Chapter Text
It was almost like the nights passed too quickly after that.
All it had taken was a kiss lying down in the middle of the road in a pile of snow well into the night for Changbin and Felix to realise that maybe the reason they’d avoided each other for so long wasn’t just because of Felix’s past.
Maybe it was also refusal to admit that they were crazy about each other.
A whole week had passed since the snow-filled kiss and yet Felix was still running on the summer high.
He felt like he had gold in his veins, warmth in his heart, love in his whole body. He’d been sneaking kisses with Changbin ever since and it was absolutely thrilling. His whole being was tingling with absolute ecstasy.
Him and Changbin had also taken to trying to get to know each other even more. Changbin had asked every question that could ever possibly be asked about magic and Felix had answered as best as he could.
Even when they were laying in bed together one night, Changbin laying on Felix’s chest, when Changbin had quietly asked whether Felix would want to properly take up magic full time again.
The question had stumped Felix, made his heart leap into his throat, but he’d been honest when he’d answered that he’d love to do magic again. But he’d need someone to teach him, and that someone would have to be far, far away from the kingdom because Felix’s biggest fear was still the execution post and he absolutely refused to risk letting the king drag him anywhere near it.
Changbin had looked disappointed at the answer, but he understood. They both wanted Felix to be able to pick up magic again, but there wasn’t a way, not when they were both still trapped as the prince and his knight.
But Felix was learning to take the small victories he could get. Sharing a warm bed with Changbin every night was a victory. Conjuring up little snowflakes for him whenever they were in secret was a victory. Getting to hold hands throughout the day and share subtle glances whenever the king said something stupid was a victory.
And their night-walks… their night-walks were a victory.
They made sure to share a kiss in the snow every night, only the stars twinkling down to watch them and the Moon keeping them safe from harm.
Felix would light little snowflakes to follow behind them, wisping through the air and disappearing by morning, leaving no trace of Changbin and Felix behind.
The only people who knew about them were Chan, Jisung, Minho, Hyunjin, Seungmin and Jeongin, and they were all extremely keen to keep it that way.
Just the right amount of secrets had been spilled. They all knew that they couldn’t risk anymore.
But, as they were soon to find out, sometimes when a snowstorm started, it was impossible to make it stop. The only thing they could do was cling to one another and hope not too much had been broken by the time it finally ended.
Something else was about to be broken.
Felix could feel it.
He didn’t know why he had a bad feeling. He didn’t know why his heart was starting to thrum in his chest at increasingly constant points, but he was struggling to keep pushing it down.
It had been a week since he’d first kissed Changbin, a week since he’d re-discovered his magic, and everything was fine. Everything should have been fine.
But Felix couldn’t ignore the whispers gnawing at the back of his mind, warning him that something was coming, that he’d gone too far, that all his recent happiness was going to turn around and bite him.
Winter is the season of change.
Felix tried to tell himself that he was being stupid, that he had Changbin now, that his paranoia was normal after everything that had happened to him but he needed to learn to ignore it.
You never really know what’s going to happen.
Felix shifted uncomfortably from where he was settled on the floor, the bad thoughts still hammering at his mind.
“You okay?” the distracted hum came from above him, Felix jumping as it pulled him out his head.
“Um, yeah… sorry,” Felix quickly said, blinking himself back into focus as he tried to ignore his bad feelings, “Just spaced out for a second there.”
The distracted hum came again, but this time it sounded a lot less coherent. Felix allowed himself to smile slightly at the noise, tilting his head back to stare at the boy sat on the bed behind him.
“Stay still!” Changbin hissed, immediately smacking a palm against Felix’s forehead and jolting his head back to where it had been, “You’re going to ruin it.”
Felix just whined, rubbing a hand over his forehead and pretending to sulk as he looked away again.
But Changbin refused to acknowledge him, staying relentlessly focused on where he was carefully braiding a side-braid into Felix’s hair. It was starting to take shape directly above Felix’s ear, the rest of his hair flopping over in its usual side-part and staying out Changbin’s way.
