Cinderella Ch.1 - The Garden
Title: Cinderella
Pairings: Hyukhae, Hyukna(?), Sihae
Genre: Angst, Romance, Fantasy, AU
Rating: R
Disclaimer: Insert something clever about only owning the storyline and OCs and not the spectacular, sexy men of SJ.
Warnings: Child abuse, violence, language, derogatory slurs, a lot of OCs
Summary: Prince Hyukjae has loved Donghae since they were kids despite the fact that the latter is mute. Donghae’s older sister has always been jealous of him because their mother gave her brother more affection and because Hyukjae fawns after Donghae even though she is the one he is betrothed to. When Donghae and Gina’s mother passes away suddenly from an illness, their father blames Donghae for being a burden on his wife and making her tired and ill. Donghae, unable to communicate and process what has happened, is abused daily and locked away. Hyukjae is told that he died and is crushed. Ten years later when Hyukjae and Gina’s engagement is set in motion, Hyukjae discovers that his love is still alive.
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Sitting on the plush, green, manicured lawn of the garden behind the Royal Palace, eight-year-old Choi Donghae stared in wonder at the sapphire blue petals of a rare Elf flower decorating a tailored bush. Wavy brown fringe hung over his forehead, the rest of his hair tied at the base of his neck in a small ponytail. Dark brown eyes blinked under long lashes. He was completely unaware of the yellow butterfly floating above his shoulder. It hovered a moment more before landing on his right hand resting in his lap.
A slight pout on his lips, he lifted his hand to inspect the winged insect. It was a swallowtail butterfly with bold yellow wings, black details and tips, and a sparkling blue tail. Donghae smiled.
“Hae!”
Donghae snapped out of his trance and rotated in the direction of the familiar sound. The butterfly flitted away at the movement and began ascending over the bush. The small brunette turned to watch it go.
“Hae!” the same voice called again. Another boy, a bit older, appeared around the corner. His face lit up in a gummy smile when he noticed Donghae sitting a few feet away. “Hae, I want to give you a surprise! Come over here.”
The boy waved the younger child over while pointing off towards the center of the garden where a marble fountain was shooting dazzling water into the air. Donghae stood up and obediently followed the older boy.
The boy was Prince Hyukjae. His mother was a descendant of the Lee dynasty and had married a nobleman from another province, joining not only the two individuals, but their lands as well. Hyukjae was the only child and heir of the royal family. He had the silver eyes to prove it.
Grinning proudly, he stood straight and tall, hiding his surprise behind his back. When Donghae finally stood in front of him, a confused expression on his face, Hyukjae revealed his masterpiece.
It was a crown composed of bright pink, white, and lime carnations, peach roses, stems, and leaves picked from the many bushed scattered around the garden.
Donghae blinked at the creation. He may not have been able to show it, but he was very happy. Hyukjae could read Donghae like a book even though the latter was expressionless most of the time.
Not fazed by the lack of reaction from the latter, he gently placed the crown on the shorter boy’s wavy tresses.
Stepping back, Hyukjae admired his work. “It’s perfect! A crown fit for my princess.”
At that, Donghae glimpsed a smile. He made a quiet giggling noise and carefully touched the flower closest to his right temple.
“All hail Princess Hae!” Hyukjae praised, bowing low to the brunette who now had a full-blown smile on his face.
Only Hyukjae and his mother could make him smile with emotion.
Feeling quite accomplished, Hyukjae was too busy adoring his childhood friend to detect the storm brewing a few feet away.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Donghae’s sister Gina angrily marched out from behind a hedge and snatched the crown off of her brother’s head. Donghae immediately spun around and gazed at her with large brown eyes.
“Hey! I made that for Donghae! Give it back!” Hyukjae shouted, reaching for the crown.
More enraged, Gina tossed the wreath to the ground and stomped on it repeatedly with her ballet flat. Her pink dress billowed with her effort to destroy the flowers.
Donghae burst into tears on the spot. Crying was one a few actions that he could trigger instantly. The brunette wailed as he sister finally removed her foot from the crown, revealing the mangled stems and petals.
Hyukjae rushed over to Donghae and pulled him into a hug. Trying to console the sobbing boy by whispering reassuring words to him, he turned to the curly-haired girl and frowned. “Gina! Why’d you do that? I made that for Hae.”
“You’re always making things for him, oppa!” she snapped back. “You never make anything for me! I’m your princess, not that stupid boy!”
