Light

Fall Underneath
 

 

A/N: starsoncheeks on tumblr drew some AMAZING fanart for this series. Like, holy , I couldn't even believe how beautiful it was I was like so in shock when I saw it because I wasn't expecting anything and I logged in on a holiday and I was like making the home alone face for like a straight five minutes and then just screaming for another five. ANYWAY SORRY please check it out here, and please, please, please support her on her tumblr! (And thank you SO much again, starsoncheeks!!)

Dude, also, half of y'all figured out what the word meant before this chapter, and I'm really damn impressed???? Like, I kept it a secret for a reason, but y'all are like super sleuths. Or maybe I'm just super obvious at this stuff. I don't know. Anyway, sorry for frustrating some of you, I hope you'll understand why I didn't give a translation for it when you read the chapter hahaha.


 

-


 

 

The wise men always wrote in their books that life was a beautiful journey.

To Kyungsoo, it had always seemed more of a dark tunnel.

He could only stumble forward, feeling his way with his hands.

And the noises he heard? He could only imagine what they were, and his mind conjuring monsters in the dark.

Suppose, though, that there appeared a light at the very end.

It blinked, sometimes. Faded in and out of sight.

It wasn’t always clear whether or not it was just a figment of his imagination - a reality he had created that only existed whenever he closed his eyes.

And there were the dreams, still. Yes. The terrible ones. Ones in which he wished he were dead.

And yet there was still that flickering light.

At first he was afraid - afraid of what it might mean - afraid that it was just another lure, meant to draw him in and eat him alive. Tear him down until he could no longer stand.

And yet he could not help but to reach out for it - at first hesitantly - and then, as time went by, with both of his arms outstretched. Legs stumbling and tumbling, he waded through the darkness, frightened and alone.

There was something there, just beyond his reach.

Something calling for him. Someone. A voice both familiar and strange that he both recognized and didn’t.

And it was that hope alone - that there could be something waiting for him at the end - was motivation enough to keep him moving slowly forward.

He could only hope that whatever appeared before him would not shatter him.

Because the truth, in its many forms, was often a cruel mistress.

And his heart, made of dark and warped glass, was too fragile to handle yet another crack.

 


 

-

 


 

My, my - his sister had clucked, grasping his chin tightly between her fingers and looking through him. Don’t you seem to be lively lately?

...and hadn’t he been?

There were days now, days in which he felt oddly better - and whether it was his imagination or not, it seemed now that his waking nightmares came fewer and far between. His restless nights were slowly but surely filling with peace and quiet.

And it could only have been a marked improvement, if his sister had truly noticed. Besides making sure he was fed (the only sisterly duty she seemed to really devote herself to), she had never seemed to care for his wellbeing anyway.

But perhaps it was rude to think so poorly of his sister. Strained though their relationship often was, hadn’t she been trying lately?

It was only a subtle change, the way she seemed to nag him just a little less. Even the way she usually spat her words at him seemed a little less commanding than usual. Maybe it was her form of reward for a job ‘well done’.

She had seen him with Kai on more than one occasion and believed all to be going according to plan. Kyungsoo did little to convince her otherwise. Sickening though it was to see her haughty smiles as she passed them by, perhaps it was for the best.

She had been nicer to him in these past few weeks than she had been in years.

For as oddly relieving as that was, he found he could not break the habit. He avoided her presence whenever he could, turning his gaze away when she spoke, nodding whenever she expected some response. There was a part of him that still remembered - how her eyes were lit like fire in his dreams, her hands ripping him apart like claws, strangling him to death in the bed in which he lay.

It may have been true that nightmares were nothing to fear, however he knew far better than to trust his sister. They shared the same blood, after all, and though dreams were just dreams, Kyungsoo knew all too well the madness of his own family.

Besides, her lack of involvement was terribly convenient.

At the very least, it meant less time spent with her in that awful room. Lit only by the light of the swaying lantern - always filled with the strange smoke from the incense his sister burned incessantly. Cloying and suffocating. Absolutely dreadful.

In search of fresh air, he fled from the reach of his sister, only to almost always find himself in the company of a certain prince, instead.

Kai.

It seemed as if every waking moment was spent thinking of him.

