Being in the heart of the kingdom's political government, Mingi quickly learnt a lot about empire secrets that he usually never would have known of. As he rested in the room next to the conference hall that the king had asked Yunho into, Mingi picked up talking about their food resources, the diplomatic relations to their neighbouring country, and the expansion over the mountains. He also heard about the trouble the pixies had been making recently in the kingdom south of theirs. The prince of the Choi kingdom also came up. His name was San, and apparently he would be visiting the court in two days.

Mingi sat on a table with the servant of Mingi's brother, a female demon with gorgeous purple skin and the huge, broad servant of the king. The king's servant was the only assistant in the kingdom who had sky-pointed horns. A servant's work was usually below the higher-ranking demons' grace, but no occupation was just as vital and important as being the king's servant.

When Mingi had entered the room with them in the beginning, he had gulped at the sight of the massive demon who stood at the door with his bulging arms crossed like a mountain of might. However, soon, Mingi had settled down with a book while his attention drifted between the written lines and the conversation outside.

Yunho was sincere about these discussions. The usual playful ease had left his tone to make space for sharp questions and rapid deductions. While intimidated by the double sidedness of his wit, Mingi was also impressed by his abilities once more.

Their conference didn't take too long. An hour later, chairs scraped over the floor and the assembled royals and their advisors rose to say their goodbyes. Instantly, Mingi was on his hooves to put his book away. The bulky demon left first, and the woman followed him with a dancer's grace to her steps.

When Mingi came out first, the king had already swished off with his mighty horns and the white beard that always reminded Mingi of a storm cloud. Yunho's younger brother and his demon servant chattered away as they followed through the same door. Yunho had stayed behind, and when he saw Mingi approach, he gifted him an infectious smile.

"Did you get bored? These negotiations usually never bring much entertainment." Yunho glanced at the retreating back of his father secretly. He giggled about his mischievous words, and Mingi snickered with him.

Yunho was nothing like the usual stern lords Mingi had heard about. Close like friends already, they left the room together.

"I spent my time reading. The other two are silent fellows."

Dull through the carpet, their hooves thumped alongside each other. Yunho was taller than Mingi, taking bigger steps, but he levelled them so they could walk comfortably next to each other. Yunho had pointed out earlier when they had just left the room that he didn't like Mingi sneaking after him like a shadow. Asking a servant to be on the same level was once more, an atypical thing to do.

"The towser is called Vur. He looks not only like a bull, but he also has the personality of one. And Gunho's servant is called Onnah. She's a tease, but quite nice to cute people. I think she will be kind to you."

A playful brush of his tail against Mingi's accompanied the fleeting smile that Yunho sent Mingi's way. Shy, Mingi averted his eyes to the floor. Compliments were not his forte.

"Ah, you think she might find me cute?" That would be a first for Mingi. No woman had ever shown an interest in him, and he had always blamed it on his smile and horns. Even when Seonghwa would hit him over the head indignantly whenever he voiced that.

"I find you cute. So naturally, I'd assume her opinion could be the same."

Mingi ducked between his shoulders. He narrowly kept himself from burying his goofy smile in his hands. Dignified, he shook the coyness off. Amused by his struggle with himself, Yunho continued. His smile was audible in his words.

"Now, let's do something more fun until the evening. Do you have a particular interest in something inside here?"

Overwhelmed, Mingi looked around the luxurious corridors. He tried to remember all the places he had been to with Yeosang and hoped to figure out anything that had caught his interest.

When he came up empty, he glanced at Yunho.

"I don't. Do you have a favourite place you want to show me?"

The question surprised Yunho, and his eyes widened. Before Mingi could apologise for intruding into his privacy like that, Yunho already gave an enthusiastic nod.

"Of course! I'm happy you asked. Then let's go! I'll show you my most dear spot." When he casually reached for Mingi's hand to pull him along gently, Mingi's heart jumped in his chest. He didn't know if Yunho was close to everybody he met so effortlessly. As much as holding hands could be an affectionate gesture between two friends, Mingi's fluttering heart interpreted it differently.

He called himself a fool for being such easy prey to the natural grace Yunho met him with. Mingi had always been a dreamer, spending his days with daydreams of the impossible and fantastical. As real as Yunho's touch was, the gap in status between them was as well. In this case, Mingi didn't enjoy deluding himself.

Nobody looked at them weird when Yunho guided Mingi along. The few passerbys nodded or bowed at Yunho with cordial smiles on their faces and he grinned back at all of them. Multiple times, Mingi nearly tripped over Yunho's long robe that had slipped from one of his grey-skinned shoulders again with how fast he was going.

"You'll love it, I promise!" As if Yunho had to make sure Mingi hadn't lost interest yet, he peered over his shoulder. Mingi just nodded with big eyes.

They entered a long corridor on the upper level. Fewer paintings hung here, the dark stone walls bleak and heated with the general warmth of the castle. Like a comforting blanket, it hugged them. In school, Mingi had learned that the temperatures they considered comfortable were deadly for species like humans and elves. Back in the day, he had wondered how pixies, who were so similar to both of those fragile races were able to find their way around the fiery kingdoms. His teacher had explained it with the magic pixies were made of. Magic didn't care about temperature.

