Chapter Text
The day was boring. Far too boring.
Still, watching the kingdom's castle in the distance, Hyunjin can't help but think how bearable his life is now.
The royal castle had always been one of the most hostile places in Hyunjin's childhood. Even though he had never been a troublesome child, there seemed to be an unsaid agreement that everyone, including his parents, and the servants, hated him.
Hyunjin knew what rejection felt like. Even as a young child, he had often been left to fend for himself, abandoned to his own existence, always isolated and forgotten in the castle's quiet corners.
Running away from home hadn't changed anyone's life but his own. In more ways than one, he would say.
Hyunjin had been taken in by the Vicious Witch, who lived at the top of the kingdom's hill. She was, perhaps, the most feared person in the entire kingdom. Even more than his father, the King.
Contrary to everything he'd been told throughout his life, the witch had never been cruel to him. Not once had he gone without food, clean clothes, or, most surprising of all, affection. Despite her intimidating appearance and icy touch, she always made sure he was cared for, teaching him everything she knew. The witch showed him kindness in ways the Queen herself, his own mother, never had. That same witch, shunned and despised by the entire kingdom, cared for Hyunjin until her very last breath.
Before her, the only adult who had ever shown Hyunjin even the slightest bit of affection was the maid assigned to care for him. Sadly, she died young during a wave of illness that swept through the kingdom.
Hyunjin remembered being one of the only two people at her funeral.
The other was his older brother, Minho.
Minho rarely showed much emotion in his day-to-day life, but for some irritating reason, he always seemed to have a smile reserved for Hyunjin. Despite being doted on by everyone in the castle, dressed in the finest clothes, and taught by the kingdom's greatest tutors to become the next King, Minho never looked as genuine as he did when he was with him.
And that was exactly why Hyunjin hated him. When he was a child at least.
Minho liked him despite everyone else who despised him. He insisted on standing beside Hyunjin as an equal, even if it meant being looked down for it. He defended him, even when Hyunjin neither wanted nor needed his protection.
Minho was a good person. Almost as kind as the maid who had cared for Hyunjin. But it was impossible not to associate his brother with every terrible thing Hyunjin had been forced to endure alone simply because nobody besides Minho and his maid liked him.
So even though he no longer held any resentment toward Minho, he still couldn't bring himself to go back.
Away from the castle, Hyunjin had learned to see life differently. Surrounded by dark clouds and creatures just as rejected as he was, he felt far more at peace with himself and his own existence.
A sharp tapping against the window pulls him from his thoughts. Hyunjin looks up, immediately recognizing the dark silhouette waiting to be let inside.
"Diablo, you're going to get everything soaked..."
Even as he scolds the raven, a wry smile tugs at his lips. He opens the window, allowing the bird to fly into the tower.
"Are you okay, my pet?"
The animal squawks in response to Hyunjin, clearly happy to see his owner again. The raven shakes his body to shed some of the water, sending droplets of rain flying through the room. Hyunjin quickly turns his face away before reaching for a nearby cloth to dry the bird off properly. Instead, Diablo flutters out of reach, landing atop the crystal orb embedded in Hyunjin's staff.
That was rather unusual.
“What is it, Diablo?” The raven squawks again in reply, pecking at the crystal ball to catch the witch’s attention. “Did you find something in the forest?”
Grasping his staff, Hyunjin rests his fingers against the crystal orb. The onyx ring on his finger glows as it resonates with the magic he summons, allowing the forest to appear within the orb's polished surface.
A swirl of black smoke briefly distorts the image. Even after the spell comes into focus, Hyunjin can't tell what Diablo is trying so desperately to show him. The raven seems just as frustrated, eyes gleaming as he channels his own magic into the crystal.
That's when Hyunjin understands.
It has been years since he last saw his older brother, but Minho hasn't changed much.
Sheltering beneath a towering yew tree as best he can, Minho watches the storm with furrowed brows, worry and a hint of fear etched across his face.
It's obvious he'd been caught in the downpour. His white tunic clings to his body, the soaked fabric nearly translucent by now. He appears to be alone, glancing frantically from side to side until he spots someone in the distance.
Hyunjin doesn't recognize the man. He's not a face he remembers seeing around the castle. His uniform, however, immediately gives away his role: a royal guard assigned only to Minho.
Back in the day, the palace had countless servants, but not all were free to perform every duty. Many "belonged" to members of the royal family, distinguished by the colors of their uniforms or a specific insignia within that color. The King's attendants wore dark blue, while the Queen's dressed in purple. Hyunjin's nurse was assigned red.
Minho's attendants, however, wore white.