As much as Felix was worried, he had to admit Changbin’s administrations felt nice. The feeling of tender fingers in his hair… of loving arms brushing over his shoulders every few moments… of Changbin humming softly above him. There was something so calm about it, so serene.
It tingled gently up Felix’s spine.
The fireplace at the other end of the room was crackling pleasantly, blanketing them in a soft warmth that settled comfortably against Felix’s bones. Changbin sighed contently every now and again, filling Felix’s ears with soft cherries.
A few more moments of silence passed between them before Changbin spoke.
“Your hair is so nice, Lix,” he said, almost reaching the end of the plait, his hands still softly wrapped in the blond locks, “The colour is just… it’s so beautiful.”
Felix smiled, leaning further into Changbin’s touch.
“Thank you,” he said, manging to look back far enough to catch Changbin’s eyes, “You really like the blond? Because I don’t think I can ever get rid of it.”
“Of course, I like it,” Changbin said, tugging on Felix’s hair a little to prove his point, making him squirm, “And don’t you dare try and get rid of it. It’s suits you too well. And it’s so unique, like a little bit of magic permanently attached to you.”
The words brought a little giggle out of Felix, his heart immediately jumping at the idea of them. He’d never thought of his hair like that; it had always been him something that either brought him the biggest shame or the most pride. He’d never really seen it for just what it was… it was simply just a bit of magic.
“You know this hair makes me think of my father?” Felix said, grabbing a few of the available strands and stretching them in front of his eyes, “It’s kind of all I have left of him, the one physical reminder he gave me of the impact his magic had on my life. I hated it when he was first executed, couldn’t even look at it, but then your father brought me here and I made sure to flaunt it in front of him every chance I got.”
“Yeah, I wondered what all that was about,” Changbin said, looking up for a second to smile at Felix before going back to braiding, “I thought my father just hated that he couldn’t make you dye your hair, I didn’t realise that your hair was naturally like this and my father literally couldn’t change it, no matter how much he wanted to.”
“It was one little speck of magic he couldn’t get rid of,” Felix finally let go of his hair, moving his hand to carefully rub his fingertips over the almost-finished braid, “And now his son is literally braiding the hair he hated so much. I guess life works in weird ways sometimes.”
“You can definitely say that again,” Changbin laughed.
“I guess life works in weird ways sometimes,” Felix dutifully repeated, yelping when Changbin tugged at his hair at the words.
Felix wanted to retaliate, to pout up at Changbin and say that he’d just been doing as he was told, but the words suddenly filled Felix with a sense of nervousness, realising exactly what they reminded him of.
You never really know what’s going to happen.
Felix was once more hit with the debilitating feeling that his luck was about to run out.
He fell silent as Changbin finally finished behind him, pulling his hands away from Felix’s hair with a victorious ah-hah! Changbin sounded so hopeful, so happy that Felix was ashamed to admit his heart started to pound in his chest.
He just couldn’t help but feel that they couldn’t carry on the way they were for long. Forever stuck in a place that brought them pain, stuck in a place that had ruined their childhoods, stuck in a place that had taken so much from them and was now taking their true chance to be together.
A nasty feeling started to settle in Felix’s gut.
One that was proved right a lot sooner than he’d expected.
“Lix?” Changbin said softly from above him, trying to lean down to look at his face, “Are you okay? Do you want to see your hair in the mirror?”
Felix couldn’t even bring himself to nod, too suffocated by the sudden sensation crushing his chest. He wanted to grab Changbin’s hand and never let go, to cry to him that they needed to get out, but he couldn’t put his feelings into words.
How the hell was Felix supposed to explain his paranoia to Changbin?
How was he supposed to explain that he knew it was a lot more than paranoia?
Changbin reached for him again, touching the side of his face with a gentle hand. Felix looked up at him, his eyes holding so much terror that Changbin flinched back.
But not nearly as much as he flinched when the door suddenly slammed open.
The sound ricocheted through Felix’s chest, clanging against his ears in a way that was far too familiar. He was reminded of when the guards had come for his father, of when his entire life had turned upside down.
