just assumed and not talked about in this particular story, it might be good reference to check out either the tumblr post I just put up recapping the world as a whole and the characters, or to at least check out the character chart or the map that I put up in the foreword.  I really hope it’ll help some things make more sense.
Also - I totally based the automaton scene off of the movie Hugo and off of a real life automaton which you can see here and I take no credit for how cool those machines are.  So rad.

-

It would be days before Kyungsoo was to see him again.

The man with the strange, shy smile.

And yet somehow it seemed as if no time had passed at all.

Because when he finally felt those bewitching eyes fall upon him once again - it was as if nothing else had ever mattered - nothing except for the two of them --- there.

...In that place.

-

One morning, his sister woke him up, throwing open the curtains and letting the early morning sun shine into the room.  Squinting through the pale rays of light, he could see that she was already fully dressed, a curious sight considering the time of day.  After all, in the Pale, hardly anyone rose before noon - the wind was always harshest as the sun rose, and outside it would be a picture of swirling white sand and harsh, biting grit.

“Ah,” She sighed, with a smile that never reached her eyes. “Finally - a day without rain.  Come, brother, while we have this rare opportunity, I believe we shall take our morning meal in the courtyard.”

“Wh- outside?!” He said, voice still rough with sleep.

“Yes, Kyungsoo, outside.  Hurry now - and bring your silly toys if you must.  I do think a couple of hours in the sun will do us both some good.”

“But… we’ve never...”

“Shh, shh, that is quite enough.  Don’t just sit there and gape - here you simple child, take this apple.”

He opened his mouth without thinking, chomping down obediently on the apple offered toward him as he shifted his balance with the heavy lockbox in his arms.  Just as any of the other food that was grown within the hard and unyielding earth of their homeland, it was a tiny and hard thing, the peel tasting bitter and unpleasant against his tongue.

“Mm-mm mm mm mm!”

“Yes, yes.  Follow along now.  Come, no time for dawdling.”

“...mmm...”

-

There was a strange confrontation taking place before his very eyes and Kyungsoo could only stand and bear witness to it, his wide eyes darting quickly from left to right as the opponents faced off in battle, sharpening their tongues and narrowing their eyes.

“Ah, so this must be the famed Queen Kyungri and her brother.  Truly a pleasure.” Said a tall, statuesque man dressed in a curious blend of moorish and dinnish fashion.  Kyungsoo trailed his eyes over the man’s sun kissed skin and his wild auburn hair, taking in the beautiful crest of feathers tied into the man’s hair with something akin to awe.  He was beautiful, his mind whispered to him, a statement that he couldn’t help but agree with for one very specific reason.

So this must be where he gets it from.  Kyungsoo thought to himself, watching the other’s mannerisms closely and picking up on all of the striking similarities.

...Kyungri did mention that he had a brother.

Everything finally fell into place.

“The king consort himself, I presume?  The pleasure really is mine, Your Majesty.” Kyungri all but purred, gracefully extending out her hand to be kissed.

The man did so with no hesitation, although from the way he continued to watch her even as he bent his neck to press his lips against the back of her hand, Kyungsoo could tell that the king consort remained wary.  He was no fool.

“Please.  I must insist you call me Tao.” He murmured, with just the slightest hint of an accent so strangely similar to his brother’s.

“I take it you have heard of me, my lady?  If you already know my name.”

“Who has not?” She countered with an easy smile. “‘The legendary warrior on horseback, who, with axe in hand, singlehandedly bested the mighty Frost King.’  ...that was you, was it not?”

“That was years ago, when I was but a child.  ...still, you flatter me.” Said he, rising to stand tall and straight, towering over her with great purpose. “I am but a man.”

“A man who has yet to be defeated in battle.  I hear your skill with bladed weapons is unmatched by any in the land.” His sister returned, glancing down to the crude hatchet that lay tucked within the young king consort’s waistband.

“I am not usually one to boast.”

“Then would it be safe to assume that only a fool would approach you directly in battle?”

“I am afraid they would be cut down before they even reached me, my lady.” Spoke king consort Tao with eyes that glinted, though his voice remained soft and his tone just as polite. “You see, my dear husband’s mastery of the bow and arrow would put any of my own skills to shame.”

Frankly, Kyungsoo did not understand how it was that two people could come to have conversations filled with such hostility - and yet still be smiling at each other and using such words that dripped with sweet poison.

