Chapter Text
“A new batch of rumors, your highness,” a high, mocking voice sounded right above his ear, but he didn't even flinch, “would you like to listen to all of them, or should we move on to the interesting ones?”
Seonghwa hummed. He already knew all the possible rumors about himself. Unworthy bastard, the son of a maid, always messing with the peasants – that was what aristocracy was saying about him. The common people considered him arrogant, narcissistic, useless and spoiled. He had heard it all. He had connections both here and there. The rumors themselves didn't particularly bother him, but it was important to keep track of who was spreading them and whether new ones were appearing. It was one of his direct responsibilities, after all.
Few people knew, but the youngest prince had many responsibilities. Tracking discontent within the country, both among the common people and the upper classes; listening and cataloging complaints in remote regions; settling problems with bandits, and most often (after all, they were an island state) with pirates. All these and many other responsibilities fell on the shoulders of members of the royal family who did not have the right to inherit the throne.
Officially, the queen was in charge of all this; they, the ‘spare children’, as they were called behind their backs, had no responsibilities at all. In fact, the queen was their leader, their brain, while they were her hands, eyes and ears. There were four of them in total: Seonghwa, his two cousins and his father, the king's brother. They replaced each other here and there, always working quietly and unnoticed, eliminating problems efficiently and ruthlessly. Seonghwa liked his job and liked all aspects of it, including the ability to remain unrecognized and hear gossip about himself first-hand. But his favorite part was the part where he dealt with pirates, the curse of these lands. Elusive and tenacious, like rats, and just as vile. Seonghwa dreamed of one day getting rid of them completely, eliminating the problem at the root, but the queen only chuckled in response to all his outrage. He still didn't lose hope.
Seonghwa killed his first pirate when he was eight. It was more an accident than anything else, but he remembered that day. Couldn't forget even if he wanted to.
This was the first time that all five, including the queen, were on board the same ship. It was sheer stupidity, a formality. It was less than a day to sail, nothing should have happened. They initiated six-year-old Hyeseong into family traditions and decided to make it a small, but still a celebration.
This was the first time that pirates were bold enough to attack a ship flying the royal flags. They were prepared and clearly knew what they were doing, but it didn't really help them. Five members of the royal family, each with their own squad of guards, three of whom had serious combat training and an additional personal squad of fighters, were clearly not what the pirates had expected. Even Seonghwa had already undergone training and knew how to fend for himself. Which he did, knocking one of the opponents overboard, after slashing his legs with a dagger.
He would like to say that he showed himself to be brave and courageous that day, but, unfortunately, he wasn't. That day, Seonghwa panicked. This was his first real fight. He committed many stupid things, the consequences of which, however, he did not regret for a second. The first was a thin scar on his wrist from a brief skirmish with a pirate boy. The second one was now standing right behind him, impatiently breathing down his neck.
It was by chance that he saved Wooyoung, who was a prisoner on that same pirate ship, and for this accident he will be grateful to fate for the rest of his life. Of course, Wooyoung himself didn't need to know about this.
He finally gave in, raising his head and looking up at his friend.
“Since when do you need my permission to speak? The interesting ones, of course.”
Wooyoung lowered his chin to the top of his head and his hands to his shoulders, instantly forgetting about a respectful tone and any manners. No surprise here. He always remembered them only when it was necessary, or when he wanted to mess with him.
“Fine. The sailors approve of our company, but cannot understand who our commander is. They place bets and everything. Of course, no one thinks it's you.”
Seonghwa snorted. Of course. Who in their right mind would think that a sixteen-year-old boy was the leader of a mercenary? However, taking into account all the details, they would hardly be able to guess the real structure of his squad. Seonghwa was the senior in rank, but he was not a full-fledged commander.
“I thought you said ‘interesting’. These are obvious.”
“Don't interrupt me, and I'll move on to the interesting stuff,” Wooyoung pinched his cheek. “This crew really likes to bet. The younger girls began to hunt for you, since you are so very handsome and young. And a couple of boys with them, just so you know.”
“I thought interesting rumors were something more practical,” Seonghwa winced. Other people's attention did not flatter him. The sailors were ready to drool over anyone, he had long understood this and studiously ignored it. Especially the attention of the males. The amount of sailors with such deviations was disturbing. “So you don't have anything actually interesting, do I understand correctly?”
Wooyoung finally left his head alone and sat down next to him.
“This is very interesting in my opinion. You're just boring. What else did you expect from a small merchant ship?”
Seonghwa shrugged.
“I don't know. Maybe, some discussions about why a mercenary squad agreed to guard them for half the price, and where we even came from. Or do they not care at all?”
In reality, it wasn't even half price. More like one tenth. They took the payment just for show, and they were going to spend it there. They were already paid for this mission, but it was unwise to say that they were sent by the crown. This would raise unnecessary questions and rumors.
“Of course they don't care,” waved him off Wooyoung, “they had already decided that the one who paid for the cargo hired us too, just secretly, or that we had work in the capital, and we needed to get there quickly.”
And this was actually true. Which meant that they were much more obvious than Seonghwa thought.
“And this is very important information,” he said, throwing an expressive look at Wooyoung. “We need to know what they think about us, remember? And not in the sense in which you just thought!”
“Yeah, yeah, of course, I'll be more attentive to the boring details next time,” Wooyoung replied, rolling his eyes. “I swear, every time we go out to sea, you suddenly become ten times more boring than usual.”
Seonghwa silently nudged him in the side with his elbow. He wasn't boring. He was responsible.
Dusk was falling, and it was time to leave his half-completed post on the deck. The three fighters on duty should have already taken their places. He didn't feel the need to control them. Only the best of the best were recruited to serve in their subdivision. All of them took their job just as seriously as he did, even Wooyoung.
“Let's go sleep,” Seonghwa said, getting to his feet and stretching, “our shift starts at midnight.”
Wooyoung stood up behind him and sullenly nodded.
“Like I said: ten times more boring,” he repeated. “It's good that there were only a couple of days left. I just hope something fun happened during this time.”
Seonghwa just shook his head. He hardly really hoped for it. Wooyoung always preferred quiet outings, or better yet, none at all. Seonghwa was grateful that his friend agreed to become a member of his squad at all. It was nice to have him around at times like these.
At any moment, to be honest.
And he wasn't going to tell him about this either.
Seonghwa woke up on his own, exactly half an hour before the appointed time, as always. Wooyoung was loudly snoring right in his ear. He never learned to wake up on time. And who here, one might ask, is subordinate to whom? Seonghwa unceremoniously pushed him out of the hammock and followed him out. There was not much space on the ship, so the room allocated to the company of ‘mercenaries’ left much to be desired. There were only two hammocks here, and the fact that Wooyoung even had the chance to sleep on one of them, instead of the floor, was solely thanks to his impudence. No one but him could think of getting into the prince's bed.
And no, those times when he invited him himself were not considered an excuse. They were both children then.
Wooyoung landed with a thud and a pained groan, but didn't complain out loud. The rest did not need to get up, and they were unlikely to react to the forced awakening with understanding.
Yunhe, the third midnight guard, was already standing near the door. She gave him a playful bow and with a sign that she was going to take over the crow's nest. Seonghwa nodded and she left without waiting for them. Yunhe was the best archer in the squad, completely useless in everything related to close combat. She always took the top position, and no one ever argued about that. Especially considering how bad Wooyoung was with any long-range weapons other than darts and knives.
He and Wooyoung got ready in a couple of minutes. Seonghwa grabbed his sword and a pair of daggers, Wooyoung secured his extra arsenal in all sorts of places and they finally left the cabin. The night promised to be as long and boring as all the previous ones.
Seonghwa liked to think of himself as a skilled fighter and a worthy commander. Of course, most of the decisions were not made by him. He trusted those with more experience to command in situations where it was necessary. He was only sixteen, his experience was incomparable to that of his older comrades. But he was willing to learn, he was a good listener, and he was confident in his people.
Overly confident.
Wooyoung walked onto the deck, but Seonghwa didn't have time to follow. He froze in the narrow passage, tense, like a stretched string. The cold steel of the blade was taken directly to his throat. He did not hear the approach of the unknown person. I didn't feel their presence. Even now. Had no idea who it could be. An angry crew member? One of his people who decided to play a joke?
“Try to call for help and I'll cut your throat open,” an unfamiliar voice whispered right into his ear. “Don't do anything stupid. The price of the life of one of the queen's mongrels is clearly higher than that of a couple of useless boxes, you must agree.”
Seonghwa slowly nodded. Thoughts raced through his head at breakneck speed.
He heard this voice for the first time. It certainly wasn't one of his people, and it was unlikely to be one of the sailors they were accompanying. None of them had any idea who they were reporting to.
Was he a stow away? And none of them noticed anything at all? Seonghwa just couldn't believe it, but what were the options? He couldn't sail here. It was impossible not to notice someone approaching the ship. Even at night, even during the changing of the guard, no matter how long the small boat would invariably attract attention.
The knife disappeared from his neck and moved onto his back, weightlessly pushing him forward.
“Move. And pray that your friends like you enough.”
Seonghwa didn't need to pray about this. Anyone in his squad, including himself, was willing to give his life if necessary, but delivering this cargo was not a task worthy of losing life. He wouldn't sacrifice any of his men for something so trivial, and they wouldn't sacrifice him, he was sure of that.
But what punishment awaits him after that was another question. It was worth praying for. Even if it's unlikely to help him.
He went out on deck, expecting that his captor would now begin negotiations, but this did not happen. Instead of loudly announcing his presence, the unknown person brought him to the side and forcefully pushed him in the back.
The world tilted, Seonghwa involuntarily screamed, and the next moment he hit the surface of the sea. He landed sideways, unpleasantly and painfully, too close to the side of the ship, with his mouth open, and this could have ended very badly for him if he had not been grabbed by the arms at that very moment. Seonghwa didn't even have time to start choking when his head found itself above the surface, and a melodic velvety voice rang out in his ear.
“I recommend to hold your breath.”
Seonghwa followed the recommendation without hesitation. Heavy boots and thick leather armor were not particularly conducive to swimming, as well as the weapons still hanging on him. He heard panicked screams from the ship: a pirate ship, a man overboard, a stranger on the deck – but he already understood that they would not help him. He didn't see who was holding him, but he didn't need to. He knew that the stranger was a merman. This explained how they had gotten to the ship undetected, although Seonghwa still had questions about how the second intruder had gotten on board.
There was a splash and Seonghwa was pulled under the water again, this time being dragged by his hair as if he were a sack of potatoes. He managed to grab onto the other's wrist, so it wasn't as unpleasant as it could have been, but he still felt humiliated. And there he was, thinking it couldn't possibly get worse.
It very much could, as he found out when he was thrown into the air right out of the water with one jerk. Seonghwa flew through the air in a wide arc and landed face first on the deck, right at the feet of another group of strangers. The only consolation was that he managed not to make a sound during the flight, since he was too focused on holding his breath. He didn't have a problem with this, but he didn't show it, instead clutching his chest and clearing his throat, and then falling on his back, breathing heavily.
He could have retained some of his dignity and tried to prove himself a steadfast warrior. He wanted to, but it would have been stupid of him. These people already knew that he was part of the queen's personal squad, the existence of which they were not even supposed to know, it was worth lowering their expectations as much as possible. It would be nice to cry, but he never learned to do it at will. His trembling lips and voice remained his best and did not look particularly natural.