Whether it was the fact that he was always there whenever Kyungsoo needed him to be - or the way he would mumble the last syllable of his name in that shy, quiet way of his - there was just something about him - some strangely settling quality about that wild, wild prince.

Kyungsoo found that it struck a chord in his heart - a part of him that he thought he had long buried away in those years of lonely solitude.

Back on those singing cliffs where the sand ran white and the whistling winds cut through him to the bone, everyone had shunned him. They left him to his seclusion, left him to hide away within rooms built within rooms built within rooms. The doors never led him anywhere, and the windows were only views of nothing at all.

In comparison, Kai was a gateway.

If only Kyungsoo looked hard enough, he would be able to see it all - a thousand wondrous spices on the tip of his tongue, the sound of hooves stamping on the ground, the vibrant colors of a planet that lived and breathed.

To have someone offer their company to him like this - without fear or distrust - without asking for anything in return - was still something Kyungsoo had yet to grow accustomed to. Nor did he particularly want to.

Arms braced atop the balcony overlooking a garden of beautiful calla lilies and riveting red roses, Kyungsoo closed his eyes and breathing in the scent of fresh dew and flowers in the air. In his mind’s eye, he found he could picture Kai perfectly like this - a smile spreading slowly across his handsome face, eyes crinkling shut as a band of feathers fell against his neck.

Little bird - Kai would call him, in that quiet voice always b with affection.

Or perhaps Kai would call him that again. That which was spoken half-asleep in a cloud of smoke, Kai’s curved tongue forming a word in a language Kyungsoo could still hardly understand.

Zovya.” Kyungsoo whispered, trying to get used to the way the syllables rolled clumsily off his tongue. Not quite as melodic, not quite as beautiful, but even from his own lips he could still feel the power behind those words.

Rolling his neck slowly, Kyungsoo repeated the words, slower this time than the last in an attempt to capture that moment again.

If only he could speak the language as beautifully as Kai, Kyungsoo lamented.

Although Kai had surprised him time and time again with rare words spoken eloquently in the common tongue of his own ancestors, Kyungsoo had to admit that he much preferred it when he heard the dinnish prince’s own language spoken through those full lips. Such rich and fleeting sounds, sweet honey in comparison to the brusque complexity of the Moorish language. Would such simple words hide a poem, perhaps? A sonnet written of Kai’s enduring love. Love - such a beautiful thing that Kyungsoo hardly knew - and yet such a beautiful thing that Kyungsoo so desperately wished and hoped for, foolishly seeking for something no one had ever wanted to give him before.

“Learning a new language?” A voice whispered teasingly into his ear.

Believing for a moment that another of his phantasms had somehow come to life, Kyungsoo started with a scream, leaning away from the source of the noise and pitching forward off of the balcony itself in the process. He would have nearly smashed to pieces upon the ground below if not for the stranger quickly reaching out to grip his robes, reeling him back in and away from the edge with a cluck.

“Careful now, my lord. Jumping from such adventurous heights may be a leisurely pastime for those who hail from the Pale, but I do not think any of the handmaidens will thank you for the fright you would surely give them from doing so!” Said the man.

A familiar man - one he had met many weeks ago. What was his name?

Ah, yes. Yixing, the traveler. Such a strange, strange man - Kyungsoo was absolutely convinced that there was something wrong with his mind as well.

The resentful look he had on his face must have been a sight, and yet Yixing continued to smile at him as if he hadn’t seen it at all.

“I see that I’ve surprised you, my lord.” The man noted, voice as dry as the desert - as if commenting blithely on the weather, or something else which concerned him not at all.

“Yes.” Kyungsoo couldn’t help but to respond back in the sharpest of tones, briefly narrowing his eyes before warily shifting to the side. As he took a moment to dust off his robe with a huff, Yixing came forth to stand quietly beside him.

Without a word of apology spoken to Kyungsoo (why, the nerve of that man!), Yixing took his time gazing out along the garden just as Kyungsoo had been doing just minutes before, trailing his eyes upon the thorned rose bushes and the golden ombre lily-blossoms.

