Princess Series pt. 2 - Sleeping Beauty, Ch. 3
Author: shy_mizuno
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance/General
Pairing: Sungmin/Kyuhyun
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Super Junior belong to themselves and Sleeping Beauty - at least this version - belongs to Walt Disney. Which, speaking of which, there may be some lines from from the 1950 Cinderella film.
Summary: To save their son, and their kingdom, Yesung and Ryeowook must send their only son away.
Twenty-one years passed and they had not made Changmin a happy warlock. His followers had searched high and low over the kingdom and not a trace of the prince had ever presented itself.
Needless to say, he was angry.
With a bored look on his face, he watched the younglin burn in an eternal flame controlled by his hand. “All I ask is to find one prince. It’s not like he could disappear from the kingdom altogether.”
A fellow minion - the burnt one’s brother, he supposed - cleared his throat and spoke. “I’m sorry, your eminence. We’ve looked everywhere - every church, every nursery, every cradle, but we’ve never seen a sign of the child.”
The fire stopped suddenly. “What? What did you say?” The minion looked terrified and then, Changmin was laughing. “Oh, you poor stupid fools. You’ve been searching these twenty-one years…for a baby?”
The minion was too terrified by the laughter to answer.
“Idiots!” From his body, a flame extended over his domain. He watched their bodies burn into ashes. The energy had him exhausted and he fell into his throne.
At his hand, a scrawny sick crow pecked lightly at his fingers. “Darling, perhaps you can succeed where others have failed. Search the land for a man of twenty-one years, with hair that catches the light when light isn’t there and a heart so pure and wise of mind. Please Darling - do not disappoint me.” With a flick of his wrist, the crow flew out of the fortress.
Twenty-one years passed and Yesung had been counting since day one. Despite all the countermeasures taken, Ryeowook would not leave their bed. It had only been five years ago that his lover would eat of his own free will. And even then, his meals had to be brought to him.
“Yesunggie! Many congratulations to you on this day!” Donghae’s loud voice bounced off the hall’s walls. Despite the doom and gloom of the day, his good friend’s enthusiasm put a wide smile on his face.
“Don’t offer me congratulations just yet.” Yesung said. “The day is not over. I don’t know where Sungmin is and my only tell that Changmin doesn’t either could very well be a spell. For all I know, tonight Ryeowook will fall away and I will truly have lost everything.” And he said all this with a melancholy smile on his face.
“Don’t think so negatively. Tonight, you shall have your son. And tomorrow, there shall be a wedding.” From his robes, Donghae pulled a large bottle of wine.
“A wedding? Hae, a wedding for what?” Despite his confusion, Yesung let Donghae pour him a drink.
“For Kyuhyun and Sungmin, of course. They haven’t seen each other in over twenty years! No time like the present, eh Yesung?”
“But…Ryeowook’s withering away. Sungmin is the only one who can save him. You can’t take our child from us the next day.”
“He’ll still be your son - you were still with your parents when you married Ryeowook. I’m just giving them a chance to know each other in the country.”
“In the country?!” Yesung set down his goblet. “What do you mean by that?”
“A nest, what else?! I’ve already had a castle built between our lands. A place for the lovebirds to grow together.” Donghae, with his big smile, took a long drink of the wine.
Yesung shook his head. He pushed the goblet away and stood. “I’m sorry, Donghae-ah, but I haven’t been with my son for twenty-one years. I can’t stand talk of losing him for a second time. Excuse me.” Yesung, ever the calm diplomat, exited the hall with his shoulders high.
Donghae pouted. “What’s with him? It’s just marriage. It’s not like Changmin’s getting him.” He shrugged and took a heavy gulp of wine.
“Father!” In surprise, Donghae could feel the wine go down the wrong pipe. He sputtered and coughed to catch his breath. He felt a hand smack on his back and, unfortunately, after a few whacks, he could breathe again. Behind him, he saw his smiling son Kyuhyun.
“Kyuhyun! You should know better than to sneak up on your old man.” Donghae glared. But even then his son would not stop smiling. “Why are you so happy?”
“I have met a dream come true. A complete dream come true.”
“What? Kyu, what are you talking about? Are you alright?”
