Groggily, Mingi lifted his head to blink into the darkness of the room. He was in Yunho's bed again, but the tall demon was nowhere in sight. No candle flickered and the skies outside were entirely black.

The remainder of Seonghwa burnt in the back of Mingi's head like the wails of a baby. It demanded attention, aiding him as he quickly swung his legs over the edge of the bed to feel himself along the wall. He left Yunho's room and waited until his eyes had adjusted to the brighter corridor before he took off. With no idea where Seonghwa was, Mingi wandered to the same sickbay as the one that held the other pixie victims, including San. If he wasn't there, the kind nurses could inform Mingi.

Eerily silent at night, the palace loomed around him. The shadows seemed to whisper, each deep enough to hold a small pixie in a dark cloak. Mingi's addled mind tricked him into spotting penetrating silver eyes boring into his soul from behind every pillar. Tired and shaken, Mingi clutched onto his tail as if it would protect him. His pace quickened as he swiftly left the grand halls and stairs behind.

Mingi knocked carefully on the closed door to the infirmary. The rap of his knuckles was quiet enough not to wake anybody, but loud enough to alert someone. Or at least he hoped so. His prayer got heard when a moment later, a nurse opened the door for him. Shadows danced on her curled horns.

"Good evening," Mingi whispered. She responded with a patient smile. "Is Seonghwa here? The tailor that the prince took from the town this afternoon?"

The demon shook her head, pointing at the staircase behind Mingi.

"Yunho feared that the sky-horned demons would make trouble if he brought him in, despite being of lower rank. He took him to the servants' quarters into an empty room. The second door to the right."

Mingi nodded politely and told her to have a good night before he snuck away. Once more, he ran from the shadows that seemed to reach for him with clawed hands. Back in the familiar corridor, he counted the doors until he reached the one Seonghwa rested behind. His heart raced in his chest like a bird's wings as he knocked carefully.

The one who opened the door for him wasn't Seonghwa, it was Yunho. In the first moment, the prince looked guarded, his expression tight. Then, he soon relaxed when he took in Mingi's hunched form.

"You awoke," Yunho greeted him as he opened the door wide for Mingi to slip into the room. The softness of his tone pulled a smile from Mingi.

"I did. What's going on?" Mingi spotted Seonghwa in the bed in the corner. He slept peacefully and with regular breaths. His damaged horn was wrapped in a tight bandage, and someone had taken the ribbon off the second one to clean him. If not for the nasty wound, Seonghwa looked as handsome as usual, even in sleep. His face had lost its sickly colour.

"You passed out on the way back here, so I left you upstairs. Seonghwa awoke in between, asking for you. By now, the medicine pulled him back under. I stayed by his side since I didn't want to disturb your sleep."

Yunho's chair near the bed was empty, but a book still rested there, just turned upside down as he had interrupted his reading. The sight warmed Mingi's heart.

"Thank you for taking care of him." Mingi's eyes found Yunho's again to convey his gratitude. Yunho smiled.

"I know he means a lot to you. I will have a guard protect him once we leave. Who knows if Kim Hongjoong plans to finish the job. Although I would like to assure you he is safe here."

Shivering at the mention of the malicious pixie, Mingi wrapped his arms around his body. When Yunho's tail reached for his, he accepted the silent embrace gladly.

"I hope so, too. I don't want to see that man ever again," Mingi whispered. His voice cracked around the last word when another shudder spread from his spine.

Yunho drew his brows together.

"You saw him?"

When Mingi nodded shakily, Yunho glanced at Seonghwa once more. Upon finding him peaceful, he reached for Mingi's hand to pull him out of the room. Out of nowhere, a guard appeared from further down the corridor to station himself next to Seonghwa's door. The prince and his servant left, returning to the royal chambers.

Upstairs, Yunho had to let go of Mingi when he lit a candlestick to put next to the bed. Then he gently led Mingi over to the mattress to sit with him. Shoulders and thighs pressed together, both of them looked at their hooves. Their tails held onto each other tightly.

"Tell me what happened if you can bear it," Yunho pleaded quietly. The privacy of their room swallowed most of his voice, leaving it as a mutter only meant for Mingi to hear. Once more, Mingi disliked the familiar darkness and how hungry it was. He feared what was hiding inside.

"I arrived to the shop locked, which was unusual since Seonghwa would expect me. When I heard something crash inside, the guard helped me break open the door. He fought one of the pixies. The other one was inside, taking off Seonghwa's horns." Tears brimmed in Mingi's eyes at the horrifying memory. Yunho clutched Mingi's hand in Mingi's lap, quietly supporting him.

"He startled at getting caught. So he left it at one horn and fled, even though I barely was a threat. He lost his hood as he went-" Mingi let the sentence hang in the air. His tongue had frozen at the memory his mind conjured. Sharp in every detail, even when he wanted to forget it.

He described Kim Hongjoong to Yunho to the best of his ability. Also, his weapon, of which Mingi couldn't remember as many details. Yunho listened attentively and nodded when Mingi ended.

"They probably wanted to hide in there and didn't expect Seonghwa to show up, so they attacked him. Did you see the Ignizoth?"

Mingi shook his head, and he was glad about that. From how San's men looked, an encounter with that creature wouldn't have gone well for Mingi.

