Dragon Prince - Chapter Seven
Dragon Prince
Chapter Seven
Hyunjoong fully expected to be put straight into chains when he emerged from the wagon that night. Instead Soojin greeted him with a smile and seated him with her boys before moving off to take care of some other business. The prince accepted the food he was given and listened to the chatter of the people around him.
“Why does your mother rarely ever eat with us?” Hyunjoong asked when they were half way through the meal.
“She rotates through the other families,” Jungmin explained. “It is an honor to have the clan leader eating at your fire.”
Hyunjoong nodded in understanding. The concept made sense, yet it was not something that he could ever see his father doing. Beside the simple fact that it would not be safe for him to move from house to house like that, it would be nearly impossible to eat at the table of every one of his citizens and still get anything done.
“Hyunjoong!” a little voice that he recognized instantly as Micha’s called to him. A moment later the little girl was crawling into his lap chattering loudly. “It was so boring without you here, but mother said you were going on a very important mission. She said you were helping to heal our greatest assment.”
“Greatest asset?” Hyunjoong questioned, correcting her mispronunciation.
“Yes that,” she agreed.
“Well I don’t know about that, but we made sure Youngsaeng was healed,” he told her.
“You did? So he is ok?”
Hyunjoong nodded. “See for yourself,” he pointed across the fire to where the other man was sitting wearing an amused smile.
Micha squeaked slightly and seemed to shrink back into him. Then she turned and lifted herself so she could whisper in his ear. “I’m not allowed to be near him. Mother says only important people can see him. Can I ride with you tomorrow?”
“Yes,” he whispered back, not fully certain why they were whispering in the first place.
“See you tomorrow then,” she whispered. Then she was scrambling out of his lap and running off with the smallest of giggles following her.
“What was that about?” he asked the men, all four of whom were grinning.
“Our Youngsaeng is something of an enigma,” Kyujong replied. He was sitting on a log, with the man he was speaking about leaning against his legs. “Most people are a little awestruck to be around him.”
“Why?” Hyunjoong asked.
“Because he is fabulous of course,” Jungmin replied with a smirk.
“What is the real reason,” Hyunjoong pressed.
“We can’t tell you that,” Kyujong told him as his fingers danced along Youngsaeng’s neck, flirting with the new necklace that hung there. “If we told you that we would be giving away a big secret.”
“It isn’t much of a secret if all of you know,” Hyunjoong pointed out.
“It is a secret from you and it will stay that way, little prince,” Youngsaeng told him. Then he released a low growl and snatched the wondering fingers. “Stop that or I will do something indecent to you right here.”
Kyujong leaned forward. “You know I can’t resist you when you are like this,” he said loudly enough for everyone at the fire to hear.
“Oh get a room,” Hyungjoon called, throwing a small rock at them.
Youngsaeng caught the rock easily and dropped it to the side. “Oh so it would be a problem if I did this?” he rose to his knees, turned and smashed his lips to Kyujong’s.
“My eyes!” Hyungjoon declared, falling over and clutching at his face comically.
“Gross!” Jungmin screamed. “Doesn’t that bother you?” he asked the prince who was simply watching them curiously.
“I have never seen anything like it. Should it?” Hyunjoong asked.
“Yes!” Jungmin and Hyungjoon nearly shouted together.
“Boys,” Soojin said as she stepped into the ring of light. “Stop shouting and go do something useful. Take the prince with you. And you two go do that where little eyes can’t see. There are children around and you know the rules.”
“Yes mother,” the boys echoed together then the four burst out into laughter. Hyunjoong found himself caught up with them, caught up in their joy that one of their own was safe, whole, and well and he laughed nearly as hard as they did.
Soojin moved through them, rubbing their heads affectionately and laughing as well. Her fingers messed Hyunjoong’s already wild hair and he laughed and ducked much like the other boys had. “Now shoo all of you!” she declared, chasing them playfully from the fire.
“Come on,” Hyungjoon reached out and grabbed the prince’s wrist. “You can come help us settle the herds. You don’t want to be anywhere near the wagon for the next several hours!”
“He has that right,” Jungmin declared with a laugh.
“What do you do to settle the herds?” Hyunjoong asked.
“You don’t know anything do you?” Jungmin asked. Unlike the previous times his voice didn’t have anything dark hidden in it. “Come on we will show you.”