“In the woods, Father! There’s a perfect, wonderful man in the woods. Pure and smart and talented and…he’s perfect, Father!”
“In the woods…” Donghae blinked and blinked, “Wait - a commoner?! But Kyu, you’re a prince!”
Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. “Father, this is the modern age. If a prince wants to meet a commoner - so what? I’m still a prince at the end of the day.” Kyuhyun danced around the table, taking Yesung’s goblet in his own hand and drinking happily.
Donghae bit his lip over and over. “But Kyuhyun…you’re engaged. Don’t you remember Sungmin?”
“Father, I haven’t seen that baby in twenty years.”
“You just met this commoner.”
“It’s more than I know about Sungmin. And how do we even know if Sungmin’s still alive?”
“Don’t say things like that! Knock on wood - Sungmin will come back tonight!”
“And I won’t be there to see him. If you’ll excuse me, I’moff to see my lovely lover.” Donghae followed after Kyuhyun as fast as he could. (Not very far, for his age was very old.) He sputtered and stuttered, but Kyuhyun left nonetheless. Donghae didn’t know what to do but polish off his wine. He paid no mind to the servant sneaking off with Yesung’s goblet.
Twenty-one years passed and Kangin had never been more annoyed. Twenty-one years of walking to and from market instead of flying and he had never ached more before. Twenty-one years of living in close quarters with Heechul instead of their vast land that gave him miles from Heechul’s teasing and snarkiness. Twenty-one years of no magic - and even today, he was being annoyed.
Sungmin had been the only one to ever cook in the cottage. Listening and watching Shindong try and stack the cake into tiers was, for lack of a better term, painful. Kangin cringed as he heard another shatter.
The cooking aside, it wasn’t as horrible as Heechul’s hand. He thought a fabulous idea was to make a royal robe for Sungmin…without magic. And Kangin was the dummy.
Even worse - it was red.
“I wanted blue.” Kangin complained, crossing his arms under the million folds of fabric.
“Well, I chose red. It’s my present. If you want blue, then make it yourself.”
“Okay.” Kangin stepped off - or at least, tried.
“Not now - I’m making the robe. Stay still.”
“But Minnie’ll be back any minute.”
“Exactly.” Kangin sighed, going back to folding his arms. “Shindong-shi, what do you think?”
Shindong, trying to keep the sloppy cake standing up, took a second to look at the mess. “Well…it doesn’t look as it does in your book.”
“Of course it doesn’t; I improved it.”
“I see…” Shindong looked back at the ‘cake.’ “What do you think about the cake?” Heechul looked at the sliding dough, and by his look, Shindong poked up again. “I mean - it’ll be better after it sets in the oven.”
“Right; of course.” Heechul forced a smile.
“Oh god - are you two blind?! The cake is horrible and this, this, this ‘robe’ is just a bunch of fabric with sewing holes! Let’s face facts - we need magic.” Kangin threw off the fabric and crossed into the kitchen. He grabbed the knife and slid it across his palm.
“No!” The moment he saw blood, Heechul leapt across and stole the knife. He hugged it to his chest. Kangin glared at him and Shindong waited for his reaction. Heechul looked up and he looked down and he looked right and he looked left, biting his lip. “Close the door. Lock the windows. Every nook and cranny - we can’t let anyone know.” Kangin smiled and he and Shindong were quick to obey. The house was covered and the three of them huddled together, palms at the ready.
By blood, by blood
This bind undone
Our magic three
Our moon and sun
Just as they saw twenty-one years ago, their magic enveloped their hands. Together, they sighed at the familiar rushing through their veins. After twenty-one years, they felt normal again.
“Alright, we haven’t got much time. Shindong, make the cake. I’ll make the robe. Kangin, clean the cottage.” Shindong hurried about the kitchen and Heechul went back to his mess of cloth. Kangin sighed, waving a hand over the mop and broom. Shindong was happy to watch the flour, eggs, and the milk pile high into a four-tier wedding cake. It looked delicious and a swipe of the frosting told him it tasted delicious too. Heechul waved his hand with the needle, with every stitch. The robe stood proud - befitting of a prince’s homecoming.
