A/N: Aw man guys I’m so sorry for being so late with this, I was on vacation for a while back in Taiwan and after I got back work kicked back up and people started to visit for the holiday seasons (I’ve got guests every other week until the end of the season, it’s crazy) so things were a bit hectic here haha. I had to really throw myself back into the process of writing after having not done it for so long, so I’m real sorry if it’s kinda rough. Also if it’s so short haha. I didn’t even have this chapter written out in my plotlines, so it’s kind of an extra, but I ended up having a really helpful and enlightening conversation with onemoredae over on twitter who listened to me yabber and helped me with pacing by giving me some REALLY great ideas for this chapter. Thank you soooo much for all the help, I totally dedicate this chapter to you.. :8)

-

A curse on your family! She had once read, a faded line in the faded page of her childhood storybooks. It had been spoken by the witch; the witch with her rotting skin and horrible, mangled teeth; the witch who terrorized the purest child of the kingdom with her wicked spells and incantations. She was the sinister picture lurking behind each and every shadow. She was the festering disease hiding away in the small spaces of her mind. And sometimes, in the darkest of moments, she was Mother as well.

It surprised her little, really, that this would remain the only image she would recall of her mother. Kyungri knew that mother hadn’t really been some hideous creature with green skin and a hooked nose, but it really didn’t bother her at all, knowing that she had replaced the woman in her mind with a monster. To her, mother had never really been anything except an empty-faced apparition - twisted by Kyungri’s vivid recollections of the neglect and abuse she had suffered at that woman’s hands.

She sometimes wondered what her younger brother, so small and so fragile in his youth, could remember of the woman who had given birth to them both. Whether he thought of her fondly, or whether he spat on her memory in disgust as she did herself. And yet he hadn’t suffered even through half of it, had he?

In the years before he had been born, she recalled in aching detail the terrible woman their mother had been. Even now her mother’s presence lingered, the splitting headaches forming whenever she thought of her, the anger in her chest rising like a red hot flame.

Befitting of her title, her mother the queen had certainly stood out from the rest. Never quite right in the head - something strange about the way she had been born made it so that she was always so discontent. Bordering on hysterical.

When it had just been mother and her, between the rage and the tears, she remembered the moments where she sat there tugging on her mother’s hand, begging for her to move from the drunken stupors she would often fall into. And yet the inattention was far better than those moments her mother’s eyes would sharpen, focusing on her with ill intent and malice. Because nobody loved the queen - certainly not her husband, not when all she did was to rant and rave and get in his way - and certainly not her servants, not when she was constantly throwing tantrums at them, breaking vases and hurling insults.

And yet they would say nothing when she acted the part of the loving caretaker. Despite it all, the queen is such a dutiful mother, they’d say, the only kind words they had. And hadn’t mother loved it - the attention laden thick on her when she took care of her own, her weak, poor little children. So sickly and pale. Always scratched up and bruised.

Kyungri was too afraid to tell anyone the real reasons for her scars - how one night, when mother had wanted father’s undivided attention, mother had drug her out of bed. She had walked quietly behind Kyungri, pushing her down the stairs and watching from above with cold, dead eyes as Kyungri screamed and tumbled and fell. Of course, when father had finally come running, he only saw mother picking Kyungri up from the ground like the ragged doll she had become, cooing to her and tending to her wounds.

Witch. She cursed her mother in her mind. May you burn in hell for all your crimes.

Kyungri had spent an entire month in bed afterward with a swollen leg, tended to only by her mother who fed her a bitter porridge so burning hot that Kyungri’s tongue burned and her eyes welled up with tears.

And yet she had grown up that way.

Some sick part of her had learned to crave it - the love, no matter how cruel and shallow it was.

Though she had been born the eldest, she had never been named the heir. Her womanhood had always been her truest weakness, no matter how hard she tried to prove otherwise. Father never had cared much for her, and, as soon as Kyungsoo had been born, neither did mother have eyes for anyone else but her only son.