As Hyunjoong listened to the two of them explain what they would have to do and why, he felt a strange feeling settling over him. He couldn’t describe it and he certainly couldn’t name it, but it was one more mystery for him to figure out before he went home. One more puzzle to solve.
‡†‡†‡†‡†‡
Youngsaeng traced Kyujong’s neck with his lips as their bodies calmed from their activities just moments before. His hands traced smooth skin, littered with a few scars here and there. “I’m sorry,” he murmured quietly.
“For what? It’s not your fault that it took you a while to,” Kyujong paused, searching for the right word, “warm up. You are still healing.”
The other man snorted. “Not for that part. I’m sorry for taking so much from you and not giving you anything in return.”
“You give me plenty in return,” Kyujong replied. “For one you give me plenty of pleasure. You protect our family, our clan. I can’t ask for much more than that.”
“You deserve someone who can make love with you, not just have sex like we do,” Youngsaeng said softly.
“I thought we were sort of doing that,” Kyujong replied with a devious smile. He enjoyed the brief look of panic that crossed Youngsaeng’s face before he ran his hand up the other man’s back. “Kidding. I’m kidding. I know exactly what we are doing and I agreed to this. I won’t ask anything more from you.”
“I’m sorry I can’t give you anymore,” Youngsaeng murmured as he shifted his weight off Kyujong and curled into his side.
“It’s ok. I know why you don’t want to. I understand. I think our relationship baffles our little prince though,” Kyujong’s hands continued to run over the other man’s skin, content just to be touching.
Youngsaeng snorted lightly. “I don’t think he has ever seen anyone in any sort of a passionate embrace. I imagine that is part of life that is also kept from him.”
“Probably, it will be fairly funny when he gets married then,” Kyujong said lightly.
“Yes it will,” Youngsaeng said softly.
“Have you figured out what to do with him yet?” Kyujong asked.
“I’m working on it.”
“Meaning you are waiting for a brilliant idea to fall into your lap?”
Youngsaeng sighed. “That, or a miracle.”
‡†‡†‡†‡†‡
Hyunjoong was pleasantly surprised that his routine went back to normal after that night, or as normal as it had been for a prisoner. During the day he rode in the wagon with Micha and Soojin, learning about the world around him and simply listening to both of the females chat. Everything else about his routine had changed.
Now in the mornings, instead of just Micha joining him, Jungmin and Hyungjoon joined him for stretches as well. Kyujong occasionally sat near them and took the time to work on a mixture or a potion and poke fun of the positions they were forming.
In the evening, Hyunjoong had taken to joining the two men at caring for the herds. They had quickly discovered that he had a hand with the horses and it made their life infinitely easier to have his help at feeding and watering all the beasts once they had made camp for the night. Hyunjoong found the activity agreeable and discovered that he missed his own well trained horse, as he worked with the animals.
Jungmin and Hyungjoon found his skill both amusing and impressive. One evening they convinced him to mount and ride an unbroken stallion. Hyunjoong had mounted the beast, unaware that it would protest his presence violently at first. He flew from its saddle almost immediately. The boys were laughing so hard that they were nearly rolling on the ground, but neither of them expected him to get up, dust himself off, and climb right back on the beast. By the end of the night the stallion was walking calmly around the area at his command.
Soojin gave the horse to him a day later and he had begun to train it. It was nothing like the horse he had at home, and it constantly needed to be reminded who was in charge, but Hyunjoong found that he rather enjoyed it. Training it in the way of being a warhorse was refreshing.
Jungmin and Hyungjoon became his constant companions and Micha was with him as much as she could be. Hyunjoong was tempted to say it was because they feared he would try to run away but he knew that was not the case. Kyujong was friendly but tended to stay in the wagon most of the time to work on his various mixes and despite the two weeks he had been in their care, Hyunjoong hardly saw Youngsaeng.
The first week was easy to understand. With the sickness the other man was experiencing, his lack of appearance had been explainable. It was the second week that Hyunjoong could think of no explanation for. At first the man had purposefully avoided him, but then it seemed as if he tolerated him enough to offer short clipped answers and nothing more. It made it difficult to discover the secret that the men were keeping from him and it made him even more suspicious that Youngsaeng was somehow the center of it. Hyunjoong had pondered cornering the man in the wagon and pressing him for answers, but since the night after his recovery, Youngsaeng had not slept in the wagon with them at all.