Kangin turned from the cleaning supplies with a scowl. “Oh, not red.” He summoned his magic in his hands. “Make it blue!”
Heechul jumped at the sudden outfit change. “Kangin! Get back to work!” He waved over the robe. “Make it red.”
Kangin glared with a ssukso. “Make it blue.”
“No. Make it red.”
The cottage was an explosion of red and blue magic - so much that it eventually hit Heechul and Kangin’s clothes. They only stopped when, in the distance, they heard, “Heechul-samchon!”
Heechul and Kangin paused and looked about the room. It was a splash of red and blue - especially the robe. They sucked up their magic, hurrying to hide. In the last moment, Heechul hit the robe - red.
“Kangin!” Heechul pointed to the mop, still swishing around.
“Stop, mop!” Kangin hit it with a swipe of magic. And with another swipe, he turned the robe blue. And just like that, Sungmin walked through the door.
“Heechul-samchon! Shindong! Kangin!” Sungmin swarmed through the door. Just like that, he froze. “Oh…it’s beautiful!” He held the robe in his hand. “Is…is this for me?”
“Surprise!” His uncles jumped out, enveloping him in a hug. “Happy Birthday, Minnie!”
Sungmin laughed with his 1000 watt smile. “Thank you so much, Samchon.” In a moment’s notice, he changed into the robe. “I feel just like my prince.”
The magical beings looked at each other. “’Your Prince’? Don’t you mean ‘a prince’?”
“No, Shindong-samchon, my prince.” He danced about in the waves of silk. “I met him in my dreams and today…I danced with him by the lake. And tonight…he’s coming here tonight.”
“Tonight?” They looked at each other. “But…Minnie…Minnie, you can’t.”
“Why not? I’ve met him before, so he’s not a stranger. And after all these years, isn’t it time I met somebody outside the cottage?” Sungmin playfully glared of his uncles, hands on his hips.
“It’s…not that. Minnie…” Heechul, with a sad look stepped up. “Minnie, we haven’t been honest with you these years.” Sungmin looked at them as Heechul took his hands. “Minnie, your real name is Sungmin, Prince of Yesung and Ryeowook and heir to the throne.”
Sungmin looked at them with wide eyes. He watched in shock as swirls of magic wrapped around his arms. It reached up to his shoulders, about his neck, and he felt the change. His long blond locks retreated to his scalp, dimming with every inch removed to a raven black. His cocoa brown eyes darkened to black mirrors. He pulled away from Heechul, fingering at his hair and trying to find answers in the men before him. “Prince? But…if I’m a prince…why did I grow up here? Didn’t…didn’t my parents want me?”
“Of course they did, Minnie!” Shindong approached him, pleading for Sungmin to believe them. “Your father Ryeowook wasted away in prayer for you. He so distraught when we told him we had to take you. Your parents love you with everything they have, but they couldn’t raise you.”
“When you were an infant, there was a grand celebration for your birth.” Kangin explained. “And each of us came to bestow a gift that makes you who you are today. But…there was someone who came uninvited. The powerful warlock Changmin who out of spite cursed you.” He went on. “Before the sun sets on your twenty-first birthday, you would hurt yourself and die. Fortunately, I was able to alter the curse, but I could not remove it. So for your own protection we have raised you out here for all these years.”
“That’s why you were always so protective.” Sungmin understood and for a moment, he smiled upon the men. “So…you’re not my uncles? Who are you, then?”
“We are the Three Good Fairies. After Changmin, we are the most powerful beings in the land.” Heechul explained.
Sungmin smiled at them until his original question crossed his mind. “But…why can’t I meet him tonight then? If he wanted to hurt me, he would’ve done it just now. I mean, I will go back to my father, but couldn’t I bring my prince with me? We could still marry.”
The fairies looked at each other. “Minnie…there’s another part of your life that you don’t know yet.” Heechul began. “When you were born, you were betrothed.”
“Betrothed?” Sungmin echoed. Slowly, the true meaning clicked in his mind. “No - I can’t be! I can’t be betrothed! I can’t!” The men tried to approach him but he ran up to his room. Heechul, Kangin, and Shindong heard as he ran, “I’d rather die a commoner than live as a prince!”
