[exo] i've got you under my spell
Title: i've got you under my spell
Rating: pg-13
Pairings Suho/Chen + ninja!sekai
Length: ~8.3k words
Summary: Junmyeon couldn't help but think that fairytales were a tad bit misleading. You know, just a bit.
Notes: originally written for marcel moon_things for criticalcapture (thanks to j and d for reading this over!)
If there was one thing Junmyeon loved more than anything else, it was reading. There was something about reading that gave him a sharp thrill, a spark of happiness that would run down his spine whenever he read a line. Maybe it was the idea that he could pretend - just for a moment - that he was someone he wasn't, or he could do something he had always wanted. When he was reading, he wasn't Kim Junmyeon, the youngest son of the blacksmith anymore; he was a knight, bravely facing a dragon for his muse, or a shoemaker who made gorgeous shoes, or the boy who pushed the evil witch into the oven. He was love, he was courage, and he was adventure.
It didn't matter what kind of book it was, he'd absorb all the words hungrily as soon as he opened the cover.
It didn't matter what kind of book he read, but fairytales had always been his favorite.
-
Every day, after he had finished up all his chores, Junmyeon would retrieve his book of the week from underneath his bed and slip off to the woods behind his house for some peace and quiet.
Today, he bounded into the forest with a new book clutched firmly in his hands. It was a volume of fairytales that he had procured from a stall in the marketplace. He had bought it when he was supposed to be running errands for his father and had hid the book between the waistband of his pants when he returned home.
Junmyeon walked until he reached his destination: a patch of land no bigger than his neighbor's farm that was completely open to the sky. Tall trees surrounded this clearing, rising up from all corners with their tips pointing to the sun like heavy walls protecting their court from any harm. This was, in a way, Junmyeon's own little castle.
He had been coming here to read for as long as he could remember. Reading at home did not seem to work very well, what with his mother humming underneath her breath while she cooked and his older brother treading in and out of the house - he had found that it was too out-of-place for his adventures; he wanted to read somewhere quiet.
Venturing into the forest alone seemed like an adventure itself, and so Junmyeon had begun to sneak off into the forest with his books to live off the lives of others for small periods of time each day.
The sky had darkened considerably by the time Junmyeon looked up from his book. The sun had slowly descended underground, smearing streaks of inky greys and purples across the sky as he stood. How many hours had he spent reading? He closed his book disappointedly (the princess was about to kiss the frog!) and stood just as the first rain droplets fell, falling onto the pages with muted grace and stirring up the scent of wet earth.
By the time Junmyeon had left the clearing, it was pouring.
Junmyeon should have been familiar with his forest, he really should have, but it was dark and it was raining and he was a little too desperate to get home to think rationally. With a few quick turns this way and that, nothing looked familiar anymore; nothing sparked a memory in his mind that would show him the way home.
As much as Junmyeon hated to admit, he was lost.
-
He didn't know how long he had walked before he saw it, but when he spotted a cottage in a distance he almost wept (except he didn't, because the heroes in his books never cried over anything, unless they were chopping onions).
There was smoke puffing happily out the chimney of the cottage and with a relieved smile, Junmyeon knocked on the wooden door. "Hello?"
No one answered.
He tried again, knocking a bit louder this time around. "Hello?" he called, jumping back when the door swung open on its own.
There was no one on the other side of the door however, and as Junmyeon circled the room, eyeing the thin layer of dust that covered every surface, it was clear that no one lived here.
Prodded by his curiosity, he climbed the stairs to the second floor. Much like the first floor, the rooms in the second were all empty except for one. Junmyeon all but gasps when he entered the last room to find a boy lying on a four poster bed, asleep. A gold circlet was nestled on top of a crown soft hair and with a jolt, Junmyeon realized who exactly he had found in the cottage.
A real life prince.
A prince just like the fairytales he had read, Junmyeon thought, quivering with excitement. Only true love's first kiss will break the spell, he recalled, and even though the boy in front of him wasn't exactly a damsel in distress, Junmyeon figured the same rules applied anyways; the prince was trapped by a spell and Junmyeon was the knight who would break it.
He would be the prince that Junmyeon saved.
He stepped forward tentatively, peering at the prince on the bed. He was awfully handsome, Junmyeon noticed, with long eyelashes that fluttered while he slept, and pink lips curling in a perpetual smile. He was skinny too, with pale skin pulled taut around sharp cheekbones. Junmyeon files a mental note to feed the poor boy once he woke him up. With a kiss.
Right.
He stepped forward again, but this time his foot failed to connect onto solid ground; instead he trips and before he could figure out what exactly he tripped on, he was pitching forward towards the sleeping prince, his face crashing into the other boy's with a resounding 'crack'.
And then everything was dark.
-
Junmyeon blinked his eyes open lazily, small stars dotting his vision. He shook his head once, twice, three times until his vision cleared and he could finally see.
"Oh!" he gasped, startled as he took in the colors; colors he had never known existed in his life were everywhere - there was a little dash of pink in the wood, a little speck of blue on the cream walls, a hint of green on his skin...wait.
He looked down at his hands again, shaking his head in disbelief when he saw that his hands had been replaced by what appeared to be webbed fingers. "What."
He patted his face frantically, trying to make sense of what exactly was going on. Instead of smooth pale skin, his hands (webbed feet?) made contact with slippery rubber like skin. In his panic, Junmyeon quickly hopped over to the mirror to get a better look. Belatedly, he realized the mirror looked a lot bigger than it originally was when he first entered the room.
There's nothing strange in the mirror, except maybe that slightly large frog over there, near where Junmyeon stood.
Or maybe where Junmyeon was standing. Cautiously, Junmyeon raised a hand. In the reflection, the frog raised his hand too.
Junmyeon shook a leg, and the frog copied.
"Hi," Junmyeon croaked and he clamps a hand over his mouth when the frog opened his mouth to speak as well.
He was a frog.
He kissed a prince and now he was a frog.
Before Junmyeon could fully begin to panic, a sneeze interrupted his inner monologue. He looked up to see another frog swaying dangerously close to the edge of the bed.
"Be careful," Junmyeon called, hopping closer to the bed with concern. "You might fall -ouf!" he grunted as the frog on the bed jumped off gracefully and landed - quite painfully - on Junmyeon, who had been trying to catch him if he fell.
The frog peered down at Junmyeon and with a jolt Junmyeon recognized the faint gold markings around the frog's head - he was the prince Junmyeon had kissed. He stared at the other frog in a daze, until he hopped off of Junmyeon and headed towards the mirror without a word.
The prince was a frog too.
‘That isn’t quite how the story went,’ Junmyeon thought faintly to himself.
"What the fuck," Junmyeon heard the frog prince say when he walked closer to him.
Junmyeon felt his eyes widen. He never knew that princes could be so foul mouthed.
"Why am I a frog? Why can't I be something cuter, like a cat!" the other frog wailed before catching Junmyeon's eye in the mirror. “Who are you?" he demanded, spinning around to face Junmyeon directly.
"Uh.. I'm.."
The frog prince narrowed his eyes at him. "You're the one who turned me into a frog, aren't you!"
Junmyeon nodded meekly, a bit flustered by the sudden attention.
Even as a frog, Junmyeon still found the prince to be ridiculously attractive. And ridiculously intimidating.
"Turn me back," were the next words that slip out of frog's mouth.
"What?"
"Turn me back," the frog prince said simply. "You turned me into a frog, so turn me back into a human."
Junmyeon was confused. "I-I don't know how."
The frog threw his hands up in frustration. "Well do something! I don't want to be a frog!" He hopped around in agitation. "If you don't, I'll go find the cure myself."
With a loud huff, the frog prince leapt towards the door. Well, he tried to anyways. Having only been a frog for a few minutes, the prince had difficulty controlling his legs and looking dignified while doing so. After a couple of failed attempts, the frog picks himself up and with a haughty sniff, began fumbling for his way out.
Something told Junmyeon that he wasn't doing a very good job in rescuing his damsel ...er frog.
"Wait up!" He hopped forward, trying to catch up with the prince, who had already reached the stairs. "I got us into this mess, so it's only fair that we help one another and find the cure together," Junmyeon panted, trying to fall in step with the other frog and failing miserably.
The prince turned around, eyeing Junmyeon as if weighing his options on whether or not to bring him along. Junmyeon smiled at the other brightly, trying to look as friendly and as accommodating as he could. The prince just shot him a wary look before finally nodding in agreement. "Here," he said, offering a webbed hand to Junmyeon, who shook it. "I'm Kim Jongdae, Prince of Elysion."
"Kim Junmyeon, uh, book enthusiast."
They were out the door by now and belatedly, Junmyeon realized that he had left his book of fairytales on a table counter.
No matter, he'd return back to the cottage and find it again one day, once he tuned back into a human again.
If he turned back at all.
-
"So where are we going exactly?"
"Back to the castle. I have a friend, Oh Sehun, he likes magic."
“Is there anything I could do to help? I’ve heard that a true love’s fir-”
“I don’t need you saving me, I got this.”
"Oh, um...ok."
-
They were about two clearings north when Junmyeon first saw the statues. "What is that?"
Jongdae, who had been hopping in front of him the whole time didn't even bother to look where Junmyeon had pointed. "What's what?"
"That." Junmyeon pointed as they approached another statue, this one much closer to the first two they had seen only minutes before. It was a small statue, a model of a rabbit, frozen mid hop, eyes wide with shock.