Felix was on his feet in a second, tearing the dagger off his belt and pointing it forward, not even thinking as he shoved Changbin behind him.
Felix was the knight. Felix was the protector. Felix took the hits.
He stalked towards the door with a growl shredding from his throat, his heart pounding violently against his ribs with the incessantly dawning feeling that he’d been right. Felix had known something was going to happen. And he was right.
But then footsteps shoved their way past the door, followed by panicked voices that babbled their way in.
Felix tightened the grip on his dagger, losing all feeling in his hand and dropping it to the floor with a clang when Chan and Jisung suddenly rushed in, tugging Minho and Hyunjin behind them and slamming the door.
Felix pulled in a mangled breath of relief.
“Woah, easy tiger!” Chan said when he saw the dagger, holding his hands up to show he wasn’t dangerous, “It’s just us!”
Felix felt like he lost all feeling in his legs, his panic fading out to something far too numb.
It was okay. Felix hadn’t been right. It was just the other princes, Felix and Changbin weren’t in danger.
Changbin’s footsteps rang out behind him, his arm curling around Felix’s waist less than a second later, the strong grip warming his insides and keeping him on his feet.
Felix sucked in another deep breath. They were safe.
But then Felix watched as Chan turned to Minho and Hyunjin, his face lit with something Felix didn’t recognise.
“Minho, guard the door!” Chan barked, making Changbin and Felix jump, “Hyunjin, stay with us. We might need you.”
Felix’s eyes widened as both Minho and Hyunjin nodded once in reply, unsheathing their daggers as Minho cast Felix a glance before stalking out the room. Jisung moved to cling onto Hyunjin’s arm, gripping it too tight for it to be considered normal.
“Wha-?” Felix tried to say, but the word got caught in his throat, his mind once more swirling with all the possibilities of what could have gone wrong.
“Hyung, what?” Changbin said for Felix, letting go of him to take a step towards the now terrified-looking small crowd of people in their room, “Why are you here so late? What’s going on?”
Chan turned back to them with what could only be described as a vile concoction of shock and sadness splattered all over his face, his eyes wide and his mouth pulled sharply down. He pursed his lips as he fixed his gaze on Changbin, letting it rest there for a few seconds before his eyes travelled over Changbin’s shoulder to lock on Felix.
“Someone saw Felix conduct magic in the streets last night,” Chan said, the words leaving him in a rush, “They told the king and he’s got guards on the way here right now. He’s already vowed to execute Felix at sunrise.”
Felix’s gasp rang around the room.
The entire world tilted on an axis, resting in its jolted position before it started to spinning nauseatingly around him, his knees almost buckling at the feeling. His eyes widened, another loud gasp that wasn’t his own echoing against the walls and smacking jarringly against his ears.
Felix’s mind flashed horrifically with images of the execution post, of what was going to happen to him.
He clutched both hands his chest, clawing at his t-shirt as he tried to find something, anything, to cling to.
The king knew about Felix’s re-discovered magic. Felix’s worst fears had all been right. Felix was going to end up the same way his father did.
A violent sob tore out of Felix’s throat at the thought, accompanied by another when he was brought to the sudden realisation that he couldn’t breathe.
But then there were hands on his shoulders, a voice shouting from above him, a blurry but somehow familiar face appearing before his eyes.
Felix blinked at them, gasping at the sudden rush of oxygen into his lungs when they shook him.
“Felix, you need to snap out of it!” the person was yelling, now cradling Felix’s shoulders against their chest and smoothing shakily over his back, “It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be just fine, but you need to breathe!”
Felix struggled to comply, forcing himself to take deep breaths into what he now realised was Changbin’s chest. Changbin continued to shout above him, insisting that it was going to be okay, that they were going to fix it, that Felix was safe.
Voices whispered cruelly in Felix’s mind, telling him that Changbin was wrong.
But Felix refused to believe them. Felix couldn’t believe them.
He couldn’t end up at the execution post.
