Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens, and from this small drop of sun grew a magic golden flower. It had the ability to heal the sick and the injured.

A drop of golden ichor fell and splashed against the flower, causing it to glow and bloom even in the darkness of night. A radiant beacon for all to see as if stood proudly amongst the forest surrounding it. It stood near an outcropping of rocks, and from behind those rocks, another faint light could be seen.

The dim light of a lantern as a cloaked man peeked from behind the rocks to peer at the flower a few feet away.

You see that old dude over there?

That’s JYP. Nobody likes him.

Centuries past after the man found the flower, and a large and bountiful kingdom grew, ruled by a beloved king and queen that all of the subjects loved. The queen, who was about to have a child, grew ill. Very ill.

This was the time that their royal subjects and townspeople started to look for a miracle, loading onto their wooden boats to search high and low for some type of remedy that could heal their queen.

A miracle such as the magic golden flower.

And rather than sharing the sun's gift- JYP hoarded its healing power all to himself. He spent years covering the flower with leaves and twigs to use for his own selfish desires. To keep himself young for hundreds of years. All that he had to do to keep himself young, was sing a special song to the flower.

“Flower gleam and glow. Let your power shine. Make the clock reverse- being back what once was mine! What once was mine.”

He sings to it. He turns young. Creepy- right?

Well, this time around, as JYP sang to himself and became young, he could hear the slew of shouts and voices from the dark forest behind him. Torchlights glimmering from behind the trees and approaching his secret hiding spot.

Frightened, the man tried his best to cover the flower, only to knock his perfect disguise off of it in his haste to escape. He could only watch with hatred as the knights of the kingdom cheered and uprooted the flower to take away from him.

The magic of the golden flower healed the queen- and a healthy baby boy- a prince!- was born. He had beautiful golden hair and the brightest of eyes that the parents cherished and cooed over. They loved their little child who looked just like his mother.

This was Prince Hyunjin.

To celebrate his birth, the king and the queen launched a flying lantern up into the sky from their castle balcony, the townspeople joining in with their cheers of happiness and joy.

For that one moment- everything was perfect.

Perfect up until a shadow crept into Prince Hyunjin’s nursery from the balcony as he was sleeping soundly. The familiar old voice of JYPark sang in a low tone as he peered over the crib. “Flower gleam and glow,” the baby's long hair started to glow and shine the golden color of the flower, and the old man was delighted with greed as he grabbed a strand. “Let your power shine,” he took the scissors and carefully snipped a segment of the beautiful hair. All for himself!

“Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine-“

The strand of hair immediately turned a chocolate brown color, once cut off from the baby's head. The man cursed lowly to himself with an angry gasp. There was no way that he could stay young with this! He would need to take the entire child.

So- JYP took the crying child, snuck out of the castle- and just like that was gone. Leaving behind two very mournful parents and an angry castle guard.

The kingdom searched and searched but they could not find the prince, for deep within the forest, in a hidden tower, JYP raised the child as his own.

He had found his new magic flower, and this time, he was determined to keep it hidden. Especially as he brushed through young Hyunjin’s long hair as the young prince sang the song that would forever keep him young.

“What once was mine,” Hyunjin finished the song with his youthful voice, simply enjoying the way his father diligently brushed his hair just as she did every morn and every night.

Still, though, the young prince had many questions. “Father?” He asked over the cracking of the fire in front of him, nervously fidgeting with his fingers as his toes wiggled.

“Yes, dear?” He asked, caressing Hyunjin’s face before collecting even more hair from his nape.

“Why… why can’t I go outside?” He asked, and his father immediately stopped brushing his hair in order to twist Hyunjin around in his hold. Looking into his fathers dark eyes, Hyunjin swallowed heavily. “The world is filled with horrible, selfish people,” he hissed, grabbing onto Hyunjin’s chin so that he couldn’t avoid eye contact. Like he did for all of their serious conversations. “You must stay here, where you are safe. Do you understand, flower?”

Hyunjin obediently nodded. “Yes, father.”

“Good. Off to bed now.”

Hyunjin may have lived locked away, but the walls of that tower could not hide everything. Because every year, on the prince's birthday, the king and queen would release thousands of lanterns into the sky in the hope that one day, their lost prince would return.

And every year, Hyunjin would tip toe to open the window and look up into the star filled sky. Beautiful lanterns reflecting off of his big bright eyes as he hoped that perhaps one day, he would be able to touch them with his own hands.

Chapter Text

It was a sunny day outside, though it wasn’t like Hyunjin could enjoy it, remaining locked away inside of it. Of course, he kept the wooden windows open so that he could bathe in the sun as he lay on the floor- painting or sketching or even braiding his long hair. He didn’t want to grow pale and unsightly, even if the only person in his life was his father.

He was a bit pale, himself. The opposite of Hyunjin. He must take after his mother, whoever she was and wherever she was. Hyunjin had asked once about her, but his father had immediately shut him down with that scary look he sometimes got in his eyes, willing Hyunjin to clamp his mouth shut and pretend that nothing happened.

Now, however, Hyunjin was not worried about that because he was on a hunt. He peered into the vases with flowers. Not there. He looked behind the curtains that hung above his bed. Nope, not there, he peeked conspiratorially under the small wooden stool that Hyunjin made for painting through hard work and many nails in the fingers. Not there either.

