love

The last time Minseok remembers being truly, surely happy is when he was five years old. He remembers building a castle in the snow and his hands were stiff with cold because he needed to take his gloves off the details. He made a flag out of twigs and rose petals from the greenhouse. His mother came over with a miniature chair, told him that was his throne, and she laughed when he said he couldn't possibly fit. That's what he remembers the most; her laugh. Her eyes were kind and wide as she delicately placed the chair in the middle of the tallest fort.

"One day, you'll be a king," she said, smoothing a hand over his flushed cheeks. "And, you'll be kind and wonderful and your people will love you. I think that'll be the happiest day of my life."

He smiled and pointed at the rectangular patch of snow he had sectioned off with twigs.

"That's for my people. They'll be allowed to do anything there. Eat whatever they want whenever. Like Christmas but everyday."

He loved how proud she looked and then she reached over to pluck at his flag.

"White means surrender, Minseok. Red means war. We have both roses so why did you pick white?"

"It matches with the slow," he answered and she laughed.

His father came out then, kneeled by them on the ground and covered Minseok up with a coat. He listened indulgently as Minseok rattled off the rules he would implement as king and put an arm around his wife as they shared a fond smile. Minseok thinks that's the last time his father was truly happy, too.

Mother died the next day and his father took his hand when they buried her with roses all around her grave. They still go down there with fresh roses every day and Minseok sometimes spends hours in the greenhouse obsessing over his mother's forgotten plants. Every time a rose wilts, Minseok is struck with the urge to weep until his heart gives out, but he has to remain strong for the weary King and his wearer people. When the time comes, he'll have to be strong for himself too.

The maids of the castle have become his closest friends and he confides all of his fears and hopes in them. He tells them about his reluctance to marry an eligible man, tells them he doesn't want anyone at his side, really, and they pet his arm and offer him sweets. In a way, Minseok make-shifts his own family and it's the closest to happiness he fears he'll ever get.

On Minseok's eighteenth summer, the castle is visited by a Duke from the West River. Jongin is everything a gentleman should be and Minseok’s father falls all over himself to make him feel welcomed. Minseok is dolled up, put on display, and he would be wholly against it if Jongin wasn't so goddamn charming and handsome. He takes Minseok through the gardens, holds his hand gently and sings to him under the rustic cedar arch.

They're sitting side by side on a hill that faces the sunset and Jongin is humming softly.

"If you were a king, what would be the first thing you do?" Minseok asks and Jongin smiles at him.

"Make you queen," he says and Minseok rolls his eyes but doesn't miss the way Jongin avoids the heavy topic.

"If anything, you'd be my queen, Duke."

Jongin laughs, head thrown back and so carefree that Minseok feels an irrational pang of jealously. There are guards at the foot of the hill, guards down the flat field in front of him, guards up at the forts with their gazes fixed on Minseok, and Minseok wonders if Jongin has ever been under such scrutiny, if he would be able to survive it.

"I would probably secure the land," Jongin says quietly a few minutes later. "These are dangerous times for big kingdoms, Your Highness, I'm sure you know."

He runs a thumb over Minseok's knuckles and Minseok bites his lip to keep from grinning. Jongin's ominous words barely register and Minseok all but skips on their way back to the castle.

Soon, the Duke becomes Crown Prince's husband-to-be and the castle starts to fill up with color again. The king is avidly participating in the wedding's preparation and Minseok is smiling more than he ever remembers being able to. Some of the maids offer obscure advice while some fill Minseok's head with unnecessarily filthy scenarios. Minseok wants a winter wedding and Jongin kisses his nose, tells him he can have it any way he wants.

"We'll do it in the courtyard," Minseok says, clapping his hands together and his father smiles like he used to.

Everything is so painfully beautiful, so unnaturally perfect, that Minseok can't help but start to feel scared. Jongin goes back to his home for the fall, promises to come back by the end of winter, and Minseok throws himself into wedding preparations in hopes of getting rid of the dreadful apprehension settled in his chest.

On the coldest day of winter, Minseok takes a walk. He's wearing clothes he designed himself and his fur coat is made of white foxes, pinned at his neck with a snowflake-shaped brooch his mother gave him before she died. It's fashioned out of black diamonds, a gem they found in the mountains and is held in a beautiful silver crest. It's his most prized possession and he always keeps it pinned close to his chest. His hands are covered in gloves that match the black of the pin and when he stumbles, he nearly kills himself trying to keep his attire away from the dirty, dirty trees.

This morning, the king spoke of war and in the same breath, told the knights to take Minseok into his quarters, keep him safe. Minseok knows how to fight, got his first knife at seven, knew how to work a sword at eleven, and it's just like his father to push that aside and treat Minseok like some sort of foolish boy that can't hold his own in battle.

The wind howls, bites at his skin, and he shrugs off the guard that voices his concern.

Kim Minseok isn't a delicate flower. Kim Minseok is a lion, same as his father, same as his mother, and he hopes one day he'll have a chance to prove it.

"Your Highness," the guard insists again, "We cannot allow you further than this."

He huffs, even though he knows they're dangerously far away from the mountains and way too close to the forest, and turns around. The guards hasten to encircle him once more and he's never felt more suffocated in the woods before. A twig snaps in the distance and the guards close in on him, making him nervous. He looks past the snow covered trees, can't see anything except white, and clutches Knight Yixing’s fur coat from behind.

"Come here," Yixing says, slipping a hand past his coat and tugging him close by the waist while pointing his sword out ahead of them. The guards spread out a little bit more on Yixing's command and Minseok begins to panic. His guards have never been this wary.

"Well, if it isn't Princess Kim out on a stroll."

Yixing turns them toward the direction of the taunting voice. From the woods emerges a man dressed in black, the color so vividly dark that Minseok has to wonder how he could have possible hidden, and he has a smirk in place on his handsome face. His dark eyes twinkle with mischief and Minseok tries not to show his fear.

"Who are you?" Yixing asks, readjusting his grip on his sword, and the man laughs softly. At the sound, dozens of other men, all dressed in black, appear all around them.

“Lu Han, son of King Lu. I am sure you've heard of me."

Minseok nearly chokes with sudden, horrible fear. The Lu’s have been wrecking havoc all throughout the south, seizing entire kingdoms, but Minseok's father had assured him that they'd never want for them mountains, that their men didn't much enjoy the brutal winter. Yixing lets go of him to step in front of him and Luhan grins.

"What a loyal pet," he says and Minseok frowns in anger.

"What do you want?" he asks, suddenly calling all of Luhan and his men's attention to himself.

"Just you, love. See, it's tradition to take one little trinket for keeps once you claim a kingdom and your father, well, he's dead so I think I can pick whatever I want."

He sing-songs the last three words and Minseok's stomach tightens with dread, a sick sadness washing over his heart and making him sway. Minseok falls to his knees without meaning to, clutching his stomach and staring at the snow beneath him in horror. Yixing doesn't turn around, but he uses his free hand to grip the fur at Minseok's throat. He hears Luhan laugh again and thinks he might heave from the utter grief that has rendered him helpless.

"Take the knight, kill the rest," Luhan orders and Minseok immediately grabs Yixing's cloak, makes a devastated noise when the fur slips past his fingers. He hears Yixing's struggle and the screeches of his guards, their blood staining the snow around him. He can't look up, his chest feels too heavy, and he closes his eyes when Yixing screams his name.

"More than a pet, I see," Luhan comments and Minseok watches as his black, black boots stop inches away from his knees. "Look at me, love."

Minseok closes his eyes again, squeezes them shut, and he tries not to shiver when Luhan cups his chin. He lifts Minseok's face up against the soft fall of snow and rubs a leather covered thumb across Minseok's jaw.

"They say your eyes are like coal. Let me see them."

Minseok doesn't oblige, suddenly terrified this is the last stunt of defiance he'll be able to pull, and Luhan's fingers tighten around his face.

"Kill the knight," Luhan says and Minseok's eyes fly open.

None of Luhan's men have even moved and Minseok feels like a fool when Luhan smiles down at him, something so sincerely mean about the way his lips twist up. Minseok's eyes are wet with tears, but he finds it hard to blink even though it's snowing and Luhan is running a finger gently across his cheek. He hears Yixing make a distressed noise and starts to look down at Luhan's boots only to have his face jerked upright again.

"Daddy's dead, Princess. You're nothing more than a slave now and it's best if you learn to accept this. I don't enjoy dirtying my hands."

He digs his fingers into Minseok's cheek and shoves him away, making him press his hands against the ground to steady himself. The snow melts under the pressure and seeps into his gloves, but he doesn't move until Luhan's men grab each of his arms to tug him up. He looks up and sees Yixing with blood around his nose and his hands in shackles. Minseok suddenly wonders if death by frost in these abandoned woods would be better than what waits him at his own home.

Luhan makes sure his boots click obnoxiously against the granite as he walks his captives and his men to the middle of the castle where his white, white throne awaits him. There's blood in his fingernails that he hasn't had the chance to clean out and it's the exact color of the brooch on his jacket's lapel. He turns his head and smiles at Prince Kim, who glares so viciously that Luhan's lips twitch involuntarily. Up ahead Luhan can see the throne and he tells his men to encircle it, placing the captives in front of him in a line.

He watches as two of his burliest men have to struggle to make Minseok kneel.

"I wish to get the formalities out of the way first, if you please. Considering that my territory now expands from the edges of West River Forests to the beautiful mountains of the Kim Kingdom, I would very much love to inform you that my command is wide and any retaliation would only harm you. Only a few of your villagers have been harmed and the real casualties have been the former King's guard and of course, the Princess's little bodyguards. I'd like to offer shelter to you if you'd swear allegiance to me."

Luhan nearly falls off the throne when Minseok barks out a laugh. His eyes are bright with anger and his voice could scrape away steel when he says, "You know, they talked about your abrasiveness, but you have utterly lost your mind, you unpleasant little rodent."

He raises a hand as his men move to draw out their swords and leans forward in amusement as Minseok pants with his little fists at his sides. The white of his coat makes his eyes look unnaturally black and Luhan wants so very much to have this boy under him in compliance and humiliation, wants to run hands up pale thighs and watch that doll-like face scrunch up with tears. He wants that so badly that his fingers curl around the lion heads of the throne and he feels his skin tear around the teeth.

When Luhan pulls his hands back, Minseok's eyes flicker down toward the motion and the blood seems to distract him from his anger. He looks almost sympathetic, like he's seconds away from grabbing some scrap of cloth to wrap around the wound, and Luhan is properly unsettled for the first time in his life. He was born on a battlefield, he has killed men while looking into their eyes, and he's thrown off guard by a silly, little prince being overly compassionate.

It's an embarrassing thought and he struggles to summon up his confidence.

"Now, love, don't be rude. Your knight may have differing thoughts."

"I would rather die here at your feet than be manipulated into kissing them," the knight says, baring his blood-stained teeth. His dark, unruly hair is in his eyes and his lips are curled up in a smirk that matches Prince Kim in its level of sheer hatred. Seems the king was rather well liked here, Luhan muses, propping his elbow up on the throne's arms and settling his chin lazily on his palm. He wasn't really planning on riding all the way up to the mountains, but he changed his mind once he heard about Duke Jongin’s fiancé. Luhan's wanted the Duke’s land for ages now and he finally has a way to lure him in.

"You're well suited for the damsel in distress role, Prince Kim. It's almost endearing," he says, head tilted and voice carefree.

Minseok struggles viciously against his restraints and Luhan smiles wider.

They drag him across cold, hard marble until he's in his father's chamber and they leave him there with his wrists tied and his mouth gagged. He shifts his legs to one side as he looks around hastily, but the windows have iron bars and the door was locked shut just a few seconds ago. It's freezing and dark, but what breaks Minseok is his father's cloak draped across the chair near the fireplace.

His sobs sound impossibly loud in the empty room. He imagines clawing Luhan's eyes out with his bare hands, imagines making him kneel, killing his men, but none of the images make the grief of losing his father lessen. He wonders if the maids are okay.

For a while, all he does is cry. It feels like the end of the world.

His father is dead. His kingdom isn't his anymore. His coat is speckled with blood and his boots have scuffs on them. He's officially an orphan and will probably be dead soon. He has never felt this sort of hopelessness in his entire life.

In the end, Kim Minseok wasn't a lion at all.

It takes a few minutes to subdue the knight and take him to whatever spare room his guards will find. Luhan almost wants to laugh at the man's ferocious spirit, his stupid, pretty head probably filled with ways to save Kim, and nearly does laugh when Yixing breaks into tears.

It's hardly anything to cry over. Kingdoms get taken over every day. People die, people get lost. It's life. The last thing you want to add to that is a stubborn devotion to someone else, a need to protect someone else. It's hard enough staying alive as it is.

Luhan sighs, pressing his fingers to his temple, and he waves at the remaining men to situate themselves wherever they wish in the castle.

He has a prince to entertain, after all.

"What do we do about the servants, Captain?" Tao asks, more preoccupied with his fingernails than an actual answer, but Luhan provides one anyway.

"The usual, Tao."

He hums absentmindedly and begins to usher some of the men around and out of the main hall.

Luhan heads towards his new room, ordering someone to cremate the dead bodies as a last minute thought, and he grins at the silly, red curtains decorating some of the marble pillars. They must be part of the wedding, must be something Prince Kim’s darling, little heart came up with all by himself. Luhan rolls his eyes, a little bit thrown off by how foolish the prince is. To plan a winter wedding. To fall for a Duke. To believe in happy endings. Luhan thinks he might use the curtains to tie Minseok up, red against pale skin, dolled up and ready for slaughter.

He'd show the Prince what a real happy ending looks like.

Luhan is surprised, to say the least, when the first thing he sees after the guards unlock the door is Minseok’s icy glare directed right at him. He hesitates for a brief second at the door, hating himself a little and wondering if Minseok even knows how much he terrifies Luhan, how much he wishes he'd killed him in the forest. No matter, he thinks, you'll break soon enough. Boys like him always did.

The prince follows his every move as Luhan enters the room and halts to a stop at Minseok’s knees. They're a mirror image of their first encounter and Luhan can't resist reaching down to cup the prince’s chin in soft, mocking gesture.

"Were you waiting for me, darling?"

Minseok twists his chin out of Luhan's grasp, muttering something clearly threatening around the gag in his mouth, and Luhan laughs lightheartedly as Minseok shifts up on his knees with his ass sitting right on top of his heels. He moves his tied hands around in wild, angry gestures that amuse Luhan to no end. Eventually, he tires of the mute display and slips out his sword to cut Minseok’s binds open with two clean swipes. The prince looks momentarily startled as his limbs fall open, but he's quick to gather his wits as he stands up.

He's a few inches shorter than Luhan and as skinny as a stick. Luhan would bet he's never fought a single battle, probably stayed at home getting waited on and pampered. Getting that skin of his properly clean and soft and pale. Luhan has never wanted to cut something up so bad.

"You," Minseok starts, finger raised and pointed at Luhan and chest heaving, "You vile, little insect. I am going to kill you. How dare you- My father- We never did anything wrong. There's nothing here worth taking, so why, why did you come here?"

A little bit stunned by Minseok’s bright, bright eyes, Luhan hardly notices that the boy has been stalking closer to him until his face is suddenly snapped to the side and his cheek begins to ache. He's struck helpless and dumb as he processes the fact that Minseok just punched him and is now working on clawing his skin off.

Luhan quickly grabs Minseok’s wrists, pushing him away and holding him there.

"Let me go!" Minseok screeches, thrashing around and only barely missing Luhan's groin as he kicks his legs out. Luhan twists Minseok’s wrists around until they're pressed against the boy's own back and their chests are flush together. Luhan wants to laugh at the silly, little tears in the prince's eyes, his cheeks scarlet and his lips quivering. It's almost like watching a theatre play up close and Luhan has never really been a fan of theatre.

"Calm down, kitten," Luhan says, his breath ghosting over Minseok’s nose and he has to do some intricate footwork to keep Minseok from kicking him between his legs.

"We have nothing to give," the boy hisses out, "What could you possibly want from us?"

"It's just land. Territory. You're acting as though you've never heard of anyone taking over a Kingdom just to take it over," he says gently, fingers tightening around Minseok’s wrists before letting go to shove Minseok back a few steps. He stumbles a little, his white coat slipping off of one shoulder and revealing a frilly, black shirt. Luhan rolls his eyes as Minseok tugs it back up his shoulder, hand grasping his collar tight like he's protecting his virtue, and it's a given when Luhan steps forward to yank the coat off.

Minseok puts up a decent fight, but he's tiny and emotionally drained, so his white coat ends up on the floor and the brooch that had been holding it together clatters and rolls away. Minseok follows the movement with wide eyes, jerking forward and picking the brooch up before Luhan can even blink.

Luhan smiles softly.

“You really shouldn’t make your weaknesses so apparent. Someone might think you’re almost proud of them.”

Minseok clutches the brooch to his chest, panting slightly, and says, “You must be under the delusion that you can read people.”

“You got that little brooch from your dead mother,” Luhan says, voice mockingly gentle, and his smile widens when Minseok looks up at him with wide eyes. He looks beautiful like this, clothes falling off a shoulder and blood on his skin. Luhan twists the knife with, “Your father gave it to her on their wedding,” and watches with barely restrained glee as the last of Minseok’s resolves crumbles.

“How do you know that?”

Luhan rolls his eyes, pacing toward the fireplace and pressing fingers gingerly against the bruise forming on his cheek, and says, “It was in your diary.”

Minseok makes a sound that’s halfway between a growl and a scream, and Luhan hears him scramble to his feet. He sighs and puts in some wood into the fireplace. He hears Minseok stalk towards his back and then come to an abrupt stop. He picks up a steel poker and presses the newly added wood deeper into the fire.

Being somewhat used to Minseok’s fiery nature by now, he isn’t surprised to hear Minseok make a run for it. He did leave the door wide open after all.

He sighs again, removing his leather gloves to warm his hands against the fire. This boy is certainly interesting and Luhan hasn’t had a toy to play with in quite some time.

Luhan is rifling through the former King’s desk when Tao drags Minseok into the room and drops him at Luhan’s feet. The prince has a black cloth keeping his mouth shut and his hands are bound, too. Tao has scratches on his face and Luhan smiles.

“How far did he make it?”

Tao wipes the thin lines of blood on his face with the back of his hand and says, “Into the hall, but it took a while to get him to settle down. Are you sure it’s worth keeping him alive?”

Minseok is glaring at them, somehow managing to look formidable even in that position, and Luhan thinks he’d fight a hundred more wars for a prize like that.

The castle staff is given simple ultimatums; leave the castle or work diligently under Luhan’s command. Luhan isn’t surprised to see most of them leave. The King was known to be kind and treated his staff as someone might treat family, after all. His lips curl up in distaste at the sentiment.

He lost his parents in a war, saw his brothers and sisters get slaughtered, and the most affection he’s ever felt is for his horses. He has trust issues he’s aware of and he sleeps with a dagger under his pillow.

Minseok wouldn’t understand any of that.

For a week, Minseok is kept locked in his room and given meals that he only puts up a show of ignoring for the first two days. He doesn’t see Luhan and while he’s grateful for that, he also feels anxious. He’s hunted his fair share of animals and he knows it’s never good to let a target out of sight. Especially when that target has a sharp sword and a hundred ruthless men working for him.

One morning, the maids come in with a set of clothes he doesn’t recognize. He tries to ask them if they know what happened to his maids, but they ignore him, fixing up his bed using precise and abrupt movements.

Solemnly, he puts on the black, plain shirt and the black pants, finishing the attire with his favorite red boots for a sense of comfort. When he looks at himself in the mirror, he sees a stranger. An unfamiliar boy with bruises under his eyes and sunken cheeks.

He hopes the boy will make it out of this alive.

Minseok is escorted to the dining room by Tao’s firm grip on his shoulder, not making the mistake of running off this time. The sight that welcomes him in the dining room sets his blood boiling and his hands curl into fists.

Luhan is twirling a wine glass around as he sits on his father’s seat at the end of the table. Minseok shoves Tao off of him and stalks forward with intent that dissipates suddenly when he notices the man standing over Luhan’s shoulder. He halts in his stride, mouth falling open a little and something uncomfortable threatening to break his ribs open.

“Yixing,” he whispers, but the knight is looking straight down the table. He looks like a statue. Luhan takes a sip of his wine and smacks his lips.

“Knight Zhang has reconsidered where his loyalties lie, Your Highness,” Luhan informs him with a soft smile that has a mean edge and a meaner glint.

He looks at Yixing, feeling betrayed and completely alone, and his attention is brought back to Luhan as the man says, “Won’t you join me for breakfast?”

Minseok glances at Yixing’s tense shoulders and decides to give him the benefit of the doubt. Luhan probably tortured him into this. Yixing would never stand behind a man that killed his father, that took his kingdom. Yixing almost slaughtered a boy once for laughing at Minseok. This isn’t him. This can’t be him, Minseok reasons. His knight isn’t a coward.

“I’d rather starve, thank you.”

Luhan tilts his head to the side, crossing his legs and placing his hands on top of his knee. He studies Minseok carefully, scanning his body from top to bottom with a kind of scrutiny Minseok has only ever felt before Jongin kissed him.

“As you wish,” he says, voice deceptively pleasant. “Did you like the clothes I picked out for you? As I thought, the black compliments your skin tone perfectly.”

Minseok rolls his eyes, walking closer to the man, and looks down at him with as much hate as he can manage before saying, “If you wanted to play dress-up, you should have picked a doll that doesn’t move.”

Luhan narrows his eyes at that and it’s his overconfidence that makes his reflexes slow enough to not see the punch coming. His head snaps to the side with the force and Minseok feels satisfaction burn under his skin as he’s grabbed by several guards and dragged out. The last thing he sees of the room is Luhan fingering at the blood on the corner of his mouth and then looking at a struggling Minseok with some emotion he can’t figure out.

Everything is coated in a haze of red as Luhan laughs with blood on his teeth, voice edging toward hysterical. The prince has punched him twice now, the first bruise having just faded a few days ago. Luhan is going to make sure there’s no third time.

He runs a tongue across his bloody teeth and he feels oddly breathless.

Minseok makes him feel like he’s at war every time they meet.

He stands up and looks back at Yixing, who has his hands folded neat and polite in front of his stomach. He can almost feel Yixing’s desire to run a knife clean through his chest. Smiling slightly, he says, “I want you to guard the prince’s room for me until we’re ready to make the trip back to my home.”

Luhan doesn’t stick around to watch Yixing struggle to control his expression.

Minseok is trapped in the room for days, Yixing hovering outside like a constant reminder of how alone he truly is. He’s put into different outfits that are all simple and refined, but he’s never taken anywhere. He’s served his meals inside the room, he takes baths in the bathroom attached to the room, and eventually, he starts to feel suffocated.

On the brink of some sort of a collapse, Yixing comes into the room and grabs his arm, dragging him out like he’s moving luggage.

He’s dressed in one of Luhan’s suggestions, a simple red shirt paired with black, leather pants and black boots. There’s a black lace tied around the collar that flutters down to his stomach and the cuffs of shirt are pressed tight to his wrists with similar lace.

He feels like a stranger inside his own body and when Yixing wraps familiar fingers around his arm, he almost bursts into tears.

“Where are you taking me?” he asks, dragging his feet but being helplessly overpowered by Yixing’s strength. “Please, Yixing, I-“

“Somewhere warm,” Yixing says and Minseok hastens to ask more questions as they move out of the room and edging down the hallway. But, the knight is stubbornly quiet and pulls him into the main hall without answers.

Luhan is waiting there, talking to one of his men with an almost pleasant smile on his face, and Minseok notices the man’s handsomeness for the first time. Instead of making his heart race like Jongin's did, it just makes his skin crawl. What a waste, he thinks, face unconsciously pulling into a sneer.

The prince looks away from his conversation as Minseok is shoved forward until he’s in the middle of the hall and standing in front of the man he hates.

Luhan smiles (and it’s so different from the one he’d been giving the tall man next to him) and says, “You’re a sight for sore eyes, Princess.”

Minseok almost rolls his eyes at Luhan’s continued attempt at insulting him by using ‘Princess’. He’s met princesses that could cut Luhan’s head clean off in a battle.

“Where are we going?”

The tall man behind Luhan grins at him, looking amused and fascinated, and Minseok glares at him until Luhan’s voice shifts his attention.

My home, darling,” he informs, placing his hand across his chest and bowing slightly, “Yifan here is going to take care of this part of my land. It’s far too cold in these mountains.”

Minseok grits his teeth to keep from screaming, then why did you come here, because he knows the answer he’d receive.

After all, kingdoms are just chess pieces.

Luhan orders Minseok to be thrown into one of the carriages that the prince’s loyal dog will guard, not paying no heed to the boy’s indignant screaming. He settles into his own carriage and enjoys the long ride to his home. His father was settled, somewhat permanently before his death, in the land by the forest, but Luhan prefers the castle he was born in that sits right near the ocean. It’s a two-day ride, and he can tell they’re close when the air starts smelling like grass and salty water.

When they finally arrive, Luhan jumps out of the carriage and stretches his tired limbs with a big smile on his face. One of his uncles has been stationed at his castle for the time being and he greets Luhan with a proud smile. Luhan feels something phantom twist at the fatherly affection, but he stamps it down as quickly as it had come.

His uncle asks him about the boy they’ve brought with him (the prince has a gag around his mouth due to being an annoying pest most of the ride), and Luhan tells him he’s a Kim. His uncle comments on the prince’s unruly nature, but Luhan assures him he has everything under control. He sends the man and his few knights off with a wave.

He tells Tao to put the prince somewhere while he goes off to greet his horses, musing their hair and all but cooing at them. He thinks, home at last, and wonders what he’s going to do with the extra baggage he brought back.

This is the moment Minseok has been waiting for, to be brought to Luhan home. He wants to taint this beautiful castle with awful memories and twist it into something Luhan will never look forward to entering. That boyish smile the prince has sported had made anger lace his veins. Luhan doesn’t deserve that joy.

After Tao puts him in a spacious room and locks the door, Minseok begins to think.

He can’t beat Luhan in manpower and he definitely can’t beat Luhan in sword skills. But, he can outsmart him. He thinks back to the boys and girls he used to run into when his parents would take him along to visit some summer castles. The boys and girls would be adorned in jewels and his aunt would always pull up her face in disgust, whispering about the things they did to his mother.

If it’s a toy Luhan wants, then a toy Minseok will be. And, he’ll bite the hand feeding him as soon as it's lulled into complacency.

Yixing is stationed outside his room again, and he’s still as unreceptive to him as he’s been the past few weeks. Minseok doesn’t give up, bombards the knight with statements and questions every time he comes into the room to give him his meals.

After a few days of being left alone, a few maids dressed in all black come into his room. The maids in this castle aren’t as professional as the ones back home. They come in giggling and place an outfit on Minseok’s dresser. They run fingers through his hair as they mess up the perfect coif he’s sported since he was old enough to care about his image.

They make his hair fall down his forehead and when he gently moves their hands away, they giggle some more.

Minseok feels strangely comforted by their presence even as they dress him up in some frilly white shirt and tight, black pants. They run kohl through his eyes and dab his lips with red paint. He blinks at his reflection, feeling like a lifeless doll.

After a few days of being left to his own devices, it’s odd to be ushered out of the room by the maids and brought down an unfamiliar hallway by Yixing.

Luhan is settling some accounts in his books when there’s a knock on the door and a creak as said door is opened slowly to reveal Yixing. Luhan motions him inside, mind still on the books, and freezes a little as Minseok also steps in. He looks like something out of some dirty fantasy Luhan lets himself indulge in only once in a while. His hair is almost hiding his eyes, but he can see the dark smudges around them and he swallows at the redness of his lips.

He catches a movement out of the corner of his eyes and sees Yixing curl his hands into fists.

The knight really is too attached. After all, not just anyone would be subdued into servitude at the simple threat of hurting someone else. Luhan almost feels pity for the boy.

“You can excuse yourself, Yixing. And, you,” he says, pointing at Minseok, “can come sit here across from me.”

Minseok moves as ordered without his usual fuss and Luhan is instantly on guard. He’s learned to not underestimate the prince.

“Let me just finish this and then we can discuss your role here in my castle,” he says with a smile and almost flinches when Minseok smiles back, those awfully pretty lips stretching like a dream.

Unsettled, he shifts his attention back to his books and quickly wraps the accounts up. Minseok waits for him patiently, not moving an inch, and Luhan feels some of his usual confidence slip off his shoulders as he finally looks at the prince.

Still, he has a smirk set firmly in place as he says, “Now, where were we- Ah, yes. Your role. You’re not exactly any help in terms of manual labor,” he doesn’t miss the way Minseok’s lips twitch at that, “And, you don’t know enough about war to be part of the strategy team. And, I don’t trust you enough to put you anywhere near the food. So, I guess you can work in the garden. It’s light work and you’ll earn your keep. I don’t collect useless toys. If I ever need you for anything else, I’ll let you know.”

Minseok seems unfazed by the news, but Luhan isn’t fooled. With those pretty, delicate features, the prince must have assumed he’d be made to do something else. But, Luhan isn’t his father and he certainly isn’t interested in bedding someone that’s not interested in him.

Minseok is dismissed and placed in the hands of some gardener that seems warm and kind. He’s thrown off and uncomfortable at the kindness Luhan has showed him. He wonders if the boy accepts him to feel gratitude and thinks the prince will be sorely disappointed if he does.

The castle is so beautiful built and the garden is just as aesthetically stunning. It has clean angles Minseok remembers his mother being fond of and fountains surrounded by hundreds of red roses. He can almost see the ocean as the elderly gardener, Mr. Nai, shows him around and explains the flowers and how to take of them. As Luhan said, it’s light labor, and there’s only a few more gardeners working in the large space.