After a moment of wary contemplation himself, Kyungsoo turned back to the gardens as well, seeing no point in continuing to glare if the man he was hoping to affect seemed oblivious to all. Once again, he slung his arms onto the stone balcony, although this time he did so with a sigh.

They were certainly strange people, their cousins from the northern moors. There were times in which the resemblance was clear - though their people looked nothing alike, they spoke with the same tongue and held traditions very similar to their own. And yet, where the resemblances ended, a bounty of differences lay. Relatively unplagued by wars and wallets and stomachs fat with the prosperity that peacetime brought, they were hearty and hale where Kyungsoo’s people were starving and feeble, boisterous and loud where Kyungsoo’s people were stiff-lipped and bitter.

“It means light1, doesn’t it? ‘Brilliance of the soul’, one might say, but that might be considered taking it a wee bit too far.” Yixing spoke up quite suddenly.

Kyungsoo looked over, blinking.

“I’m sorry?” He said with furrowed brows. Yixing’s expression was difficult to read. His eyes were looking somewhere past his shoulder, just as starry-eyed as they always were - though Kyungsoo could swear that they were now twinkling at him with mischief.

“The word which you spoke of earlier. You know, long ago, when the king was still yet a prince, he said something quite similar to me in the same tone of wonder. They do say the past repeats itself, don’t they? Not always in the greatest of tragedies - but also in the greatest of its joys.”

Light. Kyungsoo thought back to himself in wonder, feeling a feverous chill travel through his shoulders down to his toes. His cheeks heated as he stretched out his bare arm before him, hearing his metal bracelet clatter against stone as he paused to consider himself. Pale-skinned. Dark and gloomy.

“I do find it quite curious that you speak their language so well.” Kyungsoo muttered crossly, both hoping to draw attention from himself and, quite unintentionally, expressing his envy at such masterful command of his own lover’s native tongue. “One finds such expert skill acquired so quickly a story that is ...difficult to believe.”

Story? Ah, yes! Intriguing, that one was. It really was all thanks to traveling windsnippers. Beautiful birds, they are. Wonderful red plumage - used to make just the most exquisite quills - just wonderful. Yes. ...I’m sorry, where was I?” Yixing, as Kyungsoo would eventually come to find, had a habit for talking on like this. His mind was almost always in at least three places at once, and his words always came spilling dreamily out of his mouth in an almost incomprehensible jumble.

Before Kyungsoo could even say a word, Yixing’s eyes were lighting back up again, hands clapping together in realization. “Ah, yes - whilst traveling the eastern plains in search of one such elusive windsnipper, I happened instead upon a band of nomads who claimed to have traveled all the way from the Misty Mountains! They were led by one individual, who, as it turned out later, claimed to be a prince. Suho, they call him. He who was the eldest of the three princes was the one who taught me to speak their language.”

Kyungsoo, furrowing and unfurrowing his eyebrows in turn as he struggled to deal with the nearly endless torrent of words, suddenly froze as his mind caught on something Yixing had mentioned.

“So you - you’ve visited the eastern plains then?” Unable to help himself, Kyungsoo’s voice was trembling with muted excitement. Gone was his interest in the language itself as he focused instead on the journey itself. “Tell me, what is it like? Do they really pull their water from the ground?”

“Well, it’s actually quite a complex system of levers and pulleys that they use. Quite fascinating how they do it, really, I must draw you a picture of it some time - and may I just say that I had never pegged you for the type to be interested in these things, and how curious I find it now that I think of it?” Yixing said, almost nearly all in one breath.

Kyungsoo flushed in embarrassment, his gaze dropping to the ground as he looked away.

“Well, I - I suppose I am not. Not really. But I’ve read all the books. As a fellow creator, it’s always been an interest of mine to read of others’ brilliant inventions.” Said Kyungsoo, abashedly.

In his mind, he traveled through the athenaeum of his home, itself an expansive library filled to the brim with books upon books of any and every nature. Recalling how many hours he had spent inside by himself, poring over tomes of automata, aethers and alchemy, he missed it most on days like these, when there was nought to do and one was barely considered a guest in another’s foreign kingdom. Oh, how he bemoaned the loss of his books. After all, they said a dull mind was among one of the worst afflictions from which a man or woman could suffer.