Part of her had wished to protect her younger brother. To save him from their mother’s cruel attentions. Another part of her burned to push him away, to lock him up and ensure that they all would only look at her! Because she had quietly borne those scars for years! And little Kyungsoo - ever frightened, ever frail Kyungsoo - deserved none of the twisted attentions their mother had to give.

Sometimes, though, when illness struck her and she stayed awake in the darkness long enough to see her brother tossing and turning in his sheets, frail body dripping with sweat and mind ablaze with the madness he’d been given, Kyungri thought to herself - perhaps we were both a little undeserving of the fate we’ve been given.

...and perhaps we’ve both become what we feared the very most.

“Virgil?” Kyungri finally called, breaking out of her silence to look away from the window beside which she was quietly perched. “Bring me my tea.”

She watched him move deeper into the darkened room, biting her lip bloody red and ignoring the growing whispers in her mind.

“Good boy.” She whispered, half to herself.

-

One bright and chilly afternoon, it was Kyungsoo who sought Kai out.

“You once asked me where I would go, if I could travel far from here. In return, I ask you this - where is it that you would take me?”

In a daze, Kai looked up, momentarily startled and frozen in motion from where he had been stripping wood from a branch with his knife, skillfully forming the pointed tip of a new spear.

Peering down at him with his hands on his knees was Kyungsoo, looking more vibrant and lively than Kai had ever seen him before. Though Kai was infatuated with Kyungsoo as he was, there was something to be said about the rare sight of Kyungsoo’s exposed head of hair, uncovered by the scarves usually draped so tightly over the top of his head and wrapped around the lower part of his face. Kai squinted harder against the rays of sunshine streaming past Kyungsoo’s dark silhouette.

He was dazzling. He really always had been, ever since the very first day Kai had seen him - but then again, there was just something about the way the wind was blowing strands of hair into those soft, round eyes that gave him pause. Lovers had loved and lovers had left, but Kai knew in his heart that this was no fleeting moment in his life, no distant memory that would be left behind years in the future. This was a true and desperate aching of the heart, the head-over-heels meeting of two souls as shy as Kyungsoo’s smile and as uncontrollable as the flutters he felt in his heart.

Truly, all he wanted was to reach out - to grip his lover tightly in his arms - to profess his mad desire for those bowed lips and flushed cheeks.

And oh, how he had yearned for them!

In Kai’s moments of silent appraisal spent staring intently into the face of the young love who knew not yet of his own worth, Kyungsoo had moved closer, gracefully sinking to his knees as he picked up one of the many finished works from the pile Kai had created. He peered carefully at the tip of a new spear, knowing well enough that Kai’s gaze was following his every movement as he rolled it between his fingers. He carefully catalogued every move, this strange little game that they played with each other.

“Your mouth is sweet, your words always so few but so beautiful. I do not believe that any of it is a lie, but even if it was, I believe I would find myself not caring.” Kyungsoo confessed, the words rolling off his tongue softly. “As a child, I used to dream of meeting someone just like you. Someone who has traveled from lands far from here - someone who could take me to worlds unseen whose names none of us really know. Sister once told me that such foolish dreams of adventure were for men whose bodies were suited for journey - and that for me, my weak body would fail me before I could even hope to travel far from our very gates. But that never stopped the dreams. I suppose that makes me a foolish man, don’t you think?”

Kai’s eyes were mirrors, reflecting back at him the answer he already knew.

Kai thought nothing ill of him. Could not. Would never.

The thought was one that brought Kyungsoo immense comfort.

The young lord shook his head slowly, puffing misty clouds of white between his slowly curling lips. And with his searching eyes and hesitant smile, he asked without asking.

In answer, Kai stood, reaching out for Kyungsoo with a single outstretched hand that Kyungsoo took without second thought.

He followed Kai without question, to a new destination unknown.

-

The stables smelled of a strongly unpleasant combination of dung and hay.