“And who do you think will win this battle of wits?  Your sister, or the king consort?” Came a voice far too close for comfort.  Kyungsoo whipped his head quickly to the right, only to belatedly realize the presence of a sleepy looking man standing beside him.

He jerked away with an ungraceful (and yet still muffled) squawk, nearly dropping the heavy wooden box he held in his arms to the ground.

Turning his attention to Kyungsoo with the look of a predator catching sight of his prey, the somnolent man steadied Kyungsoo with his hand before leaning in closer.

“Tell me, my lord, which of these mighty animals three would you choose to be your companion on a long journey?  A boisterous pig, a horse-sized duck, or a foul-smelling chimpanzee with a heart of gold?” The man asked.

Kyungsoo suddenly found an overly eager look leveled in his direction, a hand reaching out helpfully pry the apple out of his mouth.

“I - ah - I’m sorry. …what??” Said Kyungsoo with great eloquence.

The apple was once again shoved unceremoniously back into his mouth and as Kyungsoo stood there, gagging on a piece of fruit that had become lodged in his throat, the other man looked away, rubbing his chin with his hand. “So the answer was something this blindingly simple!  Blast!  ...how could I have not seen it before!”

“Come now Yixing, do not ask the boy questions for which there are no answers." Tao spoke with laughter in his voice, coming in between the two. "You will frighten the poor thing!  Although judging by his expression, perhaps you already have.  ...or perhaps he may just be choking.  ...is he choking??”

Kyungsoo felt hands fervently beating on his back, a foreign touch he would have objected to if not for the fact that he could hardly breathe.  It wasn’t until Kyungsoo had finally seemed to cough out whatever had been blocking his airways - at last breathing at a normal rate - that Tao finally gestured to the man at his side, introducing him with a small smile. “My lord, my lady, this is Yixing.  A… ah… traveler, of sorts.  A good friend to both the king and I.”

Kyungsoo coughed out a muffled greeting while his sister stood there with a polite yet frozen smile, clearly disapproving.  She reached out to grip Kyungsoo’s arm tight with her clawed fingers, pulling him out from between the two other men and drawing him closer to her side.

“It has been a great pleasure to meet you and your ...friend..., Your Majesty - and I really do hope we can get together for a chat at some later point in time - however, neither my brother and I have had a bite to eat yet and I am afraid we really must be going.  Kyungsoo gets terribly cranky when he’s hungry, I do apologize.” Kyungri tittered, the smile on her face twitching on and off.

“Mmm-mm!” He protested, only to have his shoulder roughly nudged in the direction of the courtyard.

“Believe me, my dear lady - I will look forward to that occasion with bated breath.” He heard Tao speaking behind him, turning his head to glance back once more at them all.

When he looked, he realized Tao was staring right back at him, blinking an eye so quickly at him that Kyungsoo hardly registered it as a wink.

Without being given any time to think about what exactly it meant, Kyungsoo was pushed forward once again by his sister, this time moving forward with considerably more confusion swirling in his mind than there had been before.

-

“She smelled almost pungently of flowers.  Like Lady Augustine, when she chose to wear all those lilies in her hair that one day in court.” Yixing was mumbling to himself, gesturing wildly with his hands.

“Funny thing about lilies.  Yifan is terribly allergic to them, did you know?” Tao yawned out his question, scratching at the skin of his arm through the fabric that covered it.  I will never get used to these terrible things, he thought to himself, pulling at the collar of his garment.  Dreadful things, tunics.

“Did you notice though?” Yixing continued on, following only his own train of thought. “About the young lord.”

“Notice what?”

“The smell.” Yixing said, as if it was obvious.  He tapped the side of his nose with his finger.

Tao scrunched his face, thinking back on the frightened looking young man with the pale complexion and the dark features.

“Was his smell disagreeable?  I’m afraid I did not notice.”

“No, not disagreeable.  Just - ” Yixing paused, looking as if he were trying to pull his words from thin air.

“Metallic!” He finally exclaimed, with a snap of his fingers. “Yes, that’s the word!  Something familiar about it too - I am sure I’ve used something similar in my remedies before.  It’ll come to me in a moment, just let me think...”

He pondered for a moment, scratching at his chin and nearly walking into the stone pillars lining the passage if not for the helping hand Tao lent to him, pulling him away before he actually hurt himself.

Used to his strange behavior, Tao bit back a laugh, dragging him along calmly as they neared their destination.