He could easily make a run for it, but it’s empty land as far as he can see and he really has nowhere to go. His home isn’t his anymore.

He formulates new plans and contemplates ways to make Luhan pay for every person he’s stolen from him.

Luhan watches from the window in his study as the little prince tends a circle of roses with an odd amount of care. He frowns as Minseok laughs at the something Nai says. For someone tending his father’s murderer’s garden, he seems awfully comfortable and carefree. The prince has something up his sleeve, and it bothers Luhan that he can’t seem to figure out what that something is.

His chest feels too small for his ribs as Minseok bends down to smell a rose, pale fingers curling around the stem. He yanks the curtains close as if erasing the image from his mind, but it sticks and it melts and it becomes more vivid the more he tries to forget it.

Perhaps putting the prince is the middle of flowers wasn’t such a great idea after all.

warning: mention of suicide and there is a nonconsensual kiss

Yixing is starting to become more of a nuisance than an asset, Luhan thinks. He had kept the knight alive for the sole purpose of torturing the little prince, but the little prince is a nightmare. He has befriended half of Luhan’s staff, shoots him sweet, unsettling smiles every time they run into each other, and doesn’t look at Yixing even once.

Luhan has assigned the knight to guard the outer gates since the garden’s edges span around the area and that’s where Minseok is almost always stationed. He thought the knight’s presence would anger the prince, upset him.

Instead, the few times Luhan looks out from his study, Minseok is either trimming some bush or chatting amicably with someone from the staff. The workers don’t know that Minseok is a prince, they’re just treating him like a new staff member, and are enamored by his boyish smile and easy demeanor.

Yixing spends most of his duty staring straight ahead and Minseok never looks at him. They both seem uncomfortably comfortable in their absurdly new positions in Luhan’s castle.

Nothing seems to be going according to plan.

Minseok is scrambling.

He feels desperate and alone and he’s starting to hate the smell of roses. Luhan stationed Yixing by the garden and it takes everything inside him to not glance over at the knight every two seconds. He can’t spare sentiments at this point, not with his father dead and his entire kingdom under someone else’s control.

He’s going to snatch his castle back if it’s the last thing he does.

In an attempt to familiarize himself with Luhan’s world, he befriends almost all of the workers on duty and pieces Luhan’s history together inch by inch.

He learns that Luhan was born on a stormy day and grew up bright and happy. When he was six, his siblings were murdered by an rogue knight and his father set out on a revenge mission that eventually burned them all out. The maids tell him that Luhan looks just like his father, but used to have his mother’s gentle personality. The cooks shake their heads and sigh as they talk about Luhan as a kid running around, giggly and easy to love.

Minseok can’t picture Luhan in any sort of positive light so he keeps his mouth shut and lets them reminisce.

They tell him that Luhan’s mother sliced her own wrists because she couldn’t bare to see the man her beloved had become and grief drove the King deeper into chaos and war and darkness. He died on a battle field a few years after and Luhan took over the kingdom at the tender age of eighteen.

“That boy deserved better. He grew up without love, but he treats us like family,” one of the older cooks says, wiping his forehead as the soup next to him boils and bubbles. Minseok hums noncommittally. “His father’s light was lost even before he lost his daughter and the Prince thinks he’s just like him. But, that’s not true.”

Minseok struggles to not roll his eyes.

“Isn’t he a King, now?”

One of the cooks cutting up carrots waves her knife around and says, “No, no, boy. The Prince will never take that title. He worshipped his father, fought battles just to gain approval. He’s not going to put that crown on until he’s absolutely forced to.”

Daddy issues, Minseok thinks, not ready to sympathize with his father’s murderer. Figures.

He’s walking back from filling two buckets with water from the well when he spots Prince Luhan in all his glory sitting on one of the benches with his head thrown back. Minseok pauses in his stride before walking firmly over and placing the buckets on the ground with unnecessary clatter. Luhan jerks upright, frowning at Minseok, and rubs his face with his hands before sighing. Minseok smiles sweetly and says, “So sorry for disturbing, but I need the water the plants behind you.”

Luhan looks at him, irritation evident in his eyes, and stands up.

It’s pure instinct that has Minseok reaching forward to hold Luhan by the arms when the prince sways. Luhan pushes his hands away, muttering something incoherent, and staggers a little but finds his balance eventually.

He walks through the winding garden oozing confidence in a way that makes Minseok wonder if he can ever trust Luhan’s expressions.

After a few days of collecting information, Minseok also learns that Luhan doesn’t have a consort, doesn’t go to balls, doesn’t take princesses on walks, doesn’t show interest in tall, handsome princes. The question mark around Luhan grows bigger and bigger, and Minseok feels frustrated.

Sweet, demure smiles seem to make the prince frown. Rebellious behavior seems to make the prince frown. Everything Minseok ever does just makes Luhan wrinkle his forehead without a comment.

It’s annoying.

His workload in the garden is light, he’s given clean clothes to wear, and he’s given three full meals a day with the rest of the staff. Luhan doesn’t seem to expect anything from him, not seduction nor rebellion. In fact, it seems like Luhan has forgotten he’s a prince, that he stole Minseok from his castle with suggestive remarks and promising smirks.

Yixing is also given minimal work, good food, and good clothes. As if they applied for a job and Luhan readily gave it to them. As if they’re not here by force.

Minseok decides he’s had enough.

A few more days of asking around lets him know that there is a path clean through the forest that will lead to a neighboring kingdom, and he figures he should make a run for it. He’s going to stay hidden for a while, maybe find a communal job, until he can safely make the trip to Jongin’s mansion. He’s not going to spend the rest of his life acting like a tame dog under a bastard’s command. The problem is letting Yixing know somehow without attracting attention.

Luhan’s study faces the gardens, the curtains always open, and Minseok knows Luhan didn’t put Yixing near him for the sake of their friendship.

He gets his chance once Luhan leaves the castle for the first time since they’ve been brought here and gets up on a horse, shouting orders on his way out. He waits until he can’t hear the rumble of Luhan and his men’s horses anymore. As soon as he thinks it’s safe, Mr. Nai no where in sight, he runs up to Yixing.

Yixing’s impeccable posture loosens and melts as he opens his arms and lets Minseok jump right into them. They hold each other tightly for what seems like ages, before Minseok pulls back and cups Yixing’s face gently.

He blinks away tears because he doesn’t want to worry Yixing, and tugs at his wrist to pull him behind a tree.

“Have you been good, my Prince?” Yixing asks softly, years of servitude making his tone reverent and kind.

“I’ve been well, Yixing. How have you been?”

Yixing takes holds his hands in his and says, “Well.”

They smile at each other before Minseok remembers their limited time and quickly begins to tell Yixing about everything he’s discovered so far, from Luhan’s history to the path in the forest. Yixing nods, looking a little dazed, and glances over at some of the guards positioned around the main gates.

“We won’t be able to leave from there. We’ll have to go from behind the castle, where it’s less guarded. Some of the guards are there specifically for me, I suspect, so it’ll be difficult to leave. And, if they see me talking to you, they’ll tell the prince.”

Minseok rubs a hand across his face, feeling angry and cornered. He looks around him and sees the tall hats of a few guards and some cooks rushing up and down the open arc near Luhan’s study.

“How about this? Try finding out which guards are meant to watch you and I’ll find a way to distract them. Then, you run through the arc and into the kitchen. Say something about needing to find me, tell them Luhan asked you to. I’ll go into the kitchen a few minutes later, after you leave, and they’ll relay the message. Naturally, I’d have to head to the back of the castle the way the workers do. You’ll be waiting there and then we’ll make a run for it as soon as we can.”

Yixing nods slowly and Minseok really hopes he understood the plan as he hastily bids him farewell, squeezes in a quick hug, and goes back to his roses.

The plan goes down perfectly. Luhan is still out of the castle, the guards react the way he predicted, the cooks say all the right things, and Minseok is dashing through the arc and around the castle with thrill pumping through his veins.

He reaches the back of the castle and sees Yixing with a hand held out that he readily grabs. They race down the trimmed grass until it starts getting rougher and patchier and they’re suddenly surrounded by trees.

The path is supposed to cut straight through the forest if they keep heading east, but the trees seem endless. After a few hours of simply walking, Minseok realizes a terrible flaw in his plan. They don’t have food, water, or any sort of provisions to last them through the night. He had thought the walk would be about half a day long, with the way the cooks had been talking, but now he wonders if they meant by horse.

Yixing hasn’t eaten since this morning and Minseok could barely stomach anything due to the nervousness of impending escape.

They’re both tired and hungry and the day is dimming.

Minseok suggests they rest for a while to save their energy and perhaps look for something to eat in the forest. Yixing finds some twigs but they’re wet from the rain, so he sets them aside for later. Minseok finds some berries and plucks them off the bush, making a sack out of his shirt and putting them in the dip.

He’s feeling a little bit more positive about their future as he fills his stomach with sour berries. They decide to stay for the night, Yixing working up a small fire with difficulty, and it’s warm enough that they don’t need to keep cover. Since the forest is so thin, the possibility of a potentially dangerous animal is low and they lay their jackets on the hard ground with a content state of mind.

Yixing has been smiling, sneaky little dimples that fade when Minseok looks at him (the knight is all about proper protocol, after all), and Minseok feels happy for the first time since he lost his father.

Luhan comes back to his castle after a rough few days of travel to find an array of delightful information. His captives have escaped, Duke Jongin has received news of the what happened with the Kims, and Tao is no where to be seen.

Those the exact three things he does not need right now.

“Which way did they go and when?” he barks at one of the guards, the man shivering in his armor but standing firmly in his place.

“We suspect out into the forest, and yesterday afternoon, Your Highness.”

Luhan’s balls his hands into fists, anger hissing inside him, and knocks away the glass of water offered to him. The golden cup clatters onto the floor and Luhan thinks about getting his hands around the prince’s little neck.

The knight and his prince left on foot, which is possibly the most stupid thing to do. The forest is mysterious and has more poisonous plants than documented, and the night welcomes hungry beasts. The two men have no food, nor do they have a means of shelter. Luhan wonders whose genius plan the escape was.

He finds Tao in the study organizing papers and orders him to get on a horse. They ride into the forest with a few other men, Luhan’s furious expression keeping them quiet and anxious.

He’s expecting to find the pair huddled up under a tree, but to his surprise, he doesn’t run into them until they’re at least two hours into the forest. Minseok is leaning back against a tree with his eyes closed and Yixing is sleeping next to him, his vest over his face.

The fact that they don’t jerk awake by the sound of the horses lets him know they must be completely worn out.

Sighing a little, wondering why he even came all this way to get them, he jumps off his horse and kneels down on one knee in front of Minseok’s sleeping body. He tilts his head, contemplating, and the moistness of the ground below him seeps into his pants. Tao steps up behind him and nudges the side of Yixing’s thigh with his boot.

Yixing scrambles awake, looking around him with his eyes all wide and bewildered. When he notices Luhan and registers the scene he’s in, he immediately reaches for Minseok, grabbing his arm and yanking him to his side.

Luhan smiles, snapping his fingers and motioning Tao to restrain Yixing. Tao easily drags Yixing to the side and hauls him up, holding his body still.

Minseok is wide awake now, pressed against the tree with his mouth open, and his hands are digging into the grass under them. Luhan reaches out a leather clad hand and runs a finger up from the dip in Minseok’s neck up to his chin. He feel the kid’s nervous swallow and grins.

“You’re becoming a lot more trouble than your worth, Princess,” Luhan says softly and Minseok’s eyes narrow. The fact that the prince has the audacity to glare at him even now, even in this situation where there’s no escape, sends an unpleasant thrill up Luhan’s spine.

Yixing barks out, “Don’t touch him,” and, really, the knight should know better by now. Luhan curls a hand around Minseok’s throat, holding his head immobile, and leans forward the press a kiss on those quivering lips.

Minseok is dragged back to the castle on Luhan’s horse, sitting in front with his hands tied to the harness, and he’s tossed off the horse and over one of the guard’s shoulders like a child. It’s degrading and humiliating, and when he’s dropped on the floor of Luhan’s bedroom, it’s a little terrifying.

Luhan’s cocky smile has morphed into something dangerous when the turns back from the locked door and as he stalks closer, Minseok feels the urge to inch away.

Luhan comes to a stop in front of him, one foot tapping the space in between Minseok’s sprawled legs, and looks down at him with a sneer.

“You’re going to wish you died in that forest, love.”

warning: sexual violence

Minseok tries to scramble back but Luhan grabs his wrist and hauls him up as if he weighs nothing and drags him to the bed. He's trained to fight, he's trained to flip men heavier than him over, but he isn't trained to control fear and it's choking him. Luhan bends one knee on the bed, inches forward, and brings the other knee up too. Minseok moves away and winches as slams his head against the bedpost.

Luhan grabs his ankle and slides him down the bed, crawling on top of him and bracketing him in with his arms. His knees keep Minseok's legs spread and he takes both of Minseok's wrists in one hand, pinning them above his head.

"Was working in the garden horrible?" Luhan asks lightly, eyes glittering with dark promises.

Minseok whimpers as Luhan tightens his hold on his wrists, feeling utterly hopeless.

For all his bravado and pride, he knows he can't beat Luhan in strength.

"Was it so horrible?"

Minseok shakes his head, tears pooling in his eyes, and Luhan smiles.

"Why did you run away? I gave you food, security, and didn't touch you in ways someone else would have. Anyone else would have. With your pretty face, I'm sure you feared it."

His throat feels thick and rough as he swallows.

"You killed my father," Minseok says, figuring he might as well brave a confrontation while he's trapped and terrified.

Luhan tilts his head to the side, frowning a little, and says, "No, I didn't. That was an overeager knight. I usually move the family to somewhere else. Saves me the hassle of cleaning up the blood off of my new castles. And, trinkets, well I only take willing ones."

"I wasn't willing," Minseok bites out.

"Yes," Luhan says gently, "But, you were so beautiful."

Minseok feels himself flush under his intense stare. He thinks about his father's death, how it wasn't evident, how it didn't need to happen, how Luhan didn't even do it. All his strength and all his fight accumulates and he struggles against Luhan's grip with renewed vigor.

Luhan's condescending smile morphs into an ugly sneer and he uses his free hand to grab a handful of Minseok's hair, yanking and making Minseok gasp in pain.

"Stop," Luhan growls out, "You ungrateful little-"

"Ungrateful?" Minseok says, face flushed red with anger, "Am I supposed to be grateful that you stole my home and made me a gardener?"

Luhan narrows his eyes in warning and says, "I could have done a lot worse, Princess."

"Stop calling me that."

The prince looks furious, eyes wide at Minseok's defiance, and he rips Minseok's shirt open, pulling it up Minseok's arms to tangle it at his hands. He ties the fabric to one of the bars of the bedpost. Minseok tries to push him off but ends up even more tangled and securely tied to the bed.

Luhan drags his nails down Minseok's chest and traitorous tears run down Minseok's face in messy, harsh, angry sobs. Luhan surges up to kiss him, biting at his lips and prying his mouth open with his fingers.

Minseok screams, arching his body up to try to put distance between their mouths, and digs his ankles into the back of Luhan's legs, pushing and trying to hurt him.

"You're going to be grateful for how I treated you when I'm done with you," Luhan whispers, laying kisses on his jaw and working his way up to his ear, bitting the soft flesh.

He's crying loud and awful, fear making him shameless. He pushes against the restraints on his wrists uselessly and Luhan lays a hand on his waistband, slipping fingers under the material and beginning to push his pants down. Minseok yells and struggles and cries.

Luhan suddenly moves away, sitting up on his knees and looking down at Minseok as his screams quieten into pitiful sobs.

"I hope you learned your lesson, Princess. Never run from me again."

He gets off the bed completely, lifting his shirt to take the dagger strapped to his waist out and slashing Minseok free. Minseok is shocked and still so, so terrified, and when Luhan leaves the room, locking the door behind him, he's confused.

Luhan's knees feel weak and boneless as he leaves the room and a knight has to hold him steady as he nearly falls over. He waves the knight away and makes his way to his study, locking himself inside. He slumps into his chair and closes his eyes.

Minseok had looked like every dream and every nightmare come alive under him, big eyes and pretty lips parted. In any other setting, Minseok would be blinking up at him with love and affection and-

Luhan opens his eyes and slams his hand down on his desk.

He doesn't need or want Minseok's love.

(Still, the image of Minseok laughing and pulling him close, whispering, "Make love to me," into his ear sticks to his mind and stays, festering something awfully foreign inside him.)

Minseok stares up at the ceiling, his arms numb and his lips stinging.

Luhan isn't anything like Minseok anticipated. Luhan is terrifying, his handsomeness, his unreliably pretty eyes just a simple mask. Luhan is fair, Luhan really does just take over kingdoms to expand his land, doesn't slaughter mindlessly like his father. Luhan is confusing, Luhan kisses him to make a point, not take away Minseok's agency. Luhan is clever.

He has Minseok doubting himself.

Feeling sick, Minseok starts putting himself together, his shredded shirt left on the bed. He gets off the bed on shaky legs and looks around at the tastefully wealthy design. It reeks of Luhan, from the crafted wood to the simple piles of books at the table. The bed is wide and covered in rich, red sheets that match the engravings on the bedpost.

He walks over to one of the closets, putting the door back to reveal the plain shirts he's seen Luhan wearing. He slams the door shut and looks around at the windows. The sun is out, golden light streaming in.

Thinking the door is locked but wanting to chance it anyway, he makes it way to the door and pulls down the handle. His eyes widen as the door opens, but dread curls in his stomach as he spots the knights right in front of him. Leaving the door open, he walks back inside and sits down on the bed, chest bare and his wrists bruised. He wonders what he must look like to the knights, a silly little boy that tried to cross the forest and was dragged back and screamed and screamed.

He must look useless. Weak. Stupid.

And, he's starting to believe he just might be.

Luhan comes back to a sullen Minseok and a plate of uneaten food. Sighing, he closes the door to his room and comes over to sit on the bed. Minseok has his knees folded and pressed to his chest, and he doesn't spare Luhan a glance.

"You should eat," Luhan says and Minseok snorts, unfolding his legs and getting off the bed. He still hasn't buttoned up his shirt or fixed his hair. Luhan feels guilt (strange and unfamiliar guilt) twist his stomach into knots. Minseok paces along the side of the bed and then abruptly stops.

"Why are you keeping me here?" he asks, voice laced with frustration and venom.

"Like I said-"

"No," Minseok interrupts, "I do not want your trinket story. You kept me here as a gardener. A gardener. You don't have a history with me to justify it as some attempt at torture. A gardener also doesn't directly serve you. I was mostly out of your view for the most part. So, why? Why even bring me here? Why not just displace me somewhere like you said you do with royal families?"

Luhan wants to give Minseok an answer that will shut him up, that will seal his pretty lips into a defeated scowl. He wants to give Minseok the truth, too. Wants to tell him that he had different plans when he came to the forest, but when he tipped Minseok's face up, he became reckless. And, being reckless is something a prince can't afford.

"You're entertaining," he says, the half-truth slipping off of his tongue smoothly and making Minseok's shoulders immediately slump.

After a few moments of trying to pierce a hole through Luhan with a simple glare, Minseok asks, "Are you going to put me back in the garden?"

Luhan leans back against the headrest of his bed and crosses his legs at the ankles, folding his arms and pretending to give it a thought.

"Where would you like to be kept?" he says for the sole purpose of watching anger flush Minseok's face, eyes wide and glinting with pure hatred.

"My own home, you filthy little-"

"Please," Luhan says, waving his hand and rolling his eyes, "Spare me the insults, Princess. I've decided the gardens might have been a bit too good for you. And, like you said, why keep you there if I can't even see you struggle? From now on, you'll work as my assistant."

Minseok snorts, looking wildly beautiful with his messy hair and open shirt and Luhan doesn't know why he keeps torturing himself like this. If he wanted, he could make Minseok his consort. He could make him his whore. His toy. He could chain Minseok up and use him until he felt sated. He could, except he knows it's the fire in Minseok's eyes he wants to conquer, not his body or that beautiful mouth. And, under restrain, that fire would only crackle and scorch Luhan.

"I thought you didn't trust me," Minseok says.

"Being my assistant means you would keep track of my appointments, not have access to sabotaging my life, Princess."

Minseok's hands curl into fists, knuckles turning white, and Luhan smiles, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"Now, if you'd excuse me, I really have to catch up on my sleep."

"Where am I supposed to sleep?" Minseok says, voice falsely sweet and patient, and Luhan smiles wider, resisting the urge to open his eyes and see whatever murderous expression he's been given.

"Wherever you slept before you made that stupid decision to run away."

He cracks an eye open and says, "Unless you'd like to sleep here," and Minseok visibly reacts, expression sour and fists jerking up a little before he controls himself.

He watches Minseok stalk out of the room, open shirt flying and revealing a thin, pale waist that sort of dampens the victory of ruining Minseok's mood.

Minseok thinks about trashing the room, thinks about tipping the simple dresser over and shattering the glass and breaking the lamps. He knows Luhan would just put him in one of the twenty other spare bedrooms in the servants' quarters, but the thought is satisfying and helps to curb his anger a little.

He tosses and turns all night, thinks about where Yixing might be, thinks about if Jongin even knows, thinks about his father not getting a proper burial, thinks about his castle, his maids, his dead family.

He thinks about Prince Luhan and that charming, serpent smile that curls phantom fingers around Minseok's heart and squeezes.

When Minseok wakes up, he's visited by Tao. As he fumbles through the halls trying to keep up with the knight's long strides, he's handed a pile of folders and given rapid, confusing directions about organizing the information. He's led to Luhan's study and placed at one of the smaller desks near the walls. Tao leaves after commenting lightly on his cleanliness and saying it's going to help with his job.

Minseok places the folders on his new desk and sighs. Rubbing at his eyes, he moves to draw the curtains back and light the early morning sun in. As he gazes out of the window, stretching and yawning, he notices the garden.

Sighing, he settles into his seat, back to the windows, and starts sorting through the folders. Unbound papers slip out and he tries to make sense of the scrawled handwriting. After much squinting and blooming headache, he realizing the papers are reports from battles, lists of casualties and treasures.

He's meant to organize everything by date, but he immediately starts rifling through for any mention of his castle. A frustrating half an hour later, he comes up with nothing and reluctantly starts filing the reports in chronological order.

Minseok is almost done, has everything in neat little piles, when Luhan swings the door open and raises an eyebrow at him. Minseok ignores him, but feels his gaze on him as Luhan walks inside and sits down on his desk. He drums his fingers on the wood and Minseok knows he's still looking at him. Clenching his jaw, he tells himself to not give Luhan the attention, but snaps anyway.

He slaps a paper onto a pile and looks at Luhan, biting out, "What is it?"

Luhan's finger still and the stupid grin he has on his face widens, making him look almost boyish and almost innocent.

"Nothing," he says, "You just make a very lovely secretary."

Minseok rolls his eyes and gets up from the desk, placing the stacks of paper on Luhan desk one by one with a sharp, short summary of each. Luhan doesn't look at the papers, just keeps looking at Minseok with dark, hooded eyes.

Once Minseok is done with the papers, he asks, "Is there anything else you'd like me to do?"

Luhan rests his elbows on the desk and puts his chin on his folded hand, looking up at Minseok with a mockingly sweet smile.

"There are many things I'd like for you to do, Princess."

Minseok stares at him for a moment, the anger that's been boiling under his skin for weeks making him feel exhausted, and bites out, "You know, the cooks talked about you not having a consort," twists his lips up, "Said they can't fathom a reason. Said with your looks, your wealth, you should have a line at your doorstep. Seems as though you don't subject all your servants to your dismal personality."

Regret settles in a little late as he watches Luhan's smile drop and morph into something much more sinister and awful. Luhan stands up in a fluid motion and Minseok tries not to let his fear show.

Luhan walks around the desk and walks towards him, one step forward for every step Minseok takes backward. Eventually, Minseok collides with the wall and Luhan leans in, the tips of his shoes slotting in against Minseok's. He has his hands crossed behind him and he tilts his head as he looks at Minseok.

Minseok lowers his eyes, breathing erratic and palms a little sweaty. Luhan leans away, bringing one hand up to Minseok's cheek and stroking the skin.

"Never speak like that to me again," Luhan says, tone softly authoritative and a little bit terrifying. Minseok stuffs his pride down to keep from biting out a retort and Luhan walks away from him, settling back in his chair.

It takes Minseok a while to lose the tension in his body as he peels off the wall and sits in his own chair, legs just a little shaky.

Underestimating Luhan is a mistake he's made too many times.

Once Luhan is finished with some pending paperwork, he takes Minseok along with him for a tour of the castle, pointing out certain rooms and certain job positions he might have to survey for Luhan sometime. Minseok doesn't make any sharp little comments and Luhan finds himself almost missing them. Angry with himself, he sends Minseok away early and locks himself in his study.

Tao knocks on his door and comes in with a somber expression.

"What is it?" Luhan asks, frowning in concern.

"Duke Jongin is coming."

"Duke Jongin is coming? When?" Luhan asks, feeling strangely panicked. The duke is small news, he could be crushed under Luhan's heel in two minutes, but the duke is also Minseok's one and only. Minseok's fiance. Just thinking about it leaves a bad taste in his mouth, makes him picture those damn red curtains Minseok had hung up on his white, white pillars.

Tao looks apprehensive.

"Lord Yifan sent a letter, said the duke came in this Monday after hearing the news. Raised a storm. Lord Yifan pointed him in your direction and said he had no control over the current situation. He's making the ride down here and will probably arrive by tomorrow."

Luhan rubs a hand down his face, sighing, and rests his hands on his desk. He pushes himself up and hangs his head low, eyes wild.

"Well," he mutters, "this is delightfully awful news."

He moves away from the desk and paces, stopping abruptly as an idea comes to his mind. The duke is just a simple man. And, simple men do crazy things once given the right nudge.

Minseok finally finds Yixing as he's on his way to the kitchen to drop Luhan's dinner order. He's in the middle of tossing Luhan's spoiled, little list into a pot of flowers when he spots his knight standing in the hallway talking to Tao. Minseok's face breaks into a smile he has a hard time taming and it only dims a little as Tao looks up and spots him. Yixing follows Tao's gaze and his eyes widen when he spots Minseok.

"Your Highness!" he yells and Minseok looks to the side at Tao, who is strangely at ease and simply nods at Minseok before walking away.

Minseok is so busy watching Tao work his way down the hallway that he gasps in surprise when Yixing catches him around the waist and hauls him up for a hug, cradling his head with one hand. He pulls back and grins at Minseok.

"I am so happy you're well. I thought after he kissed you, he would..." Yixing trails off, but Minseok understands. They've both seen their fair share of empty, soulless slaves at the feet of some pompous king.

"He just has me doing paperwork," Minseok says, waving Yixing's concern away, "What about you? Why haven't I seen you since the forest?"

"I've been in the dungeons. He put me there as a guard. My room is down there, too, so I couldn't come up to see you until Tao came to get me for a repositioning."

Minseok's forehead wrinkles, doubt creeping up his spine, and he asks, "He didn't hurt you?"

"The prince? No," Yixing says, grabbing his arm suddenly as his half closed eyes widen in panic, "Did he hurt you?"

Minseok wants to say, almost, but that would terrify Yixing, so he opts for, "No," and is wholly uncomfortable once he realizes he isn't lying.

After sending Yixing off, promising to keep all escape plans dormant for the time being, Minseok heads for the kitchen. The cooks don't treat him any different which makes him realize Luhan is still keeping their true identity a secret. The prince is proving to be more of a mystery than Minseok is willing to handle.

Once he reaches the study, he spots Luhan with his palms flat on the desk and his head hanging down, shoulders tense. He hesitates for a few seconds and as he steps inside, Luhan looks up. The look on the prince's face stops him short. His eyes are wide and he looks ten years older than the last time Minseok saw him.

"What's happened?" he asks before he can help himself and Luhan's distress morphs into something sinister and dark. Minseok takes a quiet step back as Luhan strides up to him and grabs him by the arms. The prince looks down at him with wild eyes and an awful smile.

Luhan whispers, "Your little duke is coming," and Minseok feels pleasant, anxious, sharp surprise fill him even as Luhan's smile widens.

"Don't be so happy," Luhan barks and Minseok quickly tames his expression. The prince pulls him closer and his mouth is hovering too close to Minseok's when he hisses out, "I hate your smile."

He releases Minseok, making him stumble back, and straightens the hems of his shirt. He looks put together now, suddenly. His eyes are clear and at ease and Minseok is going to get whiplash from his mood swings. Luhan smiles at him, soft and unassuming.

"Well, we really must welcome him with open arms. What do you say?"

Minseok is smart enough to keep quiet.

Luhan wants to break something, anything. Preferably Minseok's darling, little heart. The way his eyes had lit up as just the mention of that stupid duke. It was silly, it was unbecoming, it was so, so stupid. Did Minseok really think Duke Jongin would be able to get past him?

Scoffing, the bitter noise echoing in his empty room, he slumps down on a sofa.

He sent Minseok off on mundane errands hours ago in an attempt to get away from that sparkle of hope in his eyes and has been locked in his room since.

He's itching for the duke to finally come. He's going to make that little boy break Minseok's heart. He's going to pluck out that thorn in his side for once and for all.

The next morning, Luhan sits out in the garden with his tea in front of him and Mr. Nai explaining a new layout he wants to try for the daisies. Minseok is at his side, standing with his hands folded in front of him and shifting his feet impatiently. Luhan knows Minseok's attention is at the gates and he tries his best to not let that bother him.

