Chapter Text
He held the first Prince of the fallen Kingdom down by the neck in the maddening fast paced stream of the Western river.
Prince Kim Dokja choked, gurgling river water as it climbed over his face and into his eyes. The rising sun reflected in those very eyes, blinding him from properly defending himself. Yoo Joonghyuk's fingers dug into the space between his jaw and his shoulder, punishing, sentencing him to a death feared by most. Yoo Joonghyuk kneeled in the shallow river as Kim Dokja's head dipped under and was maintained there by the force of his hands.
First, the Prince struggled. The nature of any human being. Kim Dokja clawed desperately at the hands grasping his neck, he choked, he blinked river water out of his eyes, the bottom of his head flattened against jagged edges of infinite pebbles underneath the flow of the water.
Then, he stopped. His eyes stayed open, staring, unseeing. Yoo Joonghyuk held him down for a period longer than necessary, just for good measure. And then he pulled the other up by the collar, dragging his body onto the shore.
Yoo Joonghyuk turned, unable to give a proper funeral to a prisoner of war, "May the Lord forgive me for my sins."
"He shall, I'm sure."
Shock shattered the silent poker face of the executioner.
Kim Dokja sat up straight, loosened his collar and spat out some water, "I'm not that easy to kill, you know."
Yoo Joonghyuk unsheathed his sword with the crisp sound of wind. At once the blade was at the neck of the other.
Kim Dokja smiled, "Try it."
Yoo Joonghyuk swung and the traitor's head rolled off onto forest floor. Blood mixed into the soil.
But then, with a scent of poisonous magic, the head rolled, it rolled unnaturally, closer to Kim Dokja's body. All Yoo Joonghyuk could do was watch this grotesque act, this defamation of the pure ways. And suddenly, enraged, he moved to stop the head but it flew into action, reconnecting tissues, muscles, blood vessels and skin until it was once again a part of Kim Dokja.
Yoo Joonghyuk grabbed him by the hair this time, "YOU— YOU’RE AN—"
The other's bloodshot eyes relaxed and opened, "—An immortal, yes."
The executioner's grip grew stronger. He pulled the other's hair hard, manhandling him to look up.
There wasn't even a sign of a blade cut where his sword met the smooth skin.
Kim Dokja grinned, "Not by choice, though."
"Shut up." Enraged at this black magic horror, Yoo Joonghyuk slapped the other across the face. He hurriedly tied the Prince's hands together and connected the rope to one of his own hands. Getting up, he forced Kim Dokja to follow him to his horse which was near a tree, deeper in the forest.
"Are you sure I can't drag you off?" Kim Dokja pulled at the rope but nothing he did moved the other's iron hold grip on him, "Well fuck me then, what do you eat for breakfast?"
"Shut up unless you want another slap."
"Yoo Joonghyuk, don't you think-"
At once the traitor's face was gripped by a single hand, stopping him from speaking, " How do you know my name?"
"Trade secret."
Yoo Joonghyuk scoffed, letting go and forced him forward towards the horse instead. The horse neighed, and startled at the sight of his master. "Calm down."
Yoo Joonghyuk disconnected his hand from the rope tie, "Get on first."
Unwilling to be tossed about again, Kim Dokja obeyed. The executioner got on behind him and bracketed the other in his arms to catch onto the reigns. With a crisp sound the two were off, to the new King's Palace.
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"Father!" The old King's head was taken by the siege leader.
"No!" Kim Dokja's mother pulled him back out of the throne room. She rushed until they were both in one of the guest quarters, away from the war. Tears streaming down her stern face, she whispered, "No! You stay here. They won't kill you. They can't. You mustn't let them find out! Run away! Don't get caught!"
"Mother, no-" The prince grabbed at the gown of the Queen, "Where are you going?!"
"I'm not your mother! " She yelled, escaping the clutches of the orphan they had picked up maybe ten years ago. One who was wise beyond his years. Only later did she find out how wise, and how old.
And then she left the room, to buy that orphan some time to run away. The Queen was slain just like her King, and the Kingdom fell.
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"So, Yoo Joonghyuk, Joonghyuk-ah?" Kim Dokja tilted his head up and sideways to glance at the other, only to bump into his chin, "Ow. Sorry."
The executioner’s glare was piercing. "Would you rather I gag you if you can't stay quiet?"
“Does that mean I have a choice?” They had been on the path to the castle for a while now. It had been about an hour of pure silence. When they had left for the river at daybreak to avoid crowds, Kim Dokja was too asleep to be bored, but now... "Moreover, aren't you interested in what I was going to say?"
"No." The horse went on.
"Your master–" Kim Dokja scoffed, "Oh wait, your King will be disappointed to know you couldn't kill me. Or will he be overjoyed to see an Immortal he can torture?"
The reaction was lackluster as there wasn't a reaction at all. The sun had long risen and was a circular disk behind inching clouds in the sky.
"Yoo Joonghyuk... The King Yoo. Can you tell what's similar?" The horse squealed at the immediate stop. A dagger was at the fallen Prince's neck.
"How the fuck do you know that?"
"It's getting boring now, Joonghyuk-ah. Stop trying to threaten me with a death that won't count." Yoo Joonghyuk could almost feel the smile on the other's face, "Instead let me tell you why you going back with me now will ruin you, not me."
The dagger pressed in as red was exposed in a thin line. Yoo Joonghyuk moved the dagger minutely to get off the horse and drag the other off. Almost immediately the other was pressed onto a tree. Kim Dokja spoke again, "Your father hates you. He has you as an executioner when you should be training as his heir. But you want his attention-"
"I don't want his attention."
"But you do. And how do you get it? Kill an immortal." Kim Dokja lifted his hand to press it onto the other's face gently, "I can tell you how you can kill me."
"And why would you do that?"
"Because I'm not too fond of living."
"And why should I believe your answer?"
"Because I won’t lie to you. Try it. I'll answer truthfully to any one question you have now." The hand on his face was pinned above Kim Dokja's head at that. The executioner, the young man, barely even twenty, hovering at a height over the fallen Prince's, had a choice to make.
This was either the best or the worst decision he had ever made.
"How do you know my name?"
Kim Dokja's eyes were unreadable, "I've known you since before you were even born."
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