It was grounding, though. Otherwise, the sounds the beasts made around them, pawing their hooves into the ground and snorting impatiently, may have frightened him more than it did.

Kai led him to the very back, where a stall lay open and its singular occupant stood in the shadows. Kyungsoo, still terrified of the monsters of his nightmares, stood frozen still where he was, nervously his lips and flicking his eyes over to his companion for reassurance.

The prince let go of his hand, urging him forward with a shooing gesture.

With great trepidation, Kyungsoo followed his suggestion, taking slow and hesitant steps forward until he could finally see what was waiting for him clearly in front of him. And when he did - he stopped once again.

Although the sheer size of Kai’s horse was truly frightening, there was a certain gentleness to the large creature that gave him pause.

“Hello, there.” Kyungsoo breathed, lifting a hand slowly in greeting and taking another cautious step toward it. Just like its owner, it was as surprisingly sweet as it was at first intimidating, towering over him as it nosed its muzzle forward with a snuffling, soft sound.

After giving Kyungsoo’s outstretched hand a deep huff and a tentative , it tossed its tawny mane brilliantly, neighing so loudly that it gave Kyungsoo quite the fright. He flinched back, a reaction so severe that for a moment his arms remained drawn back to his body. He looked up to meet the beast’s intense stare.

Those eyes were round and soulful, as wonderfully full of life as any creature in the world was.

Looking back at it for a quiet and unblinking moment, Kyungsoo could feel himself relaxing despite himself, slowly letting his hands fall back to his side.

“He’s... beautiful.” Whispered Kyungsoo, forcing himself to stand still when the horse shifted closer, this time pushing its muzzle against his chest with a snort. He smiled after a moment as it inadvertently tickled him, raising his hands to rest them gently against the beast’s head. The horse snorted once again, almost in approval as it pressed back against his touch.

“She.” Kai said, looking between the two of them, man and beast, with a small smile.

“...she.” Kyungsoo repeated quietly, gaining confidence as he began to his hands through a silky soft mane. “You are a sweet girl, aren’t you?”

The horse tossed its head back with a snort before nuzzling into the side of his face, as if agreeing with his words.

Unable to contain himself, Kyungsoo finally laughed, bringing his face in close and kissing the overwhelmingly affectionate creature on the tip of its nose.

Enjoying the happy calm the creature brought him with its eager attention, it wasn’t until Kai spoke up again that he realized how much time had truly passed.

“Soo ride?” Kai asked, surprising Kyungsoo once again with his rare yet eloquent words. He stepped in front of Kyungsoo, turning to him while clapping a single hand onto the creature’s back.

At first, Kyungsoo heard him without truly understanding. He stood there for a moment, blinking owlishly before jerking forward with a gawking expression.

“...oh, may I? You mean you’d... really let me?” His voice was whispering and almost reverent, eyes sparkling and cheeks flushed with the excitement already beginning to build in his gut.

Kai’s answer to him was only to grin that strange grin of his. When he finally jerked his head in the direction of his horse, Kyungsoo could barely prevent himself from tripping in his mad dash forward.

-

They burst from the castle doors, flying past posted guards and traveling villagers alike with great speed. The surprised cries of the crowd trailed behind them as it parted in front of them like a wave, allowing them to thunder past in a cloud of dirt and dust.

They hadn’t quite gotten to the outer gates before Kyungsoo had started to laugh, bright and brilliant like sunshine through a stained glass window.

Kai threw a bewildered but ecstatic smile behind his shoulder at the noise, bending even further forward over his horse and yipping as he urged her to pick up pace. Her hooves clacked violently against stone and dirt as she weaved through the village.

It all sped by in a roar of wind - the smell of fresh custard tarts filled ‘til bursting trailing out from a passing window, the colorfully woven festival lamps swiveling in the breeze, the sound of the church bells chiming in the distance, sending flocks of pigeons flying past them and through the rooftops of red and gold.