“I must admit I’ve a desire to learn about everything. I am quite jealous of you and your many travels for I’ve no stories to tell myself.” Kyungsoo mumbled.

“Hmm.” Yixing hummed, drumming his fingers along the mossy stone. “Well, then remind me to lend you my journals. I write down almost everything I see, and I think you would find them quite interesting.”

Kyungsoo turned to face his companion, eyes widening and voice full of gratitude.

“Oh, would you?” He breathed, only to jump when a friendly hand clapped onto his shoulder.

“Yes, of course! Why, it’s not often that one meets a kindred spirit, you know.” Yixing said with a crooked but warm smile. “But I’m afraid it’ll have to wait - I’ve been planning to disappear for quite some time now - to take a little trip to the north and see how our neighbors are faring up there.”

Yixing’s gaze was far-away once again, looking beyond Kyungsoo’s shoulder to see the rising sun peeking through the stone columns. Kyungsoo, already teeming with curiosity and wonder, now looked almost crushed.

“You’re leaving? Already?” He was practically whining. “And how long are you planning to be away? When you get back, I’d love to hear about all of your travels - past and present. I have so many questions.”

“I can imagine. But worry not, young lord, for I may just be back before the festival!” Said Yixing with good cheer. “Or, perhaps I won’t be. The ‘where’ is never really an accurate answer to the question one seeks. Especially not when I’m neither really here nor there. Mine is a mind that transcends the physical plane, for I would like to believe that I am always precisely in the place I ought to be.”

Yixing’s words were spinning circles around Kyungsoo’s head again, but this time he knew better than to give the riddles Yixing spun too serious of a consideration.

“You are an odd fellow,” Kyungsoo remarked with a wry smile, “but I do think that I am growing to be terribly fond of you.”

“Terribly fond of me, are you?” Yixing retorted. “Well, aren’t you becoming quite the precocious lad? What a night and day difference from our first encounter! Though that’s not to say that I don’t appreciate your cheek. Winning the affections of a Tidreann lord. There’s a new one to add to my journals!”

“However we must endeavor to keep our ‘mutual fondness’ a secret.” Yixing continued to joke. “I fear your lover’s wrath. Have you ever heard the tale of the very first days of prince Kai and prince Sehun’s acquaintance? They may be the best of friends now, however they were, at least for a short while, very nearly mortal enemies. In fact, I do recall prince Kai drawing his weapon on prince Sehun. Prince Sehun had said the most inappropriate of words to him, you see. Completely by accident, of course, but it really was the most amusing series of misunderstandings, let me assure you.”

As Yixing went on to recall in hilarious detail the many tales of the two prankster princes, Kyungsoo threw his arms over his stomach, tossing his head back in laughter. Who would have imagined that quiet Kai had a mind for trickery? The Kai that he knew was always so serious and kind, that Kyungsoo could barely even imagine him running across the greens bare-footed, stuffing whole pies down his shirt. And although there was a part of him that disliked Sehun for the prince’s snobbish arrogance, Kyungsoo had to admit that the stories told of the two of them were too amusing not to laugh at.

Still chuckling every now and then, Kyungsoo took a step back in his mind, looking on and feeling somehow grateful for the fact that he was able to hold a casual, friendly exchange like this. It felt so ordinary - chatting with a friend. And yet, in his short life, he’d hardly been able to experience much of it for himself. Prior to traveling to the northern moors, he wouldn’t have been able to even name a single person who he would have considered a true friend. Knowing that he might have just made one for himself was somewhat of a relief to him, and he felt nothing but appreciation for the normalcy Yixing brought.

Where others saw a monster standing before them, when Yixing looked at him, he saw nothing but a man.

And as the conversation eventually wound down and its subject slowly shifted, Kyungsoo found his mind inevitably wandering again - this time back to the very first person who had ever looked at him that way.

“Why do you think the young prince would call me his ‘light’?” Kyungsoo wondered aloud with a small smile. “Though it warms my heart to hear that he truly does hold in me in good regard, of all people I imagine mine would surely be the light which shines the dullest!”

After an hour of constant conversation, there was now a rare moment of silence as Yixing eyed him closely without answering.