There was something odd about these statues, Junmyeon thought as he leapt past a stone gazelle, the fact that there were so many in the forest seemed unnatural, like someone had turned real animals into stone.
Real animals into stone....
"Jongdae, stop right where you are." Junmyeon suddenly demanded.
Jongdae turned around, face contorted with annoyance. "What is it no-ouf!" He collides with something mid leap and fell back on his rump. "Ow, who put that statue in the middle of the road!"
The statue Jongdae had bumped into was by far the largest one Junmyeon had seen. It was a horse with his hind legs kicked up as if trying to protect itself from something. The man on the horse looked equally disturbed. Suddenly, Junmyeon knew exactly why there were so many statues in the forest.
"Cockatrices." He breathed.
"I'm sorry, but what?" Jongdae asked, squinting up at the statue distractedly. "Hey, that guy kinda looks like Cousin Ryeowook."
A small rooster cry sounds nearby, followed by a set of footsteps drawing closer. Fear settled in Junmyeon's belly, feeding on tendrils of dread and panic.
"Junmyeon?" Jongdae called faintly from the side, "I think this is Cousin Ryeowook."
The footsteps sounded a lot closer now.
"Close your eyes, now." Junmyeon ordered, trying to head towards where Jongdae was staring at his cousin in horror.
"I don't understa-"
"A cockatrice, the creature who turned your cousin to stone, is coming here right now! So close your eyes!"
Jongdae obeyed.
Junmyeon managed to leap two steps closer to Jongdae before shutting his own eyes tight just as a cocktrice burst into the scene.
"I'm Baekhyun! Tell me I'm pretty!" A clear voice sounded proudly. The cockatrice began to talk loudly, boasting about his immeasurable beauty and his “must-see” talents he supposedly possessed.
"What the hell is a cockatrice?!" Jongdae asked over Baekhyun's loud chatter.
"They're creatures with the body of a snake and the head and legs of a chicken! They're said to be so frightening that one look could turn you into stone!"
"How attractive!" Jongdae yelled back.
"YES ATTRACTIVE! That is me! If only you opened your eyes and then you could see, just how pretty I can be!" squawked Baekhyun.
"Aw shut up!" the prince replied scathingly.
Junmyeon shielded his eyes with his hands, leaving cracks between webs to look at the ground as he steadily made his way towards Jongdae. When he reached him, he laced their hands tightly together and began to lead him across the grounds with Baekhyun squealing right behind them.
They walked until Baekhyun's voice grew fainter and disappeared completely, but that's when the second cockatrice appeared.
"Is it gon-" Jongdae began to ask, hands pulling back from his face and Junmyeon turned around quickly, pulling the prince into an embrace, shielding the prince’s eyes with his body.
"I’M CHANYEOL! TELL ME I'M PRETTY!" the cockatrice yelled.
“Not again,” the prince groaned from Junmyeon’s chest.
Junmyeon was in the process of formulating a new escape route when Jongdae effectively wiggled out of his grasp, clearly fed up with the creatures and this insatiable shallow needs. "Jongdae!"
The other frog gave him a reassuring pat before turning towards Chanyeol, with his eyes shut closed. "Well I don't know, a while back I saw a cockatrice and I believed he was the most beautiful creature I have ever seen," Jongdae said loudly, "If only he was here now I would like to see his gorgeous face again."
There is a squawk and a few seconds later Baekhyun appeared next to Chanyeol. "That was me! I am the most beautiful!"
"No, me! The frog hasn't seen me yet! Surely if he saw me, he would think I am the prettiest." Chanyeol chirped back.
Jongdae pretended to think. "It's so hard deciding, maybe you guys could help me out? If you both looked at one another maybe you'll find that the other one is equally beautiful."
"Nonsense!" the two Cockatrices chorused, turning to face each other angrily. "I am the most beauti-"
There was silence as both Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s words were cut short and Jongdae reached over to poke Junmyeon, looking absolutely smug when the other peered through between the cracks of his webbed fingers with worried eyes. "It's safe now, don't worry hyung."
"Hyung," Junmyeon echoed, a faint blush dusting his face. He looked up.
The cockatrices had turned into stone.
-
An hour later, they arrived at a pond. Without the slightest hesitation, Jongdae propelled himself into the water, sighing as the cool liquid touched his skin. “Finally,” he crooned happily, splashing around before he noticed Junmyeon approaching the pond with caution. “C’mon Junmyeon! Get in!”
When Junmyeon didn’t move fast enough for Jongdae’s liking, the prince jumped out of the water, trying his best to usher the other along and beaming when he finally managed to shove Junmyeon onto a lily pad.
On the next lily pad over, a choir of toads began to sing. Jongdae watched them curiously, then he joined in, harmonizing with the chorus. His voice cut through the summer breeze, ruffling the winds with its rich undertones and touching hearts with its warmth. Never had Junmyeon heard such a beautiful voice that could sound so powerful and yet delicately sweet; it was a voice that could move kingdoms and enchant its people, it was a voice that was utterly magical.
Junmyeon was mesmerized.
Later when everyone else at the pond had fallen asleep, Junmyeon turned to Jongdae to ask, "so how did you end up outside of the castle?"
For a second, the prince paused, looking reluctant to answer his question.
"I was supposed to marry," Jongdae said finally.
"Oh."
"Her name was LiYin. She was a princess from the neighbouring kingdom, " he continued, "our parents thought it would be beneficial if we married, but we were just friends."
Jongdae paused and looked right into Junmyeon's eyes. "I want to marry for love, you know?" he said softly, "not because it is politically convenient, not because my parents feel like I'm old enough."
There was heat crawling up Junmyeon's cheeks at those words and he turned away, avoiding the other's intense gaze. "So what did you do?"
"I ran away. I thought that if I left, my parents would be scared enough to do whatever they could to get me back." A fly zipped past, but Jongdae's tongue was quicker. "But then I got lost. I ran into a warlock while I was trying to find my way home and well, he didn't take insults very well... and that's pretty much how I ended up sleeping for a year in a cottage." Jongdae finished.
"What happened to LiYin?"
Jongdae grew quiet. "I don't know," he said, "she probably ended up marrying someone else."
For the first time ever, Jongdae looked vulnerable. All traces of the stubborn frog he had met in the cottage was gone, the confident bravado replaced with something more tender, more raw. He supposed it made Jongdae look more real, for even the strongest people had their weak moments. Even the strongest people needed saving.
They lapsed into awkward silence. Junmyeon looked up at the sky, counting stars as Jongdae’s words repeated in his head like his favourite lines from all the books he had read. "I want to marry for love, you know?"
I know.
"Enough about me," Jongdae said eventually. "What about you?"
Junmyeon blinked. "What about me?"
The frog prince just looked at him with a half annoyed, half amused expression. "How did you end up in my cottage?"
"It's a boring story. I'm boring."Junmyeon waved him off.
"No you aren't." Jongdae shook his head. "I want to hear it anyways, tell me everything," he demanded, a little more forceful than he intended.
In all his life, no one had ever asked Junmyeon about himself. In his village, everyone already had their hands full with their own problems, they hardly had any time to hear a boy talk about his dreams and aspirations. After awhile, he had given up telling others, and hid his dreams in the forest, himself included. Kim Junmyeon was a boring nobody, just another set of hands in the village that no one would really come to care about.
And yet, now there was a person who was asking.
"Well?" Jongdae demanded impatiently, "are you gonna tell me or not?"
So Junmyeon tried his best to tell Jongdae about his life, about the books he had read and about his family and life in the village. He didn't skip out on any details, eyes bright as he drank in every little laugh, smile, or gasp Jongdae had to offer. They stayed up very late into the night, long after the fireflies extinguished their lights and the whole world was asleep except the prince who wanted to love, and a boy, who hoped his story was good enough to be heard.
-
Junmyeon woke up to the sound of rain falling on their shared lily pad and to the feeling of Jongdae curled up against his side. The frog prince looked rather peaceful asleep; there was something almost human about the way he slept and Junmyeon couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like to wake up next to human Jongdae.
Ignoring his steadily increased heart rate, he poked at the other frog. "Jongdae, wake up," he coaxed.
“Five more hours,” came the muffled answer, as Jongdae buried his head closer into Junmyeon's chest.
The other frog jerked away automatically at the princes’s soft touch. The movement caused him to fall into the water, dragging Jongdae with him.
"Shit!" Jongdae yelled as he bobbed back up to the surface, very much awake.
Junmyeon was inclined to feel the same, his heart was racing and he didn't know why. He felt like he had been hit by a horse, Jongdae’s presence was just too overwhelming. It was as if he had finally realized that Jongdae was real, not just a prince as described in Junmyeon’s books, he was a real person, one who had fears and desires, one that Junmyeon wanted to care for, regardless of his birth status.
But he was just Junmyeon, he was not a real knight.
No matter how hard he pretended to be one.
-
"So what's the plan again?" Junmyeon asked, trying to keep up with Jongdae's hopping once again.
The other looked back before purposely slowing down so that Junmyeon could catch up. "We ask Sehun how to turn us back." he shrugged.
"What if he doesn't know how though? Maybe I should kiss you again, in the books I have read, true love's-"
"Oh no," interrupted Jongdae, looking scandalized. "You are not kissing me again, your kiss was what made me become a frog in the first place!"
