Yunho groggily sat up and whimpered a bit when he felt his head ache. I should stop napping in the middle of the day.. It always ends up with me having a headache.. Yunho thought as he stretched his body and paled when he realized that his 'little' nap had caused him to be late for his practice. Yunho cursed and ran to the practice field in haste that he stumbled a few times caused by the tree roots and nearly fell, letting his human traits come out in his panicked state.

Yunho grimaced inwardly when he found his trainer glared at him once he arrived at the field.

"What is your excuse for your tardiness, penneth(young one)?"

"None, Lord Heroth.."

"I'm not having that. You usually won't be this late unless something happened. I need to know why so that I can give you the proper punishment."

"......I overslept..."

Yunho bit his lips when Heroth sighed and he dreaded what his punishment would be as he stood there with his hands at his back and his gaze lowered to the ground. "I can't help you with this one, penneth. You have 2 punishments now as the King had told me to give you one." Heroth said wistfully. He never liked giving punishment to the young half-elf but he can't oppose his King. Yunho widened his eyes at Heroth's words. A punishment from father..? But I didn't do anything...? Yunho thought.

"My lord? A punishment from the King? What did I do wrong?" Yunho asked quietly. "Apparently the young elves that went with you to patrol our borders told the King that you were trying to seduce the Leader of our Royal Guards for the whole month." Heroth explained. "I did not seduce Lord Eden." Yunho sighed but he knew his father wouldn't believe him. "What will my punishment be?" Yunho asked.

"You will undergo practice for 6 hours straight everyday for 1 week and since you were late for 3 hours, you will get whip 3 times for 1 week after practice." Heroth said and Yunho can't help but to gape at his trainer. "6 hours straight? In the middle of summer?" Yunho said, perplexed before he sighed quietly as he knew his father would do something like this. Using his weakness or what the elves said as 'human traits' as a punishment. An elf can withstand any weather longer than humans can so they don't really have any problem being too long in the cold or under the scorching hot sun. They can endure any uncomfortable weather up to 24 hours before they finally feel a little uncomfortable by it.

For a half-elf like Yunho? Being outside for 6 hours straight in the middle of summer is downright torture. Not to mention he has to practice while at it. The punishment for his tardiness was not so bad but it will still leave him in pain for several hours as half-elf heals slower. A combination of both punishments? Valar.. Please help me endure everything.. Yunho thought anxiously.

"I'm sorry penneth, I tried reasoning with the King but you know how stubborn he is. He told me that the punishment is considered light for you and that you should be thankful for it." Heroth said, giving a little pat on Yunho's shoulder. "Come, penneth. Let's start your practice. It's going to be dark when we finish." Heroth said as he walked to the middle of the field with Yunho trudging beside him.

After the practice, they went to the armory, putting back the weapons that they used for the practice. Yunho anxiously stood there and waited for Heroth to carry out his punishment. Heroth sighed as he took a long and thick whip that the King had specified for Yunho only and walked to where Yunho was waiting for him. "I'm sorry penneth.. 2 of the King's guards are here to watch you so that I would carry out the punishment properly and since they had heard that you have another punishment, they will watch it too so they can report back to the King.." Heroth said as the guards walked into the armory and stood a few feet away from Yunho and Heroth.

Yunho pursed his lips and nodded his head, getting down on his knees and took off his tunic. Yunho took a deep breath and clenched his eyes shut as he heard Heroth pull up his hand in the air with the whip in his grip. Yunho bit his lips and gripped his pants when the whip found its way on his back and he had to bite back any whimpers when Heroth didn't stop and whipped him for another 2 times, continuously.

"I will see you tomorrow, penneth. Please don't be late again." Heroth said as he helped Yunho with his tunic and hauled up the shaking half-elf. "Y-yes, Lord Heroth." Yunho mumbled and he slowly made his way to his room, gritting his teeth to block out any whimpers from his mouth as every step hurts his back.

--

Yunho woke up with a massive headache.

Today is his 5th day of punishment and he can't even sleep on his back since 2 days ago because of the wounds on his back, the result of his punishment for being late to practice. He can't sleep properly as the wounds would sting from time to time making his wounds unable to heal normally. Elves need sleep to heal faster and because Yunho is a half-elf, his healing traits are slower than others and it became even more slower because Yunho can't sleep.

His father's punishment is getting harder too as it's getting hotter by the day and Yunho always ends up sweating so much that his tunic feels like a second skin and he can barely function after the 6 hours practice. He always ends up falling asleep right after showering without eating his dinner and he would find himself jolted out of his sleep in the middle of the night for a few times because his back wounds flared up.

Their guests also make Yunho struggle to avoid them as they would always stop by the practice field and spars with each other near Yunho. They also had proposed to spar with Yunho a few times and Yunho just can't reject them so he found himself sparring with one of them occasionally. The guards had told the King about what happened at the practice field and the King was not happy and thought that Yunho had persuaded them to come visit and spar with him so the guests cannot spend time with Kyungho more.

