Learn to Be Lonely III
Title: Learn to Be Lonely
Pairing: none yet.
Rating: PG
Genre: AU.
Chapters: One, Two
Disclaimer: I don't own a Himchan. I kinda wish I had one, but I don't.
Note: Based on Beauty & the Beast.
It had taken Jongup longer than expected to get the boy back to Himchan's castle. The path led through the woods, and the distance between the castle and the town was long and tiresome when one was alone and had sunlight by which to navigate. The servant had lied about a waiting guard in hopes that Daehyun would come quietly and save him the trouble of carrying him all the way; obviously, that had not gone to plan. Jongup was fortunate in the fact that the boy hadn't woken halfway there, for if he had... well. The strength in his arms was going after carrying Daehyun so far; as slight as he was, he still managed to be heavy enough to tire the servant out. It wasn't as if he was used to carrying people around like this, after all.
Himchan was nowhere to be seen when Jongup arrived back at the castle, and the youth found himself grateful for that. He was probably hiding up in his chambers, something that had become common for him; Jongup moved inside and after a moment of deliberation, he carried Daehyun's still limp body to the dining hall.
For lack of anything better to do, and for fear he would wake up and immediately try to escape, Jongup dragged one of the high-backed wooden chairs from the table to the middle of the floor and set himself about tying the boy to it. The rope was far longer than it needed to be to bind the thin boy, and Jongup found himself looping it around Daehyun's chest, arms, and the back of the chair over and over until he reached the end. It looked almost comical, especially when one factored in that Daehyun could probably have been secured with a third of the rope at most, but Jongup took pride in the fact that the boy definitely wouldn't be able to run.
Until he remembered what he had to do to him.
"How do you blind a person without disfiguring them horribly?" he wondered aloud, rubbing the back of his head and wrinkling his nose. He'd only known one blind person in his life; the old man had gone blind with age, which was something Jongup couldn't sit around and wait on. He knew you could blind someone by putting their eyes out... but... that was likely rather painful and bloody, and this boy seemed far too sweet to be put through that. Jongup knelt before him and gripped his chin, lifting his face a little to look at it. "I don't like this..."
The boy had pretty eyelashes. Jongup bit his lip and scratched the back of his head anxiously, averting his eyes almost immediately as the thought crossed his mind. His eyes wouldn't look anywhere near as pretty once he was blinded, would they... he would be ruined. Himchan would probably hate him. And in hating him, he'd just continue to grow more and more ugly under the curse that, though Jongup would never say this aloud, he probably deserved.
Jongup would deserve the curse too, if he blinded this boy.
"Damnit..." he murmured to himself, tilting his head and frowning as Daehyun made a quiet noise. The boy was stirring... which meant Jongup didn't have much time. He put a hand over Daehyun's eyes, just in case he opened them, and looked around hurriedly...
And then an idea hit him that was so plainly obvious and yet brilliant at the same time. He blinked slowly as it took hold (Jongup was not usually one for sudden ideas, and they tended to throw him off when they appeared as so), and finally, as the boy shifted in the chair before him, he decided. He turned and, without a word or a moment's hesitation, ran from the hall.
When Daehyun finally opened his eyes a short while later, he was greeted with a surprising sight.
Nothing.
Everything was black. He blinked a few times, mind groggy and head aching, but it changed nothing. He squirmed in the chair he was tied to, and his breath caught in his throat when he realised he couldn't move, either. Couldn't move, couldn't see... no idea where he was, or what was happening. His fingers curled into fists as the cold panic started to take hold.
"Th-this is a joke, right?" he whispered to nobody, pulling at the ropes; they left red marks embedded in his skin where they pressed into it, refusing to budge. He hadn't expected an answer to his question, and he was very surprised when 'nobody' answered in a voice he didn't recognise.
"Don't do that, you're going to hurt yourself..." two rough hands cupped his cheeks, and he jerked back against the chair. The hands resolutely followed, thumbs brushing along the bottom edge of the mask that covered half his face and impeded his sight. "You don't need to get so worked up, I promise you're safe."
"S-safe?!" Daehyun snapped, turning his head to the side to push the hands away. "I don't feel very safe! How can one feel safe tied up like this?! Who are you?!"