“You may want to wait on that, Yixing.  We are about to enter Baekhyun’s workshop and you know just how much he hates it when you talk of your potions- “ “- medicines! - ” “- medicines.  You do realize you nearly killed him with that last batch that you claimed would ‘help him concentrate’?”

“An error in portioning, my friend!  A simple error in portioning!”

This time, unable to help himself, Tao threw his head back, the sound of his laughter echoing through the narrow hallways.

-

“Your Majesty!  Thank the stars you’re here.” Was the first thing Chanyeol said upon seeing Tao enter the room, Yixing following in suit.  He rushed up to them, delayed momentarily when he nearly tripped over the long lengths of colorful fabric thrown haphazardly over his own shoulder and arm.

“These two have been arguing ever since midday when both of them came in for their fittings.  If I had any idea that the two of them would react this way to one another I would have told them to come on separate days.” Baekhyun, who had been standing nearby, explained with an irritated tone that was quite normal for him. “As it is, I can hardly expect to get any of my work done!”

Tao looked past the young tailor to see that Yifan and Suho were at it once again, at each other’s throats like an old, bickering couple.

“‘Keep him safe’?  What exactly are you implying?  That I am being reckless with my husband’s life?  Need I remind you who watches over him while you are away as frequently as you are?” Yifan's voice was scathing.

“Watch over him?  Pah!  You may insist that you are, but I know where it is your eyes truly fall!  You people think that you own everything you touch, do you not!  Vra hemar m’ulas¹…” Suho's tone was just as venomous, and he waved his arms in Yifan's direction with a look of great disgust.

Yifan seethed, his hands balling into fists at his side. “I am not a fool, how dare you insult - ”

“ - My, what wonderful weather we are having to-day!” Tao made his presence well and clearly known, purposefully knocking over a spool of thread (to a muttered curse behind him) with a loud clatter and pacing forward with open arms.

“My love!” “Aht-en²!” Came the warm chorus of welcome, two pairs of arms opening expectantly to receive the man walking towards them - only to follow with a short pause as they realized the other’s intentions.  They shot each other foul looks.

Tao went dutifully to his brother first, greeting him warmly in their mother tongue and kissing him on the cheek before moving to take his place by his husband.  The young king folded his husband into his arms, leaning down to press loving kiss after loving kiss onto golden skin.

“Dear heart!” Yifan exclaimed, gently pressing his lips against his lover’s cheeks and dotting his way across. “My darling, my sweeting, how I have longed to see you.”

“Yee-fan,” Tao gasped, his accent coming on stronger now that his husband was trying his best to distract him.

“I have longed to see you too!  ...but may I ask why you must always argue with my brother?  You know just how much I adore you both.” He breathed, eyes fluttering closed when an indulgent kiss was pressed onto his forehead.

“My apologies, love.  I was only defending myself against the ridiculous insinuation made by your brother that I was incapable of taking care of you.” Yifan all but spat out, shooting a dark look toward the brother in question.

Suho bristled, somehow tensing up even more than he already had.

“One would be a fool to trust a man such as you with my brother.”

“Oh come now,” Chanyeol spoke in defense of his friend, gesturing toward the two entwined lovers.  “Yifan is clearly so stupidly in love with his husband that he would be incapable of hurting even a single hair on Tao’s head!”

Yifan narrowed his eyes at his knight, noting his particular choice of words.

“You do not understand.  I held both Tao and Kai when they were both but babes!  Bathed them in the rivers, I did!  With my very own hands!” Suho nearly burst into tears, blubbering to the only sympathetic ear - his old friend Yixing - who nodded solemnly and offered consoling pats to the back. “And now look at Tao, barely grown and already married off to some erse devil!  Ma sahpun v’elam sa vra dhiima mal aht-ten vr’elas, ma sabá³!”

“Yes, yes.” Yixing said, clapping his friend on the shoulder. “Let it all out, now.”

While his brother was still distracted, Tao distracted his husband, cupping a hand over the other’s cheek.

“...do not worry about my brother, my love.  His approval will come in time - I’m sure of it!” Tao said, lips pulled upward in such a bright and charming smile that it swept all of the king’s worries away.

With a lovesick grin, Yifan nodded easily.  Pulling his husband’s hand away from his face in order to press one last sweet kiss against it, the young king was now too lost in those bright eyes to remember what exactly he had even been angry about in the first place.

“My, my.” Chanyeol said, viewing the spectacle around him unblinkingly. “It is becoming quite festive in here with all these people around, is it not?”