Yunho whimpered when his back wounds flared up again and he had to stop moving completely until the pain vanished. Today will be a long day... Yunho thought, gritting his teeth and stood up to get ready for the day. He went to the kitchen for breakfast as his father forbade him to eat in the diner hall with him and Kyungho so he would always have his meal in the kitchen instead or he brought his meal back to his room.

"I'm sorry Lord Yunho, but the King has forbidden us to give you any meal for today." the cook said sadly and Yunho blinked several times before nodding his head. "....I see.. It's alright then.." Yunho said quietly and he walked out of the kitchen and headed to the clearing. He spent his morning petting the wild wolves while talking about anything that he had in his mind to his mother's grave, trying to ignore his stomach that was pleading for food.

--

My head hurts... It's so hot today... I can't even concentrate and my back stings.. Yunho thought hazily as he took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on what Heroth was saying to him. "Penneth? Concentrate." Heroth said but he frowned when Yunho seemed pensive and only nodded his head after a few seconds. "Do you need a break, Yunho? You can take a 5 minutes break under the tree if you want. It's very hot today and I know how uncomfortable it is for you." Heroth said softly, calling Yunho by his name to see how Yunho would respond as he rarely called him that and would only use it if it's very important.

Yunho frowned and blinked slowly but before he could answer, Kyungho and Eden came over to the practice field and went straight to their guests that were sparring near Yunho and Heroth. Kyungho talked to them and after a few minutes, he shouted at Heroth and Yunho. "Heroth! Yunho! Come see me spar with Lord Mingi here!" Kyungho said and Heroth nodded his head before he dragged Yunho to a nearby tree. Eden and the other guests except for Mingi had gone to them too to watch in a safe distance.

They all started watching Mingi and Kyungho while Yunho did his best to concentrate on watching them but he had to blink a few times as his vision keeps blurring. Yunho whimpered softly when his head throb violently and clutch at it weakly. "Penneth?" Heroth said, frowning when he heard how rapid and shallow Yunho's breathing is. Eden too had heard it and glanced at Yunho, frowning in worry. Yunho had moved from clutching his head to cupping his mouth as he felt his nausea climbing and he felt like throwing up.

After a while, the nausea subsided a little but Yunho is now struggling to stay conscious as he felt very lightheaded. He isn't even aware that Heroth had spoken to him a while ago. Seonghwa and Yeosang also had realized that something was wrong with Yunho as they kept glancing at the half-elf in worry. They had become good friends with the half-elf and adored him even if it's only been less than a week.

They were engrossed in watching the sparring duo when Yunho can't keep himself up and conscious any longer as he staggered for a bit before collapsing to the ground. Heroth and Eden shouted "YUNHO!" in unison as Heroth grabbed Yunho before he fell to the ground completely as Eden rushed to their side making Kyungho and Mingi stop their sparring while the others looked over to Yunho in shock.

"What happened?" Eden said as he crouched down next to the unconscious half-elf that is being held by Heroth. "He was acting weird a while ago before you and Kyungho came here. I think the heat got to him. He had been practicing for 5 hours and he still has one more hour to practice." Heroth said, making their guests gasp in horror.

"6 hours of practice in the middle of summer for a half-elf?" Seonghwa asked, perplexed by what Heroth had told them. "We thought that he practiced here everyday for about 2 to 3 hours only, not 6." San said, furrowing his eyebrows at Heroth. "He is currently undergoing a punishment from the King." Heroth said as he looked down sadly at Yunho.

"I also had been giving him a punishment everyday after practice because he was late to the practice 5 days ago.." Heroth said quietly. Mingi and Seonghwa had crouched down near Yunho as Mingi pressed a hand on Yunho's forehead and neck. "What kind of punishment?" Seonghwa asked as he watched Mingi who was checking over Yunho with a slight frown on his face.

"3 whips on his back for 1 week." Heroth said and the others nodded their head as that is somewhat a light punishment among elves. "I did not want to give the punishment since 3 days ago because his back has not healed but the King guards were present thus I have to do it because if I don't then the King would give Yunho a more heavy punishment." Heroth explained further. This however made Mingi and Seonghwa widen their eyes in shock before Mingi barked out some orders.

"Back off and give him some space! Get me some water and a few cotton cloths. NOW!" Mingi said as he took Yunho off from Heroth as Seonghwa helped him with removing Yunho's tunic and practice boots. San, Jongho, Yeosang and Wooyoung scramble to go get the stuff while Hongjoong, Eden and Heroth stay standing near them and Kyungho watches Yunho with a frown on his face.

The King guards suddenly came to them and they kicked Yunho lightly in distaste. "Wake him up. He still has one hour left to do his punishment or we will report to the King that he did not finish it." One of the guards said, making Mingi furious. Can't they see he fainted? Is this how a half-elf is being treated here? Mingi thought.

"Lord Yunho is having a heat stroke and this could be fatal to him. I will forbid him from any strenuous activity in this hot weather. Since he collapsed right in front of me, he is now considered my patient as I won't left him untreated." Mingi said sternly to the guards and smirked slightly as the two guards paled. They thought that the guests are not fond of the half-elf either.