The boy sighed heavily, and Daehyun felt his captor's warm, exasperated breath brush over his skin. It unnerved him even more to have the unknown person so close and he tensed up, body going absolutely rigid in the chair.
"I'm Prince Himchan's servant. I brought you here for him."
The captive child's mind immediately went into overdrive as he tried to imagine exactly why the Prince would want him brought to the castle. It wasn't as if he had any particular skills that the man would find useful; he wasn't a craftsman, he couldn't cook, he wasn't an entertainer...
"Why?"
The boy's hands were on him again, and Daehyun was sure his body would explode if it were to tense up any more than it already was. Jongup's intention was innocent enough, however; he was merely making sure the boy couldn't wriggle loose and escape while his back was turned.
"He can tell you himself better than I can..." He patted the back of Daehyun's hand, watching guiltly as the boy flinched and tried to move away from the touch. "I'm sorry, but wait here for a moment, okay? I'll bring him."
"Wait!" Jongup stopped short at Daehyun's sudden shout and glanced back at him, already halfway to the door. "The... the blindfold... please..."
Daehyun didn't like the dark. The black mask that covered his eyes was well-made; the material was soft, smooth and comfortably cool against his skin, but it was also rather thick. It blocked out all light, leaving him unable to see a single thing. The current situation, coupled with the darkness, was starting to tear away at his nerves. He bit his bottom lip, trying to control himself, but it was obvious to Jongup that he was trembling. Not much yet, but enough that he could notice.
Still, all Jongup could do was shake his head.
"I can't. If I take that off, you will die." He rubbed the back of his neck, watching as the colour fled from Daehyun's cheeks. "I'm sorry. Just wait, I'll be back."
Daehyun listened intently to the retreating footsteps, struggling a little to hear them past the blood pounding thunderously in his ears. When he was sure he could hear them no more, he began squirming against the ropes again, twisting this way and that as much as he could in an attempt to loosen them. Panicked whines caught in his throat as he shifted back and forth; the rope was tightest around his arms, but he was stronger than he looked, and after a few minutes he could feel it giving more than it had before.
He didn't like this place. He couldn't even see it, but he knew he didn't like it. It smelled like wood polish and burned candles; the smell of food from a recent meal lingered in the air, and it made his stomach twist and growl. Hungry at a time like this... he wasn't sure how it was possible. His belly insistently reminded him that he had missed his supper, that it had a right to be hungry, but Daehyun was much too focused on trying to get loose, to escape this place before the prince arrived to explain to him his "purpose" for being here.
Even not knowing anything about it, Daehyun knew it couldn't be good. He knew as much about Prince Himchan as the other villagers did, and very little of what they had to say was good. For all Daehyun knew, this man was going to take the path of rulers he had only heard about from the books Youngjae read and then paraphrased for him. There had been a woman who had bathed in the blood of beautiful young virginal girls to remain beautiful... while Daehyun was no virgin, he was sure that wouldn't stop a person like the prince from using him to stay handsome.
"Come on," he murmured, voice laced with panic. They would be coming soon, wouldn't they? The castle couldn't be that big... his stomach growled again and he groaned. "Now isn't the time to be hungry!"
"...well he certainly is... fiesty, isn't he."
Daehyun froze at the sound of the voice and didn't dare to raise his face toward it. It wasn't the servant this time; the voice was deeper, and belonged to a person who spoke with more confidence than Jongup. The boy in the chair squeezed his eyes shut behind the mask and held his breath.
"You were supposed to blind him. I don't want him to be able to see me."
"He can't see you. That's what the mask is for."
"You're a fool if you think he won't take it off. That's not good enough, Jongup."
"But Prince Himchan-"
"Stop!" Daehyun's fingers curled into fists against the arms of the chair as he yelled; Jongup and Himchan blinked at him, obviously shocked by the outburst. Himchan shot a glare at Jongup, his different coloured eyes narrowing. This boy was already turning out to be nothing like what he'd told Jongup to bring him. "Please... you don't have to hurt me..."
Nobody answered him, and Daehyun swallowed hard on a lump forming in his throat. His breaths were coming ragged now, his emotions overwhelming him; he was about to speak again, to ask why he was there, when a hand gripped his chin and tilted his head up. The long nails trailed lightly against his skin, drawing a shiver up his spine, and he resisted the automatic urge to jerk away. It wasn't Jongup's hand this time. Though the fingers were also rough, calloused, there was a different feel to them. He turned Daehyun's face to one side, and one finger dragged along the line of his jaw.
