𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 3,300 words

𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨

The following days after Hongjoong had returned from the dead, Jongho was seated in the common room along with a few of the others, being tired of staying alone in his room all day long.

Despite he wasn't much for admitting it, had he been thinking a lot about what Seonghwa had told him about talking with San again. Because, the phoenix was right; San and he were supposed to be the closest among them all, and yet, it nearly seemed that they were the most distanced among them all, or, it just felt like that Jongho thought. It probably wasn't true as some of the other princes really despised each other merely based on the fact that they came from different kingdoms.

Jongho included himself, even if he did not show it. He shouldn't befriend the others; he was here only for business, nothing else. Which, San already had failed at... and Jongho was still disappointed with him.

The siren cracked his fingers while distracting his thoughts from flooding his head again. Currently, neither Yunho, Yeosang, nor Wooyoung noticed his dreading self, busy with the conversation going on between the four of them.

"You guys, you don't really believe what Hongjoong said, right?" Wooyoung sat on the deep green furniture, legs curled into himself as his wide eyes turned to look up at the handsome werewolf prince on his right side before crossing over to Yeosang sitting on his own sofa on the other side of the room, and at last, Jongho, sitting in the singled armchair between the arrangement.

"About killing ourselves to get out of here? Nah, that bastard is full of shit, and I am sure you already could tell," reassured Yunho, grinning a little to brighten the mood.

The dragon cracked a smile himself, leaning over and giving Yunho's shoulder a playful push, "Yah, I already know that, but who knows? He seemed quite sure of the fact, and, I just thought that it would be better to reconsider every clue we are given instead of just tossing it all away the instant we think the information is useless. After all, we can't really expect what the Great Sorceress wants us to achieve in order to be freed... It's nearly impossible to figure out what she possibly would want to gain from all of this. For, locking 8 princes in the same castle until they somehow solve the curse by themselves sounds a bit weird, doesn't it?"

"Wooyoung, you shouldn't ever listen to a demon. They don't want you anything good whether they seem convincible or not - they're cunning creatures who feed off your emotions. Obviously, they only want to stir feelings in you, may it be anger or fear, they don't really care about that when the outcome is the same," Jongho said steadily, expressing how serious he was with the way his eyes darkened.

Yunho drew an arm around Wooyoung's smaller frame when he noticed how the other had stiffened at the words he was being told. The act seemed so natural, so fluid, that Jongho couldn't help but stare. For some reason, he found it rather irksome the more he watched the werewolf's hand softly stroking down the length of the other prince's arm in a relaxing manner.

The fairie shuffled a little around on the furniture before he pinched the silence with his soft, honey-like voice, "Hmm, you're right about that, Jongho. Although the sorceress has clearly something up her sleeves with the matter of our situation, I do not believe this to be as easy as one would think. We're working against dark magic here, something not to be trifled with. If the demon really has heard her saying that the only way to break the spell is by sacrificing one's life, then I wouldn't doubt the reason to be true. Dark magic is cruel."

"But that doesn't mean we have to fulfill it. If it actually is true, then there surely must be another way to break free from the spell, right? What about your magic? Can't you just redo the whole thing?" the smile had faltered from Yunho's face, and Jongho didn't think the crease on his forehead suited him any bit.

Wooyoung's eyes trailed between them all as he slowly rested more into the werewolf's embrace without looking much aware of it himself. But now, Jongho didn't want to make any perceptions.

For a moment, the siren prince's eyes trailed the subconscious motion of bodies' language before he shifted to look at Yeosang surprisingly grimacing at the suggestion, "Ah, I am afraid that magic just doesn't work like that. Yes, I practice magic, but not dark magic, and my magic is definitely not as strong as hers. It's the Great Sorceress we are discussing here - the most powerful witch in history. I am no one beside her if I must be literal. She could kill you without lifting a finger if she wanted to," his eyes turned a flashy yellow colour before gradually going grey, "Also, pure magic like mine would never be able to erase the taints when one first has been in touch with dark magic.."