Junmyeon was at a loss of words. "But-"
Jongdae was stubborn. "Get your froggy lips away from me!"
Shooting the other frog a dirty look, Jongdae hopped away from a slightly put out Junmyeon and stayed a few good paces ahead for the next hour until the trees broke off into a large field.
A few seconds after they reached the field, the prince bounded back, a big grin curling up his pretty mouth. "Hyung! Look!!" he waved excitedly.
Frankly speaking, Junmyeon didn’t know what he was supposed to look at. The field was hardly a sight, it was made up of mostly dry grass and dying flowers.
“It’s very, uh, yellow,” he ventured, an arm reaching out to poke a stray flower nearby. It crumpled at his touch. “Oh,” he said, retracting his hand.
Jongdae rolled his eyes impatiently. “This is where I met the warlock who cursed me! If we’re lucky, maybe he'll be here now and turn us back!"
The chances that a warlock who was angry enough to render Jongdae completely comatose to be forgiving enough to turn them both back into humans was highly unlikely. Yet, Jongdae looked so hopeful that Junmyeon didn’t have the heart to burst his bubble. Miracles did happen after all.
-
The two frogs waited in the shelter of the tree for Jongdae's warlock to appear in the field. They ate insects as they passed - Junmyeon was starting to get used to their sweet yet tart taste - and pointed out objects they saw in the oddly shaped clouds. As the day wore on, Jongdae began to teach Junmyeon his favorite songs and in turn, the elder retold the prince his favorite fairytales. Eventually, the lazy afternoon sun soon clocked out for the moon to take its shift, shining proud amongst the stars and casting a rosy glow down on the land.
It was a little after midnight when a light appeared at the edge of the field. Jongdae, who had been awake at the time kicked at Junmyeon. "He's here! He's here!"
As the lantern bobbed closer, a silhouette started to take shape. The figure moved stealthily through the field before stopping at a few trees over from the frogs. Jongdae motioned to move towards the person but Junmyeon held him back. "I'll do the talking," he cautioned, "you just stick with me and whatever you do, just don't talk."
They hopped over to the lantern and although the light did a good job showing the path and the trees, it did little to illuminate the figure before them. "Hello?" Junmyeon began politely, "Excuse me, if you could just look down over here for a second... hello?"
"You're too polite," Jongdae shoved him aside. "You'll never get his attention if you're a courteous frog."
Before Junmyeon could stop him, Jongdae cupped his mouth with his hands and yelled. "Hey you!"
The figure froze from where it had been collecting berries off a shrub and turned quietly to face the direction of which Jongdae's voice had come from.
"Down here!"
The figure crouched down when it saw the frogs, hovering the lantern near Junmyeon and Jongdae to see them. The frogs blinked quickly to adjust to the sudden glare of the light; now they could see clearly the outline of the warlock, yet his face remained shrouded in the shadows.
"It's me, Prince Jongdae," the frog prince said defiantly, squinting up at the warlock, with his hands shielding his eyes from the most of the lantern's light. "I met you right in this field sometime last summer? I was lost and well uh, you ended up cursing me and made me sleep for a whole year." he prodded Junmyeon forwards. "This is Junmyeon, he's the one who kissed me awake, but as you can see, some things didn't turn out very well..."
"We turned into frogs," Junmyeon explained unnecessarily.
The warlock looked sympathetic. That is, Junmyeon hope he did. It was still hard to see, what with the brilliance of light still partially blinding him.
"That's rather unfortunate," the figure said, his voice husky.
He didn't sound like he thought that what happened to them was unfortunate, in fact, if Junmyeon didn't know better he would have sworn that the warlock sounded happy. Beside him, Jongdae tensed. 'What is it?' he wanted to ask the prince but before he could do so, the warlock crouched down suddenly, the lantern's light finally catching his face.
The warlock was dressed in all black, making his slim face look pale and gaunt in comparison. He had thick eyebrows and heart shaped lips that were curled up in a wicked smile. His most distinctive feature was his large eyes, which held the potential to be wide and expressive, yet Junmyeon could see no emotion in them.
"You're not the warlock who cursed me.." Jongdae said, face pale.
The warlock crinkled his eyes. "You're right. I'm not. But I am a warlock who needs a pair of frogs, so look who just got lucky."
With one fell scoop, the warlock latched his hands on Junmyeon and Jongdae and stuffed them into individual glass jars. "Such fine specimens," he crooned at them, as he peered through the glass. "You'll be perfect for my spell."
Junmyeon could hear Jongdae's muffled screaming obscenities, but it seemed so far away. He could still see him though, in the jar held captive by the warlock’s right hand a few inches away. As if sensing his stare, Jongdae looked up, placing his hands against the glass, as if trying to reach Junmyeon's jar. If he squinted and put his hands on the clear surface, it looked like Jongdae and him were still holding onto each other. "Junmyeon!" he heard Jongdae shriek.
Junmyeon wanted to answer but before he could, the warlock dropped them both into his bag. Jostled, Junmyeon's head managed to collide against the hard glass.
And for the second time that week, everything went black.
-
When Junmyeon came to, he was in a cage and in what appeared to be a one room cabin. After a quick cursory glance around his cage, he let out a sigh in relief when he saw Jongdae sleeping in the corner, drooling slightly. Hopping over, he tried to shake the prince awake. "Jongdae."
The second his webbed hand came in contact with Jongdae's skin, Junmyeon knew something was wrong. The other frog's skin was completely cold, more so than a regular cold-blooded amphibian would ever be. Jongdae also did not shy away at Junmyeon's touch - as he would have normally - instead, he remained unnaturally still.
"Jongdae? Jongdae?!" Junmyeon’s voice rose shrilly as he throttled his prince. "Wake up! This isn't funny you know!" Dread begins to bubble up his throat when Jongdae just lay in his corner, limp and unmoving.
"He's not gonna wake up, Kyungsoo drugged him real good," a voice drifted up into the cage and Junmyeon hopped to the front, peering out to see who had spoken.
There was a small deer tied uncomfortably to a heavy looking coat rack in the back corner of the large room, diagonally across from where Junmyeon and Jongdae's cage was and directly across from the door.
"Excuse me?" Junmyeon managed to say.
The deer nodded at Jongdae. "He was alive when Kyungsoo brought you guys in," he shrugged.
"What Luhan means is that, the other guy was awake when Kyungsoo came back," a deep voice interjected. Junmyeon looked up to see a large bat bobbing up and down around the rafters. It settled down on the cage next to Junmyeon before shooting the deer a meaningful look.
Luhan just ignored him. "He was so loud, yelling at Kyungsoo about how short of a warlock he was and if he was actually a dwarf. I don’t blame Kyungsoo for throwing a fit, I'd be mad too if someone insulted my antlers."
When Junmyeon still looked bewildered, the bat just sighs. "Don’t mind Luhan, he’s incomprehensible half the time.” He gave Junmyeon a cursory glance. “Name's Wufan by the way, and wipe that worried look off your face, your friend is just unconscious not dead."
"Will he be okay?" Junmyeon asked.
Wufan titled his head, eyes narrowing on Jongdae's still form, and shook his head. "Ask Minseok, only he watched how much potion the idiot ate."
Inside the cage of which Wufan had perched on, a hamster emerged from a pile of wood shavings. "He ate three of those flies in that dish there," the hamster explained, pointing to a small container in the opposite corner of Junmyeon's cage. "Kyungsoo knocked him out with a sleeping elixir." There was a harsh sound of metal against metal as the hamster hopped onto the wheel, walking lightly. "He'll wake up in a few days, probably."
"I don't have a few days! I've got to take us home!" Junmyeon blurted. In a few days time, Kyungsoo would've probably killed them both and then he would never be able to have Jongdae turned back into a prince and return safely home.
Luhan quirked his head. "Alright frog, we'll help you and your idiot friend escape from this place. But first you should introduce yourself so we all know what we are investing in."
Junmyeon cleared his throat nervously as the animals looked on. “Well, I’m Kim Junmyeon and the other frog, he is Kim Jongdae, the prince of Elysion.”
Everyone was silent before the cottage erupted into laughter. Wufan’s guffaw alone was enough to shake the whole building.
"Right, and Wufan is actually a dragon!" Minseok chortled.
Up on the hamster's cage, Wufan stopped laughing abruptly, looking offended. "I AM a dragon!"
"But it's true!" Junmyeon said desperately. "Jongdae is the prince of Elysion."
"A prince huh? Maybe you should kiss him since true love's first kiss and all ," Wufan suggested, looking down at the frogs, eyes raised with interest.
‘I don't even know if I'm his true love,' Junmyeon thought, before startling himself with his next thought. 'But I want to be.'
He didn't know when it happened but somewhere along the way, between talking about their dreams to outsmarting cockatrices, he began to care about Jongdae, as a person and not as an adventure he wanted to live in. Somewhere along the way, he found that his heart began thumping to a different rhythm. Jongdae, Jongdae, Jongdae, Jongdae.
Pressing his mouth firmly against Jongdae's, he sent a mental plea for the other frog to wake up. "Jongdae?"
The other frog gave a twitch, before rolling away "Fuck off hyung," Jongdae groaned and Junmyeon nearly fell over with relief. "I told you the kiss thing won't work."
(“Are you sure he’s a prince?” Wufan whispered to Minseok, who shrugged. “He doesn’t sound very princely.”)
