Of Black Roses, White Masks and Red Strings - Prologue
Title: Of Black Roses, White Masks and Red Strings
Pairing: Kyuhyun/Sungmin, others
Genre: romance, mystery?
Rating: Varies by chapter
Summary: A prince that's lost his bethrothed, a teenager who took up her soul. 2 roads that separated met once more, but do they necessarily intertwine?
"Kyuhyun, do you see those stars?"
The young prince looked up to the clear night sky from the balcony where he and his mother were standing. The moon was half full and some clouds were scattered here and there. The stars were spread out on the midnight blue canopy, some bigger than others, twinkling from a million miles away like glitter on the dark fabric.
"Which ones, umma?" the prince asked. "There are so many of them."
"Those five," his mother replied, tracing out a line from the heavens, connecting five stars as he did so. "Do you know what it is?"
The prince scrunched his forehead, trying to recall what his astronomy teacher had told him. 5 stars, connected by a single line in a zig-zag pattern...
"It's... Queen Cassiopeia, right?" the prince guessed.
His mother smiled and ran a hand through the prince's softly tousled brown hair. "You did pay attention during your lessons."
The prince puffed his cheeks. "Umma, I may be ten, but that doesn't always mean that I only play with Changminnie."
The prince's mother chuckled. "Changminnie? You gave him a nickname?"
"Mhm!" the prince nodded excitedly.
"Jae?" a deep voice called from inside the room.
"Out here Yunho," the prince's mother called out.
The prince's father walked out to the balcony to join his family. The prince turned to his oncoming father and raised both of his arms. His father suppressed a chuckle as he picked him up, mocking pain as he did so. "Uf, Kyuhyunnie, you're too heavy now," he muttered ans the prince kissed his father's cheek.
The prince grumbled. "No I'm not!"
His father laughed before pulling his husband/wife in and giving him a kiss on the lips. The prince's mother laughed, playfully pushing the prince's father away. "Not in front of the kid, Yunnie"
The prince's father pouted, eliciting laughs from both his love and his son. Before long, he joined them as well.
After coming down from that blissful high, he turned to his son who was perched on his arms. "Kyuhyunnie, we'll be having a guest tomorrow. They have a child as well, and we expect you to be respectful to the family. We've told Zhou Mi, so we expect both you to behave."
The prince perked up. "Is it a boy or girl?"
"It's a girl," his father replied, earning a pout from his son. "Now, come one, Kyu. She'll be different from everyone else. You'll be her friend right away."
The prince only stuck out his tongue before leaning in to rest on his father's shoulder, somewhat excited yet bummed for the visit on the next day.
~*~
The next day came by quickly and the family friend arrived just after sunset. Both parents greeted each other with obvious happiness as all four were long friends, even before they both got married and had kids. Both fathers went off to do their own thing while their husbands hug back to chat.
"So Teukkie, where's the girl?" the prince's mother asked.
The princess's mother glanced at the door. "I think she's still outside. Kyuhyunnie's grown so fast! And so has Zhou Mi!"
The older prince, who had remained inside to accompany the guests alongside his parents, smiled softly, muttering a silent "Thank you" before helping the princess's parent with his bags.
"Ah, well, they're still young. But that aside, I'm sure he's taking care of her outside. I saw him walk out when you arrived," the prince's mother replied. "Shall we join our husbands?"
The princess's mother smiled and agreed.
~*~
The prince eyed the princess from a distance. After a while, he came up with a conclusion: she is different. Miles and miles different from all the girls he's seen. Instead of white dresses, wide hats and glossy shoes, she bears breeches, a well-worn shirt and the kind of shoes the prince wears whenever he explores their backyard. Her hair was cut short, but it was long enough to be tied to a little ponytail behind her head.
He decided to get to know her better. The prince got up from the steps where he was sitting and approached the girl. Up close, he realized that she had a full pouty lips and deep, dark-brown doe-eyes. "Hey."
The girl glanced at the prince before returning to what she was doing. "Hey yourself."