Who knows, maybe these people will give him a real reason to cry.
Seonghwa was kicked in the side and he crawled back, looking up. It was not difficult to feign fear. At the very least he was really worried. He guessed what he was needed for and for what he would be used for, but exactly when and how this would happen was not yet clear.
He didn't have time to really get a good look at the tall strangers surrounding him in the dim light of the stars when two pairs of bare feet silently landed next to him. Seonghwa flinched, staggered back for real.
These were two young men, half dressed from different sides. One was wearing only a long shirt that covered him to the knees, the other was wearing only loose pants. On the belt of the second one was a knife, probably the same one that he had felt on his neck not so long ago. Seonghwa could have sworn that he saw the outline of wings flashing in the air. That explained how he got onto their ship.
“What are we standing for?” asked the same young man while his partner straightened his crumpled shirt. His voice sounded somehow too cheerful and joyful. “Move your oars, let's trade him and leave, there's no point in hanging around here.”
“As you say, shorty,” one of the tall dark figures took a step forward and threw something over his bare shoulders. “You did well. Move him where he can be seen from afar! Or they will think that we drowned him or something.”
There was laughter all around and Seonghwa was jerked to his feet. He couldn't quite figure out what the hierarchy was on this ship. The two who kidnapped him were not human and were not slaves. The merman was silent, but Seonghwa saw how they patted him on the shoulder and how he smiled in response, and the impudent boy with the knife seemed to be respected here. He even commanded, although it's not like everybody exactly obeyed. Respect for non-humans was rare, and, unfortunately, not only among pirates – and he was not human, there was no doubt about that. Seonghwa didn't notice right away, but now it was clear that he was completely dry – even his clothes.
He didn't have a chance to see anything or anyone else. They finally took his sword and knives and then dragged him somewhere again. He had expected much rougher treatment. Someone huge, held his hands tightly behind his back, they pushed him when he stumbled, but no one tried to threaten him, or continue to drag him by the hair. He was not even insulted, although it will probably come to that. Otherwise, it was the most peaceful interaction he'd had with pirates so far. They didn't even make him bleed. For now.
That sounded like a reason to try his luck.
“Why do you want our cargo so much?” he asked. “There's nothing valuable there, it won't even be possible to sell it. Why do you?..”
A wide palm slammed into the back of his head. His ears started ringing.
“Shout your mouth.”
Seonghwa obediently closed his mouth and lowered his gaze. This was expected, but it was still worth a try. They did not expect a pirate attack. Not this time, not with this cargo. They were sent as escorts in case of an unforeseen skirmish. Not in case of a planned attack on this particular ship.
Seonghwa thoughtfully looked ahead. The night sea was frighteningly black, bottomless. The pirate ship sailed forward, approaching the merchant ship. All he could do now was run through his head the possible options for his inevitable punishment, or think about the possible reasons for the pirates' strange behavior. Of course, Seonghwa chose the latter.
It was hardly for profit. It would be more profitable to exchange Seonghwa for something really valuable – or even just a large sum of money. They didn't know his true value, but they didn't even try to find out. They needed cargo, and they knew what it was. Did they need medication? No one he saw on board looked unwell, but someone could be in the hold, or on another ship, or even offshore. A very simple, rather boring reason. They hardly knew that this batch was a trial one and it was unknown whether it was effective at all, but he was not going to tell them about it.
The loss of the cargo was not critical; they will be able to buy another shipment, although they will have to spend a lot of money on it. From this point he immediately slipped into self-deprecating and not at all productive thoughts. Seonghwa let out a sad sigh. It really was his fault and he couldn't do anything about it.
It's a miracle it wasn't Wooyoung they captured. This could have ended in a catastrophe on a much larger scale. He could at least be happy about this.
The pirate ship corrected its course and stood nose to nose with the merchant ship, so close that their sides almost touched. They were already waiting there. Seonghwa looked up and immediately looked back down. Of course, the entire squad was on its feet. Kwangseok stood in the front row, looking at him with deep dissatisfaction in his eyes. The eldest member of the squad, not only his teacher but of his father too, he rarely showed emotions so openly. He had never looked at him like that before.
“Good evening! Or rather night?” Seonghwa raised his head again, this time looking in the direction of the voice. The same young kidnapper with a knife spoke. He did not expect that he could be trusted with negotiations. “But it's not that important. What's important is that you have what we need, and we have what you need. I offer an exchange.”
“And what are the guarantees?” Kwang's voice was even lower than usual and sounded a little like a growl. He was really angry. Quite possible that it was aimed at him. “How can I be sure that you won't get rid of my man as soon as you get what you need?”
“That would be very stupid on our part,” the guy replied. He was irritatingly relaxed and confident. “If we get rid of him, we'll have to deal with you, and we don't need that. No, we will return him as soon as we are sure that everything is in order, and we will do it in such a way that you do not break your part of the agreement either. So, are you ready to listen, or do you not want him back?”
Seonghwa felt the steel against his throat again and barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. An empty threat. If they kill him now, they'll be done for. In any case, they were finished as soon as they'd give him back and they probably knew this. This plan was strange. What exactly was so important that it was worth taking such a risk?
“We're listening.”
Seonghwa turned his gaze back to Kwang. He did not take his eyes off his interlocutor and did not pay attention to him, but Wooyoung, who was standing to his right, looked right at him, pale as death. His entire posture showed readiness to rush into battle right now. Seonghwa slightly twitched his chin to the side and frowned. Wooyoung pressed his lips tighter but relaxed, lowering his shoulders slightly. That's better.
During these silent negotiations, he almost missed the conditions under which he was going to be released. Seonghwa returned his attention to the right place. Luckily, they only just got to the important part.
“...very simple. You give us two boxes of cargo and allow us to retreat to a safe distance. No follow up. We give you your man.”
Seonghwa frowned. This didn't sound safe to the pirates themselves. Only if they will…
“Are you going to give him back from a safe distance?” yes, this option. “And how are we supposed to know whether he is alive from this ‘safe distance’? What if he drowns?”
“Then it's his problem,” a sonorous voice shouted right next to his ear. “We can just swim away with him, since you don't need him,” the man holding him pressed him closer for a moment. Seonghwa felt a shiver run down his spine. “Don't think too long, commander.”
The issue was resolved, Kwang was bargaining only for show and he was not going to get involved in it. The conditions were surprisingly favorable. Just a couple of boxes of cargo. They had about thirty, and were asked for two. It must have been something personal.
This time Kwangseok did not even pretend to think.
“Deal,” he said simply and nodded briefly towards the hold, additionally commanding out loud, loudly and demonstratively, “two boxes of cargo, as they said. Don't even think of doing anything stupid. They will have time to check them ten times and then we will have to look for a new Park.”
Seonghwa winced guiltily. The last phrase was clearly addressed to him.
The world around came to life, work was in full swing and Seonghwa was pulled further from the side. The other could still see him, but now they weren't poking them in the faces of his squad members, and that was a little better. He was senior in rank by birthright and they kept the required distance most of the time. With the exception of missions like this one and personal misconduct. At such moments everyone was equal. They were worried about him now, but once he's safe.. Seonghwa sighed. This lesson promised to be especially memorable.
“It's good that you have such caring comrades,” Seonghwa raised his head. It was the guy with the knife again. Once again he moved absolutely silently, as if he had no weight. “They could just tell us to go to hell. Did you see how angrily your archer looks at us? I thought he was going to shoot me.”
“It's a she,” Seonghwa corrected him, not knowing why. “And she won't shoot without a command. Nobody will.”
“That's it,” the guy said thoughtfully, before smiling broadly and clapping him on the shoulder. “Really well-trained mongrels, are you? No wonder people call you that!”
Seonghwa choked on air in indignation. Nobody called them that! Or has he never heard of it before? How did the pirates even know about them and how much did they know?
He swallowed his anger and tried to pull himself together. It was necessary to extract at least some benefit from what was happening.
“How did you come up with such a wonderful name?” he asked. Despite all efforts, his voice oozed of poison.
The guy giggled, clearly pleased with his reaction, and sat down straight on the floor, nodding to the man behind Seonghwa. He snorted and sank down next to him, pulling Seonghwa along with him. Now he was sitting on someone else's lap and it felt wrong and unpleasant, but he couldn't do anything about it.
“I don't remember whose idea it was,” the pirate admitted, looking thoughtfully at the bustle around. A bridge had already been installed between the ships, along which they were supposed to carry a fragile, but so important for the pirates, cargo. “But the name is just right. In all matters relating to the crown in one way or another, a small detachment of mysterious people in armor without markings was there every time. The same detachment was seen not far from the queen when she traveled,” he made a strange movement with his fingers and rolled his eyes, “on her royal affairs. It's not very difficult to see where the legs come from, don't you think? Although I didn't know that they accept children into this super-secret group of yours.”
“We're trained from an early age,” Seonghwa muttered. “Create the best of the best.”
It was a half-truth. The Queen preferred to surround herself with experienced fighters, always volunteers, loyal to the last. The only children were members of the royal family and their friends. For him it was Wooyoung. Geumseong has her best friend, who wished to always be by her side. Hyeseong preferred solo and peaceful reconnaissance missions, and was incredibly good at her job, so they didn't even bother to train her for anything else. Seonghwa was a little jealous. He, as it turned out, was bad at everything he did. Why did he even think that no one really knew about them? If he admitted this to the others, he would probably be laughed at.
“Sounds logical,” the pirate agreed, “although stupid. If you had fallen into another company, your training would have ended early.”
“I usually hear when someone is sneaking up on me,” Seonghwa snarled. The silent way this guy moved was not normal. “If a human had sneaked up on me, I would have heard!”
This time the guy was the one who flinched. He froze for a few seconds, as if waiting for Seonghwa to continue, to say something else about his obvious inhumanity. Seonghwa didn't. It would be stupid. There was no point in pick on other's sore spots, especially on ones like this. He didn't choose who to be born as. But becoming a pirate was a choice, and Seonghwa condemned him for it, but that was a different topic.
“It seems I'm better than humans then,” the guy finally said, grinning smugly. Seonghwa snorted.
“It seems so,” he agreed. “But next time I'll notice you. Now I know what to expect.”
The guy laughed out loud, loudly and joyfully, and hit him on the shoulder.
“As if there will be a next time!”
Seonghwa didn't have time to ask what exactly that was supposed to mean before he was yanked to his feet again.
“That's it, we've talked and that's enough,” said a voice behind Seonghwa. “They're waiting for you there, shorty.”
The guy sighed, but obeyed, waving goodbye to Seonghwa. He managed to notice a couple of familiar boxes standing nearby, but did not have time to see what exactly was being done with them when he was brought to the edge again.
“The same conditions?” asked the same loud voice. This guy was probably the most well-spoken in their crew. “If you give us a boat, we can give it to him. We don't have spare ones.”
Seonghwa turned his wary gaze to Kwangseok. This time he answered while looking into his eyes, very clearly indicating both his displeasure and his position.
“No need,” he said. His voice was much calmer than before. “Give his weapons and shoes to us. He'll get back on his own. He can swim.”
There was a joyful cackle all around. Seonghwa closed his eyes and sighed. Well, it wasn't that bad. He could handle this. Although he didn't particularly want to do it at night.
Not that he had a choice.
Seonghwa had some doubts about whether he would really be released and how much he can trust the pirates, but they quickly passed. Before the ship set sail, he saw Kwangseok taking Wooyoung by the shoulders and pulling him aside. This means that he did not fully trust them and had a backup plan.