Around midday, just as he's done with his tea, Tao comes up through the winding bushes and leans down to say, "The duke has arrived. Should we let him in?"

Luhan sees Minseok still completely from the corner of his eye and smiles at Tao.

"Of course. A guest is always welcome. Seat him in the parlor. I'll be there shortly."

Tao bows slightly and leaves them. Minseok is still rigid at his side as Luhan gets up and straightens his clothes. Faintly, horses can be heard behind him and Luhan turns around to see Duke Jongin ride in with a few companions. Some of the trees in the garden block his view so he can't really see the duke's expression. Pity. He really does like going into a war with all the pawns in his hand.

Minseok tries hard to stay calm, takes in deep breaths and concentrates on surveying the maids as they set the platter of food for Jongin and his guards. To know that Jongin is so close is killing him and he wants nothing more than to run into Jongin's arms and bury his face in that familiar, warm chest. But, he knows Luhan is doing all of this for that exactly: a reaction.

Although, he suspects a non-reaction might be just as telling at this point.

Either way, as the platter is set, he orders the maids to go bring it to the parlor and they follow him as he walks slowly and anxiously down the hallway. As he rounds a corner, he falls behind and the maids step around him to enter the parlor. From here, he can see through the curtains of the door and his heart jerks when he spots Jongin. His betrothed is yelling, on his feet and pointing as Luhan sits calm and collected across from him.

"You can't keep him here," Jongin is saying, mouth set and eyes wide in justified, righteous anger. Minseok wants to kiss him so badly.

Luhan sighs dramatically and folds one leg over the other, resting a hand on his knee. He looks like he's talking to a child and it makes Minseok want to kill him. No one gets to belittle Jongin. Especially not spoiled, little princes that stole his kingdom.

"I can keep him, actually. You know the sentiment. Finders keepers and all that."

Minseok can't see Luhan's face from this angle but he can hear that smile in his voice, the mean intent to rile Jongin up. The duke doesn't disappoint; surges forward and has to be held back by his own guards, one of them yanking at his elbow and whispering something into his ear that has him settling back.

"Fine," Jongin says through gritted teeth, "How much do you want?"

Minseok's chest feels tight and uncomfortable as Luhan asks, "You want to buy back your betrothed? That's very charming. Noble, in fact."

Jongin's face twists and he's about to shout something else when he looks up and spots Minseok. His expression instantly clears into a bright, carefree smile and Minseok can't help rushing into the parlor and stepping closer to him. Jongin reaches for him when he's a few feet away, but Luhan's voice rings out with, "Minseok."

It's the first time he's called him by something other than princess or darling or love. It makes him hesitate and Jongin frowns, arms falling back to his sides.

He looks back at Luhan who is fixing the cuffs of his suit, straightening the material, and looks up at him with a dangerous smile.

"Come here," he says softly and Minseok clenches and unclenches his fists, looking at Jongin and then back at Luhan. Jongin seems baffled with the fact that Minseok isn't in his arms, but Jongin doesn't know how Luhan is. He seems calm and comfortable, but his knuckles are white as they curl around the sofa next to his thigh.

Luhan isn't in the mood for rebellion and Minseok isn't willing to risk Jongin's life.

He walks away from Jongin and stands next to the sofa Luhan is on. When he glances up with shaky eyes, he sees Jongin's broken expression and quickly looks down again.

Luhan stands up then, sparing Minseok a soft look that's so out of place with everything he's put Minseok through, and walks close to Jongin with his hands clasped behind his back. Jongin only looks away from Minseok once Luhan is right in his face.

"How about this? How about I give you a settlement, a consolation prize? A nice, little piece of land by the river."

Minseok knows exactly what piece of land Luhan is talking about. It had been one of the first kingdoms the Lu family had conquered. It was beautiful and rich in habitat and resources, and ran along a river. It was rumored to be the late Queen's favorite summer hideout. Anyone would love to have that land under there name, especially a duke who doesn't have that much land to begin with. Minseok feels lost and angry. Someone like Luhan who strives on property and power really shouldn't be handing off such a prominent piece of land off just for some assistant.

Jongin laughs, short and abrupt, and says, "I'm going to have to politely decline that offer."

"Well," Luhan says, "That's unfortunate."

Minseok, sick of being treated as good as furniture at this point, speaks up.

"I'm just an assistant to you. You could easily replace me. I'm not worth anything, I don't have any property to my name anymore. Why even keep me here? Just- Duke Jongin is here, let me go with him."

Luhan turns around slowly, shoulders tense, and his eyes have that feral look they did yesterday in the study, but his voice is calm and steady as he says, "Hush, darling. This doesn't concern you."

"Yes, it does," he bites out, "You have no use for me. You're keeping me like a child hoards toys he doesn't even play with. It's very unbecoming."

Luhan's mouth pulls down into a scowl that slips off into a grin just as quickly and he says, "I can make use of you if that's what you want."

Jongin lunges at Luhan's back and is immediately grabbed by guards and held stationary as he yells profanities. The entire time, Luhan doesn't look away from Minseok once.

warning: nonconsensual kiss

Luhan ends up dragging him out of the parlor and he tries his best to resist, kicks his legs and twists his body back to look at the way Luhan's guards have captured Jongin. How they're messing up his clothes as they struggle for control over Jongin's sharp, angry movements. Minseok wishes he could make them stop, wishes he could go up and gently fix Jongin's hair and kiss his mouth and hold him. As it is, Luhan's grip on his wrist doesn't loosen and he's practically flown across the castle, passing pillars and open courtyards and ending up in Luhan's room.

The scene feels a little familiar except he isn't thrown on Luhan's bed and is instead tossed at the foot of it, his back slamming into the wood. Luhan paces in front of him, clenching and unclenching his fists as he fumes and mutters and spares Minseok an awful glare every other second. Minseok stays pressed back against the front of the bed, body tense and ready to fight.

When Luhan finally seems to wind down and come to some sort of a decision, he rounds on Minseok with dark eyes and a smile that would be incredibly handsome in any other context.

"I have gotten so sick of the headaches you cause me. I treat you well and you run away from me. I treat you even better and you fawn over your stupid fiance that just now managed to find you. You don't want to treated well? Fine. You want to be used? Fine."

Minseok shakes his head numbly, feeling breathless with fear, and whimpers a little when Luhan grabs his arm and hauls him upright. Luhan drags him close by the waist and grabs a fistful of Minseok's hair with his free hand. He angles Minseok's head up and kisses him, forceful and messy and desperate.

Minseok shoves at his chest and pushes him away, panting and wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. Luhan stares at him with unreadable eyes and reaches out to grab Minseok's wrist. The action is so gentle that Minseok lets himself be pulled back against Luhan, feeling numb and dazed.

Luhan smoothes Minseok's hair back, tucks wayward strands behind his ears, and presses a thumb under Minseok's jaw. Minseok looks at him with wide, wet eyes and Luhan kisses him again, softly this time.

"You wreck me," Luhan whispers against Minseok's lips.

He lets Minseok go and steps back.

"You're going to be trained to be my consort from now on. Stay here, I'll have Tao come get you soon. And, don't worry about your little duke. I'll have him out on his horse by the day's end."

He leaves Minseok there without another word, closing the door behind him, and Minseok has never felt so truly lost.

Duke Jongin has been properly subdued by the time Luhan makes his way back into the parlor, but his spirit is rekindled at the sight of Luhan. He bares his teeth at the prince and mutters something threatening through the gag in his mouth.

"We have a few things to discuss. Please have a seat," Luhan says and ignores the glare Jongin sends him as he's forced to sit down on the sofa by the guards.

When Tao comes to get him, Minseok is still a little numb, a little lost, and very scared. He knows Jongin doesn't have the manpower or the strategy to overthrow Luhan. The prince could have Jongin beheaded and serve it on a platter for Minseok at breakfast. Still, he comforts himself in the knowledge that Luhan doesn't kill unless he necessarily has to. He hasn't hurt Yixing yet. And, he didn't hurt Minseok's father intentionally.

Maybe, Luhan's mercy will continue.

"Where are we going?" he asks as Tao guides him through the hallways, but the man ignores him, muttering something to himself. Minseok feels utterly helpless. He can't run away when Luhan has Yixing and Jongin. He can't fight because he has no army. He can only follow Tao and worry about the inevitable doom.

Tao leads him into a room that's almost as lavish as Luhan's and tells him to have a seat in front of the vanity. Minseok, afraid to invite trouble, listens mutely and sits in front of the huge mirror as Tao leaves him there. Looking at his reflection, he almost wants to cry. His hair is messy and he's wearing the simple outfit Luhan had asked the maids to put him in this morning before they went out to the garden. The white shirt is tucked into his gray pants and he's wearing black boots. It's the image of pristine and subtle wealth, but it makes him look like a stranger. His eyes are red and his lips are chapped from nervous biting and his cheeks are flushed. His hands shake a little as he brings them to his face and pulls at the skin that doesn't feel like his own.

He jerks when he hears the click of boots on marble behind him and turns around to see Luhan coming in with his hands folded on his back and a smile on his face.

"Hello, princess."

The nickname barely registers and he blurts out, "Where's Jongin?"

Luhan's smile freezes and twists, but is as pretty as ever as he says, "On his way back to his house. Well, his new house. Did he ever tell you he loves rivers? Can you imagine if he had ended up marrying you? The bite of the north would have killed his spirit."

"No," Minseok says numbly, "No, he wouldn't have- What did you do to him?"

When Luhan steps further into the room, Minseok shoots up from the vanity and meets him halfway, lets Luhan get uncomfortably close. The prince still has his hands behind him as he leans toward Minseok and he says, "I offered him a deal," he widens his eyes mockingly, "And, he took it."

Minseok feels rage seize him by the throat.

"I don't believe you."

Luhan makes a show of acting sympathetic.

"Ah, young love."

"What the hell do you know about love?" Minseok bites out and Luhan smile falters, flickering with anger. "You don't have a single person in your life that loves you and you don't have anyone to love. So, what do you know about love?"

The prince sneers at him.

"I know that it pales in comparison to land and wealth and power, and it leaves little boys like you in tears."

Minseok almost gets a punch in, but Luhan grabs his wrist on time and twists it back until it's pressed against Minseok's tailbone. Minseok struggles as Luhan breathes on his mouth and lays the gentlest of kisses on his cheek. The prince smiles, looking strangely content, and an ominous feeling spreads inside Minseok.

"You're a monster," he whispers and Luhan pulls him closer by the waist.

He tucks some of Minseok's hair behind his ear with his free hand and says, "Now, is that any way to talk to talk to your future husband?"

"What?" Minseok asks, going slack in Luhan's arms

"You're my consort, princess," Luhan says softly, "You wanted me to put you to use and I need someone by my side when I become King. And, you're so beautiful," he traces Minseok's jaw with his nails, "So completely perfect. And, I thought, why not?"

"I'm not marrying you!"

Luhan clicks his tongue as if he's talking to a child and says, "You keep forgetting I have two very important people of yours under my control."

Minseok feels panic creep up his spine and stammers out, "You can barely stand me. Why-"

"I'm not looking for love," Luhan says through clenched teeth, "I'm not looking for a fulfilling marriage. I'm looking for a man that will sit by my side and look proper. Think of it as a promotion from being my assistant."

Minseok renews his struggle to get out of Luhan's hold and hisses, "So, what? You expect me to warm your bed at night and act like a doll in the morning?"

Luhan's awful smile widens.

"More or less."

"Do you really think," Luhan runs a fingernail clean across his cheekbone, "I desire you?"

The question makes Minseok furious, something hard bubbles up inside his throat, and he says, "I think it can only be desire or love and if I didn't think you incapable of the latter, then I would certainly accuse you of it." Luhan's nail digs into Minseok's cheek, forcing his jaw open as he winces in pain, and his eyes are nearly black with poorly disguised anger and that dirty, little hint of lust. Minseok wants to kiss him as badly as he wants to hurt him--

He wakes up disoriented with cold sweat and rumpled sheets for company.

Last night, Luhan had left him in the room after ripping some very important pieces of his sanity away from him by saying Jongin was gone, and Minseok was expected to marry the man that made him leave.

This morning, he's jerked awake from a dream about Luhan and love and desire and thoughts he's never entertained consciously. It unsettles him to think his mind has decided to conjure that abstract image now, just after losing his fiance.

Barely gathering himself together, he stumbles out of bed and notes he's still wearing the ensemble he was made to yesterday. He vaguely remembers worrying himself to death last night before tossing and turning, and falling asleep purely due to fatigue. As he steps towards the vanity, he sees that the slight kohl the maids had added to his eyes has smudged and his lips are red and chapped. Sighing, he rubs at his eyes.

The winter seems years ago. Jongin kissing him seems like a dream and his father's laughter seems like an obscure idea.

A knock at the door pulls him out of his thoughts and he's blearily looking over when Luhan barges in. He looks neat, in all white with golden buckles on the pockets of his pants and golden chains around his collar. He looks like a king and he looks thoroughly unimpressed by the sight of Minseok. Raising an eyebrow and putting on a charming smile, Luhan bows slightly.

"Your Highness," he says, that typical hint of mockery in his voice, and Minseok rolls his eyes, looking away.

His reflection lets him know that he doesn't look as unaffected as he'd thought and he quickly schools his expression as Luhan begins to talk.

"Well, darling, it seems your duke isn't as keen on leaving as we'd thought," Luhan says, casually walking around the room and clicking his boots against the floor as Minseok spins around in shock, "He says he wants some... last moments," Luhan waves his fingers in the air as if the words leave a bad taste in his mouth, "Sentimental goodbyes. You know how emotional these young boys can be," shoots Minseok a wink, "So, I set him up in a room. You can visit if you'd like. Get the affair done with before the marriage."

He stops in front of a desk, wipes his finger across the wood, and taps his nail down. He looks so comfortable and at ease that Minseok has a hard time processing what he's saying.

Luhan had almost wrecked the castle when he learned Jongin was coming and the day of, he'd had that wild look in his eyes whenever Minseok glanced at him, and now he's saying Minseok can visit.

"Where is he?" Minseok asks, voice scratchy from sleep and shock and overwhelming tiredness.

"In the west wing, behind the orchids," Luhan supplies easily and Minseok frowns.

"Take me to him," he orders just to get a reaction, but Luhan simply smiles and holds his hand out. Minseok hesitantly walks over and almost puts his hand in Luhan's before he remembers the state he's in. Stepping away, he hastens over to the vanity and tries to wipe some of the kohl residue off his eyes by using saliva on his fingers. He messes with his hair until it doesn't look like a bird's nest and when he turns back, he sees that Luhan's hand is still out, but his smile is decidedly less sweet.

As Minseok slips his hand into the space provided, Luhan's expression softens and he guides him out of the room. The prince takes him through the hallways, one arm folded and pressed behind his back as his other arm is stretched behind him since his pace is quick enough to make Minseok stumble and fall a little behind. Minseok's fingers are gripping tight around Luhan's hand and they almost slip away.

He can only see the back of Luhan's head, thick, black hair that's brushed back neatly, and he can see the hand Luhan is keeping against the small of his back in a proper fist.

He's so busy thinking about the misleading slopes of Luhan's body that he almost forgets where he's being taken until they're at a door and Luhan is knocking against the wood, not letting go of Minseok's hand.

The door opens to reveal a haggard looking Jongin who brightens considerably when he spots Minseok over Luhan's shoulder and opens his mouth to say something. Luhan interrupts, pushing inside and pulling Minseok with him, and says, "Well, here you are. I'll see you both at lunch."

He lets Minseok go with a warm smile and steps out of the room. Minseok stares at the door long after Luhan has disappeared through it, frowning as he tries to make sense of his mood and his expressions and his dead, awful smile.

"Why are you thinking about him when I'm right here?"

He nearly jumps and turns to see Jongin staring at him with unreadable eyes. This Jongin he's never seen before. His Jongin hasn't spoken to him roughly once. The Jongin in front of him is saying, "Why do you care about him?" as if he somehow knows the dream Minseok had.

"I don't," Minseok hastens to say, "I- He said you were leaving. I thought-"

"I'm sorry," Jongin whispers and Minseok's eyes widen in disbelief.

"You're actually leaving? You leaving me here?"

Jongin doesn't answer, turning away from him and walking over to the balcony. The curtains around the space have been pulled back but they still dance according to the wind and the white satin makes it seem like Jongin has wings. Minseok nearly tears up at the thought, because just a few minutes ago, Jongin really was that sanctity for him.

"You can't do this," Minseok says, voice cracking, and he follows Jongin to the balcony. He hesitantly rests a hand on Jongin's shoulder and it slips off when Jongin shifts away from him. "Please, Jongin-"

"I love you," Jongin says, voice sincere and serious and Minseok has no doubt it's true, "I would do anything for you, but I have to leave."

He cups Minseok's cheek and then steps away, leaving phantom scars on Minseok's skin.

"Tell Luhan I'll be riding out tonight," he mumbles, back to Minseok, and no matter how much he begs and pleads, Jongin is resilient and he's cold.

Minseok walks out of the room on weak legs.

Luhan paces in front of his desk as Tao explains some property endeavor they've had in the works for a while. He's listening, but he's preoccupied. Minseok has locked himself in his room, hasn't come out for lunch or dinner, and the duke has done the same. The talk with Duke Jongin had been fairly uneventful. He'd spoken simply and asked the duke if he really thought he could beat Luhan, if he could really take Minseok away. The duke is a smart man and he had relented, a glint in his eyes that Luhan knew he couldn't underestimated.

Duke Jongin had agreed to back off, but Luhan wasn't born yesterday and he knows he'll see the boy again.

Curling his lips up in disdain, Luhan wonders if he should have just challenged the duke outright, let Minseok see how useless and powerless the love of his life really was.

"Sire."

Luhan stops pacing, but doesn't look at Tao, still deep in his thoughts.

"Sire," Tao repeats himself and Luhan sighs.

"Put the papers away," he says, "I can't concentrate. Go find out if Minseok has eaten the food that was taken up to his room." He slumps down in one of the chairs, throwing his head back, and Tao leaves for his task right away without asking questions. Luhan has always appreciated that side of him.

He met Tao when he was eight and Tao's father had been the king's most trusted counsel. Tao had been Zitao then; dark, mischievous eyes and a knack for getting into trouble and swindling his way out of punishment. Luhan had been wide eyed at the little boy, having never met someone so unapologetically happy. Tao had lured him into one of the towers of the castle once and they'd watched the stars from dangerous heights.

Sometimes, it feels like Tao is his family. His one last connection to humanity. But, Tao of today is serious, obedient, and would sooner take a bullet for Luhan than sit down with him for drinks.

Most of Luhan's friends live too far away or have married into happy homes or just don't have the time. But, having dealt with loneliness for many years has made Luhan considerably numb.

Minseok curls up on the bed and stays there until he hears horses outside. He curls further in when he faintly hears Jongin's voice shouting something at his guards. He closes his eyes and blinks them open once everything is silent and Jongin has finally left him. Tears threaten to escape but he wipes them away.

He's so sick of crying.

Straightening up and gathering his courage, he slips off the bed and stands in front of the vanity. He grabs a thin cloth from on the baskets, dips it into some of the rose water the maids had used on him once before, and wipes at his face. And, after drying himself off, he grabs the bottle of kohl and presses the pad of his ring finger into the powder, lining his eyes at the bottom lightly.

Blinking away the slight irritation the powder causes, he then reaches for the lip paint. It's ruby red and he only uses a tiny hint of it. After he's done, he looks like a stranger, but a powerful one.

If Luhan wants a consort, a husband, he'll play the part to perfection.

And, then, he'll tear his kingdom apart.

When Minseok steps outside, he's greeted with a fairly quiet castle and a setting sun. He goes out under the arcs and steps into the garden. The air is sweet and cold and he shivers against it. It's raining lightly, but Minseok doesn't mind and tips his head back, eyes closed and lips curving into a bitter smile.

He stands still for what seems like an eternity and suddenly, a cold hand is cupping his cheek and he gasps, opening his eyes.

It's Luhan, handsome face wrinkled with concern, and Minseok is too startled to push him away. So, when Luhan dips his fingers in further, thumb slipping down gently against Minseok's lips, he doesn't stop it. And, when Luhan's frown deepens, worry lacing his gestures, Minseok nearly smiles.

"What are you doing here? You'll catch a cold," Luhan says.

"I was born and raised in snow, Luhan."

The prince's eyes widens and Minseok belatedly realizes he's called him by his name. Upset at himself, he steps away and lets Luhan's hand fall away from his face. Luhan doesn't seem bothered and simply leans back as if respecting Minseok's boundaries. Which is quite the joke considering he's being forced to marry him.

But, the tenderness in Luhan's touch isn't fake and Minseok doesn't think he's strong enough to keep from melting under it. Nobody has touched him with the intent to comfort for a long time.

"Well, you're going to live in the south now and the flowers here bloom all year long," Luhan says with a pretty smile that Minseok can't quite bring himself to hate.

"The flowers there bloom year long, too," Minseok says quietly, looking away from Luhan's surprised face and at the moon. It's a shock of white against the blue, black sky and it looks perfectly round. Minseok wonders how many days have passed since he became an orphan, wonders if Jongin misses him, wonders if Yixing is safe. He wonders if his castle is still littered with wedding preparations, if his red drapes are still on the white pillars. "If you plant them right, anything blooms."

"That's a wonderful sentiment."

Minseok dips his head down for a hollow smile, a small huff of laughter escaping his lips, and when he looks to his side, Luhan is looking at him with an expression so fond, so open, Minseok nearly reels back. Suddenly hyper aware of every inch of his body, of the thick air, and the chilly wind, he shifts and wraps his arms around himself.

"I... I would like some time alone, if you wouldn't mind," he mumbles.

Luhan is agreeable and polite, steps out with a bow. The future king of an expansive nation doesn't have to bend his neck down for a single thing, but Luhan does it for Minseok as if they're already married, as if Minseok is the light of his life.

And, Minseok doesn't think he could ever be that sort of salvation for anyone, much less a king.

For a few days, Minseok is left to his own devices and during that time, he visits the dungeons and keeps Yixing company. The dungeons have a few prisoners, but everything else is mostly rooms and rooms of treasures Minseok isn't allowed to see. Yet, Tao says with a smile and Minseok chooses to ignore the comment. He asks Tao if Yixing can be reinstated upstairs, serve under Minseok, and the guard doesn't outright deny him, simply states he'll ask Luhan later.

He parts with a heavy heart, laying a kiss on Yixing's cheek.

Within a day, Yixing is at his door with a wide smile saying his duty is now similar to Tao's except his service is for Minseok exclusively.

When Minseok runs into Luhan later that night, he doesn't know how to thank him, doesn't know if it's something he should be feeling so grateful for in the first place. He fumbles with his words, but Luhan looks busy and touches his arm apologetically, moving Minseok over to Tao. Minseok watches his retreating back as some counsel members whisper things to the prince in hushed, hurried tones.

He feels out of place.

Most days, he goes out on strolls in the garden with Yixing as a comforting, solid presence behind him. Other days, he secludes himself to the library and drowns himself in a story that's as different from his own as possible. On the lonelier days, he makes Yixing read to him and falls asleep on the sofa like a child. He woken up on those days by a gentle Luhan who tugs him upright and passes him over to Yixing with firm instructions to put Minseok to bed.

The attention and the affection doesn't make Minseok feel any more in place. The workers of the castle don't seem to know how to act around him and everyone is always unsure when they call him, Sir. Mr. Nai is still as pleasant as ever, talks to him informally and kindly, and Minseok supposes that's why he still enjoys the garden so much.

On his worst days, he wishes Luhan would kiss him again.

Luhan has been watching fragments of Minseok's spirit depleting and the knot in his stomach is threatening to twist him inside out. He tries his hardest to take care of him, but issues with property have sprung up unexpectedly and the counsel is furious with him. The kingdom, they say, was golden under his father's rule and he's ruining it. In an attempt to keep everyone content, he's thrown himself into settling the property papers and has brought Yixing to Minseok.

When he catches a glimpse of his consort, in the gardens or in the halls or in the library, Minseok is usually smiling. And, it almost doesn't hurt when the smile is almost always pointed at Yixing.

"Sire, the Songs from the west have agreed to the terms we set," Tao says with a bow, handing him over some papers. Luhan nods, glancing over the documented statements and the Song Kingdom's seal. He places the papers on the table and rubs his temples, closing his eyes and sighing. It feels like a burden has been lifted off of him and now he only has one thing left on his agenda.

"Send a few letters of invitation to some of the Lords and Dukes. I want the wedding ceremony to take place in a month's time and I want everyone important in attendance. The setting you can leave up to Minseok's choice."

Tao doesn't immediately answer with a, Yes, Your Highness, and Luhan shifts to look up at him. The guard is frowning slightly, hesitating over some words he's almost mouthing. Under Luhan's stare, he asks, "Are you really going to take Prince Minseok as a consort?"

"Yes. Why? Do you think all this has been an elaborate joke?"

"I was hoping," Tao says, looking for the first time like the unruly child from Luhan's memories, "Prince Minseok is an orphan, Your Highness. He has no kingdom under his name, he has no gold. He doesn't even have a full set of knights. And, you know your uncle has been expecting you to marry Prince Junmyeon."

"Junmyeon is a friend," Luhan says firmly, "A dear friend I feel no romantic love for. And, he isn't interest in me that way either."

Tao looks frustrated.

"You cannot risk your future for some pretty face. This marriage will bring you no happiness. He does not have a name in society and he does not care for you."

Hearing it is so much worse than knowing it, but Luhan doesn't let it faze him.

"My heart is set on him."

Tao relents and bows with a soft, "Of course, Sire."

That night, Luhan makes his way into the library and finds Minseok in his usual corner, books at his feet and his knight behind him. The glare Yixing shoots him isn't nearly as murderous as it used to be and Luhan nearly smiles. Seeing Minseok wrinkle his nose and rub at it irritably, Luhan does smile. He's so deep into his book that he doesn't notice Luhan's presence until he's standing right in front of the prince.

He looks up with a faint frown (a fainter smile) and tucks a feather into the book and closes it. Yixing takes the book out of his hands and leaves them.

"How can I help you?" Minseok asks, eyes half-closed and pleasantly crinkled. Luhan feels like he's tripping over his own feet just by looking at him.

"The wedding will be in a month," he says, ignoring the way Minseok's expression instantly becomes guarded and a little hateful, "You can decorate to your liking, I'll have some maids attend to you. And, since neither of us have someone to represent our family, we'll skip those formalities."

Minseok stands up, straightening the cuffs of his shirt.

"And," he says softly, eyes on his cuffs, "what if I don't want to marry you?"

Luhan smiles.

"I suppose that's inconvenient but you'll learn to live with it."

"You can't learn to love someone," Minseok bites out, dropping his arms to his sides and curling his fingers into fists. The spark in those beautiful eyes makes Luhan feel warm and light and awful and terrified.

"Who said anything about love, darling?"

Minseok's eyes widen in rage and Luhan steps closer to him, taking the prince's arm in his hand and pulling him in. He uses his other hand to stroke Minseok's hair and settle his fingers around the side of his head, thumb under Minseok's jaw. He tilts the man's face up and kisses him. The soft mouth under his isn't resistant and it shifts when Luhan presses in further. Minseok sinks into his touch and Luhan wants to have him. Fully and completely and in ways Duke Jongin will only ever dream of.

The prince seems to come to his senses too soon and pulls away, eyes closed and lips wet. When he opens them, his eyes are glistening with tears and seem to be accusing Luhan of something.

"Stop kissing me," Minseok whispers, but he sounds unsure and lost.

Luhan simply smiles and takes a few steps backwards, hands folded behind him politely.

"I'll see you tomorrow at breakfast, love."

The last glimpse of Minseok he sees before turning around is the prince looking wrecked and shaky and still the prettiest damn thing Luhan has ever seen.

Minseok goes to the dining hall with Yixing following behind him muttering curses about the prince and the knight might just behead Luhan. Minseok feels weary and angry and doubtful. He doesn't really have many options outside of not marrying Luhan. He doesn't have a castle to go home to, he doesn't have a father who will protect him, and his army is nonexistent. And, his supposed love has left him for some piece of land.

It's either marrying Luhan, who seems more and more like a lamb in lion's skin, or trying to make a break for it again into spaces he isn't familiar with and risking Yixing's life along the way.

As he steps into the dining hall, he decides to suck it up. If only for his knight.

"Good morning, love," Luhan greets, not looking up from the papers in his hand as he stabs at a piece of meat. Minseok barely stops himself from rolling his eyes and settles into the chair next to Luhan. His breakfast is served in front of him and he digs in as properly as he can, ravenous after days of not eating properly.

Luhan doesn't pay him much attention, keeps frowning at the papers while mechanically putting food in his mouth. Halfway through breakfast, Tao comes in and after glancing at Minseok, bends down to whisper something into Luhan's ear. Whatever it is, it makes Luhan's face light up. Minseok blinks dumbly at the sweet, boyish grin on the prince's face and when he looks over, he sees that Tao is smiling, too. He thinks this is the first time he's ever seen the guard smile.

Luhan abandons his papers and his breakfast, and shoots out of the room. Tao seems a little more hesitant to leave and seems a lot more aware of Minseok's presence than his prince. But, he too leaves, and Minseok turns to frown quizzically at Yixing, who shrugs back at him.

Curious, he gets up to follow the two men out and when he reaches the main hall, he sees a small, beautiful man in Luhan's arms.

Something ugly and awful twists in his stomach as Luhan pulls back to hold the stranger's face in his hands.

He hasn't quite seen Luhan that happy before.