Sharp tongue. The prince likes.
"Name?" he asked rather nonchalantly.
"I'm not an animal," the girl replied, "and I'll tell you my name if you can catch me."
"What?" the prince asked.
The girl smirked before going up to the prince and placing a hand on his chest. "Tag, you're it," she muttered before running off to the open field.
The prince snapped out of his shocked state and ran after her. He must admit, this girl is fast. But of course, the girl doesn't know the prince well enough to know that no one outruns him. No one, and the prince isn't going to let this girl be the first.
When he finally caught up to her, he pulled the collar of her shirt. The girl stopped but the momentum from the prince sent both of them sprawled on the lush grass. Childish laughter resounded through the twilight as they both giggled after their chase.
"So," the prince managed to say in between fits of laughter, "name?"
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," the princess replied."
The prince smiled. Quick witted. He definitely likes. "It's Kyuhyun."
"Taehee."
~*~
The prince and the princess grew together as close friends. They did almost everything together, that is, whenever possible. As the years passed, the feeling grew. They became more than friends, and once they were of age, the prince asked the princess her hand in marriage. She took the ring with a scream of delight and gave the prince a kiss.
All was well, until the day before the wedding.
The princess disappeared from her room in the prince's mansion. The only thing left was a black rose on the silk sheets.
The prince was shocked. His love was stolen away from him, and no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find her. There were no reports of a female body anywhere.
It was as if she vanished on thin air.
Year after year passed, the prince continues to age, but his body remained as it was on his wedding day; strong, young and fit. He continued to search for his loved one, even when everyone gave up.
One day, in the midst of searching, one name escaped the prince's lips. A name unknown to him, or anyone he knows; a strange word that rolled off his tongue like he's said it multiple times in his past, an unknown name that sounded so familiar in his ears.
"Sungmin."
Lee Sungmin jerked awake from a fitful sleep drenched in cold sweat. His breathing was harsh, like he's run for miles and miles. After the initial shock of the realistic dream, he couldn't help but wonder what that dream was all and why he had it.
Pairing: Kyuhyun/Sungmin, others
Genre: romance, mystery?
Rating: Varies by chapter
Summary: A prince that's lost his bethrothed, a teenager who took up her soul. 2 roads that separated met once more, but do they necessarily intertwine?
"Kyuhyun, do you see those stars?"
The young prince looked up to the clear night sky from the balcony where he and his mother were standing. The moon was half full and some clouds were scattered here and there. The stars were spread out on the midnight blue canopy, some bigger than others, twinkling from a million miles away like glitter on the dark fabric.
"Which ones, umma?" the prince asked. "There are so many of them."
"Those five," his mother replied, tracing out a line from the heavens, connecting five stars as he did so. "Do you know what it is?"
The prince scrunched his forehead, trying to recall what his astronomy teacher had told him. 5 stars, connected by a single line in a zig-zag pattern...
"It's... Queen Cassiopeia, right?" the prince guessed.
His mother smiled and ran a hand through the prince's softly tousled brown hair. "You did pay attention during your lessons."
The prince puffed his cheeks. "Umma, I may be ten, but that doesn't always mean that I only play with Changminnie."
The prince's mother chuckled. "Changminnie? You gave him a nickname?"
"Mhm!" the prince nodded excitedly.
"Jae?" a deep voice called from inside the room.
"Out here Yunho," the prince's mother called out.
The prince's father walked out to the balcony to join his family. The prince turned to his oncoming father and raised both of his arms. His father suppressed a chuckle as he picked him up, mocking pain as he did so. "Uf, Kyuhyunnie, you're too heavy now," he muttered ans the prince kissed his father's cheek.
The prince grumbled. "No I'm not!"
His father laughed before pulling his husband/wife in and giving him a kiss on the lips. The prince's mother laughed, playfully pushing the prince's father away. "Not in front of the kid, Yunnie"
The prince's father pouted, eliciting laughs from both his love and his son. Before long, he joined them as well.