This consoled him now, when the ship to which he had to swim was just a dot of light in the distance. He was wet through and through from the last dive and he had no chance to dry off, but he was not cold, and this was, perhaps, the only positive thing in this whole situation.
“I didn't expect your rules to be so strict.”
Seonghwa squinted. The overly talkative guy with the knife continued to hang around, clearly enjoying his suffering. He didn't dignify him with an answer, but that didn't help.
“No, really,” he continued, ignoring his gaze, “swim to the ship on your own, and at night too? Maybe you'd rather stay with us? No offense, but they clearly expect you to drown. Maybe for the edification of others, I don't know. Stay. They won't even notice. They won't fish for your body.”
“Go to hell,” Seonghwa finally snapped, turning his head towards the annoying guy. “I'd rather die than become one of you.”
“Then we can just kill you right away,” he said, not taken aback in the slightest, “you don't want to find yourself completely alone on the open sea at night, believe me. We may be pirates, but we are not monsters.”
Instead of answering, Seonghwa forcefully kicked the man who was still holding his hands, breaking free from his grip. He heard a muffled curse, someone shouted, but he did not listen. He didn't want to be killed. Seonghwa jumped down, this time not falling, but diving.
He entered the water easily and without a splash, diving deeper without thinking, finding the side of the ship and pushing off with his bare heels. The sensation was unpleasant and slippery, but anything was better than accidentally hitting it with his head. Which would hardly happen. Only if the pirates suddenly decided to change course and sail after him.
He looked up at the stars, barely visible through the water, headed towards the ship and dived even deeper, resisting the water that wanted to push him to the surface. There was still a possibility that the overly compassionate pirates would decide to shoot him so that he wouldn't suffer.
He knew that for an ordinary person to swim a distance like this on his own, at night, in clothes not intended for this, and even in the fall, was tantamount to death. For an ordinary, unprepared person. Seonghwa was not an ordinary person. He would definitely feel uncomfortable afterwards, his muscles would beg for mercy and he would barely be able to move his arms, but his life was not in danger. He navigated perfectly underwater, no matter whether it was night or day. He could see in the dark much better than most people, could hold his breath for obscenely long periods of time, and swam at speeds indecent for a normal person. Kwangseok knew all this very well, hence the punishment.
None of these abilities had any magical secret. He just had to practice often. The merman who kidnapped him was not his first merman.
As soon as he thought about it, someone else's body crashed into him with force. Seonghwa involuntarily opened his mouth, water getting into it, but immediately slammed it shut, releasing a strangled, pained groan.
“Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to!” Wooyoung chattered, hugging him by the shoulders and pressing him to himself, feeling with his hands and wrapping his restless tail around his legs, as if trying to finish the job and drown him completely. His voice sounded muffled and high, and every word was accompanied by a stream of bubbles. “Hey, Hwa, you're good, right? They didn't hurt you? I can't see any blood. Kwang said he'd rip my tail off if I'll help you, but he sent me to make sure you won't, you know, drown, so...”
Seonghwa barely managed to push his face to the side and kicked his tail with his knee. Wooyoung took the hint and swam to the side, leaving him alone. Seonghwa immediately rushed to the surface, moving his arms with sharp jerks. As he surfaced, he coughed, spitting out seawater, and looked around. The pirate ship was still close enough so he could be seen from it – unfortunately. He wouldn't be able to swim far enough away from them in one go, but Wooyoung cut his distance by almost half.
A sharp whistle sounded from the ship. Seonghwa took a couple more deep breaths, and dived again. He could still be shot, and he didn't need that.
Wooyoung caught his hands with his own, helping him dive deeper. It was a familiar and proven scheme. Having lowered it to a sufficient depth, he released it and swam forward, setting the direction. Seonghwa allowed himself to relax as he followed the dark, winding blur. When he was alone, he had some chance of getting lost. With Wooyoung, getting lost in the water was literally impossible. He was safe.
Seonghwa had no idea exactly how long he was swimming. He surfaced three more times before he considered the distance safe and remained on the surface. Wooyoung continued to circle around, not trying to engage him in conversation, instead just telling him how much he was worried and how definitely everything would be fine and how Kwangseok was the most worried of all, so there would be no additional punishments. Just this. He just needs to push through. To reach out. He definitely can do it. He's the best swimmer Wooyoung knows. He will definitely…
Seonghwa woke up on board, his face on the wet boards. They were obviously wet because of him. He still didn't feel the cold, but his body was slightly trembling.
“You made us worry, your highness,” Kwang breathed out barely audibly, leaning closer and helping him up. Seonghwa didn't want to get up, but he forced himself, gathering the last of his will into a fist. “I won't let you take a single step unaccompanied for the next six months, is that clear?”
He nodded, wincing in pain. Someone's hand immediately fell on his neck, gently massaging the aching place. Seonghwa quietly whined. He didn't have the strength to pull away.
“Bear with it, it'll get better,” Kwang sighed, standing up to his full height. “You're dismissed until the end of the mission. The conditions here are not the best, but we'll figure something out. Wooyoung, Yunhe – take care of him. And don't make faces at me, you two are also punished. The three before you will be punished upon arrival in the capital. Be glad you got off easy. Get out of my sight.”
Seonghwa closed his eyes, leaning on Wooyoung and Yunhe's shoulders. Their punishment was not his fault. They all missed the appearance of a stranger on board and they all paid for it together.
That suited him quite well.
~☬~☬~☬~
Seonghwa sat on the deck, trying to read the book in front of him. He knew that the text inside was encrypted. He knew that deciphering such texts required time and diligence. But he had the key, and he'd already translated it once, so why couldn't he just…
“What are you doing? Is it this nonsense again?”
Seonghwa looked up. Wooyoung stood in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest, as if he was waiting for something. He didn't remember them agreeing on anything.
“It's not nonsense. I'm learning to read ciphers without writing out the keys,” he explained as patiently as he could. “What do you need?”
Wooyoung rolled his eyes and kicked his book aside, completely ignoring its value. Seonghwa let out an indignant cry.
“I need you to stop torturing yourself. You don't have work now. If you don't want to sleep, you should go for a swim with me. Or go fishing. Or just read! You love to read! Why are you here again, with these stupid ciphers?”
“Maybe I like ciphers,” Seonghwa frowned.
“You hate ciphers!” Wooyoung threw his hands up. “Hwa. Stop it.”
Seonghwa looked away. He understood what that was about. It's not that Wooyoung was wrong. There was some truth in his reasoning. He really should have rested a little more, but he just couldn't bring himself not to try to spend every second of his time efficiently.
A year and a half has passed since his first major shameful failure. A year since Kwang agreed to remove his permanent supervision. He became more attentive. He fought better. He knew better. But this was not enough for the leader he was supposed to be. It wouldn't be enough, while he was still a child – that's what Kwang told him back then.
Seonghwa told him everything he had seen and heard on the pirate ship, and of course the old teacher was not surprised that the pirates knew about them. The secret of their existence remained an absolute secret only to ordinary people. They had encountered pirates too often for them to know nothing at all. He felt like an idiot for not thinking of it himself, for letting his squad down and being a terrible leader, but Kwangseok just grinned and patted him on the top of the head. ‘It's not your fault,’ he said, ‘you're a child, Seonghwa. You cannot become a worthy leader while you remain a child. There's no need to rush’.
Intellectually, he understood that there was really nowhere to rush. His father took on really dangerous assignments, and where he couldn't, Geumseong took over. She was already twenty-two, but there was not yet any marriage union proposal, so there was no need to worry about her leaving the country. Given her talents, Seonghwa generally doubted that she would be allowed to leave even for the sake of marriage. She was too good where she was. They would rather give him or Hyeseong. And he didn't like this at all.
The shame of failure, of his own naivety, inattention and inadequacy as a leader was mixed with the fear of a possible future as a sizeable material and an eternal spy in a foreign country, and Seonghwa simply could not allow himself to relax. He tried to absorb everything at once and as quickly as possible. Wanted to be prepared physically and mentally for everything at once. He took on any mission without hesitation, just to do something, and over the past year and a half have not rested a single day. He understood why Wooyoung was worried. He knew his concern was justified. But he couldn't just stop. This was important. Seonghwa had to be better. For his people. For himself.
Wooyoung completely refused to understand him back, continuing to stubbornly stand his ground.
“Come on, let's go. You need to…”
“I need to go,” Seonghwa interrupted, picking up his book and rising to his feet.
Wooyoung will have to wait. He couldn't afford to relax. Not now.
This time they were on their own ship, very small but comfortable. He had his own cabin where he could do his business. It was just much more lonely, stressful and boring. He really hated codes and dealing with them alone with himself was torture, but it seems there were no other options. Normally, one would hope that someone would come to his aid and distract the merman, but, unfortunately, this time he only had five people, not counting Wooyoung himself and the always busy healer and none of them he didn't really know.
They were all rookies on probation who he had to evaluate. Rookies for their subdivision, but each had years of service behind them, and all of them were at least five years older than Seonghwa and they treated him accordingly. They didn't even know that he was a prince, since this information was only for trusted people. For them, he was just a boy who, for some unknown reason, held a high position. No one expressed dissatisfaction to his face, and everyone behaved emphatically politely, so everything suited him just fine. Their reaction was normal. The respect of subordinates had to be earned.
Their first task was simple and they completed it in less than 24 hours. Seonghwa acted as a leader in every possible sense – there was not a single person on the ship who could tell him what to do. This should have made him happy, but he only felt tension and anxiety. This was not the first time, and he should have gotten used to it, but he still couldn't. Surely this too was because he wasn't good enough.
He asked their opinions on matters of which he understood less and entrusted the choice of the return route to the helmsman, but this only seemed to make the crew more doubtful of his competence. Seonghwa didn't care. He loved to put pirates in their place, he often moved from place to place on the ship and was an excellent swimmer, but he was not a sailor. He was a fighter and intelligence officer. It was absolutely normal to trust professionals to carry out their duties.
Seonghwa entered the cabin, lit the lamp and sat down at the table. The tiny window didn't provide enough light, so he didn't like working here. But at least he won't be interrupted.
He opened the book again and stared at the page. It was hard to think. He had to remain clear-headed to work effectively, but this was especially difficult when he was left alone with his thoughts, without any possibility of distraction.
Seonghwa frowned and tried to focus on the matter again. Only a couple of minutes passed, during which he continued to stare mindlessly at the page, before his thoughts wandered off again. He tried so hard all this time. Did anyone other than Kwang notice it? His sisters didn't have time for him and rightly so. The queen was busier than all of them put together; he won't even try to approach her with something like that. The king he wouldn't even think of. His cousin, the crown prince, barely remembered his existence at all; the last time they saw each other was several years ago. His father…
Seonghwa shook his head, pushing the unwanted thoughts away. Father was busy. The fact that he did not talk to him for more than a year had nothing to do with his failure and in general with him as a person. He was just busy. The king and queen found time for their children, and even for meetings with Seonghwa, for conversations and a couple, albeit mostly work letters, and he didn't receive a word from his father, but that didn't mean anything. He was just busier than they were, that's all. He was just…
Cold steel touched his neck. Seonghwa felt a strong sense of déjà vu. It seemed like he should have felt fear, but there was no fear. There was irritation, anger and something similar to deep sadness from his own inattention and lack of learning. He missed the appearance of a stranger behind him. Again. Only this time, the stranger managed to get into his cabin, he was so busy with god knows what. He and, apparently, everyone else. Not noticing a whole person during the day on such a small ship? That took effort.
