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I.
SeokJin was complaining.
"Dude Chuseok's gonna roll in in twenty minutes and you bring me here to this burnt down castle? I thought we were going to some secret hideout of yours? Don't tell me THIS is the- -eee!- fuck fuck fuck is that a SPIDER?!"
"Of course it is," Namjoon replied, glancing at the palm-sized spider and leading the way deeper and deeper into the stone castle, whose blackened walls were layered with centuries worth of dust and soot. Jin clung on to his arm, staying as close to him as possible, ostensibly for the warmth, but more because he was scared stiff, and who wouldn't like to snuggle up to his hot boyfriend while walking down a dark eerie passage in an old, haunted castle, amirite?
Today, Namjoon thought to himself resolutely. They'd been friends since elementary, and a couple for eight months now. Things were perfect the way they were, But Jin deserved the complete truth. Either he'd get to enjoy SeokJin's warmth for the rest of his life. Or seven centuries' worth of anguish and penance would all be for naught.
The powerful torch shone brightly, illuminating the low tunnel. From the looks of it, it seemed to be a secret passage, much cruder than the rest of the massive castle. Probably hastily built. "Almost there," Namjoon whispered to his boyfriend reassuringly. SeokJin nodded and grasped Namjoon's arm tighter.
Soon the tunnel opened into a vast courtyard, with a massive pole dug right in the centre. Namjoon held his breath and glanced towards SeokJin.
While SeokJin's breath hitched in his throat.
II.
"The Favoured mistress has called for me." Seokjin said softly, nuzzling Namjoon's ear. They lay naked and entangled in the sheets, Namjoon's arm firmly wrapped around SeokJin.
"Hmm," Namjoon replied groggily and turned over, trapping SeokJin beneath him. "Tell her you'll be late."
SeokJin laughed and pushed him away. "And what will be my excuse?"
"Your primary duty is to take care of the Crown Prince. Why do you care about some bloody concubine's missive?"
"Hush!" SeokJin quickly put a finger to Namjoon's lips, looking around alarmingly. "Walls have ears."
Namjoon huffed, and pushed himself up on his elbows. "I order you to quickly come back to me."
SeokJin smiled, cupping Namjoon's face between his hands. "Yes, my Lord."
III.
"Your humble servant pays you his regards, your highness Lady EunHa," SeokJin bowed low, his eyes downcast. The Concubine, EunHa, wasnt the Queen, but she was the King's favourite. And her beauty was as renowned as her vicious hatred for the Crown Prince Kim Namjoon.
"Ah, Kim SeokJin," she laughed in her nasal voice, dismissing all other servants with a wave of her pale, sinewy wrist. SeokJin clenched his jaw. HIS devotion to his master was also equally well known.
"Raise your head, Kim SeokJin. It's always such a pleasure to gaze upon your beautiful features," she sneered, but her eyes weren't smiling.
SeokJin swallowed his anger. "Yes, my lady. I was told you had some work for me."
The concubine's nails clicked rhythmically on the armrest of her throne, her smile dyíng down.
"Let me get straight to the point, you filthy inbred noble." She hissed. "Get me the Scroll of the Heavens from the State treasury."
SeokJin's eyes widened, his fists clenching. "It's a protected document, your highness! How can I-"
"You think I don't know that!" She shrieked. "Don't look down upon me! Every single one of you nobles is the same!"
SeokJin grit his teeth. "What is the reason behind this demand?"
"You dare glare at me!" She flung the glass of wine at him, aiming for his head. He dodged it easily, but stood up.
"Madam." He said, his voice a low growl.
She was trembling in her rage, eyes darting from side to side. Addiction to the pleasures and the drugs of the senses never had a good end.
"I-If you don't do as I s-say, I'll tell H-His highness that the crown prince has been engaging in s-sodomy behind the King's back."
SeokJin's anger drained away, only to be replaced by terror. Calm down. Calm down.
"That is entirely untrue, your highness."
"Y-You think I care?” she burst into hysterical laughter, her hands clawing at the armrests. "O-one word from me a-and the King will have him e-executed in public!"
