TW: Bullying

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The next morning, Seungyoun stirred Seonghwa with the news of political visitors. They came unannounced, so Seonghwa rushed to get dressed. He passed Jongho in the corridor as he hurried towards the throne room. When he sent him a fleeting smile, the golem left his questions for later.

Three demons had taken the long path from the Caverns of Nightfall to the Crystal Sphere. Their tall, intimidating frames idled in the throne room when Seonghwa pushed the doors open and rushed in with flaring veils.

"Excuse my tardiness," he greeted as he made for his throne. An icy mask of indifference painted his features, and it slipped only momentarily when he noticed the second chair next to his throne. Mingi sat sunken in a pitiful heap and the servants who had fetched him lingered by his side in case he needed anything.

At Seonghwa's voice, the blind demon perked up, but the heavy weight didn't lift off his shoulders.

"Your Highness," the leader of the three demons replied curtly. They waited until Seonghwa sunk into his seat and crossed his legs before they addressed him. Though as captivated by his beauty as any other, their determined scowls persisted.

"I welcome you to my castle. What brought you all the way here? Had you notified me, I would have prepared food and drink for the occasion."

From his elevated throne, Seonghwa didn't feel too threatened by their imposing heights and steel-armoured horns. These demons could see, and their bottomless black eyes bore into Seonghwa, full of thinly veiled malice.

"Our king sends his regards. We came to fetch the bumbling fool by your side. His success in the joust was an unlucky coincidence, and we have insulted you by forcing you to take the hand of one like him. Hence, we brought this able warrior in exchange. He passed the second round of the joust we did in your honour and surpassed all other competitors by far. We deem him suited to your honour."

The man to the speaker's left stepped forward. He was broad and burly, a terror of a demon. Hard, thick muscles wired down his nape into broad shoulders and arms thick like logs. He had to be thrice Seonghwa's size and could probably crush him with the force of his fingers.

Seonghwa gave him a refined nod, but his eyes were cold.

"What makes you think I seek to exchange my husband? Did my father implore you?"

Mingi flinched at the low hiss in Seonghwa's voice. He rarely lost his patience or showed his displeasure, so the blind demon sunk further between his shoulders, looking to disappear into the ground despite his imposing height.

"No, Your Highness. Our king was the one to make this decision. He couldn't bear the embarrassment of sending you one of our worst. To uphold our amicable ties, he offers his amends and a worthy exchange." The demons looked alarmed, defensive in their opposition, but still explicit about their demands.

"Come here, Mingi. We will bring you back to where you belong. This charade must have been taxing on you."

Seonghwa's eyes lingered on the cowering demon. Mingi hid away from them a lot, both in his shy demeanour and in his quick excuses to leave for his room. It wasn't arrogance that spurred him. If he wanted to leave, he would be delighted to stand with his people, but the opposite was the case.

The words written on Mingi's parchment notice drifted through the back of Seonghwa's mind. Hurtful words; written by those who sent him and who knew he couldn't read.

Before Mingi could push himself up on trembling legs and obey, Seonghwa addressed him. His voice was gentler towards him, patient with the man's shivers.

"Do you wish to leave, Mingi?"

Mingi's lower lip trembled. His unseeing eyes were wide with fear and brimmed with unshed tears, but he didn't know how easily Seonghwa could read his face.

"If- If you want me to leave, I'll go," Mingi whispered through his hair. "I know I am not worthy of being by your side. I'm nothing, I-"

"If you understand, come here. There is no need to waste the crown prince's time any longer," the demon barked. He was about to step up and drag Mingi from his seat, but Seonghwa rose from his throne. Respectful, the demons backed away.

"Thank you for your visit, but I am afraid we have no business with each other. You may send your king my regards and tell him Mingi is exactly where he belongs. Now, if you will excuse us?" He turned to Mingi to gather his large palm from his lap. Insecure, it held on to Seonghwa, but his body was stiff from fear.

"Your Highness, please reconsider. Our warrior isn't a freak of nature; he can fight and run and see and-"

With a voice like roses that slashed with their thorns, Seonghwa interrupted him. Seungyoun sucked in a breath.

"That is all wonderful for him. May he serve your kingdom well. Mingi is just right for me. Have a good day." With that, he tugged Mingi from his chair and left the room. The demon hesitated behind him, using his free hand to wipe his tears.

"My Lord," he sobbed as he stumbled behind Seonghwa on the way to the dining room. "You need not do this to protect me. I don't belong here and you would be off better with that other demon, I-"

"You belong here," Seonghwa insisted. The doors to the dining room opened and everyone else had assembled for breakfast. When Seonghwa came in with a stormy face and led Mingi to his seat, their bickering fell quiet.

"You belong here, and I want you with me. Don't think anything else," Seonghwa muttered at Mingi's ear before he straightened. Mingi rubbed his face while Seonghwa rounded the table.

Yeosang watched him like a hawk while Yunho offered Mingi a napkin to fix himself.

"What happened?"

"A delegation arrived from the Caverns of Nightfall. They sought to switch Mingi with one of their warriors, claiming he was unsuited to this affair."

Yeosang's face darkened, but Hongjoong groaned.

"Finally. I thought they would just brush over that. Is this our celebratory last meal? You could have brought the new guy along."