“Yes.” Baekhyun deadpanned, clearly unhappy about having his coveted peace and quiet ruined by a band of noisy hooligans. “Quite.”

“Hmm.” Chanyeol hummed, scratching at his chin. “I wonder if there will be anyone else joining us today.”

Don’t say that, Baekhyun wanted so desperately to plead.  You will only invite more trouble.

As if on cue, the door slammed open, this time to reveal the face of one terrified looking Prince Sehun who looked as if he’d just run across the entire courtyard with sweat dripping off of his forehead.

“Quick!” He exclaimed, turning to slam the door back shut. “You’ve got to hide me, please!”

The entire room froze in alarm.  The only knight in the room, Chanyeol immediately fell into his role, throwing the yards of cloth to the side as he flipped his visor down and dutifully drew his sword from its sheath.

“What is it, Your Highness?  Has there been some terrible misfortune?  Is there an intruder at the gates?  An assassination plot, perhaps?  Out with it!”

“It is - it is Lady Bita!” Sehun panted, placing his hands on his knees with a look of pain as he struggled to regain his breath. “She - she will not leave me alone!”

To a collective groan that filled the room, Chanyeol promptly re-sheathed his sword, turning away dismissively from the door.

“Well that’s not even remotely my problem, is it?”

“Of course it is!” Sehun cried, throwing his arms in wild gesture back at the door. “She is absolutely mad!  This morning she sprang up from the bushes, proclaiming her undying love for me and sicking her slobbering dog on me when I refused her affections and tried to leave!”

“If you ask me,” Chanyeol said, pulling his visor back up to peer over at the young prince.  “...being chased by a beautiful woman seems the very definition of not-a-problem-at-all.”

Sehun growled, running his hands repeatedly through his hair in frustration.

“I demand that you stop being insolent and do your job!”

“I am doing my job.  Do you not see?  I am here to safeguard the King’s life.”

The young prince pointed an accusing finger at him.

“Hah!  We all know that the only reason you are here is to be close to the tailor!”

All eyes were now on the knight, including the hawk-eyed gaze of Baekhyun, staring Chanyeol down.  For once the knight had nothing to say, sputtering quietly while turning an interesting shade of red.

Fortunately for the knight, time was finally up for Sehun when the telltale sound of clawed feet pattered against the ground in the hallway outside, followed shortly by the voice of a woman calling out.

“Where are you, my sweet little dove?”

All blood fled Sehun’s face at those saccharine words, and after a panicked warble he dove into action, searching the room for an escape.  The windows were all firmly sealed shut, yielding to none of his frantic efforts to open them, and the only door in which he had entered now became the only door through which he could no longer exit.  There seemed to be only one choice left to him.

“Mind the silks!” Baekhyun cried out as Sehun finally dove beneath the unfinished skirt of one of his mannequins, drawing the thick fabric firmly closed around him.

Mere seconds later, the door burst open yet again, revealing a breathless Lady Bita with dog at heel.

Every single person within the room froze, expressions becoming comically statue-like as the Trivanese noble took in the scene in front of her, swooping into a deep bow upon spying the king standing there with his husband in his arms.

“Terribly sorry to disturb you, Your Majesty,” Said Bita, laying a calming hand on her mutt’s head as she pawed restlessly at the ground. “...but have you, by chance, seen your brother?  I would like very much to speak to him.”

Yifan struggled with his facial expressions, valiantly trying to keep a straight face, betrayed instead when a snort erupted from his mouth.

Unseen by the Lady Bita, a pale hand shot out from beneath the dressing gown, jamming a fist violently into the king’s ankle.

“No.” Was all Yifan said.  Very nasally.

“Oh, well.  My apologies.” Bita responded, seeming to deflate.  She began to back out of the door with a disappointed sigh before a bark caught her ears, looking down to see her hound with ears perked and tail wagging.

“...what’s this, Lady?  Have you found something of interest?” The mutt looked in with sharp and attentive eyes, nose twitching as she searched for that familiar scent with endless determination, stepping in carefully with her muzzle lowered to the ground.

A certain lumpy dressing gown rustled nervously in the background as Baekhyun heaved a deep, long sigh.

-

Kyungri had left for their rooms a few minutes ago, telling him that the moorish afternoon was far too chilly to bear without a second shawl.

What a silly thing to forget in a place such as this, Kyungsoo thought absently to himself, as he amused himself under the tree in wait.