SeokJin couldn't bring himself to say anything, his stomach churning painfully. Whatever that bitch was saying, was completely unfair.
And completely true.
Handing over the scroll to that woman would also mean certain execution, for he would be branded as a traitor. Her plan was to trap SeokJin in a compromised position and isolate Namjoon even more. He saw through her plan, and she knew he saw through it. She also knew he was helpless, because it was either his life, or Namjoon's. And the seven realms knew the depth of Kim SeokJin's fidelity to his master.
"........ I'll bring the Scroll to you."
The concubine's eyes twitched, her breathing calming down. "Tonight."
SeokJin nodded, bowed, and left without a word.
IV.
Sneaking in under the cover of the night had been easy, as had been getting his hands on the Scroll. He was the one who had been the treasurer's assistant, and as such he was the only one alive who knew where the Scroll was kept.
What he hadn't anticipated was how difficult it would be to meet Namjoon's eyes glinting in the pale moonlight.
Namjoon had grabbed his wrist just as he was about to flee, trapping him between the huge bookshelf and his own body.
"What is the meaning of this."
SeokJin's lips trembled, his voice shaking, but he glared back defiantly. "I will not let you lose everything because of me."
"Nothing has any meaning without you." Namjoon growled. "You think I'm so weak that you need to put your life on the line to protect me?"
"She will ruin you."
"You think i care?"
"I will not be the cause of your ruin, Jun, move out of my way." SeokJin pushed him, but Namjoon didn't budge. "Please."
"Jin, look at me." Namjoon tried to hold Jin's face and make him turn towards him, but Jin shoved him away, tears spilling over. "Your people need you, you goddamned fool. They've been suffering under your tyrant father for decades now. If it takes one lowly man to save the kingdom from this misery, then let me be that man, Jun, move out of my way and let me die as your faithful servant. That's all I ask for."
"I refuse." Namjoon's voice rumbled in the air between them, his hand grabbing SeokJin's face and lips descending on Jin's. SeokJin resisted for a few seconds, then gave up and threw his arms around his shoulders, kissing back fervently.
What the parched lovers failed to notice was one single guard from the concubine's personal bevy silently creeping around them in the shadows, and pushing the huge bookshelf.
The creaking alerted them, but it was too late.
Namjoon thrust SeokJin back into the secret passage, but it was too late for him to step back. SeokJin toppled backwards, hitting his head and tumbling down the passage, while the entire bookshelf descended on Namjoon.
V.
"The Crown Prince, Kim Namjoon, is thus pronounced guílty of treason, and sentenced to one month imprisonment in the dungeons, at the end of which he will be publically executed by fire in the Palace Courtyard, sharp as the clock announces the arrival of Chuseok."
The favoured Concubine giggled, and the King raised his hand to give his approval to the announcement, followed by heavy cheering by the slimy courtiers.
Namjoon sat in the centre, his shoulders slouched, his hands and feet bound in iron chains. The guards shoved him roughly to his feet, and dragged him away, his chains clanging on the ground behind him.
The world swam, and SeokJin crashed to the floor.
VI.
The courtiers stood and gossiped among themselves. The object of their interest was a former noble, who, in the span of thirty days, had been reduced to a raving madman.
"He's been sleeping in the snow in front of the gates for thirty days now," they whispered to one another. "He hasn't eaten a single morsel of food too, or so I've been told." They clicked their tongues and warmed themselves up by the fire, cozy in their heavy coats and woollen mufflers, in stark contrast to the disheveled, starved, haggard figure of the former beauty of the court, and of the now disgraced Crown Prince's closest aide. "Maybe the rumours were true after all. What other reason could there be?" "What other reason indeed, other than the fact they were indeed lovers?"
VII.
"Please... Let me see him one time, I beg you, please let me see him, he has lost everything because of me... Have pity on me sir, just once sir, let me see his face just once... I should be inside sir, i should be the one getting burnt alive, kill me later sir, just once let me see him..."
"You really want to see him hah," the guards sneered. "Why don't you come back tomorrow at midnight?"