The stranger is Luhan's friend from childhood and he's a prince from one of the eastern kingdoms. His name is Kim Junmyeon and Minseok thinks he might hate him. Junmyeon is happy and open and his comely appearance seems to put everyone at ease. He pulls Minseok into a hug and talks a mile a minute. Luhan just watches him from the side with a fond look in his eyes that makes Minseok feel sick.

"His letters didn't do you justice," Junmyeon says with a laugh, taking Minseok's hands in his own, "You are beautiful."

The sincere and sweet compliment makes Minseok flush with color and hearing Luhan's soft laugh makes him shift uncomfortably.

"Even if," Junmyeon whispers, winking, "you've snatched him away from me with that face of yours."

When he simply looks confused, Junmyeon elaborates with, "Hasn't Luhan told you?"

He shakes his head, a little irritated at Junmyeon's continued use of Luhan's name with such familiarly and none of the Your Highness or Your Majesty as is proper.

"Well, we were almost betrothed. Although," he nudges Luhan with a smile, "I suspect Luhan's uncle just wanted to make sure Luhan didn't end up marrying some hooligan. Either way, things changed, we grew up, and it didn't work out. He is awfully handsome, I almost thought I'd give it a go, but then news came that he'd lost his heart to some pretty, little vixen that hates his guts."

When Minseok steals a glance, Luhan still looks stupidly fond and it makes his next words come out a little sharper than necessary as he says, "I'm not a vixen and I don't hate his guts."

Junmyeon simply laughs, as if he's charmed, and Luhan's smile dips at the edges with confusion.

Prince Junmyeon dives into some darling story about Luhan from years ago and Minseok feels a headache coming on.

Prince Junmyeon will be staying until the wedding, and for the first time, Minseok finds himself hoping the event would happen sooner. Luhan is all bright and happy, and Minseok hasn't seem him like this since those few minutes after Luhan first brought them to the castle. Luhan's smile means he feels at home, at ease. Eyes half closed and glimmering with happiness at being surrounded by something achingly familiar. And, right now, that something is Prince Junmyeon.

"Is something wrong with the food?" Yixing asks softly from behind him, and Minseok startles away from looking at Luhan and Junmyeon laugh together.

"No, why do you ask?"

"You haven't eaten a bite, my Prince."

Minseok puts his fork down and needlessly dabs at his mouth with his napkin. He excuses himself from the table with exaggerated noise, and frowns when Luhan doesn't seem the least bit concerned. For someone who looked like he was at death's door when Jongin came to take Minseok, Luhan is fairly nonchalant about Minseok's existence.

He stalks out of the room with a confused Yixing at his heel and lets out a shaky breath once he's out in the courtyard. The stink of too many roses makes him feel dizzy and he settles down on a bench with a sigh.

Yixing sits down next to him and wraps an arm around his shoulders, rubbing his thumb on the soft cotton of Minseok's shirt.

"What is the matter, Your Highness?"

"He's responsible for all my misfortune," he says quietly, "And, yet, I find myself seeking his affections instead of punishing him for them. Have I lost myself completely, Yixing?"

Yixing is silent for a while, comforting him through touch, and then he says, "You're a smart man, my Prince. The smartest I've ever met. But, you're also naive."

At Minseok's glare, his knight smiles warmly, but continues.

"Prince Luhan is, for his faults, an attractive man, and being subjected to affections from someone who looks like he could do no harm to you and who has been gentle with you at the wake of losing your fiance, well. Smarter men have wavered in lesser situations. You're human and it's human nature to seek kindness, softness."

Minseok slumps against Yixing, burying his nose into the knight's neck, and mumbles, "I want to go home. I want to hug father. I want to see the maids."

"I can only promise you one of those," Yixing says, tightening his arm around Minseok, "I will take you back to your home one day."

Minseok closes his eyes, lips stretching into a smile that's mostly sweet and only a little bit bitter.

When he opens his eyes, he sees Luhan under the arc at the start of the courtyard. He's frowning slightly, hands fisted at his sides, and when Minseok squints to get a better look at his expression, Luhan is already walking back into the castle.

Junmyeon's company has always made Luhan happy, or as happy as he can be. Back when they'd been young, Junmyeon was the one who would roll his eyes at Luhan's need to please his father, who would drag him into the market and buy him useless trinkets. In Junmyeon, he found a friend that wasn't obligated to him like Tao and didn't want a hand in his fortune like countless others.

He hasn't seen Junmyeon for years, but they fall into the same patterns effortlessly.

One thing he hasn't missed about his friend is Junmyeon's uncanny ability to decipher his moods and feelings.

"You're in love with him," Junmyeon says simply as they're lounging in one of the parlors, the prince on the piano and Luhan with a lapful of papers.

Luhan pretends to be confused, but Junmyeon rolls his eyes.

"He's very sweet on the eyes, but would he even blink at your death?"

Luhan shifts the papers in his hands around to distract from the sharp jolt of pain those words bring and says, "Tao has already pointed out Minseok's disinterest enough times, thank you."

"You can't force someone to marry you, Luhan," Junmyeon says softly, slender fingers dancing on the piano keys, playing a sweet melody that's curiously laced with sadness.

"I've always gotten what I wanted, dear friend, and I want him."

"He doesn't love you."

"Nor I him."

Junmyeon stops the melody at an abrupt note and peers above the piano at him, eyebrows raised and looking unimpressed. Luhan shifts uncomfortably, but he doesn't love Minseok. He hasn't loved anything his whole life except his parents and they left him a long time ago.

"Sweetheart," Junmyeon says, sounding concerned, "You've kept him in your house, you've chained him to your side, and none of it is for revenge or some war strategy. You like it when he's here, you worry when he's not. That's precisely what love is."

"Love isn't putting someone in chains," Luhan bites out, defensiveness making him nervous and restless, and stands up, slapping his papers down on the table in front of him, "If I loved him, I would woo him. This marriage is a ploy to make me look nice in front of the council, look settled and mature as a king when I step up to the position. People have marriages of convenience all the time, Junmyeon, in all sorts of kingdoms."

"Fine," Junmyeon says, gentle and conceding, "You don't love him."

Luhan chooses to ignore the sarcastic undertone.

Minseok stands next to Junmyeon as the prince happily chats about something mundane and he frowns when he spots even Yixing melting under the genuine enthusiasm. They're in a crowed market and this is the first time Minseok has been out of the castle in months. Luhan rode them through the forest they'd tried to escape from once and had dropped them off, instructing Junmyeon to show Minseok around.

It's just the three of them. The trust in that action (Minseok and Yixing could, after all, easily overpower Junmyeon and make a run for it) is unnerving. Luhan seems to have taken Minseok's obedience for granted.

What's more unnerving is Minseok's reluctance to jeopardize that trust.

Sighing, he pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Am I boring you, Prince Consort?" Junmyeon asks, friendly smile on his pretty face.

"No," Minseok insists, flushing from being so blatantly rude, "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Well," the prince says, "Come along, then. There's a beautiful boutique at the end of this alley and we can look for decorations for your wedding suit."

"Wedding suits?" Minseok asks numbly, having somehow blocked out all marriage formalities from his mind, and Junmyeon nods.

"The southern kingdoms have a sort of tradition, so you'll have to wear red. The person marrying into a kingdom wears red and the person of the kingdom wears white. Symbolizes new blood coming in to color a blank canvas, or something poetic like that," Junmyeon explains, waving his hands impatiently, "Whatever the case, Prince Consort, we must hurry. The sun will set and the market will close, and we'll have wasted the day."

Junmyeon hooks his arm around Minseok's and tugs him along.

The boutique is beautiful and the jovial, welcoming seamstresses reminds him of the ones at his castle. He pushed down in a seat and yards of fabric are rolled out in front of him by helper after helper, Junmyeon making decisions for him since he can barely find his voice. Junmyeon says he's looking for a red that will match the rose that will be in Luhan's pocket on the day of the wedding.

After settling on a particular shade of red, Junmyeon moves on to the decorations and the helpers pull out several boxes of silver chains. From the picture Junmyeon paints, there will be two chains at Minseok's neck, connecting the collars. Then, there will be chains at his left shoulder, a few hanging on his chest as they loop around to the right shoulder. One last chain will be connected to the end of his left collar and will hang down with the Lu family's crest, a white lion. To match the color of Luhan's suit.

"The wedding party," Junmyeon says, eyes fixed on the different types of chains in his hands, "will wear black with hints of blue. I know, silly traditions, but I imagine it's how the late Queen would have wanted it."

Minseok is standing in front of the mirror with his arms held straight out while some helpers get his measurements and the position is as awkward as it is uncomfortable. Yixing is outside the door, guarding the place, and Minseok sorely misses his company. Junmyeon is barely paying attention to him, but he colors a little anyway as he hesitantly asks, "Did you know her, Luhan's mother?"

"Yes, we used to visit all the time, but then," Junmyeon sets the chains down with a sigh and looks at Minseok, "She passed and Luhan became reclusive. Didn't hold any balls or invite potential companions on walks or indulge in any sort of contact except purely sexual ones. He used to sing, you know, had a beautiful voice. I haven't heard it in years."

Minseok's stomach feels knotted and tight, and he bites out, "Is a tortured childhood supposed to justify or pardon the misdeeds one commits as an adult?" more to himself than anyone else.

Junmyeon raises his eyebrows at the outburst, but holds his composure.

"I suppose not, but it is supposed to explain the misdeeds and if one chooses to be so kind, it can be used to understand the misdeeds. Forgiveness should always be, as with good wine, handed out in small quantities," he says, tone just a shade cold but mostly calm and rational.

Minseok is flustered and brings his arms down, causing the anxious helpers to scramble a little and step away from him.

"What should I forgive him for first, Prince Junmyeon? Taking my kingdom or making me lose my father? Or forcing me to marry him?"

Junmyeon stands up, leaving scattered boxes of silver chains on the table, and steps up near Minseok with a hooded expression.

"Your kingdom isn't even yours, Prince. Your grandfather stole it, came from the south and raided the northern castle," Junmyeon doesn't wait for this information to settle in, ignores the tears of shock in Minseok's eyes, "One crime does not justify another, I understand that, but he could have done a lot worse. He could have brought the violence your grandfather did, but he did it as cleanly as he could because despite the rough edges, he is a good person."

Minseok blinks away his tears and steels himself.

"Am I the villain here, then? For not falling into his arms out of gratitude?"

"You're the one with all the power here, Prince. You could destroy him so easily, why can't you see that?"

Junmyeon is flushed red from anger and Minseok isn't much different, but he tries to clam himself down.

"He barely cares what happens to me. He's just a stubborn little boy who is tired of his toy but doesn't want anyone else to have it," Minseok screams, sending the helpers on a frenzy to leave the room and give them privacy.

"I can't speak on his behalf," Junmyeon says, quiet and soft, "I can't tell you exactly what he's thinking, but he does care about you. If you don't want to be a toy, then stop acting like one. If you want him to care for you, then show him something other than repulsion."

"I don't want him to care for me," Minseok counters, but Junmyeon doesn't seem to believe it.

"Fine, then. Walk out the door. I'll tell him you tricked me and made a run for it. I'll give you hours for a head start and I'll even point him the wrong way if he goes chasing after you. I have property near the north you could stay in. Will you go?"

Minseok feels drained and light-headed.

"I'll give you time to decide," Junmyeon says, "Leave or stay. Because, you should only want to do one."

Junmyeon doesn't understand and leaves Minseok there, feeling like he's being torn apart. It hurts to think about staying, it hurts to think about leaving. It hurts to think about why he wants to stay and it hurts to picture Luhan's once-in-a-blue-moon smile. It hurts when he thinks of taking himself and Yixing away from all this. It hurts to breathe and he's alone and nobody else can make this decision except him.

He tries to calm himself, breathes in and out shakily, and closes his eyes.

He thinks of his mother, barely remembers her voice but he's seen enough paintings to have her face memorized. He wonders what she would do.

After ten minutes, he's still in pieces but he thinks he might have made up his mind.

Luhan hasn't seen Minseok the whole day and that somehow feels strange and awful. When he asks Tao if the shopping has been done, the guard shrugs. Rolling his eyes and muttering about needing new friends, he steps out of the carriage and straightens his clothes. The market is dying down, but the town is still lively, full of laughter and noises and people.

He hasn't been surrounded by so much good spirit in a while, and it's a little dizzying.

He spent most of the day at the main hall, discussing some water endeavors for the village, and Lord Chanyeol had thanked him for his help warmly with a giant, pure smile.

It had felt good to be welcomed by a village for once, instead of having people screaming at the heel of his horse.

He wonders if this is the type of person Duke Jongin is, if this is who Minseok could love. He wonders if he wore the duke's shabby coat, flashed a charming smile, and helped an old lady with her bags, Minseok would smile and kiss him without being asked to.

Shaking his head, he fumbles a little as he perches down at the foot of the carriage. Tao hisses at him to stand properly, but he shakes him off.

"You're going to be a king soon, Your Highness, show some propriety," Tao says out of the corner of his mouth.

"Will you relax for once in your life?" Luhan says, kicking his legs out and completely sprawling on the foot of the carriage.

"I see you've completely given up on gaining any sort of favors from your consort," Tao says mockingly, but Luhan is curiously numb to that type of dig by now.

Tao seems to be gearing up to say something else when he hears Junmyeon at his side. Luhan stands up hastily, brushing off the back of his pants, and immediately looks around for Minseok.

His consort is right behind Junmyeon, flanked by the knight and looking a little worn out.

Luhan doesn't comment on their lateness and Junmyeon seems to want to recount every detail of every fabric he's seen. Luhan helps the rambling prince onto the carriage and then holds his hand out for Minseok, who blinks at him with an unreadable expression.

He's already geared himself for a huff, for a small hand pushing him away, for the prince stepping up without help just to spite him.

What he gets is Minseok's hand in his and it's so warm, so soft, Luhan unconsciously rubs his thumb across the skin.

His heart jerks, painful and quick and sudden, when Minseok smiles.

Something has changed, but Luhan can't quite figure out what. Minseok is as quiet as usual, but he doesn't antagonize Luhan, doesn't roll his eyes when Luhan talks, and doesn't go out of his way to rile Luhan up. It's disconcerting, but Luhan finds himself reveling in it regardless. A Minseok that doesn't hate him is a pleasant change.

However, as the day wears on, the change starts to bother him.

Pliancy and submission don't suit Kim Minseok and sometimes the prince flinches when Luhan raises his voice at someone. It's as if Luhan is harboring a suddenly skittish pet, one that hasn't shown the slightest inclination of wanting to obey him ever before.

His natural conclusion is Junmyeon, the man that had spent an entire day with Minseok prior to the change.

"I haven't the slightest clue what you might be alluding to, dear friend," Junmyeon says, shrugging and sipping his tea with a grin stretched across the rim. He swallows and winks, "Is it a matter of concern in the first place? Your love's smile is absolute heaven, I thought you'd enjoy seeing it."

Luhan thinks, I do, but it's difficult to put his unease in words.

"That's not his real smile," Luhan says and the admission makes him ache. "It's the sort of sweet, insincere smile he tried with me before, months ago, when he thought he could seduce me and ruin me."

"Does it matter?" Junmyeon asks, lips twisted in amusement, "It's a marriage of convenience, after all."

Luhan clenches his mouth shut in annoyance.

Minseok is quiet at dinner, taking small bites of food and chewing slowly with his eyes on his plate. Yixing is solemn behind him and has given Luhan as many dirty looks as he can get away with. Junmyeon is carrying the conversation for all three of them with short hums of agreement or understanding from Luhan.

Luhan's fingers curl tighter and tighter around his fork at every meek smile from Minseok that's supplied from beneath his sweet, dark eyelashes and wrung out only when Junmyeon asks him a direct question.

After dinner, the plates are cleared and Minseok hastens to leave the table. He nearly trips over when Yixing tries to push Minseok's chair back for him and says a shaky, quiet apology. Yixing frowns and then glares at Luhan as if he's to blame somehow and Luhan is terrified he might just be.

He had wanted submission from Minseok originally, back in that forest, when the prince had looked so wildly corruptible and so delicate, so pretty. Luhan has a habit of wrecking beautiful things.

But, as Minseok had unraveled before him, showing him ugly resistance and willful fire, Luhan had started wanting something else.

Sometimes, he dares to admit (at least to himself) that perhaps the marriage is something more than a politic strategy. Perhaps he wants Minseok by his side, without force or obligation, smiling at him with nothing but love clouding his eyes.

And, as Minseok fumbles out of the room, Luhan wants to keep him by his side.

Minseok doesn't know why he picked Luhan over freedom. Yixing keeps asking him if something is wrong and Minseok doesn't know to tell him. Minseok doesn't know if he still loves Jongin (he loves Jongin, he always will, but maybe not in the way he used to).

He doesn't know why Luhan makes him nervous, why his stomach flutters when the prince looks at him, why he stumbles when Luhan is within reach.

The source of his misery is trying to be the source of his comfort and Minseok doesn't know what to do anymore.

He tries to reason that perhaps captivation and lack of contact with anyone else has made him sympathetic towards Luhan, but he knows better. The fact that Luhan didn't kill him father, would have sent him somewhere safe if his knight hadn't gotten carried away, sits heavy on his heart and makes him contemplate forgiveness. The fact that Luhan is dragging him into a loveless marriage makes him want to take Junmyeon up on his offer.

He doesn't like feeling useless and helpless around Luhan.

"What is troubling you, Prince Consort?" a voice perks up next to him and Minseok jerks in surprise, looking over to find Junmyeon winking at him.

"Nothing," Minseok answers, turning his head back to where he'd been previously staring out of the window. Yixing gently plucks the book that has been ignored on Minseok's lap for the past hour and sets it aside, stepping away with a bow as Junmyeon settles into the chair next to Minseok.

"I had hoped that staying would entail something more than simply... staying," Junmyeon prods with sharp, knowing eyes and a warm smile.

"I'm exhausted. I think I'll turn in early today. If you'll excuse me," he says, inclining his head politely, and hurries out of the library, trying his best not to think of the glint in Junmyeon's grin.

Luhan takes them out for a hunt the next day and he wears a loose shirt, tight pants, and his hair isn't carefully slicked back for once. Minseok has never seen him quite to relaxed and normal, and finds himself taking more than one glance. He feels something oddly pleasant twist in his stomach when Luhan grins at him as they step off their horses. The feeling dies quickly when Luhan hands Junmyeon arrows and tells Minseok to sit on the side.

"I can hunt," Minseok says through clenched teeth, feeling his confidence return purely due to rage, "Most likely better than you."

Luhan's whole face brightens suddenly and Minseok squints at him.

He's handed arrows and bow by one of Luhan's guards and he huffs as he settles himself into the gear. He attached the arrow sling across his chest, the arrows hanging on his back, and familiarizes himself with the bow. It's slightly smaller than the ones he's used to, but he's been practicing archery since he was a child. One of the many hobbies his mother had insisted he partake in.

"Since you've boasted so bravely, how about a match?" Luhan says, looking like a little boy in his excitement. Minseok can't figure what he's so excited about, but he's never backed down from a challenge.

"I'd hate to humiliate you in front of your men, Your Highness, but I love besting you so much," Minseok replies with a mockingly sweet smile, but Luhan's face just lights up even more. Minseok frowns and turns his concentration back on his bow.

Junmyeon clears his throat and says, "To make it more interesting, let us put something on stake. Whoever loses has to do one thing the winner tells them to, no questions asked and no backing out."

"Deal," Luhan says, eyes set on Minseok.

They're hunting rabbits and Minseok has caught three already. Luhan dreads losing normally, but this time, he thinks he wouldn't mind so much. Minseok is showing his true self in spades and Luhan is drinking it up like some sort of a lovesick idiot.

Junmyeon keeps sending him looks and Luhan's hand keeps shaking on his bow, making him miss targets and earning him derisive snorts from his consort.

The sun is about to set and the match is about to end with Yixing holding a plate with three rabbits and Tao looking at with an empty plate in his hand.

Luhan makes one last struggle, breathing in deeply as he plucks out an arrow and steadies his bow. He closes an eye, focusing on his target as a rabbit scuttles past some trees, and stretches the string of his bow back as he aims. The hand pulling the arrow back rests on his cheek as he he uses the other to follow the rabbit's path.

The rabbit hesitates a little, head popping up and ears twitching, and Luhan opens his hand. The arrow misses the rabbit by a foot and Minseok laughs, cheeks flushed pink.

Luhan has to struggle to look annoyed.

Minseok wins, four rabbits on Yixing's plate and none on Tao's.

Junmyeon looks positively giddy as he says, "Well, Prince Consort, ask of my friend anything you wish."

Luhan suddenly has the image of Minseok asking if he can leave, if he can break out of the marriage, and Luhan, having given his word in front of his men, would have to agree. Panic seizes his throat and he starts feeling damp and cool with sweat. Minseok could also ask for Jongin and just the thought makes Luhan want to drive an arrow through the duke.

As he tries to remain calm, Minseok blinks and tilts his head.

"I want the wedding postponed until this winter."

Tao watches Luhan pace in his study, almost wearing the wood under his boots, and sighs dramatically.

"He wants to postpone the wedding," Luhan mutters, fingers at his lips as he chews on it, "He could have asked to be free of the wedding altogether, but he just wants it later. That has to mean something, right?"

"Of course, sire," Tao says dutifully.

Still muttering, Luhan frowns, "Unless he's just biding his time for... something."

Tao rolls his eyes.

"Could be, sire."

"Or, maybe-"

"Your Highness," Tao says sharply and Luhan breaks away from his pacing to look at him, "Perhaps, he just doesn't want to rush into the wedding in a month's time. We've hardly broken into spring, yet, and Your Highness met him this winter."

Luhan's expression sours.

"He only knew the duke for a winter before he agreed to marry him."

"Duke Jongin has infinite more charms than you, sire," Tao says, grinning slyly when Luhan glares at him, "And, Duke Jongin didn't threaten his safety or steal his castle or play an indirect hand in the death of his father."

Jealousy ebbs away to give room for guilt and Luhan wonders, for the hundredth time, what exactly he's doing.

Junmyeon has been staring at Minseok for the past half an hour as Minseok tries to best Yixing in a game of chess and the attention is making him lose focus. He makes a hasty move, picking up his knight and placing it to the side of his queen. Yixing moves a bishop across the board and says, "Checkmate."

Minseok scowls at the board and then at Junmyeon.

"You've cost me a game, Prince."

Junmyeon simply laughs.

"I was merely thinking, Prince Consort, about how you've asked for an extension when you could have asked for exclusion."

"That concerns me as well," Yixing says, none of Junmyeon's humor in his eyes, "You could have asked to go back home."

"That home isn't ours anymore, Yixing."

Junmyeon raises an eyebrow at Minseok's familiar tone, but seems used to his and Yixing's relationship to not comment on it.

"You could have asked to see Duke Jongin again, my Prince," Yixing says, concern not easing.

Minseok turns away from them, propping an elbow up on the armrest and placing his chin in his palm, and says, "I don't wish to see him."

"I wonder why that is," Junmyeon says quietly, as if he hadn't for anyone to hear but Minseok knows better. He sighs, closing his eyes, and slumps to the side. Outside, everything is green, flowers are hinting at a changing season, and Minseok doesn't know what he wants. Some days, he wants Luhan at his feet, broken and begging forgiveness. Some days, he wants Luhan to pin him down somewhere, anywhere, and wring filth out of him with that dark look in his eyes. Some days, he wants to be back in that forest, kneeling in front of Luhan and being played right into his gloved hands.

Most days, he just wants to be happy again.

When they meet for tea, Luhan says he's thinking about holding a ball. Says he wants to declare the wedding then and have Minseok meet everyone important enough. Junmyeon colors with excitement and says he'll help design the ballroom, dragging Minseok along with him.

Stepping into the ballroom, Minseok wonders if it's ever been used. It's at the edge of the east wing of the castle, has all the tall, tall curtains drawn shut, and smells like an old well. Junmyeon starts giving out orders to clean the space first and supervises with a stern expression that makes Minseok chuckle.

"Someone might think you're preparing for war," Minseok says, surprising himself with his warm nature towards the prince.

Junmyeon laughs and winks, saying, "Balls are nothing short of wars, dear."

His smile dims a bit when he looks back at the ballroom (as the room slowly becomes brighter and cleaner) and he says, "No one has danced here since the late Queen passed. Luhan had the room locked and put away. I wish this occasion will bring some color into his life again."

Minseok finds himself wishes the same thing.

They're both orphans, he realizes. Both had their parents taken away from them in some unfair, cruel way and both would probably give their lives to see them again. Minseok learned to protect himself by building walls and Luhan's done the same, except his walls have been in the making for so much longer and they're so much taller and Minseok doesn't think he'll ever see the other side of them.

But, colors - he can help with the colors.

"If you don't mind," he says to Junmyeon, "I have some suggestions."

His heart is at his throat as he makes his way to the ballroom, Tao on his heels. He doesn't know why he decided to hold the ball in the first place, perhaps to distract him from the frustratingly unsolvable mystery his consort is proving to be, and he's not quite ready to see his mother's favorite part of the castle again.

He needn't have worried.

The room is decorated just the way his mother would have liked for it to. The draperies are a rich violet, golden ropes holding them open, and the space is decorated with fresh lilacs. The grand chandeliers have been cleaned and gold pieces have been added to the designs. At the end of the room, several instruments have been placed, and along the edges, couches have been lined up accordingly for guests to rest and chat.

The paintings decorating the walls have been shifted around and some of the gaudier pieces have been removed.

The room looks beautiful and classy. His mother would have swooned.

"Do you like it?"

He jumps, but his smile is still in place as he looks at Junmyeon and says, "I love it. You have quite the eye for designing."

Junmyeon grins, looking giddy in a way that makes Luhan apprehensive, and whispers, "Dear friend, I haven't a single part in this."

"Then who?" Luhan asks, frowning in confusion.

"Who indeed."

A movement catches Luhan's attention and he looks to see Minseok talking to one of Luhan's guards. He's pointing at the walls, a bundle of lilacs in his hands, and he seems to be explaining something in great detail. Minseok's hair is a mess, as if he's been running his hands through it, and his lips look dry. There are dark smudges of tiredness under his eyes and Luhan can't seem to stop looking at him.

Junmyeon laughs next to him, but Luhan just can't stop looking.

The guests arrive in beautiful suits and bright, tight-fitting dresses, and Minseok would have a much easier time charming them if Luhan would stop frowning at him. He kisses a hand (Countess of a neighboring kingdom, he's told) and shakes another (the man she's rumored have an extramarital thing with). The balls held at his castle had been a similar affair, flowery words and fake smiles.

Except, there hadn't been a stiff hand at the small of his back.

Luhan makes the announcement early in the evening, introducing Minseok as his future husband and forgoing titles as to Minseok's origins. Then, he spends the night sulking about something and sitting with his friends. Minseok is left by himself and thankfully Junmyeon gives him company.

But, once Junmyeon gets up to talk to some beautiful woman, dipping low and kissing her hand, Minseok is left alone again.

The orchestra is playing something dreadfully slow and Minseok's almost out of wine. He's staring a hole into Luhan's face from across the hall, dancing couples blocking his view now and again, when a hand comes into his vision. He looks up and sees someone that looks like he could be Luhan's twin but he's taller, broader, and much brighter (except the deep set of his dark eyes).

"What's a pretty man like you doing all by himself?"

"Heartbreakingly unimpressive line, love," Minseok says, not in the mood of dealing with anyone, especially not some Luhan clone.

The clone laughs and takes the seat next to him. Minseok raises an eyebrow at him and the man simply laughs. He's handsome, Minseok notes almost absently, and he looks younger than him.

"Oh Sehun," the man says, "Soon-to-be king of the eastern bank and soon-to-be accused of stealing Prince Luhan's consort."

Minseok rolls his eyes, but finds himself laughing anyway. The man, boy really, has an unprecedented charm about him.

"Kim Minseok," he answers in turn, "Soon-to-be Prince Luhan's husband and soon-to-be accused of breaking a child's heart."

"Child?" Sehun says dramatically, slipping into a dirty grin as his voice lowers, "I can prove that very, very wrong, Your Highness."

Minseok laughs and he feels light. He feels carefree and he lets himself be talked into a dance and sinks into Sehun's surprisingly strong arms. Sehun is much taller than him, but he leads the dance with grace and doesn't make Minseok feel suffocated or cornered. He turns pink at Sehun's forward and usually filthy compliments, but doesn't do anything to discourage them.

He's missed this. Harmless flirting and good music and none of the dreary details of his life.

"You've the most beautiful eyes, Your Highness," Sehun whispers as he tugs Minseok closer by the waist, "I might just consider taking on the entire Lu kingdom for them.

"Are you sure?"

Minseok jumps out of Sehun's arms to find Luhan staring at him, looking almost bored. Sehun doesn't seem bothered, just laughs and smacks Luhan's shoulder. They seem close enough because Luhan doesn't use formal tones as he asks for Minseok. Sehun gives the dance away warmly, shooting Minseok one last wink, and skips away.

Luhan slots into the emptied space easily, grabbing Minseok's frozen hands to swing them into a dance, and looks at him with hooded eyes.

"You seemed to be having so much fun, darling," Luhan says, hands tightening around Minseok, "Almost didn't want to interrupt."

"He's very humorous," Minseok supplies, feeling a little lost, "I- I was alone so-"

"So, you let him touch you and you let him make you laugh and you didn't care what that looked like in a room full of people important to me."

Luhan spins him out, following the music, and brings him back tightly, knocking the breath out of Minseok and holding him close. Minseok moves his lips mutely, a little shocked, and Luhan's lips twist into a cruel smile.

"You'll make me quite the husband, won't you, darling?"