He just couldn’t.
So, Felix pushed away from Changbin and leaned back to look at him, their eyes meeting in a moment that had electricity sparking between them.
Felix couldn’t stop himself from reaching out and grabbing his hand, squeezing tightly to Changbin’s fingers. If this was going to be the last night Felix was going to get with Changbin, he was going to make the most of it.
But Felix couldn’t give up that easily. He wasn’t going to let the king hurt him again.
So, Felix swung back round to look at the group, making eye contact with Hyunjin for a few seconds before he switched to Chan. Chan was looking at him like a leader would look at their group, like he was ready to take charge and making everything okay again.
Felix was suddenly hit with the thought that Chan was going to make a great king one day.
“Okay, Felix,” Chan’s voice filled the room, snapping everyone’s attention to him, “We’re going to get you out of here. We are not going to let my father hurt you.”
Felix nodding forcefully at the words, not trusting his voice. A lump started to form in his throat at the thought of everyone potentially endangering themselves to try and help him, but then Changbin squeezed his fingers again and he tried to remind himself that he could do this.
“Seungmin and Jeongin are at your quarters packing some of your stuff,” Chan carried on, still looking at Felix, “You’ll get to say goodbye to them and then you’re going to have to climb over the balcony. I’m sorry, I know it’s not ideal, but I think it’s the only way.”
“No, don’t apologise,” Felix shook his head, “I think I planned my escape from this place enough times to know that there’s vines all down the balcony wall that I can climb down.”
Chan, to everyone’s surprise, laughed at that. His panicked face pulled into a temporarily happy grin, Felix grinning back when Hyunjin and Jisung also allowed themselves to laugh.
“Well, I’m glad you’re finally getting to make your great escape,” Chan said, still smiling at Felix, “Make sure you stay safe out there, yeah?”
Felix nodded shakily, trying not to think about the implications of the words, how he really was about to run away, “I will.”
Felix didn’t know how much he could mean it, how much he could really promise to be safe when he’d be on the run with nowhere to go and an entire kingdom wanting him dead and magic he didn’t even know how to use. But Felix knew he had to try. He had to go over the balcony and survive. He couldn’t let the king hurt him.
His chest tightened again when he tried to walk forward, wanting to get to Hyunjin and pull him into a hug and say goodbye to his friend.
But a harsh tug stopped Felix as he tried to step away, his head whipping around to see Changbin staring at him desperately, tears gathered in his eyes.
“My prince?” Felix asked in shock, Changbin’s eyes staring straight into his soul.
Changbin stayed silent for a few moments, barely even moving besides his fingers tightening around Felix’s wrist. He refused to let Felix go, swallowing heavily before he opened his mouth.
“I’m coming with you!” he blurted, and Felix felt denial sweep through him once more.
“No, prince, you can’t do that!” Felix was quick to say, rushing forward and using his free hand to grab Changbin’s shoulder, “I have nowhere to go and it won’t be safe! You have to stay here, okay? Everything will be okay if you stay here.”
“Nothing will be okay if I’m not with you!” Changbin yelled back, making Felix jump.
He winced when he seemed to realise just how loud he’d shouted, his eyes closing and a heavy breath making its way into his throat. Felix just stared at him, shock racing through his chest.
“I’m sorry,” Changbin said, his voice much quieter, “But I’m coming with you, Felix. We’re running away together. I can’t stay here all alone without you.”
“You won’t be alone! You’ll have Chan-hyung and Jisung and everyone else,” Felix tried to say, but his voice sounded weak to his own ears. Felix knew deep down that Changbin would be much safer at the kingdom and Felix did truly want him to stay, but there was a huge part of Felix that wanted Changbin to come with him, that wanted to take Changbin and run.
Felix had to run anyway, might as well take Changbin with him…
“I’m coming with you,” Changbin said again, letting go of Felix’s hand to lurch forward and cup his face, forcing them to look at one another, “We can go to the place we dreamed about, yeah? To the place where we can be kids. You can take me to the park and to the market during the day and we can go sledding and get mulled wine together. And we can find someone who can teach you magic, who can help you get abilities back. Doesn’t that all sound amazing? Isn’t that all we’ve wanted?”