“Well,” Yixing finally said, after a long pause. “I suppose it only means ‘light’ in its strictest of senses. The closest words I can find in Old Moorish to describe its meaning may very well be dearest intended. Or perhaps beloved husband, as it may be in your unique situation. Has Kai made his intentions clear to you yet? Or do you suppose he will be doing so quite soon?”

The warmth and amusement fled quickly. In its place instead, there was a strange narrowing of vision and a feeling of tightness within his chest, as if something were pressing against it, making it suddenly so difficult to breathe.

He what?” Kyungsoo was rendered practically speechless. Blinking rapidly, he looked down toward his wrist, where his bangle stood to remind him of the promise he had originally made to his sister.

“How long has he felt this way?” Kyungsoo mumbled, more to himself than anything.

To say that he didn’t know Kai’s true feelings for him wouldn’t be entirely true.

It wasn’t as if Kai was entirely subtle about it, and anyway, Kyungri wouldn’t have pushed him to do such a thing if Kai hadn’t been so obviously keen on him in the first place. After all, she thought him about as competent as a child in all matters ‘delicate’.

But there was a distinct difference between using it as a tool to his advantage - and recognizing it for what it truly was - the very beginnings of love.

A sprout though it may have been, but oh, what a beautiful one it was.

“There is an old dinnish saying - ‘in order to stoke the dying fire, one must sometimes join together in its brilliance.” Yixing said idly, his voice echoing through miles of empty courtyard. “And I do believe that is his intention. Whether you yourself want it though - that is your decision to make.”

My decision to make.

Kyungsoo glanced down. Between the web of his fingers, green moss was just beginning to peak between the cracks in the cold cobblestone.

Such a funny thing, it all was. He had begun the entire affair feeling so reluctant, so tired of being used once again as a pawn in his sister’s games.

And yet, somewhere along the way, within the whirlwind of laughter and smiles, when his heart had leapt into his throat and his breath had been thoroughly caught, he found himself lost in something he had never anticipated.

And he could no longer say that this wasn’t something that he wanted.

In fact, it all made so much sense to him - the way Kai’s eyes always followed him across the room. The light and fluttering touches and small, crooked smiles. There was no ulterior motive here - no shadowy intentions hidden in the dark - no dishonesty to be found at all.

Kai had wanted him as he had always wanted him - just the way he was.

Because perhaps to him, they had always been one and the same in both spirit and soul, the other half that he had sought for so long.

From the very beginning, since their first clumsy interactions, Kai had already seen him as his long lost lover. Coming home at last.

“I’ve someone to see.” Said Kyungsoo suddenly. Distractedly nodding over toward his companion, Kyungsoo spun around on his heel, with plans to leave immediately. Before he could make it back inside though, he paused. Blinking and biting his lip, he turned back with an apologetic look on his face. “Terribly sorry. Perhaps we can talk more when you get back. I’d love to learn more about all that you’ve seen.”

A grin seemed to creep onto Yixing’s face like the ivy crawling alongside the castle walls.

“Don’t let me keep you.” He said with a laugh. “I shall bid you farewell to you for now, Lord Kyungsoo. We shall meet another fair day, perhaps!”

“And until then, I hope your journey fares well!” Kyungsoo threw over his shoulder, practically running down the stairs in his strange and excited rush.

“Good-bye, good-bye!”

 


 

-

 


 

Kai was slowly walking back toward the castle when Kyungsoo found him.

Upon seeing him, he picked up his pace, practically dashing across the grounds and through the tall grass.

Throwing off his hood from his head, Kyungsoo darted out from between the swaying stalks, breathless and red-cheeked as he revealed himself. With eyes wide, Kai was standing there, looking at him through the soft yellow glow of the sun which cast a halo upon them both.

With a soft noise, Kyungsoo cracked a wide smile. He met Kai halfway on a dirt-paved road, all but throwing his arms around his lover’s neck and laying a sweet kiss upon the dinnish prince’s cheek. They nearly tumbled to the ground with the force of his hug, but the look of surprise on Kai’s handsome face was well worth it and Kyungsoo took it in like a flower soaking in the sun.