After coming down from that blissful high, he turned to his son who was perched on his arms. "Kyuhyunnie, we'll be having a guest tomorrow. They have a child as well, and we expect you to be respectful to the family. We've told Zhou Mi, so we expect both you to behave."
The prince perked up. "Is it a boy or girl?"
"It's a girl," his father replied, earning a pout from his son. "Now, come one, Kyu. She'll be different from everyone else. You'll be her friend right away."
The prince only stuck out his tongue before leaning in to rest on his father's shoulder, somewhat excited yet bummed for the visit on the next day.
~*~
The next day came by quickly and the family friend arrived just after sunset. Both parents greeted each other with obvious happiness as all four were long friends, even before they both got married and had kids. Both fathers went off to do their own thing while their husbands hug back to chat.
"So Teukkie, where's the girl?" the prince's mother asked.
The princess's mother glanced at the door. "I think she's still outside. Kyuhyunnie's grown so fast! And so has Zhou Mi!"
The older prince, who had remained inside to accompany the guests alongside his parents, smiled softly, muttering a silent "Thank you" before helping the princess's parent with his bags.
"Ah, well, they're still young. But that aside, I'm sure he's taking care of her outside. I saw him walk out when you arrived," the prince's mother replied. "Shall we join our husbands?"
The princess's mother smiled and agreed.
~*~
The prince eyed the princess from a distance. After a while, he came up with a conclusion: she is different. Miles and miles different from all the girls he's seen. Instead of white dresses, wide hats and glossy shoes, she bears breeches, a well-worn shirt and the kind of shoes the prince wears whenever he explores their backyard. Her hair was cut short, but it was long enough to be tied to a little ponytail behind her head.
He decided to get to know her better. The prince got up from the steps where he was sitting and approached the girl. Up close, he realized that she had a full pouty lips and deep, dark-brown doe-eyes. "Hey."
The girl glanced at the prince before returning to what she was doing. "Hey yourself."
Sharp tongue. The prince likes.
"Name?" he asked rather nonchalantly.
"I'm not an animal," the girl replied, "and I'll tell you my name if you can catch me."
"What?" the prince asked.
The girl smirked before going up to the prince and placing a hand on his chest. "Tag, you're it," she muttered before running off to the open field.
The prince snapped out of his shocked state and ran after her. He must admit, this girl is fast. But of course, the girl doesn't know the prince well enough to know that no one outruns him. No one, and the prince isn't going to let this girl be the first.
When he finally caught up to her, he pulled the collar of her shirt. The girl stopped but the momentum from the prince sent both of them sprawled on the lush grass. Childish laughter resounded through the twilight as they both giggled after their chase.
"So," the prince managed to say in between fits of laughter, "name?"
"I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours," the princess replied."
The prince smiled. Quick witted. He definitely likes. "It's Kyuhyun."
"Taehee."
~*~
The prince and the princess grew together as close friends. They did almost everything together, that is, whenever possible. As the years passed, the feeling grew. They became more than friends, and once they were of age, the prince asked the princess her hand in marriage. She took the ring with a scream of delight and gave the prince a kiss.
All was well, until the day before the wedding.
The princess disappeared from her room in the prince's mansion. The only thing left was a black rose on the silk sheets.
The prince was shocked. His love was stolen away from him, and no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find her. There were no reports of a female body anywhere.
It was as if she vanished on thin air.
Year after year passed, the prince continues to age, but his body remained as it was on his wedding day; strong, young and fit. He continued to search for his loved one, even when everyone gave up.
One day, in the midst of searching, one name escaped the prince's lips. A name unknown to him, or anyone he knows; a strange word that rolled off his tongue like he's said it multiple times in his past, an unknown name that sounded so familiar in his ears.
"Sungmin."
Lee Sungmin jerked awake from a fitful sleep drenched in cold sweat. His breathing was harsh, like he's run for miles and miles. After the initial shock of the realistic dream, he couldn't help but wonder what that dream was all and why he had it.