Minseok pushes him away at that and Luhan goes easily, stepping away and clasping his hands behind him. He feels sick and as he gathers his wits about him to give Luhan a piece of his mind, the prince grabs his wrist and steers him away from the crowd and out the room. In the empty hall outside the ballroom, Luhan throws him against a wall and moves in close, hot breath on Minseok's lips.

"What else is left for you to twist out of me?" the prince asks in a rough whisper. "How else could you possibly wreck me?"

"I haven't done anything," Minseok says, nearly screaming.

Luhan's gaze drops from his eyes to his cheeks to his lips and Minseok's heart jerks. When Luhan pulls him in for a harsh, desperate kiss, Minseok knows it's coming, but can't seem to bring himself to stop it. He closes his eyes and kisses back harsher, nipping at Luhan's lips and drawing blood. He squeezes his arms out of the cage of Luhan's body holding him against the wall and grabs a handful of Luhan's hair. He yanks at the strands as he deepens the kiss and Luhan's hands slide down Minseok's waist, holding his hips, and then wrapping all the way around to pull him closer.

As they break the kiss, breathing into the small, shared space, Luhan whispers, "No one has ever made me feel like this."

"Like what?" Minseok asks with his eyes still screwed shut.

"Like I'm drowning."

Minseok makes a broken noise and pulls him in for another kiss.

Luhan lets him go entirely, holding him pinned to the wall with just his prescence alone, and Minseok's hands flutter uselessly, gripping the lapels of Luhan's jacket or grazing his collar or skimming his jaw. Luhan has his hands against the wall, caging him in like before but losely. Minseok could easily break off, but he finds himself looking up into Luhan's eyes instead.

He looks tortured, forehead wrinkled, and his eyes dance from Minseok's lips to his cheeks to his eyes.

"Luhan," Minseok whispers and the prince's fingers curl against the wall before he pushes off. His suffocating warmth is suddenly gone and Minseok blinks as he's suddenly aware of his own body again. Straightening up and fixing the mess of his clothes Luhan had made, Minseok rubs at his mouth with shaky hands.

What else is there left for you to twist out of me?

"This is hopeless," Luhan says, head down.

"Perhaps," Minseok says softly, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall.

When he opens his eyes, he finds Luhan looking at him with a mess of emotions Minseok can't make sense of and his stomach twists.

They enter the ballroom together, but there's a foot of tense space between them and Luhan wants to bridge the gap almost as much as he wants to kiss Minseok again. As it is, Minseok slips away from him, heading towards Yixing, and Luhan is left at the door staring at his back. At a distance, he spots Sehun looking him with a frown and he shakes his head when Sehun tilts his in question.

Junmyeon catches his elbow, pulling him deeper into the room and away from prying eyes. When he has Luhan sequestered in a corner, he asks, "What did you do?"

"Why do you assume it's me who has done something?" Luhan asks in return, slumping back against the wall.

"Because, I'm your friend and I know you."

"Sorry to disappoint you, friend, but I haven't done anything."

"Why does your consort look as pale as death, then?"

Luhan sneaks a glance at where Minseok is telling Yixing something in hushed tones, hair in his eyes and mouth downturned. Lips trembling just a little. He looks away quickly, feeling as if someone has gripped him by the throat.

"He's marrying someone he hates, of course he looks like death," Luhan says quietly.

Junmyeon's expression melts and he reaches forward to cup Luhan's cheek.

"Sweetheart," Junmyeon whispers and Luhan can see the you're special, you're worth loving speech coming from a mile away so he turns his head against Junmyeon's palm, closes his eyes, and then pulls away.

"I have to go mingle. Duty calls."

Minseok watches Junmyeon touch Luhan's face, watches Luhan melt into the touch as if it's something he craves, and he digs his nails into Yixing's arm. His knight doesn't hiss in pain, and curls his other arm around Minseok's waist.

"My prince," Yixing says softly and Minseok drops his arm, apologizing.

Thinking back to the conversation outside the ballroom, Minseok cringes a little.

Luhan had stated the hopelessness of them, and then had asked if Minseok saw something different. Minseok had felt cornered, in more ways than one, and he'd lied, said he still thought about destroying Luhan, said that if Luhan ever took him to bed, he'd bite his tongue off. Luhan has responded in kind, shutting off and smirking - saying he didn't want to take Minseok to bed, and even if he did, he'd gag him. Hate the mouth on you, he'd sneered and Minseok had felt flipped inside out, shouting, hate enough to kiss it?

The fight, their words, had all felt childish and silly and stupid and pointless. But, they had also been effective, hitting Minseok in all the right places.

"Perhaps I should have taken Junmyeon's offer," he whispers.

"What offer?"

Minseok shakes his head, sinking back into Yixing a little, and watches Luhan weave through the crowd, charming men and women alike.

He goes out into the balcony as the party shows no signs of dying down and Minseok wants to breathe and stop thinking about Luhan. His peace doesn't last long and the door swings open. He doesn't bother looking back, so when someone whispers, "Hello," right into his ear, he yelps in surprise and jumps away.

Sehun laughs at him and leans on the balcony's marble railing, looking out into the night. Minseok rolls his eyes and leans next to him. There are carriages everywhere and some of the drivers are chatting.

It feels good to see the castle filled with life, feels good to see people outside the ten he sees regularly. Back at home, they used to hold social events at almost every half moon and his father had been known as a king, funny man (despite his tragedies). Even then, Minseok hadn't particularly enjoyed the events. They'd all felt like formalities at best, duty at worst. But, Luhan's house, his castle, needs life.

Luhan needs life - color.

He'd thought himself capable of giving him both, but it seems he overestimated.

"There's nothing appealing about your frown, Your Highness. Some men might enjoy their companions meek and sweet and pouting, but I like them like you're rumored to be," Sehun says, winking at him.

Minseok snorts.

"And, how am I rumored to be?"

"They say you have the future King's heart in your hand, that you squeeze it and toss it at will."

"He doesn't have a heart I can hold," Minseok says quietly, looking at the stars.

Sehun is silent for a while and then asks, "Do you want to hold it?"

Minseok is snapped out of his daze, turning to look at Sehun with wide eyes and no answer on his lips. Sehun tilts his head and smiles, saying, "So, you do."

"That's unfortunate," he continues, turning away to look down at the carriages, "I was hoping you were stuck here and I could steal you away under the ruse of saving you."

The boy is harmless and he makes Minseok feel like he's with his friends from back home again, but Luhan's expression filters in (you'll make me quite the husband, darling) and Minseok can't seem to smile.

"If you react like that, I can't bring myself joke with you, Your Highness."

Minseok takes in a quick, loud breath and lets it out, body slumping a little.

"I have to go back in," Minseok says, "He might be looking for me."

"For the sake of your smile, I hope he is."

The party ends with Minseok at Luhan's side, bowing at all the guests that leave. When Sehun reaches them, he winks at Minseok and shakes Luhan's hand. The prince stiffens, but doesn't say anything. Once they're alone, Luhan turns to him with that cocksure smile from ages ago - the one that morphs his handsome face into something ugly and mean.

"See you in the morning," Luhan says, tipping his head slightly in a superfluous show of giving Minseok importance, and turns to walk out of the room, but Minseok isn't going to make the same mistake twice.

"I didn't mean it," he says, nearly shouting, and Luhan freezes a little before turning towards him with a slight frown.

"What I said earlier, outside the ballroom. I didn't mean it," he says, voice and hands shaky.

Luhan's frown deepens.

"If you took me to bed," he pauses, throat feeling tight and dry, "I wouldn't bite your tongue off."

Luhan shifts a little, looking lost but his frown is gone.

"What would you do, then?"

Minseok swallows and Luhan narrows his eyes as if he's expecting worse.

"I don't know," he answers honestly, "But, I wouldn't hurt you."

Luhan smiles at that and it's bitter, off-center, and secretive.

"That's nice to know, love," Luhan says, "since I can't promise the same."

He leaves the room before Minseok can do more than blink stupidly and look like a lost child. It seems he's overestimated once again.

Minseok begins to wonder about himself, how far he's come, how far from the comfort of home he is, how far he is from the person he was. How, once upon a time, he was selecting draperies for his wedding with a man he loved (loves, his mind insists - despite Jongin leaving him). He wonders about the words he used to spit out at Luhan and why they don't come out as easy anymore. He wonders about the fight, the fire, he had inside him and how it's dimmed into a flickering candle from brushing up against Luhan's frigid demeanor one too many times.

He wonders about how cruel Luhan was in the beginning and how powerless he seems now.

"Have I changed?" he asks his knight as he lounges in the parlor. Yixing leans down towards him, hand at his stomach as a sign of respect.

"Changed? How, Your Majesty?"

"In personality."

"No, my prince. You're the same as you've always been. Perhaps a bit sadder, but that's to be expected."

Minseok hums, sinking back into his sofa and closing his eyes.

"What a nightmare," he mutters, half bemused.

Junmyeon is set to leave the next day, says he'll come back a few weeks before the wedding, and watching Luhan pull the man close for a crushing hug, Minseok is almost happy to see him go. But, when Junmyeon turns to him with a sad smile, Minseok nearly crumbles and begs him to stay. He receives a light kiss on his cheek, a warm pat on his side, and then Junmyeon is being whisked off in a carriage.

Luhan's mood noticeably deteriorates upon his friend's departure and he brushes past Minseok, spends the rest of the day locked up in his study.

In retaliation, Minseok spends the whole day in the garden, smelling roses and sipping tea. The curtains of the study are open and he hopes Luhan can see him smiling, enjoying himself. At least, he hopes that's what it looks like.

"Sire."

Luhan stops his furious scribbling on an official letter and looks up at his guard. Tao looks back at him with a frown, concern evident on his face, and asks, "Are you unwell, Your Highness?"

Sighing, Luhan sets down his pen and leans back in his chair.

"I'm falling ill, I think."

Tao presses a gentle hand on his forehead and says, "You're cold rather than warm, Sire."

Luhan smiles bitterly.

Isn't that the whole problem?

Minseok gives his husband-to-be five days to mope around, sulk in his study, avoid Minseok's eyes, skip dinner, and retire into his separate bedroom. Five whole days while Minseok curls his fingers into fists and grinds his teeth at that heartbroken look on Luhan's face.

If he misses Junmyeon's company so much, he should have just gotten on the carriage with him.

He catches Luhan alone in the garden. The prince has a stack of papers in his hand that he's frowning at as he walks absently through the winding garden, and he nearly runs into Minseok, who is standing on the path and seems to be entirely invisible to the prince.

Luhan's eyes widen in initial shock, apology quick on his lips, before they become hooded and he glances away, moving to walk around Minseok.

"How long will you keep this up?" Minseok asks and Luhan stops in his tracks, a little too close to him as he turns to look at his consort.

"Keep what up, love?" Luhan asks in turn, immediately slipping into that confident, awful smirk of his.

"Pouting about the castle," he says and the words come out sharper than he intended them to, his own anger surprising him.

Luhan raises his eyebrows and dryly says, "I wasn't aware you paid me enough attention to notice."

Minseok feels his cheeks heat up as he becomes suddenly aware of how ridiculous he sounds, how desperate for Luhan's attention, how unlike himself.

"It's hard to miss a grown man acting like a lost, little boy," he bites out and Luhan's eyes narrow as his hand flies up to grip Minseok's elbow, tugging the man close.

"Watch your mouth, love. For all the patience I've shown you, I'm still the one in charge here. This is my kingdom, this is my castle, and you're my prisoner. Not the other way around."

Minseok twists out of Luhan's hold but doesn't step away.

"You've shown me nothing but violence and cruelty, and when I offered a hand to get past that, you didn't take it."

Luhan inches closer, eyes almost black with rage, and says, "What hand? The one after the ball? Am I supposed to take you to bed, Minseok? Just to prove you won't hurt me? Have you ever thought that maybe I don't want to take you to bed, that I don't find you beautiful, that maybe this marriage is a political strategy rather than a ploy for your attention?"

Minseok's breath is caught at his throat and he feels betrayed by his own body when his eyes prickle with tears.

"I wish you had just left me in the forest," he says, the word shaken out of him, and Luhan flinches back slightly, regret clouding his eyes.

"Minseok," he says, curling his fingers around his elbow again, but gently, carefully, "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to give me my home back."

Luhan's hand falls away and he lowers his eyes, sighing.

"I can't do that."

Minseok watches him silently, sobs stuck in his chest because he won't let Luhan see them, and his hands are shaking. He feels dizzy and stupid and meaningless. And, he hates that he's trying to find the cure inside Luhan.

"What can you do for me, then?"

Luhan looks up at him with glassy eyes and tugs Minseok close.

"I can," he says softly, pausing to trace Minseok's lips, jaw, the red lace around his neck with his eyes, "take the hand you offered."

A hope curls around Minseok's heart and threatens to sink him.

They go into the dining room together, making the server stutter in shock as the meal is set down and explained. Tao hovers behind him and Luhan can feel the critical, curious stare the back of his head must be receiving. Next to him, Minseok tucks into his plate with a shaky but sweet smile, and Yixing sends Luhan little looks as if he can't decide if he's suspicious or grateful.

Minseok hasn't talked much, had followed behind Luhan as they had walked through the garden, and Luhan hadn't known what to say either.

And, as their eyes meet (as Minseok's eyes lower immediately, thick lashes covering them) Luhan thinks about saying something personal, something that makes his chest tightens - like, don't look at me like that, I can never think straight when you do. Or, will I ever be able to put your fire back in you? Or, the red lace around your white shirt makes you look sinful, makes me want to unravel you.

He settles on, "Is the food to your taste?" and Minseok looks up at him with surprise before nodding.

Yixing frowns from behind Minseok, but Luhan stays firm on the edges of Minseok's barely there smile.

"I thought, perhaps," he starts, hesitating a little as he feels Tao shift behind him, "Perhaps we can retire to the library after dinner."

"I would like that," Minseok says, pleasant despite the obviously nervous way his hand is clutching his fork.

And, unlike before, Luhan readily accepts the hand Minseok has offered with his politeness.

They read.

On sofas that aren't far apart, but aren't terribly close, and their respective guards hover behind them the entire time. Luhan watches Minseok smile down at his book once in a while and when the prince sets the book aside to ask, "Did you enjoy your read?" Luhan stutters out nonsense because he doesn't remember anything he's read.

They retire to their separate bedrooms, and although there is an apparent distance between them, it isn't hostile like before, or fearful, or uncomfortable. Luhan goes to sleep with a light heart for the first time in years.

"Sire."

"Yes, Tao," Luhan says, humming as he shuffles through some documents.

"Duke Jongin has acquired an army."

For some reason, Minseok wakes up in the morning and feels apprehensive. The feeling sours and sits in the pit of his stomach, and he tries his best to ignore it as he sets about his day. He takes a bath, asking the maids to add more soothing oils than usual, and then gets dressed in one of the many ensembles in his closet. Since he's moved into this room, in a wing opposite Luhan's, he's been subject to a bit of privacy and since Luhan's been sweeter, he's been subject to a bit more than privacy.

He's been allowed to provide his own instructions to the tailors and his closet is now full of clothes he's personally designed. The process had reminded him of his seamstresses and had given him a strangely warm, comfortable feeling.

Today, picking out his clothes takes longer. He wants to look good in front of Luhan. Whether to have a upper hand or garner his attention, Minseok can't tell, but he just knows he wants to walk into the dining hall looking his best. So, he picks out tight, black pants, and a long-sleeved, black shirt. He stuffs his pants into black boots. He adds a red ribbon tie around his neck as the final touch, the silk hanging loosely in the middle of his chest.

Like all mornings, Yixing is waiting for him outside and greets him with a pleasant smile, holding his arm out for Minseok to take. His knight guides him towards the dining room and Minseok's heart sinks a little when he sees Luhan's empty seat.

"My prince, is something the matter?" Yixing asks as Minseok continues to stand by the table without taking a seat.

Minseok shakes his head and sits down, but he barely has any appetite left, now. He spoons his food around the plate and leaves his food barely eaten, the chair creaking as he gets up and doesn't give Yixing the time to pull it out for him.

Luhan has spent the morning pacing, scribbling plans and then scratching them away until the ink stains through the paper and tears it. Tao watches impassively, grimly. They both know that if Duke Jongin showed up at their door with his arms wide open, Minseok would run right to him without looking back. Perhaps Minseok will be kind enough to at least spare Luhan a look of pity before he ran, and perhaps Luhan could survive reliving that one look forever. Or, perhaps Minseok wouldn't even grant him that.

Perhaps Minseok will leave on the back of Duke Jongin's horse and never come back.

"Sire."

Luhan shoves the papers away, letting his pen drop and the ink bottle rattle as it tries to find balance. He buries his head in his hands and sighs.

"I can't lose him."

"Why not, Sire?" Tao asks.

"I... like him. I like having him around. I like when he laughs," Luhan says, huffing out a bitter laugh as he raises his head and lets aching tears pool in his eyes, "I like when he puts me in my place. I just... I like him. I don't want to watch him be with Duke Jongin, no matter how happy it'd make him. Am I truly a monster, Zitao?"

Tao flinches at the use of his birth name, but he's soft and kind as he lays a hand on Luhan's shoulder and says, "Kings have wiped out entire nations in the name of love, Your Highness."

"Kings have also obtained love peacefully. Kings have watched their love walk to them willfully."

Tao contemplates that, silent for a long while, and then says, "Perhaps Prince Minseok will walk to you, too."

Luhan doesn't respond, doesn't let the hopefulness of that statement mollify him. Minseok is better at running than anything else.

Minseok sends Yixing off to look for Luhan and when his knight returns, he's frowning but says the prince is in the library. Minseok's perfect outfit has wrinkles on it by now, the ribbon around his neck is loose and crooked, and his feet are hurting from the slight lift on his boots. He doesn't feel beautiful when he walks in, but as Luhan turns to him with soft smile, he feels invincible.

"I've been looking for you," he says.

Luhan holds out his hand and Minseok takes it, letting the prince pull him closer.

"What can I do for you, love?"

The tenderness makes Minseok's heart skip, stutter, and makes his words shake as he says, "Nothing. Just haven't seen you all day."

Luhan smiles at that and then drags his eyes down Minseok's body, dragging them up as his eyes darken. He's pulled to the side and his back slams against the wall, shaking a small painting on the wall, and he's breathless when Luhan steps closer to him. He's grinning and it's open, sweet, and mischievous. It makes Minseok grin back, tipping his head up and looking at the prince with raised eyebrows.

"You seem unimpressed, love," Luhan teases, trailing his fingers up Minseok's neck.

"You are unimpressive, Your Highness," Minseok teases back and laughs when Luhan pretends to gasp in offense.

Luhan's eyes drop down to Minseok's lips and the mood instantly becomes sticky, humid, and thrilling.

"May I kiss you?" Luhan asks and Minseok flushes a little, trying to keep composure.

"If you must," he says lightly, his own eyes flickering down to Luhan's mouth.

Luhan doesn't move for a while, his hands falling to curl lightly around Minseok's waist and then dropping away as if he doesn't think he's allowed to. Minseok lets out an impatient sound and surges forward, pressing his lips against Luhan's and then stretching up to press them at a better angle, curling his arms around Luhan's neck. Luhan quickly wraps his arms around Minseok's waist, pulling him impossibly close and making him shiver.

Minseok reverses their position and slams Luhan against the wall, dragging his fingers up into Luhan's hair and tugging.

The prince lets him have control easily and Minseok revels in it, grinding his hips forward and smirking a little as Luhan's hand falls past his waist to grab at his behind.

"Mind your hand, Your Highness," Minseok whispers against his mouth and Luhan moves his hand back to his waist, earning a rewarding kiss.

This is how Tao finds them, clearing his throat at the door of the library and making them spring apart like they've barely passed fourteen summers and have just learned the use of their tongues.

Tao is struggling to hide his laugh and dryly comments, "Perhaps next time, Your Highness and his consort might considering shutting the door."

Minseok flushes, his previous bravado evading him a little under Tao's dark eyes, but Luhan steps in front of him, saying, "What brings you here?"

"The matter we discussed this morning, Sire."

Luhan looks back at Minseok with a strange expression, dripping at the edges with sadness and anxiety, and Minseok frowns, trying to make sense of it, but Luhan is already wiping it away with smile, saying, "If you'll excuse me, love."

He turns away and walks towards Tao with hasty steps, both of them leaving after sharing grim looks.

The apprehension from this morning curls around his stomach again even as he feels the sting of Luhan's kiss on his lips.

"Duke Jongin is being supported by the Han Kingdom, that's why he's obtained an army. The Han Kingdom is exploiting the duke's love to find at excuse to fight you as they've always wanted to and haven't been able to because of the treaty," Tao explains.

"The Hans have never been a match for me," Luhan says, surveying the maps before him with anger and resentment, "Let them try."

Tao nods.

Minseok's hands shake a little as he leans against the wall and hears Luhan says, "I'll kill them."

Luhan spends most of the day planning strategies with a few of his most able knights, explaining the strengths and weaknesses of the army coming in. The Hans are notorious for fighting dirty and Luhan hasn't let a battle slip from him since he started fighting them. And, this one - the one that might steal Minseok from him - he can't afford to lose.

By the end, he's exhausted and a little dizzy from skipping meals, and he hasn't seen his consort since the kiss in the library.

He feels tension slip off thinking about soft skin and softer lips, small hands hesitating at his shoulders and small waist in his hold. He smiles unknowingly and terrifies one of the guards in the hallway. He quickly schools his expressions and hurries to Minseok's room.

Opening the wooden door, he's expected Minseok sitting at his vanity or perhaps sewing or reading a book. He isn't expected Minseok sitting at the foot of his bed with a blank look in his eyes. He rushes forward, cupping Minseok's face and shaking him a little, but Minseok seems soulless.

"Love," he says, trying to get Minseok off the cold floor and struggling with the deadweight, "Look at me, darling."

Minseok slowly comes to himself, eyes losing their glaze in favor of turning into steel as they meet Luhan's eyes.

The steel melts as quickly as it had come as he lets himself be hoisted up and placed on the bed, Luhan kneeling on the floor in front of him with his hands on Minseok's thighs.

He looks wistful now.

"Are you unwell, my love?" Luhan asks and Minseok stares down at him with a strange expression. "Please talk to me."

Suddenly, Minseok shakes his head and smiles, body slumping a little, and says, "Nothing. I just miss home."

The words send sharp spikes of panic and regret inside him, and Minseok smiles a little wider, something terribly off about the action. Luhan frowns and stretches forward to cup Minseok's cheek, pressing a thumb into plump skin.

"Love-"

Minseok knocks his arm away and gets off the bed, spinning around to look down at a still kneeling Luhan with a grin. He holds his hand out and Luhan takes it, letting himself be pulled upright. Minseok laughs, the sound almost a giggle, and says, "Let's go eat. I'm starving."

It's nearly time to sleep, Luhan thinks, but he lets himself be dragged out of the room and into the kitchen. Minseok acts cute to get the cook to make something and then eat in the kitchen, plates on their laps, and when Minseok smiles like that, Luhan can't quite think.

Yixing sits next to him solemnly, head buried in his hands, and Minseok sighs.

"Han Kingdom's reputation is terrible and I don't want them gaining any more land or power, but I don't want Jongin to get hurt, either."

"My prince," Yixing gasps, eyes lighting up as an idea hits him, "Perhaps you could speak with Prince Luhan and ask him to reject the declaration of war. The Hans can't attack, then, and if they do, it'll be against the treaty and they'll be blacklisted."

"Prince Luhan doesn't bend at my will, Yixing."

His knight scowls at that, and says, "You cannot be that blind, Your Highness."

Minseok rolls his eyes.

He thinks about Junmyeon, chest aching with how terribly he misses the prince, and how he'd said love as simply as one might say good morning. But, if Luhan loved him, then he would never think of hurting someone important to Minseok and he knows how important Jongin is. If Luhan loved him, he would have told Minseok about the impending war, would have asked Minseok for his opinion or thoughts or even a reaction.

As it is, Luhan slid his warm hands over Minseok and called him his love, and is clearly planning on keeping Minseok in the dark as if he's some delicate child.

"You think Luhan would stop a war for me?"

"Yes," Yixing says without hesitation, and Minseok's heart jerks.

When Minseok doesn't say anything, Yixing speaks up again, "What's your strategy, my prince?"

"Play dirty, Yixing," he answers, "We're at war, after all."

Playing dirty is easier said than done, he finds, because the warmth in Luhan's eyes in genuine and the way his deep voice curls around love makes Minseok weak. Spring is in full bloom and Luhan takes him on a walk in the gardens. He sheds layers of his armor and tells Minseok about his childhood, about his days and nights on the battlefield, about losing his parents and his siblings.

It's difficult to stay detached when Luhan's eyes pool with tears even as he smiles.

It's difficult to stay cold when Luhan takes his hand and says, "You are the only good thing in my life."

He falters and he kisses the man that's planning to murder Jongin. Feeling sick and conflicted and stupid, he avoids Luhan for the rest of the day. But, eventually, Luhan finds him and corners him boyish smiles and a sloppy bouquet of mismatched flowers. His hair is wet, the usually tidy strands falling into his eyes and making him look years younger, and Minseok realizes the prince must have gone out in the rain to pick out the flowers.

It's difficult to play dirty when he falling in love.

Tao stares at him disapprovingly as he enters the study. The knights scattered around are discussing strategies with maps laid out over the tables and Luhan sits down and pulls out some fresh parchment.

The guard speaks under his breath, asking, "How long are you planning on keeping your consort in the dark, sire?"

"As long as I have to," Luhan answers quietly, even as his stomach twists in apprehension, "If he finds out and asks me to stop, I'll never be able to go into war with my head about me, Zitao. I have to win against the Hans and I'll do my best to keep the duke alive."

"And, if you can't? If he gets in your way?"

Luhan flushes, in anger and shame, but he's resilient as he says, "Then, I'll have no choice but to kill him. Minseok will understand."

"Will he?"

Luhan doesn't have to turn around to sense Tao's disdain.

He knows if it comes down to it, he won't be able to hurt Duke Jongin - not when he knows it would fill Minseok's sweet eyes with tears, make him flinch away from him. Selfishly wanting to guard Minseok's affections isn't the most moral reason, but he really does want Duke Jongin to make it out alive. And, he really needs to defeat the Han Kingdom once and for all. If Minseok finds out about the war before he goes to it, he won't win.

"You're a smarter, kinder man than this," Tao whispers, "I trust you'll make the right decision and give your consort a chance to surprise you."

Luhan ignores him, clearing his throat to catch the knights' attention, and loses himself in strategies.

They're lounging in the library and Luhan is sending him sweet, sneaky glances over his book that he probably thinks Minseok isn't noticing. It makes him smile even as his heart hardens.

"I heard some of the knights talking about bringing more horses in," Minseok says casually, eyes on his own book and he sees Luhan tense in his peripheral vision, "Are you planning on going on a voyage, Your Highness?"

Luhan sets his book down slowly in his lap and Minseok thinks he makes for a terrible liar as he stutters, "I just needed to accommodate some knights, that's all."

"Hmm," Minseok agrees and just as Luhan finally relaxes, he speaks up again with, "So, I suppose there is no war."

"War?" Luhan says smoothly, gathering his wits with ease and Minseok is reminded that this young man built a Kingdom with his bare hands, "Whatever made you think that, love?"

Minseok lowers his book, too, and looks up at Luhan, who stares back resolutely.

"What do I mean to you?" Minseok asks, changing the topic abruptly.

Luhan eyes shine with sincerity as he says, "Just about everything, darling. Has that not been apparent?"

"What could you do for me?"

"Anything," Luhan answers immediately.

"Would you stop a war for me?"

Luhan smiles and gets up. He curls slender fingers around Minseok's jaw and then slides them under the bone until he reaches Minseok's chin. He tips his face up and leans down.

He whispers, "Of course," against Minseok's lips.

Minseok closes his eyes and lets himself be kissed, reminded of tortured words and wet eyes and bruised lips. You wreck me, too, he thinks.

For a while, all Minseok does is think. He absently flips pages of books he can't remember the titles of, he rests his hand on Yixing's arm and lets his knight guide him through the garden, and he feels the phantom heat of Luhan's lips on his mouth. If Jongin never abandoned him, that means Minseok abandoned Jongin - with some few, carefully placed words, he fell into Luhan's lap like a trained pet. If Jongin never abandoned him, that means Luhan lied to Minseok and then again in the library.

He weaved pretty sentiments and used the loose ends to move Minseok around like a puppeteer.

Even as he thinks of the worst case scenarios, the newly but firmly established affection for Luhan refuses to fade and in pure irritation, he knocks over the little jewelry boxes on his vanity.

Later, as he gets up with a heavy sigh and kneels down next to the discarded items, something catches his eye under an upside down box. He plucks the box up and sees his mother's brooch, tears pooling in his eyes.

He remembers putting the brooch down with trembling hands somewhere, maybe on his forgotten coat, maybe in some box. He knows the he'd wanted to keep it safe and perhaps far away from himself, hadn't wanted to bring his mother's memories into whatever world Luhan was dragging him into.

Now, as he fingers at the smooth stone, he finds a strange comfort in it.

And, strength.

The letter he'd sent to Junmyeon a few days ago brings back an answer and Luhan reads with a frown, black ink seeping past paper and into his mind.

Your little prince, my friend, is going to be the death of you.

That sentiment has been professed by many in blunter words, but Luhan has never really thought of a situation where that might actually come into affect. Until now.

With the valiant duke at his doorstep, backed by the Hans and the very first inclinations of Minseok's love. The latter alone has made Luhan feel utterly defeated - how will he handle an entire army?

"Sire," Tao says softly, "At times like this, it's best to seem unaffected."

"How can I seem unaffected, Tao?"

