[fic] The Measure Of A Man - Chapter 8
Title: The Measure Of A Man
Band: DBSK&SUJU
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Yunchun; ChangminxOFC; Kyumin
Summary: Sequel to 'The Masked Fencer.
A/N: T__T I'm so sorry I Ididn't update this sooner. School's a bitch.
I also used some scenes from my Kyumin fic 'Straight Through the Heart' for this. You can read the rest of the fic here: sugarplumrock.
And I'm sorry there's not a lot of Yunchun right now. >_> Soon!
“Lord Shindong?“ The servant poked his head through the entrance of the tent, looking almost annoyed. That was a very unusual thing for Kibum to be so Shindong immediately turned to him, abandoning his breakfast.
“What is it, Kibum?“ he asked, smiling friendly.
“Errr, well ... it’s about La- ... Lord Heechul. He refuses to leave his tent because he doesn’t want to see Lord Yunho. He says that getting out of the tent means getting one step closer to Lord Yunho and he can’t forgive him for ... well ...“
“He still hasn’t got over that?“ Shindong exclaimed, rolling his eyes. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Heechul was his twin brother. Shindong would’ve never been so unforgiving, especially when it was something as trivial as that. Sighing, he turned back to Kibum. “I’ll be with you in a minute, Kibum. Is there anything else?“
“A messenger from Lady Boa came in tonight. He said she wishes to speak to you in private after the meeting with Lord Yunho. It wasn’t urgent so I didn’t wake you, my lord.“
“It’s all right,“ Shindong smiled. “You did well, Kibum. Now ... let me see about my brother.“
~~~***~~~
“Sungmin?! Sungmin! Where’s that boy hiding?“ Bomi grumbled, ready to kill her younger brother.
For someone of noble birth Sungmin was an exceptionally gentle boy; he wasn’t interested in weapons or riding horses (he loved petting them, though) and he was a major disappointment to Lady Bomi and her older brother, Jaejoong.
Sighing, she shook her head and gave up. She’d find the boy sooner or later and he’d receive proper punishment for skipping his classes once again.
~~~***~~~
“Pheeew, that was close,“ Sungmin murmured to himself as he hopped off a roof. “Why does she have to be so bossy? She’s acting like a man!“
His habit of engaging in long, usually quite detailed soliloquies was one of the many reasons why people thought he was a little weird. Harmless, but closer to insanity than peace of mind. But most people were nice to him anyway because he was friendly and cute.
Sungmin didn’t seem to have much in common with his older siblings who had greater ambitions than leading a quiet life. Sungmin often overheard them when they were talking about war and other creepy things like that.
Sungmin was sixteen, he hadn’t even had his coming of age ceremony yet, but he already knew what war would mean for the people. He quickly pushed those thoughts aside and plucked an apple from one of the trees near the stables when suddenly a dark voice spoke up behind him.
“Are you looking for something, my lord?“
Sungmin spun around, staring at the boy in front of him. It took him a while to associate the other’s handsome face with a name, then realised it was his brother’s new slave. The boy, Kyuhyun, was a present from some wealthy merchant.
Smiling at the other, Sungmin shook his head. “Ah no, it’s just that ... I’m trying to avoid certain people if you know what I mean ...“
Kyuhyun grinned back at Sungmin and nodded. “I understand. You don’t feel like history classes on such a sunny day, is that it?“
“Yes, something like that,“ Sungmin agreed, laughing a little at the other’s words.
Kyuhyun seemed nice, but everything was nice on this day in late March. The sun was warming Sungmin’s cold limbs after endless nights he’d spent within the cold walls of the castle, listening to the icy words of his sister. This cruel sister who was bragging about ...
But not, he didn’t want to think of that right now. No, no, no ...
Squeezing his eyes shut, Sungmin tried his best to recall the good memories his sister had given him. The nights she’d held him through his frequent fevers, the stories and plays she thought of to entertain him. Bomi was a wonderful story teller and an even better actress. Maybe she hadn’t been born into the right body either, maybe she would have preferred the life of an actress, but there were no excuses for what she’d done. For that horrible, horrible thing.