When Junmyeon doesn’t answer, the prince cracked an eye open to look at him. Jongdae frowned. "Junmyeon?" he whispered inquisitively, reaching out to touch Junmyeon.
That seemed to snap the other frog out of his daze, Junmyeon looked angry, swatting his hand away. "Kim Jongdae, do you know how worried I was? I thought you weren't going to ever wake up. I thought you.. you..." Junmyeon broke off, his cheeks flushing. Without bothering to finish his sentence, he moved away from the prince and stayed there even when Jongdae tried to call him.
Jongdae watched him go, confusion settling into him like glue. There was a painful twinge in the center of his chest when he looked at Junmyeon's retreating figure. Somehow, it hurt. Somehow, making Junmyeon upset made himself feel helpless. He didn’t want to feel helpless.
He wanted Junmyeon to smile at him like before.
An uncomfortable silence fell onto the room and its inhabitants as the other animals looked on wearily at the frogs who refused to speak to one another. The tension was palpable even to the black cat who had just sneaked in, giving Wufan a sleepy, "what's happening?"
"Lover's quarrel," Wufan had told him (his name was Tao, they had learnt later).
Finally, Luhan could not take any longer, squirming a little as he asked with little tact, "So are we going to escape or not?"
-
The plan was really simple. As it turned out, the animals had already been in the process of formulating an escape plan before Junmyeon and Jongdae had arrived. It did not take long before the plan was solidified once again to accommodate the two frogs.
"Kyungsoo left three hours ago, to look for a unicorn's horn," Minseok said, pointing to a part of the diagram he had crudely drawn using wood chips and hamster feed.
"Yixing would never be found, he only appears when the pure of heart needs help." Luhan snorted and Wufan nodded in agreement. "Which means, Kyungsoo will be returning soon."
"....so if everything works, we will be free by tonight." Wufan finished.
-
While Minseok was occupied with the escape, Jongdae drew Junmyeon aside.
"I'm -" Jongdae began at the same time Junmyeon said "So-"
They glanced at each other in surprise and laughed awkwardly, unsure of what to do. It was Jongdae who gestured for Junmyeon to carry on. "You first."
The frog took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I overreacted back then, I never meant to yell at you like that. And really you should-" he broke off mid sentence when Jongdae suddenly leaned forwards and pecked him on the cheek, smiling softly.
"It's okay. Apology accepted. I'm sorry I worried you."
By this time Junmyeon was pretty sure he was bright red, his heart thumping wildly. Does he know how he's reacting towards him? Was he reacting the same way? But before he could gauge the other's reaction, the lock to the cage clicked open, Wufan peering through the entrance. "Let's move!" He barked.
Shrugging, Junmyeon hopped away from Jongdae. What he didn't see was this: the second he turned his back, Jongdae pressed a hand to his own rapidly beating heart.
-
After freeing the frogs, Tao and Wufan worked on picking the lock to Minseok's cage with Tao's sharp claw. With a few twists left and right, the latch finally clicked open and Minseok scampered out. The next part was tricky. Being extremely careful, Wufan wrapped his feet around Minseok's round belly before pushing himself away from the table and safely to the floor where Luhan was still tied to.
They watched as Wufan took off, bobbing precariously as he flapped his wings swiftly, face contorted with concentration. "I am a dragon. A hamster is nothing. I am strong. I am the dragon." the bat chanted to himself as he made his way to Luhan. The second Minseok touched the ground, Wufan let go and the hamster scurried to the twine around the deer' hind leg, gnawing the rope into shreds.
Once Luhan was free, he trotted over to the frogs' cage, where Jongdae and Junmyeon climb down his neck and down to the ground.
The animals beamed, making their way to the wooden door. Finally, they did it. Finally, they were free. They were-
The door swung open.
Kyungsoo stared down at them with wide eyes. His surprise only lasted for a second before it dissolved into pure anger.
"Run!" somebody screamed.
All hell broke loose.
Luhan leapt at Kyungsoo, antler first and armed with cat, launching Tao into the warlock’s face, claws outstretched. While Tao had him distracted, the others scampered around Kyungsoo and out the door. Junmyeon smiled as Wufan flew past him and Minseok fell into a run next to him. They were soon joined by Luhan, who galloped past screaming victory chants, and Tao, who pranced below Wufan smugly. They had made it. Only when Junmyeon looked back, he realized that in the chaos, Jongdae, who was still mildly disoriented by the elixir, had lagged behind. Kyungsoo, having already recovered from Tao’s scratches, was seconds away from grabbing Jongdae who wasn’t aware that the warlock was so close. "You guys go on ahead first, we'll catch up!" Junmyeon yelled to Tao who simply nodded, shooting him a look. Good luck.
Junmyeon swallowed heavily as he hopped back to confront Kyungsoo. Thanks. He reached Jongdae just as Kyungsoo managed to grab onto the prince’s hind leg. He hurried forwards as Jongdae tripped, catching him before he could face plant onto the soil. "Junmyeon," Jongdae breathed, eyes shining as he looked at the other as if his knight had arrived. In a way, Junmyeon supposed, he did. I will protect you. With a burst of courage, he took aim and flicked his tongue out hard at Kyungsoo's eye. The warlock recoiled, retracting his hand from Jongdae’s leg in favour of clutching his eye, and Junmyeon took the chance to grab Jongdae and escaped, Kyungsoo's yells becoming fainter and fainter.
-
They ran for what seemed like miles, until the trees pressed closer and the forest greenery grew wild and thick. Junmyeon kept dragging Jongdae along, looking forward into the unknown with a determined expression.The sun was burning. Jongdae was tired. And hungry. But most of all, he wanted to go home.
"Junmyeon, let's take a break," the prince whispered, tugging gently out of Junmyeon's death grip. As if he had realized what Jongdae wanted, Junmyeon immediately let go of Jongdae's arm, whirling around to cup Jongdae's face, tilting it left and right as if assessing for damage.
"Are you okay?" he asked seriously and Jongdae shook him off with a question of his own.
"Are you?"
Junmyeon nodded. "I'm fine," he answered, turning back to hop deeper into the forest. He didn't make it far. With the combined weight of both exhaustion and dehydration, he collapses before he could even take another step.
After a day of trudging through the forest with Junmyeon half on his back, Jongdae tumbled into a hole in an oak tree for the night, tucking himself into a nook in order to avoid predators, making sure that Junmyeon was hidden as well. Having made sure that Junmyeon was comfortable, Jongdae jumped out of the nook, trying to find a nearby water source and insects to bring back for the other frog. When he found none, he returned to the hole with a few large leaves that he draped over Junmyeon’s unconscious form before curling up next to him, watching over the other frog until the moon began to descend and the sun rose up to attention. He didn’t know why he was worrying about the other frog so much. Maybe it was because Junmyeon had took care of him through the entire journey despite Jongdae’s stubborn need for independence; or because he had told him about his life outside of the castle, about something that wasn’t about how to run a kingdom or about being a prince. Or maybe because Jongdae wanted to save Junmyeon, to be his knight for a change.
Jongdae wondered if this was what love felt like.
The next day, Junmyeon was still burning up and sweating slightly with a fever, so Jongdae stayed by his side, dabbling at his sweat with a fallen leaf. I will protect you. He smiled, trying to look brave and strong just as Junmyeon was, hoisting an arm around the other frog and pulling him along to find fresh water.
The sun was even hotter and merciless than before. Jongdae now had slowed down considerably, eyes fighting to stay open as he dragged Junmyeon along to the direction of which, led to Elysion castle. He had to find Sehun, he had to turn back into human, he wanted to see Junmyeon’s face.
He wanted to see Junmyeon to wake up to find himself looking back at him.
If he could only move a couple more steps…
Alas Mother Nature did not seem to favor such romanticism and with a cry, Jongdae fell down a sudden dip of land, dropping Junmyeon as he tumbled down on his back , before lying sprawled at the bottom of the hill. He had to go back, he had to do it. He had to save Junmyeon.
He had to save Junmyeon…
The last thing he saw before his eyes fluttered shut was the shimmer of a unicorn’s horn.
-
Jongdae jolted awake when someone drops him in a pool of water. Gasping, he resurfaced, searching for the other frog. Thankfully, Junmyeon was in the water as well, looking shaken, but very much awake and alive. Junmyeon leapt out of the water and held his hand out to Jongdae, who took it gladly. After inspecting one another, they found that to their surprise, Junmyeon’s fever was completely gone and the cuts on Jongdae’s body from the fall had all been healed. The two frogs were perfectly healthy.
Not only were they healed, but as they came to take in their surroundings, they were also on castle grounds.
Faintly, Jongdae remembered the whisper of the unicorn’s horn and thought about Luhan and what he had said about the forest and its inhabitants. He only appears when the pure of heart needs help. He looked up at the sky. There are clouds covering the sun today. “Thank you Yixing,” Jongdae whispered, bowing slightly in respect to the direction of the forest.
“This is the edge of King’s Royal Garden,” Jongdae told Junmyeon, “Just around the corner is where Sehun likes to hang out a lot, we can go there.” As if summoned, a tall page boy walked past in a shock of light pink hair, a scowl deeply etched into his face. “That’s Sehun.”
The two hopped quickly after the boy as he disappeared underneath a willow tree, with the prince calling his name. “Oh Sehun! Sehuna!”
At the sound of Jongdae’s voice, the boy whipped around looking around for the prince, his scowl replaced by a more neutral expression. “Your Highness?”