Yunho didn't bore any deeper. He gathered all the information Mingi's stutters provided and then dropped the topic as soon as possible, so Mingi got to take a relieved breath. Once he had ended, he slumped into Yunho's side, letting the man hold him in his arm.

"You did well today, Mingi. You saved Seonghwa from anything worse happening. If I had been a bit faster, we might have caught them, too," Yunho whispered sweet praise into Mingi's hair. Weak, Mingi turned until his head could lie in Yunho's lap. The prince's fingers carded through his messy locks.

"How did you know what was going on?"

"One of our scouts spotted the brawl on the street from the castle's towers. I came as fast as I could." His fingertips massaged the spot where Mingi's horns connected to his skull. Sighing, Mingi allowed his eyes to flutter shut. He was still afraid of the dark, but Yunho's presence helped filter out the stress.

"Thank you," Mingi muttered. When no response came, he feared Yunho hadn't heard him. But just as he wanted to open his eyes and repeat himself, he got silenced by the gentle touch of lips upon his. Instantly melting, Mingi raised one hand to Yunho's shoulder to pull him in further as they kissed.

When Mingi arched into the touch in a sought for more, Yunho helped him roll around. Their eyes were closed, mouths lazily kissing as they arranged their bodies to lie next to each other. Yunho's hand dipped under Mingi's shirt to press on his side. It brought the warmth he had been missing so much back to Mingi, and he couldn't help the soft gasp that escaped him at the pleasing sensation.

"Touch me more, please," Mingi begged against Yunho's lips. Before he had to reach to put Yunho's hands on his body himself, the demon already complied. Mingi lost all sense of fear and worry as Yunho's protective arms held him close.

-

Yunho started the next day early to brief his father on the recent developments and visit San. Mingi got some time off and he used it to visit Seonghwa, who had awakened in his chamber by now. On his way to him, Mingi picked out some books for Seonghwa to read in the library. With a festive pile of them blocking his arms, he shyly asked the guard to knock on the door for him.

"Not my castle," Seonghwa called from the inside. The guard pushed the door open for Mingi and closed it behind him once he had stepped through. With a big smile, Mingi set the books down on the chair at Seonghwa's side.

Seonghwa grinned back at him and opened his arms. In a hurry, Mingi crawled on the bed to hug him carefully. His horns were angled far away from Seonghwa's injury.

"Hey there. How are you? Yunho told me you fainted." Rumbling in his chest, Seonghwa's voice provided instant comfort for Mingi.

Huddling close to his friend, Mingi glared at him from below.

"You have the audacity to ask. I was so scared you wouldn't make it."

Fond, Seonghwa ruffled Mingi's hair. Fatigue clung to his eyes, the pain still straining him. And yet, his joy to see Mingi well was genuine. He snickered.

"That was the closest I ever got to a prince saving me. When I said I wanted a suitor to break in through my window, I didn't expect a pixie," Seonghwa jested with mischievous eyes. Mingi whined into his chest.

"He was so scary. Promise me he goes on the list of failed attempts and you never see him again."

"I would be a fool to seek him out after he did that to my horn." With a frown, Seonghwa peered up at the lack of it. He didn't dare touch the bandage.

Pulling away from him, Mingi dedicated his attention back to the books he had brought.

"Good. Not that I would allow anything else. I brought you something to read while you are trapped inside here. How long will you stay?"

Mingi spread out the books in front of Seonghwa to show him his treasure. He had brought a book on sewing, one about fashion, a romance novel, and one of the fantasy books Seonghwa fancied so much. Awed, Seonghwa trailed his fingers over the extravagant bindings and painted covers.

"Depends on how I heal. I want to leave the day after tomorrow at the latest. I know that it's still dangerous down at the town, but I need to get work done. Yunho promised me additional protection inside my store as well." Seonghwa picked up the sewing book to flick through a few pages. Humming, Mingi stared at the illustrations inside. Numbers and lines that he didn't understand filled the pages.

"But you want me to stay longer," Seonghwa smiled. His gaze found Mingi's again, brightening when he found the servant sulking on his lap.

"Of course. I want you to stay until those pixies are no danger anymore. At least I can help you while we are here. Last time, fate gave me a fortunate timing, but I might not always be there when I'm needed."

Mingi preferred having his precious people around over needing to worry about them individually. In a less tense situation, Seonghwa would love the opportunity to stick around in the castle and live a life of luxury as a guest for a while. Now that the castle was in mayhem and its intimidating grandeur had transformed into a mess of armed knights and scowling faces, Mingi couldn't blame him.

"I will take utmost care of myself. And then I will drop by soon to bring back Yunho's pants. I will have to search for them again and see if they got damaged in the struggle," Seonghwa sighed. Mingi agreed begrudgingly. At least he could be glad that Seonghwa took two days off.

When Mingi slipped his hooves from the bed, Seonghwa glanced up from his book.

"Returning to your prince?"

Mingi shyly nodded as he stood.

"I will visit you later so we can talk. Until then, I hope you have everything you need."

Seonghwa waved the book at him cheerfully.

"I do. Tell Yunho thanks once more. And see you later."

Mingi ducked back out of the room to collect Yunho by the throne room. While there, a guard informed him that the afternoon session had been cancelled since Yunho had summoned all advisors to sit through the morning one. Mingi thanked the man.

At least Yunho and he would get some time to themselves, then.