Felix had to admit… Changbin was describing heaven.
Even if they couldn’t get to it, they’d still be running towards it. They’d actually have goals instead of being stuck in a castle that was threatening to kill Felix and drain the happiness out of Changbin.
At least they’d be together.
So, with what felt like his heart sinking into an abyss, Felix allowed himself to nod.
“Okay,” he said, his voice cracking, “You can come with me.”
Changbin’s reaction was instant. He threw himself into Felix’s arms with a shout, wrapping his hands around his neck and pulling him close, yelling about how Felix wouldn’t regret it.
Felix could only pray that he was right, that he’d be able to keep Changbin safe.
“Thank you, my precious little snowflake! It’s going to be okay, yeah?” Changbin was saying, pulling back to smile at Felix before he suddenly seemed to remember that there was a very important reason that they were in a rush and they needed to get going, “Oh my god, we need to get out of here! The guards are probably close!”
Felix could only nod, turning away from Changbin and going to make his way to Hyunjin, but then he caught sight of Chan and Jisung and his heart stuttered.
Jisung was staring straight at Changbin, tears gathered in his eyes.
“You’re going to leave?” he said, his voice innocent like a child crying to their mum, Felix felt Changbin flinch from behind him.
Not even a second passed before Changbin was flinging himself across the room, pulling Jisung into his arms and shushing him as Jisung started to sob.
“I’m so sorry, Sung,” Changbin said, starting to rock them back and forth, “I have to leave. I just have to, okay? You get it, don’t you?”
Felix almost started crying himself when Jisung nodded weakly into Changbin’s chest, Chan whispering that he understood as he went to join them.
A part of Felix was tempted to just run away right there and then, leaving Changbin to stay and live his life with his family. But Felix knew he couldn’t; Changbin had made his decision and, frankly, Felix was too selfish to dispute it. He wanted Changbin with him, he wanted to keep protecting him.
It was only then that it seemed to hit Felix that he was actually about to leave. He’d actually die if he stayed in the castle. He was finally escaping the place that he’d been imprisoned in for years, and he was getting to take Changbin with him.
The thoughts sent Felix’s heart pounding in his chest, panic clawing against his skin as he watched the three princes he was about to separate all trying to hold one another closer.
Felix almost wondered if it would be better if he stayed, if it would be easier for all of them if the king finally went through with his long-standing threat and executed him.
But then Hyunjin was in front of Felix, strong arms circling his shoulders and pulling Felix into Hyunjin’s chest. A gentle hand stroked over the braid in his hair.
“You stay alive, okay?” Hyunjin said softly into Felix’s ear, “Don’t let anyone find you. Don’t let anyone hurt you. Go live that free life you’ve always wanted.”
Felix sniffled into his shirt, his hands clinging to Hyunjin’s back, “I’m really going to miss you.”
“I’m really going to miss you too,” Hyunjin sounded like he was smiling, his voice heavy and light all at the same time, “But I’ll live with it so long as you stay alive. You’re getting out of here and that’s all that matters. I refuse to let anything happen to you.”
“Look after Jisung, okay?” was all Felix could say in response, refusing to break away from the hold Hyunjin had on him, “And Minho-hyung. And Seungmin and Jeongin. And I guess Chan-hyung too.”
Hyunjin laughed into his hair, “We’ll all be fine, Felix,” he said, “Don’t worry about us. Just make sure you’re fine too.”
Felix had to wipe away tears when Hyunjin finally pulled away, one last long look being shared between them. Hyunjin had the whole universe sparkling in his eyes, a whole array of thanks and inside jokes and a million other things that left to say each other shining in his gaze. But Felix just smiled at him instead, deciding Hyunjin’s smile back was worth a thousand words.
With that, Hyunjin reached out to squeeze Felix’s shoulder.