“Down here you oaf!” Jongdae shouted sweetly.
Sehun looked down and yelped. “Am I hearing things again?”
Jongdae laughed, waving to the boy who looked at them like he wanted to throw up. “It’s me, Jongdae! I got turned into a frog with this other boy, Junmyeon! So we need your help Sehuna, you’re the only one that I know who would know the antidote.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s true love’s first-”
“Hush Junmyeon, I’m talking.”
Sehun looked at the two frogs, his eyes darting back and forth before nodding in understanding. “I am a frog whisperer.”
Jongdae smacked his hand against his face. “What? No! It’s Prince Jongdae you dumb fuck.”
Sehun looked like Jongdae had slapped him, eyebrows furrowing in hurt before they straightened again, shooting the pair a cool look. "How do I know if you really are Prince Jongdae? For all I know, I might really be a-" he began, eyeing them suspiciously.
"You make out with that boy, Kim Jongin, behind the stables every Tuesday and Thursdays at 7," Jongdae replied flatly, watching in amusement as the page boy paled visibly.
"J-Jongdae, we’re friends right? Y-you're not gonna tell anyone right?" Sehun whispered fearfully.
Jongdae smirked. "Not a soul," he promised. "I can't vouch for him though," he jerked a hand at Junmyeon. Only when the other frog confirmed that he wouldn't tell anyone did Sehun look willing to speak.
"True love's first kiss breaks the spell," the page boy told them and Junmyeon smacked his face in frustration.
"That's what I've been telling you the whole time!" he said, throwing his hands up and shooting Jongdae one of his best glare. “But you never listened!”
"No," Sehun interrupted as he watched , Junmyeon motioning closer to peck the prince on the lips. "You," he pointed to Jongdae and then to Junmyeon, “have to kiss him.
There was a beat of silence.
"How was I supposed to do that when I was in a fucking coma?" Jongdae exclaimed.
Sehun shrugged, looking bored once again now that he knew what was going on. "The warlock probably wanted you to sleep forever."
Jongdae scowled. "Loopholes," he muttered with feeling. The prince leapt over to where Junmyeon was standing. "So I guess I have to kiss you this time," he whispered, suddenly looking shy and uncertain.
Junmyeon nodded, feeling slightly awkward. "Right."
Jongdae leaned forward and pressed his lips to Junmyeon's, eyes fluttering shut. It was odd at first but Junmyeon relaxed into the kiss, allowing his body to take over. He imagined how it would feel, kissing the human Jongdae, with their mouths lined slick against each other's, drowning in each other's taste. His tongue licked up into Jongdae's mouth, running lightly across human teeth and suckling on human tongue, trying to memorize every nook and cranny. Jongdae moaned, slim fingers pulling Junmyeon closer until their bodies were flush against one another as Junmyeon moved his hands around Jongdae's neck, fingers carding through soft hair. Soft hair....
They break apart.
For a few beats, they just stare openly at one another, drinking in each others’ appearance. Junmyeon was slightly shorter than Jongdae, but while he lacked height, he was slightly more muscled and tan from years of work out in the field in comparison to Jongdae’s milky soft frame. He was devastatingly handsome, the prince could not help but think, watching how Junmyeon looked at him with warm brown eyes. I could wake up to those eyes.
That thought quickly dissipated. Sehun cleared his throat and Jongdae breaks away first, blushing furiously as he turned away. "Well, you're not hideous." he muttered.
Junmyeon smiled wryly. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself."
-
The sun was setting by the time Jongdae and Junmyeon walked to the castle gate.
Junmyeon realized that by turning back into human, Jongdae had to go home. He has done his duty, returning his prince to his kingdom. Junmyeon had to go home too, back to the village to live off adventures through his books. Jongdae had to go back to the castle, where he would learn about ruling the lands and eventually marry another royal. Jongdae had to leave.
He didn't want Jongdae to leave.
The prince tapped him on his shoulder, the gold circlet on his head glaring at Junmyeon. "So I guess this is goodbye." he murmured.
Junmyeon didn't want to say goodbye. "I guess."
"Bye, Kim Junmyeon," said Jongdae, kissing him softly on the cheek. That seemed to wake Junmyeon up. With a jolt, he grabs Jongdae’s wrist and turned him back around.
"Please don’t go."
Jongdae was staring at him, eyes wide and hopeful but Junmyeon doesn't even notice.
"I know I'm not the best storybook hero a prince would have. I'm not perfect nor am I a knight. But if you were with me, I would try my best to make everyday of your life the best one. I would create a happily ever after for you, Jongdae, I would do that... for you."
There were tears in Jongdae’s eyes, Junmyeon thought, that or his own tears were obscuring the view.
And then Jongdae lurched forwards, wrapping his arms around Junmyeon’s neck and pulling him closer so their foreheads touched. "Silly." Jongdae said, smiling. "How could I ever have a happily ever after if you weren't in it?"
"I-"
"Just shut up and kiss me."
So Junmyeon does.
**
1. the name for the kingdom in this fic, Elysion is taken from the Greek meaning "designation of a place or person struck by lightning" or enelysion, enelysios. I thought it would be nice as Jongdae's power is lightning.
2. roughly based on the frog princess by e.d baker
3. past tense will be the death of me the things i do to hide my identity from marcel lol
Rating: pg-13
Pairings Suho/Chen + ninja!sekai
Length: ~8.3k words
Summary: Junmyeon couldn't help but think that fairytales were a tad bit misleading. You know, just a bit.
Notes: originally written for marcel moon_things for criticalcapture (thanks to j and d for reading this over!)
If there was one thing Junmyeon loved more than anything else, it was reading. There was something about reading that gave him a sharp thrill, a spark of happiness that would run down his spine whenever he read a line. Maybe it was the idea that he could pretend - just for a moment - that he was someone he wasn't, or he could do something he had always wanted. When he was reading, he wasn't Kim Junmyeon, the youngest son of the blacksmith anymore; he was a knight, bravely facing a dragon for his muse, or a shoemaker who made gorgeous shoes, or the boy who pushed the evil witch into the oven. He was love, he was courage, and he was adventure.
It didn't matter what kind of book it was, he'd absorb all the words hungrily as soon as he opened the cover.
It didn't matter what kind of book he read, but fairytales had always been his favorite.
-
Every day, after he had finished up all his chores, Junmyeon would retrieve his book of the week from underneath his bed and slip off to the woods behind his house for some peace and quiet.
Today, he bounded into the forest with a new book clutched firmly in his hands. It was a volume of fairytales that he had procured from a stall in the marketplace. He had bought it when he was supposed to be running errands for his father and had hid the book between the waistband of his pants when he returned home.
Junmyeon walked until he reached his destination: a patch of land no bigger than his neighbor's farm that was completely open to the sky. Tall trees surrounded this clearing, rising up from all corners with their tips pointing to the sun like heavy walls protecting their court from any harm. This was, in a way, Junmyeon's own little castle.
He had been coming here to read for as long as he could remember. Reading at home did not seem to work very well, what with his mother humming underneath her breath while she cooked and his older brother treading in and out of the house - he had found that it was too out-of-place for his adventures; he wanted to read somewhere quiet.
Venturing into the forest alone seemed like an adventure itself, and so Junmyeon had begun to sneak off into the forest with his books to live off the lives of others for small periods of time each day.
The sky had darkened considerably by the time Junmyeon looked up from his book. The sun had slowly descended underground, smearing streaks of inky greys and purples across the sky as he stood. How many hours had he spent reading? He closed his book disappointedly (the princess was about to kiss the frog!) and stood just as the first rain droplets fell, falling onto the pages with muted grace and stirring up the scent of wet earth.
By the time Junmyeon had left the clearing, it was pouring.
Junmyeon should have been familiar with his forest, he really should have, but it was dark and it was raining and he was a little too desperate to get home to think rationally. With a few quick turns this way and that, nothing looked familiar anymore; nothing sparked a memory in his mind that would show him the way home.
As much as Junmyeon hated to admit, he was lost.
-
He didn't know how long he had walked before he saw it, but when he spotted a cottage in a distance he almost wept (except he didn't, because the heroes in his books never cried over anything, unless they were chopping onions).
There was smoke puffing happily out the chimney of the cottage and with a relieved smile, Junmyeon knocked on the wooden door. "Hello?"
No one answered.
He tried again, knocking a bit louder this time around. "Hello?" he called, jumping back when the door swung open on its own.
There was no one on the other side of the door however, and as Junmyeon circled the room, eyeing the thin layer of dust that covered every surface, it was clear that no one lived here.
Prodded by his curiosity, he climbed the stairs to the second floor. Much like the first floor, the rooms in the second were all empty except for one. Junmyeon all but gasps when he entered the last room to find a boy lying on a four poster bed, asleep. A gold circlet was nestled on top of a crown soft hair and with a jolt, Junmyeon realized who exactly he had found in the cottage.
A real life prince.
A prince just like the fairytales he had read, Junmyeon thought, quivering with excitement. Only true love's first kiss will break the spell, he recalled, and even though the boy in front of him wasn't exactly a damsel in distress, Junmyeon figured the same rules applied anyways; the prince was trapped by a spell and Junmyeon was the knight who would break it.
He would be the prince that Junmyeon saved.