Of course, in his haste to return Kyungsoo’s embrace, Kai held on tight, unwilling to drop Kyungsoo to the ground. He did so while laughing almost in disbelief, drawing his head back only when Kyungsoo allowed him to.

He cast a look down at the young lord within his arms.

Din-ah!2 He spoke, with a smile that made him look somehow even more dashing than ever. “Today ‘Soo happy?”

Kyungsoo basked in the embrace of a man who he knew loved him wholeheartedly. With a quiet laugh he nosed into the sun-kissed skin of Kai’s neck, breathing in the scent of fresh grass and wet bark.

“Yes,” Said Kyungsoo, mouthing his words against the other’s skin. “Today, ‘Soo is very happy.”

Kai hugged him even tighter, pulling him briefly off of his feet before setting him back down gently. Then he bent down, so close to Kyungsoo that the tips of their noses brushed against each other.

“Good.” The dinnish prince said softly, in a very fond tone of voice that had Kyungsoo shivering on the inside. “I like.”

...and I like you. Kyungsoo thought to himself in his mind, nearly in tears for reasons he could not name.

So, to prevent Kai from seeing the emotion on his face, Kyungsoo drew him into a kiss.

And then another.

And then another.

At first it was as chaste as could be - Kyungsoo trembled through the entirety of it, hesitant in his motions yet firm in his intent.

Then, as their teeth clacked together and their shuddered breaths began to mingle, Kyungsoo slipped his tongue between Kai’s lips in as bold of a move as he dared, when Kai willingly opened his mouth for him.

It was so warm and wet that Kyungsoo felt his knees weaken, knocking together until Kai had to wrap his arms around him to keep him up, drawing their bodies close - chest to chest.

Kyungsoo ate every sweet endearment Kai whispered to him through full and rosy lips, desperately in every breathy groan and every sigh.

And when it grew to be almost too much, he placed his hands on either side of Kai’s face, pulling him in even closer and coaxing Kai’s tongue into his mouth with a choked whimper.

Zovya, he could feel the lips that were brushing against his forming those words. Zovya, the word from Kai’s lips that belonged to him and him alone.

It lit a fire inside of him.

“Kai…” He whispered, breaking apart from their kiss with a wet smack.

He pressed their foreheads together. Eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks like a dozen more professions of love. The hard line of a nose brushed against his own, trembling hands sliding up and down the curve of his waist.

Kai…” He begged again, sighing when his prince obliged and bent down to press a thousand more kisses to his lips.

 


 

-

 


 

Maybe it was because of his quiet, gentle nature. Perhaps it was because he trusted Kyungsoo.

But Kai never asked him any questions. Never wondered out loud why it was Kyungsoo was suddenly treating him so affectionately. He simply took it all in with a look of wonder and joy.

Kyungsoo was relieved, really. He wasn’t sure what type of conversation it might prompt, and he didn’t want to push Kai into revealing anything he wasn’t yet ready to reveal. Kai must have had his reasons for keeping it a secret, after all, and Kyungsoo was all too willing to wait and watch it all unfold.

Besides, he would have been far too embarrassed to have told Kai the truth. Such complex and emotional things were beyond description for a man like Kyungsoo who had been raised by tutors and taught only what was necessary. To be asked to talk about matters of the heart would be impossible for him, so he settled instead for pressing the back of his hand against Kai’s cheek, slowly drawing it down and watching as Kai’s eyelashes fluttered closed.

He hoped that for now, his affection unbound would be enough.

Kyungsoo sighed contentedly, drawing his hand away. Before the other man could protest the loss of the other’s touch, however, Kyungsoo had pressed himself against Kai’s side, curling his fingers around the other’s arm.

“I apologize for interrupting your journey, Your Highness.” Said Kyungsoo with a small smile. “Allow me please to accompany you back to the castle.”

Kai looked as pleasantly surprised as he was pleasantly confused, the beads in his hair clattering noisily as he continued to look back at Kyungsoo - as if half expecting Kyungsoo to tell him that it had all been some kind of trick.

Kyungsoo did nothing of the sort, pushing insistently at his back until Kai finally started to move, though he did so only after reaching back with his open hand and taking Kyungsoo’s hand. Kyungsoo grasped it between his cold fingers, leaning in to feel the warmth of the other’s body and drawing it into his own.

