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"The frog said, 'I want not your pearls, and jewels, and fine clothes; but if you will love me, and let me live with you and eat from off your golden plate, and sleep upon your bed, I will bring you your ball again.'"
-The Frog Prince, Grimm's Fairy Tales
The spilled ink seeps into the grooves of the wooden desk, sinking into the grain and deepening its color, dark and sticky like a splatter of blood. The sheet of creamy parchment soaks it up, erasing the words already written and adding to her frustration. Sujin grits her teeth, grabbing a stained towel beside her and mopping up the extra from the fallen ink jar as a large set of hands falls on her shoulders, massaging soothingly.
“Third time now,” Baekhyun says, “Are you really sure about this?”
Sujin nods, wiping the last of the ink away and using the end of her pen to pop the top of the next bottle open, “I’m sure. You said so yourself that your brother was the kindest soul you knew, if anyone’s going to be able to fix this in time it’s him.”
His hands stop their gentle pressure, tensing.
“He’ll be fine . We don’t even know if he’s going to get it! If he doesn’t bring it up I won’t send him, I already promised!” Sujin scoffs at him, dipping the pen into the ink and curling it over a new paper into a looping greeting.
Baekhyun sighs, “I know. I just hope you’re right. Kai tends to jump into people’s business if he thinks there’s something he can do to help, but he doesn’t really plan ahead. And this feels too much like setting a trap, what with my parent’s condition and all.”
“It’s a dumb condition. They’re practically asking for him to develop a Hero complex.”
“They just think of him as a kid still,” Baekhyun scolds and leans his chin on Sujin’s head, watching the invitation come to life under her nimble fingers and solid pen strokes. “They don’t believe he actually will do anything to try to prove himself.”
As Sujin slides the signature into shape and presses the wax seal onto the card, Baekhyun looks at the leftover stains on the desk and the new shadows they add to the otherwise simple wood desk.
“They underestimate him.”
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
“His wife wants to meet me?! As in, Huening Kai, as in Prince of Plushies?!” Kai asked as he waved the thick cream card stock in his hand.
“That’s what the invitation says, your highness," His butler sighed as he watched Kai attempt to decipher the simple message.
“She met me once at the wedding, I don’t see why she'd have to meet me again ,” The boy huffed as he dropped onto his king-sized bed. “So last minute if you ask me, tonight's cutting it close! I was planning on playing games all day.”
“You still have classes, not to mention your parents would prefer it if you attended.”
“They'd also prefer that I prove my bravery, but we both know that’s not gonna happen.” Kai huffed, rolling his eyes as he pulled his molang plushie into his arms, and stared at the galaxy painted onto his ceiling.
His favourite constellations and planets filled the structure above his canopy, he felt as if he could get lost up there every time he gazed upon it. His dream was to go out to a clearing one night and stare at the sky, arms wrapped around something cuddly as he watched the stars move in awe.
But, he wasn’t allowed to go into the forest until he proved he was strong enough somehow. His parents thought his slight obsession with plushies made him “weak”. As if. It just made him cuddlier, if anything.
“Regardless, you need to get ready for your classes and dinner tonight. Brush your hair and change into your uniform, your teacher is waiting for your downstairs," his butler instructed as he left the room.
“This food better be amazing…” Kai groaned as he flopped onto his back and rubbed his face. He'd rather stay in his room, away from people. But it was his brother, what could he do?
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
“Your highness, we have arrived at your brother’s palace.” The butler whispers as he reached across the carriage and gave Kai a slight nudge, “Wake up please, we don’t want to be late.”
All he earned was a snore from the young prince. Kai rolled over to face the back of the seat as he smacked his sleepy mouth, letting a small groan escape it as he curled into a ball around a small dolphin plush toy.
“Your highness, please, I’m really not in the mood for this.” The poor man groaned as he gave Kai a slightly more aggressive nudge on the shoulder.
The carriage ride had been four hours, right after his classes, and he was exhausted. They passed through the countryside, the fresh air and vast green scenery that always made Kai drowsy. Add a plushie or two and you had the perfect recipe for a sleeping prince.
“Don’ wan' go 'o school, 'ready did,” Kai sleepily mumbled as he angelically rubbed the sleep from his eyes. Even after just waking up the boy still managed to look cherubic. Honey skin glowing in the golden sunset and brown eyes twinkling like the stars he loved so much.
“Come on kiddo, dinner is waiting.” The elder man warmly smiled. No matter how annoying the young prince got, he always managed to get back in his favour within a second.
Kai took his hand as he guided him from the carriage, carefully so he wouldn’t fall on sluggish legs.
“Wait, is the food ready?” Kai suddenly asked, perking up as they walked into the castle, bowing to the servants respectfully.
“Yes, it has been for a while. You were just taking so long getting up that-“
Kai took off down the hall towards the dining room without a word.
“Huening Kai! Where are you-“
“FOOD’S READY!”
“I said that already!” The butler yelled behind him as he attempted to catch up with the teen. It seemed nothing could stand between him and his pubescent hunger.