“Hmm,” Hyunjin thought to himself as he peered past the open windows. He caught sight of a little green tail, morphing to change the color of the brown vase of flowers. “I guess Felix can’t be here,” Hyunjin said, purposefully loud to draw the small animals attention.

Snickering, Felix the chameleon slowly exited his place, thinking that he had outdone Hyunjin and won their little game of hide and seek. Just as the chameleon wiggled out of his hiding place behind the two pots, Hyunjin laughed breathlessly as he lassoed his small body with strands of his hair, dangling him before his face. “Gotcha!”

Felix let out an indignant little squeal as he wiggled around in Hyunjin’s hold, turning back to his normal vibrant green color as Hyunjin went red in the face from giggling so much. “That’s twenty two points for me! How about twenty three out of forty five?” He asked excitedly as he gently set his little friend down onto the sunny window ledge.

Felix frowned at the suggestion, turning a darker green color from playing all day with Hyunjin. “Fine, fine, what else should we do, then?” Hyunjin asked, waiting for a suggestion even if he knew there would be one. He knew that Felix understood him well and just couldn’t talk, but Hyunjin liked to pretend that he could. So that he was just a little less lonely.

Felix, in reasonse, squeaked and pointed his tail outside to the rocky cliffs and the green vegetation below. He wanted to play outside of the tower, and Hyunjin sighed as he swung his legs over the ledge and longingly looked down. “I’m sorry, Felix. I don’t think we can do that, you know the rules. But I like it in here, and so do you!”

Felix scurried onto his lap and stuck his tongue out, because they both knew that it was a lie.

“Oh come on, Lixie,” Hyunjin scooped the small animal up in his hands, swinging his feet back and forth as the purple dress billowed with them. “It’s not so bad in the tower! We have other things! Like… hmm… like how I wake up at seven A.M. every morning!” Hyunjin excitedly fell backwards, back into the safety of his little tower as he grabbed a straw broom that leaned against the wall. “Then I start on the chores and sweep until the floor’s all clean!”

Felix watched, a little excited as Hyunjin deftly swept a few of stray empty paint canisters to the side. “Then I’ll polish and wax, do laundry and mop and shine up.” Hyunjin placed the broom aside and Felix used his nose to nudge the dustpan back in place beside it. “Sweep again and by then it’s like 7:15!”

Felix eyed the wooden cuckoo clock set on one of the pillars, and if he could raise an eyebrow, then he would be doing so. Hyunjin sometimes looked at the clock in such a way too, willing the hours to go bye so that he could just slip to sleep and succumb to wonderful dreams!

But this wasn’t the point. He was supposed to be convincing Felix of how happy and eventful his life was! So he grabbed one of the few books from the shelf, “and so I’ll read a book.” He grabbed a few more, “or maybe two or three.” He pointed to the mural that he painted above, often using his hair as a lasso system to keep him suspended on the air like a circus performer. “I’ll add a few new paintings to my gallery.”

Felix looked above and Hyunjin clasped his hands together in joy. “Come on, Lixie! There’s so many things to do together! I’ll play guitar and knit, and cook, and basically just wonder… when will my life begin?”

Well, that got a little sadder than Hyunjin intended, so he ignored Felix’s little pout and patted the chameleon on the head with two of his fingers. “Then after lunch, it’s puzzles and darts and baking. Paper-mache, a bit of ballet and chess! Pottery and ventriloquy, candle-making…” Hyunjin grunted as he reached his arms up to the sky, the purple corset cinching at his waist. “Then I’ll stretch, maybe sketch. Take a climb, or sew another dress!”

There were so many of them. Hyunjin loved his dresses! Even if in the few fairy tale books he read, the men wore pants and a blouse. But here, it was just him in his own little world and Hyunjin always loved the flowy dresses!

He even made Felix a little dress of his own to wear, and how darling he looked!

“And then I’ll reread the books if I have time to spare, I’ll paint the walls some more! I’ll find some room somewhere.” Hyunjin reached for the large brush he kept in front of the vanity mirror and began brushing through his hair, something that could easily take hours without Felix’s help. “And then I’ll brush and brush and brush and brush my hair… stuck in the same place I’ve always been.”

But it wasn’t too bad- right?

Hyunjin was happy- right?

Father had told him many times how lucky he was, protected in his little tower without having to face the harsh and bloodthirsty monsters of society. Hyunjin placed his brush down after there was a very hard ache in his arms- he grew lithe muscle from constantly doing acrobatics with his hair and brushing it.

“And then I will keep wondering and wondering and wondering… when will my life begin?” He shuffled back over to the sunny window, where the sun was starting to slowly climb up

the horizon, casting shadows on the valley below. He inhales the crisp air with hope foaming in his chest. “And tomorrow night, Felix, tomorrow night the lights will appear! Just like they do on my birthday each year.” He grew a little saddened at the thought of the pretty lights and how he hadn’t been able to see them for himself. Felix sensed his dampened mood, like he always did, and scurried onto his shoulder to lick his cheek.