He stepped forward tentatively, peering at the prince on the bed. He was awfully handsome, Junmyeon noticed, with long eyelashes that fluttered while he slept, and pink lips curling in a perpetual smile. He was skinny too, with pale skin pulled taut around sharp cheekbones. Junmyeon files a mental note to feed the poor boy once he woke him up. With a kiss.
Right.
He stepped forward again, but this time his foot failed to connect onto solid ground; instead he trips and before he could figure out what exactly he tripped on, he was pitching forward towards the sleeping prince, his face crashing into the other boy's with a resounding 'crack'.
And then everything was dark.
-
Junmyeon blinked his eyes open lazily, small stars dotting his vision. He shook his head once, twice, three times until his vision cleared and he could finally see.
"Oh!" he gasped, startled as he took in the colors; colors he had never known existed in his life were everywhere - there was a little dash of pink in the wood, a little speck of blue on the cream walls, a hint of green on his skin...wait.
He looked down at his hands again, shaking his head in disbelief when he saw that his hands had been replaced by what appeared to be webbed fingers. "What."
He patted his face frantically, trying to make sense of what exactly was going on. Instead of smooth pale skin, his hands (webbed feet?) made contact with slippery rubber like skin. In his panic, Junmyeon quickly hopped over to the mirror to get a better look. Belatedly, he realized the mirror looked a lot bigger than it originally was when he first entered the room.
There's nothing strange in the mirror, except maybe that slightly large frog over there, near where Junmyeon stood.
Or maybe where Junmyeon was standing. Cautiously, Junmyeon raised a hand. In the reflection, the frog raised his hand too.
Junmyeon shook a leg, and the frog copied.
"Hi," Junmyeon croaked and he clamps a hand over his mouth when the frog opened his mouth to speak as well.
He was a frog.
He kissed a prince and now he was a frog.
Before Junmyeon could fully begin to panic, a sneeze interrupted his inner monologue. He looked up to see another frog swaying dangerously close to the edge of the bed.
"Be careful," Junmyeon called, hopping closer to the bed with concern. "You might fall -ouf!" he grunted as the frog on the bed jumped off gracefully and landed - quite painfully - on Junmyeon, who had been trying to catch him if he fell.
The frog peered down at Junmyeon and with a jolt Junmyeon recognized the faint gold markings around the frog's head - he was the prince Junmyeon had kissed. He stared at the other frog in a daze, until he hopped off of Junmyeon and headed towards the mirror without a word.
The prince was a frog too.
‘That isn’t quite how the story went,’ Junmyeon thought faintly to himself.
"What the fuck," Junmyeon heard the frog prince say when he walked closer to him.
Junmyeon felt his eyes widen. He never knew that princes could be so foul mouthed.
"Why am I a frog? Why can't I be something cuter, like a cat!" the other frog wailed before catching Junmyeon's eye in the mirror. “Who are you?" he demanded, spinning around to face Junmyeon directly.
"Uh.. I'm.."
The frog prince narrowed his eyes at him. "You're the one who turned me into a frog, aren't you!"
Junmyeon nodded meekly, a bit flustered by the sudden attention.
Even as a frog, Junmyeon still found the prince to be ridiculously attractive. And ridiculously intimidating.
"Turn me back," were the next words that slip out of frog's mouth.
"What?"
"Turn me back," the frog prince said simply. "You turned me into a frog, so turn me back into a human."
Junmyeon was confused. "I-I don't know how."
The frog threw his hands up in frustration. "Well do something! I don't want to be a frog!" He hopped around in agitation. "If you don't, I'll go find the cure myself."
With a loud huff, the frog prince leapt towards the door. Well, he tried to anyways. Having only been a frog for a few minutes, the prince had difficulty controlling his legs and looking dignified while doing so. After a couple of failed attempts, the frog picks himself up and with a haughty sniff, began fumbling for his way out.
Something told Junmyeon that he wasn't doing a very good job in rescuing his damsel ...er frog.
"Wait up!" He hopped forward, trying to catch up with the prince, who had already reached the stairs. "I got us into this mess, so it's only fair that we help one another and find the cure together," Junmyeon panted, trying to fall in step with the other frog and failing miserably.
The prince turned around, eyeing Junmyeon as if weighing his options on whether or not to bring him along. Junmyeon smiled at the other brightly, trying to look as friendly and as accommodating as he could. The prince just shot him a wary look before finally nodding in agreement. "Here," he said, offering a webbed hand to Junmyeon, who shook it. "I'm Kim Jongdae, Prince of Elysion."
"Kim Junmyeon, uh, book enthusiast."
They were out the door by now and belatedly, Junmyeon realized that he had left his book of fairytales on a table counter.
No matter, he'd return back to the cottage and find it again one day, once he tuned back into a human again.
If he turned back at all.
-
"So where are we going exactly?"
"Back to the castle. I have a friend, Oh Sehun, he likes magic."
“Is there anything I could do to help? I’ve heard that a true love’s fir-”
“I don’t need you saving me, I got this.”
"Oh, um...ok."
-
They were about two clearings north when Junmyeon first saw the statues. "What is that?"
Jongdae, who had been hopping in front of him the whole time didn't even bother to look where Junmyeon had pointed. "What's what?"
"That." Junmyeon pointed as they approached another statue, this one much closer to the first two they had seen only minutes before. It was a small statue, a model of a rabbit, frozen mid hop, eyes wide with shock.
There was something odd about these statues, Junmyeon thought as he leapt past a stone gazelle, the fact that there were so many in the forest seemed unnatural, like someone had turned real animals into stone.
Real animals into stone....
"Jongdae, stop right where you are." Junmyeon suddenly demanded.
Jongdae turned around, face contorted with annoyance. "What is it no-ouf!" He collides with something mid leap and fell back on his rump. "Ow, who put that statue in the middle of the road!"
The statue Jongdae had bumped into was by far the largest one Junmyeon had seen. It was a horse with his hind legs kicked up as if trying to protect itself from something. The man on the horse looked equally disturbed. Suddenly, Junmyeon knew exactly why there were so many statues in the forest.
"Cockatrices." He breathed.
"I'm sorry, but what?" Jongdae asked, squinting up at the statue distractedly. "Hey, that guy kinda looks like Cousin Ryeowook."
A small rooster cry sounds nearby, followed by a set of footsteps drawing closer. Fear settled in Junmyeon's belly, feeding on tendrils of dread and panic.
"Junmyeon?" Jongdae called faintly from the side, "I think this is Cousin Ryeowook."
The footsteps sounded a lot closer now.
"Close your eyes, now." Junmyeon ordered, trying to head towards where Jongdae was staring at his cousin in horror.
"I don't understa-"
"A cockatrice, the creature who turned your cousin to stone, is coming here right now! So close your eyes!"
Jongdae obeyed.
Junmyeon managed to leap two steps closer to Jongdae before shutting his own eyes tight just as a cocktrice burst into the scene.
"I'm Baekhyun! Tell me I'm pretty!" A clear voice sounded proudly. The cockatrice began to talk loudly, boasting about his immeasurable beauty and his “must-see” talents he supposedly possessed.
"What the hell is a cockatrice?!" Jongdae asked over Baekhyun's loud chatter.
"They're creatures with the body of a snake and the head and legs of a chicken! They're said to be so frightening that one look could turn you into stone!"
"How attractive!" Jongdae yelled back.
"YES ATTRACTIVE! That is me! If only you opened your eyes and then you could see, just how pretty I can be!" squawked Baekhyun.
"Aw shut up!" the prince replied scathingly.
Junmyeon shielded his eyes with his hands, leaving cracks between webs to look at the ground as he steadily made his way towards Jongdae. When he reached him, he laced their hands tightly together and began to lead him across the grounds with Baekhyun squealing right behind them.
They walked until Baekhyun's voice grew fainter and disappeared completely, but that's when the second cockatrice appeared.
"Is it gon-" Jongdae began to ask, hands pulling back from his face and Junmyeon turned around quickly, pulling the prince into an embrace, shielding the prince’s eyes with his body.
"I’M CHANYEOL! TELL ME I'M PRETTY!" the cockatrice yelled.
“Not again,” the prince groaned from Junmyeon’s chest.
Junmyeon was in the process of formulating a new escape route when Jongdae effectively wiggled out of his grasp, clearly fed up with the creatures and this insatiable shallow needs. "Jongdae!"
The other frog gave him a reassuring pat before turning towards Chanyeol, with his eyes shut closed. "Well I don't know, a while back I saw a cockatrice and I believed he was the most beautiful creature I have ever seen," Jongdae said loudly, "If only he was here now I would like to see his gorgeous face again."
There is a squawk and a few seconds later Baekhyun appeared next to Chanyeol. "That was me! I am the most beautiful!"
"No, me! The frog hasn't seen me yet! Surely if he saw me, he would think I am the prettiest." Chanyeol chirped back.
Jongdae pretended to think. "It's so hard deciding, maybe you guys could help me out? If you both looked at one another maybe you'll find that the other one is equally beautiful."
"Nonsense!" the two Cockatrices chorused, turning to face each other angrily. "I am the most beauti-"
There was silence as both Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s words were cut short and Jongdae reached over to poke Junmyeon, looking absolutely smug when the other peered through between the cracks of his webbed fingers with worried eyes. "It's safe now, don't worry hyung."
"Hyung," Junmyeon echoed, a faint blush dusting his face. He looked up.
The cockatrices had turned into stone.
