Chapter Text
The kingdom of Eudora was one of the largest Sangyeon ever visited.
When he got a place in the imperial guard, he gladly accepted it, since it felt like the perfect excuse to settle in one place.
He has born a bastard of a love affair between a maid and some royal in a kingdom very far from Eudora, whom he never planned to return to after his departure at fourteen.
He found a job helping hunters in the forest and traveled with them from town to town. Still, he long dreamed of a place he could call home.
The people of Eudora treated him well. The king trusted him dearly, and he was happy living there.
He had a room in the tavern when he wasn’t at the castle. The lady who ran it was kind enough to give him hot meals and water as a “thank you for your services”, as she said.
He was just finishing making his bed when two knocks echoed through the room.
— Come in!
The other knight, Jaehyun, opened the door in a hurry, bowing at him
— Sir, the king needs your help
— Did we get attacked?
— No sir, it’s the prince, he’s gone mad, threw his father in the dungeon
Sangyeon looked puzzled. He knew little about prince Chanhee. No one did. He was a very recluse and rarely seen outside the castle.
— Why would he do that? Were you there?
Jaehyun responded, explaining the prince had used dark magic and made the knights throw his father in the chamber, announcing himself as the new king
— I somehow wasn’t influenced by the spell and fled, but the others weren’t so lucky
— Who else wasn’t in the castle? Anyone we can trust?
— Haknyeon is in town, he can help us
Sangyeon instructed him to get the other and meet him at the castle.
---
Prince Chanhee was the only son of the royal family, the rightful heir to the throne, and even then, the kingdom didn’t seem to like him very much.
When he was born, a scandal ensued around the fact that a witch might have cursed him. His hair was white and his skin was much fairer than his parents, causing the kingdom and the king himself to resent him.
As the years went by, he closed himself to the outside world, the only person he indeed had a connection with was his mother, she was blamed for his appearance and her relationship with the king was affected but she could never turn her back on her son.
Soon he started having classes to assume his place as king since he was the only heir, and that’s when he met Younghoon, the son of one of his father’s counselors, he moved to the castle to learn politics and follow his father’s steps once Chanhee took over.
And as they worked together, they got closer.
And Younghoon fell first, Chanhee fell harder.
They would kiss between lessons, get distracted looking at the stars with the excuses of learning astronomy, and soon Chanhee couldn’t even remember how he was alone for so long, Younghoon was the light of his life, the air on his lungs.
He revealed his most kept secret to Younghoon: the witches’ curse was real, Chanhee had magical powers because his mother made a terrible deal with a witch to cure herself from a terrible disease.
He had practiced a bit in secret and figured it was about intention; it came naturally to him, but still; he didn’t intend to use it, afraid of what the people would think of him, that they would be scared.
Younghoon was a little taken back at first but reassured that it didn’t change things between them, Chanhee was now his, and nothing could change that.
*Or so they thought.*
The prince woke up to the sound of screams, Younghoon was being dragged out of their bed by two guards, he followed them, demanding that they put him down, but they didn’t listen.
Instead, he was brought to the king’s office, where they threw him to the ground and left.
— Father, what’s the meaning of this?
The king turned around with a sword in his hands.
— You don’t get to call me father while you disrespect me on my castle Chanhee, I’m putting an end to this. — he pointed at the boy — Lying with a man is no posture for a king, I won’t allow it
He put the blade close to Younghoon’s stomach, barely pressuring it
— No! You have no right to touch him, I am your son and future king, if you need to solve anything with me, let him be
Chanhee sounded confident, but his words came along with more of a beg for mercy, almost in instinct he felt his power rise, his hands shaking in purple flames
— Chanhee please, don’t do this, run away
Younghoon pleaded, he didn’t want the king to kill his lovers as well or to have everyone find out his secret
— I knew you were a witch, my only son, a sinner… you should thank me for this
With that, he stabbed the boy on the ground, curled in pain, the scarlet blood staining his white shirt.
Chanhee screamed, hitting the king with an orb of power and getting down to talk to his lover
— Younghoon, please, look at me, we must go
He helped the other get up, with the sword still there they locked themselves in one room, Chanhee prayed the spell he used on the door would be enough to keep the guards away.
He laid Younghoon on the bed, gathering what he could to tend to his wound, he got a jar of water to clean the area and tied a piece of cloth he had previously ripped from the bedsheets to his waist.
