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The sack was resting, nearly done, at the foot of the bed while the boy rummaged through the drawers of his mahogany desk in the search of the emerald ring Mother gave him some years ago, before her death. That was the first person he ever lost in his rather short life. The second one was his father, just a couple of years later. And then his older brother, and King of Alexandrite.
That one happened only 24 hours ago.
Immediately, after the news of the terrible death of King Taeyong, on one of his journeys through the kingdom, arrived to the Palace, Donghyuck knew his life was about to change drastically. He only had two options, and both of them meant leaving behind one of the two things he loved the most.
When he found the ring, the brown-haired boy put the box inside his bag with a sigh and took the envelope that rested painfully on his bedside table, next to the only burning candle that was lighting the spacious room. He looked at the slightly yellow piece of paper with sad eyes. His decision was already made —in reality, he knew since the minute he heard about his brother’s death— and there was no turning back for him. Without sparing the letter another glance, he left it on top of his untouched bed and took the cloak that was laying next to it, putting the hood over his head so he wouldn’t be recognized, and then threw the sack over his shoulder.
The hallways were illuminated just by the dim light of the moon. The shadows of the leafless trees, that embellished the outsides of the castle beautifully, created an eerie scenery in front of Donghyuck, whose determination was such that he payed no attention to the figures that used to scare him throughout all his life.
He knew his home like the back of his hand, and that included all the secret passages he used to sneak into the garden when he and Taeyong were kids. He never thought they would have much use until that fateful day arrived. The new heir of the Throne took the longest, but safest, way towards the garden behind the palace and, soon enough, he reached the opening he was looking for. When he was playing there as a child, he found a gap in the unkempt undergrowth at the deepest part of the garden, where no one ever let him go because “it’s dangerous, Your Highness. You shouldn’t go there”. So he ran to that place, next to the cedar trees, and just left through the Autumn Forest.
Darkness was all that he could see, but the boy knew the path he had to follow by heart —he had visited that little hut hidden in the vastness of the forest a hundred of times before—. The moon, once again, helped by showing him where to step until he arrived to the small forest glade surrounded by tall pine trees. First, he saw the small wisp of smoke coming out of the chimney —a little smile appeared on his face just by imagining the man inside of the cabin being all cozy in front of the fire, while he read that book he talked about nonstop just a couple of days back—, and then the wooden house lighted up only by some candles and the fireplace. He stepped closer, just enough to see the boy asleep on the couch through the narrow window next to the entrance, which made him let out a sigh of relief. He knew some people figured out he was seeing someone, so he always had the fear that the man would be found and killed.
But there he was, with a blanket thrown over his slightly toned body and sleeping in a really uncomfortable position.
Donghyuck knocked hard enough to wake the boy up, as he could see through the dirty glass. He looked confused as to why he was so rudely woken up, but got up anyway and went to the door to open it. When the sleepy man realized who the person waiting by the doorframe was, his eyes widened like saucers and took him by the arm, bringing him into the house and looking around the woods before closing the entrance quickly. Once they were inside, the scarcely taller one embraced the prince with his arms tightly, trying to bring him some comfort —he knew about the King’s death too— and letting him know that he was safe. Then, he brought both hands to his face to see if he was hurt.
“Your Highness, what are you doing here this late at night? You know how dangerous this part of the woods is,” he began, his eyes still rummaging through Donghyuck’s body in search for any injuries. “Are you okay?”
“I chose you.”
That was all he said.
The owner of the cabin was visibly confused so he asked, “What do you mean, Your Highness?”
“It means that I chose you, Mark.” Donghyuck’s voice came out really tiny. “I-I left a letter on my bed back at my palace saying that I refuse to take the Throne. I don’t want to be King, Mark, you know that,” he continued almost whispering. “I do not want to be King if that means I can’t have you. I have lost my parents and my brother already, and losing you… That’s something I just won’t put up with. So I…” His eyes were on the verge of tears. “I chose you.”
Mark was speechless. A hurricane of emotions ran through his mind, but the main focus on his heart was the boy that cried silently in front of him with eyes full of love and sadness.
“Oh, my love…” Mark replied in the same tone the boy was using, and then hugged him again, leaving a small but tender kiss on his forehead. “Even if I’m extremely happy to have you here with me, Your Highness—“
“Don’t call me that. Please,” uttered the shorter one, almost begging. “I know what you’re going to say, Mark, but I have never been more sure about something in my life, and you won’t change my mind. I was never supposed to rule Alexandrite and I won’t,” he denied with his head, anxiously. “My place, where I want to be, is here with you. Unless you won’t have me. But my life in palace is over. So… No more Your Highness, I implore you.”
After a sigh and a little smile, Mark said, “Your stubbornness is one of the things that made me fall in love with you, did you know that, Hyuck?” he shook his head, laughing. “I will have you until the day I die, my love.”
And then, he finally brought their lips together in a well-desired kiss, his hands traveling to his lover’s waist and pulling their bodies even closer. They had done that a thousand times before, but it was different that time, because they were both free.