---> Chapter 4
Rating: PG
Genre: Romance/General
Pairing: Sungmin/Kyuhyun
Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing. Super Junior belong to themselves and Sleeping Beauty - at least this version - belongs to Walt Disney. Which, speaking of which, there may be some lines from from the 1950 Cinderella film.
Summary: To save their son, and their kingdom, Yesung and Ryeowook must send their only son away.
Twenty-one years passed and they had not made Changmin a happy warlock. His followers had searched high and low over the kingdom and not a trace of the prince had ever presented itself.
Needless to say, he was angry.
With a bored look on his face, he watched the younglin burn in an eternal flame controlled by his hand. “All I ask is to find one prince. It’s not like he could disappear from the kingdom altogether.”
A fellow minion - the burnt one’s brother, he supposed - cleared his throat and spoke. “I’m sorry, your eminence. We’ve looked everywhere - every church, every nursery, every cradle, but we’ve never seen a sign of the child.”
The fire stopped suddenly. “What? What did you say?” The minion looked terrified and then, Changmin was laughing. “Oh, you poor stupid fools. You’ve been searching these twenty-one years…for a baby?”
The minion was too terrified by the laughter to answer.
“Idiots!” From his body, a flame extended over his domain. He watched their bodies burn into ashes. The energy had him exhausted and he fell into his throne.
At his hand, a scrawny sick crow pecked lightly at his fingers. “Darling, perhaps you can succeed where others have failed. Search the land for a man of twenty-one years, with hair that catches the light when light isn’t there and a heart so pure and wise of mind. Please Darling - do not disappoint me.” With a flick of his wrist, the crow flew out of the fortress.
Twenty-one years passed and Yesung had been counting since day one. Despite all the countermeasures taken, Ryeowook would not leave their bed. It had only been five years ago that his lover would eat of his own free will. And even then, his meals had to be brought to him.
“Yesunggie! Many congratulations to you on this day!” Donghae’s loud voice bounced off the hall’s walls. Despite the doom and gloom of the day, his good friend’s enthusiasm put a wide smile on his face.
“Don’t offer me congratulations just yet.” Yesung said. “The day is not over. I don’t know where Sungmin is and my only tell that Changmin doesn’t either could very well be a spell. For all I know, tonight Ryeowook will fall away and I will truly have lost everything.” And he said all this with a melancholy smile on his face.
“Don’t think so negatively. Tonight, you shall have your son. And tomorrow, there shall be a wedding.” From his robes, Donghae pulled a large bottle of wine.
“A wedding? Hae, a wedding for what?” Despite his confusion, Yesung let Donghae pour him a drink.
“For Kyuhyun and Sungmin, of course. They haven’t seen each other in over twenty years! No time like the present, eh Yesung?”
“But…Ryeowook’s withering away. Sungmin is the only one who can save him. You can’t take our child from us the next day.”
“He’ll still be your son - you were still with your parents when you married Ryeowook. I’m just giving them a chance to know each other in the country.”
“In the country?!” Yesung set down his goblet. “What do you mean by that?”
“A nest, what else?! I’ve already had a castle built between our lands. A place for the lovebirds to grow together.” Donghae, with his big smile, took a long drink of the wine.
Yesung shook his head. He pushed the goblet away and stood. “I’m sorry, Donghae-ah, but I haven’t been with my son for twenty-one years. I can’t stand talk of losing him for a second time. Excuse me.” Yesung, ever the calm diplomat, exited the hall with his shoulders high.
Donghae pouted. “What’s with him? It’s just marriage. It’s not like Changmin’s getting him.” He shrugged and took a heavy gulp of wine.
“Father!” In surprise, Donghae could feel the wine go down the wrong pipe. He sputtered and coughed to catch his breath. He felt a hand smack on his back and, unfortunately, after a few whacks, he could breathe again. Behind him, he saw his smiling son Kyuhyun.
“Kyuhyun! You should know better than to sneak up on your old man.” Donghae glared. But even then his son would not stop smiling. “Why are you so happy?”
“I have met a dream come true. A complete dream come true.”
“What? Kyu, what are you talking about? Are you alright?”