“I didn't expect that you would not only survive, but also rise in rank,” a painfully familiar, quiet voice sounded right above his ear. “You had a good year, didn't you?”
Seonghwa loudly laughed, ignoring the way the blade scratched his throat. Of course it was him. That very same non-human with silent steps. He promised that he would notice him next time, but failed here too. He could not even keep his word to the enemy. Things couldn't get any worse.
“Just kill me,” he said, leaning back and looking up at his face. He didn't really get a good look at it last time. Sharp and graceful, not particularly remarkable, without any inhuman features. Maybe he was a half-breed. It was a strangely familiar face, as if he had seen it before the last meeting, somewhere else. Maybe he's just seeing things.
“You don't seem to understand,” the guy said, “I'm not joking here. You will get up and come with me. Slowly and without trying anything stupid. Otherwise I will cut your throat open and then move on to the next member of your little crew. If I have to, I will cut them all down one by one, do you understand?”
He pressed the knife closer to his throat, forcing the blade to cut through the skin. Seonghwa felt the blood coming out and he didn't care at all. He was the only one who could be taken by surprise one on one. He was probably chosen precisely for this reason. If the pirate could, he would simply do what he said, without any threats or conditions. Seonghwa was his only chance and he wasn't going to give him that chance.
He had no idea what the pirates might even need from them. They were returning after clearing one of the remote villages, and not even from pirates – the locals had problems with wild animals. The only valuable things they had were correspondence, nothing secret and that same book now lying on his desk. They had nothing worth giving their lives for, but Seonghwa was determined. He was not going to experience such humiliation a second time in his life. He'd rather die. At least then he won't have to deal with the consequences. Won't have to deal with anything at all.
“Do it,” he agreed, closing his eyes. “You can even take my corpse as a souvenir if you can drag it to the deck unnoticed.”
The knife at his neck trembled. Seonghwa opened his eyes and raised his eyebrows. The guy looked at him with a flat, unreadable gaze.
“You... You're serious,” he said finally. It wasn't a question, more like a statement. Seonghwa shrugged. “You can't just... What happened to you?”
He sounded like Seonghwa had personally insulted him with his behavior. As if he had disappointed him. He had enough of this without the impudent pirate who considered it normal to climb onto other people's ships and snoop around them as if it was his home.
He expected this to cause a reaction, but the pirate simply froze. Maybe he was confused. Maybe angry. Seonghwa was in no mood to understand.
In one fluid motion, he drew his daggers and slashed at the guy's hand holding the knife. He dropped it and backed away, clearly not expecting such a turn. Seonghwa grabbed him by the shoulder and sharply pressed him against the wall, putting the blade to his throat.
Despite his dangerous position, the guy laughed.
“You're good! Such a sneaky move. I'll remember that one.”
Seonghwa snorted.
“Don't act like you're a victim, pirate.” You had plenty of time,” he spared the tip of the second dagger towards someone else's stomach. “If you don't have the courage to take my life, then you don't deserve it. Did you think I'd wait all day?”
“I could take a couple of minutes,” the guy smiled. “It's fine. Next time I won't hesitate.”
As if there will be a next time. As if Seonghwa would just let him go. He hesitated for only a second, choosing what was best to respond to such a self-confident statement, but in the end he did not have time to say anything. The pirate dissolved in his arms, silently disappearing in a cloud of blue smoke.
Seonghwa stared blankly in front of him. It shouldn't have surprised him so much. He knew that this pirate was not human. He would probably have guessed who exactly he was, but in those rare moments when Seonghwa remembered their meeting, he was thinking about the wrong thing. As he always did, really.
He returned the daggers to the sheath on his belt and hurriedly walked towards the exit. This pirate was certainly not alone. His ship was somewhere nearby, as were his accomplices. He needed to notify the others.
He jerked the door open and almost crashed face-first into Wooyoung, who was standing right in there. He tried to walk past, but was unceremoniously pinned against the wall. Seonghwa exhaled in irritation and tried to move the other's hands away.
“Not now, Wooyoung, I need…”
He didn't let him finish.
“You need to explain to me why you tried to ask someone to kill you,” Wooyoung blurted out, looking into his eyes intently. “I really hope that this was a smart tactic, but for some reason I have some doubts.”
Seonghwa closed his eyes for a second. Of course he heard everything. He probably followed him, heard what was happening and waited for the right moment to intervene. Seonghwa didn't expect there to be witnesses at all.
“Later. We will talk about it later. There's no time for that now.”
“You never have time!” Wooyoung's voice sounded so desperate that he felt ashamed. Over the last year they had actually talked much less frequently than before, but he didn't think it bothered him that much.
“Wooyoung, I swear we'll talk right after,” Seonghwa still hoped that the topic of his conversation with the pirate would be forgotten. “I need to warn the others about the sea devil.”
Wooyoung snapped his mouth shut and pulled away.
“The sea... What... I thought you killed him!”
“I tried to take him alive,” Seonghwa muttered. “I could have pierced him with a dagger at any moment, but he just disappeared – literally. I don't know any other creatures that can do this.”
Wooyoung nodded.
“If it's not an illusion. But I doubt that you left it to yourself,” he reached out and touched Seonghwa's neck, making him hiss in pain. “The wound needs to be treated. It's deep.”
Seonghwa gently touched the painful area with his fingertips. He had forgotten that it was there at all.
“You're right,” he sighed, “I'll go to the infirmary first, and you gather everyone on deck.”
The wound wasn't that serious. He just didn't want to appear in front of the squad covered in blood. They didn't really respect him already. He wanted to maintain at least some dignity.
Seonghwa was the senior in rank and no one could really command him, but healers were the exception to the rule. Nobody in their right mind argued with healers. This rule was not written and was learned exclusively from personal experience. For Seonghwa, this experience happened the year he found Wooyoung and he didn't need to repeat that lesson.
This time their healer was Kim Boram, a stern woman his father's age. There were rumors that she had magic, but Seonghwa was almost sure those were just rumors. Almost.
As soon as he entered the infirmary, she laid him on the couch without a single question, unceremoniously groping his neck and chest. Seonghwa didn't even squeak. He was on her territory.
“I see your throat was almost cut open, commander,” she drawled before getting down to the actual treatment. “I didn't notice that we were being attacked. If you angered Wooyoung so much that he decided to kill you, I would have to kill him.”
This was said completely calmly. Seonghwa was a little offended that she thought that way.
“It was not Wooyoung,” he answered, a little harsher than he should have. “There was an intruder on the ship. I'll need to tell the others, so if I may...”
“That you will,” Boram tightened the bandage around his neck, making him choke and fall silent, “as soon as I finish. You got rid of the intruder, right?”
Seonghwa silently looked away. The healer roughly grabbed his chin and turned him towards her.
“Seonghwa. You got rid of the intruder, right?” she repeated, slowly, syllable by syllable, as if he were an idiot.
She had no right to speak to him in such a tone, but he could not find the courage to say anything about it.
“He escaped. This is exactly what I need to tell the others about. As fast as possible. Boram, please.”
Contrary to expectations, she did not argue.
“Why wouldn't you just say so?” she said, tightening the bandage for the last time and jerking him into a sitting position. “There was no poison in the wound, the cut was clean. Lucky you. Let's go. I'll look again later.”
Seonghwa nodded gratefully and rose to his feet. It would be awkward to be late for his own scheduled gathering because of some scratch.
It was quiet on deck. His men were waiting for him, positioned within earshot, but did not leave their posts. Some looked downright nervous, but most remained neutral. Seonghwa walked to the center, immediately attracting everyone's attention.
“We have a pirate ship on our tail,” he began, immediately getting down to business, “I don't know at what distance, what size, or even in what direction they are, but I know for certain that the pirate crew includes at least one sea devil and one merman.”
Seonghwa briefly summarized the situation, omitting some not particularly important points, but mentioning how he knew about the merman. His people listened attentively and did not interrupt. There were not even whispers or exchanges of glances. True professionals, every single one of them.
“It's not clear what exactly they need from us,” Seonghwa concluded, “but it's better to stay alert. No one should be alone. We need to move faster if it's possible. I don't think they will attack head-on, but it's not worth the risk. We must try to avoid confrontation.”
He looked around, waiting for objections or suggestions. A hand rose into the air. Seonghwa nodded.
“We could send a merman on reconnaissance,” the man suggested. His name was Jeong, if he remembered correctly. “To know for sure if there is someone near the ship.”
That would be a good idea, but not in this situation.
“That's not necessary,” he replied. “We're returning to the capital, it's not a secret. We don't have anything valuable either. If we are being followed, it's fine. But if they'd capture Wooyoung…”
“Then what?” Jeong suddenly interrupted him. Seonghwa frowned. “He's not even supposed to be here. He's not human. They can capture him if they want. Maybe they'll get distracted and leave us alone.”
This wasn't the first time he'd heard such remarks directed at Wooyoung. But this was the first time it was said so directly, by one of his squad members and in the presence of Wooyoung himself. It was only a miracle that Seonghwa didn't punch the man in the face right there.
“We don't abandon people if we have the opportunity to save them. Our people – even more so,” he said, hearing his calm voice as if from the outside. “And we certainly don't use our people as bait to save our own skin from a hypothetical threat. Who wrote you a recommendation for enrollment in the subdivision, Jeong?”
The man raised his chin and smiled, smugly and impudently.
“The Queen personally,” he replied. As if this information made him invulnerable. This explained why he allowed himself to interrupt him. “I served with her for five years.”
Seonghwa nodded.
“We all make mistakes. Her Majesty is no exception. Perhaps she will allow you to return to your previous place. If not, I'm sure you'll come up with something.”
The smile disappeared from the man's face. He took a step forward, looking down at Seonghwa. Fury flashed in his eyes, there was a challenge in his posture.
“You have no right to kick me out because of some nonsense. That's in the laws,” Jeong said tensely. He did not raise his voice and still expressed himself respectfully, which would undoubtedly speak in his favor if he had not offered to kill one of the members of his squad for no particular reason a little earlier. “Only humans have the right to live and work in the capital, and even more so to serve. He has no rights and should be happy to bring at least some benefit to the crown."
“He has been benefiting the crown for seven years now, and that's two years longer than you,” Seonghwa answered coldly. “Not all laws of our country are fair and right. But even in them I didn't see anything about the fact that any non-human you meet should be used as bargaining chips, simply because you want to. Dismissed!”
He signaled to Wooyoung, turned on his heel and quickly walked back to his cabin. He can go to the infirmary later. He needed to calm down first.
Wooyoung followed him in, closed the door and immediately found himself in his arms. Seonghwa wasn't sure who made the first move, but it didn't matter. He tightly squeezed his friend in his arms, pressing his cheek against his, angrily breathing. Wooyoung gently stroked his back, as if it was not him who was being insulted.
“I want to throw him overboard,” Seonghwa muttered. “Tie him hand and foot and feed him to the fish.”
Wooyoung quietly snorted.
“Calm down. He didn't even say anything that bad.”
“What?!” Seonghwa pulled away and stared at his friend indignantly. “He suggested killing you!”
“No he didn't. He suggested checking to see if we were being followed. He said that if I died, nothing bad would happen, he didn't say that you should kill me. It's a big difference. I've heard worse things.”