"Simple," Tao says and when Luhan turns to look at him, Junmyeon's letter hanging loosely from his hands, he smiles, "Throw a ball."

It's madness, but the drapes are being hanged and Luhan is being fitted into a white suit with gold and black decorations. Some of his maids giggle as they hand him a golden mask with similarly black beads and a black hat. He refuses to put on the mask until he absolutely has to, choosing to carry it with him instead. The masquerade theme had been Tao's idea, something flashy and blatantly teasing to throw at Hans as they wait for Luhan's acceptance of the war.

Luhan is planning on going through the usual pleasantries with some officials, perhaps drop some few important words on prominent ears and gain allies. What Luhan isn't planning on is seeing Minseok dolled up for the ball, gliding down the stairs just as Tao is hastily sharing the guest list with him. Tao's voice mutes a little as his eyes drag up skinny legs wrapped up in tight, black pants, a sleek black coat hanging gracefully around the gentle slope of Minseok's thighs. The coat is left open, showcasing a tight, black shirt and golden chains pinned from lapel to lapel. Minseok's mask is black with golden beads and glittering golden wings at the edges that strangely parallel the sweet slant of Minseok's eyes, which are lined with kohl.

He looks like sin - something old sailors might describe when speaking of sirens. He's so achingly beautiful, from the pink curve of his lips to his big, pretty eyes and skin luminous incased in all that black. Luhan feels his heart threaten to beat out of his chest.

It's been a few weeks since the ball was confirmed and invitations were sent out and in those few weeks, Luhan has been feeling more and more out of control as Minseok swayed between treating Luhan with sweet love and then suspicious disdain. Luhan fell for both, head over heels, and Tao's called him a lapdog more than once. He can't help it.

Some days, Minseok will visit his study and ask him to come walk with him, all coy smiles and pleasant words. And, Luhan will leave important paperwork on his desk to trail behind his consort like a lovesick idiot. Other days, Minseok will be distant and reproachful, and Luhan will rub clammy hands on his knees as he struggles to find ways to lift Minseok's mood. As if his personal wellbeing depends primarily on how wide Minseok's smile is.

A few days ago, Minseok seemed to suddenly become aware of his hold on Luhan and since has been blatantly toying with him. He knows what he must look like to his guards when Minseok lightly touching his arm makes him stumble and flush - confidence leaving him in favor of weakness.

Luhan hates feeling weak more than anything else.

Now, as Minseok turns dark eyes on him with a smile that can't mean anything good, Luhan looks away.

"Did I not meet your expectations, Your Highness?" Minseok asks, soft and mean, but Luhan refuses to answer. He's been toyed with enough. He gives Tao orders to check the guests over twice before leaving the hallway to make his way to towards his study.

He misses Minseok's eyes dimming, his triumphant smile melting off into an insecure one.

Yixing comes down the stairs behind him, pressing a warm hand on the small of Minseok's back as he moves down to the same marbled step as him, and gently prompts with, "My prince?"

Shaking out of his thoughts, he looks over to Yixing and forces a smile that doesn't fool the knight. He slips off his mask with a sigh and rubs at his eyes.

"This game of cat and mouse is draining you more than anyone else, my prince. Perhaps you should have told Prince Luhan what you heard outright instead of testing him-"

"For what purpose?" Minseok says, rolling his eyes as he starts moving down the rest of the steps, "He's said pretty words, sure, but he's said prettier words back before he barely knew me. What can I trust?"

"Your instincts."

"Yixing," Minseok hisses, irritated at himself more than anyone, "It seems as though you've forgotten why we're here. Why we're not at home. Why I'm not married to Jongin by now."

His knight grips him by the elbow as they round the hallway, jerking him towards a dark corner, and quietly says, "I haven't forgotten a thing. I haven't forgotten my promise to bring you back home. The fact remains, however, that Duke Jongin doesn't stand a chance unless you intervene and lessen Luhan's blow - soften his sword. The Hans are a great enemy, but Luhan's force is something else. This push and pull is putting Duke Jongin at risk."

Minseok flushes with shame. It isn't as if those same sentiments haven't been plaguing him, as he swung from smile to frown - unable to decide how he feels about Luhan. But, something's been keeping him from confronting Luhan outright. A certain fear that maybe, despite what everyone seems so sure of, Luhan wouldn't care. That Minseok would fall to his knees begging for Jongin's life and Luhan would simply sigh and order Tao to fetch him some wine.

Just the thought makes his chest clench painfully and Yixing softens his words at the ache in his eyes.

"My prince," he says, stroking his knuckles across Minseok's cheekbone, "I know you've dealt with more than you should ever have had to and with your new feelings for Prince Luhan, you're more confused than ever. I know, but we don't have much time. We must do something tonight. This ball is for show, as you've guessed. And, it's likely Luhan will declare the war or decline it soon after."

Minseok takes in a deep breath, closing his eyes and leaning his head forward until it falls on Yixing's shoulder. The knight wraps his arms around his prince and squeezes, whispering reassurances into his hair.

"You're right," Minseok says, "I've been fickle. It's time I put faith in myself for once."

Yixing smiles at him and they walk towards the ballroom with Minseok's hand secured tight around the crook of Yixing's arm.

Luhan avoids him steadily as guests stream in with puffy dresses and sleek suits, all wearing colorful masks. The orchestra plays a soft melody as the guests crowd in, sipping wine along the sides and frequently slipping into the dance floor - pulling others in forcefully or graciously asking for their hands.

Minseok sticks along the edges and fortunately no one approaches him, though Luhan - all the way on the other side - seems to be discussing something with a huddle of men.

He looks devastatingly handsome, in white and gold, and Minseok feels his heart sink a little. Just as he's thinking about drowning himself in wine, someone rushes up to him and he blinks up at Prince Sehun. Grinning wide, he takes Minseok's hand and immediately tugs him out into the dance floor without any words.

Minseok struggles mildly, remembering the last time he danced with Sehun, but reluctantly settles into Sehun's arms after the boy whines.

"As beautiful as I left you," Sehun says with a lazy smile and Minseok rolls his eyes.

"Your charm is still falling on deaf ears, I'm afraid."

Sehun laughs, twirling Minseok around, and for a moment, Minseok lets his heart feel light.

"Where's your mask?" he asks, going tsk, tsk teasingly.

The young prince grins and says, "My last partner took it off. Said he thought it was a crime to hide my handsome face."

Minseok throws his head back to laugh and lightly asks, "How are you inviting to all of Luhan's balls when you spend them trying to woo his consort?"

"Distant cousins," Sehun answers with a wink, "He's obligated to include me in everything or my mother will talk his ear off."

The spend the next two songs talking while Sehun messes up the order of the traditional steps and makes Minseok laugh tastelessly loud. They take a break due to exhaustion and Sehun leaves him leaning against the wall in a corner with a sleazy, "Don't go anywhere. I'll grab you a drink." The absolute harmlessness of Sehun's flirting makes Minseok feel at ease and a little giggly. He's almost forgotten all about Luhan and the war.

Suddenly, he feels a hand on his wrist and looks up into a masked face. Before he can decipher the features, the man yanks Minseok off the wall in a blur of movement - his blood red coat swirling as he turns around and leads Minseok out of the door that's right by the wall. Minseok tugs at the hold, glancing around the ballroom to try to spot Luhan in the crowd. He doesn't see his prince anywhere and struggles a little harder, but the man is strangely strong and incredibly insistent.

He pulled into the quiet hallway and he finally twists out of the man's grip, ready kick him between the legs for treating him so roughly. He's so sick of being dragged around by men and his anger is at his throat, harsh words at the tip of his tongue.

When he turns around, he sees that the man is dressed in black pants, black shirt, and a red coat that matches the red markings on his black mask. The mask almost covers his entire face, wings looping around prominent cheekbones, but Minseok recognizes those beautiful lips.

His heart hammers against his chest as he whispers, "Jongin."

Jongin smiles and Minseok feels like his knees are going to give out. He reaches forward, fingering at the edges of Jongin's mask, but his wrist is caught and his hand is pushed down. A questioning frown begins to scrunch up his face, but then Jongin whispers, "I don't have much time, darling," and Minseok is suddenly painfully aware of his surroundings. Wrenching his hand out of Jongin's hold, he takes quick glances down both ends of the marbled hall - the guards are stationed at the gates and although the windows lining one side of the hallway are large, they're also blurred and no one is looking in their direction anyway.

Panic at his throat, grabs Jongin's wrist and starts tugging the man away from the ballroom and towards the bend of the hallway, where only the seldom maid will come upon them. He hears voices behind him and jerks around to see Tao coming in from the other end of the hallway. Heart jerking painfully in shock, he shoves Jongin behind one of the large pillars lining the path. Tao has his eyes down on the papers in his hand and when he does look up, he's looks to the side and into the ballroom. He stretches his neck and glances about until he finds whoever he's looking for, and nods.

Moments later, Luhan steps into the hallway and Minseok breaks into a cold sweat. He glances at Jongin and dark eyes look back at him. Even with the mask, Minseok knows Jongin is frowning. He whispers, "Stay here," and starts walking back towards the ballroom.

Luhan is now bent over the papers in Tao's hand and they're exchanging solemn, hushed words. Minseok slows as he comes close enough to hear Tao say, "Sire, it's inevitable."

Sighing, Luhan says something too quiet to hear and glances up, double-taking when he sees Minseok.

Tao presses the papers to his chest and bows - first to Minseok and then to Luhan - and excuse himself. He heads back towards the direction he'd come in from and Minseok looks at his retreating back with a strange longing. Tao is usually a good buffer - a safe ground. When Tao's out of sight, he drags his eyes back to Luhan and widens them a little when he sees the Prince staring at him with an invasive sort of scrutiny.

Minseok opens his mouth to say something, anything, but Luhan just rolls his eyes just a tiny bit - irritation twisting up his handsome features - and begins to head back into the ballroom.

Wringing his hands together, he shouts, "Luhan," before he can properly get his wits about him. The prince stops short, turning just a little bit to glance at Minseok with sharp curiosity and the still present edges of irritation. He doesn't have his mask on and even without the bold shape of it, Luhan looks powerful and mysterious.

"What is it, love?" he asks in that honey sweet voice even as his gaze drips with malice.

"I ... I wanted to apologize," Minseok says, hesitant and trembling. Jongin is just a few feet behind him and if anyone finds him, they'll take him and hurt him and Minseok refuses to be the reason behind any sort of bloodshed.

Luhan raises his eyebrows, clearly unimpressed, and Minseok continues, "I've been difficult these past few days and it's - Perhaps I should start at the reason," he takes in a deep breath, "I overheard you taking about the Hans and ... Jongin ... and the war and I - I just ..."

Luhan's eyes narrow in anger before quickly adapts that awful, cocky expression, and folds his hands behind his back, inching closer to Minseok with deceptively light steps. Minseok nearly inches away, but thinking about Luhan being any closer to Jongin makes him hold his ground.

As Luhan stalks closer, he softly asks, "Why, love? Worried your little duke will be proven to be as weak as you might have already assumed?"

Minseok flinches and he tries to mask the venom in his throat as he calmly says, "Jongin isn't weak."

Luhan barks out a short, cruel laugh and says, "It's been months since I took you, love. Months," he advances, prowls closer, "Anything could have happened to you by now and he'd have been twiddling his thumbs and waiting for someone to fight his battles for him."

"He's doing the best he can," Minseok says even as he swallows nervously at Luhan's proximity. Luhan scoffs, hot breath blowing against Minseok's skin, and Luhan's fingers tip-tap up his arm, plucking at his mask in some practiced motion that makes it drop to the floor between them. The prince doesn't seem to care about how close they are to guests, how out in the open they are, and Minseok prays Jongin can't hear them. He feels strangely exposed without the mask, but Luhan looks so confident - so completely bare in his intent to hurt Minseok.

Luhan leans away and tilts his head, expression mocking and indifferent.

"I want you to reject the war proposal," Minseok blurts out and Luhan raises his eyebrows, a slight smile at the edge of his lips.

"Since when did you start giving me orders, love?"

"Please," Minseok whispers and Luhan impassively blinks.

"I'll look like a coward. I've never rejected a war proposal and I certainly don't intend to do it now. Especially not for the sake of my pretty, little consort's duke. You've sorely miscalculated your control over me, I'm afraid."

Minseok feels a lump in his throat, swallows painfully around it even as his eyes prickle with tears (of fear, of panic, of devastation to think Jongin will most likely die in the battlefield because of him), and he shakes his head numbly, but Luhan isn't done talking.

His words are sharp and precise as he says, "I've made some accommodations for you and I've even let you keep your little knight, so you've started to think you mean something other than a political strategy."

"You said you'd do anything for me," Minseok says, sucking in a breath that breaks over a sob. His ribs feel like they're tightening and he's afraid his lips are trembling.

Luhan sneers and says, "And, look how quickly you gave up a kiss for that. If I said I love you, you'd probably open your legs for me, too."

The punch Minseok throws is sloppy, his vision blurred with tears, but it catches the edge of Luhan's jaw anyway and makes the man stumble back. When he throws another, this time with more direction, Luhan catches it and jerks him closer in order to render him helpless.

He's crying openly now and he hates how desperate he sounds as he whispers please, please, please against the soft material of Luhan's jacket, rubbing his forehead miserably against his neck.

"I can't," Luhan says, voice steady, as he grabs Minseok by the shoulders and pushes him away.

Anger seizes him and he abandons tears and begging for shouting, "You're lying."

Luhan finally seems to become aware of his surroundings, glancing apprehensively towards the ballroom, and then says, "Think as you want, but-"

"I won't marry you," he screams, "If you hurt him, I'll never marry you. You can threaten whoever you want, but you'll have to drag me to the church in chains."

"Do you think you're the only option I have?"

"Maybe not, but I'm the only option you want," Minseok says, suddenly so terribly sure that he aches with it - even as Luhan narrows his eyes in anger.

"So, what's the bargain? What will you do in exchange of me not accepting the proposal?"

Minseok wipes at the stray tears on his face, straightening up and looking Luhan in the eyes with determination.

"Nothing. You can either reject it because I begged you to or you can accept it. It's up to you to decide which is worth more to you."

Luhan looks at him for a long time, for what feels like hours, and then his expression softens and when he comes closer, it's to gently smooth a thumb across Minseok's cheeks, wiping cool tears Minseok missed. He doesn't say anything, just leans in and presses soft lips against Minseok's cheek, thumb still rubbing soothing circles against his other one. He leans back, looking grim, and walks away - back into the ballroom.

Minseok stays frozen in his spot for a while until he feels warm hands settle on his shoulders and turn him around. Jongin is looking at him with concern and fear, and a little hint of something else Minseok can't figure out.

When he's pulled in slightly, he falls into Jongin's embrace bonelessly before jerking away. The area is still so open - anyone could walk out of the ballroom. He hastens them down the hall and back where he'd hidden Jongin, the large pillar putting him out of immediate sight at least.

"Why are you here?" he asks.

Jongin doesn't answer him and eyes are clouded with that something as he asks, "Why did you beg? To him?"

"For you," he answers easily but Jongin's eyes don't clear.

"He won't go to war," Minseok reassures, feeling uncomfortable under Jongin's gaze, "I know he won't."

Suddenly, Jongin seems to reach some sort of epiphany and takes a step away from Minseok. Hissing, Minseok pulls him back in and back behind the pillar. Jongin twists out of Minseok's grip immediately and his shock fades into anger, and it's the first time Minseok has ever had that look directed at him.

"You love him," he whispers and as Minseok flinches back, his voice gathers volume, "Oh god, you love him. I've been wrecking myself for months trying to save you and you love him."

Minseok opens and closes his mouth, terrible, awful panic taking hold of him as he's suddenly unable to defend himself for some goddamn reason. He wants to say no, he wants to say he would never do that Jongin, but the words don't come out and Jongin looks devastated.

"Jongin," he says softly, but the duke shakes his head, repeating his words as if saying it enough times will wish it away.

"You have to get out of here," he says, "The ball will end soon and people will find you, Jongin. How did you get inside anyway?"

It's the wrong thing to say, apparently, because Jongin's lips thin out and he spits out, "Came in with the tailors and hid until the ball started. Uselessly. Like a fool."

"Jongin, please. Please, you have to get out of here."

He cups Jongin's cheek but his arm is swatted away. At Minseok's wince, Jongin's anger crumbles and he asks, "How could you do this to me?"

Minseok reaches for his cheek again and this time Jongin lets his hand rest there, lets him tuck stray hair behind his ear, mindful of the mask.

"Listen to me. You have to leave or hide. I'll go in and I'll help you get out after the guests are gone and the gates are less guarded."

Jongin tears up and Minseok feels his stomach twist painfully, feels his heart constrict. He feels as cruel as Luhan seems. Jongin has been doing so much, he's been trying so hard, and he's even managed to bring his case to the Hans - just for Minseok, just to save him. And, he's done all of that only to find Minseok's heart in someone else's hand.

"You're marrying him?" Jongin asks, quiet and miserable.

"He is."

Minseok jumps, jerking away from Jongin as Luhan steps into his line of vision and leans against the pillar. Luhan smiles, eyes empty, and Minseok immediately pushes Jongin behind him.

Luhan raises his eyebrows and drawls out, "You're sight for sore eyes, Duke."

Luhan's smile widens and Minseok hears his heart pound painfully loud in his ear.

Luhan looks bored, but Minseok knows better and his entire body is tense with the need to protect Jongin. Glancing at the tightness of Minseok's shoulders, the clenched fists, Luhan sighs. He pushes off of the pillar and folds his hands behind his back.

"What will people think, love, if they see the prince's consort hiding behind a pillar with a strange man?" Luhan asks, tone condescending and falsely sweet.

"Don't hurt him," Minseok blurts out, sounding wrecked, and Luhan simply sighs again.

"Stealing from me - well, trying to steal - is a crime punishable by death, I'm afraid."

"You promised," he shouts and when he notices Jongin trying to move closer to Luhan, he presses his body further back, trapping Jongin against the wall, "You said-"

"I don't remember making such a promise," Luhan says lightly and Minseok heart sinks, "But, I'll let you have this one. Can't have my consort heartbroken over a lover, now can I?"

The way he says it makes it seem like he doesn't care about what his consort feels, but Minseok breathes out, "Thank you," regardless, pressing even further back against Jongin. Luhan catches the movement and flashes a grin at them, looking like a wolf in the dark.

"Well, we're expected back at the ball, love, so it's time to say goodbye to your little duke," Luhan says, looking like he doesn't have a care in the world but Minseok can tell how tense he is, how his smile flickers a little when he reaches back to touch Jongin's hand. Minseok quickly turns, taking Jongin's hands into his and pressing into Jongin's stomach to keep him stationary.

He whispers, "Please leave. I'll take care of everything. Please, if you care for me," with urgency and gives Jongin's hands one last squeeze before turning back toward Luhan, who isn't smiling much anymore.

"Lead the way," he says, trying to move Luhan away from Jongin and the prince bows slightly, stepping away to give Minseok room to move out from behind the pillar. As Minseok gives Jongin one last fleeting look over his shoulder, Luhan moves forward to grip his elbow and guide him down the hall.

They arrive at the party looking a little disheveled and people whisper things in good nature, saying the two betrothed can't keep their hands off each other. If only they knew.

For the rest of the ball, Luhan keeps Minseok by his side and watches him wring his hands with what he hopes comes off as indifference. It bothers him that Jongin managed to infiltrate his castle, corner his consort, and do it right under Luhan's nose. He used the tailors - he literally slipped into the castle through the front door. Something else bothers him a little bit more, though. He keeps hearing, you love him, and he keeps hearing Minseok do everything except deny it.

A stupid sort of hope blossoms in his chest and he hates that. He hates that Minseok has ruined everything and it's all Luhan's fault because he brought Minseok here. He should have just left him in the forest - surrounded by white and looking like every sin ever committed. He should have never gone that far up north, he hates the snow. He should have kept on invading every kingdom except Minseok's and he would have been happy now. He might even have united all the kingdoms, given the villagers a better life even. If he felt so generous.

As it were, he's at the brink of a war that's going to cost him his men and supplies, and he feels certain things for this willful prince he can't figure out. He's disoriented and a little sick in the stomach with nervousness, and under the ballroom chandeliers, Minseok looks beautiful.

Luhan wants to kiss him more than he wants to win the war.

After the ball ends, Luhan suggests they retire to the library to unwind. Minseok follows, trying not to look like he wants to search the castle's every corner to make sure Jongin left safely. Luhan is in a pensive mood, settling in a couch and opening up a book in silence.

There's something thick in the air and Minseok thinks he might suffocate on it, so he blurts out, "Thank you," before he can help himself.

Luhan looks up from his book with raised eyebrows, mouth a thin, unimpressed line.

"For what?"

Minseok plays with the hem of his night shirt, uncomfortably hovering near a couch opposite Luhan, and his voice is a little unsteady as he says, "For letting Jongin go. You could have just taken him prisoner and the Hans would have no proper justification to wage a war. But, you let him go."

Luhan looks back down at his book and says, "It was strategic, love, but thanks for thinking I'm so noble."

Minseok feels anxiety take root inside him and he tries to ignore it as he thinks back to the conversation he had with Yixing after the ball. Minseok had used the brief reprieve granted from Luhan saying goodbye to some guests to tell the knight about Jongin. Yixing had been alarmed - at Jongin's boldness and at Luhan's lack of action. When Minseok had voiced plausible answers, that perhaps Luhan had let Jongin off for Minseok, Yixing had turned thoughtful - I think he would do just about anything for you, my prince.

Now, with Luhan acting aloof, Minseok takes a risk.

"I think you are noble. In a sense. In some ways."

Luhan doesn't look up from his book but his eyes are fixated on one point and his knuckles are turning white from gripping it.

"I think you didn't want to hurt Jongin. I think you knew what that would do to me. I think-"

Luhan slams the book shut and throws it aside, springing off of the couch and striding up to Minseok in a matter of seconds. Minseok's throat dries up when Luhan glowers at him and hopes his hands aren't shaking because he can't feel them.

"You know all the answers, don't you?" Luhan asks, teeth bared, and Minseok shakes his head, gearing up to say something else before the prince talks over him, "You don't, love. You don't have a single clue who I am and what I might do."

Luhan's expression clears suddenly and he smiles, an unsettling stretch of lips, and says, "I see now. You want to see certain things in me, is that it? You want me to be noble, to care, to be so forgiving."

Minseok opens his mouth, but Luhan takes a step closer, edging Minseok back. He takes another step, his pointed shoes between Minseok's feet, and soon, the back of Minseok's legs hit the couch and he falls down into it, neck craned up to maintain eye contact with Luhan. The prince puts his hands on the armrests and leans in, making Minseok press back into the cushions.

"You love me."

It sounds so much more awful coming out of his mouth than it did coming from Jongin's and he nearly flinches.

I don't, he wants to say. I might, he thinks about admitting. You terrify me, would be more accurate than anything, but he doesn't want Luhan to know that. With how messy their lives have been and their relationship has gotten, Minseok doesn't know what love is anymore. He wonders if it's the way he shivers when Luhan touches him and how he aches when Luhan doesn't. He wonders if there's love in the way Luhan looks at him sometimes, eyes soft and lips only barely twisted up into a smile. He wonders what happened to the puppy love he held for Jongin - remembers how easy that was.

"You love me," Luhan repeats with a cruel smile and Minseok just wants to shut him up. He moves quick, grabbing Luhan by the neck and hauling him down, making his knees bend down on either side of Minseok's thighs.

He pours everything he has into one kiss.

Luhan's lips are warm and soft, and they move seamlessly against Minseok's as if they've kissed a thousand times before. Somehow, Luhan ends up turning them until he's the one pressed back against the sofa and Minseok is sitting sideways in his lap, neck craned at an almost painful angle in order to keep kissing the prince. He can feel Luhan's cold fingertips at the sliver of skin exposed from his shirt riding up and he shivers into the touch.

They break away for air, staring at each other and breathing into each other's space. When they kiss again, it's hard to tell who moved in first and it's so much messier - teeth nipping at lips. Minseok makes a needy, little noise that makes Luhan grin into the kiss and he feels himself blushing with shame even as he pulls Luhan closer.

In the haze of pleasure and desire, they end up slipping off the couch and Minseok somehow willingly lets Luhan settle between his spread legs. In the haze of need and want, Minseok ends up hooking his legs over the back of Luhan's knees, grinding up.

Luhan pushes up suddenly, palms flat on the rug on either side of Minseok's flushed face, and his strong arms feel like a cage he wants to stay in. Luhan has a funny look on his face, like he can't decide if he wants to keep kissing Minseok or leave him here - wrecked and panting and spread out on the floor.

"Do you love me?" he asks softly.

Minseok blinks heavily, making an aborted, nonsensical noise that makes Luhan's eyes darken.

"Find your words, dear consort."

"What would you do if I said yes?"

Luhan smiles, his usually immaculate hair messy and hanging in loose bangs, and he leans down a little, mouth just a breath away from Minseok's, and whispers, "Exploit it for all it's worth, of course."

"I'm afraid you'd be terribly disappointed with how much it is truly worth," Minseok bites out, the warmness of their kisses fading and an irritatingly sharp jolt of pain shooting up his chest. He shoves at Luhan's chest, toppling the prince over to his side, and starts to get up. He's caught by the wrist and tugging back down, falling with a oomph into Luhan's lap.

"You've rendered me helpless and hopeless, love. It is just too much fun to tease you," Luhan says, voice deep and sweet.

They stay in the library for a while - Luhan manages to get Minseok back on the rug again and they kiss and kiss and kiss. All the while, Minseok thinks about how Luhan says the word love, how easily some sweet, charming lines slip out of his beautiful mouth, and how he doesn't think he can trust any of it. He thinks about himself, how his own heart singes at the edges when Luhan pretends to not care for him or how he feels like flying with Luhan touches him or how he thinks the word love and means it.

In the morning, Yixing is acutely disappointed in him - says the one that makes the first move is always the one who loses the control. His knight seems to be under the impression that Minseok is being courted and not forced into a marriage. When he points this out, Yixing merely smiles and says, "Well, if you're resisting, my dear Prince, you are doing a terrible job of it."

Minseok chooses to ignore the knight for the rest of the day.

He strolls in the garden, reads books, takes his afternoon tea in the parlor with Tao, and spends more of his evening avoiding Luhan. The prince had previously been out all day, looking haggard and busy as he left without eating breakfast, and he came back in the early evening looking much the same. Minseok had swallowed the urge to ask about his wellbeing after the prince had stormed past him and shut himself in his office.

Thinking about last night's kisses makes his skin tingle and he chastises himself for seeming so easy and pliable. There still hasn't been a formal acceptance or declination of the war, Jongin's safety is still in jeopardy, and Minseok doesn't know where he stands with his future husband.

Yixing finally finds him as he's about the turn in for the night, exhausted from a long day of trying really, really hard to relax. The knight is smiling, fond and sweet, and Minseok rolls his eyes. He places a kiss on the back of Minseok's hand and says, "Sweet dreams."

The twinkle in his eyes tells him exactly what sort of dreams Yixing is hoping he'll have. With a huff, he snatches his hand away from Yixing and slams his bedroom's door shut.

The Hans have been preparing their army in a way that lets Luhan know for sure that they're not going to care about Luhan's say on the matter. They've been waiting for a reason to take Luhan's kingdom for a while now - Luhan's treasury is the largest among the neighboring kingdoms. Han Jiwook, the prince, is also an orphan and a long time ago, Luhan and Jiwook used to be friends. When there were balls, they would always run into each other and they would chase each other, hiding behind their mothers' dresses and giggling. The wars took a lot away from many and Jiwook, much like Luhan, changed.

The Hans are a merciless breed, now. Jiwook has generals that makes shivers run down the spines of the strongest men and he has strategists that know how to exploit immoral things. Jiwook has five cousins, all of them just as ruthless as him, and they've burned down entire villages in order to win wars. Luhan wonders, not for the first time, how incredibly desperate the duke must have been to approach them.

Tao is frazzled, keeps insisting that they fortify their borders before it's too late, and Luhan spends most of the day traveling to some nearby army tents to discuss some strategies with his generals.

His men had previously been at ease - the prince was set to get married, after all, and marriage would then promote him to king. And, the wedding had been the most eventful thing on the horizon. As he shares the growing possibility of the war, the atmosphere darkens.

On some level, it bothers Luhan that Minseok is essentially being used as a prop to wage this war. On a much smaller level, he feels bothered on the duke's behalf, too. But, to the rest of the world, it will seem like a war was fought and lives were lost over some prince from some northern kingdom. Things will be said about Minseok and none of them will be flattering. He'll be degraded and made into an object. Luhan wonders if the duke has even thought about that.

Luhan sends out letters to all his generals the morning after the ball, calls them in from all edges of his kingdom - even the ones stationed at Minseok's castle. He sends his fastest messengers and his generals are accumulated in his dining room by morning of the next day.

They're wearing their armors and have grim expressions on their faces - and when Minseok comes down for breakfast, Luhan sees the accusation in their eyes.

Minseok is startled, stopping halfway into the room and causing Yixing to bump into him from the back. His wide eyes dart from one hardened face to another before they finally settle on Luhan.

"You said you wouldn't," he says, breathy and sad.

Luhan glances at his generals, some of them scoffing at Minseok's soft voice, glancing at Minseok's delicate outfit (he's dressed in all black today, threadbare shirt tucked into sinfully tight pants and there's a red ribbon tie around his neck fluttering down to the middle of his chest). He certainly looks like something men would fight wars for, but Luhan knows he's so much more than appearances. He's willful, judgmental, strong, and manipulative. He's also an excellent marksman. Luhan thinks he could outwit all of the men in this room.