All the blood, it was ...
“Are you all right, my lord?“ Kyuhyun’s was leaning over the other boy, his expression worried.
“Ah, yes. I’m fine,“ Sungmin hurried to reply, forcing a fake smile to his lips. “Just daydreaming, I guess.“
Frowning at the other’s reply, Kyuhyun reached out to place a hand on Sungmin’s shoulder - something an ordinary slave would have never dared. “Daydreams shouldn’t be nightmares,“ he whispered. “What’s ... bothering you?“
Sungmin frowned; the other sounded like he wasn’t comforting other people very often and wasn’t that good at it, but Kyuhyun was friendly and so he decided to reply.
“Nightmares.“
With that he turned around to find another place to go, another place in the sun that wasn’t haunted by his family and their troubled existence.
“Wait!“
Something in Kyuhyun’s voice made the shorter boy stop. He turned around, looking at the slave like he was seeing him for the first time. “Yes?“
“Do you know there’s a secret way out of the castle?“
Kyuhyun extended his hand, showing his long, perfect fingers to the other and Sungmin should have known that slaves didn’t have such smooth, white skin. But it didn’t matter at that moment; when their fingers touched the mood seemed to change completely. He no longer felt the painful shadows of the past clawing at him and this was no longer an ordinary, sunny day in March. Sungmin felt like he’d agreed to something far greater than a walk out of the castle.
His heart started beating faster than it ever had in all of his sixteen years.
~~~***~~~
“Lord Yoochun.“
The door to Yoochun’s chambers opened and Bomi sauntered in, her expression almost cheerful. “How are you today?“
“I’ve been really well until now,“ Yoochun replied softly. “Thank you, my lady.“
Bomi pouted at him, acting all cute and lady-like, but Yoochun knew she was no lady. He’d seen her kill Changmin. He’d seen Junsu’s tears. He could never forgive that woman for doing such a thing, especially to a man who’d loved her unconditionally.
And even now it seemed like the lady could have cared less about her deeds.
“That’s nice,“ she replied, her voice icy. “I’m here to ask you for a favour in my brother’s name.“
She might as well have said it was an order, Yoochun thought, but nodded. “How can I help you, my lady?“
“Well, it’s about my younger brother, Sungmin,“ she began, sitting on a chair next to Yoochun’s. “He has been studying martial arts for quite some time now, but due to illness he missed the important boyhood years,“ she sighed. “My older brother, Lord Jaejoong, believes that you could help him gain the knowledge he lacks since you are known to be a master of the art of fencing. And I’m sure you’d be glad to get some fresh air now that winter’s finally over.“
Yoochun thought about the lady’s proposal for a while. He knew he couldn’t decline. And what if he ever had to fight his way out of here? He’d have to be prepared then.
He nodded. “I’ll do my best. When shall we start?“
The lady smiled almost gently. “Tomorrow. And you’d better be gentle or ...“
She’d never threatened him this openly before, but Yoochun knew he was only alive because she wanted him to be, because she had plans for him.
He bowed politely and the lady left, but the room was still poisoned by the shadows of her presence.
~~~***~~~
Yunho was watching Lord Donghae, who was playing with Yoochun’s daughter. The girl still didn’t have a name and Yunho wasn’t planning on giving her one. It wasn’t his place to do so. They called her kid or sweetie or other cute things they came up with. They were almost like a family now, with Yunho as the father and Donghae as the mother. It was kind of weird, but the young lord was used to his life being different from most.
“The twins are going to arrive later this afternoon. Or maybe tomorrow morning,“ Yunho said. “I’m looking forward to seeing Heechul again ...“
“I bet he isn’t looking forward to meeting you,“ Donghae replied, smirking. “He’s telling everybody about this story ... you know? When he was six and you were four?“
“Ohhh. That.“ Yunho burst into laughter. “It wasn’t my fault! It was just too tempting!“
“Of course.“
Donghae went back to singing for the girl who loved listening to his voice. It was a peaceful evening with the sun painting the sky a deep red, but to Yunho it felt different.