"But-"

"Leave. I give Lord Mingi permission to treat my brother. Tell my father that." Kyungho said and the 2 guards bowed down before leaving. Mingi huffed before he concentrated on Yunho again. "We need to get him inside." Mingi said as he hauled Yunho up gently and walked to the armory. Mingi pursed his lips, thinking on how he should do this so that Yunho won't be in too much pain. "What's wrong ion-nin(my son)?" Seonghwa said, tilting his head as Mingi is still holding Yunho in his arms.

"If I put him on the ground, it will hurt his back further. I think his back is bleeding as I can feel it on my arm. I'm thinking on how should I do this without hurting him." Mingi said softly before he decided to just sit on the floor and hold Yunho in his arms with Yunho's chest leaning onto his arm, exposing his back. Everyone grimaced when they saw Yunho's bleeding back. "He is not healing.. Why is he not healing?" Kyungho asked.

"Yunho had told me that he cannot really sleep last night when I asked him this afternoon because he looked tired." Heroth said quietly, making Kyungho tilt his head. "Why?" Kyungho asked and Heroth could only shrug. "He did not tell me the reason, penneth." Heroth said, making Kyungho sigh softly.

"We have the items." Jongho said as the other 3 followed him inside, holding the said items. Mingi and Seonghwa then proceed in taking the cloth and wet it with the water before applying it to Yunho's nape, neck and chest. "I also brought some water for him to drink." San said and Mingi smiled at him, nodding his head. "Thank you, we will have him drink it when he is awake." Mingi said.

"Both of you seems like an expert in handling this." Kyungho said, gesturing to Mingi and Seonghwa. "Oh, it's because they do. My husband and my first born is blessed with an amazing healing knowledge and gift. My husband usually will stay in the healing ward while my first born will help him when he is not on a patrol duty." Hongjoong explained with a smile. "Ahh, I see." Kyungho said, nodding his head.

MIngi and Seonghwa kept wetting Yunho's upper body until the half-elf stirred, 10 minutes later. "Easy, my lord." Mingi said softly when Yunho started to pull himself away when he realized that he had been leaning on someone. "L-lord Mingi..? W-what happened...?" Yunho slurred weakly. "You fainted from a heat stroke, my lord." MIngi explained.

"F-forgive me.. I t-tried to endure it.." Yunho said, his breathing is still somewhat shallow. "It's not your fault, you cannot help it and it's alright. Drink this my lord, we need to cool your body down." Mingi said softly as he helped Yunho to drink the water. "Heroth..? H-how many hours l-left?" Yunho asked after he had downed the water. Heroth frowned before he sighed. "You have one more hour, penneth but Lord Mingi here had told us that you can't do any strenuous activity until you are well again." Heroth said.

"B-but.. t-the king's p-punishment.." Yunho mumbled. "It's fine brother. I will deal with it." Kyungho said and Yunho flinched when he heard him as he was not expecting for him to be there. "Are y-you sure..? I d-don't want to b-bring more t-trouble.." Yunho said and winced when Mingi pressed a cloth onto the wounds on his back. "Forgive me, I have to clean this to prevent it from any infection." Mingi said softly while Kyungho assured Yunho that it will be fine.

Yunho felt lightheaded again and he weakly leaned his head on Mingi's shoulder making Mingi worry about the half-elf's well-being. "Lord Yunho? Can we do this in the healing room so I can treat your wounds properly? You also need a cool bath and rest." Mingi said and Yunho shook his head weakly as Kyungho spoke. "My father forbade him to be in the healing ward. Even if you take him there, our healer won't treat him or let you use anything as my father had forbidden them to."

"What? Why?" Seonghwa said, perplexed. "Because my father is not fond of my brother and only took him in because his mother died." Kyungho explained and it only made the others more confused. "He does not want Yunho to wander around after his mother died, afraid that Yunho would gather an army and try to take his place as King. I don't know why he thinks like that so I cannot answer you if you ask." Kyungho explained further after he had sensed the confusion.

"My lord.. You should not say those things if you want to help your father in maintaining a good relationship with them.." Eden said slowly. "They should know the truth is all I'm trying to say." Kyungho said, shrugging his shoulders. And maybe Mingi wouldn't want to marry me

"I...see.. Can I treat him in his room then? Or is it also forbidden to do so?" Mingi asked and Kyungho shook his head. "His room is fine." Kyungho said and Mingi nodded his head, hauling Yunho up by the waist, chest to chest as he held Yunho's thighs to hold him up. "M-my lord! I c-can walk by m-myself." Yunho protested and was about to wiggle his way out from Mingi's hold. "Let me, my lord. You cannot push yourself too hard and as your healer at the moment, you cannot refuse me." Mingi said making Yunho pout.

"This is for your well-being, my lord. I don't like seeing you like this. Please?" Mingi said softly and Yunho sighed, nodding his head. "Alright.." Yunho said and Mingi pulled his head gently towards his shoulder and Yunho could only obey and lay his head completely on Mingi's shoulder as they walked to his room.