Jongho frowned as he stared at the fairie prince for a little moment of wonder before Wooyoung spoke again.

"This sucks, really, what are we then supposed to do? Beg her for forgiveness? Plead her to let us out, seriously I'll need to stretch my wings in my feral form very soon or else I'll go completely nuts! And I promise you wouldn't like to see a dragon go on a rampage."

Surely, Jongho did not want to witness that happen, remembering how the enormous chandelier had fallen and splintered all over the place under their negotiations. Jongho noticed that Wooyoung still had the faintest mark from a cut across his cheek. Dragons were powerful creatures, and the siren was in no demand to ever experience Wooyoung's full potential.

The sweetest of laughter rounded his ears when the bright sight of Yunho's smile filled the common room. Jongho felt affected.

"Theoretically, wouldn't that just be a good thing? Maybe you could break the walls or something and then free us all," the werewolf prince mused, arm squeezing the smaller male a little until Wooyoung started squirming at all the affection he was put in.

"No no no! Imagine all the danger you would be in without I would be able to control anything. I swear, I would be so mad at myself if I hurt you because you got smashed by the stones. That would be horrible," Wooyoung exclaimed as he pouted.

Sympathizing, Yunho moved his arm a little backward and brushed his hand down through the dragon's dark locks of hair. The movement had him leaning into the touch, and Jongho was almost sure that he could hear a deep, purring sound. Astounded, he glanced to his side where the fairie prince sat, trying to read his expression to figure out what the fuck was going on. Unfortunately, Yeosang lacked expressions at that moment - only the pull of conflictment lingered on his face. So, he looked back at the pair on the other sofa, seeing how calmly they rested against each other as if it was any other ordinary thing to do. And Jongho did not understand the act at all.

They came from two different kingdoms - they should not be this calm around each other?! Should Jongho remind Wooyoung of how Yunho literally had attacked the demon and bitten his head halfway off?

But again, Wooyoung was no better - he had already proved that with San. The siren prince had a hard time reading the situation, given that Wooyoung seemingly found it in his nature to be so close to strangers. Fleetingly, Jongho wondered if it just was part of the dragons' instinct to bond this quickly. Another reason why San should stay away from Wooyoung.

"If I may interfere," the blonde prince said, his eyes shining the same way as his golden crown on his head, "Must I explain that we already are considered in danger now? It would be foolish to think that we are safe within those walls despite the invisible danger that we do not see at this moment," Yeosang voiced skeptically, regarding them all with that overly collected stance that Jongho had noticed him showing when they discussed more significant matters.

It made him look harsher as if he was distancing himself away from his personal emotions.

His deep green eyes suddenly looked at him as if he was aware of what Jongho was thinking of him, "Although, I am pretty sure she would already have gotten rid of us if she only wanted us dead. Unless she entertains herself with keeping us here, that is."

Wooyoung hummed at the answer, pulling his legs down from the furniture and straightening up. Yunho's arm still lingered around his waist.

"You're right, she wouldn't put this much effort into keeping us here if she just wanted us off. There's surely a hidden agenda behind her acts of kindness, I mean, she's been pretty hospitable until now at least... It's odd behavior - those witches I've encountered before were not at all hiding their sinister practices of dark magic," the dragon prince shuddered.

Jongho didn't want to think about the experiences Wooyoung might have with those devious creatures.

Shockingly, the fairie's next words came out in a hiss, a sound so unexpected that Jongho widened his eyes startled, "She has already practiced those vile methods on us, have you forgotten that? We are cursed with dark magic!"

Wooyoung's eyes shifted the moment they snapped at the blonde prince, his pupils forming into two slits in his golden irises. Jongho pondered if the shift was even intended as the dragon's words weren't jarring in any way, only informative.