It was a beginning. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out what it was.
Band: DBSK&SUJU
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: Yunchun; ChangminxOFC; Kyumin
Summary: Sequel to 'The Masked Fencer.
A/N: T__T I'm so sorry I Ididn't update this sooner. School's a bitch.
I also used some scenes from my Kyumin fic 'Straight Through the Heart' for this. You can read the rest of the fic here: sugarplumrock.
And I'm sorry there's not a lot of Yunchun right now. >_> Soon!
“Lord Shindong?“ The servant poked his head through the entrance of the tent, looking almost annoyed. That was a very unusual thing for Kibum to be so Shindong immediately turned to him, abandoning his breakfast.
“What is it, Kibum?“ he asked, smiling friendly.
“Errr, well ... it’s about La- ... Lord Heechul. He refuses to leave his tent because he doesn’t want to see Lord Yunho. He says that getting out of the tent means getting one step closer to Lord Yunho and he can’t forgive him for ... well ...“
“He still hasn’t got over that?“ Shindong exclaimed, rolling his eyes. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Heechul was his twin brother. Shindong would’ve never been so unforgiving, especially when it was something as trivial as that. Sighing, he turned back to Kibum. “I’ll be with you in a minute, Kibum. Is there anything else?“
“A messenger from Lady Boa came in tonight. He said she wishes to speak to you in private after the meeting with Lord Yunho. It wasn’t urgent so I didn’t wake you, my lord.“
“It’s all right,“ Shindong smiled. “You did well, Kibum. Now ... let me see about my brother.“
~~~***~~~
“Sungmin?! Sungmin! Where’s that boy hiding?“ Bomi grumbled, ready to kill her younger brother.
For someone of noble birth Sungmin was an exceptionally gentle boy; he wasn’t interested in weapons or riding horses (he loved petting them, though) and he was a major disappointment to Lady Bomi and her older brother, Jaejoong.
Sighing, she shook her head and gave up. She’d find the boy sooner or later and he’d receive proper punishment for skipping his classes once again.
~~~***~~~
“Pheeew, that was close,“ Sungmin murmured to himself as he hopped off a roof. “Why does she have to be so bossy? She’s acting like a man!“
His habit of engaging in long, usually quite detailed soliloquies was one of the many reasons why people thought he was a little weird. Harmless, but closer to insanity than peace of mind. But most people were nice to him anyway because he was friendly and cute.
Sungmin didn’t seem to have much in common with his older siblings who had greater ambitions than leading a quiet life. Sungmin often overheard them when they were talking about war and other creepy things like that.
Sungmin was sixteen, he hadn’t even had his coming of age ceremony yet, but he already knew what war would mean for the people. He quickly pushed those thoughts aside and plucked an apple from one of the trees near the stables when suddenly a dark voice spoke up behind him.
“Are you looking for something, my lord?“
Sungmin spun around, staring at the boy in front of him. It took him a while to associate the other’s handsome face with a name, then realised it was his brother’s new slave. The boy, Kyuhyun, was a present from some wealthy merchant.
Smiling at the other, Sungmin shook his head. “Ah no, it’s just that ... I’m trying to avoid certain people if you know what I mean ...“
Kyuhyun grinned back at Sungmin and nodded. “I understand. You don’t feel like history classes on such a sunny day, is that it?“
“Yes, something like that,“ Sungmin agreed, laughing a little at the other’s words.
Kyuhyun seemed nice, but everything was nice on this day in late March. The sun was warming Sungmin’s cold limbs after endless nights he’d spent within the cold walls of the castle, listening to the icy words of his sister. This cruel sister who was bragging about ...
But not, he didn’t want to think of that right now. No, no, no ...
Squeezing his eyes shut, Sungmin tried his best to recall the good memories his sister had given him. The nights she’d held him through his frequent fevers, the stories and plays she thought of to entertain him. Bomi was a wonderful story teller and an even better actress. Maybe she hadn’t been born into the right body either, maybe she would have preferred the life of an actress, but there were no excuses for what she’d done. For that horrible, horrible thing.