Two fire basins framed the tall door Yunho led them through. When Mingi's gaze got stuck on an ominous mirror on the wall right next to the door, the prince hushed him comfortingly. Nothing but their reflections passed the flat surface.

"The guards don't mind me coming in. But this is important so better not seem suspicious if you ever need to come here."

Yunho opened the door and pulled Mingi inside the room. When Yunho's fingers slipped from his, Mingi got a moment to marvel at the room in astonishment. More than a room, the door led into a cave that seemed directly connected to the volcano they sat on. Orange light glowed on the walls of black stone and wavered into the room as if beckoning them with fingers to come closer to the gaping hole. Heat radiated from it, unlike the ones their flames produced. Heat so natural and earthen. It smelled of sulphur.

Awed, Mingi stared at it, not yet daring to come closer. The cramped room held nothing else but the entrance to what seemed to be an even more hellish land than theirs.

"Is it... The entrance to the volcano?"

"No. This is a portal. It takes you to various realms. We use it to travel," Yunho explained proudly. He also didn't enter it, leaving it to gaze at curiously only. Mingi tilted his head. When his tail swished in the confined space they stood in, it brushed against Yunho's. Shy, Mingi pulled back.

"A portal?"

"A magical door of sorts. I could enter it and come out to your home. Or in the Choi kingdom. Or even further beyond. Magnificent, isn't it?"

When the true might of the cave caught up with Mingi, his lips dropped open in astonishment.

"You can go so far? Where have you been to? Have you left the Fiery Lands before?"

Mingi hung from Yunho's lips when the man nodded. His eyes shone like those of one who had adventures to talk about. Mingi wanted to hear them all.

"I've been on a diplomatic mission in the pixie kingdom before, yes. I also visited the human world once to spy on a religious cult of theirs. They had snow where I went."

Floored, Mingi stared at the portal. His eyes shone with wonder and dreams.

"I love snow. I always wanted to see snow in person." Mingi knew it only from books. Romance novels, mostly. Books they had copied from the humans to put in their town library for the community to enjoy. In those stories, the humans had the most precious moments in the snow. It was cold and white, and it fell from the sky. Something entirely foreign in their world.

"Let me take you there then! Not today, but ultimately. We can go there for a while and build something they call a snowman before we go back." Yunho's bright smile woke giddiness in Mingi. He wanted to go on adventures with the beautiful prince, wanted to be part of the unlikely duos he had read about. The world around them that Yunho described was brilliant, far more so than in Mingi's humble view.

"For sure! I want to go," Mingi agreed. In his passion, he hadn't paid attention to how his tail had curled around Yunho's. Since Yunho didn't seem to mind, Mingi pretended he hadn't noticed and kept the trembling appendage there.

"I'll make sure we get a free day so we can explore. But yes, this is my favourite place! Because it has all the places."

Mingi nodded enthusiastically.

"That's the best place, then."

Yunho gifted him another bright smile. When he opened the door again so they could depart, Mingi slipped out first. His tail returned to curl around his leg like a thin snake when it lost contact with Yunho.

They made their way back to Yunho's room and got ready to go to dinner. The smell of freshly cooked ingredients already wafted through the entire castle and slipped under the thresholds to make the inhabitants' stomachs grumble.

While Yunho swiftly dealt with a courier falcon that had arrived on his windowsill to sent a quickly scribbled reply to the sender, Mingi smoothed out his shirt. All the fabric covering his chest was still unusual for him, but he took care well of looking pristine. He checked his hooves, too, to make sure no stone was stuck in them he would only notice twenty minutes into standing behind Yunho. When he found everything clean, he waited for the prince to finish.

When the man came back over, Mingi tried not to let his eyes trail over the expanse of skin. He didn't know why the little details on Yunho enraptured him so much. Showing skin was normal among their kin and there were many attractive people out there. Yet, Mingi always took just a beat longer to drag his eyes where they were supposed to be.

Hot embarrassment flooded his chest when the knowing glint in Yunho's eyes told him he had been caught. Mingi swallowed his pride to smile.

"Are you prepared to go?"

"I am."

This time, Mingi opened the door and elegantly stepped aside to motion Yunho through. With an impressed 'ohh', Yunho regarded him.

"This suits you more than I expected. You got the form down."

Yunho's eyes trailing down Mingi's body appreciatively made the other demon's guts clench nervously. But all Yunho did was smile.

"Don't worry too much over messing up. They know you are new in these surroundings, and if anyone snaps at you, I will snap back." To show what he meant, Yunho smiled broad enough that Mingi could see his elongated canines. The sight was oddly attractive, but there was nothing about Yunho that wasn't.

Mingi chuckled as he closed the door and followed him down the corridor. His deep voice echoed ahead of them darkly.

"You don't need to bite your family members for me. I'll do my best."

Grinning, Yunho descended the stairs. His robe floated behind him as if wanting Mingi to come and catch it only to slip away as soon as his fingers brushed it. Fascinated, he watched it billow like ocean waves.

"And I am absolutely confident you will do a wonderful job at it. Don't worry, Mingi."

His name on Yunho's lips sounded nice. Nicer than any other call of his name Mingi had ever heard.

He liked it.