Hyunjin smiled sadly and stroked the chameleon's little head as he turned back inside to his darkening abode. “I wonder… What is it like? Out there where those lights glow…” he peered up at the beautifully painted mural of the lights that he had been working on. (Hidden between two thick velvet red curtains because he couldn’t let his father see. This was the one secret that he needed to keep for himself, to look at late into the night when he got lonely.)

“Now that I’m older… father may let me go. He may!” Hyunjin smiled to himself, a little hopeful and a little anxious as he set his paintbrush down to look at the painting.

He wanted nothing more than to see them for himself, up close. To feel the warmth of the cans light brushing against his cheek. To see the reflection of the glow in someone else’s eyes, sharing the moment with him.

“Lixie… do you think that he will really let me?” He looked to the chameleon hopefully, and Felix could only nuzzle against his cheek reassuringly. Because he, apparently, did not have an answer either.

“Well- this is a very big day, Lixie!” Hyunjin puffed his chest out with pride and hope as Felix climbed up his arm. “I’m going to ask Father to let me see the lights!”

“Hyunjin!” A melodic and distant voice called from down below, and Hyunjin jolted in enough surprise to fall off of his stool perch. “Let down your hair!”

“It’s time!” Hyunjin whispered excitedly to Felix in a low voice, and Felix licked his cheek adorably. Hyunjin laughed under his breath and held out a hand, “I know, I know little one. Come on, hide and don’t let her see you!” Hyunjin carefully deposited Felix onto the mural of the lights, his reptilian skin morphing to the blues and warm yellows to blend in. Hyunjin shot him one last fond smile before closing the draped across the painting and tumbling over to the window.

“Hyunjin, dear, I’m not getting any younger down here!” Father called, a slightly annoyed yet teasing tinge to his tone. Hyunjin had already made him upset!

“Coming father!” He called down, trying to ease his impatient father as he scrambled to swing his hair over the hook above and sent the rest cascading down to the grassy bottom. Used to their routine, the man immediately grabbed onto the last bit of Hyunjin’s hair to make a foothold for himself.

It hurt only a little, as Hyunjin worked the muscles in his arms to lift the man. Hyunjin had very thick hair, afterall. He grunted with a little bit of exertion on the home stretch, and once his father was firmly standing on the windowsill, Hyunjin sighed and released the handfuls of hair. “Hello!” He greeted, a bit breathlessly but with a smile nonetheless. “Welcome home, father.” He smiled sweetly, making sure his cheeks dimpled in the way his father always said was adorable.

“Ugh- my dear! How you manage to rope me here every single day without fail astounds me!” The man exaggerated as cupped Hyunjin’s face in his hands. “It looks exhausting, darling. You hard worker!”

“Oh,” Hyunjin laughed sheepishly, “it’s not bad, I promise father!” Always eager to please the only person in his life.

His father frowned, “then why did it take so long?”

Hyunjin’s smile tightened around the edges, and his father sighed. “It’s okay! Not everyone can be the best! I’m sure that you will do better next time!” He brushed past Hyunjin and he let out a puff of breath.

“Right. I will.”

“Attaboy,” his father patted his head and then caught sight of himself in the mirror. Like a moth to a flame, he approached it and immediately began to touch his own skin, the collar bones and the youthful face.

“So, Father…” Hyunjin awkwardly cleared his throat as he approached the man and his reflection, remaining just over his shoulder. He bit down nervously on his plump bottom lip. “As you know tomorrow is a very big day…”

“-Hyunjin, darling, look in the mirror!” The man interrupted him, grabbing Hyunjin by the shoulders to situate him at his side so that his reflection was not blocked. Hyunjin let out a small yelp. “Do you know what I see?”

“Erm…” Hyunjin fidgeted a little, “my reflection?”

His father laughed, a little condescendingly, and shook his shoulders. “No- I see a strong, confident, and beautiful young man!”

Hyunjin smiled at his reflection a little, unaccustomed to the compliments…

“Oh look!” The man laughed mockingly, “you’re here too.”

Hyunjin wilted a little. Oh.

“I’m only teasing! You need to learn some social cues, dear.”

The only ‘social cues’ that Hyunjin had ever learned was when he was talking to a chameleon that couldn’t even reply to him. And his slightly… extravagant… father. He cleared his throat, he was not going to let this sway him! The lights were his dream! “Okay, well, father. As I was saying, tomorrow is-“

“-Jinnie, dear, your father is feeling a little run-down.” The man once again interrupted. “Would you sing for me, dear? And then we will talk, I promise you.”

“Oh!” Hyunjin perked up, because that he could do. “Of course, father!” He scrambled grab the velvety chair with the nice cushions that his father always sat on when he brushed his hair, and then the small stool that he unceremoniously plopped down on as he shoved the brush into his hair. His father sat down behind him, a bit perplexed, but Hyunjin was on a mission!

“Flowergleamandglow,” he sang fastly, practically a rap as his hair slightly glowed. “Letyourpowershine,” a breath, “maketheclockreversebringbackwhatoncewasmime-“

“Wait! Wait!”