“Mmm, do I smell turkey legs?” Kai moaned as he closed his eyes and walked into the dining room, mouth watering at the scent of roasted meat.
Baekhyun chuckled, standing and walking over to his little brother before answering, “Yup, I hope you’re hungry little- well, now you’re a big guy.”
“I’m always hungry nowadays,” Kai giggled before hugging his brother. "I can probably add eating to my current list of hobbies.”
“Well, at least you’re growing up big and strong, that’s all I can ask for.” The elder boy smiled proudly as he guided Kai to the table.
“This is my wife, Kang Sujin, she oversaw the meal we’re eating tonight.” Baekhyun proudly gushed as his sister-in-law stood to hug him.
“You’ve gotten much bigger since I last saw you at the wedding, Huening Kai.” She beamed and Kai blushed, he really didn’t think he had gotten that tall since March, but everyone was freaking out so maybe he had-
“You can just call me Kai, or Hyuka or Ning or literally anything. I’ve heard them all.” Kai chuckled as he took his seat across from the woman.
“I think Kai will do just fine.” She smiled as she served him large portions of buttery potatoes, colorful mixed vegetables, and roasted meat.
Kai stared in awe, it’s not like he didn’t eat like this at home. It was just the fact that he had it all to himself.
“Dig in buddy.” Baekhyun assented and the young prince did so immediately, he wouldn’t have to be told twice. The food disappeared from his plate and into his mouth quickly, you’d think he hadn’t eaten in days.
He actually ate right before they left but, details.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Dinner was going well, Sujin seemed to be falling in love with him more and more by the minute. She even began doting on him as if he were her own little brother.
“Here, have some more Kai-yah.”
“Do you need anything else?”
“Oh, your dessert plate is empty, would you like me to fill it up?”
Kai was stuffed to say the least, he was sure he had eaten an entire turkey and at least one pie.
“I had a little brother your age.” The woman reminisced as she rested her chin in her hands and watched Kai struggle to get comfortable.
“You did?” He hiccuped into his fist as he squirmed, “If you don’t mind me asking, what happened?”
Sujin stared into Kai’s chocolate brown eyes and all she could see was her brother’s large ones, warm and soft like a fresh fudge brownie. She trusted him.
“Nobody’s seen him in years,” She solemnly started and Kai stopped moving, looking at the woman attentively, “They sent him away four years ago and I haven’t seen him since.”
“Why would they do that?! Has he even contacted you?!” Kai questioned as he sat on the edge of his seat. He tried to imagine what he would feel like if he was away from his two sisters for four years.
They were annoying, but they were family, he loved them.
“I-I’ve already said too much-“ Sujin stutters as she stands, hastily clearing her surroundings. Kai clenches the side of the table.
“You can trust me, please, just tell me. You deserve to have your brother.” Kai pleads, he didn’t know why he wanted to know so bad, he just did.
Sujin breaks without much convincing, she wanted her brother back too. She wanted him to be there for the birth of his nephew.
“He refused to become king, he wanted to be a wizard, he wanted to be a kid and make things disappear,” Sujin smiles, endeared at the memories of her little brother. Then her face falls, fists clenched as she looks down at the table, “and then they made him disappear.”
The air feels frigid as Kai breathes it in, they didn’t kill him, did they?
“Do you know where he is?” he asks, breaking the frozen silence, something in the back of his head, hoping the young prince was alive. Sujin winces, shaking her head despondently and fiddling at the gold lace on her dress gathered in her lap. His brother, silent until then, picks up her hands and rubs his thumbs comforting over her knuckles, knowing how hard it was for her to speak of her long lost brother. The image is blindingly sad, the expressions on their faces hinting at a pool of sorrow Kai isn’t sure he can ever understand.
There’s a feeling, one that he wouldn’t know how to put into words if asked, but the closest he can come to it is a niggle . A nudge, pushing him towards a path that’s been carved long before he knew of it, certainly much earlier than now that it's being placed before him.
All he has to do is take it.
He makes up his mind, sealing his fate, “Do you know who does?”
Sujin and Baekhyun’s heads snap up in shocked unison. The plate in front of Sujin falls to the floor as she jumps forward until her face is mere inches from Kai’s own.
“You mean you’d go find him? Is that what you’re saying, Kai-yah?” she whispers, voice dripping with hope and anticipation. Kai almost regrets the decision, unwilling to disappoint her with the odds of his success, but her earnest joy and optimism fills him with a sense of duty not entirely unwelcome.
“I-Yes? No, wait. Yes, I’ll go try to find him,” he says, seeing his brother rub his hands over his eyes as Sujin whoops, sweeping him into a gut-crushing hug.
“I miss him so much, the thought of seeing him again…” Sujin starts as her eyes begin to well up with happy tears, “We um, we have a little bit of a dilemma you see, the only people who know exactly where he is are my parents and they’re not going to give up that information willingly.”
Kai dramatically taps his chin in thought.
What would one of his game characters do if they needed to get information?
“I need a sword and a bag of supplies, I’ll leave tonight.” The young prince states gruffly as he puffs out his chest and puts his hands on his hips. Baekhyun coughs.