“I’ll go swap positions with Minho-hyung,” Hyunjin whispered, “Give him a proper goodbye, yeah? He’s going to be unbearable with how much he’s going to miss you.”
Felix laughed as he nodded, his eyes never leaving Hyunjin as he turned and walked out the door. There were a few seconds of silence, ones that Felix spent watching Chan and Jisung pack a bag for Changbin, Changbin staring at them with a sad smile on his face.
Felix almost said something, tried to reassure them all, but then the door opened again and Minho came rushing in, Seungmin and Jeongin hot on his trial.
“The guards are almost here!” Minho said, pushing a tangle of hair out his face, “We have to be quick!”
Felix didn’t waste a single second to sprint over to Minho and throw himself in his arms, almost breaking into sobs when Minho instantly caught him, familiar strong arms circling Felix’s waist.
“You’re going to be absolutely fine, Felix,” Minho said into his neck, “You’re going to be so brave out there. You’re going to do amazing things. Please don’t be upset.”
A thousand glitters of gold exploded in Felix’s veins at the words, his mouth whispering endless thank-yous in Minho’s ear as Minho just shushed him, telling him it was okay, telling him he was finally getting out, telling him he was going to be amazing.
Felix tightened his grip. He was going to make Minho proud.
Minho eventually let go, having barely a second to move away before Felix suddenly had his arms full of Seungmin and Jeongin. Seungmin was crying into his shoulder, clinging to Felix’s shirt with so much force that Felix didn’t think he’d ever let go.
“I’m going to miss you so much!” Seungmin cried into him, “I’m so sorry you have to leave.”
“I’m sorry too Minnie,” Felix placed a kiss on the top of his head, trying not to think about just how hard it was going to be to leave Seungmin, “You’re going to be okay, aren’t you?”
“Of course, I’ll be okay!” Seungmin whipped his head up as he spoke, looking almost offended, “Don’t worry about me, you idiot.”
Felix gave him a watery smile, “I’ll always worry about you.”
Seungmin’s face crumpled, Jeongin moving out the way so he could slam himself into Felix’s chest again, “I’ll always worry about you too, penguin.”
Felix could only hold him closer, swaying them both as he tried to make the most of having Seungmin in his arms, of having his best friend and biggest confidant right there with him.
“You’re going to be okay,” Seungmin said quietly, his voice muffled by Felix’s shirt, “Winter is the season of change, but this winter has been kind to you. Hold onto that, okay? Be safe.”
An overwhelmingly heart-warming sob threatened to burst out Felix at the words, but he pushed it down, swallowing back the lump in his throat in favour of savouring every smart thing that came out Seungmin’s mouth.
Felix had always gone too Seungmin for advice. He wasn’t going to have that anymore. He was going to have to trust himself again.
All too soon there was a sharp bang at the door, all of them jumping at the sound of Hyunjin’s fist hitting against it. The noise was followed by a sharp shout of Get out of here now! and Felix felt his skin sizzle with panic.
He jolted back from Seungmin like he’d been electrocuted, whipping round to meet scared eyes with Changbin, the two of them stared at each other for a second, seeming to need to process what was about to happen. But then Felix was running and grabbing onto Changbin’s hand, pulling him forcefully towards the balcony with the rest of the group following behind.
“We’re going to climb over, okay prince?” Felix said as the cold air smacked him in the face, the balcony doors thrown open in front of him, “We’re going to climb down the wall and run from there.”
Felix didn’t even look at Changbin as he spoke, too busy trying to look over the railing and work out the best way down. But then there was a harsh tug on his wrist and Felix turned to see Changbin looking at him in pure, raging terror.
A tremor passed through them both, Changbin looking like he was ready to collapse.
“Felix,” Changbin gasped, squeezing Felix’s wrist so tightly he was probably leaving bruises, “I can’t… climb down there. It’s too high. I can’t do it.”
His voice was fast, too fast, and high-pitched with his panic. Felix gasped when he realised what was going on, his heart dropping.