As they walked on, never once did they notice the figure lingering far behind them, standing stock still as he watched the two of them leave. Fingers tightened slowly into fists at his side.

 


 

-

 


 

No more monsters left to fear, when it is you that has driven them all away.

No more nightmares, when it is you that holds me through the night.

And there will be nothing at all - nothing - that would keep me from you.

You who I will give my heart.

 


 

-

 


 

A temporary camp had been set up to rebuild the western gate, and it was here that Kyungsoo left Kai behind. He waved his good-byes, and turned back several times to see Kai still standing there, watching him with fingers half-raised and such a besotted look on his face that Kyungsoo himself felt his face redden in return.

What a dream, it all was.

It began to rain on his quiet walk back to the castle, and yet it was with a light heart and a wide smile that he made his way back, humming some merry tune to himself whilst absentmindedly wiping the droplets from his face.

Between the rain and his own distracted mood, he was thoroughly blindsided when, from out of the shadows of the stables, sprang Sehun. Red-faced and livid.

“You leave him be, you wretched creature!” Sehun was on him within seconds, Kyungsoo’s grey robes within his hands as he pushed the young Tidreann against the stable wall, sending wet wood chips flying. He was a torrent of angry words, shouting things that had Kyungsoo’s mind horrified and spinning as he struggled in Sehun’s grip. “I saw you with him earlier, touching him with your filthy hands! I’ve seen the spell you have been casting upon him, and though I know not of what type of sorcerer you are, I will have you know that Kai is a brother most dear to me! I cannot - will not - stand by and allow you to drag him down to the pits of hell from whence you came, you, you -”

Drawing from within him a strength that he did not know he had, Kyungsoo all but threw Sehun back, ripping off the hands the crown prince had placed upon him.

“I have cast no such spell!” Kyungsoo shouted, his conviction boosted by the words Kai had spoken just hours before, the moments of happiness he had just shared. “What you have seen is no trick! I have grown to care for him, as he has for me, and those words of his are his and his alone to give!”

Care for him?” Sehun sneered back, stepping up quickly to meet Kyungsoo. Though his neck strained to maintain eye contact with the taller prince, Kyungsoo refused to give, glaring up fiercely at the other man as if daring him to speak another word.

“Do you really think I believe you? I know your kind. You care only for his wealth and his power, just like your queen!” Sehun continued to spit, eyes lighting up when he saw Kyungsoo flinch back at the mere mention of his sister. “That’s right! You think me stupid, don’t you? Well, I can see you for what you are - nothing but a shadow puppet of your sister’s - ”

Something within him snapped.

“I am no one’s pawn!!” Kyungsoo all but roared. Sehun stepped back with a look of surprise, not expecting such a sudden and heated response. “How dare - ”

He could only see red as he pushed Sehun back again, this time with such force that the prince fell back into the mud, dirtying his beautiful tunic and splattering dirt across his white cheek. The prince, now sitting on the ground and propped up only by his hands, looked shocked.

Before Kyungsoo could say or do anything else, a one-armed knight had forced their way between them in a clanking flash of silver pushing Kyungsoo back and forcing him away from Sehun with a single gauntleted hand.

“What is the meaning of all of this??” The knight shouted through the rain, flipping up his visor to reveal a haggard and anxious face.

“He - he attacked me - ” Kyungsoo spat out, still struggling to reign in his anger as his vision swam in circles before him.

The knight eyed him warily, regarding him with only distrust as he reached out to help Sehun up off the ground.

“Your Highness?” This time, the knight addressed only Sehun, a fact which had tears of rage welling up in Kyungsoo’s eyes. Thankfully, they passed as only droplets of rain.

“It is nothing, Chanyeol.” Sehun muttered, futilely attempting to wipe the mud off his clothes with his hands. The prince glared at Kyungsoo through wet strands of platinum blond hair. “Just a discussion which ended up becoming a little ...heated.

Kyungsoo snorted, balling up his fists.

They glared daggers at each other, and if not for the armored man standing between them, they would have been at each other’s throats once again.