“Hae’s not stupid!” Hyukjae defended.
“He can’t even talk,” Gina muttered under her breath.
“Sometimes I wish you couldn’t,” the raven-haired boy hissed. Softening his voice, he continued to stroke Donghae’s hair, which was now messy from where leaves had pulled on it when Gina wrenched the wreath from his head. “I can always make another one, Hae. Don’t cry.”
“You’re always so mean to me, oppa! It’s not fair!” Gina hollered, also starting to cry. “You should be making crowns for your real princess! Daddy says I’m your bride. Me! Not my brother. What’s so special about him?”
Donghae’s crying finally settled down. Hyukjae refused to let him go just yet. Instead, he glared at Gina. He did not reply but took the younger boy by the hand and ran. Behind them, he could hear Gina’s frustrated scream.
Heading for the rosebush maze at the back of the garden, he pulled Donghae into its depths. They both had played in there many times and knew the way out by heart. As he watched the red-petaled flowers blur with their bushes as he ran, Hyukjae hoped that Gina wouldn’t find them here.
Inside the palace sitting by a window that overlooked the garden, the Queen and Lady Choi sat at a glass table sipping herbal tea. The women had been friends growing up. Shortly after Taehee became queen, Chaeyoung, a noble lady, married a man who held many lands to the East of the main kingdom. The two friends decided that their children would be betrothed to one another and unite the two kingdoms.
However, there seemed to be a bit of a problem.
“Hyukjae sure seems to have taken a liking to your boy, Chaeyoung,” said the Queen while holding her China cup between her hands. “I’m constantly reprimanding that child for not being nicer to your daughter. Gina seems like a lovely girl. She looks just like you.”
The other woman smiled graciously, her eyes tired. “She takes after her father mostly. My Donghae has my smile though.”
“Strange child, that one. How would you know what his smile looks like if you hardly ever see it? I’ve only seen him smile once before.”
“He smiles around the Prince quite a bit. And he enjoys lullabies. Those always generate such peaceful smiles.” Sipping from her cup, Chaeyoung sighed. “I’m very happy that Hyukjae takes such good care of Donghae. He hardly has any friends.”
“Do you know what ails him?” the Queen asked. She made a disgusted face. “He’s very…quiet.”
“We’ve been to many doctors, and they’ve all told us the same thing. He’s mute,” the other woman replied casually, “my poor child. He has the kindest heart, but he can hardly communicate at all. He’s smart as a whip, I tell you. Reads and writes like any other boy his age. The tutor is always impressed. My sweet Donghae for the most part knows exactly what’s going on around him.” Pausing to take another sip, she smiled sadly. “When he’s focused, he’s quite perceptive, but he tends to drift off into space every once in a while. He dislikes eye contact, especially with his father and sister, for some reason. And much to my heart’s sorrow, he doesn’t understand feelings very well. I tell him that I love him every day and night, but he hardly bats an eyelash. I hope that one day he will come to know how wonderful it is to be loved and be able to express love for someone else.”
The Queen nodded in agreement, reminding herself to scold Hyukjae for his behavior toward Gina.
Back in the maze, Hyukjae and Donghae were lying on their backs watching the white, fluffy clouds glide across the sky. Hyukjae laughed, startling the brunette.
“See, Hae,” Hyukjae pointed upwards, “that one looks like a bunny.”
Donghae followed the older boy’s finger to a cloud that actually looked like a dragon from his angle. He glanced sideways at Hyukjae and was surprised when he saw that the prince was staring back at him. Quickly averting his eyes, Donghae went back to looking at the sky.
Hyukjae blushed after being caught by the latter and also shifted his gaze to the clouds. The silence enveloped them. But it was something Hyukjae was used to. Taking a deep breath, he inched his hand along the soft grass until his pinky grazed Donghae’s. He bravely linked the digits, knowing that Donghae wouldn’t pull away.
“Hae?” he whispered in a tone that made the brunette turn his head toward Hyukjae. “I don’t like it when you cry. I promise to make you another crown tomorrow. I’ll protect my princess from all the bad guys,” he added more confidently with a smile.
Nodding his agreement, Donghae replied wordlessly.
Overjoyed by the affirmative, Hyukjae couldn’t stop himself and blurted, “I love you, Hae.”
Not even a nod.
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Any good? Yes? No? Comments would be very nice for this beginner! :)