Changbin had lived a sheltered childhood. He hadn’t been allowed to play or climb trees and rough-house like most children. He didn’t know how to climb, or how to be brave, or how to scale a balcony wall and run away.
Admittedly, Felix didn’t know how to do that last part either, but he was much more prepared for it than Changbin.
“My prince,” Felix said, moving away from the railing to grab the front of Changbin’s collar and force him to look at him, “Do you remember what I always say to you? Do you remember that as your knight I promised that, no matter what, I would always protect you?”
Changbin nodded shakily, pulling in a harsh breath as Felix stared straight into his eyes.
“Well, I meant it,” Felix said, making sure Changbin was hanging onto his every word, “I will protect you. I will catch you. I’m going to climb on this wall first and you’re going to follow my footsteps and, if anything goes wrong, I will be there.”
Felix punctuated his every syllable, announcing the words like they were the most important in the world. In a way, they were, and Changbin seemed to understand, the terror in his eyes fading to trust.
“Okay,” Felix nodded at him, moving his hands to stroke gently over Changbin’s neck, “Just do what I do, okay?”
Changbin nodded shakily, and Felix pressed a quick kiss against his cheek before turning away again. He took a step towards Jeongin, who helped him shoulder both his and Changbin’s bags before stepping back and watching as Felix went over to the balcony railing again.
Felix stared over the edge for a second, taking a deep breath as he stared at the bare trees swaying just a few feet away. The view was high, really high, and Felix suddenly doubted his ability to even make it this far as he looked at the drop before him.
But then Felix remembered the king’s threat, the life trapped in the castle, everything that Felix’s father would want for him that Felix hadn’t been able to do yet.
Felix turned back to the group with a shaky smile, holding up a hand and producing one gorgeously crystallised snowflake from his palm.
The entire group gasped as it bobbed gently through the air, all watching mesmerised as it twirled a few times before settling contently on Seungmin’s hair.
“Think of me whenever you see a snowflake,” Felix winked at them, letting the words hang in the air before suddenly he was closing his hands around the railing and swinging himself over.
Intense cold rushed up Felix’s fingers at the action, the metal burning him with ice and making him wince as his feet smacked against the castle wall. He took a second to get his bearings, letting the air settle around him before he shimmied his feet down the bricks to find branches that would hold him.
Felix got lucky a few feet down, tangling his shoes in some leaves before taking a deep breath and letting go of the railing, grabbing onto a few lower down branches a second later.
His heart jumped into his throat, his whole body tensing as he waited for the vines to snap, for the trees to give away, for something to break and send Felix hurtling to his death deep down in the snow.
But, to some miracle, the ivy stayed intact and Felix heard the whole group release a breath from above him.
He had to take in a breath himself, wanting to keep steady as he carefully found some more stable branches and took another step down.
After a few more feet, Felix tipped his head back, looking up at the seven pale faces watching him from the balcony.
There was one face in particular that Felix couldn’t take his eyes off.
“Are you ready now, my prince?” Felix called up, forcing himself to keep his voice light, “The branches that I used are sticking out a bit now. If you put your feet on those, you’ll be okay.”
Changbin looked absolutely horrified at the suggestion, but he nodded all the same, sharing a look of reassurance with Felix before Chan helped him hold onto the balcony railing.
Felix could only watch as Changbin carefully made his way over the railing, Chan and Minho holding him from either side as he took a moment to get settled against the wall.
The sight was absolutely terrifying, Felix feeling his heart stutter every time one of Changbin’s hands shook, but soon he was in place, carefully making his way down so he was just above Felix.
“Okay, my prince,” Felix risked taking a hand off the wall to tenderly stroke over the back of Changbin’s ankle, “Let’s keep going.”
Changbin didn’t say anything to that, but Felix could only assume he’d heard as he started to lower himself down again, testing every branch before he grabbed onto it. Changbin stayed steady above him, Felix taking the time to grab his foot and moving it to the right place before they continued.
Occasionally, one of their feet would slip on ice and Felix would feel the fire roar in his veins every time, but he managed to keep his panic down. He managed to say something to Changbin every now and again, telling him he was doing well, telling him not to look down, telling him that they were nearly there.