The madman's eyes shone through his dusty, matted hair. "Will I be able to see him then? May the Gods bless you, kind sir, how can I thank you for this..."
"Indeed you can see him, you beggar. You can see him being roasted alive!"
A crushing blow landed on his back, sending him toppling down the stairs and onto the ground. The wound on his head split open, blood gushing down his face, the mocking laughter of the guards ringing in his ears. It hurt, but his Namjoon-ah was hurting much much more, how could Seokjin even complain? He sat up slowly, shaking his head and slamming it on his fists, tears trickling down his face, mixed with the blood, his sobs muffled. His head swam, like it had been for the last thirty days, the lump in his throat wanted to punch itself out as a scream, but all he could do was sniffle into his hands, the snow falling around him gently, and now it was the eve of the execution, and he hadn't been able to see Namjoon-ah even once. His frail body shivered like a reed in the cold, his eyes stinging in the acrid air, his chest heaving with dry cough. But one more time. He'd try one more time. Who knew, maybe the guards would be kind enough to let him in this time...
Forgive me, Namjoon-ah...
VIII.
The torches were lit, the rumbling, blood-thirsty crowd cheering at the spectacle. With a roll of the drums the prisoner was brought into the courtyard, his hands and feet already bound to the bamboo pole. The crowd heaped profanities on him, some even stoning him and clapping when it hit their target, baying for the blood of the traitor. Namjoon didn't react. He had only one wish, but he knew. He knew there was no one in that courtyard who'd pay heed to any of his words, forget about his dying wish. If he could see SeokJin's face one last time, he'd die a happy man. But it seemed like that was not to be. If he couldn't have that, the nothing else mattered.
The pole was erected, Namjoon slowly being help up high into the air. The torches were brought around, and the wood beneath him was lit. The roar of the crowd and the drums became deafening, increasing in tempo as the flames rose higher and higher, finally reaching upto his ankles.
For the first time that night, Namjoon raised his head, to look at the sky one last time, when his gaze fell on a pristine face in the crowd.
A tear escaped, and sizzled away on his face in the heat of the fire. Jin looked as if he'd aged fifty years in the last one month, the lines of his face a testament to the anguish he'd been under. Namjoon's nails dug into his palm, drawing blood. He wanted to shriek and tell SeokJin that it wasn't his fault, that he wasn't to blame. But the crowd made it impossible. All he could do was grit his teeth through his anger and his tears and pray to the Gods he didn't believe in, to give SeokJin a second chance at life. Better than what he could give him.
But it was not meant to be.
Namjoon's eyes widened, his mouth opening in a silent scream.
The flames leapt high, but SeokJin leapt higher.
He couldn't save Namjoon-ah.
But he wouldn't let Namjoon-ah die alone.
The flames kissed his lips, caressing his smiling face, embracing him gently and whispering their promise to reunite him with his beloved.
Namjoon's screams went unheard, drowning in the crowd.
IX.
SeokJin woke up with a scream, gasping for breath.
"I'm here," Namjoon held him tightly. "You fainted, that's all. I'm right here."
"J-Jun You-You were there and the fire- it was me-"
Namjoon had thought about what he'd say to SeokJin countless times. He'd had seven centuries to think about it, after all.
He gently interrupted Jin.
"I love you."
SeokJin's words died down on his trembling lips, Namjoon's eyes locked on his. No other words were needed.
Namjoon's hand cupped his tear-stricken face, his thumb brushing away the tears. His lips pressed themselves against SeokJin's forehead, then trailing down and capturing his lips in a soft, chaste kiss, before pulling back slowly. SeokJin's eyes welled up again.
"Since when have you known?" He whispered, his voice breaking.
"Since forever." Namjoon murmured against his lips.
"Then why didn't you tell me?" SeokJin's eyes flashed in anger.
"You didn't seem to remember anything. I... Didn't want to drag you into this recklessly. So I brought you here, thinking that if the place, your age and the time were the same, maybe..." He stopped speaking.
Seokjin stared at him wordlessly. After a long, long time, he wrapped his arms around Namjoon's shoulders.
"Take me home."