With a sigh, Luhan gets up and walks around the dinning table until he reaches Minseok. He takes his consort's hand and says, "I'll speak with you later, love. Go sit in the parlor and I'll have someone bring you breakfast."

Minseok looks at him with accusing eyes and says, "You can't do this, Luhan. Please, I-"

Luhan grips his hand tighter and says, "Believe in me. I'm only doing whatever is necessary," he lowers his voice so only Minseok can hear, "I'll keep your duke safe."

Minseok doesn't seem mollified, but after glancing back at the generals, he gives Luhan a nod. He turns on his feels, snatching his hand away when Luhan begins to dip down to kiss it, and leaves the room with his knight on his heels.

Tao, who has been standing behind Luhan's chair, diverts the generals' attention and says, "Well, gentlemen, do continue with your meal.

Luhan gives him a thankful look and tries not to think about the phantom feeling of Minseok's fingers on his palm.

"My prince, you'll wear the rug out," Yixing says gently, placing a hand on Minseok's elbow to stop him from pacing. Minseok falls into a chair and drops his head down into his hands, sighing. He wipes his hands across his face and then brings them down to grip at his knees.

"There isn't a reason for all these men to be here unless he's planning to go to war."

"It could also be a defense mechanism, Your Highness," Yixing says, "You must put more trust in him if you wish to be trusted in return."

Minseok glares at him, but he knows the knight is only trying to look out of him. After a few minutes of panicking and ignoring the food placed in front of him, Minseok gets up and starts to head back towards the dining room. Yixing catches his arm and pulls him back, asking, "Where are you off to?"

"There is probably a discussion happening that will affect me so I don't see why I shouldn't be a part of it."

Yixing says, "I'm afraid you'll kill the discussion before you can convince them to let you be a part of it," and at Minseok's shaky expressions, he adds, "I will go instead. Wait here."

Minseok hates this, being told to stay put by men who think he can't protect himself, but Yixing is already walking away and Minseok knows the men in the dining room will welcome him.

After wallowing in bitter thoughts for a few minutes, he hears footsteps and looks up expecting Yixing. Instead, he sees a stranger wearing a general's uniform - hair slicked back, hat under his arm, and handsome features drawn into a sneer. The hostility makes Minseok stand up, feeling defensive even though he doesn't know what he's done to earn it.

"Thought I'd take a closer look at Luhan's pet before I left," the man says and Minseok feels like he's been punched in the gut, "Though, as I look at you, I see I shouldn't have bothered. There are faces like your in every brothel of my city."

His voice is rich and deep and so, so hateful, and Minseok feels small.

"How dare-"

"Please," the man says, holding up a hand, "Don't bother. Luhan is truly blind and you've made him look so stupid. You've tarnished his reputation and now you're going to make him lose his men in a stupid war. He deserves so much better than you."

That's when Minseok notices the jealousy the man's every word is soaking in. He's in love with Luhan, so clearly and passionately.

"He's going to marry you," the man says, mouth twisting up in distaste, "And, you're useless."

"That's quite enough, Xiang."

The man's eyes widen at Luhan's voice and he swallows, bowing slightly and saying, "I beg your pardon, Prince."

At Luhan's dismissal, Xiang leaves the room - sparing Minseok one last look of disgust and hatred. Luhan looks tired, rubbing at swollen eyes, and Minseok feels a twinge in his heart when he notices how pale he is.

"Jilted lover?" he asks and Luhan laughs softly.

"We had a few nights together back when I trained with the army. He seemed to take them more to heart than I did," Luhan explains.

"I thought," Minseok says, avoiding Luhan's eyes, "Well, the cooks said you never took a lover, never courted."

"They're right, but that doesn't mean I was a saint."

"You've had - you've done -"

"Yes, love. I'm not a virgin. Why?"

Minseok's heart sinks a little at that. It's not like he'd held a romanticism of Luhan's purity, about being Luhan's first, or anything. He'd just thought, well. He'd just hoped that the first time he laid with a man, they would both be equally as nervous, equally as new to all the sensations. As it turns out, his future husbands has had his fair share of samples and Minseok has only ever been kissed.

From his flushed face, Luhan seems to make the right conclusion and horror encompasses him as Luhan asks, "Have you never fucked?"

The crude word only makes him flush redder and he tries to hide his face under his bangs, but Luhan closes the space between them and tips his chin up.

Luhan's eyes are dark and glittering, and he says, "You're intoxicating."

When Luhan kisses him, pulling him close and spreading warm fingers across his back, Minseok forgets about the war and fucking and the angry general. When Luhan kisses him, Minseok truly does become useless.

Xiang is there at dinner, sitting rigid across the table from Minseok, and he keeps leaning over - laying a hand on Luhan's arm and then whispering in his ear. The food tastes like ash in his mouth and his grip on his fork is starting to hurt. He doesn't like that Xiang knows Luhan in ways Minseok doesn't, that there are even more people that know Luhan in ways Minseok doesn't. He doesn't like that Xiang's touch is familiar on Luhan's arm as if he's touched him countless times before, he doesn't like how comfortable Luhan is with Xiang's presence - how he leans in and listens with rapt attention every time the general talks.

Minseok has a mark on his neck that Luhan had sucked and imprinted, and he occasionally fingers at it by tugging his collar down just a fraction.

It's unconscious at first, but after noticing how Luhan's eyes darken and focus in on the mark, he starts touching it more frequently. He thinks that Xiang might have known Luhan in other ways, in more ways, but Minseok is the only one who knows Luhan now - intimately. Xiang doesn't know that it irritates Luhan if you scratch your fork against the plate like that. Xiang doesn't know that the little twitch in Luhan's smile is anger and the way it softens when he looks at Minseok is love. Xiang doesn't know that today's meat is Luhan's favorite and Xiang keeps bothering him when he's just trying to eat.

Xiang could have been under Luhan any number of times and he still wouldn't know Luhan.

Minseok excuses himself from the table after he finishes with dinner, not missing Luhan's eyes following his retreat and Xiang's glare.

Yixing catches him on their way out, leaning down to whisper, "If you're in a rush to stake your claim, my prince, you need only move the wedding forward," and earning himself an elbow to his stomach.

There are generals milling about the entire castle and every time Minseok passes one of them in the halls, he receives derisive snorts or glares. He almost wants to shout at them, tell them he's to be their king soon, but it feels wrong. He didn't earn this kingdom, or these people. He hasn't done anything to earn these generals' respects and he understands that. To them, he's just some boy they're being forced to go to war for, never mind the fact that the war isn't about Minseok at all.

Still, it's a little exhausting being treated with such hostility the whole day so he secludes himself to the library and makes Tao and Yixing keep him company for as long as they can. Yixing has, at some point, given Luhan his complete loyalty, stating that he'd be happy to serve someone who cares for his prince so much. Tao has, in turn, given his loyalty to Minseok and told him his name is actually Zitao.

And, Zitao is pleasant, witty, and a friend, now. For a while, Minseok doesn't feel alienated and hated.

Eventually, Yixing and Zitao are called away and Minseok is left alone with a book on ancient civilizations. It's a riveting read, but Minseok can't seem to concentrate and when he hears the library's door open, he quickly drops it to the side to give Luhan his full attention. The prince looks tired, but he's smiling - soft and strangely unguarded. It makes Minseok stand up and when Luhan is within his reach, it makes him stretch up to press a kiss against his lips.

Luhan looks surprised. Happy.

He wraps an arm around Minseok's waist and pulls him close, brushing his hair to the side and tucking some behind Minseok's ear with his free hand.

"Your duke is safe," he says softly. He's still smiling, but Minseok catches glimpses of sadness, insecurity, and longing.

He brings his hands up to Luhan's shoulders and says, "He's not mine. Not anymore."

"What of you, love? Whose are you?"

Minseok smiles, pressing another kiss on Luhan's mouth, and says, "No one's."

Luhan's arm tightens around his waist but he doesn't dispute it, doesn't assert himself, doesn't say anything. He just leans in for more kisses. They both know the truth anyway.

Luhan takes Minseok to the training grounds for sword practice. There's a storm coming and Luhan can't risk Minseok being defenseless. He needn't have bothered, thought, as Minseok bests most of generals and even leaves Xiang sprawled out in the dirt. It seems his consort is as brilliant with a sword as he was with a bow and arrow.

"You'll have to teach me that last trick," Luhan says, pulling Minseok close to his side as they leans against the wall and watch some generals spar.

"Give up all my secrets? No, thank you, Your Highness," Minseok teases, grinning.

It's a nice day. The summer heat is creeping up but it's still pleasant, cool. It's a little cloudy and there's a faint scent of flowers about them that mutes the clashing noises of the swords. There's a war on the horizon and Minseok, for this moment at least, doesn't care. Luhan is soft and warm next to him, grinning, and Minseok can't even remember what he looked like in the forest. Can't imagine this Luhan telling calling him princess and mocking his sadness.

Minseok seems lost in his thoughts, beautiful mouth frozen in a smile, and his hair is blowing delicately around his ears, hitting his cheeks sometimes. His big, pretty eyes look ahead, out of focus, and Luhan rubs a thumb against the jut of his hipbone gently - startling his consort out of his daydreams.

"Is something the matter, love?"

"I'm just worried," he says quietly, "Wars never end well - no matter who wins."

Luhan pulls him closer and kisses his temple, saying, "This one will. I'll make sure it does."

"You're aware I'll be coming with you, correct?"

Luhan sighs.

"Yes. If anyone knows how bull-headed you are, it's me."

That earns him a smile, a fond roll of eyes, and a light smack against his stomach. He laughs and does his best to feel the courage he's been displaying.

Miles away, Han Jiwook smiles.

"Let's go to war, gentlemen."

The war is formally announced as summer hits and Minseok thinks about how it's only been two seasons since he's been taken away from his home and lost his father. So much has changed since. He's changed. His stomach no longer coils when Luhan is near and he no longer wants to be anywhere except the castle - anywhere other than home. And, it's ironic that now, only now, he's heading towards a carriage.

They have to relocate to a neutral area for the time being since they've accepted the war proposal and it's been decided by the high counsels that they'll be moved north. It's a three day ride in and on the morning of the relocation, Minseok is a nervous mess. Luhan and him have become even closer the past week, and it's been nice. They've been smiling despite the sense of foreboding enveloping them and they've been sleeping together, inches apart but always ending up tangled come morning. The generals have been strategizing and despite their intense dislike of Minseok, Luhan had insisted that Minseok sit in during the meetings. He'd provided some key strategies that the generals had begrudgingly acknowledged and he'd flushed happily under Luhan's proud gaze.

"Do not frown, my prince," Yixing says, coming down the steps and stopping next to Minseok (who's been staring at everyone loading into the carriages for the past minute).

"I'm not frowning," Minseok says automatically, frowning deeper and earning a laugh from the knight.

"Prince Luhan has never lost a war," Yixing assures, stepping all the way down and reaching out a hand for Minseok to take. Minseok is then lead down the stairs until he's on grass. "You needn't worry."

"What if he gets hurt?" he asks softly.

Yixing is quiet, rubbing his thumb across Minseok's knuckles, and then he says, "He won't. Not with us behind him."

Minseok's chest just tightens and Yixing gives his hand one last squeeze before heading off towards the other generals. He sees Xiang's default scowl for him from a distance and looks away. Luhan is by the carriage closest to the gates and he's talking to Zitao, making gestures and seemingly asking questions from the way Zitao keeps nodding. After a few minutes, Zitao places a hand on Luhan's shoulder, squeezes, and lets go. He then heads towards the carriage Yixing previously boarded.

Minseok glances away and sees Luhan looking down at his feet, lost in thought. Taking in a deep breath, he makes the walk over and puts his hands on Luhan's shoulders, lowering himself so his eyes meet Luhan's and force his head to straighten. Luhan's thoughtful, tight expression melts into a smile as he wraps his arms around Minseok's waist and pull him in for a kiss.

"I have a surprise for you when we reach the first town, love," Luhan says with a perfect, bright grin that Minseok wants to keep for himself.

"More tight, black pants?" Minseok asks teasingly and Luhan pretends to hum thoughtfully before shaking his head, "Diamond collar brooch?" and that earns him another playful shake of the head, "Perhaps a horse?"

"I feel as though these are all things my consort desires," Luhan says and Minseok smiles impishly, making Luhan tighten his hold and promise, "I will give you everything your heart wants. Always."

Minseok gives him a kiss and steps out of his arms. Luhan moves towards the carriage and holds his hand out to help Minseok step up into it. He comes in right behind him, settling into the carriage after giving some orders to the driver. He hears a click as the horses start moving and the carriage rattles as it moves off the grass and onto the road out of the castle. Minseok rests his head on Luhan's shoulder and closes his eyes.

Han Jiwook stretches, taking in a deep breath and then slumping forward on the desk. His arms splay out across the wood, scattering papers and books, and he rests the side of his head on the right arm. He blinks heavily as he looks out the windows that cover most of the wall, all the curtains drawn open. It's a beautiful day. It's summer, after all. Jiwook absently watches birds chirp and flutter about the trees.

The war will be fought in a few weeks and Jiwook's skin has been itching with excitement all day. His cousins have shifted temporarily into his castle for convenience and he'd spent hours discussing strategies, discussing weaknesses and strengths of Luhan's army. Now, it's early evening and his skin is thrumming instead with contentedness.

Everything is finally falling into place. Luhan is within his grasps finally and he can take back the lands Luhan's father had captured from his cousins' families years ago. After all this is over, Jiwook will have to find a way to thank the Duke. He'd presented him the golden opportunity when he'd come riding into the castle grounds, wet from the rain and haggard from searching for his betrothed. He'd been frantic as he explained how no one wanted to help him once they heard about Luhan, and Jiwook's heart had twisted.

He'd had the Duke shifted into one of the wings right that day and had promised him his betrothed.

Jiwook closes his eyes, rubbing his head into his arm and smiling. People are so easily controlled by emotions, so easily molded by situations. It's enthralling, fascinating. Jiwook had witnessed Luhan morph from a bright, happy child to the empty shadow of his father, and it had made his mouth water. All that power behind that pretty face, restrained at social events and revealed in war - handsome features turning ugly with vengeance, blood spattering across that smooth skin. And for all that mess, all the kingdoms he took over, the fatality rate was always minimal and the villages under his rule always flourished. As though he was simply taking over land to make it better instead of increasing his treasury. Luhan is the type of person Jiwook likes to study the most - that curious balance between mindless violence and hopeless kindness.

Luhan is a juxtaposition in and of himself, and Jiwook is so excited to see it up close. To take Luhan's power and strip him of his land and pluck his little toy out of his hands. Jiwook laughs, the sound echoing in the empty office

It's a beautiful day.

The surprise is Kim Junmyeon, opening the door to the small mansion they're going to stay at until they finish the rest of the journey. Minseok hugs him before Luhan does, which makes all three of them laugh.

Junmyeon cups Minseok's face and asks, "My, what has that brute done to you?" in a sort of fondness and gentleness that reminds him of his father. He blinks back tears and Junmyeon smiles, moving to pull Luhan into a hug. He then slaps the side of Luhan's shoulder, saying, "If I'd have known you'd wear him out so, I would have taken him with me when I left."

They settle into their rooms and then meet for lunch at the dining room. Junmyeon brightens the mood, making jokes at his own expense to get the generals to loosen up, and Minseok feels almost carefree for a moment. When he looks to his side and catches Luhan's grin, eyes wet from laughing too hard, everything comes back in a quick, painful jerk. He could lose this man. He could watch this man die and he wouldn't be able to stop it and he'd have to spend the rest of his life without him. He could lose another person important to him.

When he looks away, he sees Yixing towards the end of the table and his heart jerks again. There's too much on the line. Too many people. Jongin could get hurt, Yixing could get hurt. Junmyeon, Zitao - all these people he cares for. Will any of it be worth it?

He hopes the Hans will come to regret the day they pulled so many people Minseok loves into war.

Luhan is nervous. Uncomfortable. Scared.

He's not used to feeling any of the three, and the combination of them is making him dizzy and nauseated. They're finally at the base camp and they've been setting up tents the whole day, organizing their supplies and gathering all the information. He's in the main tent, a map spread out before him and a dozen generals trying to speak at once. Minseok is by his side, arms crossed and face drawn into a tight frown as he looks at the map. He watches Minseok come up with something that makes his face light up.

He calls for the attention of the generals with confidence, loud and bold, and Luhan tingles all over with pride. This is his future husband, this is the man who will rule by his side.

Minseok lays out a strategy that's brave instead of underhanded and smart instead of clever. The generals, having somehow gotten over their distaste of the prince, are grinning - patting Minseok and settling down to iron out the plan. They'll attack mid-morning, aiming for the side where the Hans are notorious for having only a string of weak soldiers. The Hans always keep their strongest the closest to their royalty - selfishly.

It's a clean plan. Simple and almost obvious. But, somehow, only Minseok thought of it. As they retire for the day, Luhan pulls his consort close and kisses him. I love you, is stuck in his throat - unfamiliar and terrifying - as he looks at Minseok's pretty eyes.

I'm afraid to lose you, is there too, more unfamiliar and even more terrifying.

They have to make rounds around the perimeter to make sure the Hans aren't going to pull some underhand tricks. It's a harmless preemptive move, but Luhan still looks unsure when Minseok says he'll go with Junmyeon's men. He swipes a thumb across Luhan's cheek and stretches up to kiss him, promising to be right back.

"You will scarce have missed me by the time I am once again in your arms,” Minseok says softly.

Junmyeon groans and drags Minseok away from Luhan, shouting, “Spare me! I’ll have your consort back in one piece.”

As they mount horses and begin the patrolling, the sun is setting. Minseok is a little antsy, but it feels good to be out of the tents. The air is sticky with summer humidity, but as the night rises, there are gentle, cool breezes fluttering their hair and clothes. Minseok and Junmyeon are leading the pack side by side and it's nice. It almost makes him forget why they're doing this in the first place.

As they reach the end of the boundary and turn to make their way back, crossing their path with the one of other group making rounds, Minseok gets that itch under his skin from being away from Luhan for this long. His shifting and sighing makes Junmyeon laugh.

"I can hardly believe it was only a few seasons ago when you couldn't wait to leave him and now you're squirming from being apart," he says teasingly and Minseok rolls his eyes.

Everything happens too fast. Minseok is turning his head towards Junmyeon, catching the edges of his smile, and the evening sun gets in his eyes. He blinks and he hears a shout. A thud follows and Minseok turns to look back the same time he hears the thunder of horses. He sees blurs of black and red before an arm is looping around his waist and yanking him effortlessly off his horse and onto another one. He hears Junmyeon shout his name as his hands are looped in ropes and tied to the saddle.

As the shock fades and the urge to escape kicks in, he hears a sword being unsheathed and he sees it from his peripheral vision before the handle of it is slammed against his head.

The last thing he hears is Junmyeon yelling his name and an unfamiliar voice against his ear whispering, "Goodnight, kitten."

Minseok wakes up - or, jerks awake with this sinking feeling of falling. Either way, he opens his eyes and has to squint against the brightness of an unfamiliar room. It takes a while to come to, realizing the situation in steps: he can't seem to move his arms, he's tied to a chair, and he's placed in what looks like a parlor. He's alone and he blearily blinks at the lavish furnishing, squirming in his chair to test the ropes tying him down.

It's midday, he guesses, from the amount of sunlight streaming in from the two long windows at one side of the room. Two sides of the room are open to the rest of the place - manor or castle, he can't really guess.

He tries shifting his weight around but his legs are tied and the chair seems bolted to the floor.

Just as terror and panic starts to set in, he hears the clack of footsteps approaching and quickly closes his eyes, slackens his body. The footsteps stop near him, perhaps a foot away, and then, there's a soft pat as if the person is thinking - contemplating. One set of footsteps moves slightly away while one moves forward, confusing Minseok's sense until he feels fingers graze his jaw.

"I suppose," a dry voice (familiar in a way that makes his heart drop, the voice from the kidnapping), "He might seem exquisite to someone of unsophisticated taste. I had expected more from my dear friend, Luhan, but adulthood changes the best of them, doesn't it?"

There's a gruff, "Of course, Sire," that sounds perfunctory more than anything.

The fingers leave his jaw and the footsteps recede, followed by a thump that makes Minseok guess perhaps someone's taken a seat.

"Call the duke in, he'll want to see his little fiance."

Hans. Minseok's heart jerks, his body feels too warm, too cold, all at once. He's been captured by the Hans and they have Jongin.

"You can stop pretending to be unconscious, now."

Minseok opens his eyes and gets his first look at who is undoubtedly Han Jiwook. He's young with an ancient air of cruelty and an intent to harm about him. He has pitch black hair that parted to the side in way that creates a swoop of hair over his forehead and curls in - slicked perfectly into place. His eyes are a strange color, a grayish brown that's unsettling, but his features are distinctly similar to those of Minseok's homeland. He's definitely from the north, but it seems the Hans migrated to the south for territory.

He's handsome in a ethereal way, all golden skin and sharp features. The simple black and white suit he's wearing just makes him handsomer.

When he smiles, Minseok feels an unreasonable urge to tear away the ropes and run.

Quick footsteps drag his attention away from Jiwook and he sees the anxious face of Jongin - the duke falling to his knees in front of him and reaching to cup his cheeks.

"Darling," he says, "Oh dear, what have they done to you?" he runs his hands over the ropes, checking for any other source of discomfort, "Untie him."

Minseok sees the way the other men in the room hesitate before Jiwook makes a flourishing gesture with his hand. He's untied in a few seconds and he slumps over into Jongin's arms as soon as he's free.

It takes him a while to gather enough strength to push away from Jongin and stand up on wobbly legs. His knees nearly buckle but he grabs hold of the chair's back just in time.

"I need to," he says, voice scratchy, "I need to get to Luhan."

Jongin frowns, fingering at the hair matted to Minseok's forehead with sweat, and says, "You're delirious, darling."

Han Jiwook rolls his eyes and stands up with fake cheer, clapping his hands together and saying, "Well, we've kept our end of the deal, duke. Now, let's see what information your little kitten has before you go off to play house."

Minseok frowns and Jiwook grins.

"I'm going to kill Luhan, take all kingdom, and destroy those cute little villages he's set up," he informs brightly, eyes dead and unsettling, "Hope you said your goodbye to your prince, kitten, because you will never see him ever ag-"

When Minseok lunges at him - slapping away Jongin's cautious hands - it takes several large men to pull him away.

Jiwook watches him be led away with an impassive expression, fingering absently where there are thin lines of blood on his cheek from Minseok's nails.

Luhan goes to bed expecting to wake up with Minseok curled up next to him, but is instead rattled out of sleep with harsh pounding at his door. When he swings the door open after stumbling blearily out of bed, he is greeted with an anxious group of men.

Junmyeon has dirt on his cheeks for some reason, hair all out of place, and Yixing looks murderous. Luhan's stomach instantly tightens in fear.

"They've taken him," Junmyeon says, grabbing Luhan's forearms and curling his fingers into the fabric of his sleep shirt.

"They've taken Minseok."

Luhan's knees buckle.

They put him in Jongin's room, tossing him with such force that his hip hits the foot of the bed frame and he crumbles to the floor. Jongin is there seconds later - having followed the grappling men, yelling at them to let Minseok go - and his hands feel too warm and constricting as they gently cup his face.

"He took me to throw Luhan off, not keep the deal with you - you know that, right?" Minseok says, voice hoarse from the profanity he'd spat out earlier.

Jongin frowns and he sounds shaky when he says, "It doesn't matter. You're safe now. I'll bring you back to my manor and we can get away from all of this."

Minseok pushes Jongin's hands away and says, "No. I have to go back to Luhan."

At Jongin's crestfallen face, his frustration grows. He never told Jongin to do all of this to save him. He never asked for Jiwook to kidnap him. He never wanted Luhan to be put in this position. Just when he managed to find happiness and peace after his father's death, the rug was swept out from under his feet once again.

And, now, he's housing in a lunatic's castle and being used as a pawn.

Well, he thinks - straightening up - Han Jiwook is in for a bitter surprise. Minseok has never been known for being particularly subservient and he's curious about what will happen if a chess piece just drops off the board all together.

"They want you to panic," Tao says, laying a cautious hand on his shoulder that's promptly shaken off as Luhan leafs through papers with shaky fingers.

"Your Highness, please-"

"You don't know what he's like," Luhan says, "Jiwook was a loose canon as a kid and he's worse now. He could do anything to Minseok."

"The duke-"

"Is useless!" Luhan shouts, nearly swiping all the papers off the table in his frustration, and Tao sighs.

Luhan slumps down into his chair and rubs a hand across his forehead. Staring off in front of him, he sees Yixing talking to several generals with urgency. They've been trying to figure out a way to get into Jiwook's castle in a way that doesn't start the war early or make them look like instigators. For all the counsel knows, Minseok has returned to where he belongs instead of being kidnapped.

His heart twists to think of Minseok in the hands of that sadist.

Suddenly, they're interrupted by a soldier who comes rushing in and presents Luhan with a piece of parchment.

"We've just received this from the Hans, Your Majesty."

Luhan bolts out of his chair and rips the letter out of the boy's hands, immediately unfolding it.

In neat, cursive, it reads -

Dear friend,

It surprises me that you didn't guard your little kitten well considering the 'talents' he possesses. Regardless, you'll have to forgive my manners - I simply ran out of patience and Duke Jongin is dreadful company when he's heartsick. I am, however, looking forward to meeting you on the battlefield, Luhan - perhaps reminisce our childhood.

Yours Truly,

Han Jiwook

Luhan lets the letter drop the table, where it's immediately snatched up by Yixing. His hands curl into fists and his heart feels like it might jackrabbit out of his chest.

Han Jiwook likes the play with fire and it's about time he burned.

Jiwook wakes up feeling quite refreshed, the prince's curses and yells from last night serving as a lullaby, and he'd come down to dine with a soft smile on his face. To his surprise, instead of being welcomed by warm bread, he comes in to see his staff trying to reassemble the dinning room.

Frowning, he grabs the nearest servant by the elbow and turns her towards him. She's flustered, immediately breaking into apologies until one of the other staff members intervenes.

This one is more poised, though she also has a dull flush in her cheeks that could be from fear or anger.

"Your Highness," she says with a light courtesy, "I apologize for the mess."

After a nervous glance to the side, she continues with, "Prince Minseok was," she winces as she tries to settle on a word, "emotional."

Minseok, he thinks as sharp irritation engulfs him. Fucking Prince Minseok.

"Where is he?" he asks, keeping his voice level even as his head pounds.

"Duke Jongin has taken him to the parlor for the time being," she says, but Jiwook is already stalking out of the room and heading towards the parlor. He hears the prince's shouts before he sees him - You don't understand, Jongin, he needs me - and as soon as he's in view, the prince rounds on him.

His cheeks are flushed pink in anger, knuckles white from clenching his fists, and he seems to be shaking.

"Why am I not allowed to leave the castle?" he asks, "I thought I was a free man since you rescued me."

His face twists as he says rescued and Jiwook smiles despite the pounding headache.

"It's for your safety, dear Prince," Jiwook says with a flourish, hand on his heart in mock servitude, "There's a war at our doorstep."

Minseok smiles, then - expression dripping with so much malice that Jiwook is nearly startled. The hatred looks out of place on him, twists his pretty features into something powerful, something intimidating. Seems like the prince learned a thing or two from Luhan. Jiwook snorts slightly, reminded of his childhood friend, and shakes his head as if to shake away the memories.

The prince seems to take that as dismissal and seems to gear up to scratch at Jiwook's face again when the duke interjects with a hesitant hand on his shoulder.

Jiwook wonders what it is about the snarling kitten that makes powerful men look like simpering fools.

Jiwook is surprised with the prince comes down for dinner that night, strutting in like he owns the place with the duke tailing behind him with that stupid forlone look Jiwook had really thought would be gone by now. He sits down primly and begins to eat. He keeps his eyes down and eats politely, with sophistication.

There are about five of his cousins and a few generals seated all around the table who keep glancing at him now and then. Once the snide comments begin, Jiwook puts on a mask of indifference though he's eager to see the prince break.

"Oh, he's so pretty, brother," Jimin says, lips painted red and curled up in a deceptively sweet way. She's seated next to Minseok and fingers at a few flyaway hair near his ear, smile widening when the prince pauses and stiffens.

Jihoon snorts - says, "You've been surrounded by army men for too long, sister, that's all it is," and takes a sip of his wine.

Minseok's ears are red, because no matter how much he wants to pretend to be unaffected, his heart must be pounding with shame or anger.

The duke's mouth is twisting like he's about to say something, but Jiwook taps a knife against his wine glass and gently says, "Enough."

His cousins fall silent, though the looks don't stop, and Jiwook watches Minseok little red ears all through dinner.

Once Minseok's mind clears enough for him to think without wanting to break everything near him, he plots. When he tried to play up submission and leave the castle with Jongin - say he's ready to head back to Jongin's mansion - Jiwook had merely smiled and insisted once again that the precaution was for their own safety. Minseok had nearly punched him.

Jongin has been sulking all day and Minseok is suffocating.

He needs to figure out a way to take Jongin safely to his mansion and head back to Luhan. He knows Jiwook wouldn't have a problem with letting Jongin leave by himself, but the matter is making Jongin leave. The duke wouldn't take one step outside without Minseok's hand in his.

So, Minseok plots.

It isn't until he catches one of Jiwook's cousins eyeing him that he comes up with a plan.

Han Jihyuk looks very similar to Han Jiwook but he moves different, talks different. He's softer, he's slower, he's slow to blame and quick to defend. Minseok can tell after just one dinner that he's the weakest link among the cousins, the one who receives little remarks and just smiles through. He's still a Han, though, and Minseok knows better than to trust a warm, friendly face just because it's warm and friendly in that instance, for that one time.