“Excuse us for a moment, ” he says cheerfully, pulling Kai out into the hallway without waiting for a response.
“Ning, do you even know what you’re doing?!” He whisper yells as he grabs the seventeen-year-old’s shoulders, attempting to put the sound of his wife’s joyful singing in the back of his mind, “This isn’t a game. This is real knight stuff with real lives at stake, including yours!”
“I know.”
“Ning-“
“I know!” The young prince snaps, clenching his fists at his sides, “I have to do this, I have to prove it to myself and everyone else that I’m not just a plushie loving wuss and this is my chance. It’s like this is my fate.”
Baekhyun looks him in eyes endearingly, his little brother was about to try and go out into the world by himself and save someone else’s life when he barely had his own figured out.
“I don’t think you’re a wuss kiddo.”
“You’d be the only one,” Kai grumbles, crossing his arms as he loses the previous indignation. “Just- Please? Let me do this, or at least let me try!”
Baekhyun sighs, “Okay.”
“I swear I can- Wait, really? You’ll let me?”
“Yep. I’m not happy about it, but I won’t stop you,” he says. Kai grins widely and throws himself bodily into his brother’s arms, hooking his own around his neck.
“Thank you,” he whispers into his shoulder. Baekhyun rubs his back comfortingly, before pushing him away.
“Let’s go back and pack your bags, okay? I think you fit into my old clothes already, you tree!”
“Wh-I didn’t grow THAT much!” Kai pouts, nudging his brother playfully as a wide and grateful smile spread across his face.
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
Kai’s butler held back a laugh when Kai appeared through the door of the palace. Sujin had outfitted him with two pairs of pants, an undershirt, a shirt, a scarf, a golden buttoned cardigan and a thick embroidered coat before she was satisfied that the cold would not reach him. His stance is reminiscent of a penguin, with an odd little waddle that made his coattails swing in the air.
Baekhyun stands near the door of the carriage, a complex look on his face and hands behind his back as Kai and Sujin come down the steps of the palace and approach him.
The butler opens the door for Kai, stepping away and going around the carriage after the gesture. The young prince turns to face his brother only to be greeted with a heavy object being pushed into his hands. He looks down and gasps.
In his hands is a longsword within its sheath, iron coated in a beautiful rose gold colour, encrusted with pearls and multicolored jewels on the hilt that created a softly glowing kaleidoscope. Although no light hits it, it was almost as if it generated its own, illuminating the darkness between them with a weak shine that brings an indescribable feeling into Kai’s chest.
“What...is this?” he asks, thunderstruck.
It’s Sujin who answers him, “That’s the sword I was supposed to give my brother for his sixteenth birthday. It has an enchantment that will always light your way.”
“I can’t take this! It’s not-”
“I’m sure Taehyun-ah would understand if you needed it. It’ll keep you safe until you can both come home,” she smiles at him guilelessly. Kai bites his lip, tears building in the corners of his eyes, and pulls her into a soft hug. They let go of each other, and bid one last goodbye before Sujin steps back into the palace, rubbing at her eyes daintily with a handkerchief.
She believed in Huening Kai, she had a feeling he was the one who would bring her little brother back.
Kai turns to his brother, clutching the sword close to himself. Baekhyun stood there, holding his arm by the elbow awkwardly against his body.
“I don’t have another blessed weapon for you, I’m afraid,” he joked, “But I do have something to ask you, in exchange for not telling Mom or Dad about this.”
Kai tilts his head, “What is it? It better not have to do with owing you a favour because-”
“Stay safe for me. Please,” his brother interrupts quietly, looking him in the eye, placing a tender hand on his younger brother’s shoulder, suddenly realizing how tall he actually was. “I don’t think I could take it if anything happened to you, so take care of yourself, and know there’s no shame in running from a fight you can’t win.”
Kai shuffles his feet, uncomfortable with the solemn air.
“I’ll do my best-”
“Don’t say that,” Baekhyun’s grip tightens. “Promise me.”
“I can’t-”
“Promise. Me.”
“I promise, okay!?” Kai cries, shrugging off the hand on his shoulder. Baekhyun shoots him a critical look, but nods. Their goodbyes are tense, charged with something Kai doesn’t want to ask about. Baekhyun walks away looking over his own shoulder at his younger brother, pausing for a fraction of a second before going through the heavy palace doors that slam shut behind him.
Kai steps into the carriage with a sunken feeling in his gut and a sword in his lap, backpack of food for days and supplies slung over his shoulder. When he shuts the door he hears a small fluttering sound, and looks down to see a tiny, folded paper on the floor, fallen from the crease in the sheath.
He picks it up, turning it over in his hands before opening it after some deliberation. Inside he sees a familiar chart, ripped from a copy of “The Lineage Royale”, which he read three times before his instructor let them move past the unit. The page seems to be the diagram for the succession system, with ink placed around certain ‘people’. The first heir in line, the son, is crossed out, while there’s a circle around...
“Oh,” he says. He folds and unfolds the paper over and over again and leans his head against the window, thoughts swimming in troubled waters as he struggles to sleep with the new information weighing on his mind.