"He's attractive, at least," Himchan mused, finally breaking the silence. Daehyun's muscles tensed again, and Himchan found himself smiling at the way one of them twitched in his cheek. "I suppose he's beautiful behind the mask as well. Difficult to see the lines of his body with him tied up like this, however..."
Daehyun, unable to take anymore, finally jerked his head back, away from the gripping fingers. The prince laughed; it sounded dark and sharp, a sound a wolf might make if wolves laughed. The hand snatched his chin back, and the nails pressed into his skin harder than before, holding him still and threatening to leave cuts.
"What do you want from me?"
Himchan could feel the way he shuddered, and it amused him even more. The boy was truly terrified of him... he could work with this. He could cultivate love from fear. His subjects both loved and feared him, did they not?
"You've been brought here to serve your prince," he said quietly, his hand moving up to play through the boy's sandy hair. It was fine and soft, a bit dampened with sweat. "You will never look at me. You will never touch me. You will do as I say, and you will do it promptly and without question. That is most important - you will never question me. You will love me, because I am the one who holds your life in my hand and I command you to do so. Is that understood?"
Jongup sighed and leaned against the table, pressing his thumb and middle finger to his temples and rubbing them gently. This was not going at all in a good way; Himchan seemed unlikely to outright tell the boy why he was here, and that would only confuse Daehyun, and probably anger him. If he was confused and angry, he was more likely to make Himchan angry, and if he made Himchan angry... well. He'd already banished people. If pushed, it wouldn't surprise Jongup if he demanded the boy executed.
Daehyun's lips pressed into a thin line. "I... I still don't understand why I'm here."
Himchan dropped his hand from Daehyun's head and sighed.
"You're here because I command you to be here. That is all you need know." He looked to Jongup and gestured at the boy. "He will have to do. Untie him and take him to one of the bedrooms. Make sure it's one with a door that locks... and on one of the top floors, so he can't climb down."
He moved toward the door without another word, leaving Jongup with the castle's newest tenant.
Pairing: none yet.
Rating: PG
Genre: AU.
Chapters: One, Two
Disclaimer: I don't own a Himchan. I kinda wish I had one, but I don't.
Note: Based on Beauty & the Beast.
It had taken Jongup longer than expected to get the boy back to Himchan's castle. The path led through the woods, and the distance between the castle and the town was long and tiresome when one was alone and had sunlight by which to navigate. The servant had lied about a waiting guard in hopes that Daehyun would come quietly and save him the trouble of carrying him all the way; obviously, that had not gone to plan. Jongup was fortunate in the fact that the boy hadn't woken halfway there, for if he had... well. The strength in his arms was going after carrying Daehyun so far; as slight as he was, he still managed to be heavy enough to tire the servant out. It wasn't as if he was used to carrying people around like this, after all.
Himchan was nowhere to be seen when Jongup arrived back at the castle, and the youth found himself grateful for that. He was probably hiding up in his chambers, something that had become common for him; Jongup moved inside and after a moment of deliberation, he carried Daehyun's still limp body to the dining hall.
For lack of anything better to do, and for fear he would wake up and immediately try to escape, Jongup dragged one of the high-backed wooden chairs from the table to the middle of the floor and set himself about tying the boy to it. The rope was far longer than it needed to be to bind the thin boy, and Jongup found himself looping it around Daehyun's chest, arms, and the back of the chair over and over until he reached the end. It looked almost comical, especially when one factored in that Daehyun could probably have been secured with a third of the rope at most, but Jongup took pride in the fact that the boy definitely wouldn't be able to run.
Until he remembered what he had to do to him.
"How do you blind a person without disfiguring them horribly?" he wondered aloud, rubbing the back of his head and wrinkling his nose. He'd only known one blind person in his life; the old man had gone blind with age, which was something Jongup couldn't sit around and wait on. He knew you could blind someone by putting their eyes out... but... that was likely rather painful and bloody, and this boy seemed far too sweet to be put through that. Jongup knelt before him and gripped his chin, lifting his face a little to look at it. "I don't like this..."