The moors incited both hatred and adoration in him.  Here, he was far from home.

Home was a lonely place, windy and white and barren.  Their people had lived half starving for decades in intricate huts made of mud and clay, surrounded only by the eerie howl of the wind as it rushed through the cliffs day in and day out.

And yet the fen had remained the same through all of the years they had suffered.  Lush and green, sunlight peeking through the branches of the trees, dewy every morning with mist.

He could not deny its beauty, could not help but to wonder how differently life would have been, if only he had lived here instead.

Kyungsoo pulled the black cloth wrapped around his head tighter across his face, flicking open the latches to his box full of treasures.  Setting a heavy cloth onto his lap, he took out only what tools were necessary, gears of all shapes and sizes lined up in tidy rows on the black cloth.  At long last, he pulled out a single solitary object from deep within the box - a tiny marionette with eyes closed and hands set poised at its sides - seated at an accompanying little desk of solid gold.  Toys - Kyungri had called them - his precious little toys.

Skilled though they both were at the craft, Kyungri had excelled more with the machines of war, building for her husband terrible weapons over the years that spat fire and pierced skin and bone.

Toys, she called them.

He cracked open the back of his beloved automaton with the tiniest of screwdrivers, meticulously lining up the loosened screws on his mat.  Deep within lay a monstrous network of mechanical organs which he regarded with reverence, veins made of bronze and copper and a ticking heart far too complex for most to comprehend.

Fitting a strange contraption of metal and glass over his head, he pulled one of the many lenses over his eye, blinking just once as it drew into sharp focus the innards of his lifeless beast.

There - just there, besides the well-oiled set of rack and pinions that notched with every new hour of the day and the spurs that raised and lowered the arms of the doll - an empty, blank space.

Clamping the glittering gift he’d been given between a pair of metal tweezers, he reached in with steady hands, carefully sliding the gear into place.  Pressing it in.  Hearing it click into place.

Humans were such strange creatures, Kyungsoo had often thought to himself.  So wrought with pain and shame and regret.  He, himself, was no different.

Kyungsoo gripped his tools just a little bit tighter.

...but automata were different.  They knew nothing of the emotions that plagued their creators, doing their jobs quietly without a word of complaint nor any feelings of dissatisfaction.

Kyungsoo supposed he took comfort in it.

Every tick a pivot of the gears in its body.

Every sixty ticks, a single helical sphere gear within its heart that would make a single revolution - allowing a drip of oil to fall into a vial that pumped in and out.

Every sixty droplets, a vial that would reach full, flipping over with a creak and emptying its chamber into a waiting repository, its weight setting forth a set of hammers that clattered into place.

And then, just like magic, he gave birth to the little figurine that would awaken in his arms, sliding open its eyes in one fluid motion.

With great care, he set it down gently to rest upon his lap.

A tiny slip of paper slowly slid out from a slot that opened up within the gold desk, curling inch by inch onto the glimmering surface.  At last, after what seemed like ages, the slip was flattened by the weight of two tiny hands.

With precise movements no more and no less than they should have been, the little figure blinked once, twice, slowly lowering its head to regard the blank sheet of paper beneath him.

After a prolonged pause plagued with uncertainty and accompanied by the sounds of squeaking wood and clicking gears, the tiny machine lifted his hand, subtly pressing the point of the piece of lead held between his fingers into the stiff paper.  With the barest of pressures - just enough to create an impression - it slowly began to write.

In beautiful, flowing script - delicately, one by one - letters appeared in sequence, drawn out in long and looping curls.

He waited with painstaking patience until the hand had finally stopped moving, the final letters carefully imparted into the paper.  Then and only then, he reached down, gripping the slip between his fingernails and sliding it out from beneath still hands.

Perfection.  Kyungsoo thought, with a small smile, tracing the tiny letters with his fingers.  Every hour something different, small variations of words and phrases that Kyungsoo himself had diligently translated into the slightest movements of gears.

t  a  k  e   m  e

a  w  a  y – – –

the words read today, upon the curled roll of paper -

s  o  m  e  p  l  a  c  e

f   a   r   ,   f   a   r  a  w  a  y

f   r   o   m     h    e    r    e

He didn’t notice until it was too late, the presence lingering behind his shoulder.

“...where?” The heavily-accented voice whispered into his ear, trailing hot breath across his cheeks.

