Chapter Text
~ 💛 ~
The summons arrived on the first day of spring, hand delivered by the same guard they’d met that morning in Yeosang’s courtyard. Hongjoong half considered apologizing to him for the unfortunate way that meeting went, but the grumpy guard seemed less than enthused as he shoved the letter into Hongjoong’s hand and told him that he should probably gather his things, plus anything Wooyoung might need.
“What? Why? Where are we going,” Hongjoong asked, but the guard—Jongho?—just glared at him with a stony expression, refusing to give anything away.
So, Hongjoong decided to make him wait while he quickly skimmed the letter’s contents, including the brief note on the back that had been written in Yeosang’s small, tidy script. Then he showed the letter to Wooyoung, who’d wandered out of their shared bedroom and was watching them with the kind of suspicion that said far too much about his life back at home.
“Huh? The council wants to see us? But why? What did we do?”
Good question. And while Hongjoong suspected he knew the answer, he didn’t want to say anything while their current company was still in earshot.
“Don’t worry. Everything’s gonna be fine.” Thinking fast, he retrieved a satchel from the bottom of their wardrobe and quickly slung it over his shoulder, jostling its contents with a soft clink. “Better safe than sorry,” Hongjoong murmured to himself, catching Wooyoung’s eye with a smirk when the former maid blatantly stared at the bag. “Got anything you want to grab?”
“Like what? I didn’t exactly come with much,” Wooyoung quipped, and Hongjoong gave him a quick once over, quietly cataloging the borrowed clothes that Yeosang had delivered to their room.
“Fair enough. Good thing I planned ahead.” He patted the satchel at his hip, then turned to Jongho and arched a brow as he adopted his best imperious smile. “Well? Aren’t you gonna show us the way?”
The muscles in Jongho’s jaw visibly tightened beneath his skin, but the rest of his face remained unnaturally smooth as he stepped away from the door and gestured out towards the hall. “Of course, Captain. Right this way.”
“Thanks.” Hongjoong hooked an arm around Wooyoung’s shoulders and steered him out of the room, catching a whiff of sweet smelling perfume as Jongho moved to take the helm and lead them where they needed to go—as if they could really say no.
“Grumpy bastard. Think he’s still mad at us,” Wooyoung whispered, and Hongjoong gleefully tossed him a smirk.
“Oh, definitely. He’d probably run us through if he could.”
“Yeah, probably. Can’t say I blame him though. He was just doing his job.”
Which was why he was still alive. Hongjoong may be a pirate, but he’d never stoop so low as to kill an innocent man—although he was strongly considering knocking him out again as Jongho led them through a seemingly endless parade of corridors until they finally came to a large set of doors that had been elaborately decorated with colorful jewels and painted with lacquer that glistened like gold.
“Wow…pretentious much,” Wooyoung muttered under his breath, making Hongjoong snort with laughter before the double doors slowly swung open and Jongho ushered them inside.
“Let’s just get this over with. I’m ready to return to my ship.”
“Your ship? But why—”
“Kim Hongjoong. Jung Wooyoung. How nice of you to join us today.”
Hongjoong’s head snapped around at the sound of his name, and he quickly locked eyes with the source as an older man stood up from the table dominating the center of the room. He was vaguely familiar, and pretty good looking, but his arrogant smile ruined the effect as he pretended to offer a courteous nod and then held up a long paper scroll.
“Do you know what this is, Mr. Kim?”
“Uh….” Hongjoong squinted his one good eye, but he couldn’t make out what it might be. “No. Should I?”
The man’s smile stiffened ever so slightly, etching itself deeper into his flesh. “This, Mr. Kim, is a list dictating every crime you’ve committed upon your entry into the palace.” He flicked his wrist and tossed the scroll onto the table, where it unrolled to reveal a massive wall of jet black ink that was twice as long as Hongjoong’s forearm. “As you can see, it’s quite extensive. But feel free to take a closer look.”
Right.
As if his crimes didn’t speak for themselves.