‡†‡†‡†‡†‡
Hyunjoong pulled back in the reins and tightened his hold as his stallion tried to go its own way. It danced in a circle before straightening to go the way he wanted it to. The prince knew that it was the sound of another horse approaching that had him protesting.
“Hey prince,” Jungmin called as he rode up alongside him. “We are almost to the village. Mom wants you with her and put this on. I’ll take Stubborn,” Jungmin gestured to his horse and then tossed him a ball of fabric.
Hyunjoong nodded and pulled his horse to a stop. He slid from the saddle and tossed the reins to Jungmin. The stallion looked between them and the prince grabbed its bridle and gave a sharp downwards jerk before it could try anything. “Don’t think about it,” he told it sternly. The horse snorted but appeared as though it was going to behave.
“If he runs off I’m not chasing him down,” Jungmin warned.
“He won’t.”
The other man nodded. “I’ll see you later.”
Hyunjoong waved and turned. He took off at a light jog, in order to catch Soojin’s wagon which was currently leading. On the way he opened the bundle of fabric and discovered it was a deep green cloak. He swung it around his shoulders, fastened it and pulled the hood up over his head as he moved. It swirled around him, but didn’t hinder his movements in the way he thought it would. Gypsy clothes were peculiar like that.
When he caught up with the wagon it took a bit of a trick to board it. It was a trick he had master shortly after he had been allowed free movement. He grabbed the small handle on the side of the wagon and matched his pace to it. Then, when he was ready, he jumped and used his momentum to swing up into the seat. It wasn’t a difficult feat, being that the horses were moving at a slow trot, but it was one he had been proud to master.
“Good to see that it fits,” Soojin told him. “Keep your hood down. I can’t protect you from an entire village should they want to do something to you. Not everyone is as excited about your father’s reign as your City is.”
Hyunjoong didn’t argue. He knew the truth of her words. If everyone was accepting of the king there would be no need for the guard or any of the precautions they took. He nodded and pulled the hood down to be sure it covered his face. Then he hunched his shoulders so people would have trouble telling exactly what he was.
The town that they rode through wasn’t a town at all. It was a collection of farms and house built around the country side. In the distance he could just make out what looked like a town square. The gypsies, led by Soojin followed the road to the small collection of buildings, stopping just before it. As she pulled the horses to a stop she looked around wearily.
“I don’t like it,” Youngsaeng said as he rode up beside their stopped wagon. “It is too quiet. There should be the sound of children playing, business, lunch, anything, but there is nothing normal.”
“Nothing at all?” Soojin asked.
“Nothing significant, a bit of movement,” he paused for a minute, “coughing and groaning, but nothing normal.”
“But there is life?” she asked.
“Yes. I hear some forms of life,” his head turned and he looked towards the village. A lone form rode out from it on horseback. “We will shortly find out.”
“Yes,” Soojin replied. Hyunjoong watched as the woman drew herself taller and by the time the rider was in sight she was sitting with the presence of royalty.
“I come with news from the village, Clan Head,” the woman that approached them on horseback called.
“What is your news?” Soojin asked.
“There is disease and starvation in the village, Clan Head. You will find no trade here. All we have to offer your people is sickness. We do not have enough food to feed our own,” the woman’s horse skittered as if it was frightened and she barely kept it under control. “It is best that you move on. The King himself will not send us help. Our village will perish.”
“And you? Do you have this sickness,” Soojin asked.
“No, Clan Head. Our healer said that I was immune to it, or that I must be very blessed to not have caught it. My family has all had it,” she told her.
“And your healer, what does he say the sickness is?” Soojin asked.
“I do not know Clan Head. He passed a week ago.”
“Your village suffers without a healer?”
“Yes, Clan Head. We have sent word of our plight to the King three times and he does nothing. I fear our village will very soon cease to exist.
Soojin paused for a moment and looked to Youngsaeng. He nodded shortly and she turned her attention back to the young woman. “Come and be warmed by our fire and we will see what aid we can provide.”
Chapter Eight
Masterlist
AN: Here is the next chapter! Thing have finally settled down some and I was able to crank out some more stuff. I am very excited to have you all read the rest of this.