It was only when they really were nearly there that Felix got excited.
“My prince!” Felix called out, looking behind him to see the ground only a few feet away, “We did it!”
Felix didn’t look before he plummeted himself off the wall, landing on his feet like a cat and laughing as he slipped on ice trying to move out the way.
Changbin was understandably a lot more cautious, choosing to climb the whole way down instead of jumping like Felix did. Felix ran to him the moment he was on solid ground, throwing the bags to the floor in favour of grabbing Changbin’s face and pressing a long kiss on his lips.
“I’m so proud of you,” Felix said into his mouth, his hands flushing at the warmth of Changbin’s skin, “You did it!”
“We did it,” Changbin pulled back to say, grabbing onto Felix’s wrists and squeezing them as he spoke, “I couldn’t have done that without you.”
A small giggle escaped Felix at the words, turning louder when he heard a bright cheer from above him. He and Changbin both looked up to see the others waving at them from the balcony, bright smiles on all their faces.
Felix could only wave back at them, laughing when they started gesturing at them to go, to run away and be free like they’d always wanted.
Another snowflake whisked its way up to them as Felix allowed himself one last long look at them, one last moment to say goodbye.
But then Felix whipped round and grabbed Changbin’s hand, each of them shouldering a bag before suddenly they were off.
They sprinted across the courtyard, their hands clasped and hair whipping back as they ran. Felix could feel the wind smacking him in the face, the ice crunching under his feet, the snow pelting against their skin.
It felt like winter… but a different kind of winter.
It wasn’t frozen execution posts and shattered lakes and snowstorms that broke the kingdom. It was something different… something new… something that Felix couldn’t wait to share with Changbin.
The two of them eventually made it to the castle gates, creeping around a guard to get out and then slinking their way through the shadows towards the main kingdom. Once they made it there, they would be bale to leave the town for good and go wherever they wanted.
Felix smiled at the thought.
It wasn’t long before they made it to the street where they had kissed only a week before, the snow fresh on the ground and the air buzzing with their adrenalin.
Felix sent a snowflake swirling in front of them, the two of them following it with hope in their eyes and anticipation in their hearts as they made their way down the road.
Changbin soon broke the silence. They were stepping over the exact spot that they’d first kissed in when he spoke.
“Hey, snowflake,” Changbin said to Felix, making him look at him, “Where do you think we’ll go?”
Felix pondered the question, looking back at the snowflake they were following as he thought.
“I don’t know,” he said after a few seconds, shrugging as Changbin’s eyes bored further into him, “Wherever we want, I guess. We can go where you were talking about, to a place with parks and marketplaces and a place… a place where we can be truly happy.”
“That sounds nice,” Changbin said, smiling as he also turned to look at the snowflake, “We can also find someone to teach you magic.”
“Yeah,” Felix smiled at the words, thinking of his father, “That’d be really great.”
Changbin squeezed his hand again, pulling Felix flush against his shoulder as they finally reached the end of the street. They turned a sharp corner, following the snowflake to the town border and holding each other close so they wouldn’t get cold.
“Maybe we could go somewhere where it’s summer,” Changbin said after a while, his eyes staring down the long path ahead, “We could chase the Sun.”
Felix hummed at the suggestion, pulling his eyebrows together thoughtfully as he pondered it. There was a part of it that sounded tempting., something about chasing the Sun that seemed so enthralling.
But then Felix looked back at the snowflake, at the ice glowing like an ice-rink on the ground, at the icicles hanging off trees and the pure innocent white surrounding them.
“I don’t know,” Felix said, resting his head on Changbin’s shoulder, “A friend once told me something really nice about winter.”
“Oh yeah?” Changbin turned to look down at him, pressing a gentle kiss on his forehead, “What’s that?”
Felix looked up at him, a knowing smile making its way onto his lips when he realised just how right the words had been.
“Winter is the season of change,” Felix said, catching Changbin’s eye, “You never really know what’s going to happen.”