Chapter Text
hikari awoke to the bright rays of summer sunlight streaming through his open window. the day had hardly begun, and yet hikari already dreaded what was to come. nothing was strictly planned, sure, but there was no way to judge what uninteresting nonsense could occur in the castle on any given day. nevertheless, he sat up in bed, tucking in the silk of his sheets and tidying his quilt.
before standing to choose his clothing for the day, hikari took a glance toward his bedside table, rubbing his eyes to get a clearer look; and, surely enough, what he'd been expecting was right there. his small glass vase held a new flower, a red rose, seemingly still damp with midnight rain. it matched just perfectly with the other flowers hikari had gotten – a collection which he'd placed in numerous flowerpots around his bedroom, serving as a reminder of the daily occurance.
hikari wasn't entirely sure how long this had been going on for. a mere week or so, maybe? each morning, he would wake up to a new flower in the vase beside his bed; it was never truly clear where, or who, they came from, but hikari had a few guesses.
hikari reached his dressing area, quickly selecting and putting on new clothes to replace his pajamas. he was well aware of the reaction he'd get from his parents if he didn't appear downstairs in his top condition, even if the family weren't meant to be going anywhere that day. so although he'd much rather stay in his pajamas and relax, he buttoned his blazer and ran a comb through his hair, plainly to avoid conflict.
as he was putting on his accessories, struggling to fasten a particularly difficult necklace, there came a soft knock on his bedroom door. a familiar sound, to the point hikari could tell who was standing there at the mere knocking alone. "yes?" he called out, still holding onto the necklace as he turned to face the slowly opening double doors.
as expected, it was the family's royal messenger, kim wooseok. he stood tall, as usual, sending hikari a warm, bright smile as he greeted him. "prince hikari, your highness, good morning," wooseok bowed his head, a letter enclosed in his outstretched hands. a moment later, though, as he was ever the considerate one, he looked over to hikari's hands. "may i assist you?" wooseok offered, stepping closer.
hikari contemplated for a moment before nodding his head, "that would be wonderful, thank you."
wooseok placed the letter down onto hikari's desk before joining him to stand in front of the room's floor length mirror. hikari could sense the steady focus in wooseok's gaze as he stood behind him, fiddling with the necklace; even though wooseok was younger by a few years, he was always truly helpful in these circumstances, doing the smallest of tasks just to please. hikari appreciated it, of course, and found it to be quite reassuring, in a way.
as wooseok was adjusting the chain around his neck, hikari couldn't help but take a glance at the letter that sat on his desk. he couldn't read it too well from where he stood, but if the past few months were any hint to him, today's letter was likely not much different. wooseok took notice of hikari's puzzled expression.
"oh, yes, i've brought a new letter for you. it's coming from shangri kingdom..." wooseok trailed off as the distaste on hikari's face became increasingly clear in the mirror.
"does it happen to be another request from the byeol family?" hikari asked as calmly as he could manage, looking from the envelope back to the messenger.
"yes, your highness, i believe so," wooseok said softly, clasping the necklace and stepping back, "i apologize for the inconvenience." he returned to the desk, taking the letter and presenting it to hikari once again.
"it's alright, the issue isn't in your hands," hikari reassured, "i'll still look it over." he took the envelope from wooseok's grasp, holding back a deep sigh as he took in the sight of the turquoise wax stamp that'd he'd grown quite familiar with by now.
"thank you, i'll be on my way now," wooseok bowed, flashing the prince another genuine smile before exiting the room, gently shutting the bedroom doors behind him.
hikari tore the envelope open, disappointed to find the exact same letter written to him once again, this time with just slightly more desperate strokes of the quill. his royal highness, prince hikari of bandilliun, we extend our profound request to further unite and strengthen our families, in the act of marriage to our princess haneul of shangri kingdom.
so on and so forth, listing benefits of the marriage across multiple pages of carefully folded parchment. this was yet another repetitive occurrance to hikari, and he wasn't sure how much longer he could respond to the king of shangri with 'i will take your offer into consideration' before he would begin to consider an assassination, instead. for the lord's sake, he didn't even fancy women all that much, but alas, the 'unification of families' was of utmost importance, it seemed.