“That won’t be necessary. I’m sure you’ve done your due diligence,” Hongjoong drawled, keeping his tone intentionally light as he cocked his head to the side and smiled at the council with all of his teeth. “So…? What happens now? Are you going to arrest me? Throw me in prison for crimes against the crown?”
A muscle twitched in the councilman’s brow, but before he could respond another voice cut through the room with the powerful thrust of an arrow through bone.
“Of course not. You have a royal pardon. Isn’t that right, Councilman Eden?”
There was a long and uncomfortable moment where no one in the room said anything at all, because all of them were too busy looking at the powerful figure who emerged from the shadows with the quiet clink of his matching glass shoes. He was dressed all in red with the royal house crest, and his hair shone like a ripple of moonlight as he approached the table with his right hand outstretched, a similar scroll to the one on the table clasped within his pale, veiny grip.
Hongjoong already knew what it held, of course, thanks to Yeosang’s sneaky little note, but that didn’t stop him from rubbing it in as he graciously bowed to the newly crowned Prince and accepted the scroll with a sly wink.
“Ah! Perfect timing, Sang—I mean, Your Highness.”
Yeosang’s blank expression fractured for a second, replaced by something overflowing with warmth before his gaze shifted over to Eden and pinned the man in place with a glint. “Well, Councilman? I think that settles matters, don’t you?”
“….Yes, Your Highness,” Eden conceded, and Hongjoong was surprised to see that he actually looked somewhat amused by his plans being so easily foiled. “But what about him?” He pointed a finger at Wooyoung, who less than politely returned the gesture without a single ounce of shame. “Your pardon is only for Captain Kim Hongjoong. It makes no mention of anyone else.”
“Actually, it does. Just not by name,” Yeosang retorted, curving his lips into a smile. “My pardon also covers Captain Kim’s crew, and anyone who sails on the Illusion. And since Wooyoung is going with him, he’s equally protected under its clause. Right, Captain?” His dark eyes flicked to Hongjoong, and Hongjoong felt a stabbing pain deep down in his chest that begged to be named, or even addressed.
But there was no point in dwelling on the past.
The time for closure had already passed.
“Yeah—I mean, yes, Your Highness,” Hongjoong rasped, forcing himself to look at Wooyoung instead of the royal dressed in all red. “Jung Wooyoung will have a place on my ship as long as he wants to be there.”
“Oh…seriously?” Wooyoung’s mouth dropped open slightly, and for a split second Hongjoong saw the same emotions within himself reflected on his angular face. Which meant they were in the same boat, watching it sink beneath their feet, and damn if that didn’t make him feel a kinship with the former maid.
“Seriously—assuming, of course, that that’s what you want.”
“It is! Fuck! It definitely is,” Wooyoung cried, with only the barest whisper of a lie clotting the words inside his throat. But Hongjoong wasn’t an idiot. He heard them loud and clear, rattling around like a thick spool of chain, and yet he kept that fact to himself as Yeosang clapped his hands together, ending the conversation then and there.
“Wonderful. Then if that’s all, I’d like to have a word with the Captain in private.” Yeosang pointedly stared at the door, and every single member of the council hastily rose to their feet in an effort to evacuate the room.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
“We’ll just see ourselves out.”
And so they did, with Eden being the last to leave as he swept past them with his head held high, an enigmatic shadow in his pressed black robes that didn’t even bother to say goodbye.
“Tch. Good riddance,” Wooyoung grumbled to himself, flipping the councilman off one last time before he swung the double doors closed and plunged the room into silence again.
But just like before, it didn’t last long.
“Finally. I was beginning to think he’d never leave,” Yeosang sighed, perching himself on the arm of a chair as he casually swept a hand through his hair. It was such a stark difference from the dignified royal who’d just beaten the council at their own game, and Hongjoong found himself beaming with pride while Wooyoung squealed and scurried over, pulling Yeosang into a bone crushing hug.
“Sangie! That was amazing!! You really tore those assholes a new one! But why didn’t you tell me about the pardon, huh?! Are you keeping secrets from me now?!”