Seonghwa pulled him close again, making him squeak. He would never in his life say that about any of his people. Especially about Wooyoung. He could never sacrifice him even if there was a real need for it.
He would probably get into trouble if he said it out loud.
“You shouldn't have said that,” Wooyoung said quietly.
Seonghwa was confused.
“Said what?”
“That thing about laws. Expressing disagreement with the official position in front of subordinates is not a good idea. You have been scolded about it before, haven't you?”
He have been, yes. That this undermined the authority of the crown, raised doubts and caused people to ask uncomfortable questions. He had been reprimanded for his rash remarks the last time, many years ago, and he promised to restrain himself in the future. Perhaps he shouldn't have. It's not like he could be demoted. He didn't risk anything. But Wooyoung and others like him risked their lives simply by existing.
“No,” he said, “I'm not going to be silent anymore.”
Wooyoung dropped his forehead onto his shoulder and let out a defeated sigh.
“People will make complaints about you,” he warned. As if Seonghwa didn't know it himself.
“Well, good luck to them,” he huffed, finally releasing the already indecently prolonged embrace and awkwardly smiling.
Wooyoung giggled and sat down on his bed, patting the mattress next to him. Invited him as if it were his cabin and his bed. The awkwardness immediately gave way to indignation.
“Hey. I didn't invite you to my bed,” he frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Yeah, you never do,” Wooyoung agreed, “come on, sit down. We shouldn't be alone and so happened that we need to talk! You didn't think I'd forget, did you?”
Not that he thought, but he definitely hoped. Seonghwa reluctantly sat down next to him.
“There's nothing to talk about. He took me by surprise, I did what I had to do. I took a chance, deceived him, and it worked.” It sounded vague enough to pass for the truth.
“You're lying,” Wooyoung snapped, “you never act so riskily. You make doe eyes and beg for mercy! How many years do you think I know you?”
“It doesn't matter. I'm alive in the end,” he tried again, “so what difference does it make anyway?”
Wooyoung inhaled, exhaled slowly and met his gaze. He looked unusually serious, almost stern.
“If you found out that I was offering random pirates to kill me, how would you react?”
Seonghwa opened his mouth, but immediately closed it, unable to come up with an answer. It sounded bad. Wrong. It wasn't like this. He didn't ask for it on purpose, he just...
If it were Wooyoung, he would be in a panic. He would be horrified. He didn't even want to think about it.
Seonghwa guiltily lowered his gaze.
“Fine. I understand what you mean. Let's talk.”
Wooyoung smiled and elbowed him to the side.
“That's better.”
~☬~☬~☬~
Seonghwa looked into the distance at the endless expanse of water, enjoying the rays of the setting sun on his skin and felt the earth gently swaying under his feet. Three days had passed since they went ashore, but this feeling still did not go away. He still did not consider himself a sailor, but the time he spent at sea had increased so much over the past two years it has increased so much that he literally forgot how to walk on a hard surface. This could negatively affect his effectiveness in battle, but he did not allow himself to lose heart. The composition of his squad changed regularly, so his people did not have such problems. They'll have his back if needed.
He glanced at Wooyoung sideways. The merman looked pleased with himself and happy. He, of course, had no such problems. In the last couple of months, he spent all his extra time in the water, preferring not to stay on the ship, but to swim next to it. Seonghwa sometimes wanted to join him, but he could not allow himself such freedom. He needed to behave impeccably at least in this regard, since the rest of his reputation was ruined.
His open and sometimes slightly aggressive stance towards the unfair treatment of non-humans was noticed faster than he expected. The queen agreed to remove the unreliable man whose name Seonghwa no longer remembered, from the subdivision but she really didn't like the reason behind it. She treated Wooyoung favorably, but considered him more the exception than the rule. Her distaste towards people like him was sincere and she had no intention of changing this position. And her position, as it turned out later, was relatively tolerant. Seonghwa listened to a surprising amount of statements of varying degrees of vileness from all members of his family, except for his father, who seemed to have completely forgotten about his existence. He had no intention of giving up. All this only further convinced him that he had chosen the right goal.
As expected, he was not demoted or removed from his position. He just started to get more work, and all of it, by a strange coincidence, was at the maximum distance from the capital and often had an increased level of danger. Now Seonghwa returned home every few months, to appear at official events so that people would not think that he had suddenly gone missing, and to update the masking spells on his earring. He took it off so rarely that he began to forget what his face looked like. He had seen it most often in portraits of the royal family that could be found here and there throughout the country, but, in his personal opinion, he didn't turn out very well on those.
Wooyoung sometimes took off his earring when they were alone, ignoring the rules. He said that he didn't want Seonghwa to forget what he looked like. He scolded him every time, but was actually grateful. During the short time they spent at home, Wooyoung lived with the other servants and they hardly ever saw each other.
Seonghwa was afraid to ask if Wooyoung remembered what he looked like.
And yet, everything was not as bad as it might seem. It was almost embarrassing to admit it, but Seonghwa liked his new life. He spent a lot of time on the road, getting to know new people, making friends and even finding time to have fun. He even allowed himself to sing in public, although only at moments when he and Wooyoung were alone, waiting for new people and a new ship. Over time this began to happen more and more often. The fact that they were trying to keep him away from the capital was not even hidden.
This did not stop him from expressing his opinion. Quite the contrary: leaving him unattended in the wilderness, he was allowed to dive deeper into the issue that interested him and find out what his people really think about non-humans. Opinions differed, but clear and vivid hate, which was the absolute norm in the capital, was not found anywhere else. Most people didn't care; some shared his opinion, while others, judging by their cautious behavior and long glances, hid their personal non-human origins. In such cases, Seonghwa did not try to put pressure and simply walked away. The less he knows, the less harm he can do. It was much easier to lie if he didn't know for sure.
The thought that his own family at some point began to be perceived as something hostile and evil was upsetting, but not so much that he gave up and simply forgot about everything. Throughout his entire life, from a very young age, none of them had truly been there. For more than half of his life, the one who was there in difficult moments, who was always ready to help and was on his side was Wooyoung, and the one who taught him about life, pointed out mistakes and helped him become better was Kwangseok. He couldn't remember anything for which he was truly grateful to his family and it didn't even bother him anymore.
He wasn't special. His sisters weren't even close to each other, his brother was so isolated that he hardly remembered anything other than their names and the whole situation was, in general, normal for the average royal family. Duty comes first, he knew that right away. His family was his people and he worked hard for their benefit, and he intended to continue to do so.
The mission he was sent on this time was special and clearly chosen specifically for him. According to some ‘witnesses’, a remote fishing village on the edge of the world was subject to regular attacks by a pirate crew consisting entirely of non-humans. The same witnesses reported that the pirates had some accomplices in the village. Seonghwa's task was to track down and capture the violators, as well as anyone who might be associated with them (all non-humans, as he was nicely explained in a small note under the order), and then bring them to the capital for a public trial and subsequent execution.
This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, but it was the first time an entire village was under suspicion. Seonghwa never directly argued with orders, much less tried to justify the pirates, no matter what the reasons for their piracy were. But he always tried to investigate before acting. Since no one in the capital tried to get to the bottom of the truth, he did it on his own.
Three days had passed since they anchored near their destination, and Seonghwa was beginning to strongly doubt that the tip was real. The village was tiny – only twenty whole houses, and only half of them were inhabited – but not in poverty. Quite the opposite. For its location, size and population (Seonghwa saw no youth at all), the village was far too prosperous and, although it was suspicious in some ways, it was hardly a reason for arrest.
At first he thought that maybe they were going to be ambushed and it was all an elaborate plan to get rid of him once and for all, but that was just stupid. This time he was given the best of the best, a squad of twenty fighters, one of whom was Kwangseok himself. He was not sent to every mission, and he certainly was not someone to make a sacrificial lamb from. So it was something else. He was beginning to guess what exactly it was, and he damn sure didn't like it.
Still, it was too early to draw conclusions. First he needed to see for himself. And to do this, he had to lie to his squad again.
It didn't bring him much pleasure, but he did it for their own good. By his actions, Seonghwa actively went against the direct orders of the queen, and if he just continues to be sent further and longer for such behavior, his people could well be executed instead of the pirates. He couldn't allow this to happen.
It was not difficult to deceive them. Almost everyone guessed about his shaky position and its reasons, but this did not make his authority lower among the fighters. They didn't care much about internal politics. They knew Seonghwa to be a good strategist and an even better fighter, so they obeyed him unquestioningly. It was enough to tell them to wait for further instructions at the appointed place and under no circumstances leave it until noon the next day, but take Wooyoung himself and go on reconnaissance.
Seonghwa did not change his uniform, remarkable in its unremarkableness, which identified him as a mercenary. He had already been seen in it when he first entered the village to directly find out if the locals had problems and offer his help. Instead, Wooyoung was the one who changed. Light pants, a lace-up shirt untied so far that almost his entire chest was visible and no shoes – he looked absolutely obscene, especially considering the cost of this set (which originally belonged to Seonghwa himself), but he played his role. Wooyoung walked into the sea every now and then, allowing it to wash his bare feet and the returning of his tail was restrained only by his pants. This made his upper half look as non-human as possible, and the open shirt allowed to see it very clearly. The wind fluttered its edges, showing off his chest covered with a scattering of black scales, tightly closed gills were visible on his neck, his eyes were larger and darker than usual. Even his teeth looked a little sharper when he smiled or spoke.
To someone who was not used to it, he probably looked scary. To Seonghwa, he looked captivatingly, dangerously handsome. Although he would prefer to see his real face.
“I know that you like what you see, but maybe stop ogling and let's go already?” Wooyoung asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. “We wanted to finish everything today, in case you forgot.”
“You wish,” Seonghwa rolled his eyes and elbowed him in the side, “I was just checking if you looked obvious enough.”
“Of course,” Wooyoung agreed easily, smiling widely and showing him rows of sharp teeth, “Do I?”
“You are,” Seonghwa put his arm around his waist and pulled him closer. “Let's move. Don't leave my side.”
His plan was simple and straightforward. The villagers were connected with the pirates they needed to catch (if these pirates even existed). This means that in order to gain their trust and get more information, it was necessary to prove that they belonged. Surely at least one person in the entire village will be interested in such an undisguised display of scales.
He didn't like to risk his friend, even in a situation where the risk for him specifically was minimal, but Wooyoung proposed his candidacy, and Seonghwa always found it difficult to refuse him. It would be more reliable to let Wooyoung go alone, and it was his original plan, but Seonghwa decisively rejected it. What if the villagers were simply intimidated by the pirates and would attack a lone merman? He wanted to be able to protect him if necessary.
Wooyoung himself obviously had a different opinion on this matter.
He hugged Seonghwa back, gave him a loud peck on the cheek and slipped out of his arms, suddenly running forward.
Seonghwa rushed after him, swearing under his breath and barely restraining himself from shouting to the entire village. Life away from the city walls and palace etiquette was good for Wooyoung, but at the same time it made him completely unbearable at moments like this. All the respect for his orders that he once had disappeared without a trace.
People were often under the impression that mermaids were slow on land. Maybe this was true for ordinary mermaids who spend all their time in the sea and never go to land, but Wooyoung spent a good portion of his life on his feet and his entire life on the move. He was fast, tough, and sneaky in both of his forms. When he was serious, it was impossible to catch up with him, and now, for some reason, was one of those times. Seonghwa ran as fast as he could, stumbling on unsteady legs while Wooyoung tried very hard to escape. Even his lack of shoes didn't seem to slow him down.