in defeat, hikari set the letter down, mentally drafting out a kind rejection of a response letter as he made his way to leave the room. before getting to the door, though, hikari turned to the window one last time; out of habit or spontaneity, he wasn't quite sure. and although he was far from the window, hikari could notice right away who he'd been checking for.
down below, in the castle courtyard, stood the newly hired garden attendant, tending to the tulip beds in his tattered overalls. even while doing such a mundane task, there was a smile on his face, of which its warmth somehow resonated all the way to hikari's window. hikari didn't even know the boy's name, having been shunned or called away by his parents each of the three times he'd tried to strike up any sort of conversation with the gardener.
all hikari knew about him was from eavesdropping on the castle guards' conversations. he'd come from a foreign land in search of work, having only a small sum of money to his name. he was assumably the same age as hikari himself, and was said to be greatly interested in flowers, which may help to explain why he seemed to be so glad while simply watering the plants.
the boy set his watering can down, bringing his hand upwards to run through his tangled hair. and, in that moment, his gaze shifted, all of a sudden coming to rest on hikari's, as if he'd felt the prince's eyes on him all along. hikari felt frozen in place for a moment, unable to avert his gaze – until a moment later, as the gardener gave him a smile, and it was as if the ice sculpture that was hikari had melted once again.
the way the boy's face had lit up, his wide eyes filled with what hikari could only describe as innocence and purity. dear lord, hikari didn't know much about the gardener whatsoever, yet there he was, his heart coming to a stop once again. something about those eyes, his soft demeanor, his presence, even from far away, drew hikari in, and gave him the uexplainable desire to care for the boy. what was happening to him?
hikari rested an elbow on his windowsill, raising his hand to wave hello, but not too long after came another, more reckless knock to his bedroom door. "hikari, mum and dad are calling for you. they've told me to come get you for breakfast."
hikari could only sigh at the sound of his younger brother's scolding. "yes, sir hyeontae," he teased softly, turning his head to the door for a moment, "i'm coming." in a state of pure disdain, hikari fixed his gaze back to the gardener, and turned his wave into one of goodbye, noticing what looked to be a pout on the boy's lips as he mirrored the gesture. hikari stood up, and with one last smile at him, he exited his room.
----
the energy in the dining hall was tense, as it'd been for the past few weeks whenever the family would eat breakfast together. hikari was sat next to his brothers, minseo and hyeontae, and it was easy to presume all three of them were feeling equally uncomfortable as their parents continued to talk.
"so, hikari," his father began, setting down his fork and looking him in the eyes, almost menacingly, "you received a letter from shangri this morning, correct?"
hikari tried to hide the way his shoulders slumped as he responded, "yes, father, i'll consider the offer."
"you've said that every time!" he argued, looking to the queen for her input, but she simply continued eating her eggs, likely regarding the issue as not a hindrance to her.
"yes, and i've told you i have no desire to marry for the time being," hikari replied back in earnest, "i apologize, but i think i need more time to think the situation through."
"we've been depending on you solely to continue the etani family legacy. how will you do this if not by marrying?"
hikari couldn't stop the roll of his eyes, to which his mother gave an unimpressed shake of her head. hikari tried to argue, "when did we stop relying on minseo, by any chance? he's been designated for the throne since he was born, if i'm remembering things correctly."
"we performed this same pestering on your brother when he was younger, but he was far too stubborn. we couldn't put any more time to waste. speaking of it now, i'd be pleasantly surprised if he were to find even some poor girl to marry." at this comment, minseo's head shot up, his eyes staring ever-so-violent holes into the side of his father's head. hikari surely understood the sentiment of his parents, but who was to tell if hikari would follow that same stubbornness, too?
just then, their mother chimed in, "doesn't minseo fancy that castle servant? it'd be lovely if our son could marry someone capable of bearing children, but if this is our sole option, two kings would surely be–"
"please leave hanbin out of this discussion!" minseo cried, having now shifted his blazing eyes to their mother. his brows were brought down in a way that made him seem to be both upset and in seek of anger-fueled revenge.
minseo's liking for the servant had started as a joke between hyeontae and hikari, only a story to tease minseo about, and not something they thought was a reality. until one day, in which their mother aparrently caught him and hanbin holding hands in the hallway; which was a huge violation of parentally-enforced rules, as the princes weren't even allowed to hold simple conversation with any non-noble castle staff (wooseok was the only exception to this, being a family friend and therefore exempt. because this made perfect sense).