Though the sound was one that usually drove him to great fear and panic, Kyungsoo paid the bells no mind, too busy taking in the sight and the sounds and the smells to feel overwhelmed by any other feeling other than sheer joy.

And as they soared through the outer gates, into the wilds where the grass was always a misty green and the sky a brilliant blue, Kyungsoo let go of his hold around Kai’s chest. He spread his arms wide as a bird, taking in the crisp and fresh air with a wild and delirious smile.

Finally free.

-

They had traveled for hours it seemed, looping through the winding hills and through the crawling bog before finally stopping to rest as the day began to turn into night. As it grew chilly outside, Kyungsoo helped Kai gather twigs and brush for the fire, his usually delicate fingers soon covered with dirt. Scraped and red. The pain was completely dismissable as he stared down at the fruits of their labor with a sense of pride and joy, watching the fire burn for a moment before slowly sinking to the ground with a sigh.

As Kai moved about, freeing his horse of her burdens and drawing food from their packs, Kyungsoo sat there with his legs tucked up against his chest for a few contemplative minutes, dry and warm.

What a wonderful day it had been. The long ride had done more wonders for him and his heart than any of the bitter medicines his old physicians had used to give him. He had never felt more alive than he did now, sitting under the slowly unfolding canopy of the stars.

If this is how life was truly to be lived - with a smile on one’s face and warmth in one’s soul - than Kyungsoo was glad enough that he was finally able to experience it, after so many years of drafty rooms and empty talk.

For who could go back to a life of endless scrutiny when they were given a gift like this? A person who could understand him without judgment. Who took him as he was.

“Some days I feel as if they are all waiting for me to die.” Kyungsoo said, finally voicing aloud the conversation he’d been having with himself in his mind. He didn’t think Kai would mind - as quiet as he was, the younger man was exceptionally perceptive, and Kyungsoo knew without a doubt that his companion knew of what he was talking about. As a listener rather than speaker, it was just the way Kai was. Watching as the dinnish prince sat down across from him, Kyungsoo pulled apart a stray piece of moss he had picked up from earlier, feeding it piece by piece into the fire.

“I am sorry,” Kyungsoo began again, “I am sure you must find that incredibly depressing. But sometimes I cannot help but to think that it is the truth - that they see nothing good in me - no future for their kingdom in my broken mind. How could I blame them? Mother was much the same, and it is no far leap for them to think me a mirror image of her in our shared delusions.”

Kyungsoo looked across the burning brush to see fire lit in the Kai’s eyes. The man was staring at him intently, hanging onto his every word. And though he may not have agreed with Kyungsoo’s self-deprecation, the way his words twisted naturally that spoke of years of humiliation faced alone, Kai waited. He let the lord speak his mind, when no one else had bothered to listen before.

“If only they knew of the man I really am. The things I’ve done and - and the things I’ve wished to do. The things I’d wish to make. Beautiful creations, wonderful things created by my hands and my hands alone. The world that I could shape, if only I had the chance to really see it.”

In his aching monologue, Kyungsoo closed his eyes, tilting his head back to the sky.

“I hear that somewhere in the far west, they travel upon great creatures adorned with tusks of ivory and gold. And that in the eastern plains, where the sun is hot and the days are long, that they have learned how to draw their water from the ground itself. Can you see it in your mind? Such wondrous things beyond our imaginations. I only… I only wish...”

He faded to silence, drifting in that space as he was replaced by the quietly chirping crickets in the grass and the light snuffling of Kai’s horse as she stirred in her restful sleep.

He could hear Kai moving across the way, and only realized that Kai had traveled to sit beside him when he felt the other man’s leg brushing up against his own. With a hum, Kyungsoo shifted, letting his head rest against the taller man’s shoulder without once his eyes.