Chapter Seven
Hyunjoong fully expected to be put straight into chains when he emerged from the wagon that night. Instead Soojin greeted him with a smile and seated him with her boys before moving off to take care of some other business. The prince accepted the food he was given and listened to the chatter of the people around him.
“Why does your mother rarely ever eat with us?” Hyunjoong asked when they were half way through the meal.
“She rotates through the other families,” Jungmin explained. “It is an honor to have the clan leader eating at your fire.”
Hyunjoong nodded in understanding. The concept made sense, yet it was not something that he could ever see his father doing. Beside the simple fact that it would not be safe for him to move from house to house like that, it would be nearly impossible to eat at the table of every one of his citizens and still get anything done.
“Hyunjoong!” a little voice that he recognized instantly as Micha’s called to him. A moment later the little girl was crawling into his lap chattering loudly. “It was so boring without you here, but mother said you were going on a very important mission. She said you were helping to heal our greatest assment.”
“Greatest asset?” Hyunjoong questioned, correcting her mispronunciation.
“Yes that,” she agreed.
“Well I don’t know about that, but we made sure Youngsaeng was healed,” he told her.
“You did? So he is ok?”
Hyunjoong nodded. “See for yourself,” he pointed across the fire to where the other man was sitting wearing an amused smile.
Micha squeaked slightly and seemed to shrink back into him. Then she turned and lifted herself so she could whisper in his ear. “I’m not allowed to be near him. Mother says only important people can see him. Can I ride with you tomorrow?”
“Yes,” he whispered back, not fully certain why they were whispering in the first place.
“See you tomorrow then,” she whispered. Then she was scrambling out of his lap and running off with the smallest of giggles following her.
“What was that about?” he asked the men, all four of whom were grinning.
“Our Youngsaeng is something of an enigma,” Kyujong replied. He was sitting on a log, with the man he was speaking about leaning against his legs. “Most people are a little awestruck to be around him.”
“Why?” Hyunjoong asked.
“Because he is fabulous of course,” Jungmin replied with a smirk.
“What is the real reason,” Hyunjoong pressed.
“We can’t tell you that,” Kyujong told him as his fingers danced along Youngsaeng’s neck, flirting with the new necklace that hung there. “If we told you that we would be giving away a big secret.”
“It isn’t much of a secret if all of you know,” Hyunjoong pointed out.
“It is a secret from you and it will stay that way, little prince,” Youngsaeng told him. Then he released a low growl and snatched the wondering fingers. “Stop that or I will do something indecent to you right here.”
Kyujong leaned forward. “You know I can’t resist you when you are like this,” he said loudly enough for everyone at the fire to hear.
“Oh get a room,” Hyungjoon called, throwing a small rock at them.
Youngsaeng caught the rock easily and dropped it to the side. “Oh so it would be a problem if I did this?” he rose to his knees, turned and smashed his lips to Kyujong’s.
“My eyes!” Hyungjoon declared, falling over and clutching at his face comically.
“Gross!” Jungmin screamed. “Doesn’t that bother you?” he asked the prince who was simply watching them curiously.
“I have never seen anything like it. Should it?” Hyunjoong asked.
“Yes!” Jungmin and Hyungjoon nearly shouted together.
“Boys,” Soojin said as she stepped into the ring of light. “Stop shouting and go do something useful. Take the prince with you. And you two go do that where little eyes can’t see. There are children around and you know the rules.”
“Yes mother,” the boys echoed together then the four burst out into laughter. Hyunjoong found himself caught up with them, caught up in their joy that one of their own was safe, whole, and well and he laughed nearly as hard as they did.
Soojin moved through them, rubbing their heads affectionately and laughing as well. Her fingers messed Hyunjoong’s already wild hair and he laughed and ducked much like the other boys had. “Now shoo all of you!” she declared, chasing them playfully from the fire.
“Come on,” Hyungjoon reached out and grabbed the prince’s wrist. “You can come help us settle the herds. You don’t want to be anywhere near the wagon for the next several hours!”
“He has that right,” Jungmin declared with a laugh.
“What do you do to settle the herds?” Hyunjoong asked.
“You don’t know anything do you?” Jungmin asked. Unlike the previous times his voice didn’t have anything dark hidden in it. “Come on we will show you.”
