Hongjoong awoke to loud yelling, getting ripped out of sleep's sweet embrace roughly again. This time however he felt so miserable already that he did not dare to try and sit up. Everything felt too warm, too sticky and his head and shoulder hurt in a dull pain.

"You did not even try to, didn't you?! I swear to you if your father had been another man, Park Seonghwa..."

The voice seemed vaguely familiar, Hongjoong believed he had heart it before, if only fleetingly. For a second he imagined Youjin being here, taking him into his warm arms and making him forget whatever misdeeds a certain elven prince had in store for him today.

Hongjoong sighed deeply, carefully testing the functionality of his fingers. They still seemed to work fine so at least the arrow did not pierce any important tendons. Which was probably exactly Seonghwa's goal. Hurt but not damage him forever.

Son of a bastard.

The flap to his room was pushed aside suddenly and for one scary second Hongjoong had thought the elf had read his mind and came for him, frozen in fear.

However it was not even Seonghwa standing in the opening. It was the tall diplomat - what was his name again, Yunho? - and he looked positively furious.

Hongjoong sighed inwardly. Another elf with anger issues.

"Just what did you do all those years?! Humans are a study subject too, it could always happen for one of them to get lost here!" Yunho's voice was loud and booming, his gentle face contorted in rage but it was not directed at Hongjoong for once. Rather at the elven prince standing entirely hidden behind Yunho's huge frame, just his antlers peeking out. What a nice change of roles.

"You have no idea how much work he is! He could just stay here all quiet and pretty until that damned elf showed up but no! He just had to make everything even more annoying for everybody of us!"

Hongjoong liked the sight of Seonghwa having to defend himself. He was a prince after all and had only been acting invincible before.

Yunho just shook his head in disappointment, fully stepping into the room. Seonghwa followed begrudgingly, flipping his hair out of his face.

Yunho fully concentrated on Hongjoong's small and vulnerable frame curled under a beautiful embroidered blanket, made from what seemed the finest silks. He probably looked as pale as his hair - he even felt pale.

"Good morning, Hongjoong. Do you still recognize me?", Yunho asked softly, his voice having softened again and Seonghwa snorted in jealousy. Hongjoong wanted to roll his eyes at him.

"You are the nice diplomat." Hongjoong's voice slurred a bit, but it was strong enough to be understood and a small smile curled Yunho's lips immediately, while Seonghwa also stomped over.

"Are you serious?! The nice diplomat? If you were not so damn irritating I would be nice too! Don't you dare categorize us differently! Our race is the nice one! Speak to Youjin if you wish to listen to an unfriendly elf!"

Yunho basically growled at him, swatting at him to back off.

"Will you shut up already?! I think you are in no place to call yourself nice!"

Seonghwa did indeed step back, pouting a bit while Yunho turned towards a small and weak Hongjoong again who was dancing and signing in his own head. Seonghwa deserved that.

"Now, back to you, please ignore this scumbag right here." Oh, Hongjoong loved that. "I will not ask how you feel as you certainly need to recover still. I only got back here yesterday and dressed your wounds as good as I could but somebody refused doing so for a while so your fever is still going strong. I'm also sorry for bothering you right now but you might need to help us with something. I know we are in no place to request this from you, with you probably detesting elves already but I need to give it a try." He really talked smoothly and Hongjoong felt himself pity their kind for not making him king again.

"What is it?"

Yunho sighed, giving a warning glance to Seonghwa who just turned away childishly.

"It's about Youjin. While I am aware of your relationship to him you might not fully know who he is. His goals might endanger us."

Hongjoong barely suppressed a disbelieving laugh.

"Me? Helping you? Please, as nice as you are, give me a break. You must know what he did to me, how could you assume I would be open to help?"

Seonghwa moved fast, pushing Yunho aside rudely to straddle Hongjoong heavily. Hongjoong surprisedly had to move his legs for them to not get caught between their bodies, hissing as pain flared through his body.

And there it was again. Seonghwa's hand against his throat, not pressing yet, just a warning.

"Who are you to refuse us, you worm?! You should be glad we let you live, give you a purpose and not just get rid of you completely!"

Yunho threatingly came closer, but Seonghwa lifted a warning hand, making him freeze.

"Depending on how large of a scale Youjin's plan is, not only us, but also your dear fairy friends and maybe even the humans are concerned! This is much bigger than you think and more lifes than just your insignificant one are endangered!" He was fuming, his mighty antlers looming above Hongjoong darkly and his beautiful face was twisted in an ugly way. His personality completely took his beauty away.

Hongjoong coughed out a laugh, weakly lifting his hand to pat Seonghwa's thigh comfortingly. The man jolted, face morphing into confusion.

"What a poor bastard you are. Having to beg a worthless human to help you save you people that you can not protect yourself. Poor, poor man. No offense but I would be happy to go directly to Youjin right now and give him whatever he needs to destroy you. I would probably laugh while he would take you apart. Do not underestimate humans, elf. We are cruel and selfish like that."

Both elves were stunned into silence, having obviously not enough experience with humans to have been expecting this. Hongjoong just kept on stroking Seonghwa, relishing in his blank face.

"He does not fear me." Seonghwa seemed entirely unable to cope with this, his hand pulling back from Hongjoong's throat as he sent a clueless glance towards Yunho. The diplomat looked pensive.

"I did not expect him to be this fearless. However he also did not fall to his knees in front of the fae too. Maybe he just-"

"He just has no damn wish for survival. How dear of him to extend that to everybody." Seonghwa scowled at him again, jerking his leg out of Hongjoong's grip and thus having to spread his legs further.

It was... oddly satisfying to see. This hateful elf sittling helplessly above him with no clue how to proceed.

"Do not get me wrong, I certainly took a liking to my fae friends. However I was here way to shortly to be able to risk my life for anybody here, even less when asked by somebody like this." Hongjoong was looking at Yunho, preferring to clear matters with him.

"You truly do not care?"

Hongjoong shook his head. He still wanted to go home, still had no interest at all in the politics of this world.

"Fine then. We will let you go as soon as you are healthy enough to do so. We can lend you a horse and you can get back to your village. Youjin left already but you will be able to get back to your friends."

"Yunho!"

Everybody ignored Seonghwa.

"Do you by any chance know how I can get back into my realm?"

"Seonghwa told me you came here through a voice, is that right?"

Hongjoong nodded quickly, hoping so dearly for a way out.

"Then you will have to ask the fae. They have other terms than we do. However I wish you the best of luck." Yunho smiled politely and then stepped closer, lifting a hand to take Seonghwa off Hongjoong.

"You can not leave. My, my, he already forced you to stay."

Both men confusedly looked at Seonghwa who had that insane glint in his eyes again, his lips quivering.

"Who? What?"

"Ah, the person you wish to protect so dearly. He made you eat, did he not? Eating in this realm... It means staying here for the likes of you."

Hongjoong felt as if hit by a bucket of cold water, his head suddenly clearing up from it's previous fogginess. Was that why... Nobody turned back? They ate here? Where those humans all killed already?

He felt a sympathetic hand pat through his hair, lifted wide eyes to a cooing Seonghwa.

"Oh dear, what a traitor he truly is. Do you not see yet how he used you?"

Seonghwa started laughing again, standing up from the bed. Hongjoong was left dazed, his disbelieving eyes still locked with Yunho.

"Fun how he knew exactly well and did not tell you, right? Sure, go, poor bastard. It's not as if you have much choice on where to."

Seonghwa left the room with another chuckle.