“In the woods, Father! There’s a perfect, wonderful man in the woods. Pure and smart and talented and…he’s perfect, Father!”
“In the woods…” Donghae blinked and blinked, “Wait - a commoner?! But Kyu, you’re a prince!”
Kyuhyun rolled his eyes. “Father, this is the modern age. If a prince wants to meet a commoner - so what? I’m still a prince at the end of the day.” Kyuhyun danced around the table, taking Yesung’s goblet in his own hand and drinking happily.
Donghae bit his lip over and over. “But Kyuhyun…you’re engaged. Don’t you remember Sungmin?”
“Father, I haven’t seen that baby in twenty years.”
“You just met this commoner.”
“It’s more than I know about Sungmin. And how do we even know if Sungmin’s still alive?”
“Don’t say things like that! Knock on wood - Sungmin will come back tonight!”
“And I won’t be there to see him. If you’ll excuse me, I’moff to see my lovely lover.” Donghae followed after Kyuhyun as fast as he could. (Not very far, for his age was very old.) He sputtered and stuttered, but Kyuhyun left nonetheless. Donghae didn’t know what to do but polish off his wine. He paid no mind to the servant sneaking off with Yesung’s goblet.
Twenty-one years passed and Kangin had never been more annoyed. Twenty-one years of walking to and from market instead of flying and he had never ached more before. Twenty-one years of living in close quarters with Heechul instead of their vast land that gave him miles from Heechul’s teasing and snarkiness. Twenty-one years of no magic - and even today, he was being annoyed.
Sungmin had been the only one to ever cook in the cottage. Listening and watching Shindong try and stack the cake into tiers was, for lack of a better term, painful. Kangin cringed as he heard another shatter.
The cooking aside, it wasn’t as horrible as Heechul’s hand. He thought a fabulous idea was to make a royal robe for Sungmin…without magic. And Kangin was the dummy.
Even worse - it was red.
“I wanted blue.” Kangin complained, crossing his arms under the million folds of fabric.
“Well, I chose red. It’s my present. If you want blue, then make it yourself.”
“Okay.” Kangin stepped off - or at least, tried.
“Not now - I’m making the robe. Stay still.”
“But Minnie’ll be back any minute.”
“Exactly.” Kangin sighed, going back to folding his arms. “Shindong-shi, what do you think?”
Shindong, trying to keep the sloppy cake standing up, took a second to look at the mess. “Well…it doesn’t look as it does in your book.”
“Of course it doesn’t; I improved it.”
“I see…” Shindong looked back at the ‘cake.’ “What do you think about the cake?” Heechul looked at the sliding dough, and by his look, Shindong poked up again. “I mean - it’ll be better after it sets in the oven.”
“Right; of course.” Heechul forced a smile.
“Oh god - are you two blind?! The cake is horrible and this, this, this ‘robe’ is just a bunch of fabric with sewing holes! Let’s face facts - we need magic.” Kangin threw off the fabric and crossed into the kitchen. He grabbed the knife and slid it across his palm.
“No!” The moment he saw blood, Heechul leapt across and stole the knife. He hugged it to his chest. Kangin glared at him and Shindong waited for his reaction. Heechul looked up and he looked down and he looked right and he looked left, biting his lip. “Close the door. Lock the windows. Every nook and cranny - we can’t let anyone know.” Kangin smiled and he and Shindong were quick to obey. The house was covered and the three of them huddled together, palms at the ready.
By blood, by blood
This bind undone
Our magic three
Our moon and sun
Just as they saw twenty-one years ago, their magic enveloped their hands. Together, they sighed at the familiar rushing through their veins. After twenty-one years, they felt normal again.
“Alright, we haven’t got much time. Shindong, make the cake. I’ll make the robe. Kangin, clean the cottage.” Shindong hurried about the kitchen and Heechul went back to his mess of cloth. Kangin sighed, waving a hand over the mop and broom. Shindong was happy to watch the flour, eggs, and the milk pile high into a four-tier wedding cake. It looked delicious and a swipe of the frosting told him it tasted delicious too. Heechul waved his hand with the needle, with every stitch. The robe stood proud - befitting of a prince’s homecoming.
