Chapter Text
Taehyun pov
The great main hall stood dead centre and was relatively easy to access for people unfamiliar with the castle. What a disadvantage that presented for the king. Luckily, taehyun had enough training to ward off any attacks that could put the king`s life in danger and was already situated in his favourite hiding place. The king`s stupid and useless guards made their rounds in pairs and taehyun resisted the urge to sneer at them. Sure, magic was technically forbidden in the kingdom but it was really the only thing powerful enough against enemies.
Taehyun placed his hand over his mouth in a yawn and scoured the room full of guests meticulously with his eyes. He had stayed up for couple of nights practicing his spells already and while the results had been satistfactory, the amount of effort was extremely draining every time.
"How many guards are with his majesty at the moment?“
"There are six at his side, there seems to be no strange activity so far but we are examining every guest before they enter the hall“
"good work. You can go to your post“
The exchange made taehyun roll his eyes at the guards who had failed to notice his presence. It did not matter if the king had six or six thousand knights by his side, they would be able to do nothing if the threat was magical. Taehyun worked harder on making his robes disappear and blend in when he noticed some suspicious men in purple attire. To the outsider`s eye, they looked pretty ordinary but taehyun could sense the energy in them. One of the perks of his last few weeks of practice was being able to hide his magical aura from other warlocks and sorcerers. This did some number on him when he used it for too long but the advantage of not being spotted outweighed the negative consequence.
Quietly, taehyun made his way closer to them in an attempt to hear their conversation. He could see the king from here as well, he was a couple of years older than taehyun and the youngest royal to be crowned in centuries. His bejeweled crown gleamed, resting off-centre on his dark hair. Taehyun had seen his majesty from a distance several time and he always had the impression that he had the eyes of a young deer. The first figure in purple waved his hand heavy with jewellery to the other before speaking,
"He is residing at 8 o`clock, sir“
His voice was as cold as steel, taehyun concentrated harder on hiding his aura.
"I see him, we strike now“
Before taehyun knew it, the two men got into action and taehyun had no choice but to act without checking his surroundings. As they raised their hands to chant their curse, taehyun came out just in time for a counter attack. He discovered bitterly that the shorter one was much more powerful once they directed their magic at him, momentarily distracted and thus giving enough time for the imcompetent guards to take the king to safety. Taehyun stretched and prepared himself to attack them from the corner of a table, he was still pretty well hidden thanks to his magic from earlier so he was invisible to anyone with no magical powers.
A quick flick from the two warlocks and a blast came. The sound blocked taehyun`s ears and he acted with care to dodge it. Nevertheless, the attack struck him knees and he let out a cry of pain. Yeah, people definitely heard that. A series of shocked murmurs came from the crowd, some were fleeing from the scene while other were watching in confusion and terror. Taehyun sighed, this was taking far too long.
He stood his ground for the next attack and this time, chanted the newest spell he had learnt. It had no means of direction but the destructive power would only blow out the two threats as everyone else was not within their vicinity. Surely enough, a large scale explosion obliterated the two men before they could process what was happening.
The reckless action caused his energy to falter at an alarming rate so taehyun started limping his way through to his hideout before his invisibility cover started to wear off.
Hueningkai pov
It was another day with pointless tasks for hueningkai, his knighthood position came with not-so-appealing experiences. Including standing like a lampost for hours and not being to scratch his calf, peeling potatoes because the kitchen was understaffed as well as grueling training that lasted long hours.
The public event at his majesty`s castle has been quite the spectacle and all knights were expected to be on full alert tonight. Especially after the attempted attack on the king, the details were still a mystery and hueningkai had only witnessed a small portion of it. The king`s enemies had averted their direction to what it seemed like nothing but air before an explosion but hueningkai had seen a disembodied hand wearing a green ring right before. It was the first time hueningkai had witnessed magic with his own two eyes. Now, everyone was searching the castle for an explanation. Desperate to catch the mystery person, hueningkai had taken his armour off and was roaming the halls freely. He was hoping that acting lowkey might get him to see something that other knights would miss.
A shuffling caught his attention below the staircase on his left and hueningkai saw a hint of some messy brown curls and a green robe. In dismay, he watched as the sight in front of him turned into a boy who looked like he was totally caught red-handed.
"This wing of the castle is not for the dwelling of commoners!" Hueningkai was not sure what wing they were really in but he was familiar with the protocols. This wing was the forbidden one. The boy made eye contact with him, he seemed to be squinting. Then hueningkai spotted something strange, the same green ring from earlier was in the commoner`s hand.
"I saw you!“hueningkai exclaimed, pulling his dagger from under his sleeve and holding it out, " You cannot practice magic near his majesty, that is against the rules of this kindgom!“'
"Oh go away, will you? I'm having a difficult day as is."