He leaned forward in his seat as he spoke: "I am sure you would understand if you'd seen what a real curse looks like. Her doings here would resemble a child's play compared to those real dark curses where people are tortured until death and then revived again to only keep on going. Trust me, I've witnessed it all, it's so disgusting. So yeah, you should be rather happy about our situation because I can tell you the Great Sorceress has been very... decent.. on us. Whatever reason she has to be doing this, our lives must be very important in her plans."

For a moment, no one said anything as the dragon's words sunk in. Perhaps he was right about that, but that shouldn't change the fact that this was still so wrong of the sorceress to have done. They didn't owe her anything.

"It just still doesn't make any sense to me - what exactly could we provide her? Wait," prince Yunho muttered while he thoughtfully rubbed his temple, searching for those damn answers that Jongho knew they all wanted.

 "What if she just uses us as tools in negotiations with the kingdoms?" Yunho continued, "I bet the reigns would be interested in having their sons back."

The siren prince wanted to fleer at him for having such idyllic depictions of all their families. If he had to be honest himself, Jongho didn't think his parents would ever care if he never returned to them. Sirens just simply hadn't a very family-orientated instinct rooting deep in them. He even hesitated the surety of San's parents caring that highly to make a deal with a witch to get one of their kids back, but that was for other reasons such as how risky it was to be involved in treaties with dark powers when they just could have another one of their kids rule the kingdom in the future instead of San. San was important while he lived because of the inherited throne, afterward, he wouldn't matter anymore.

Wooyoung shrugged, "That would actually not surprise me if that was her reason."

But as he spoke, the werewolf tensed in his seat before Jongho was finally able to hear the quick footsteps sprinting down the hallway outside the common room. When the sound was loud enough they all had their heads turned at the male bursting into the open doorway, gasping for breath as he desperately called for help.

"Yeosang! It keeps on following me, please get it away from me!"

As San's wobbly legs stumbled across the room in fear of what supposedly was following him, a white little fluttering creature entered the room just after San, wings glinting in the gentle light from the chandelier hanging in the ceiling. The merman shrieked at the sight and jumped into hiding behind the armrest where Yunho sat, his eyes trembling while he watched the creature from afar, seeing how it now gently fluttered around Yeosang's pretty fingers as he held them out for it. The situation had Yunho bursting out in laughter as he lifted a hand to cover his mouth before gesturing for San to sit down beside him. On the opposite side of Wooyoung, who Jongho noticed was staring at San blankly.

"Pff, are you seriously scared of a butterfly?" Yunho mused, a grin whipped around his lips as he teased San for being a scaredy-cat.

Naturally, the comment made San pout his lips adorably, "Noo I am not scared of it! It just wouldn't leave me in peace, and so I decided to flee from it, but then it started following me! And then I ran, but it flew right after me like some maniac. I didn't think that a thing like that could be so fast, what the hell."

Yunho snickered at him and bumped his shoulder into his, playfully. But the fairie prince seemed more agitated by the way San had worded the problem.

"This 'thing', is specified as a butterfly, and she is definitely not some maniac that you accuse her of," he said in a biting tone.

"Then why was it-" immediately, Yeosang gave him a look and San gulped before rectifying himself, "She.. why was she following me if not to harass me?"

For a moment, Yeosang just observed the butterfly crawling on his fingers.

Then he lifted his gaze to find San's still scared eyes and told him his next words softly: "She just wanted to cheer you up. She could sense that you were feeling down."

San was feeling down, San was fucking sad. Of course, would he be sad, and Jongho knew exactly why now that he was being the reason for San's internal suffering. Guilt of thorns knotted in Jongho's stomach and he looked down at his hands resting in his lap, suddenly feeling so bad of the truth-talking.

But Jongho had only been telling him the real reasons why he should not engage in such intimacy when he had such an important future role for the merfolk. An intercourse with another, heck, another specie was like playing with fire. If the King and Queen heard about this, Jongho would be praying for San's dear life.

The siren prince wouldn't know what to do if San wasn't here, by his side.