As Hyunjoong listened to the two of them explain what they would have to do and why, he felt a strange feeling settling over him. He couldn’t describe it and he certainly couldn’t name it, but it was one more mystery for him to figure out before he went home. One more puzzle to solve.
‡†‡†‡†‡†‡
Youngsaeng traced Kyujong’s neck with his lips as their bodies calmed from their activities just moments before. His hands traced smooth skin, littered with a few scars here and there. “I’m sorry,” he murmured quietly.
“For what? It’s not your fault that it took you a while to,” Kyujong paused, searching for the right word, “warm up. You are still healing.”
The other man snorted. “Not for that part. I’m sorry for taking so much from you and not giving you anything in return.”
“You give me plenty in return,” Kyujong replied. “For one you give me plenty of pleasure. You protect our family, our clan. I can’t ask for much more than that.”
“You deserve someone who can make love with you, not just have sex like we do,” Youngsaeng said softly.
“I thought we were sort of doing that,” Kyujong replied with a devious smile. He enjoyed the brief look of panic that crossed Youngsaeng’s face before he ran his hand up the other man’s back. “Kidding. I’m kidding. I know exactly what we are doing and I agreed to this. I won’t ask anything more from you.”
“I’m sorry I can’t give you anymore,” Youngsaeng murmured as he shifted his weight off Kyujong and curled into his side.
“It’s ok. I know why you don’t want to. I understand. I think our relationship baffles our little prince though,” Kyujong’s hands continued to run over the other man’s skin, content just to be touching.
Youngsaeng snorted lightly. “I don’t think he has ever seen anyone in any sort of a passionate embrace. I imagine that is part of life that is also kept from him.”
“Probably, it will be fairly funny when he gets married then,” Kyujong said lightly.
“Yes it will,” Youngsaeng said softly.
“Have you figured out what to do with him yet?” Kyujong asked.
“I’m working on it.”
“Meaning you are waiting for a brilliant idea to fall into your lap?”
Youngsaeng sighed. “That, or a miracle.”
‡†‡†‡†‡†‡
Hyunjoong was pleasantly surprised that his routine went back to normal after that night, or as normal as it had been for a prisoner. During the day he rode in the wagon with Micha and Soojin, learning about the world around him and simply listening to both of the females chat. Everything else about his routine had changed.
Now in the mornings, instead of just Micha joining him, Jungmin and Hyungjoon joined him for stretches as well. Kyujong occasionally sat near them and took the time to work on a mixture or a potion and poke fun of the positions they were forming.
In the evening, Hyunjoong had taken to joining the two men at caring for the herds. They had quickly discovered that he had a hand with the horses and it made their life infinitely easier to have his help at feeding and watering all the beasts once they had made camp for the night. Hyunjoong found the activity agreeable and discovered that he missed his own well trained horse, as he worked with the animals.
Jungmin and Hyungjoon found his skill both amusing and impressive. One evening they convinced him to mount and ride an unbroken stallion. Hyunjoong had mounted the beast, unaware that it would protest his presence violently at first. He flew from its saddle almost immediately. The boys were laughing so hard that they were nearly rolling on the ground, but neither of them expected him to get up, dust himself off, and climb right back on the beast. By the end of the night the stallion was walking calmly around the area at his command.
Soojin gave the horse to him a day later and he had begun to train it. It was nothing like the horse he had at home, and it constantly needed to be reminded who was in charge, but Hyunjoong found that he rather enjoyed it. Training it in the way of being a warhorse was refreshing.
Jungmin and Hyungjoon became his constant companions and Micha was with him as much as she could be. Hyunjoong was tempted to say it was because they feared he would try to run away but he knew that was not the case. Kyujong was friendly but tended to stay in the wagon most of the time to work on his various mixes and despite the two weeks he had been in their care, Hyunjoong hardly saw Youngsaeng.
The first week was easy to understand. With the sickness the other man was experiencing, his lack of appearance had been explainable. It was the second week that Hyunjoong could think of no explanation for. At first the man had purposefully avoided him, but then it seemed as if he tolerated him enough to offer short clipped answers and nothing more. It made it difficult to discover the secret that the men were keeping from him and it made him even more suspicious that Youngsaeng was somehow the center of it. Hyunjoong had pondered cornering the man in the wagon and pressing him for answers, but since the night after his recovery, Youngsaeng had not slept in the wagon with them at all.