"i was simply sharing an idea," their mother scolded minseo, "there's no need to be so blunt with me. do you understand?"
with a deep breath, minseo replied an unconvincing, sarcastic "yes, your majesty," before picking up his fork to violently poke at his food, quite a temper still present in his demeanor. the room went nearly silent again, aside from the sounds of utensils scraping on plates and the occasional chewing. hikari felt guilty towards minseo, and surely felt empathy, having experienced the exact same thing; but at the same time, he was partly glad to have escaped his parents' nagging himself, at least for the time being.
after a few minutes, the increasingly awkward silence was broken by an abrupt declaration from hyeontae. "i'm going to go out with my friends in the afternoon."
their father cocked a brow. "which friends?"
hyeontae sighed, seeming reluctant to answer. "gyurae and kaedan, from the choir."
"those peasants again?" the king asked disapprovingly, already obviously in opposition to hyeontae's plans.
"please? i promise you i'll be home in time for supper, i won't share any royal secrets, whichever aspect it is that you're worried about."
"no, i can't let you. i'm very sorry, but why don't you go play with the young princes of the yu palace? we believe it's best for you to spend more of your time with nobles, hyeontae, we don't want those fools' peasantly ways rubbing off on you."
"the young princes are children!" hyeontae groaned, slamming his utensils to the table. "why must i have to be so different from the other boys my age? i swear, it's as if you have some sort of prejudice solely against me."
"hyeontae, darling, it's not like that," their mother consoled. "we only want what's best for you."
"you think isolating me from the outside world is best for me?!" hyeontae argued.
"etani hyeontae, that is quite enough out of you."
hikari sat quietly, awkwardly, between his brothers, as they continued to argue with their parents. it was clear to anyone in the room that this was an uncomfortable argument to be sitting through, let alone be apart of. hikari did all he could to ignore it, to focus a little more on eating his breakfast as to remain out of the conversation. at one point, hyeontae stands up from his seat, the heels of his shoes clacking on the hardwood floor as he stormed out of the dining hall.
the silence in the room became even more awkward after that. these sorts of quarrels ran very common in the family, but that didn't mean they ever got any easier or stress-free. in an act to save himself from further confrontation or uncomfort, hikari attempted to follow suit, but his father turned his questioning to hikari before he could stand up. "so, regarding that proposal..."
hikari frowned.
----
later in the night, hikari returned to his bedroom, more exhausted than ever. he didn't even do much that day, stayed indoors aside for a short stroll across the castle gardens in the afternoon. he could admit to himself that it was, partly, in hopes of running into the gardener. however, with his luck, the entire courtyard was empty, spare for castle guards. hikari was able to hear them from around the corner, and had decided to listen for just a bit.
"sir hikaru, were you planning to watch over the gates this evening?" one asked sweetly.
"i've told you," the other sighed, "there's no need to refer to me that way anymore."
"i've grown to be quite comfortable with it, though," he paused, "and in any case, you didn't give me an answer."
"sungmin, what are you conspiring on this time?"
at this point, hikari had turned the corner, getting a glimpse at the two. they were stood against the castle wall, clad in their usual deep blue suits. although they were dressed identically, the two were nothing but polar opposites; hikari could confirm this by now, having known the both of them since they were still castle servants.
sungmin looked to hikaru, his gaze seeming to be unreadable (which, interestingly, only occured when he'd look at hikaru, and nobody else). "i was going to come to visit you for a bit, if that sounds alright with you."
the disagreement was clear on hikaru's face. "you shouldn't just leave the courtyard unattended, you fool."