Kangin turned from the cleaning supplies with a scowl. “Oh, not red.” He summoned his magic in his hands. “Make it blue!”
Heechul jumped at the sudden outfit change. “Kangin! Get back to work!” He waved over the robe. “Make it red.”
Kangin glared with a ssukso. “Make it blue.”
“No. Make it red.”
The cottage was an explosion of red and blue magic - so much that it eventually hit Heechul and Kangin’s clothes. They only stopped when, in the distance, they heard, “Heechul-samchon!”
Heechul and Kangin paused and looked about the room. It was a splash of red and blue - especially the robe. They sucked up their magic, hurrying to hide. In the last moment, Heechul hit the robe - red.
“Kangin!” Heechul pointed to the mop, still swishing around.
“Stop, mop!” Kangin hit it with a swipe of magic. And with another swipe, he turned the robe blue. And just like that, Sungmin walked through the door.
“Heechul-samchon! Shindong! Kangin!” Sungmin swarmed through the door. Just like that, he froze. “Oh…it’s beautiful!” He held the robe in his hand. “Is…is this for me?”
“Surprise!” His uncles jumped out, enveloping him in a hug. “Happy Birthday, Minnie!”
Sungmin laughed with his 1000 watt smile. “Thank you so much, Samchon.” In a moment’s notice, he changed into the robe. “I feel just like my prince.”
The magical beings looked at each other. “’Your Prince’? Don’t you mean ‘a prince’?”
“No, Shindong-samchon, my prince.” He danced about in the waves of silk. “I met him in my dreams and today…I danced with him by the lake. And tonight…he’s coming here tonight.”
“Tonight?” They looked at each other. “But…Minnie…Minnie, you can’t.”
“Why not? I’ve met him before, so he’s not a stranger. And after all these years, isn’t it time I met somebody outside the cottage?” Sungmin playfully glared of his uncles, hands on his hips.
“It’s…not that. Minnie…” Heechul, with a sad look stepped up. “Minnie, we haven’t been honest with you these years.” Sungmin looked at them as Heechul took his hands. “Minnie, your real name is Sungmin, Prince of Yesung and Ryeowook and heir to the throne.”
Sungmin looked at them with wide eyes. He watched in shock as swirls of magic wrapped around his arms. It reached up to his shoulders, about his neck, and he felt the change. His long blond locks retreated to his scalp, dimming with every inch removed to a raven black. His cocoa brown eyes darkened to black mirrors. He pulled away from Heechul, fingering at his hair and trying to find answers in the men before him. “Prince? But…if I’m a prince…why did I grow up here? Didn’t…didn’t my parents want me?”
“Of course they did, Minnie!” Shindong approached him, pleading for Sungmin to believe them. “Your father Ryeowook wasted away in prayer for you. He so distraught when we told him we had to take you. Your parents love you with everything they have, but they couldn’t raise you.”
“When you were an infant, there was a grand celebration for your birth.” Kangin explained. “And each of us came to bestow a gift that makes you who you are today. But…there was someone who came uninvited. The powerful warlock Changmin who out of spite cursed you.” He went on. “Before the sun sets on your twenty-first birthday, you would hurt yourself and die. Fortunately, I was able to alter the curse, but I could not remove it. So for your own protection we have raised you out here for all these years.”
“That’s why you were always so protective.” Sungmin understood and for a moment, he smiled upon the men. “So…you’re not my uncles? Who are you, then?”
“We are the Three Good Fairies. After Changmin, we are the most powerful beings in the land.” Heechul explained.
Sungmin smiled at them until his original question crossed his mind. “But…why can’t I meet him tonight then? If he wanted to hurt me, he would’ve done it just now. I mean, I will go back to my father, but couldn’t I bring my prince with me? We could still marry.”
The fairies looked at each other. “Minnie…there’s another part of your life that you don’t know yet.” Heechul began. “When you were born, you were betrothed.”
“Betrothed?” Sungmin echoed. Slowly, the true meaning clicked in his mind. “No - I can’t be! I can’t be betrothed! I can’t!” The men tried to approach him but he ran up to his room. Heechul, Kangin, and Shindong heard as he ran, “I’d rather die a commoner than live as a prince!”
---> Chapter 4