He's seen Jihyuk berate staff members and he's overheard Jihyuk exchange gruesome war strategies (clever, but gruesome) with the generals. He's seen the man eye him up and down like he'd like nothing more than Minseok tied to his bed and forever at his mercy.

Because for all of Jihyuk mild-mannered, good-natured smiles - he's still a Han.

It takes him a week to convince Jongin to go back home and it's only after stating a dozen reasons that make him feel sticky with guilt. He tells Jongin his family probably misses him. Tells him to think of his sister, of his mother, his father - how they need him to take care of them as war looms heavy above the land. He tells Jongin he'll stay out of trouble, that he'll stay in Jiwook's castle and keep his mouth shut and ride out the war in the backseat.

Reasons and lies. Because Jongin's family does most likely miss him and need him, but that's not why Minseok needs him to leave. And, he isn't planning on riding the war out like some weak little boy. He's planning on stopping the war.

Jiwook is wary when Jongin announces he'll be taking a carriage back home, eyeing Minseok like he knows he's behind it, but he lets the duke leave. He's pulled into a tight embrace and given a shaky, watery smile, an aborted, I love you, on Jongin's lips.

Minseok doesn't linger on it, though. He understands love means different things to different people. Jongin will find his own happiness somewhere else and Minseok is otherwise occupied worrying about a prince and a knight.

The war seems to be stagnant for some reason and try as he might, Minseok can't divulge the information from anyone in the household. He's on a constant circle of waking up with nightmares of Luhan with daggers in his heart or Yixing bleeding and alone, he dines with Jiwook and his awful cousins, he secludes himself into his room with some books he's blatantly takes out from the library under Jiwook's nose, and he comes down for dinner. He goes to sleep after tossing and turning and then it's rinse and repeat.

It's exhausting.

The war that was supposed to start merely days after his kidnapping isn't showing any signs of happening. Jiwook looks calm and poised, and all the generals and the cousins have little meetings about the war as if it's really at their doorstep. Minseok hasn't seen anyone really leaving the castle since Jongin rode away and he feels as thought he might go insane soon.

It's gotten to the point where he begins to welcome Jiwook's attention, no matter how indifferent and cruel.

Free time allows his introspection and he thinks about Luhan in the early days. He wonders if Jiwook's seclusion could force him to like him in some twisted way, just to get attention or affection or something from someone. He quickly forgets the idea. He's not so feeble-minded to let that happen and he has Luhan's memories sticking strong enough in his head that it feels stupid to worry about it in the first place.

With Luhan, he'd had Yixing. He'd had a constant source of comfort and his feelings for Luhan were merely accidental instead of circumstantial. They were born of his own accord and manifested by his own hands.

Here, without Yixing and without Luhan and with Jiwook useless push and pull, his biggest worry is killing someone just to get to see them again.

A few days after Jongin's departure, Minseok accidentally manages to get Jihyuk alone and a plan is formulated in thin air. He's in the library, plucking out books about the dynasties hundreds of years old, and he turns with an involuntary gasp when he hears a thud behind him.

Han Jihyuk looks just like his cousin when he smiles, all charm and poise.

"I apologize. I simply came to get some poems. My sisters like to hear me recite a few pieces before they retire for the night," he explains unprompted and when Minseok just blinks at him, he grins.

"Not much for conversation, are you?"

It knocks Minseok into reality, makes his heart twist in his chest even as he forces himself to act bashful. Because shyness, uncertainty, makes men like Jihyuk feel entitled to certain things.

"I'm away from home in a place where I have no friends," he says softly, making sure to drop his gaze demurely, "There is no reason to converse in the first place."

Jihyuk lets out a laugh and Minseok thinks he looks like a snake. A poisonous snake with pretty scales and a quick tongue.

"I'm afraid the lack of hospitality is our fault entirely," he says, moving forward with his hands folded behind him, "Us cousins have never been the most social bunch, but I suppose the circumstances don't help either. I've heard you have a friend still on Luhan's side. I'm so sorry we couldn't save him, too."

Minseok's body thrums with the need to punch him. Yixing doesn't need to saved. Minseok didn't need to be saved. Jiwook has fed them all bullshit or maybe they all know it, too. Maybe they just like to play little games for the fun of it. He wouldn't put it past the Hans.

Jihyuk's eyes flicker down to Minseok's lips, settling heavily when Minseok pointedly bites them in a facade of nervousness.

"Don't worry," he says, voice dropping, "I'll make sure we keep your friend safe if you so wish."

Empty promises, Minseok thinks. Externally, he blinks heavily and forces out of a look of gratitude. He seems to have guessed Jihyuk's misplaced, grossly misguided hero complex exactly, because the man gets this hungry look on his face as he looks from Minseok's eyes to his lips to his hands to his open collar.

He's been wearing his old clothes that Jongin had delivered from Minseok's house. The familiarness of them had made him happy and sad at once. These clothes belong to a different, carefree Minseok.

His shirt of today is almost sheer white with a lacy collar that opens around his collarbones almost seductively. He's wearing tight pants that ride high on his waist and make it look thinner than usual. The pants are stuffed into sleek boots and the outfit is finished by a thing ribbon fluttering around the collar of the shirt.

He remembers stitching it, remembers his seamstresses, and never once did he think he'd use this as a way to seduce some horrible man so he can finally go home. His new home. His real home.

"Please," he makes a show of begging, "I'd do anything."

Jihyuk's grin widens and darkens on cue. He reaches a hand out and traces his fingers around Minseok's collar, tilting his head and asking, "Anything?"

Minseok's body freezes even though this is exactly what he'd been hoping for, working for.

When Jihyuk dips down for a kiss, he closes his eyes and imagines someone else.

He cries. Something breaks inside him under Jihyuk's rough hands and warm lips and he cries until he thinks he's emptied his body out. Jihyuk would have fucked him against the wall of the library if he hadn't acted coy and nervous about it, escaping with his head lowered. His heart had been at his throat until he'd left the library.

Eventually, he runs out of tears and sheer determination sets in. He'll make Jiwook regret taking him, regret using Jongin just to start a war, regret forcing Luhan into the war. Everything. He'll pull apology after apology out of Jiwook and he won't stop until Jiwook cries - breaks.

Kim Minseok might be a lion after all.

Jihyuk finds him the next day when he's pacing in the library going stir-crazy after failed attempts at listening in on Jiwook's little strategy sessions. He's circled the entire castle, has ventured out of every available exit only to be escorted none too gently back inside. It's been a little over a week since he's been brought here, nearly two days since he managed to make Jongin leave, and he still hasn't the slightest clue as to what's happening. Doesn't know why the apparently inevitable war is at a stand hold and Jiwook looks curiously at ease every time they cross paths.

Han Jihyuk stalks in like he has all the answers and Minseok is ready to get them. Even if he has to duck his gaze shyly and bite his lip, drawing Jihyuk in like a moth to a flame.

"Good morning, Prince Minseok," Jihyuk says, all charm and handsome smile as he leans against the bookshelf Minseok had been pacing in front of, "You look lovely."

Minseok knows that. He's wearing all black with red silk around his collar which is tied up in a bow on the front. He's forgone his usual boots for sleek oxfords to make himself look smaller and appeal to the very apparent sleaze in Jihyuk.

"Thank you, Your Highness-"

"Jihyuk," he interjects with a grin, "Please call me Jihyuk when we're alone."

He looks down and tries to look pleased even as his stomach flips unpleasantly. He brings his hand up to fiddle with the silk tie, fingering above it at his throat - inviting Jihyuk to stare at his neck.

Jihyuk comes closer, reaching over to touch the skin displayed to him, and it's only the thought of seeing Luhan again that helps Minseok suppress the urge to throw up.

For someone from a cruel and calculating as a family as the Hans, Jihyuk is surprisingly easy to manipulate. Shy glances make him stupid, shy smiles make him even stupider. By the end of the day, he's trailing behind Minseok like a puppy and has earned himself one or two glares from Jiwook - who, luckily, apart from calling Minseok a whore, doesn't really seemed concerned or suspicious.

When it's time to turn in for the night, Minseok invites Jihyuk out to main balcony at the front of the parlor.

It's humid and sticky out, but there's a pleasant breeze coming that Minseok closes his eyes against. When he opens them, Jihyuk is staring at him with a transfixed expression and soft smile.

Minseok smiles back and says, "I apologize, Your Highness, I must have been lost in my thoughts."

Jihyuk frowns until Minseok laughs lightly and says, "Jihyuk. I keep forgetting."

His frown immediately melts and he steps closer, stroking a thumb across Minseok's cheekbone.

Hoping his flinch comes off as shyness, Minseok says, "I have a favor to ask of you. If you'd be so willing."

Jihyuk splays his long body over the banister and makes a gesture for Minseok to continue.

"I want to leave this castle," he says, rushing to add, "I don't feel comfortable with so many strangers and such a foreign place. I haven't the slightest clue when the war will begin and I don't intend be around to see it start. I want to be far away and safe and-"

Jihyuk grabs his hand and unceremoniously drags him close, wrapping an arm around his waist.

"You needn't worry, Minseok," he says, "The war has been postponed after one of Luhan's cousins came to the council and created a scene. Terribly underhanded way to delay the war, but there you have it," he trails his fingers under Minseok's jaw as his gaze softens, "As for your safety, I intend to take personal responsibility. After we've taken over Luhan's kingdom, I'll take us far away myself."

Minseok's heart drops and desperately, he says, "Your Highness, you misunderstand. Being in this castle is suffocating me and Han Jiwook won't let me leave unless you convince him otherwise."

Jihyuk frowns, shifting away slightly, and says, "Jiwook will never let me leave when there's a war present. We cousins are his main strategists."

Minseok knows that and it's what he's been counting on as he pretends to think and fret.

"Perhaps I can leave first and you can come later," he says, trying to appease Jihyuk's frown by rubbing a hand up his arm and resting it on his shoulder, "I'll be away from the mess and after everything is over and you've truly conquered such a vast kingdom, I'll be yours."

Jihyuk doesn't seem entirely convinced, but he starts melting under Minseok's sugar sweet words and soon, he's thinking of a way to sneak Minseok out. He's so happy that when Jihyuk crushes his lips against his mouth, he just closes his eyes and tries to kiss back.

That night, Minseok lets Jihyuk into his room but doesn't let him inside his body. Jihyuk is insistent, pushier than ever stating he won't see Minseok for a while and they should make the night count, but Minseok is just as resilient. He makes up excuses - says he'd feel uncomfortable with them having their first time in a foreign space with an impending war at their doorstep.

Though he pouts, Jihyuk doesn't push further. Instead, they stay up formulating a plan. It's simple and that strangely comforts him instead of making him anxious. Simple plans have always worked better for him, after all.

In the morning, Jihyuk immediately gathers his cousins and suggests they do some field work, says Prince Sehun can't possibly delay the war any longer. When Jiwook stations a few guards to keep an eye on Minseok, Jihyuk discreetly nods. As predicted, he picks from the men Jihyuk can easily manipulate - men that won't be needed on the field.

In the shuffle of everyone leaving, Jihyuk manages to give a few instructions and Minseok manages to make himself look a lot less excited than he feels.

The simple plan works perfectly as he's on a horse leaving the castle by the afternoon. Jihyuk has directed everyone to the south so Minseok heads west towards the forest. He has a few provisions that will last him the week it's supposed to take him to get to Jihyuk's private manor - giving him more than enough food and water to last the day it's supposed to take to reach Luhan's tents. Unfortunately, avoiding Jihyuk's troops means he has to go around them, making him journey a few days longer.

Regardless, he's pretty secure in his supplies until it starts to rain. The horse he's riding isn't used to him or used to his voice and once it panics as thunder rolls in, Minseok falls off and into the mud.

With a sinking heart, he watches the horse race away with his supply of food and water. It's getting darker by the minute and in desperation, he begins running through the forest hoping he runs into a cabin or the beginnings of a village.

Finally, just as the last sliver of light begins to fade, he spots a few lamps up ahead. It's a small, fairly empty village, but there's a pub where Minseok can hear loud noises and faint piano music. Panting, he rushes towards it and swings the door open, immediately feeling warmer and safer.

His presence is quickly noticed, as rowdy, rough men turn to look at him. If he wasn't already muddy and wet, his clothing would have raised suspicion. The man from behind the counter is the first to speak up, saying, "Well, come sit down, kid."

The conversations in the pub have easily picked back up and Minseok can see several men gathered by the piano with whisky glasses in their hands as they chat with the musician. There are men on sofas near fireplaces and men on stools around the bar. There are men smoking cigars and men empty-handed. In all, it looks like a cheaper and a less stiff version of the parlor parties royalties hold.

Only a few men close to where he sits down seem to be curious about him once the bartender diverts everyone's attention and then puts a glass of water in front of him. He has a warm smile, laugh lines, and a salt pepper beard. In an aching sort of way, he reminds Minseok of his own father.

It's the first source of kindness and comfort he's felt in a week.

"A little far from home?" he asks, voice deep and soothing.

Minseok anxiously pats at his wet hair, trying to smooth it back off his forehead, and says, "I suppose," keeping his voice low enough so that the few curious don't hear.

The man watches him gulp down the water and then says, "If you need somewhere to dry off, you can head over to my cellar. I might have some of my son's old clothes I can find for you, too."

His eyes prickle with tears and he blinks rapidly. He's profuse in his gratitude, but the bartender brushes it away with a warm laugh. He's ushered to the cellar and after a while, a comely woman comes down with a bundle of clothes. At his shivering frame, she tuts and covers him with a blanket. Her reprimands feel maternal and like home and Minseok's throat is tight with emotion.

After she leaves him to get changed, he strips off his muddy wet layers, patting his body down with the warm cloth and water she brought him, and puts on her son's clothes. They're large on him, the white cotton of the shirt nearly revealing his shoulder and the beige pants have to be rolled up so he doesn't trip. They are, however, warm and dry and clean.

She brings him warm tea next and he gratefully takes the cup, reveling in the warmth that spreads over his chest and down his body. She asks a few questions and he makes himself out to be a Lord whose horse got spooked and he lost his riding party. She suggests sending out a letter, but he assures her he'll make his way back himself.

The sweet couple offer him a small mattress for the night and after he has breakfast with them in the morning, he bids them farewell. He kisses the woman's cheek and hugs the man, almost feeling like his parents are with him again.

A little walk through the village leads him through the stables and fortunately, he'd thought of tucking his money pouch (with the few coins Jihyuk had handed him) into his pocket and not his luggage. A few minutes of bargaining with an attempt at hiding how desperate he is, he manages to score a common barn horse. She won't be fast, but she'll do.

After that, it's a day long ride with breaks at the villages he crosses to buy bread and water. He sleeps in a forest for another night and then makes the trek further. Finally, he spots a route that's familiar - the one he'd taken with Junmyeon when they patrolled the perimeter. Heart thumping with excitement, he rides through the path and squint against the bright sun to see the red tents of Luhan's army.

He sees some activity, some generals sparring, and quickly dismounts - tying his horse to the leg of the nearest tent. And, then, he's scrambling, nearly tripping in his haste to find a familiar face.

The first he sees is Zitao, who's walking out of a tent with parchments in his hands. He looks up briefly and then does a double-take, eyes widening as Minseok stumbles closer - nearly falling twice before he reaches the man. On his third stumble, Zitao catches him under his elbow and gapes at him.

"Prince Minseok, how did- how did you-"

Minseok feels tears of happiness prickle his eyes and he smiles, "I'll tell you the whole tale in time, dear friend, but for now, if you could take me to your charge."

Zitao understands immediately, leading Minseok towards the tent he just came out of. He thinks about the lax security near these tents, how anyone could have walked in, and worry settles in his heavily until the thick red material of the tent's front is lifted and Zitao ushers him inside by lowering his head.

Minseok's heartbeat is loud in his ears as he ducks down and then straightens up after entering the tent. He sees Luhan right away, like he's been conditioned, and he's got his hands on the desk while he's frowning at the map on it. He's alone and he must be expecting Zitao because he says, "Perhaps we could consider this route-" absently as he starts looking up.

As soon as he sees Minseok, he freezes.

Several things seem to happen in quick succession and yet seem to take years to happen - Luhan straightens and lets his hands slide off the desk, he blinks once (heavily, slowly), he moves around the desk, he walks towards Minseok (eating up the distance with his long legs), and grabs Minseok by the back of his neck and yanks him close.

Minseok closes his eyes as soon as he has his face tucked into Luhan's neck and finally - finally - he thinks he can breathe.

It feels like a dream, Luhan thinks, having Minseok back in his arms. He's been a wreck for a week and some days - pulling at his hair and worrying everyone who cares about him. Sehun's plan to halt the war had worked like magic but he still had no strategy to get Minseok back. And, there he came - like a dream - as beautiful as ever with some new roughness to him that made him seem all the more beautiful.

In commoner's clothes and looking thinner - Luhan grits his teeth. Jiwook is going to regret ever taking Minseok.

As if sensing his thoughts, Minseok curls a hand around his and pulls at it - working a smile out of him by simply being there.

They've been standing in the same spot for what feels like hours, staring and soaking in each other as if a week changed what a decade might. Finally, Luhan remembers some other people who might want to see Minseok, too.

Yixing nearly lifts Minseok off the floor - eyes shiny with tears as he pets worrying hands all over his prince looking for signs of injury or distress. It takes hours - private ones Luhan isn't privy to - to calm him down.

He gladly gives up those hours even though he's just now got his betrothed back because he understands that urgency. It's the same way Zitao reacts whenever he's even the slightest bit tired.

He lets them reconnect, lets Minseok sooth that terrified ache in Yixing.

Junmyeon is composed and warm and welcoming - pulling Minseok into a hug that lasts nearly a minute. But, when they pull away, they're both crying.

It takes a while for Minseok to tell his story - from Jongin to Jiwook to Jihyuk (the latter making Luhan want to rip something apart). But, he doesn't skimp on details and doesn't shy away from questions. He looks stronger somehow, Luhan thinks, as if he fought a thousand battles in that week. As if he has some newfound wisdom inside his head, his pretty eyes bright and alive.

He talks about Jiwook - one of the most frightening people alive - as if he's just a spoiled little boy.

It's breathtaking and Luhan spends a lot of his time staring - afraid to touch. Minseok takes control of that, too, pulling Luhan close once everyone retires for the night. The kiss is sweet and soft, nothing like the desperation he might have expected.

They fall in bed together, overlapping and content.

Morning brings its own troubles.

Zitao suggests they find a way out of the war now that Jongin is safe and Minseok is back. Minseok stiffens, expression hardening, and his voice is like nothing Luhan has heard before when he says, "They'll just find another reason to start a war. No, we'll finish this right and we'll finish it now. Teach them a lesson they'll never forget. Enough is enough."

Luhan feels shivers (not all terrible, not all good) creep up his spine, but his heart settles all the same when Minseok turns to him and says, "Let's go to war, love."

Minseok seems to deflate, but it's only after discussing strategies that startle awe and respect from Luhan's generals. It's only after he's vented out his frustrations through hypothetical war moves - all gruesome and devious and clever. The fire in his eyes settles to a low, dim flame and he slumps into Luhan's arms when he guides them out of the tent.

Luhan's personal tent is made of red draperies and has several layers to it, but the biggest area is naturally the bedroom. It's decorated blandly - Luhan has barely used it apart from falling into it tired and wrecked every day he had to spend without Minseok. There are softly lit lamps all around, all in glass and glittering prettily. They cast shadows through the tent and across Minseok's tired face.

Downcast eyes suddenly brighten, however, once they run over the room.

"It's warm," Minseok says softly, lost in his thoughts, "I remember the last night I spent here."

Luhan almost moves to hold him again, but Minseok seems curiously distant and the line of his shoulders seems tense, withdrawn.

"Nothing has changed," he says, "It's as if nothing has changed at all."

He turns to Luhan then - eyes wide and imploring as if waiting for Luhan to tell him something different.

"Love, come sit down," he says, holding out his hand, "You look about ready to faint."

Minseok smiles gently at that and takes his hand, letting him be guiding over to the bed. After Luhan ushers him to sit, he moves away to blow out some of the lamps and pulls down some of the draperies to further shield the bedroom. The space suddenly has a different vibe and when his eyes meet Minseok's, his pulse races sharp and sudden.

Their relationship has gone through some drastic changes - from strangers to enemies to hesitant friends to something so achingly close to love to this. This strange middle ground.

Minseok pats the space next to him on the bed and Luhan moves to sit exactly there with a hesitant expression - openly beseeching.

He can feel his heart pounding, ears ringing with it, and when Minseok cups his cheek, he can feel the warmth spread all over his body. Electric and sweet - much like Minseok himself - a feeling sparks inside Luhan that makes him suddenly urgent as he moves in closer and presses a kiss on Minseok's lips.

Desperation claws at his throat as he grips Minseok's waist with one hand and holds his jaw with the other, kissing him like he's trying to crawl into his mouth. Minseok is just as desperate, fingers in Luhan's hair and body inching closer until he's nearly sitting on Luhan's lap.

They break apart just as suddenly, panting and staring at each other. Luhan stands and starts shedding his clothes unabashedly, eyes glued to Minseok's wide, lust-blown ones. There's a sweet blush on Minseok's cheeks, reminding him of his innocence and what the Hans tried to steal and corrupt and taint. Anger battles with his lust and he nearly rips his shirt trying to control his emotions. When he moves to touch Minseok again, this time nearly without clothes, his consort jerks back.

"You're thinking of them," he says, "I don't want you to think about anything else when you lay with me."

"Then I won't," Luhan says firmly, urging Minseok onto his back and crawling up on top of him, arms caging his prize in, "You need only ask," he dips down to graze his lips along Minseok's jaw, "and I will deliver."

Minseok cradles Luhan's face, pulling him back enough to look into his eyes, and says - so sweetly - "I know."

The desperation that had settled to a hum in his veins comes back abruptly and he kisses Minseok again, trying to devour him whole. His consort is whimpering now, tiny delicate noises that spread heat into Luhan's body and mind and soul - permanently rendering him helpless to them.

They reposition blindly - feeling around the bed with their hands because they can't seem to stop kissing - until Luhan is on his back and Minseok is perched on his pelvis, chests pressed together. He smoothes his hands down Minseok's back and over the sweet curve of his ass, squeezing lightly. The pressure makes Minseok whine right into Luhan's mouth, grinding his hips - needy and slow.

Minseok breaks the kiss slowly, moving from Luhan's mouth to his chin to his jaw before straightening. Hands on Luhan's chest, ass perched right on his cock, with a blush staining his cheeks - he looks like a mixture of innocent and so, so deliciously corrupt. And, when he lowers his eyes and begins to untie the ribbon tie around his neck, he looks so beautiful it twists Luhan's stomach into knots.

The red lace is slid off and discarded to the side and then trembling, pale fingers undo the buttons of the stark black shirt revealing a smooth, toned chest and pink, hard nipples Luhan can't resist rubbing a thumb over. Minseok gasps at the touch, body arching away from it instinctively and then arching right back into it with sharp desire. His shirt has slipped off his shoulders, sleeves to his knuckles, but he's distracted from the rest of his task when Luhan sits up. The abrupt move presses them chest to chest, Luhan's arm tight around Minseok's waist while Minseok's hands come to rest gently on Luhan's shoulders.

He takes Minseok's mouth again, kissing him hungrily as his free hand smoothes down Minseok's side and then finds those pretty nipples again - squeezing between their chests.

Luhan tilts them the other way, laying Minseok on his back softly and then crawling back to slip his pants off. He kissing every inch he bares, working little noises out of his consort, and then does away with his own undergarments. He falls back into Minseok's waiting arms once they're both nude, coming up between Minseok's spread legs.

"Will you let me do one thing, Your Highness?" Minseok asks, hands cupping Luhan's face and tracing the edges of it.

"Of course," Luhan breathes out in a heartbeat.

Minseok begins repositioning them and has Luhan sit up against the headboard of the bed, against the pillows. Then, he crawls between Luhan's legs, hands on his thighs, and kisses the edge of his hipbone. He lets his lips slide along until they reach Luhan's belly, laying sweet kisses along the way, and his cheek bumps against Luhan's cock.

He follows the thick hardness with his cheek until he can turn his head and mouth at the head of it.

Luhan immediately curses, sucking in a breath.

His consort's eyes glitter with filth and lust as he takes Luhan into his mouth and begins bobbing his head up and down. Luhan wants to squeeze his eyes shut as pleasure overwhelms him but he can't seem to look away from his consort - working his cock like he's been trained for it. Something dark and sick twists in his stomach wondering - hypothesizing things he has no right to.

It makes him reach out to hold Minseok's hand and let his fingers twist into the soft hair. A sharp tug makes Minseok chock around his cock and move off with gasp. His lips are shiny and red and used. Luhan takes his cock into his own hand and guides it to rub the tip against the shiny, red flesh. His other hand keeps Minseok's head in place and he lets his cock push Minseok's plump lower lip down.

Nearly dizzy with lust, he shoves Minseok onto his back and crawls back between his legs, kissing him as he slips a hand to his consort's ass. He lets his fingers slip between the cheeks and find the tight hole.

"Luhan," Minseok whispers, "Please."

Scrambling blindly to the side, he manages to dip his fingers into the oil set at the table for the lamps and immediately slips one wet digit into his consort, coaxing him open. Minseok throws his head back, neck taut and swallowing loudly, and keening softly when Luhan works the finger in further.

Minseok's nails dig into Luhan's shoulders, scratching up a storm, and he slips another finger inside his consort just to feel them sink deeper.

There's a beautiful sheen of sweat on him, perfect hair out of place and messed up and mouth swollen - eyes open just a sliver, scorching and glittering. He's every sin Luhan would damn himself for again and again.

A sweet curse falls out of the red mouth when Luhan adds a third finger, open him impossibly wide and pumping the digits in a tantalizing mockery of what's to come. His consort gets impatient then, squirming and gyrating his hips and begging for something bigger - something faster.

Luhan lets his fingers slip out and then urges a breathless Minseok to get on his hands and knees.

Minseok moves and nearly collapsing because his arms won't stop trembling. His spine curves almost unintentionally, ass sticking out by default, and the thoughtlessness in the action sends dark spikes of pleasure through Luhan's body. He revels in the fact that he's the first to see this side of Minseok and he will always be the only one. The only one to see the span of perfect, soft skin - wide shoulder blades swooping into a small waist and then expanding out into a perfect ass.

He feels reckless and desperate as he spreads Minseok open with a thumb, looking at the wet hole before guiding his cock in with his other hand. He sinks in so smoothly it makes him groan and it makes Minseok curve his spine even further, looking like a cat in heat.

Luhan sets a slow pace, a languid and easy one that makes Minseok huff and work his hips back onto Luhan's cock - silently asking for more. And, really, Luhan always has a hard time denying his consort anything.

He keeps one hand on Minseok's hip and the other firm around Minseok's shoulder, nearly yanking his body back onto his cock with every thrust.

Minseok keeps mumbling a string of nonsensical curses and moans so prettily Luhan can't see straight. His thrusts become more and more frantic, knocking the breath out of Minseok every time, and then he reaches around to jerk Minseok's cock.

A few jerks have Minseok coming, back arched elegantly for someone who's just ruined silk sheets. His ass clenches around Luhan's cock by reflex and Luhan is coming - sharp and sudden.

He falls on Minseok's back as his consort's arms give out and bites into his shoulder as he rides the waves of pleasure. Breathing heavily, he moves Minseok's hair to the side to press a sweet kiss behind his ear and then slumps into the curve of his neck.

"I love you," he whispers - the words foreign and terrifying.

He moves onto his back, turning his head to Minseok who's facing him - eyes soft and mouth curved into a sated smile. He reaches over, turning to his side as he does, and fits himself into Luhan's side - head pillowed on his chest.

"I love you, too, my prince," he says and Luhan's heart nearly beats out of his chest.

Morning brings with it soft kisses and almost shy smiles. The soiled sheets have been kicked off onto the floor and they're sharing a thin cotton sheet between them, bodies flush together and overlapping.

Minseok is trying very hard to memorize every inch of Luhan's face, wants to know his moles by heart and be able to trace his lips with his eyes closed. He wants to spend the rest of his life in this very bed in the middle of a forest in Luhan's arms, wants to pretend there's no war - no kingdoms. Pretend Luhan is the merchant's son and he's a potter and they met by coincidence in the market - eyes meeting over the heads of hundreds of busy villagers.

And, maybe Minseok blushed and Luhan smirked and an hour later, Luhan had Minseok pressed against the back of some pub, littering bruises all over his neck.

Something like that. Something sweet and innocent and not forced by circumstance.

His expression must show it because Luhan frowns slightly, cupping his cheek and asking questions with his eyes. Minseok just shakes his head and smiles.

He's about to lean over to kiss his prince when there's a shout outside of the tent. Luhan springs up and begins dressing haphazardly as the shouts get louder and more frantic. Minseok has just tied a robe around his body when Zitao's voice asks, "If I may enter, Your Highness-"

"Come in," Luhan says, finishing stuffing his shirt into his pants and smoothing his hair back.

Zitao comes in and barely spares the disoriented room a glance before looking at Luhan and saying, "The Hans just attacked the south port."

Minseok's heart drops and the easiness of this morning, the sweetness of last night, seems like a distant memory as Luhan's face hardens. He looks every bit the terrifying prince that stormed into Minseok's kingdom and the way he says, "They have really used the last of my patience," is reminiscent of Daddy's dead, princess.

His prince's demons are very much alive and Minseok only hopes he'll be able to quieten them once again.

+//+

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