-
An hour later, they arrived at a pond. Without the slightest hesitation, Jongdae propelled himself into the water, sighing as the cool liquid touched his skin. “Finally,” he crooned happily, splashing around before he noticed Junmyeon approaching the pond with caution. “C’mon Junmyeon! Get in!”
When Junmyeon didn’t move fast enough for Jongdae’s liking, the prince jumped out of the water, trying his best to usher the other along and beaming when he finally managed to shove Junmyeon onto a lily pad.
On the next lily pad over, a choir of toads began to sing. Jongdae watched them curiously, then he joined in, harmonizing with the chorus. His voice cut through the summer breeze, ruffling the winds with its rich undertones and touching hearts with its warmth. Never had Junmyeon heard such a beautiful voice that could sound so powerful and yet delicately sweet; it was a voice that could move kingdoms and enchant its people, it was a voice that was utterly magical.
Junmyeon was mesmerized.
Later when everyone else at the pond had fallen asleep, Junmyeon turned to Jongdae to ask, "so how did you end up outside of the castle?"
For a second, the prince paused, looking reluctant to answer his question.
"I was supposed to marry," Jongdae said finally.
"Oh."
"Her name was LiYin. She was a princess from the neighbouring kingdom, " he continued, "our parents thought it would be beneficial if we married, but we were just friends."
Jongdae paused and looked right into Junmyeon's eyes. "I want to marry for love, you know?" he said softly, "not because it is politically convenient, not because my parents feel like I'm old enough."
There was heat crawling up Junmyeon's cheeks at those words and he turned away, avoiding the other's intense gaze. "So what did you do?"
"I ran away. I thought that if I left, my parents would be scared enough to do whatever they could to get me back." A fly zipped past, but Jongdae's tongue was quicker. "But then I got lost. I ran into a warlock while I was trying to find my way home and well, he didn't take insults very well... and that's pretty much how I ended up sleeping for a year in a cottage." Jongdae finished.
"What happened to LiYin?"
Jongdae grew quiet. "I don't know," he said, "she probably ended up marrying someone else."
For the first time ever, Jongdae looked vulnerable. All traces of the stubborn frog he had met in the cottage was gone, the confident bravado replaced with something more tender, more raw. He supposed it made Jongdae look more real, for even the strongest people had their weak moments. Even the strongest people needed saving.
They lapsed into awkward silence. Junmyeon looked up at the sky, counting stars as Jongdae’s words repeated in his head like his favourite lines from all the books he had read. "I want to marry for love, you know?"
I know.
"Enough about me," Jongdae said eventually. "What about you?"
Junmyeon blinked. "What about me?"
The frog prince just looked at him with a half annoyed, half amused expression. "How did you end up in my cottage?"
"It's a boring story. I'm boring."Junmyeon waved him off.
"No you aren't." Jongdae shook his head. "I want to hear it anyways, tell me everything," he demanded, a little more forceful than he intended.
In all his life, no one had ever asked Junmyeon about himself. In his village, everyone already had their hands full with their own problems, they hardly had any time to hear a boy talk about his dreams and aspirations. After awhile, he had given up telling others, and hid his dreams in the forest, himself included. Kim Junmyeon was a boring nobody, just another set of hands in the village that no one would really come to care about.
And yet, now there was a person who was asking.
"Well?" Jongdae demanded impatiently, "are you gonna tell me or not?"
So Junmyeon tried his best to tell Jongdae about his life, about the books he had read and about his family and life in the village. He didn't skip out on any details, eyes bright as he drank in every little laugh, smile, or gasp Jongdae had to offer. They stayed up very late into the night, long after the fireflies extinguished their lights and the whole world was asleep except the prince who wanted to love, and a boy, who hoped his story was good enough to be heard.
-
Junmyeon woke up to the sound of rain falling on their shared lily pad and to the feeling of Jongdae curled up against his side. The frog prince looked rather peaceful asleep; there was something almost human about the way he slept and Junmyeon couldn’t stop imagining what it would be like to wake up next to human Jongdae.
Ignoring his steadily increased heart rate, he poked at the other frog. "Jongdae, wake up," he coaxed.
“Five more hours,” came the muffled answer, as Jongdae buried his head closer into Junmyeon's chest.
The other frog jerked away automatically at the princes’s soft touch. The movement caused him to fall into the water, dragging Jongdae with him.
"Shit!" Jongdae yelled as he bobbed back up to the surface, very much awake.
Junmyeon was inclined to feel the same, his heart was racing and he didn't know why. He felt like he had been hit by a horse, Jongdae’s presence was just too overwhelming. It was as if he had finally realized that Jongdae was real, not just a prince as described in Junmyeon’s books, he was a real person, one who had fears and desires, one that Junmyeon wanted to care for, regardless of his birth status.
But he was just Junmyeon, he was not a real knight.
No matter how hard he pretended to be one.
-
"So what's the plan again?" Junmyeon asked, trying to keep up with Jongdae's hopping once again.
The other looked back before purposely slowing down so that Junmyeon could catch up. "We ask Sehun how to turn us back." he shrugged.
"What if he doesn't know how though? Maybe I should kiss you again, in the books I have read, true love's-"
"Oh no," interrupted Jongdae, looking scandalized. "You are not kissing me again, your kiss was what made me become a frog in the first place!"
Junmyeon was at a loss of words. "But-"
Jongdae was stubborn. "Get your froggy lips away from me!"
Shooting the other frog a dirty look, Jongdae hopped away from a slightly put out Junmyeon and stayed a few good paces ahead for the next hour until the trees broke off into a large field.
A few seconds after they reached the field, the prince bounded back, a big grin curling up his pretty mouth. "Hyung! Look!!" he waved excitedly.
Frankly speaking, Junmyeon didn’t know what he was supposed to look at. The field was hardly a sight, it was made up of mostly dry grass and dying flowers.
“It’s very, uh, yellow,” he ventured, an arm reaching out to poke a stray flower nearby. It crumpled at his touch. “Oh,” he said, retracting his hand.
Jongdae rolled his eyes impatiently. “This is where I met the warlock who cursed me! If we’re lucky, maybe he'll be here now and turn us back!"
The chances that a warlock who was angry enough to render Jongdae completely comatose to be forgiving enough to turn them both back into humans was highly unlikely. Yet, Jongdae looked so hopeful that Junmyeon didn’t have the heart to burst his bubble. Miracles did happen after all.
-
The two frogs waited in the shelter of the tree for Jongdae's warlock to appear in the field. They ate insects as they passed - Junmyeon was starting to get used to their sweet yet tart taste - and pointed out objects they saw in the oddly shaped clouds. As the day wore on, Jongdae began to teach Junmyeon his favorite songs and in turn, the elder retold the prince his favorite fairytales. Eventually, the lazy afternoon sun soon clocked out for the moon to take its shift, shining proud amongst the stars and casting a rosy glow down on the land.
It was a little after midnight when a light appeared at the edge of the field. Jongdae, who had been awake at the time kicked at Junmyeon. "He's here! He's here!"
As the lantern bobbed closer, a silhouette started to take shape. The figure moved stealthily through the field before stopping at a few trees over from the frogs. Jongdae motioned to move towards the person but Junmyeon held him back. "I'll do the talking," he cautioned, "you just stick with me and whatever you do, just don't talk."
They hopped over to the lantern and although the light did a good job showing the path and the trees, it did little to illuminate the figure before them. "Hello?" Junmyeon began politely, "Excuse me, if you could just look down over here for a second... hello?"
"You're too polite," Jongdae shoved him aside. "You'll never get his attention if you're a courteous frog."
Before Junmyeon could stop him, Jongdae cupped his mouth with his hands and yelled. "Hey you!"
The figure froze from where it had been collecting berries off a shrub and turned quietly to face the direction of which Jongdae's voice had come from.
"Down here!"
The figure crouched down when it saw the frogs, hovering the lantern near Junmyeon and Jongdae to see them. The frogs blinked quickly to adjust to the sudden glare of the light; now they could see clearly the outline of the warlock, yet his face remained shrouded in the shadows.
"It's me, Prince Jongdae," the frog prince said defiantly, squinting up at the warlock, with his hands shielding his eyes from the most of the lantern's light. "I met you right in this field sometime last summer? I was lost and well uh, you ended up cursing me and made me sleep for a whole year." he prodded Junmyeon forwards. "This is Junmyeon, he's the one who kissed me awake, but as you can see, some things didn't turn out very well..."
"We turned into frogs," Junmyeon explained unnecessarily.
The warlock looked sympathetic. That is, Junmyeon hope he did. It was still hard to see, what with the brilliance of light still partially blinding him.
"That's rather unfortunate," the figure said, his voice husky.
He didn't sound like he thought that what happened to them was unfortunate, in fact, if Junmyeon didn't know better he would have sworn that the warlock sounded happy. Beside him, Jongdae tensed. 'What is it?' he wanted to ask the prince but before he could do so, the warlock crouched down suddenly, the lantern's light finally catching his face.
The warlock was dressed in all black, making his slim face look pale and gaunt in comparison. He had thick eyebrows and heart shaped lips that were curled up in a wicked smile. His most distinctive feature was his large eyes, which held the potential to be wide and expressive, yet Junmyeon could see no emotion in them.
"You're not the warlock who cursed me.." Jongdae said, face pale.
The warlock crinkled his eyes. "You're right. I'm not. But I am a warlock who needs a pair of frogs, so look who just got lucky."