Kyungsoo spun, the contents of his lap spilling out onto the ground as he turned to face the interloper.

There, just as breathtaking as he had been the very day he’d caught Kyungsoo’s eyes for the first time, was Kai.

Today, he was dressed in an attire unlike anything Kyungsoo had ever seen, furs of brown and red that barely covered the man’s shoulders, baring flashes of skin and tied haphazardly around his waist with strings of animal sinew.  His bare chest glistened with sweat in the sunlight, his eyes hooded with the look of a languid creature about to devour its dinner.  Several dead pheasants dangled from his rough hands, tied together by their feet and left to hang with their with their wings expanded open and feathers falling from between them like white, powdery snow.

A few feathers had somehow found their way into the other’s short, windblown hair, once again reminding Kyungsoo distinctly of a feathered creature sent from heaven above.

“I’m sorry?” He whispered numbly.

Kai smiled crookedly, his teeth flashing as he reached out with his free hand and pulled the slip of paper from Kyungsoo’s loose fingers.

“Where?” Kai repeated, tapping the words written delicately along it with his fingernail.

...where would you like to go?

“N-nowhere!  Nowhere at all!” Kyungsoo rambled, jumping to his feet, grabbing the slip back and turning around to tear it furiously into tiny little pieces.  “It - it’s just something silly, nothing at all i-i-important.  I was just trying to pass the time until my sister came back - the two of us were supposed to be taking our meal out here, but I do not know where she has gone and I - I - ”

He turned back just in time to see Kai bending to pick up the forgotten automaton from the floor, eyes wide with obvious curiosity as he held the machine close to his face.

“What this?”

Kyungsoo reached out again and tried desperately to rip the machine from the other’s grip, only to be gently denied when it was lifted out of his reach time and time again.

“‘tis nothing --!”  Kyungsoo gasped, face red with shame and embarrassment.  “Just a silly little toy of mine.  Stupid, really!”

Finally, he was able to grab hold of his little brass automaton, tugging it out of the other’s hands with a gasp.  He looked up with ruddy cheeks, only to find that Kai was now just inches away from him.

“Not stupid.”  Kai said to him, quite solemnly.  As if trying to communicate something important to him.

“...beautiful.”

Kyungsoo had the sudden and distinct feeling that it was not of the figurine that Kai was speaking of.

He ducked his head shyly, trying hard to fight the quick tingle of happiness that threatened to trickle through him like a burst of warmth.

...beautiful?  Him?   Kyungsoo thought, biting his lip.

No, no, impossible - that was his sister, not him.  Never him.  No, he was just the younger brother everyone overlooked, the spot of shame within his family tree whose body was weak and whose mind was unwell, just like his mother’s, and although he so desperately wanted, he - he had never deserved -

One of his hands was pulled free, placed upon a bare and warm chest.   in a quick breath through his nose, Kyungsoo looked down at where his own pale hand was splayed across beautifully tan skin, and then back up with startled, wide eyes.

“Kai.” The young prince said, pressing his own hand across Kyungsoo’s for emphasis.  Kyungsoo shivered at the contact.

“...I know.” Was all Kyungsoo could think to say, never forgetting how closely Kai had pressed to him that one day, leaning across his bed and touching Kyungsoo with such gentleness that he would have never anticipated from anyone - let alone a stranger.

Now, Kai looked to him encouragingly, as though expecting Kyungsoo to say more.  Flustered and confused, Kyungsoo could only shake his head, unsure of what it was Kai was asking him.

The dinnish prince moved their entwined hands, never letting go of his fingers as he pressed them against Kyungsoo’s own chest.  Thankfully, his hand shielded Kai’s own, covering the shameful sound of his thumping heart that was trembling through his chest.

Kai looked at him again, nodding to him expectantly.

...he is asking me for my name, Kyungsoo realized belatedly, with a sense of wonder and awe.

“K-Kyungsoo!” He finally managed - half-breathing and half-shouting - face reddening even further when his voice crackled.

A smile lit onto Kai’s face and Kyungsoo found he could not look away, too dazzled by the warmth of the other man’s expression, so shockingly earnest.

“...‘Soo.” Kai cooed, so simple and sure.

Kyungsoo felt his legs nearly give way, a low and pleased whine building from the back of his throat before he could help himself.

It took him a few moments before he was finally able to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth, mind still numb and processing when he mechanically spoke the words: “I need to leave.”