Hyunjin continued, “healwhathasbeenhurt, changethefatesdesignsavewhathasbeenlostbrigbackwhatoncewasmine-“

“Hyunjin!” His father exclaimed, but the song was over to Hyunjin excitedly bounded over to lean on the arm of the chair and into his fathers face with a big smile. “So earlier I was saying that tomorrow is a big day, and you didn’t respond, so I’m just going to tell you, it’s my BIRTHDAY!” He laughed and he clutched onto his fathers arm. “Ta-da!”

His father looked down at him with an indescribable look in his eyes, and then slowly pushed Hyunjin off of him as he shook his head. “No no no, it can’t be. I distinctly remember that your birthday was last year!”

“That’s the funny thing about birthdays,” Hyunjin twirled a lock of hair between his fingers as he laughed, “they’re an annual thing, father!”

And then the smile faded a little from his face, because the hardest part was yet to come. He let out a puff of air through his nose- because his father taught him that sighing while in his company was rude- and sat back down on his little stool. “Father, tomorrow I am turning eighteen, and I wanted to ask… what I really wanted for this birthday… what I really wanted to ask for the past few years-“

“Hyunjin!” His father rolled his eyes and leaned back against his chair, annoyed. “What are you doing?”

Hyunjin flinched, like a kicked puppy as he looked down to his bare toes guiltily. “I am mumbling…”

“Yes! You know how I feel about that habit! It is very annoying! Blah blah blah!” His father got up from the chair, and Hyunjin felt some of the fight leave his body. He was just about to lose courage until he heard a familiar squeaking sound and sent a sideways glance to see little Felix peeking out from behind the curtain. He waved a hand, as if to say, ‘continue!’

Hyunjin let out all of his pent out frustrations and worried about punishments as he stood and exclaimed with his chest “I want to see the floating lights!”

At his announcement, his father immediately stopped examining his skin in the mirror to slowly turn back to Hyunjin. He looked a mixture of shocked and bemused and Hyunjin could not tell if this was a good thing. “What?”

“Oh…” Hyunjin trailed nervously, standing on his stool so that he could reach for the velvet curtains covering his masterpiece. “Well I was hoping that you would let me see the floating lights.” He took a breath before he pulled back one of the curtains.

His father didn’t look impressed, in fact, he looked the opposite as he flatly said “oh! You must be talking about the stars.”

The stars?

“Father,” Hyunjin said tentatively, “I have charted stars with my paintings, and they’re always constant, but these,” he pointed to the lights in his painting, “these appear every year on my birthday, father! Only on my birthday. And I can’t help but feel like they’re,” he longingly put a hand on his heart and gazed up at his painting. “Like they’re meant for me!”

His father didn’t make a single move. Say a single thing or even twitch a single inch, so Hyunjin continued on with his begging.

“I need to see them, father! And not just from my window. I wish to see them in person. I- I have to know what they are!”

“…you wish to go outside?” His father finally scoffed from over his shoulder as he approached the large window, as if Hyunjin’s hopes and dreams weren’t even something to consider. “Why, Hyunjin,” he slammed the wooden window doors shut, sweeping the room into darkness with the exception of the sunroof hatch that Hyunjin left open.

“Look at you, as fragile as a flower,” he approached and grabbed onto Hyunjin’s hands. “You must believe me when I say that you are still a little sapling. Now you know why I keep you in this tower, yes?”

Yes- it had been instilled into Hyunjin’s head many times. Frustrated, Hyunjin clutched the hem of his dress, “I know! But…”

“Ah ah ah,” his father placed a hand over his mouth to cut him off. Hyunjin reasisted the petulant urge to lick his palms “I do this for you, Hyunjin. To keep you safe and sound, my dear. I should have known this day was coming, when you would want to leave the nest!”

“No!” Hyunjin tried- because he didn’t want to leave the nest! He just wanted to see the lights for one simple night. His father, though, cut him off with another hard look as he blew the candle out. He preferred for the tower to be swamped in darkness.

“Shh, trust me, my dear pet. Someday, but not yet. Your Father knows best- don’t you see?”

“I do see, but-“

“Your father knows best! You do not know what lurks beyond these walls! Ruffians, thugs, poison ivy, quicksand, cannibals and snakes. The plague!”

Hyunjin gasped, looking at his father with wide eyes. “No!”

“Yes!”

“But-“

“Also large bugs! Men with pointy teeth and- ugh! Stop! Merely Talking about such things upsets me!”

Hyunjin felt guilt twist deep in his heart, because this was not what he had intended! He never meant to make his beloved father feel bad. “I am sorry,” his bottom lip wobbled, and his father opened his arms inviting for a rare hug. Hyunjin never missed out on the opportunity for a hug, so he immediately complied and leapt into his fathers arms.

“Father will protect you, not to worry,” he cooed as he patted Hyunjin’s blonde hair. “Now, what do you say?”

“I… I’m sorry?”

“No no no.” His father poked his nose before moving away, cutting their hug off short right when Hyunjin was starting to enjoy his warmth. “Father knows best, was the correct answer.”

“Oh! Well- you always know best, father!”

“But it is too late now. You still would never survive out there my dear, they would eat you alive! You are sloppy, underdressed,” he pointed to Hyunjin’s bare feet, and Hyunjin tried to cover them, embarrassed, with the hem of his dress, but before he could his father was continuing. “You are immature and clumsy, gullible and naive! Positively grubby!”