Seonghwa's brow ticked. Across the table, he watched how Yunho hugged Mingi to his chest, patting his hair to soothe him.

"How cruel you are," Jongho muttered. Even he sounded repelled by the relief in Hongjoong's voice.

"How can you say that? Mingi is one of us and he won the joust. Everyone came here under fair circumstances," Seonghwa addressed Hongjoong. His anger was beautiful on his starry features and Wooyoung pretended his eyes didn't blow wide at seeing them argue.

"Their first mistake was to allow anyone to participate, even the scum of their people and those with ailments. What is the reason for a gift if it's broken? Their king was bold to send him here in the first place instead of treating his emperor with the best," Hongjoong judged. His harsh voice made Mingi flinch and fresh tears dripped from his lowered head to the table. His pain was silent, all too used to hearing such things, and Seonghwa's heart ached for him.

"Now, now, you don't need to say it like that. Mingi won the joust, blindness or no," Yunho stood up for the sunken demon. Buddy sat at Mingi's feet with a paw on his leg, whining at him to make it better.

"By coincidence," Hongjoong scoffed. "And only because his so-called friends bullied him into it. I hope they had a good laugh because they knew it would end like this. Just release him from this torment and have him return to the dirty hole he crawled from."

Mingi's shoulders trembled under the force of his sobs. He bit his lips to swallow all noises, but Seonghwa's heart broke seeing him like this.

"You're overstepping your boundaries, Grandmaster Hongjoong. It is not just Mingi you are insulting here," San warned. His voice had sunken to a low drawl and his angelic aura flickered, as if it struggled to uphold its purity.

"You should know better. You also are above the rest of these dogs."

"Hey! Don't call us that," Wooyoung protested. Hongjoong rolled his eyes at him.

"What do you prefer, pigeon? I have many more fitting words for you drunken ogre or that pathetic excuse of a demon."

"Enough, Hongjoong," Seonghwa cut him off. Silence deafened the room when ice spread through every corner. It froze them and made them check the air if they would see their breath.

Mingi trembled in his seat, pressing his hands to his ears. His cowered form looked so used to this position. As if he heard the same things all his life.

San left the table first. His anger was well-contained as he ditched the room to hold back his need to practise divine justice on anyone who attacked someone weaker than him.

Yeosang and Jongho politely pushed their chairs back. Their steps were muffled when they left those who needed their space.

"I bet you don't have a single friend," Wooyoung hissed at Hongjoong's face before he stomped off to follow them. His wings trembled in rage, but he respected Seonghwa's silent warning not to escalate.

Refusing to back down, Hongjoong stayed at the table. He had crossed his arms and stared at the other side of the room. The tick of his jaw awaited an apology for no one lauding his greatness. Seonghwa was the one to rise and join Mingi's side.

"Come with me. You don't have to listen to this any longer," the elf lured him with his melodic hum. Mingi couldn't see the anger turning the twinkle of his eyes into daggers of ire. Weak on his legs, he stood up so Seonghwa could lead him outside. Yunho and Buddy stayed behind to look after them in worry.

Seonghwa waited until the door fell shut and they reached Mingi's room to turn to the man. He had to reach up to cup the demon's face in his hands and tears wet the thumbs he brushed below Mingi's dead eyes.

"Shh, it's fine. I won't send you back and I will have a word with Hongjoong. This won't happen ever again." Cold upset wracked the elf's voice and made it tremble. He never had to deal with such cruelty in his palace before and he was appalled at how Hongjoong looked down on the others.

"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't want you to see this..." Fresh tears overflowed, and they never stopped coming. Helpless, Seonghwa wiped them using his sleeves.

"No, don't apologise. Hongjoong is the one who needs to do that. Him and your entire kingdom. To me, you aren't just your eyes, Mingi. Please don't listen to a thing they say."

Through his trembles and hiccoughs, Mingi managed a nod. It was far from trustful, but it was something.

"Get some rest. I will make sure this won't happen again." Seonghwa tiptoed to press a kiss to Mingi's cheek and the man's breath got stuck in his throat. A grey palm came up to touch the spot Seonghwa had kissed and his tears dried out in his surprise.

"There, all better," Seonghwa smiled. "Now go. And don't hide from us any longer. I want to get to know you better and I want to see your beautiful face more often."

Mingi couldn't breathe. He hadn't heard such words before and they triggered something in him that made him weak. When he gave a fragile nod at the kind-hearted elf, Seonghwa grinned brighter. He opened the door to Mingi's darkened room and guided him inside. After he knew Mingi secure from any bullies, he closed the door.

Yunho idled around in the vestibule while Buddy searched the walls for the humming voice. When Seonghwa approached, he grinned a pained smile.

"I will look after him, no worries. You take care of the rest," Yunho offered.

"Thank you, Yunho," Seonghwa sighed. He scaled the stairs while Yunho and Buddy knocked on Mingi's door, asking if he would like to play with them. A moment later, he was let in.

Relieved someone eased Mingi's pain, Seonghwa scaled the stairs to hunt down Hongjoong and deal out punishment.

Though he doubted the arch-mage would see his point even if he tried. His superiority made him as blind towards empathy as Mingi's eyes were to the world.