From the deserted shore, they quickly reached the empty streets of the village, and now Wooyoung was winding along washed-out roads, not particularly suitable for running, and still showed no attempt of slowing down, let alone stopping.
“Stop!” Seonghwa shouted. He didn't really hope it would work, but he just couldn't help himself. “Stop right now!”
Surprisingly, it had some effect. Wooyoung looked back and made a high and frightened sound. Seonghwa instantly realized what was going on and became even angrier. It was a risky idea! They agreed on a different one! He couldn't believe he fell for it again.
“I'll rip your tail off, I swear!” he shouted, increasing his speed.
Wooyoung squealed once again and stumbled out of the blue, loudly falling to the ground. He jumped up immediately, but Seonghwa managed to close the distance. He was sure that now he would be able to grab him, but he didn't have time. Wooyoung slammed into a man with a thud that Seonghwa didn't have time to see. He himself was roughly grabbed by the scruff of the neck and jerked towards the fence they were running past.
He looked down. A woman of unknown age stood in front of him. Short, swarthy, with deep dark eyes without whites. Despite her small size, she held him really tightly. Behind her, a thin tail darted from side to side.
“You won't lay a finger on him in my homeland, human,” she hissed through clenched teeth. Seonghwa gave Wooyoung a look. The desire to lay a whole fist on him right now was stronger than ever.
Wooyoung smiled brazenly from behind her. The broad man had his arm around his shoulders, clearly trying to protect him from Seonghwa. The situation was new and the merman obviously enjoyed it. Seonghwa couldn't blame him – usually, when they saw him like this, they tried to attack or catch him – but he couldn't be sincerely happy for him.
“I wasn't going to touch him,” he replied, turning his gaze back to the woman. “I assure you, this is a misunderstanding.”
“So I believed you,” she squinted, “it was you who walked here, asking if we have problems with non-humans, wasn't it? Your gang of thugs is probably already waiting for you somewhere nearby. It would be better to get rid of you and be done with it.”
The woman did not have a weapon. She was physically strong and most likely had some kind of magic, but arrows and steel defeated magic in most cases. They were faster and more efficient. Seonghwa could have gotten out of her grip long ago and even knocked out both her and the man, but he certainly wouldn't have won anyone's trust that way.
The woman raised her hand. Seonghwa saw her nails lengthen, turning into dangerous-looking claws, long and dark. Only this made Wooyoung finally remember why they were here.
“No, wait!”
He rushed forward, instantly being close and wedging himself between him and the dangerous claws. Seonghwa slapped him on the back of the head and tried to push him behind his back.
“Use your words, idiot!” he hissed. “What if those are poisonous and she'll scratch you?”
“What if she'd scratch you ?” Wooyoung was indignant in response, pushing his hand to the side.
“Oh so now you care?! If you weren't playing around there wouldn't be any problems to begin with!”
There was a loud click and they both flinched, turning towards the sound. The woman stood right in front of them, with long black claws extended to their full length, translucent leathery wings behind her back and a thin tail whipping to the sides with a fluffy tassel at the end. There was very little humanity left in her features. A sea devil, the second in his life and much more devilish in appearance. Seonghwa was pretty sure there were horns hidden somewhere in her thick black hair. The human-looking man came a little closer, but still stayed behind her. Out of the corner of his eye, Seonghwa saw movement in the descending shadows around him. It seemed like the other villagers were watching them.
“What's going on here?” the woman asked in a low, growling voice. “Are you trying to fool us? Do you hope to leave alive after this?”
Seonghwa dropped his attempts to push Wooyoung back and gave him another accusing glance. They should have done as he suggested!
The merman took a step forward, once again today ignoring the danger of the current situation.
“We weren't trying to deceive you. I decided that this was the fastest way to find out if there are non-humans among you. My friend didn't know that I had decided that way. He was worried that I would get into trouble, so he ran after me. Sorry.”
The woman bared her teeth. Her eyes flashed red.
“And you think that this will somehow help you? I will …”
Seonghwa took a step forward and in one sharp movement grabbed both of her hands with one of his, yanking her towards himself and pressing her against the fence. He tried to act gently but firmly, although he was still extremely uncomfortable doing something like that with a civilian person a couple of decades older than him.
“I beg your pardon, but even against just the two of us you don't stand a chance,” he said simply, then released her again and took a step back, raising his hands, palms up. “We don't wish you harm. We want to help. But to do this, we need to know exactly what's going on here.”
The man put his arm around the woman's shoulders and pressed her to him, straightening her not particularly wrinkled dress and running his fingers over her wings. A couple of gestures and glances were enough for Seonghwa to realize that the two were spouses. The man looked at him with extreme disapproval in his eyes.
“Nothing is happening. We live here. Everything was fine with us until you showed up.”
“Even if you didn't need her before, you need her now,” Seonghwa countered softly. “We didn't come here by accident.” Someone knows that non-humans live in this village, and this someone doesn't like it. We want to help, but by doing this we are breaking orders. The rest of our crew will not want to help you, and they will soon go looking for us. And even if you somehow deal with them, others will come.”
He himself wanted to help only because of a vague feeling of wrongness from this whole situation. He was out at sea constantly, catching pirates and talking with sailors, and this was the first time he had heard of a pirate crew consisting entirely of non-humans. Which was very strange, because something like this could hardly go unnoticed. And there was certainly nobody keeping this village in fear. Maybe these people themselves were these alleged pirates.
The woman frowned, looked at him again and relaxed. Her wings and claws disappeared, and the red fire in her eyes went out, although they remained the same black.
“My name is Chohee,” she said. Her voice sounded tired. ”Follow me.”
The house was well-kept in appearance and cozy inside. The most ordinary house, without any mystical attributes and gloomy atmosphere. During his travels, he saw hundreds of such.
Seonghwa didn't know what he expected, but it certainly wasn't this.
“You thought I had the dried heads of previous mercenaries here?” Chohee grinned, noticing his confused look. “sea devil is just a fancy name. We were called that because of our appearance. And maybe a little – abilities. Definitely not because of our behavior.”
“And her claws are not even poisonous,” the man said quietly, smiling just a little. It seemed he had no intention of introducing himself.
Seonghwa nodded, embarrassed by his panic a few minutes earlier. He already knew that they were people, just like him, but knowing and seeing were not the same thing.
He sat down on the indicated spot on the floor and folded his hands in his lap. Wooyoung sat down next to him, looking around with either concern or curiosity.
“Before we will tell you everything,” Seonghwa began, “I need to know for sure whether these pirates exist and whether they're dangerous or not. I want you to understand that people's safety is my top priority. But we will help you in any case.”
Seonghwa understood that the possibility that he could be deceived was not zero. All hope was in their honesty and humanity, no matter how ironic it may sound. His instinct told him that they could be trusted.
“They didn't intend to become pirates,” Chohee answered gloomily, sitting down too. So, there were pirates after all. Seonghwa nodded, gesturing for her to continue. “You were sent now to catch them, but where have you been all these years when humans overwhelmed us from all sides? This is the first time we saw ‘help’ from the outside, and it only came to take away what we love the most.”
Seonghwa pursed his lips. He could not answer anything to this. If the queen knew who inhabited these places, she could turn a blind eye to any complaints coming from them. It would be foolish to deny that this could be true. Even if he still didn't want to believe in it.
“We were attacked by everyone: pirates, bandits and God knows who else,” the woman continued, not noticing his internal worries, “they took our children, our food, our money. We already had almost nothing. When the pirates took my youngest, I thought it was the end,” her voice trembled barely noticeably, “but he managed to return, along with Yeo. He said that he decided to become a pirate, since they had already tried to execute him for it. Said that he could try to protect us this way.”
Seonghwa nodded. So, her son was one of the pirates. This entire crew probably consisted of the locals kids.
“At first they were part of a big crew. There were people gathered together from several villages, since we weren't the only ones who had problems. It didn't work right away, of course. My boy was only eight back then,” she smiled, and Seonghwa shuddered. He couldn't even imagine what life must have been like for him to voluntarily take on the protection of an entire village at that age. “At first they stayed close to home. Then they began to sail further. Became bolder, gained experience. The crew you are talking about is new. They didn't harm anyone. Anyone who didn't deserve it for sure. And they certainly never touched the defenseless people.”
Maybe. She definitely believed it, since she was the mother of one of these pirates. This was the part he was going to check. In any case, these people did not deserve all of this falling on their heads.
“We will try to help you,” he promised, “but most likely you will have to leave this place for good.”
Chohee shrugged.
“It's not the first time we've had to move. We'll survive.”
“You must not forget that now someone knows about you and you will be followed,” Seonghwa warned, “you will have to run far away. I don't know where exactly, but I'm afraid that there are no places left in the whole country where it would be safe for you to stay.”
“Now that sounds very much like a threat.”
Seonghwa jumped to his feet, pointing his sword towards the voice and almost dropped it at the same moment. A familiar devil stood at the door. He has grown, seemed to become broader in shoulders, but still looked just as arrogant and smug as ever.
“You again,” he exhaled irritably, lowering his weapon.
“And you didn't notice me again,” he stuck his tongue out at him and calmly walked past, sitting down next to Chohee. “Although this time I'm more surprised. What are you doing at my parents' house, and how did you find them?”
Seonghwa wanted to hit his head on the floor. Of course it was his parents. But he wasn't the only sea devil in the world! Seonghwa couldn't immediately jump to a conclusion!
Yes, he definitely knew this pirate, and he knew him better than he would like. And he really couldn't remember ever having done any significant harm to anything other than his pride.
Seonghwa closed his eyes and took a deep breath, calming his nerves. All personal experiences had to be discarded. All these people were his people and he was going to protect them. Even if he had personal problems with this particular person.
“I have information for you,” he said, “and you wouldn't like it.”
By the time he finished speaking, expressions of varying degrees of gloom were frozen on the faces of his listeners. The pirate looked terribly angry while his parents looked endlessly sad and tired.
“My personal priorities are people,” Seonghwa answered dryly. “And I'm doing what I can to help the people of my country.”
“That's why you brought your people to my house?!” he was almost shouting, not jumping on him only thanks to Chohee's hand lying on his shoulder. “I saw your damn ship! Were you going to take our families? That's what you're here for?!”
“I'm here to warn you!” Seonghwa barked back. “So that you and your crew can take your families and run the fuck away! I couldn't not come! If I do not carry out an order, someone else will, and it's unlikely that there will be one more idiot in our subdivision who will want to help you!”
Wooyoung tightly squeezed his knee. Seonghwa sighed and covered his hand with his own, squeezing in return. This was a little reassuring. Wooyoung looked at the devil with an intense, unblinking gaze. Seonghwa was glad that he had time to dry out and now looked like a completely ordinary, only slightly underdressed human.
“And why would you do this?” the pirate asked more calmly. “Why should I believe that you want to help us? How will I know it's not a trap?”
“Believe it or not – it's up to you. You don't have much choice,” Seonghwa shrugged. “You can try to attack my squad, but then they will never leave you alone, rest assured. There's no benefit to me from this, if that's what you're asking. I have already said: I am helping the people of my country. You are the people of my country and now I am helping you. It's that simple.”
“You will be executed instead of us.”
Seonghwa turned his gaze to Chohee. She looked genuinely concerned, even though she had threatened to kill him not so long ago.
“They won't,” he assured. “Especially if your son and his friends will help me a little.”
“With what?” the pirate clarified warily.