“Grubby?” Hyunjin asked, a bit hurt as his father punched his cheeks painfully.

“Ditsy and a bit… hmm. Vague. Plus I believe; you are getting kind of chubby,” his father poked at his tummy under the corset, and Hyunjin pouted as he wrapped arms around his torso in an insecure fashion. “But I’m just saying because I love you!”

Right…. Because a person who loved Hyunjin would not purposely bring him down- now without the intention of bringing him back up again like his father always did! He set his jaw and nodded, sniffling a bit as he looked back up at his father with watery eyes.

“Now, what do you have to say?” His father asked, crossing his arms.

Hyunjin fidgeted- but he knew what to say this time around. He had been trained to! “You always know best, Father!” He practically leapt into the man’s arms and let him pat his back, because even after the insults, the warmth of a hug battled all of the hurt away. “I have just one request for my protection.”

“Yes?” Hyunjin asked against his fathers arm, and the man tightened his grip around him almost painfully. In a bone crushing way that had Hyunjin briefly gasping for air before it subsided like it never even happened. “Never ask to leave this tower again.”

When Hyunjin looked up to meet his fathers stern eyes, dark like charcoal, he nodded. His father knew what was best for him. He protected him. The least that Hyunjin could do was listen to his one request.

“Yes, father,” he said.

And just like that- his father was gone. Scaling down the tower around lunchtime. “I will see you later, my dear!”

“I will be here,” Hyunjin replied, a bit glumly. But Felix was always there to pick him back up as he nuzzled to his cheek and encouragingly licked his face like a puppy.

Hyunjin sighed, and down below, his hair swayed in the wind, just barely scraping against the grass below

Chapter Text

Miles away, past the ravine with the castle and part of the sea, the castle centered around a large and bustling kingdom lie. It was a mere day before the lights, which meant the castle guards and servants were busy with perpetration. The perfect time for a thief like Changbin to swoop in and snatch the royal crown right from under their noses.

Changbin didn’t much care for jewelry or shiny things unless they brought in money, and it was a shame for such a beautifully expensive crown to sit there and collect dust with no one to wear it. Which was how Changbin convinced himself that it would be okay to take- because he did have morals, afterall.

He scaled down along the cobblestoned outer wall of the castle before hopping from brick roof to roof in order to reach the observatory with the glass ceiling. Taking a moment, Changbin inhaled the fresh air and took in the sight of the glorious town below, bustling and chattering about with how beautiful of a day it had been. “I could get used to this,” he sighed dreamily- because living lavishly in gold was a dream!

“Changbin,” Jeongin hissed from behind, tugging on his vest and forcing him down behind the outcropping of stone before a royal guard from below could catch sight of him. “Come on-“

“Hold on!” Changbin slapped the youngers hand away, still distracted by the amazing view. “Give me a moment…”

The fluffy cottony clouds above shifted. The smell of freshly baked bread permeated from below in the bakery. A busty woman flirted with a stall worker. “Yep. I’m used to it. I want a castle now.”

“Your pockets are too shallow,” Seungmin said, unimpressed as he grabbed a rope from his satchel, tying it to secure on one of the stone gargoyles. Even the damn carved demons looked pretty.

“Not necessarily,” Jeongin interjected, wiggling his eyebrows. “After this job- we could all get our own castles!”

Seungmin elbowed him with a scoff, “wishful thinking.”

Those two… definitely were knocking boots. Changbin was sure about it.

Before he could inappropriately question the duo’s relationship, he was roughly grabbed from the vest once more as Seungmin secured a rope around Changbin’s waist and Jeongin practically kicked him off of the window ledge and into the castle down below.

It was a good thing that Changbin knew how to keep quiet, because there were guards in the lavish room, all facing away from the frown as they looked to the big double doors.

Suckers.

Changbin held his breath, careful not to even breathe as they lowered him, just a few feet away from the precious crown lined with pretty purple jewels. Changbin tried his best to reach out his fingers to caress it, but came just a little short. He looked back up to Jeongin, who held the rope, and gestured for him to lower him just a bit more.

Except- as Jeongin nodded and put more slack into the rope- he lost his grip and sent Changbin tumbling face first right into the achingly expensive royal carpet. “Dammit!” He cursed, sitting up to clutch his nose with tears as his waterline.

“Oops,” Jeongin said from above, not sounding very apologetic. Seungmin was nowhere to be seen. He was probably laughing.

The guards, of course, all spring into action the moment that they noticed Changbin sprawled out on the floor. It was a good thing that Changbin was a thief with many years of experience under his belt because it only took him a few seconds flat to secure the crown into his satchel as he saluted the guards.

“Catch you later,” he winked, already being lifted up from the ground and over the side of the observatory roof by his two comrades. “Wait!” The guards screamed from below, one sounding a horn to alert the others that there was an issue.

It was too late, though, because by the time they rounded their royal asses up- the three of them were already making a mad dash across the cobblestone bridge to the exit of the town. “Can’t you picture me in a castle of my own?” Changbin asked the other two, breathless. “Because I certainly can! Oh the things that we’ve seen and it’s only eight in the morning!”

“Changbin,” Seungmin panted, “shut up.”