‡†‡†‡†‡†‡
Hyunjoong pulled back in the reins and tightened his hold as his stallion tried to go its own way. It danced in a circle before straightening to go the way he wanted it to. The prince knew that it was the sound of another horse approaching that had him protesting.
“Hey prince,” Jungmin called as he rode up alongside him. “We are almost to the village. Mom wants you with her and put this on. I’ll take Stubborn,” Jungmin gestured to his horse and then tossed him a ball of fabric.
Hyunjoong nodded and pulled his horse to a stop. He slid from the saddle and tossed the reins to Jungmin. The stallion looked between them and the prince grabbed its bridle and gave a sharp downwards jerk before it could try anything. “Don’t think about it,” he told it sternly. The horse snorted but appeared as though it was going to behave.
“If he runs off I’m not chasing him down,” Jungmin warned.
“He won’t.”
The other man nodded. “I’ll see you later.”
Hyunjoong waved and turned. He took off at a light jog, in order to catch Soojin’s wagon which was currently leading. On the way he opened the bundle of fabric and discovered it was a deep green cloak. He swung it around his shoulders, fastened it and pulled the hood up over his head as he moved. It swirled around him, but didn’t hinder his movements in the way he thought it would. Gypsy clothes were peculiar like that.
When he caught up with the wagon it took a bit of a trick to board it. It was a trick he had master shortly after he had been allowed free movement. He grabbed the small handle on the side of the wagon and matched his pace to it. Then, when he was ready, he jumped and used his momentum to swing up into the seat. It wasn’t a difficult feat, being that the horses were moving at a slow trot, but it was one he had been proud to master.
“Good to see that it fits,” Soojin told him. “Keep your hood down. I can’t protect you from an entire village should they want to do something to you. Not everyone is as excited about your father’s reign as your City is.”
Hyunjoong didn’t argue. He knew the truth of her words. If everyone was accepting of the king there would be no need for the guard or any of the precautions they took. He nodded and pulled the hood down to be sure it covered his face. Then he hunched his shoulders so people would have trouble telling exactly what he was.
The town that they rode through wasn’t a town at all. It was a collection of farms and house built around the country side. In the distance he could just make out what looked like a town square. The gypsies, led by Soojin followed the road to the small collection of buildings, stopping just before it. As she pulled the horses to a stop she looked around wearily.
“I don’t like it,” Youngsaeng said as he rode up beside their stopped wagon. “It is too quiet. There should be the sound of children playing, business, lunch, anything, but there is nothing normal.”
“Nothing at all?” Soojin asked.
“Nothing significant, a bit of movement,” he paused for a minute, “coughing and groaning, but nothing normal.”
“But there is life?” she asked.
“Yes. I hear some forms of life,” his head turned and he looked towards the village. A lone form rode out from it on horseback. “We will shortly find out.”
“Yes,” Soojin replied. Hyunjoong watched as the woman drew herself taller and by the time the rider was in sight she was sitting with the presence of royalty.
“I come with news from the village, Clan Head,” the woman that approached them on horseback called.
“What is your news?” Soojin asked.
“There is disease and starvation in the village, Clan Head. You will find no trade here. All we have to offer your people is sickness. We do not have enough food to feed our own,” the woman’s horse skittered as if it was frightened and she barely kept it under control. “It is best that you move on. The King himself will not send us help. Our village will perish.”
“And you? Do you have this sickness,” Soojin asked.
“No, Clan Head. Our healer said that I was immune to it, or that I must be very blessed to not have caught it. My family has all had it,” she told her.
“And your healer, what does he say the sickness is?” Soojin asked.
“I do not know Clan Head. He passed a week ago.”
“Your village suffers without a healer?”
“Yes, Clan Head. We have sent word of our plight to the King three times and he does nothing. I fear our village will very soon cease to exist.
Soojin paused for a moment and looked to Youngsaeng. He nodded shortly and she turned her attention back to the young woman. “Come and be warmed by our fire and we will see what aid we can provide.”
Chapter Eight
Masterlist
AN: Here is the next chapter! Thing have finally settled down some and I was able to crank out some more stuff. I am very excited to have you all read the rest of this.