"i promise, i'll make sure it's safe before i join you!" sungmin pleaded.
"i'll consider it," hikaru sighed, with the slightest of a smile on his face. just then, he noticed hikari walking past him, his eyes widening before he gave a slight bow in hikari's direction. "good afternoon, your highness."
"hello," hikari greeted back, "has all been well?"
the two of them nodded in reassurance, sungmin calling out to hikari as he walked past, "by any chance, have you been considering those marriage letters yet, prince?"
hikari gave a tilt of his head, responding with a resound, "no, i truly haven't. why do you ask?"
"oh, no reason in particular, your highness. purely asking for an acquaintance of mine."
an acquantaince? alright. hikari didn't think too much of it, simply bidding the guards goodbye as he made his way back to the castle.
but now, as hikari sat in bed, the thought came back to him in full force. which acquaintance? who would be asking about hikari's marital status? how many acquaintances could sungmin even have while patrolling the castle all day?
perhaps, could it be the gardener boy who was curious?
hikari took one last look out of his window for the night. nobody was out in the courtyard – obviously, considering how late it was – but hikari could see the familiar glow of light coming from the small garden shed. he hadn't had the chance to ask about it, but he liked to think that was where the gardener stayed during the night. as he didn't live in the kingdom prior, it was highly likely; hikari hoped that it was at least well refurbished to be a proper living space. although knowing his parents and how they usually treated their non-noble workers, hikari's hope was slightly dampened.
maybe one of these days, hikari could go down to visit him. maybe during the night, when nobody else would be awake to usher him back to bed. would that cross too far into the boy's boundaries? they hardly even knew each other, after all.
hikari began to lie back, letting his head, which had been full with conspiracies and thoughts, rest on his pillow. it wasn't even too late, and yet hikari found himself ready to sleep already. between the family arguments at every meal and the pure boredom that the day had been riddled with, it was only fair that hikari could get a decently fair amount of sleep.
and so he turned over in bed, pulling his quilt over himself as he drifted to sleep.
----
lingqi sat awake on his cot, patiently waiting for the clock to reach midnight. it was surely difficult, as there weren't many interesting things to find in his shed, but he persevered regardless.
he didn't feel the slightest bit tired, even after another long day of planting and watering flowers. because when you're doing what you love, you never work a day in your life, or whichever phrase was along those lines. but also, because he'd reached the highlight of his day.
a moment later, he heard the soft tap of fingers against his door, and a smile spread across his lips as it opened. just on time, as always. "hi, sungmin!"
sungmin gave a playful scoff at lingqi's casual tone. no matter how many times it was insisted, lingqi continuously dropped the 'sir', to the point neither of the guards even bothered enforcing it anymore. "have you chosen tonight's flower yet?" sungmin asked with a grin, reaching a hand down for lingqi to grab and pull himself upright.
lingqi gave a thoughtful hum, making his way out of the shed before answering, "i believe so! follow me." he skipped over to the flowerbeds, sungmin still right behind him.
lingqi wasn't sure when this nightly routine had become so serious, but he didn't mind it one bit. choosing the flowers, risking getting caught (and injury) just to deliver them; it was all for the prince, after all. he found such a simple joy from gauging the prince's reactions each morning, from asking the castle guards about him whenever he could.
he understood that prince hikari wasn't allowed to speak with him, but that didn't make it hurt lingqi's heart any less. he knew so much about him, wanted to learn so much more, and all the while, the prince likely didn't even know him by name. but if this was what he'd have to do – for now at least – just to communicate with the prince, lingqi wanted to continue. it was fun, anyway.
lingqi eventually made a stop at the carnations. "these will be good!"
sungmin gave a nod, "and what exactly do these ones symbolize, you think?"
lingqi smiled. he knew the court guards found it amusing when he'd explain his knowledge on floriology. maybe since he was still quite inadequate in their language, his explanations came off as entertaining? regardless, lingqi was truly interested in these sorts of things, and someone taking interest, even in an ironic sense, was good news to him.
lingqi spoke slowly as he found the proper words. "carnations are for fascination and admiration. since i'm fascinated by prince hika..." lingqi trailed off as he noticed sungmin's eyes weren't focused on him anymore, but rather on something else far away. lingqi craned his neck to get a better view of what had caught his attention, quickly realizing it was someone.