“Gentlemen,” Changbin ignored them, “this is a very big day for us!”

But Changbin and his big fat mouth spoke too soon. Because not even a mere ten minutes later, the three of them were running through the woods from the brigade that had spotted them escaping.

“Damn!” Changbin huffed as he leaned against a thick tree to catch some breath. Something crumbled under his hand as he gained his bearings, and he lifted it to see a ‘wanted’ poster of himself. He gasped and he ripped the paper from the tree once he noticed the outlandishly large nose drawn on his face. “No no no no this is bad! So bad!”

“What?” Jeongin asked, a bit annoyed.

“They just can’t get my nose right!” He whined as he showed off the picture to the other two.

“Who cares?” Seungmin asked.

Changbin snorted, “well it’s easy for you to say! Look at your posters!” He pointed to the papers that had been nailed to Changbin’s own. “Innie… they have you abs! You’re shredded!”

From behind, the neighing of horses and hoof beats could be heard. They had been going once again. “Keep going!” Seungmin urged, and they continued deeper into the forest surrounding them, hopping over overturned trees and ducking down under protruding branches. Too bad they couldn’t afford escape horses of their own or they would be out of here by now.

Changbin forced his feet to work even harder than they ever have underneath him, so focused that he nearly ran into the sheer rocky cliff side in front of him. Short but not short enough for him to make it up on his own without assistance. He groaned as he felt the rocks before he turned back to the other two. He was a professional thief, for heaven's sake, and a cliff wasn’t going to stop him! “All right. Okay. Give me a boost, and I’ll pull you up.”

Seungmin arched an eyebrow and held out a hand, “give us the crown, first.”

“What!” Changbin gawked, “I just… I can't believe that after all of this time we’ve robbed together- you don’t trust me?”

Crickets.

They both seemed rather… unamused. Jeongin gave him a foxy smile, his elongated eyes narrowing. “That is precisely why we don’t trust you.”

“Outch.” Changbin sighed as he plopped his satchel into Seungmin’s hand. They didn’t have much time, but they made good progress in creating a human tower as the sound of the royal guard approaching could be heard. Changbin climbed over the two, using Seunfmin’s shoulder as a last spring to grab onto the ledge of the rock face and use his upper body strength to haul himself over the edge.

“Now help us up!” Seungmin called to him, stretching an arm out.

And Changbin hated to do this.

He really did.

But he wasn’t a thief for no reason.

“Sorry boys, my hands are full.” He showed them the satchel that he had snatched back when climbing Jeongin, before he darted off into the forest. He could hear the indignant calls of Seungmin and Jeongin from behind, but he ignored him. He would worry about them later when they eventually came back in his life to bite him in his ass just like everyone else did.

He continued to run.

The knights were still on his tail.

“Retrieve that satchel at all cost!” He could hear the guard shouting over the neighing of the horses, like he was only a few feet away. Adrenaline pumped through Changbin’s veins as arrows whizzed past his head, cinching some of his hair off.

He hopped between a narrow outcropping of branches that only one of the guards managed to clear through. Good. Less people for him to worry about kebabing him.

“We’ve got him, Jisung!” The guard told his horse, and Changbin reached up to grab onto a branch and let go of it at the last second. It successfully clotheslined the guard and knocked him right off of his horse.

“You’re mine now!” Changbin laughed as he saddled the horse.

But this was no normal horse.

This was a stubborn horse.

Because just as soon as Changbin set his ass down on the horses- Jisung’s- back, the chocolate colored horse whined and immediately bucked him right off. The satchel flew from his hand.

“No!” Changbin cried and watched in slow motion as it soared through the annoyingly blue skies and right over a large cliff…

Catching onto a tree branch at the last moment.

He let out a sigh of relief.

He made brief eye contact with the horse before the both of them were scrambling over each other to reach the branch first, using arms and legs and teeth to hinder the other. “Stupid- horse!” Changbin climbed over his head to roll to the end of the tree and retrieve the sacred crown.

“Ha! I got it!” He tauntingly waved the bag.

The horse sniffed indignantly and stomped angrily.

The branch snapped under the weight.

The human and the animal once again shared eye contact before they were sent plummeting down. “This is your fault!” Changbin screamed into the wind as Jisung- the stupid horse- neighed in fear. It was not on Changbin’s bingo list to go skydiving with a horse.

But luckily, somewhere along the way, the two of them separated and Changbin grabbed onto nearby trees branches so slow his descent so that when he landed on his back it would bruise it instead of break it.

He took a few moments as he stared up at the grassy canopy above, his vision spinning. He couldn’t help but giggle in and giddy way and clutch his prize close to his chest. He would be rich!

But he couldn’t sit here and cheer forever. He was sure that the horse had already survived and was looking for him, so Changbin forced himself up despite the pain in his back to trudge down the path. He usually knew this place like the back of his hand- but it seemed that he had reached an uncharted area. He curiously pushed past a collection of vines growing downwards from a rock, hazy and disoriented.

And when he appeared on the other side- he certainly hadn’t been expecting to see the sight before him. A lone tower, lined with icy and vines, standing tall before a waterfall with the sun casting an almost welcoming glow upon it.

In the background, Jisung neighed angrily, still looking for him.