Hueningkai blinked stupidly, that was not the kind of reaction he was expecting. Being a literal Knight and all. The boy reached his right hand, the one without the ring to his forehead and hueningkai drew his dagger closer. It was practically in the boy`s face now, their closeness allowed hueningkai to make more observations.
The boy must have been around the same age as him, his hand came up to wipe some sweat from his forehead and back down. Not before hueningkai noticed the tremble in his fingers, the boy hid his hand behind his robe and stood his chin up stubbornly.
"You will be taken to the dungeons and serve your sentence for this." As hueningkai approached, a few more things became clear to him. The commoner defying him looked deathly pale and almost scared, hueningkai got the weird urge to ask him if he was okay.
In hueningkai's head, his first time catching someone would be way more heroic. Like a creature bursting flames at him. Or some worthy opponent with a sword who would be eventually outsmarted by hueningkai's deftness. That was, sadly, not the case. This was just some boy who looked like he was seconds away from making himself one with the floor.
"I can explain," the boy began, panting heavily, "what you saw was to protect the king. You saw his enemies, didn't you? They were using magic as well, there was no other wa-"
"Its still against the rules!“ hueningkai cut him off, „ I am an honorary knight and I serve the crown. You can't get away with this'
"Look, idiot. I just saved the crown. Are you blind, for heavens sake? Now I need to be on my way so please leave" hueningkai did not have the opportunity to think about his options because he heard the footsteps approaching. From the clinking sounds of the armour, it was clear that it was coming from other knights. They must have been looking for threats as well now.
What on earth was hueningkai doing, arguing with someone who had clearly practiced magic in the castle right in front of the king ? He reached for the commoners hands and wrapped them behind his back forcefully, facing little to no resistance.
"My sincerest apologies, commoner. You are coming with me."
"It`s taehyun and I'm a warlock, not a commoner" the boy stated proudly. Now that he was a single step away from hueningkai, his heavy breathing was very audible.
"Whatever, I`m taking you to the dungeons.“
"Not so fast. I can tell the other knights that you were trying to sneak out. You aren`t wearing your armour and you cannot prove I used magic to anyone “ the boy smirked, hueningkai unclenched his jaw. `
This was bad, he thought. What if the boy was right? It was true that hueningkai was not exactly following orders right now, he had ditched his partner a while ago and was not anywhere near his post. Even if he brought the warlock in, he had no means of proving that he was the one fighting off the men from earlier. `Look, chief! He`s clearly in the possession of a dark emerald ring, it`s gleaming evily on his hand which proves this man is magic!!` Yeah, not going to cut it. They would just laugh at him and send him to the guillotine.
"So, what's it gonna be? Oh, honourable Knight?"The warlock mocked.
"I can't believe I'm committing treason"
"Really? That easy?"
"Look, let's just say that I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here. I can always take you in later if I find out you're lying to me, warlock"
What can he say? Hueningkai was a sucker when it came to handsome warlocks, as he had just discovered.
Taehyun pov
Taehyun let out a sigh of relief, this impossibly tall undercover knight was finally going to leave him alone. It was about time the other return to his dumb post so taehyun could sneak through the other knights as well. The only problem was that taehyun had no energy to conceal himself anymore, the corners of his vision were already dark and blurry. He would have to make it through sheer luck.
He turned his attention back to the knight who had put the dagger away, "That`s great, I knew you would come through! Now, I can go from here. You distract them" said taehyun excitedly, he tried to walk past but the knight stepped a foot in front to block his path.
"Not so fast, I can't just let you out of my sight"
…Nevermind.
This was not going to plan for taehyun at all. "I'm sorry, what?"
'Yeah, I don't trust you to just come find me later. Besides, you look pretty shaken right now. We're getting away together.' Taehyun huffed in frustration as he watched the knight face his back and kneel slightly as if to carry him.
'I appreciate the offer, really, but I can manage this on my own' taehyun insisted. He was trying to come off as strong but all he wanted to do right now was to collapse in his bed and forget about all his worries.
"I'm not exactly convinced that's true, you`re lucky I`m helping a heretic like you."The boy with the dagger was still waiting, taehyun knew he could not outrun him in this state.
Taehyun grumbled, the other knights must have been really close right now, they were almost around the corner judging by their heavy footsteps. So taehyun surrendered to his only semi-logical option and hopped on the knight`s back. They started down the hallway past the staircase.
"I saved his life, okay?" clarified taehyun as he hesitantly wrapped his arms around the knight`s neck. He smelled of raw potatoes and freshly cut grass. “And there was absolutely no need for this strange situation you've put both of us in. If you had not showed up-"
"You would be taken to the dungeons by now" he almost sounded bored.
"I would have gotten away!"