"sir hikaru, weren't you..?" sungmin's eyes were wide as he stood back slightly.
"i was under the impression you were planning to visit me, weren't you?"
"you didn't seem all too enthusiastic, so i didn't go through with it."
hikaru nodded, seeming to avoid the boy's gaze. "i see. i was only worried." he didn't seem to make any plans of stepping back, sticking around for longer; to which both lingqi and sungmin grew equally worried.
hikaru didn't know about their nightly deliveries yet. from what lingqi remembered, sungmin had advised against telling him about it, arguing that he would be too judgemental, too worried about possible inconveniences brought on by their plans. lingqi hadn't known hikaru for long, but from what he did know, that seemed to be about right.
but there hikaru stood. and, of course, his first line of questioning was, "what is he doing out at this hour?", most definitely in reference to lingqi (who didn't have a curfew, per se, but was expected to finish up his work in the evening and awake the next morning at dawn).
sungmin glanced down to where lingqi kneeled at the edge of the flower bed, giving him the soft reassurance to continue what he'd been doing, before turning back to hikaru. "oh, no reason in particular. just looking at the flowers."
"he has the entire day to do that, doesn't he? he's a gardener."
"yes, well..." sungmin stuttered, "it's- the flowers give a special energy in the night time, hikaru. he insisted on checking them to make sure they're alright."
hikaru was clearly unimpressed. "hong sungmin, i've known you for many years now. you are aware that you can't fool me that easily, aren't you?"
sungmin bit his lip, looking back to lingqi, who'd begun picking pale red carnations from the flowerbed, and back up to hikaru. "alright, you've caught me there. he's... getting flowers for the prince."
hikaru looked to be incredulous at first, but as time went on, little by little, he came to a clearer understanding. "prince hikari, correct?"
"yes, sir."
lingqi couldn't help but give a soft laugh at hikaru's unpleased reaction to sungmin's words. apparently, from what he'd been able to understand, hikaru had been in the position for a year, while sungmin had only recently been promoted to castle guard; he still treated hikaru with much more respect than necessary. lingqi swore he could see hikaru's posture grow more stiff than before.
"well," hikaru replied, multiple beats too late, bringing a hand up to the side of his face (in attempts to cool the blushing of his cheeks?), "why are we doing this, exactly?"
"i think it's fairly obvious that our lingqi can't really speak with the prince properly. this is his love language, of sorts."
hikaru hummed, looking lingqi over with a stern look in his eyes. "how long have you been helping him with this?"
"for around a week, i believe."
"if you keep going on like this, the garden will become completely bare, and lingqi will be falsely executed on the grounds of doing his job improperly."
lingqi looked up at him with a potent fear in his eyes, to which sungmin noticed, narrowing his gaze in hikaru's general direction. "don't scare him! that's sure not to happen, this is all done in moderation."
"i've been planting new ones, also!" lingqi insisted.
"flowers don't grow in a day. if the family were to take a look at the state of this garden, they'd surely notice the missing ones."
"oh, it's not that serious of a matter, hikaru," sungmin argued, "if they ask, we can just say we're going through another drought."
"what's a drought?" lingqi asked in curiousity.
"when... when there's no water, long time," hikaru answered, before turning back to sungmin, his voice noticeably less kind-spirited, "they aren't fools to that extent."
before sungmin could further make his case, lingqi had finished choosing his 3 flowers for the night, to which sungmin was, truthfully, quite grateful for. he walked towards the window, lingqi following behind him. upon looking back, lingqi saw that hikaru still stood in the same spot, keeping an eye on the two.
lingqi and sungmin had performed this enough by now that it was roughly choreographed. the window wasn't too high from the ground, but to the point lingqi's head was just short of the windowsill when he stood on his own. so, carefully, sungmin crouched down, allowing lingqi to get on his back, the carnations still in hand.