“I'm going to say that I was caught off guard and tortured for information,” Seonghwa smiled wryly and gave Wooyoung an apologetic look. The merman looked outraged. “I won't be able to leave marks on myself by myself. You won't be forgiven soon, but you will be eventually. Although if I were you, I would still take the families out of the country. You have time until noon. After that our squad will go looking for us. Will you be able to get far enough?”
“We will,” the pirate answered and whistled loudly. The door opened and a guy looked in. Most likely another pirate. “Yuyu, you heard him. People come first, everything else comes second. No bulky trinkets.”
“Aye aye, Captain,” the guy answered and disappeared, closing the door behind him.
“Captain” Seonghwa raised his eyebrows. “Since when?”
“About a year,” the pirate smiled smugly.
“Congratulations,” Seonghwa nodded. “So, what about help?”
Wooyoung, who had been silent the whole time, chimed in.
“Do I understand it right? Are you asking him to torture you? We talked about this!”
Seonghwa rolled his eyes.
“I'm not asking him to torture me. I'm asking him to leave fairly reliable marks. It's not the same as... as it was last time.”
He glanced at the pirate. Somehow many moments in life he was not proud of took place in his presence and with his involvement. He probably didn't remember it, but Seonghwa did, and that was enough to make him feel embarrassed.
“Last time? Is this about that time you asked me to kill you?” the pirate smiled widely. Seonghwa felt his heart skipping a beat. So he did remember.
“No, that's about another time,” he answered, feeling like a rowdy child. “I have a busy life...”
“...full of stupid things that you promised not to repeat,” Wooyoung finished for him. What a traitor. “I won't let you do that. Let him torture me if necessary, and just knock you out.”
Seonghwa flicked him on the nose.
“You will be accused of treason and killed, dumbass. I will be punished, but hardly much. This is non-negotiable”
Wooyoung rubbed his nose and wrinkled his face.
“You don't know that. They may as well not.”
Seonghwa sighed and rose to his feet, lifting Wooyoung with him.
“This is non-negotiable, Jung,” he repeated. “If you don't want to watch, you can leave.”
“Or we can put him to sleep,” suggested the pirate, who had been curiously watching their squabble all this time. “And you too, by the way. I can leave these marks, for sure, but if you will be asleep, at least it won't hurt. Well, now. It probably will later.
“Yes, please,” Seonghwa seized the opportunity. “I would be very grateful.”
The pirate nodded and rose to his feet, gesturing to wait for him here. Seonghwa only now noticed that his parents were no longer in the room. Either his father moved as silently as the devilish side of his family, or Seonghwa was that distracted.
“This is a stupid idea, Park,” Wooyoung hissed in a low voice, “completely idiotic. Even letting them knock us out is dangerous! Why do you need these ‘traces of torture’ for?”
“Because there is not a single reason for the entire village to leave the place after meeting a couple of mercenaries on the street. Even if they saw their ship. It would be logical if only pirates escaped. But taking the entire village with them? I may be charged with treason and this will be at least a prison sentence, even for me. If I say that I gave information under torture, then this will mitigate the guilt, you know.”
“It's just a theory! They ran – so what? Why would anyone blame you? You can't seriously…”
“This isn't real torture,” Seonghwa cut him off, wearily rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I won't even feel anything, calm down. It will be fine. I swear.”
Wooyoung huffed in irritation.
“Yeah, a hundred times. You can't know that.”
The pirate returned, leading another guy, very young looking. At first glance, there was nothing special about him, but his gaze was frighteningly intense, as if he saw right through them.
“It won't take much time,” the captain promised, “we'll leave you both here, tied up. Your weapon will be in the next room if you wake up before someone will find you,” he turned to his companion and nodded towards Wooyoung. “Do this one first.”
“No, wait! I didn't agree to this!” Wooyoung staggered away. “You can't!”
An unfamiliar pirate put his hand on his shoulder and Wooyoung flinched. Seonghwa twitched in their direction with concern, but the captain did not allow it, returning his attention to himself.
“Jongho won't hurt him. Just put him to sleep,” he reassured. Seonghwa believed him almost completely. He still wanted to see it with his own eyes first though. “I need you to tell me, what exactly these ‘torture marks’ should look like.
Seonghwa blinked and looked from an indignant Wooyoung to his interlocutor.
“Like a usual torture marks,” there was no understanding on the captain's face. “You're a pirate! Have you never tortured anyone?”
Not that only pirates did this. Seonghwa saw what was done to some prisoners in the capital, was present at some particularly sophisticated punishments, alternative to executions, after which the criminals begged for death, but much more often he encountered the opposite situation. He thought that torture came natural for pirates. He even thought that sometimes they were doing it just for fun.
“What for?!” the captain looked baffled. “We're trying to survive and provide for our families! Who do you think we would torture?”
Seonghwa felt confused
“I don't know. Someone? There can be plenty of reasons.”
“Well, sorry, I never got to it somehow,” the pirate huffed, “but you did, didn't you?”
Seonghwa lowered his gaze. He wasn't proud of that either. He had no choice, but that didn't justify him at all. Since he became a full-fledged commander, he had avoided such methods of obtaining information.
“Yeah,” the pirate chuckled, “‘you're a pirate’, he said. Come on, tell me what to do, since you are professional.”
He saw the victims of other pirates, but for some reason, he felt ashamed. Again. Every time they saw each other, it ended like this for him, and this one was no exception.
“You won't need any professional skills,” he said, suddenly feeling so very tired. Maybe this pirate was retribution for his mistakes, sent to him by fate. “Just do what will cause as much pain as possible. The cuts, preferably shallow, so that the pain is strong, but not to the point of loss of consciousness, and there not much of a blood loss. Maybe a couple of bruises if you don't want to risk it.”
He could have suggested something more painful and sophisticated, but he was afraid that the pirate would actually want to try. Seonghwa wasn't ready for it.
And Wooyoung will kill him if he finds out.
The captain nodded. He looked nervous. There was nothing surprising in this – his family was in serious danger.
Wooyoung's objections died down and he let out a soft groan. Seonghwa sharply turned around. The guy held Wooyoung in his arms in a princess carry. He rushed to him, taking his friend from the other's hands and carefully laying him on the floor. He really was asleep. His breathing was deep and even.
“You didn't say he's a merman. It was kinda hard.”
Seonghwa twitched, covering Wooyoung with himself and warily stared at the pirates. The captain gave him an unimpressed look.
“Well that explains how you survived back then. What? We're all non-humans here, remember? If he wants to work with you that's his problem. Sit down. It's your turn.”
Seonghwa took one last look at Wooyoung and left him lying on the floor, sitting nearby.
“Close your eyes and listen. Don't resist if you want to fall asleep,” the young pirate said sternly, sitting down opposite him and, completely unexpectedly for Seonghwa, began to sing.
His voice was loud, but it sounded like it was inside his head. Seonghwa definitely didn't hear him sing for Wooyoung, so it probably was. It was high, clean and very beautiful. He wanted to listen to it forever. He wanted to obey. He wanted to join. Seonghwa involuntarily reached out to meet it, starting to hum an unfamiliar melody in response. He managed to let out a couple of notes before his body tilted and fell heavily to the side. The melody immediately died down and he was enveloped in a sadness that was disproportionately deep, as if he had just lost something very important. He felt tears welling up in his eyes but could not move to wipe them away.
“Did it work?” he heard the captain's hesitant voice.
“I think so,” said the second voice just as hesitantly. Someone's hand touched his forehead. “Although his reaction was unusual. I've never had anything like this before.”
Seonghwa definitely felt these touches. He didn't sleep. He couldn't move, but he definitely wasn't sleeping. His heart sped up. Did they do this on purpose? Was this torture question just a joke?
“Thank you, Jongho,” the captain said, and another hand touched his cheek, wiping away his tears. “Do you think we can come up with something different? I don't want to torture him.”
Seonghwa didn't even think about this possibility. Why didn't he just tell him?
“Huh? Why would you torture him?”
“He asked me to.”
The pirate snorted loudly.
“He has some very weird preferences, does he not?”
Seonghwa really wanted to scream at him. He didn't have preferences. He simply knew how to think logically!
“Maybe he does,” the captain agreed, continuing to keep his hand on his face. If he could, he would have bitten his fingers off. “But he said it was for authenticity. So that his people would believe that he did not help us consciously, but gave out information under torture, or something like that.”
“Such a great idea,” replied the pirate. Was it sarcasm? Seonghwa was pretty sure it was sarcasm. “I'm telling you, he's just into it. Leave him be, well just tie him up tighter to leave some marks. This will be quite unpleasant. Tie the merman more loosely though, he's not into this.”
Why the hell did everyone just ignore his words?! First Wooyoung, now these two. It was as if everyone thought he was dumb!
“Do you think he will be fine?” someone's fingers straightened his hair and stroked his cheekbone. Seonghwa was starting to feel the tips of his ears burning. When will he put his hands away?
“Why would he not? At the very least, there will be traces of my magic on them. I don't need torture to get information, you know. I can just charm people and that will be it. Or we are such professionals that we don't leave any marks. He'll come up with something, I'm sure, don't worry. And stop fondling him, or I will think that you feel something for him.”
The hand disappeared from his face. The captain laughed loudly.
“Who knows. He's quite cute. In other circumstances, I definitely could…”
Now it seemed like his whole face was burning. Seonghwa was surprised that they didn't notice. Surely it was just a joke. He couldn't be serious. He wasn't like that, surely.
“Captain,” there was metal in the pirate's voice, “control yourself, or I'll have to do it for you.”
Seonghwa heard laughter again, this time farther away from him, and then felt himself being roughly flipped onto his stomach, hands behind his back.
“Take care of the merman. Then we have to go around and collect some stuff. Oh and aunty Kwang asked to find her cat. Mingi and Yunho promised to help with the transportation of additional cargo, so there will be no problems with that.”
“What should we transport it in though? Fasten a couple of boats together?”
“There's not much time, but we could…”
The pirates began to discuss what and how they would place on their ship, and Seonghwa allowed himself to stop listening and try to actually fall asleep.
He was almost sure that the barely audible soft ‘thank you’ said in the captain's voice was just his imagination.
~☬~☬~☬~
Seonghwa lay on his bed in the castle, indifferently staring at the ceiling and mentally counting down the time. The walls of his own room did not seem even familiar. He wasn't sure if he should ever call this place home. His home was the sea, and only now he began to understand it. Maybe (almost certainly) he was never as smart as he thought he was.
When the pirates refused to follow his plan, he expected something like this. Maybe this would have happened anyway – he didn't know. But he certainly didn't expect to be greeted with such readiness and enthusiasm. The pirates escaped, commander Park was detained and placed in custody until the circumstances were clarified, and Prince Seonghwa was placed under house arrest in the castle for ‘excessively lecherous behavior’. Honestly, he would prefer to be publicly convicted of treason over a legend like this.
He hadn't seen Wooyoung for three months and hadn't left his room unattended for the same amount of time. All his weapons were confiscated, along with armor and earring, all the clothes he was allowed to wear were pretentious and impractical. He liked the look of corsets and elegant silk shirts, but wearing them all the time was torture.
Of course, he ran away several times, right from the third floor window. Each time he was invariably caught and brought back. Seonghwa didn't even have time to get to the sea. It called him so strongly that sometimes, on dark sleepless nights, he could literally hear its call – a subtle song hidden in the distant rustling of the waves. Seonghwa started to sing back to it, which helped a little. Perhaps he was simply going crazy from loneliness. He couldn't be sure.