The boy had pretty eyelashes. Jongup bit his lip and scratched the back of his head anxiously, averting his eyes almost immediately as the thought crossed his mind. His eyes wouldn't look anywhere near as pretty once he was blinded, would they... he would be ruined. Himchan would probably hate him. And in hating him, he'd just continue to grow more and more ugly under the curse that, though Jongup would never say this aloud, he probably deserved.
Jongup would deserve the curse too, if he blinded this boy.
"Damnit..." he murmured to himself, tilting his head and frowning as Daehyun made a quiet noise. The boy was stirring... which meant Jongup didn't have much time. He put a hand over Daehyun's eyes, just in case he opened them, and looked around hurriedly...
And then an idea hit him that was so plainly obvious and yet brilliant at the same time. He blinked slowly as it took hold (Jongup was not usually one for sudden ideas, and they tended to throw him off when they appeared as so), and finally, as the boy shifted in the chair before him, he decided. He turned and, without a word or a moment's hesitation, ran from the hall.
When Daehyun finally opened his eyes a short while later, he was greeted with a surprising sight.
Nothing.
Everything was black. He blinked a few times, mind groggy and head aching, but it changed nothing. He squirmed in the chair he was tied to, and his breath caught in his throat when he realised he couldn't move, either. Couldn't move, couldn't see... no idea where he was, or what was happening. His fingers curled into fists as the cold panic started to take hold.
"Th-this is a joke, right?" he whispered to nobody, pulling at the ropes; they left red marks embedded in his skin where they pressed into it, refusing to budge. He hadn't expected an answer to his question, and he was very surprised when 'nobody' answered in a voice he didn't recognise.
"Don't do that, you're going to hurt yourself..." two rough hands cupped his cheeks, and he jerked back against the chair. The hands resolutely followed, thumbs brushing along the bottom edge of the mask that covered half his face and impeded his sight. "You don't need to get so worked up, I promise you're safe."
"S-safe?!" Daehyun snapped, turning his head to the side to push the hands away. "I don't feel very safe! How can one feel safe tied up like this?! Who are you?!"
The boy sighed heavily, and Daehyun felt his captor's warm, exasperated breath brush over his skin. It unnerved him even more to have the unknown person so close and he tensed up, body going absolutely rigid in the chair.
"I'm Prince Himchan's servant. I brought you here for him."
The captive child's mind immediately went into overdrive as he tried to imagine exactly why the Prince would want him brought to the castle. It wasn't as if he had any particular skills that the man would find useful; he wasn't a craftsman, he couldn't cook, he wasn't an entertainer...
"Why?"
The boy's hands were on him again, and Daehyun was sure his body would explode if it were to tense up any more than it already was. Jongup's intention was innocent enough, however; he was merely making sure the boy couldn't wriggle loose and escape while his back was turned.
"He can tell you himself better than I can..." He patted the back of Daehyun's hand, watching guiltly as the boy flinched and tried to move away from the touch. "I'm sorry, but wait here for a moment, okay? I'll bring him."
"Wait!" Jongup stopped short at Daehyun's sudden shout and glanced back at him, already halfway to the door. "The... the blindfold... please..."
Daehyun didn't like the dark. The black mask that covered his eyes was well-made; the material was soft, smooth and comfortably cool against his skin, but it was also rather thick. It blocked out all light, leaving him unable to see a single thing. The current situation, coupled with the darkness, was starting to tear away at his nerves. He bit his bottom lip, trying to control himself, but it was obvious to Jongup that he was trembling. Not much yet, but enough that he could notice.
Still, all Jongup could do was shake his head.
"I can't. If I take that off, you will die." He rubbed the back of his neck, watching as the colour fled from Daehyun's cheeks. "I'm sorry. Just wait, I'll be back."
Daehyun listened intently to the retreating footsteps, struggling a little to hear them past the blood pounding thunderously in his ears. When he was sure he could hear them no more, he began squirming against the ropes again, twisting this way and that as much as he could in an attempt to loosen them. Panicked whines caught in his throat as he shifted back and forth; the rope was tightest around his arms, but he was stronger than he looked, and after a few minutes he could feel it giving more than it had before.