“No, Youngie. Of course not,” Yeosang laughed, swatting his best friend away. “But I couldn’t risk anyone finding out. I may be in charge of the council now, but that doesn’t mean they won’t try to undermine me every single chance that they get.”
“Yeah. Clearly,” Hongjoong scoffed, snatching up the scroll from the table so he could waggle it in the air. “Who put this together anyway? That decrepit old fuck?”
“Who? Eden? No. And he’s not even that old! He’s in his late thirties.” Yeosang dodged a kiss from Wooyoung that would’ve landed smack on his birthmark, then straightened up with a tiny sigh that carved creases into the corners of his eyes. “That list was actually crafted by Seonghwa. I think he has a vendetta against you.”
“Seonghwa? OH! You mean the Duke,” Wooyoung scoffed.
“The Grand Duke. And yes. Him,” Yeosang drawled, plucking the scroll out of Hongjoong’s grip. “He knows someone has been stealing from him, and this is his way of getting back at you.” His expression turned slightly judgmental as he glanced at the satchel on Hongjoong’s hip, as if he somehow knew what it held.
Then again, maybe he did.
He’d always been pretty astute in that way.
“Fine, fine. You caught me! I stole the fancy prick’s stuff,” Hongjoong sighed, throwing up his hands with mock disbelief. “But can you blame me? I’m a pirate, Sang! It’s what I do!”
“Uh-huh. And I’m a Prince. So logically I should throw you in prison for all of the crimes you’ve committed.” Yeosang rolled his eyes and motioned to the bag, a gesture that was just as imperious as it was impatient. “Why don’t you just give me the satchel, and then we can call this whole thing a wash? I’ve already asked San to make sure that your ship is stocked and ready to sail. You’ll have food, clothing, money and alcohol. Everything you two could possibly need.”
Everything?
No. There was one thing they’d be missing, and when Hongjoong peeked at Wooyoung out of the corner of his eye, he suspected that the former maid might be thinking the same exact thing.
Too bad neither of them were brave enough to say it.
“….Thank you, Sang. You didn’t have to do all that.”
“Yeah. Thanks,” Wooyoung mumbled, and Yeosang smiled so damn sweetly that Hongjoong swore he felt his heart skip a beat.
“You don’t need to thank me. We’re friends, aren’t we?” He chuckled softly and extended his hand, and Hongjoong had to blink back tears before he slid the satchel strap over his head and numbly passed it to the Prince.
“Friends…right. Always and forever, no matter what.”
“No matter what,” Yeosang repeated, stroking his fingers across the worn leather as his smile faded into a bittersweet grin. “Stay safe out there, Captain. And please take good care of each other. I don’t want to hear any reports about your ship getting lost or beached on some rocks.”
“Don’t worry. You won’t. But if anything happens, we’ll let you know.”
“Yeah. We’ll send a carrier pigeon or something. Maybe a message in a bottle,” Wooyoung joked, although his eyes were full of sadness and glistened with thinly veiled tears.
Obviously he didn’t want to go. He wanted to stay here, with Yeosang. And Hongjoong didn’t blame him, because he felt exactly the same way. But Yeosang was the Prince Consort now, and he deserved the chance to live his own life with the man who truly made his heart soar….
Which was why Hongjoong decided to do the only thing that seemed right. He turned on his heel and walked away, catching the sound of a rushed hug goodbye before Wooyoung was there right by his side, his cat-like face scrunched up in a smile that could never fully disguise his dismay.
“Time to go, Captain?”
Hongjoong stole a glance his way, then fixed his eye on the long walk ahead as he extended a hand for Wooyoung to take. “Seems like it.”
“Great! I’ve always wanted to go on an adventure,” Wooyoung crowed, and Hongjoong couldn’t help chuckling to himself when his new crew mate suddenly snatched at his hand and squeezed it until his bones ached. “No palaces though, right? Because I’m sick to death of noble bullshit.”
“Ha. You and me both,” Hongjoong smirked, and he heard Wooyoung laugh beside him as they left Yeosang and his new life behind to start a journey towards their own.