The delighted expression fell from the prince’s face and Kyungsoo had to control himself from turning back around to placate the young man, instead forcing himself to bend down, quickly gathering the items that had fallen to the ground and placing them haphazardly within his lockbox.

“I - I cannot stay.” The words kept tumbling from his mouth. “I - I need to speak to my sister about - about something?  And I - I shouldn’t be out for too long in the sun anyway.  I - I am weak you see, and I, I am afraid that I must go before I - ”

“Go?” Said Kai, with all the sadness of a kicked puppy.  “Go where?”

“Back to my rooms.” Kyungsoo babbled with a deeply apologetic tone, throwing the last tool in and locking it tight. “I - I am sorry.”

The heavy box which he usually was forced to carry within both of his arms was lifted out of them - tucked effortlessly under Kai’s free arm instead.

“Okay.  Soo go.  Kai follow.” Kai said, swinging the pheasants over his shoulder with such calm and strong confidence that it made Kyungsoo actually forget for a moment what it was he was running from.  And then the embarrassment and shame came flooding back all at once.

Lord help me.  He thought, cursing his sister in his mind.  I cannot do this.

“I thank you for your kind offer,” Kyungsoo said with an increasingly frayed and warbling tone, reaching forward to grip onto his lockbox.  “However, I believe I will fare just fine on my own.  Now if you could please just - just give me - ”

Kai allowed him to take the box easily, although not without a frown.  It wasn’t until Kyungsoo had nearly retracted his arms though, that a sudden grip on his left wrist made him pause.

There - on his left wrist which had become exposed as he reached out - the bracelet his sister had insisted he wear.  Kai was staring at it now - with a singular, intense focus - seemingly unable to tear his eyes away.

He’d seen.  He knew.  Kyungsoo thought, suddenly terribly frightened as to how the other man would react.

Kai had now gone from simply staring at it to slowly tracing the metal with delicate swipes of his thumb, no longer gripping Kyungsoo’s hand as it was ...holding it.  He looked up, catching Kyungsoo’s eyes as a smile slowly spread across his face, lighting it up with joy.  Somehow, he was able to lift Kyungsoo’s hand, bringing it to his mouth to press a single kiss across the knuckles - gentle, but firm - before Kyungsoo all but ripped his hand out of the young prince’s grip.

Backing up with muttered apologies quickly flying out of his mouth, he turned and fled from the scene with his tail between his legs and a rising flush spreading across his cheeks and neck.

-

“Well?  He was there, was he not??” His sister asked him, from where she lay regally on her side, taking her meal in bed upon a cloth of white muslin. “What did he say?”

Feelings of shame and anger spread through him like fire, and he seethed, baring his teeth at her as he all but threw his box down upon his dresser.

“You… you knew he was going to be there?!”

“Of course.” She spoke, popping a grape into without an ounce of shame nor guilt.  “Virgil told me that he often passes through the courtyard after his morning hunt.”

“I… I…” Kyungsoo was at a loss for words, combing his fingers frantically through his hair.  “I cannot believe - !!”

“So I take it he liked my little gift.” Kyungri said, pointing a long finger at Kyungsoo’s bracelet in explanation as she eyed his flustered state with a pleased look.

“You left me there.  You knew he would come, you told me a lie, and then you left me there.”  He said, sitting down upon his bed with a look of dumbfounded shock.  He turned to voice his indignant complaints to Virgil.  “She left me there!”

The servant was silent and calm as ever, merely glancing over at him briefly before returning to his duties.

“All is fair in love and war, little brother.  You would not have gone on your own.” She said, turning her attention away from him as she finally lost interest.

“You really are too naive, sometimes.”

Kyungsoo laid back against the bed covering his face with his hands, left to regard the events of the previous hour with a growing sense of overwhelming panic.

“From now on,” Kyungri yawned, covering with her hand. “You must continue to go there every day, dear brother.  Let us see if we can make something of this yet.”

He couldn’t do this.  He wasn’t fit for it.  He - he wasn’t...

-

he dreamt that night of home.

the cliffs cried silently at night, and so did his mother as she

opened her arms wide, the wind whipping her hair as she tipped over into the dark abyss.

you will do as I say, won’t you?  do as I say, dear child.  sweet, obedient child.

when he woke, he was out amongst the stars, lying back against the grass in quiet contemplation.

-

Translations:

1 - This fool [must be] joking...

2 - younger brother

3 - I will go crazy if this idiot hurts my brother, I swear...