The words rested on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't say them out loud. San had to learn this the hard way to understand the gravity of his acts. He had to...

"I'll be leaving," Jongho said before getting up from the bunch of cushions and faintly hearing how the rest of them acknowledged his words.

He wouldn't sleep very well this night, either.

_____

𝐖𝐨𝐨𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠

"Are you okay?"

The werewolf was looking at Wooyoung who was currently burying his head into the soft fabric of Yunho's shirt.

Glancing up from his position, Yunho's worried eyes were gazing down at him, trying to figure out the reason why he was being so clingy. The fact was that Wooyoung didn't know himself.

It had been hours since both San and Yeosang left the common room, making them the only ones here. Wooyoung just only remembered the way San had deviated his eyes from him, not looking at him a single time he had been sitting in the room. And it hurt like hell, especially now that he expected part of him to be growing inside him.

Still, he couldn't know for sure, yet.

Wooyoung wasn't able to keep the little whimper from sounding when the emotions welled in his chest while Yunho just gently held him. The other prince's body was warm and comfortable and Wooyoung relished the little tingly sensation all over his skin greatly.

Yunho's hand brushed away the few strands of his hair in his hair, worrisome of the little crease on his forehead and the sounds of displeasure.

"You're just being so nice to me, it's all," closing his eyes again, Wooyoung's fingers dug deeper into his shirt as he nuzzled closer.

And Wooyoung was genuinely telling him the truth. Yunho was being so sweet with him, accepting him into his embrace without repelling his needs for a little care. The dragon prince's whimpers grew into a deep purring sound.

"I can smell that you are distressed, like San."

At the mention of San's name, Wooyoung tensed as his purring stopped.

"I stink?" he asked instead, pulling his head away from Yunho in fear of the coming rejection...

But Yunho's hands around the back of his head held him close again as he shook his head, "No, it's not like that. I just feel the urge to care a little for you. I have really strong senses, and the otherwise sweet scent you had before has turned bitter. You don't stink, Wooyoung, I just like your natural scent better than this one.." He could feel how Yunho's fingers braided with his hair, "And then there's also this different underlying smell around you, it's... it's, ah, I don't even know what I'm saying..." he trailed off, sounding a bit embarrassed.

Yunho was a handsome man; tall, courteous, and extremely soft to cuddle with. He was so fine for caring so much about his well-being that Wooyoung nearly didn't need to trail his eyes along the patterns of his face to the observation of his beauty. This man was beautiful inside and out.

"I don't want to force you into telling me what has happened, but just know that I'm all ears if you ever want to share your thoughts with someone," Yunho voiced, lightly brushing his thumb down along the side of his head, mapping out the healing skin from his cut.

Perhaps was Wooyoung a man with very few thorough considerations as he mostly lived off his impulsive choices, but if he wasn't very wrong at this moment, his body was warming at the words he was told. And this was a different heat that swelled inside him - it wasn't filled with the scorching desire of touching the other prince and feeling pleasure just because he was attracted to him. No, instead, this heat was like lukewarm water running along his veins as it caressed his insides with solicitude, making him feel so content in his spot. He could get used to this feeling very quickly...

Wooyoung smiled a little, "You're right, Yunho, I really do need some care."

He heaved himself up to sit a little straighter in his lap before bringing his arms around the tall puppy and hugging him tightly. His rosy-red cheek rested on his shoulder as he sighed deeply at the feeling of acceptance when Yunho let him into his embrace.

"Don't we all sometimes?" Yunho grinned, and Wooyoung could feel the vibrations of his joy through his entire body.

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

He threaded his mouth just the moment before he was about to tell him secrets. Yunho was one he could trust, Wooyoung was certain, but he just felt it would be wrong to elucidate him in his despair when he hadn't really talked to San yet. Before that, he had to be careful with who he shared his thoughts. After all, those kingdoms were only a step away from calling war on each other, and Wooyoung did not wish to be the one reason why havoc had started.

♛