All the blood, it was ...
“Are you all right, my lord?“ Kyuhyun’s was leaning over the other boy, his expression worried.
“Ah, yes. I’m fine,“ Sungmin hurried to reply, forcing a fake smile to his lips. “Just daydreaming, I guess.“
Frowning at the other’s reply, Kyuhyun reached out to place a hand on Sungmin’s shoulder - something an ordinary slave would have never dared. “Daydreams shouldn’t be nightmares,“ he whispered. “What’s ... bothering you?“
Sungmin frowned; the other sounded like he wasn’t comforting other people very often and wasn’t that good at it, but Kyuhyun was friendly and so he decided to reply.
“Nightmares.“
With that he turned around to find another place to go, another place in the sun that wasn’t haunted by his family and their troubled existence.
“Wait!“
Something in Kyuhyun’s voice made the shorter boy stop. He turned around, looking at the slave like he was seeing him for the first time. “Yes?“
“Do you know there’s a secret way out of the castle?“
Kyuhyun extended his hand, showing his long, perfect fingers to the other and Sungmin should have known that slaves didn’t have such smooth, white skin. But it didn’t matter at that moment; when their fingers touched the mood seemed to change completely. He no longer felt the painful shadows of the past clawing at him and this was no longer an ordinary, sunny day in March. Sungmin felt like he’d agreed to something far greater than a walk out of the castle.
His heart started beating faster than it ever had in all of his sixteen years.
~~~***~~~
“Lord Yoochun.“
The door to Yoochun’s chambers opened and Bomi sauntered in, her expression almost cheerful. “How are you today?“
“I’ve been really well until now,“ Yoochun replied softly. “Thank you, my lady.“
Bomi pouted at him, acting all cute and lady-like, but Yoochun knew she was no lady. He’d seen her kill Changmin. He’d seen Junsu’s tears. He could never forgive that woman for doing such a thing, especially to a man who’d loved her unconditionally.
And even now it seemed like the lady could have cared less about her deeds.
“That’s nice,“ she replied, her voice icy. “I’m here to ask you for a favour in my brother’s name.“
She might as well have said it was an order, Yoochun thought, but nodded. “How can I help you, my lady?“
“Well, it’s about my younger brother, Sungmin,“ she began, sitting on a chair next to Yoochun’s. “He has been studying martial arts for quite some time now, but due to illness he missed the important boyhood years,“ she sighed. “My older brother, Lord Jaejoong, believes that you could help him gain the knowledge he lacks since you are known to be a master of the art of fencing. And I’m sure you’d be glad to get some fresh air now that winter’s finally over.“
Yoochun thought about the lady’s proposal for a while. He knew he couldn’t decline. And what if he ever had to fight his way out of here? He’d have to be prepared then.
He nodded. “I’ll do my best. When shall we start?“
The lady smiled almost gently. “Tomorrow. And you’d better be gentle or ...“
She’d never threatened him this openly before, but Yoochun knew he was only alive because she wanted him to be, because she had plans for him.
He bowed politely and the lady left, but the room was still poisoned by the shadows of her presence.
~~~***~~~
Yunho was watching Lord Donghae, who was playing with Yoochun’s daughter. The girl still didn’t have a name and Yunho wasn’t planning on giving her one. It wasn’t his place to do so. They called her kid or sweetie or other cute things they came up with. They were almost like a family now, with Yunho as the father and Donghae as the mother. It was kind of weird, but the young lord was used to his life being different from most.
“The twins are going to arrive later this afternoon. Or maybe tomorrow morning,“ Yunho said. “I’m looking forward to seeing Heechul again ...“
“I bet he isn’t looking forward to meeting you,“ Donghae replied, smirking. “He’s telling everybody about this story ... you know? When he was six and you were four?“
“Ohhh. That.“ Yunho burst into laughter. “It wasn’t my fault! It was just too tempting!“
“Of course.“
Donghae went back to singing for the girl who loved listening to his voice. It was a peaceful evening with the sun painting the sky a deep red, but to Yunho it felt different.
It was a beginning. But he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out what it was.