He didn't like this place. He couldn't even see it, but he knew he didn't like it. It smelled like wood polish and burned candles; the smell of food from a recent meal lingered in the air, and it made his stomach twist and growl. Hungry at a time like this... he wasn't sure how it was possible. His belly insistently reminded him that he had missed his supper, that it had a right to be hungry, but Daehyun was much too focused on trying to get loose, to escape this place before the prince arrived to explain to him his "purpose" for being here.
Even not knowing anything about it, Daehyun knew it couldn't be good. He knew as much about Prince Himchan as the other villagers did, and very little of what they had to say was good. For all Daehyun knew, this man was going to take the path of rulers he had only heard about from the books Youngjae read and then paraphrased for him. There had been a woman who had bathed in the blood of beautiful young virginal girls to remain beautiful... while Daehyun was no virgin, he was sure that wouldn't stop a person like the prince from using him to stay handsome.
"Come on," he murmured, voice laced with panic. They would be coming soon, wouldn't they? The castle couldn't be that big... his stomach growled again and he groaned. "Now isn't the time to be hungry!"
"...well he certainly is... fiesty, isn't he."
Daehyun froze at the sound of the voice and didn't dare to raise his face toward it. It wasn't the servant this time; the voice was deeper, and belonged to a person who spoke with more confidence than Jongup. The boy in the chair squeezed his eyes shut behind the mask and held his breath.
"You were supposed to blind him. I don't want him to be able to see me."
"He can't see you. That's what the mask is for."
"You're a fool if you think he won't take it off. That's not good enough, Jongup."
"But Prince Himchan-"
"Stop!" Daehyun's fingers curled into fists against the arms of the chair as he yelled; Jongup and Himchan blinked at him, obviously shocked by the outburst. Himchan shot a glare at Jongup, his different coloured eyes narrowing. This boy was already turning out to be nothing like what he'd told Jongup to bring him. "Please... you don't have to hurt me..."
Nobody answered him, and Daehyun swallowed hard on a lump forming in his throat. His breaths were coming ragged now, his emotions overwhelming him; he was about to speak again, to ask why he was there, when a hand gripped his chin and tilted his head up. The long nails trailed lightly against his skin, drawing a shiver up his spine, and he resisted the automatic urge to jerk away. It wasn't Jongup's hand this time. Though the fingers were also rough, calloused, there was a different feel to them. He turned Daehyun's face to one side, and one finger dragged along the line of his jaw.
"He's attractive, at least," Himchan mused, finally breaking the silence. Daehyun's muscles tensed again, and Himchan found himself smiling at the way one of them twitched in his cheek. "I suppose he's beautiful behind the mask as well. Difficult to see the lines of his body with him tied up like this, however..."
Daehyun, unable to take anymore, finally jerked his head back, away from the gripping fingers. The prince laughed; it sounded dark and sharp, a sound a wolf might make if wolves laughed. The hand snatched his chin back, and the nails pressed into his skin harder than before, holding him still and threatening to leave cuts.
"What do you want from me?"
Himchan could feel the way he shuddered, and it amused him even more. The boy was truly terrified of him... he could work with this. He could cultivate love from fear. His subjects both loved and feared him, did they not?
"You've been brought here to serve your prince," he said quietly, his hand moving up to play through the boy's sandy hair. It was fine and soft, a bit dampened with sweat. "You will never look at me. You will never touch me. You will do as I say, and you will do it promptly and without question. That is most important - you will never question me. You will love me, because I am the one who holds your life in my hand and I command you to do so. Is that understood?"
Jongup sighed and leaned against the table, pressing his thumb and middle finger to his temples and rubbing them gently. This was not going at all in a good way; Himchan seemed unlikely to outright tell the boy why he was here, and that would only confuse Daehyun, and probably anger him. If he was confused and angry, he was more likely to make Himchan angry, and if he made Himchan angry... well. He'd already banished people. If pushed, it wouldn't surprise Jongup if he demanded the boy executed.
Daehyun's lips pressed into a thin line. "I... I still don't understand why I'm here."
Himchan dropped his hand from Daehyun's head and sighed.
"You're here because I command you to be here. That is all you need know." He looked to Jongup and gestured at the boy. "He will have to do. Untie him and take him to one of the bedrooms. Make sure it's one with a door that locks... and on one of the top floors, so he can't climb down."
He moved toward the door without another word, leaving Jongup with the castle's newest tenant.