Of course, he was not left completely alone. There was always a member of the royal guard at his door (Seonghwa was sure he could deal with those without too much trouble if that would make any sense) and outside his window was one of his former subordinates (and with them there would be problems). And, of course, he was visited by servants.
And here began the only part of his life in the palace that could be called fun.
Because of the ridiculous rumors about his so-called ‘lecherous behavior’, many new palace workers wanted to get to know him better. Maybe become part of the very licentiousness of which he was accused. Seonghwa was politely smiling, inviting them to sit down, and easily extracted useful information from them. The news was good and bad, but undoubtedly useful all the same.
For example, he learned that in a couple of months rumors about prince Seonghwa's lewd behavior reached the far corners of the country, but did not cause much resonance, which was even somewhat insulting. ‘We always knew’, ‘he is a man, after all’, ‘not surprising, do you know who his mother was?’. The latter hurt him especially strongly, because he actually didn't. All Seonghwa knew about his mother was that she died in childbirth, that he was nothing like her, and that he was not worth her life. He didn't even have a name, and people spoke as if they knew her personally. Very rude of them.
Commander Park (according to official information – a high-ranking naval officer) was found innocent and released a month after his arrest, which means his earring was given to someone else. Given, or entrusted it for a while. He wasn't sure about this. There was no particular point in supporting Park's legend; he only existed for three years. But they tried, which meant Seonghwa was going to be released soon. Probably. He hoped so.
The main and most valuable of the latest rumors he collected was that commander Park's detachment was returning to the capital, and this meant that Wooyoung was returning with it. He knew for sure that Wooyoung was alive. Several times he sent him completely crazy encrypted notes with meaningless text that made no sense to encrypt, which only Wooyoung could write. He never stayed in the capital for more than a couple of hours, so he didn't have time to send anything except those notes, but this time everything was supposed to be different. Seonghwa was sure of it.
The ship arrived at the port in the morning. It was already late evening. A day should have been enough to choose a route and think through a plan, and Seonghwa could only trust that his friend would come.
He had been waiting for the visit all day, patiently and quietly. The secret and quiet visit. That's why he almost fell out of bed when the door suddenly swung open, and a whirlwind in human form almost flew in, immediately jumping on his neck and forcefully pressing him into the mattress.
Seonghwa didn't need to look to recognize Wooyoung. He hugged him back, barely holding back the tears that suddenly wielded in his eyes and noisily inhaled his scent, the smell of the sea and metal. His absence had been felt all this time, incredibly acutely and painfully, and now everything seemed to fall into place. Seonghwa touched his temple with his lips and froze there, closing his eyes. He didn't know how much more time they had and he didn't want to waste a second.
“Careful there, Your Highness. One might think that you were locked up here because of this particular unholy affair.”
Seonghwa abruptly sat up on the bed, lifting Wooyoung, who was still hanging on him, with him. There was Kwangseok standing near the entrance, without an earring and without a uniform. Seonghwa barely recognized his face and voice. He hadn't seen him without it in a couple of years. He had much more gray hair, as well as wrinkles.
He wanted to jump to his feet and throw himself into the old commander's arms, but he held back the impulse, instead squeezing his arms tighter around Wooyoung's waist. It would be too bold of him. He had no right to do this.
“H-hello,” he said, stuttering awkwardly, “how are you... I mean, are you allowed to be here?”
Kwangseok chuckled.
“What do you think?” he came closer and ruffled his hair, smiling widely. “Starting tomorrow you return to your position. So, you are completely open to visitors! Actually, it's been a week already. Didn't anyone tell you?”
Seonghwa frowned. No one ever did. That was weird.
“I knew that they would hide everything from him, until the last moment,” Wooyoung muttered, unhooking himself from his neck and sitting more comfortably on his lap. “He probably subsisted on gossip alone.”
Seonghwa was physically incapable of having negative emotions towards Wooyoung after being away from him for so long, but at this moment he was very close.’
Kwangseok looked worried, and the worry was hardly caused by Wooyoung's behavior, since he was used to it.
“Has anyone spoken to you at all since you were taken into custody? About the reasons for the arrest, about the investigation – about anything at all?”
Seonghwa shrugged, trying to look indifferent.
“Only in the very beginning, when I was escorted here. And then everything was as he said, yes. Gossips. I heard that commander Park was acquitted, but that's all. You are the first, besides the servants, whom I have seen in these three months.”
Wooyoung made an angry, high-pitched noise and squeezed his neck with force, pushing his face into his chest. Seonghwa snorted and ruffled his high ponytail, making him loosen his grip.
“The Queen probably considers me lost to society, nothing new,” he said, still acting indifferently. “They'll let me go back to work – that's great, I'm thankful. Everything else is not that important.”
“It's actually very important,” Kwangseok sighed. He closed the door to his room, then returned to his bed and sat down next to him, just as unceremoniously as Wooyoung had done. “I was hoping that at least your father would visit you.”
“What are you talking about, Kwang?” he asked quietly, tilting his head to the side. “What does he have to do with anything? I haven't seen him for years.”
He didn't really want to. Not now. The time when he was waiting for him has passed.
Kwangseok sighed again.
“I'm not the one who should have talked to you about this,” he muttered before continuing, speaking quietly but clearly, “I'll start from the beginning, if I may?”
Seonghwa nodded warily.
“The entire board of the court mages examined Wooyoung, and admitted that he had traces of the sirens' magic on him. As soon as this was known, the real investigation began. Everyone involved had questions about the decision to imprison you. Everyone wanted to know why they couldn't just examine you too, but the queen forbade even asking questions on this topic.”
Seonghwa nodded again. It was strange, yes, but he still didn't quite understand where this whole conversation was heading.
“It took a while to track down that pirate crew, and to ensure that there was indeed a siren on board their ship. They managed to escape, but the testimony of witnesses was enough. Only after this, the accusations against ‘commander Park’ were dropped. As you can see, Wooyoung didn't have any to begin with.”
“Yes, because the court mages were allowed to examine him. So?”
Kwangseok looked around and lowered his voice even lower, leaning closer to his face.
“I shouldn't know about this, and I certainly shouldn't talk about this. And I never did. Seonghwa. Why do you think no one weren't allowed to examine you after they found a siren's magic?”
Seonghwa stared at him in silent bewilderment. He didn't have the slightest idea. Were they trying to find a reason to keep him locked up longer? What was he supposed to think about this?
“I don't know,” he answered honestly.
Kwangseok raised his eyes to the sky for a moment, as if asking the gods for patience, and then sighed again, especially heavy and despairing.
“The Queen was scared. She thought that it was you who bewitched Wooyoung. Your mother was a siren, Seonghwa.”
The meaning of what was said did not reach him immediately. He was still blinking slowly, trying to digest the information he had received, when Wooyoung jumped on his lap, turning to face Kwangseok.
“What?!” it was the quietest cry he had heard from Wooyoung. “So that's was why they?.. What?! ”
“I thought at least you had guessed that on your own,” there was clear judgment in the old teacher's voice. Seonghwa still haven't fully processed what he just heard. “It was forbidden to talk about your mother immediately after her death, Seonghwa. Especially with you. They tried to raise you to be an exemplary human, loyal to your family and crown. This was a peculiar punishment for your father. For the same offenses for which you have been punished in recent years. He hated it, of course, but I hoped that he had wised up at least a little since the last time we saw each other and pulled his head out from where he had hidden it all these years. Apparently I was wrong.”
Seonghwa looked at his teacher in confusion, not knowing what to say. It was too much. All of this.
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked in a barely audible whisper. “Why now?”
Why now, when he had so many opportunities to do this before? Why did his father continue to ignore him if he shared his beliefs? Did he really hate him that much for his mother's death? His mother, who was a siren, about whom he knew absolutely nothing except this very important fact. His head was spinning. His hands were still tightly, probably painfully, squeezing Wooyoung's waist, but he didn't complain, silently squeezing him back. It was a good thing that Wooyoung didn't know about it too. If he were to hide something so serious from him, Seonghwa would probably completely lose his mind.
“Because you should know,” Kwang replied, “because I was a coward before, but now, when your life is at stake, I cannot remain silent. Tomorrow you will be allowed to go on missions again, but this time it will be different. You'll need to run, Seonghwa. At the first opportunity, take Wooyoung and sail away from the country, as far as you can.”
Too much. Seonghwa couldn't understand where all this had come from and refused to understand why Wooyoung had to suffer from it too.
“I'm serious, Seonghwa,” Kwang continued. “In recent months, reports of non-human pirates have begun to appear almost every day. They attack exclusively ships flying the flags of the crown, demonstrate their magic openly, but do not kill – at all – so they even have too many witnesses. We are losing ground and respect, the king is losing patience, the queen is furious. She is sure that it is all your fault and that the main problem is your origin. That you somehow influenced those pirates, and all this is a chain reaction. She'll try to take you out, Seonghwa, it's only a matter of time. You need to run. Both of you.”
“Wooyoung needs to run,” he corrected, “not me. I'm not going to run anywhere.”
“I told you, this is…”
“Dangerous, yes. I know. But I have nowhere to run, Kwang,” Seonghwa lowered his chin onto his friend's shoulder and closed his eyes. How simple everything was just a couple of minutes ago. He never wanted to go back to the past. “My whole life is here. Who I am doesn't change anything. I decided to help my people, and I will do it as long as I can.”
Suddenly, a sharp pain pierced the tip of his ear. Seonghwa groaned and jerked to the side, looking in surprise at the frowning Wooyoung. Did he just bite him?
“So you have nowhere to run, but I do?” the merman looked as if he was going to kill him himself. “My whole family is dead, in case you forgot. Where do you think I should run to?”
“You can try to find a new family?” Seonghwa suggested hesitantly. “You're one of the deep-sea mermaids, you could try to find your kin. Don't you want this?”
“Have I ever told you that I do? I haven't been to the depths since I was seven!” Wooyoung punched him in the shoulder. “Raw fish makes me sick! I don't remember anything about how to survive there! Where will I return, tell me? You're all I have, you ass, I can't just leave!”
Seonghwa turned his gaze to Kwangseok. He just smiled and shrugged. He probably knew all this anyway, and brought Wooyoung just so that he could persuade him. Seonghwa felt selfish, but even for the sake of his best friend, he couldn't agree to this.
“You heard Kwang,” he tried again, “If I stay, they'll eventually get rid of me.”
Wooyoung looked at him silently for several seconds, as if he had just grown a second head.
“And this is somehow supposed to motivate me?” he finally asked. “You decided to help the people – well done, great, go ahead. And I will help you. Until the end. I love you. You can't get rid of me that easily.”
Seonghwa didn't know what to say to that. His world was falling apart, but his two closest people were still there and refused to leave him. What a pity he couldn't accept their help. He could only drag them along with him. He was grateful that Wooyoung wanted to stay, and he hated himself for being so weak.
“I love you too,” he whispered, holding him close again and resting his head on his shoulder. He couldn't find the strength to say ‘thank you’.
Kwangseok sighed for the umpteenth time today and placed a wide palm on his head.
“I can't force you. If I could, I would personally send both of you across the border in a box. I will do everything I can to prevent you from being killed. You can count on my help in battle, Your Highness.”
The prospects were bleak, his whole life a lie, but, despite everything, Seonghwa felt happy. He was not alone and he felt it like never before.