Warm hands tangled with his own, pushing strips of jerky into them. When Kyungsoo did nothing more but to grip them lightly between his fingers, those hands once again met his, bringing his fingers insistently to his mouth. With a chuckle, Kyungsoo obeyed, breaking off a piece of the salted meat to chew between his teeth. Kai’s hands finally left him, and, mourning the lost touch, Kyungsoo opened his eyes.

The prince was staring at his lips with a glazed expression, one that left Kyungsoo feeling suddenly quite warm and quite embarrassed. He snapped back forward, straightening up and suddenly feeling silly and self conscious. He leaned away to finish the small portion of food that had been given to him, determinedly not meeting his companion’s hawk-like gaze. It was only when he had finished that he felt those hands him again, jolting as he felt them pulling him closer, shifting his arms away to allow for Kai to sink his head down into Kyungsoo’s lap.

Kai’s movements, as always, were measured and cautious, allowing Kyungsoo plenty of opportunity to pull away should he choose.

But Kyungsoo did not.

Kai breathed a sigh when he was able to finally rest his head. He seemed to melt, all the tension leaving his body as his muscles relaxed, leaving him all but a puddle in Kyungsoo’s lap.

The young lord, at first frozen in blank panic, and then in the awkward realization that he truly had no idea what to do in a situation such as this, finally snuck a glance downward.

With his eyes closed, Kai looked years younger, the prince’s almost-scowl that seemed to be ever hovering over his lips now completely gone, leaving his expression open and almost… vulnerable.

Truly, Kai was a creature of beauty.

So beautiful in fact that Kyungsoo - as he reached out tentative fingers - almost felt unworthy.

Still, he took great satisfaction knowing that, for whatever reasons Kyungsoo would never hope to comprehend, Kai had chosen him and him alone as his partner and companion.

And as his lover, his traitorous mind reminded him, filling him with a strange feeling that made him want to scream and sigh at the same time. He attempted to wave the feeling away and failed. Quite miserably. It was and wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

”Are you suddenly tired now? Or have I simply bored you with my tales?” Kyungsoo asked, hoping to hide his own embarrassment by teasing the other man.

“Mmm.” Kai’s customary response came as expected, sending deep and rumbling vibrations pleasantly through Kyungsoo’s thigh.

“Well - well, don’t think I’ll let you rest there forever.” The young lord tried to grumble, although there was no bite in his voice and his voice was much higher than it was normally. “I shan’t sleep in this position, no matter how much you beg for it.”

When the prince refused to rise to his bait, he half thought to push Kai off in a childish and silly move. Instead he had his cheeky thoughts hushed quite effectively when he felt Kai shift, turning into Kyungsoo’s lap so that he could press an affectionate kiss against the man’s thigh.

Kyungsoo’s mind drew blank.

With wide eyes, Kyungsoo stared down at Kai, examining the strange and frighteningly kind creature in his arms. But he did not repeat the act, nor did he stir again.

The wind had picked up, sending embers from their fire flying into the wind, carrying away the scent of smoke and burning wood and leaving behind nothing but a slight shiver of cold. Kyungsoo shifted ever so slightly, drawing his scarf back over his face to protect from the elements as he bent over more, shielding Kai with his own body.

He dared to trail a pale finger down to caress the cheek of his prince’s cheek, tracing those beautiful bones and skimming across rosy lips that breathed against his fingertips.

Kyungsoo could still feel his skin tingling, where Kai had kissed him.

Burning, it was. Burning and hot, like a brand underneath his skin.

He wanted to fall underneath that feeling, have it spread over him like a blanket of stars to stop the ticking clock that was his aching heart.

He wanted to feel the splendor down to his bones, that giddy, joyous feeling like he’d never felt before.

And he wanted, ever so much, to believe that the peace he had been offered - the beautiful gift he had been given - was something that would last.

“...what am I to you?” Kyungsoo asked quietly, combing his fingers through thick auburn hair.

“Zovya.” Said Kai, beautiful words that Kyungsoo did not understand. “Na mal zovya tale.”