"What are you talking about? You could barely stand!“ the boy straightened up to re-adjust taehyun`s weight and stopped when he got to a junction away from the other knights. “Now, which way do I turn?'
Taehyun wondered if the knight could sense his scowl.
"Left. Down that corridor. " He muttered.
They scurried away for 15 minutes, the sound of metal hitting the brick floors behind them made the knight maintain his pace. Taehyun could not help but feel drowsy, he hated to admit how comfortable he was just riding on a stranger`s back. A stranger who wanted to arrest him, knowing that the punishment for this level of treason was certain death.
He closed his eyes a little, the swaying made him feel like he was on a boat like the kind his father used to take him on. The waves would rock them gently but his father always knew how to manage them. He had promised to teach taehyun once he got olde-
"Umm, Warlock?" the knight`s concerned voice made taehyun return to his physical surroundings. He opened his eyes wide and tried to recognise where in the castle they were.
"I'm here, sorry. We're pretty close." His voice came out unintentionally tired, he had to focus. The underground hatch was here somewhere and it was activated with the use of a little spell. Luckily, taehyun had enough will for a little magic to escape.
"Can you let me down?"
The knight began to slowly lower him, "Yeah sure"
Taehyun held out his hands in front of him as if to catch himself in case the dizziness got worse. He was made aware of the knights still moving behind them, their footsteps quickened as his eyes came back into focus. The knight must have sensed magic would be involved because he took a step back in surprise and cupped is mouth to stop from making a sound of surprise.
With a wave of taehyun`s hand and a few words under his breath, a small door appeared below them on the ground. He lifted the handle and gestured the knight to hurry in before following behind and closing the door behind them. They made their way down the stairs and stood awkwardly in taehyun`s little hideout/room that stood beneath castle floor. He had just let a knight inside, how dumb of him. They held their breaths, waiting for the footsteps to die out. The men above them shouted some incomprehensible words and finally left them.
Taehyun dropped himself on his knees, his legs ached with fatigue „That was close. Now I have only one knight to get rid of“
"My name is hueningkai, sir huening for you“
"right, hueningkai“
"Sir huening!“
"whatever you say.“ He watched the knight, hueningkai, wander around in bewilderment. Taehyun had not been doing any cleaning lately and the place reflected that fact pretty clearly. On his bed were spell books left half open while the large table on the opposite side was overflowing with potions, herbs and more books. The only thing that was tidy was taehyun`s closet but that was because he only had around 5 robes in different colours.
Hueningkai raised an eyebrow as he pulled out a chair, he wiped the dust off of it before sitting down, "So won't you, like, erase my memory or something?"
Taehyun chuckled at that,
'Would be real convenient, wouldn't it? I hate to burst your bubble, but magic like that doesn't really exist.' He said the last part in a whisper. Maybe he could wack the boy with a spellbook.
"How did you even end up committing treason on the regular? No offense, but you could have gotten some real work.“ taehyun eyed him, getting up and settling himself to his bed. Normally, changing into his pyjamas would come first but that would mean standing up for longer and telling the knight to look the other direction. So, not happening.
"I used to practice magic with a mage, she told me that it was my calling when I was ten. My parents agreed to me training in the castle grounds for the price of some gold they deemed more worthy than me. She was extremely skilled. I lost her last month." He said in a single breath. Woah, that was a lot of TMI for a single night with someone he just met.
Hueningkai`s gaze, illumated by mellow candelight, looked almost pitying, 'I'm sorry to hear that'
The opened spellbooks fell to the floor as taehyun grabbed for his blanket and settled in, the covers felt so soft and heavenly. So what if he was left alone now? He did not need some annoying knight to feel for him.
Taehyun's laugh was without humour, 'It's okay. I tried to look for spells to bring her back but found nothing in the library. I guess even magic has its limits'
He had really tried. There must have been a forbidden section in the castle library but taehyun had found nothing. He had searched through all belongings his mage had left behind countless of times. There was nothing. Drowning in his own thoughts, taehyun completely missed what the knight said to him next.
"Sorry what was that?“ Words felt difficult now, it was as if he had cast a sleeping spell on himself.
"———- fine though?" Hueningkai repeated. There it was again in his voice, the strange tinge of concern that confused taehyun. He really wanted to be alone but he needed to gather up energy before performing magic again. Then, he could take the knight down. That is, if the knight did not kill him in his sleep.
"What? You'll give me a fine instead?" taehyun asked, still having misheard.
His head lolled to his side and he blinked delicately, watching Hueningkai lean closer and repeat his words. Will you be fine though?
"Ohh" He was barely mumbling coherent words now,
" 'course I will"
He accepted the darkness in the hopes that hueningkai wanted him alive a little longer. There was no way out unless taehyun used magic so they were stuck here until he rested. Listening to the calm humming noise from the knight, Taehyun let his eyes roll to the back of his skull.