It wouldn’t hurt for Changbin to climb the tower… right? He had already come this far, and there was no way that the psychopath horse would follow him up there. Preparing himself as he traveled to the base of the tower, Changbin cracked his knuckles and his neck. There seemed to be no bottom entrance- what was the point of having a tower if you couldn’t even get inside of it?

With a shrug, Changbin produced a few of the arrows that had been used to kill him from the satchel before he began to dig them between the sensitive part of the cobblestone and painstakingly climb his way all the way up.

By the time Changbin struggled all the way to the top and slammed the doors to the windows shut so that Jisung couldn’t get a whiff of his scent, he was out of breath and his fingers were bleeding with blisters. But at least, for now, he and the precious crown were safe…

Wherever they were…

Changbin turned around and leaned against a painted wooden pillar as he loudly caught his breath. As if a second thought, he pulled the crown from his bag to plant a kiss on it. “Alone at last!”

A loud clang.

Before Changbin could even blink, he was knocked out and sent sprawling to the floor indignantly.

-

Hyunjin had just been painting a little, doodling to his heart's desire on the wall before someone who wasn’t his father was climbing through the window!

Just like that!

How easy it was for the monsters from the outside to break into his little world and shatter it!

It was instinctive for Hyunjin to grab his frying pan that he used to scramble some eggs- fresh from the farm that his father always visited and told him about- earlier and whacked it on the back of the man’s head. He hadn’t expected for him to immediately crash to the ground like a sack of potatoes, so Hyunjin squealed and scampered off to hide in his own hair and watch the body twitching on his floor.

He peeked from behind blonde locks once it was determined that the man was not going to get up anytime soon, carefully tip-toeing closer to get a good look at him. Hyunjin reached his beloved frying pan out to night him on the back of the head once, twice, without there being any movement.

Hyunjin suddenly gasped. Did he kill him?!

Felix tapped on his bare foot, and Hyunjin looked down to see the chameleon with a hopeful look on his face, urging him to get closer to the stranger. Hyunjin trusted Felix, so he knelt down with his heart beating like a rabbits feet inside of his chest to observe him.

It was his first time seeing someone from the outside who was not his father.

He was… surprisingly normal looking, compared to the monsters that he had heard tales of. With a thick upper lip and a nose that upturned after the end. Normal brown hair and… well, he was certainly thicker with muscle than Hyunjin. Shorter.

Felix the chameleon pointed to his teeth, and Hyunjin used the very edge of the frying pan to lift the man’s upper lip and peer into his mouth.

No fangs?

Hyunjin let out a sound of confusion. Was this man not a monster, then?

He was… sort of handsome, like the princes that Hyunjin read about, the more he looked at him. Close enough to feel the breath puffing from his nose against his cheek.

“Huh?” The man let out a groan and his eyes jolted open.

Hyunjin squeaked and hit him with the frying pan once more.

Once he was fully unconscious this time around, Hyunjin tapped his foot in wonder of what he could do. He couldn’t simply toss his body over the edge, because he would surely die that way- and Hyunjin wanted to talk to this strange man who’s scars probably had many stories!

He would need to keep him hidden, though, for when his father would surely return from his venture in the village after the little squabble that they had earlier.

As Hyunjin tied his hair around the man in a loop to drag his heavy dead weight all the way to his large dresser- struggling and grunting all the way- he thought of just how many rules he was breaking now. Rules that were set in stone all to protect him from the harsh world out there- and Hyunjin was trampling on him.

Shame and guilt sparked in his chest, but the curiosity that Hyunjin felt outweighed the negatives.

It took a while for him to maneuver the unconscious body into the large dressed and hook the chair on the outside handles so that he wouldn’t fall right out, but by the time he was done, there was a burn in his muscles from the strain and Hyunjin was dusting his hands off as he looked on proudly at his handy work.

One could hardly tell that he was hiding a man inside of his drawers!

“I’ve got a person in my closet,” Hyunjin told Felix who sat on his shoulder, a bit perplexed.

“I’ve got a person in my closet,” Hyunjin told to his reflection in the mirror.

“I’ve got a person in my closet!” He announced to the general world- perhaps the birds flying overhead would hear him. Hyunjin smugly tossed the frying pan from one hand to another- nearly hitting himself in the face. “I’ve handled myself quite well, father. Are all barbarians as simple as this one!”

There was a squeaking on his shoulder, and Hyunjin hummed in question as Felix pointed to the brown leather satchel that had been discarded on the ground. Ah- this was the monsters!

What could be inside of it? A grenade? A weapon? Perhaps even some twisted and nefarious-

Oh.

Hyunjin pulled out a beautiful looking trinket from the folds of the bag with three large crystals and purple gems embedded in the sides. When it caught the sunlight, it was so pretty! Such gold should be worn on the body, so Hyunjin curiously put it on the arm like a bracelet- except for it was too large and hard to bend to his wrist.

Maybe the ankle?

He peered at it some more.

Felix shook his little head, and then patted it.

“Oh!” Hyunjin sheepishly turned to the mirror as he gently pushed the trinket- a crown!- past his thick hair to sit around his head. It fit perfectly, like a glove. Like it was simply meant to be there. Felix blinked slowly, scales rippling a slightly more vibrant color and Hyunjin smiled sweetly.