“Worry not, Chanyeol. This won’t happen again. Besides, I am sure we have plenty to think about before the next time that we talk, won’t we, Lord Kyungsoo?” This time, Sehun looked straight at him, waving his hands in front of him in a dismissing gesture. “Until then, I’m sure you must have errands to run for your sister. Run along, now.”

Kyungsoo wanted to spit in his face. He wanted to throw himself upon Sehun and make sure that the other man never mocked him again -

“Well?” The knight said, pushing Kyungsoo back when he began to lean forward again. He placed a warning hand on the sword by his side, still within its scabbard. “You heard the prince. Now leave.”

It was only with the greatest of control that Kyungsoo forced himself to turn around, although he remained shivering in rage. Tears were probably streaking across his face now, but he paid them no mind, instead struggling to leave with his head held high as he heard the cruel laughter and the whispers following after his back.

The voices in his head were difficult to ignore as they were seething - promising pain, pain, pain to all that did him harm. And of course the ghost of his mother was walking alongside him once again, this time pointing at him as she howled and howled and howled.

 

 

 

-


 

 

1: I like diminutives so I threw them into dinnish. Much like the use of -chein in German, -le in Schwäbisch German or -ito/-ita in Spanish, the -ya suffix can be added onto a noun to indicate ‘intimacy or endearment’. In this case, the word zovya actually consists of the root word zov meaning light, and the diminutive suffix ya. It doesn’t always take the form of -ya, however. Following nasal consonants (i.e. a [n] or an [m]), the [y] drops off because it would be difficult to follow. So, if the word for prince is ‘yivin’, to call someone little prince you would say ‘yivina’ rather than the clumsier sounding ‘yivinya’.

Uh, so tl;dr, technically it wouldn’t just strictly mean ‘light’, but actually literally translates to ‘little light’. I just didn’t want to write in that little added explanation in because I thought it would kind of take away from the natural flow of the dialogue, and besides it’s really just extra detail that isn’t necessary to know in the moment. I just thought it’d be fun to explain my thought process because I did spend a heck of a lot of time during I See Fire constructing this weird pseudo language and I thought ‘aw heck, may as well show it’.

2: My god!




 

 

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bbe1989
finished writing last chapter + epilogue, editing now! hopefully done within the week - it's a bit long.

Comments

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INXEXOBB #1
Chapter 17: in the end, love always wins💛thank you for sharing whatever beauty this was with me
Melodykhai23 #2
Chapter 17: Im so glad i came across this masterpiece. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Galaxyboo_
#3
Chapter 17: This is so beautiful I'm crying ㅠㅠ
Manavi4412 #4
Chapter 17: Hi
The last 3 chapters had a lot going on..... but the penultimate chapter had so many unexpected surprising twists!! The true identity of virgil actually being minos, n kyungsoo shouldering the blame on himself willingly (contrary to kyungri framing her, as I thought at first)....n then I was totally dreading that kyungsoo was gone n despite knowing the truth they couldn't save him in time........so ya, the last 3 chaps definitely had me crying 😂
Also, it's really well written, specially when I could actually feel the characters emotions. N u couldn't completely hate any character when they all had their own circumstances cause there's no good or bad person, we're all a mix of both depending on the experiences that shape us. So it gave a realistic feel.
Moreover, the part where ksoo ain't sure if he actually loves kai or he just thinks he does cause of his responsibilities n obligations....that part had a real different gravity to it.
For some reason, I specifically liked the addition of udo's character tho 🥰
So ya, thanks for writing!!
INFTJazm
#5
Chapter 17: I hope our wishes find u well!!!! ❤️ be safe out yhere!
INFTJazm
#6
Chapter 17: Deserves all the upvotes
INFTJazm
#7
Chapter 17: Thank u for creating something so beautiful!
INFTJazm
#8
Chapter 17: Maam got me crying .. real fresh tears that wont stop with the last two chapters. GOD BLESS YOU AND UR TALENT. Thank you for not giving up in this story!! Just like kyungsoo didnt? Omg its so beautiful in still crying
INFTJazm
#9
Chapter 16: hoooly e
INFTJazm
#10
Chapter 8: Love this langiange