"what are you doing?" hikaru called out in exasperation, "you're far too scrawny for this, sungmin, you'll get yourself hurt one of these days."
"i've been just fine, thank you for the concern," sungmin responded, his annoyance and un-thankfulness painfully clear in his tone. he stood up, wobbling the slightest bit, but sturdying himself once lingqi held onto the wall in front of them.
lingqi leaned forward slightly, just enough to open up hikari's window with one hand, holding his flowers safely in the other. he could see that the usual vase was empty once again, last night's rose having moved somewhere. lingqi was glad; there was no way to know what hikari thought of the flowers, but the way he'd been smiling lingqi's way and at least recieving the flowers, made lingqi greatly happy.
he hoped it made hikari happy, too.
he brought his hand up to place the flowers in the vase, taking the opportunity to peer into the room; a breach of privacy, maybe, but hikari didn't have to know. with just one glance, he saw hikari fast asleep in this bed. faced away from the window, sure, but it wasn't as if lingqi was purposefully trying to watch him as he slept. he just wanted to make sure the prince was doing alright; with how little he got to see hikari throughout the day, that at least gave him a slight bit of reassurance.
his moment is interrupted by the abrupt sound of sungmin grunting from behind him. "lingqi- have you done it yet?"
"yes, yes," lingqi said softly, as the window was still open and he would hate to wake hikari this late. but sungmin didn't seem to hear him, and moments later, in a sequence that seemed to flash by in no short of a second.
sungmin's balance faltered, and while lingqi was able to successfully fall to his feet, sungmin went falling backwards. lingqi quickly turned his head, starting to rush over to see if sungmin was okay. but to his surprise, hikaru had already been standing there, having caught him. since when was he there, who knew; but there he was, holding a distraught sungmin in his arms, one hand resting on the back of his head. the way hikaru had instantly started running his hand through sungmin's hair was... certainly an utmost kind, friendly gesture.
"that's it," hikaru muttered under his breath, "i can't allow you two to do this anymore. you'll get injured, sungmin."
"so will lingqi," sungmin argued.
"yeah, yeah. him too."
i'm still right here, for your information, lingqi wanted to note. he decided now wasn't the time to argue.
hikaru continued after a moment of calming down, sungmin having stood up fully – although hikaru's arm was still draped around the younger boy's waist. "isn't there another way he can talk with the prince? write him a letter, anything?"
"i'd like to!" lingqi smiled, noticing how hikaru's eyes softened the slightest bit when he met his gaze.
"i don't think he has the facilities for letter writing in that shed," sungmin sighed.
"we can certainly make it work," hikaru reassured, "can't we, sungmin?"
"can we?"
"of course, you dimwit!"
the two of them continued to talk in hushed voices, discussing plans of what to do, probably. lingqi wanted to be included, but after a moment, he decided it was likely best to stay out of their argument (even if it wasn't one, their conversations always looked like arguments. it was their own characteristic).
after a long few moments, sungmin turned back to lingqi, fiddling with the braid in his hair as he spoke. "lingqi, we will bring you some parchment tomorrow afternoon. be thinking of what to write."
lingqi's eyes lit up. "write... to prince hikari?" sungmin and hikaru nodded in sync. lingqi found himself smiling even brighter than before. "thank you, thank you!"
"always honored," hikaru said, his tone indistinguishable from one of sarcasm or endearment, "now get yourself to bed. we're meant to be watching the castle grounds, we cannot just stand here any longer."
"i will!" lingqi said, and for the first time in a while, he bowed to them without being prompted to do so. "goodnight, sleep well?"
the guards didn't correct him about the fact they'd likely be getting 2 hours of rest, at most, if they were lucky, and simply bid him goodnight back.
lingqi returned to the garden shed, laying himself back onto his thin cot. he didn't even mind the discomfort too much, this time, as he had much brighter thoughts on his mind, now. what will i write?, he thought to himself, how can i say this properly enough? impress him with my words? and so lingqi fell asleep that night with a letter being drafted in his subconcious, and – even better – while looking forward to seeing the prince in the morning, once again.