“It does look pretty, doesn't it? I wonder what a ruffian was doing with such a Beautiful object?”

Felix held up two reptilian fingers and rubbed the thumb.

“Ah- right. I bet that he could sell this thing for quite a lot of gold.”

Suddenly, a voice called from down below. “Hyunjin! Let down your hair, my dear!”

Hyunjin hissed in surprise to himself as he scrambled to take the crown off of his head. As his father continued to call down below, he plopped it down into an empty flower vase that had not yet had a plant inside of it.

“One moment, father!” He called as he burst through the window doors and deposited his silky hair down below. He wondered how his father made it up when his hair wasn’t as long. “I have a big surprise!” His father informed as Hyunjin used every muscle in his body to bring him up.

“Uhh… I do too,” he grumbled to himself as finally, his fathers feet landed on the ledge of the window and he clambered in.

“I brought back parsnips,” his father gestured to the wicker basket hanging from his arms. “I am going to make hazelnut soup for dinner. Your favorite. Surprise!”

How thoughtful!

Hyunjin hated to ruin his fathers gift, but… he twiddled with his fingers nervously. “Well, father, there’s something that I want to tell you-“

“-oh, Hyunjin.” His father interrupted him, just as he always did as he sauntered inside. “I hated leaving you after that fight- especially when I’ve done absolutely nothing wrong!”

Hyunjin huffed through his nose, letting the words roll off of him like stones in a stream. “Father, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you said earlier-“

“-I hope you’re not still talking about those silly stars-“

“-floating lights! And yes, I’m leading up to that, father.”

“-I really thought that we dropped the issue, dear-“

“-no, father! I’m just saying…” Hyunjin inched closer to the chair that held the doors to the chest (with his captive) closed. “You think that I’m not strong enough to handle myself out there-“

“-oh darling, I know you’re not strong enough to handle yourself out there,” his father looked back from his jacket to drill Hyunjin with a stern look and a tilted eyebrow.

Frustration bubbled in the bottom of Hyunjin’s gut. Desperation. “But if you just…”

“Hyunjin,” his father warned in the voice that made him flinch back. “We are done talking about this.”

“Father! Trust me! I know what I’m doing!” He reached for the door handle, feeling anticipation light his bones.

“Hyunjin.”

“Oh, come on!” Hyunjin held a hand up to his chest as his hand wrapped around the drawers handle, but just as quick as it was there, it was gone because his fathers face was completely red as he approached.

“Enough of the lights, Hyunjin! You are not leaving this tower! Ever!” He shouted it so loud that even the birds outside spooked and lifted from the trees, his spit hitting Hyunjin’s face as he flinched back and pressed his back to the dresser.

His father had never lost his cool and shouted at him so angrily. Hyunjin swallowed down tears and he took his hand away from the drawer slowly as his father groaned and plopped down onto a chair by the table.

“Ugh- great. Now I’m the bad guy.”

Hyunjin spared a glance to the drawers, to the painted mural, and then to Felix hiding in his hair, looking worried. Defeat poured and his shoulders slumped. If he really wanted to see those lights, then he would need to figure out how to do so himself- without his dear father there to protect him.

Once he found his voice, still trembling from the outburst, he spoke. “All I was going to say, father, is that… I know what I want for my birthday now.” His voice was significantly meeker as he toyed with his hair and glanced up to his father, who was pinching between his eyebrows just as he always did when he got a headache.

“And what is it?” He asked, a growl, unimpressed like his own son was a simple twig caught under his boot. Hyunjin hated feeling so microscopic. So small.

Hyunjin’s bare feet padded against the floor as he held protective hands over himself. “More paint, I just need some more. The paint made from the white shells that you once brought to me.”

His father tossed a hand up in the air, “that is a very long trip, Hyunjin. Nearly three days!”

“I just-“ Hyunjin bit down on his bottom lip and his arms tightened around himself protectively. “I just thought it was a better idea than the… stars.” He forced himself to say- because they were not stars. They were lights!

His father seemed to contemplate the idea, looking pleased at his choice of words before he stood from the chair and approached Hyunjin. He cupped Hyunjin’s face. His hands were cold. “You’re sure you’ll be alright on your own?”

“I know that I’m safe as long as I’m here,” Hyunjin replied as his father pinched his cheeks and let go. He moved to gather his cloak and put it back over his shoulders, and Hyunjin loaded his basket with fruits and freshly baked bread that he made that morning for the trip.

“I’ll be back in three days time,” his father told him before he was safely lowered to the ground. “I love you very much, dear.”

“I love you more.”

“But I love you most.”

As soon as his father was gone and out of sight, Hyunjin nearly tripped over himself to move the chair away from the dresser and hold the frying pan in front of himself as the man slowly fell to the floor face first.

Ouch.

Hyunjin still had little sympathy for a scoundrel who broke into his home!

Decision made. Hyunjin prodded him with his toe to make sure that he was still out cold before tying him with his hair to the chair in the center of the room. Felix clambered onto the shoulder of the strange man and Hyunjin narrowed his eyes.

“Wake him up, Lixie. I wish to hear what my captive has to say for himself.”