— He knows about you, about us, you shouldn’t have done that Chanhee
— I know, I’m sorry my love, I couldn’t let you die, I can’t let you die.
Chanhee knew there was only so much he could do now to keep the other alive, so he waited until night, and left the room, gathering some medicine from the royal doctor’s chambers and some of his magic books, he was determined to find something to help him.
— I’m back, how are you feeling?
— Now that you are here? I’ve never been happier.
He smiled, sitting beside him and undoing his bandage, he cleaned the wound again, frustrated that it was still bleeding a little
— Do you think he’ll kill my father?
Younghoon said, staring at the ceiling
— No, your father is the person he trusts the most, I know that much
— I don't think my father will continue to trust him after I'm dead
— You're not dying, Younghoon, he doesn't get to kill you
— Majesty, I'm bleeding out, maybe we can't have it all, - he thought for a moment - but I'm glad you're still by my side, unharmed
— You'll live, and we will rule this kingdom once you're healed
Chanhee sighed, after finishing his work, he put his head on his lover’s shoulder, holding his hand as they lay on the bed
Younghoon kissed the top of his head, holding his hand tighter
— I love you, my prince
Younghoon fell asleep then, giving Chanhee the perfect opportunity to sneak out of bed and read his book under the candlelight, checking if he was still breathing from time to time
He found a spell, and that made his eyes light up, hoping he could cure Younghoon if it ever came to that.
---
— Are you sure? The dark magic, of all things?
— I’m not sure why you’re surprised, everyone suspected it, if he was a mere commoner like us, they would kill him as a baby
Jaehyun and Haknyeon rode their horses through the forest, waiting for Sangyeon to show up, the latter found it hard to believe the prince would do such a thing
— Still, I know the prince, he just went mad? You’ve been there all this time. Did something happen?
— I don’t know, some guards told me he had a fight with the king and disappeared, then I heard the screams from the dining hall and went to the dungeon where the king told me what happened and asked me to find Sangyeon, that’s all
Haknyeon just nodded, seeing Sangyeon waiting for them by a tree, he half bowed and joined them
— I’ve been thinking, let’s free the king first and gather whoever we can before letting the prince know we entered the castle, if he’s using dark magic, he’s too powerful for us alone
Both of them nodded, resuming their path to the castle
---
Chanhee woke up in a cold sweat, he didn't mean to fall asleep, too worried for Younghoon.
He found his lover still sleeping beside him, but his bandages were covered in red, the wound was too deep it seemed.
He got up quickly, collecting the medicine and the water he used at night, trying to patch him up before he woke up, but it was in vain
— I know my love, it's useless, I'm sorry
Chanhee turned to him, it was still night outside so the candlelit room was dark, but he could still see his faint smile, trying to hide his pain
— It's not useless, I will not let you die here.
His voice cracked, mixing with his tears, his hands shaking as he applied pressure to stop the bleeding
— Chanhee, it's okay, I'm okay
— No it's not! I can't watch you die knowing that bastard killed you, I can't-
Younghoon fainted, his breaths getting weaker.
The prince dropped the piece of cloth and rushed to his book, putting his hands over the wound and chanting the words with all his heart, he couldn't lose, not like this.
He would heal Younghoon and make his father pay for what he did to him.
The wound closed as if it never existed but Younghoon didn't wake up
Chanhee felt the warm tears on his face, screaming and shaking the other with no response
He threw himself on the floor, sobbing loudly for what felt like hours
When he finally came to his senses, he coldly arranged Younghoon on the bed, straightening his clothes, putting his hair back in place, and positioning him in bed.
He noticed he was still breathing, but it didn't look like he could awake soon.
— I'm sorry
Now, the prince wishes he could say that this was thought out, but he wasn't thinking straight, he just ran down the stairs to the throne room, meeting eyes with his father
— Oh, there's our witch, is your companion finally dead?
— I'm here to claim my throne
The King laughed
— You're not the king, not yet, not never
— I will be once we're done, guards!
He looked confident, but the only place where he had practiced magic was with Younghoon; he did not know if the guards would obey until they did.
He threw his father in jail and even though he knew his lover would've hated that, he never felt better.
He came back up the stairs feeling amazing, he could do whatever he wanted now, and no one could take that from him since the only person who could do it was still asleep.