Their uniforms were always as pristine as the prince himself. His nurses and servants looked like angels wandering the castle halls, never bearing so much as a speck of dirt on their clothes.
This guard was no different.
His uniform appeared to be made of a much heavier fabric. Even after standing in the rain, it wasn't nearly as translucent as Minho's shirt. The many layers of his attire no doubt helped as well; a white tunic under a reinforced white leather vest and a matching jacket over. Even the scabbard attached to his belt was white, swaying from side to side as he ran towards Minho. The only flaw in the spotless uniform was the mud staining the hems of his trousers and his boots.
Looking thoroughly exasperated, the guard immediately pulls Minho into a tight embrace the moment he reaches him, driven entirely by relief at finding the prince safe.
Although caught off guard, Minho returns the hug without hesitation, wrapping his arms around the young man's shoulders and burying his face in the crook of his neck.
Oh.
Rather intimate, Hyunjin thinks, considering the man is still a servant. Nothing more, nothing less.
Any close relationship between members of the royal family and their attendants was strongly discouraged. Maids, for example, were required to leave their posts once the princes turned twelve, ensuring they wouldn't remain too attached to the motherly figures who raised them.
To Hyunjin's surprise, when they finally pull apart, the guard gently cups Minho's face in both hands and says something to him. A moment later, he gives Minho a quick once-over before shrugging off his own coat and draping it over the prince's shoulders, keeping his hands firmly there and guiding him back toward the castle.
The storm has eased considerably by now. Only a light drizzle remains, making the journey through the forest far safer.
Hyunjin lifts the spell. He has seen enough.
It's both agonizing and sorrowful to see his older brother again after so many years. Most wouldn't call it a reunion, but for Hyunjin, it's close enough.
Fifteen years have passed since he last saw Minho.
He has a clear memory of his brother standing wide-eyed at the castle window as Hyunjin climbs out with a small bundle of food clutched in his hands.
That was the night he ran away from home.
He remembers the whirlwind of emotions that crossed Minho's face with perfect clarity: sadness, fear, shock, and the desperate urge to tell Hyunjin not to go. But every one of those emotions vanished the moment Minho heard the guards approaching.
"Go. Go, Hyunjin!"
Hyunjin didn't hesitate, immediately leaping out the window onto the battlements, running as fast as he could from one tower to the next.
After climbing down the outer wall, he looked back one last time.
Minho was still standing at the window, staring into the darkness where Hyunjin had disappeared, wearing that same worried expression.
Minho's concern for him was infuriating.
Knowing that, to the very last moment, his older brother had worried for him was infuriating.
Part of that had been Hyunjin's own fault.
He had never known how to let himself be Minho's little brother. How could he, when everyone around constantly separated them and often compared how awkward Hyunjin was compared to Minho.
Of course, Minho never cared about that. It was obvious that while the Queen and the King never intended to have a second child, Minho longed for a younger sibling.
Whenever he caught any maid scolding Hyunjin for no reason at all, one stern look from the young prince was enough to send them hurrying away. It was the only time his gentle expression ever seemed to harden.
Minho always made sure to bring him flowers or rocks from outside trips, anything that made him think of his younger brother. He even sneaked him late-night snacks stolen from the endless royal banquets and council meetings, those which Hyunjin wasn't allowed to participate in.
He was the kingdom's future king. Even as a child, Minho was adored by the people. Hyunjin heard that when the first prince was born, the entire kingdom celebrated for a week, believing him to be a child blessed by the gods.
Minho was loved from the very first moment. Not Hyunjin.
Inside the castle, he was little more than an unwanted child, and outside its walls, most commoners weren't even sure the second prince existed. He was so rarely seen in public that many believed the royal family had only one heir.
And now, he wasn't known as the second prince anymore. Although the people didn’t knew what he looked like, he was widely known as the Vicious Witch’s successor. Which means he was prone to be "as evil and immoral as she was."
Minho was a goody-two-shoes. Which meant he would never openly defy the expectations placed upon him.
Not even for love, it seems.
Because what Hyunjin had just witnessed between Minho and that guard couldn't be anything other than a close, deep affection beyond just plain loyalty or gratitude. He doubts it was the first time they shared a moment like that. Despite the guard's impulsive reactions, born from relief, the tenderness there was clear.
Still, it seemed like none of them planned on acting on it; be it for the positions each of them occupied, or for the dutifulness these positions required.
Hyunjin blinks.
As bittersweet as the realization that he can't be Minho's brother anymore is, that didn't mean he couldn't repay everything Minho once did for him.
Not all magic was for evil.
Hyunjin knew that better than anyone else.