With one fell scoop, the warlock latched his hands on Junmyeon and Jongdae and stuffed them into individual glass jars. "Such fine specimens," he crooned at them, as he peered through the glass. "You'll be perfect for my spell."
Junmyeon could hear Jongdae's muffled screaming obscenities, but it seemed so far away. He could still see him though, in the jar held captive by the warlock’s right hand a few inches away. As if sensing his stare, Jongdae looked up, placing his hands against the glass, as if trying to reach Junmyeon's jar. If he squinted and put his hands on the clear surface, it looked like Jongdae and him were still holding onto each other. "Junmyeon!" he heard Jongdae shriek.
Junmyeon wanted to answer but before he could, the warlock dropped them both into his bag. Jostled, Junmyeon's head managed to collide against the hard glass.
And for the second time that week, everything went black.
-
When Junmyeon came to, he was in a cage and in what appeared to be a one room cabin. After a quick cursory glance around his cage, he let out a sigh in relief when he saw Jongdae sleeping in the corner, drooling slightly. Hopping over, he tried to shake the prince awake. "Jongdae."
The second his webbed hand came in contact with Jongdae's skin, Junmyeon knew something was wrong. The other frog's skin was completely cold, more so than a regular cold-blooded amphibian would ever be. Jongdae also did not shy away at Junmyeon's touch - as he would have normally - instead, he remained unnaturally still.
"Jongdae? Jongdae?!" Junmyeon’s voice rose shrilly as he throttled his prince. "Wake up! This isn't funny you know!" Dread begins to bubble up his throat when Jongdae just lay in his corner, limp and unmoving.
"He's not gonna wake up, Kyungsoo drugged him real good," a voice drifted up into the cage and Junmyeon hopped to the front, peering out to see who had spoken.
There was a small deer tied uncomfortably to a heavy looking coat rack in the back corner of the large room, diagonally across from where Junmyeon and Jongdae's cage was and directly across from the door.
"Excuse me?" Junmyeon managed to say.
The deer nodded at Jongdae. "He was alive when Kyungsoo brought you guys in," he shrugged.
"What Luhan means is that, the other guy was awake when Kyungsoo came back," a deep voice interjected. Junmyeon looked up to see a large bat bobbing up and down around the rafters. It settled down on the cage next to Junmyeon before shooting the deer a meaningful look.
Luhan just ignored him. "He was so loud, yelling at Kyungsoo about how short of a warlock he was and if he was actually a dwarf. I don’t blame Kyungsoo for throwing a fit, I'd be mad too if someone insulted my antlers."
When Junmyeon still looked bewildered, the bat just sighs. "Don’t mind Luhan, he’s incomprehensible half the time.” He gave Junmyeon a cursory glance. “Name's Wufan by the way, and wipe that worried look off your face, your friend is just unconscious not dead."
"Will he be okay?" Junmyeon asked.
Wufan titled his head, eyes narrowing on Jongdae's still form, and shook his head. "Ask Minseok, only he watched how much potion the idiot ate."
Inside the cage of which Wufan had perched on, a hamster emerged from a pile of wood shavings. "He ate three of those flies in that dish there," the hamster explained, pointing to a small container in the opposite corner of Junmyeon's cage. "Kyungsoo knocked him out with a sleeping elixir." There was a harsh sound of metal against metal as the hamster hopped onto the wheel, walking lightly. "He'll wake up in a few days, probably."
"I don't have a few days! I've got to take us home!" Junmyeon blurted. In a few days time, Kyungsoo would've probably killed them both and then he would never be able to have Jongdae turned back into a prince and return safely home.
Luhan quirked his head. "Alright frog, we'll help you and your idiot friend escape from this place. But first you should introduce yourself so we all know what we are investing in."
Junmyeon cleared his throat nervously as the animals looked on. “Well, I’m Kim Junmyeon and the other frog, he is Kim Jongdae, the prince of Elysion.”
Everyone was silent before the cottage erupted into laughter. Wufan’s guffaw alone was enough to shake the whole building.
"Right, and Wufan is actually a dragon!" Minseok chortled.
Up on the hamster's cage, Wufan stopped laughing abruptly, looking offended. "I AM a dragon!"
"But it's true!" Junmyeon said desperately. "Jongdae is the prince of Elysion."
"A prince huh? Maybe you should kiss him since true love's first kiss and all ," Wufan suggested, looking down at the frogs, eyes raised with interest.
‘I don't even know if I'm his true love,' Junmyeon thought, before startling himself with his next thought. 'But I want to be.'
He didn't know when it happened but somewhere along the way, between talking about their dreams to outsmarting cockatrices, he began to care about Jongdae, as a person and not as an adventure he wanted to live in. Somewhere along the way, he found that his heart began thumping to a different rhythm. Jongdae, Jongdae, Jongdae, Jongdae.
Pressing his mouth firmly against Jongdae's, he sent a mental plea for the other frog to wake up. "Jongdae?"
The other frog gave a twitch, before rolling away "Fuck off hyung," Jongdae groaned and Junmyeon nearly fell over with relief. "I told you the kiss thing won't work."
(“Are you sure he’s a prince?” Wufan whispered to Minseok, who shrugged. “He doesn’t sound very princely.”)
When Junmyeon doesn’t answer, the prince cracked an eye open to look at him. Jongdae frowned. "Junmyeon?" he whispered inquisitively, reaching out to touch Junmyeon.
That seemed to snap the other frog out of his daze, Junmyeon looked angry, swatting his hand away. "Kim Jongdae, do you know how worried I was? I thought you weren't going to ever wake up. I thought you.. you..." Junmyeon broke off, his cheeks flushing. Without bothering to finish his sentence, he moved away from the prince and stayed there even when Jongdae tried to call him.
Jongdae watched him go, confusion settling into him like glue. There was a painful twinge in the center of his chest when he looked at Junmyeon's retreating figure. Somehow, it hurt. Somehow, making Junmyeon upset made himself feel helpless. He didn’t want to feel helpless.
He wanted Junmyeon to smile at him like before.
An uncomfortable silence fell onto the room and its inhabitants as the other animals looked on wearily at the frogs who refused to speak to one another. The tension was palpable even to the black cat who had just sneaked in, giving Wufan a sleepy, "what's happening?"
"Lover's quarrel," Wufan had told him (his name was Tao, they had learnt later).
Finally, Luhan could not take any longer, squirming a little as he asked with little tact, "So are we going to escape or not?"
-
The plan was really simple. As it turned out, the animals had already been in the process of formulating an escape plan before Junmyeon and Jongdae had arrived. It did not take long before the plan was solidified once again to accommodate the two frogs.
"Kyungsoo left three hours ago, to look for a unicorn's horn," Minseok said, pointing to a part of the diagram he had crudely drawn using wood chips and hamster feed.
"Yixing would never be found, he only appears when the pure of heart needs help." Luhan snorted and Wufan nodded in agreement. "Which means, Kyungsoo will be returning soon."
"....so if everything works, we will be free by tonight." Wufan finished.
-
While Minseok was occupied with the escape, Jongdae drew Junmyeon aside.
"I'm -" Jongdae began at the same time Junmyeon said "So-"
They glanced at each other in surprise and laughed awkwardly, unsure of what to do. It was Jongdae who gestured for Junmyeon to carry on. "You first."
The frog took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I overreacted back then, I never meant to yell at you like that. And really you should-" he broke off mid sentence when Jongdae suddenly leaned forwards and pecked him on the cheek, smiling softly.
"It's okay. Apology accepted. I'm sorry I worried you."
By this time Junmyeon was pretty sure he was bright red, his heart thumping wildly. Does he know how he's reacting towards him? Was he reacting the same way? But before he could gauge the other's reaction, the lock to the cage clicked open, Wufan peering through the entrance. "Let's move!" He barked.
Shrugging, Junmyeon hopped away from Jongdae. What he didn't see was this: the second he turned his back, Jongdae pressed a hand to his own rapidly beating heart.
-
After freeing the frogs, Tao and Wufan worked on picking the lock to Minseok's cage with Tao's sharp claw. With a few twists left and right, the latch finally clicked open and Minseok scampered out. The next part was tricky. Being extremely careful, Wufan wrapped his feet around Minseok's round belly before pushing himself away from the table and safely to the floor where Luhan was still tied to.
They watched as Wufan took off, bobbing precariously as he flapped his wings swiftly, face contorted with concentration. "I am a dragon. A hamster is nothing. I am strong. I am the dragon." the bat chanted to himself as he made his way to Luhan. The second Minseok touched the ground, Wufan let go and the hamster scurried to the twine around the deer' hind leg, gnawing the rope into shreds.
Once Luhan was free, he trotted over to the frogs' cage, where Jongdae and Junmyeon climb down his neck and down to the ground.
The animals beamed, making their way to the wooden door. Finally, they did it. Finally, they were free. They were-
The door swung open.
Kyungsoo stared down at them with wide eyes. His surprise only lasted for a second before it dissolved into pure anger.
"Run!" somebody screamed.
All hell broke loose.
Luhan leapt at Kyungsoo, antler first and armed with cat, launching Tao into the warlock’s face, claws outstretched. While Tao had him distracted, the others scampered around Kyungsoo and out the door. Junmyeon smiled as Wufan flew past him and Minseok fell into a run next to him. They were soon joined by Luhan, who galloped past screaming victory chants, and Tao, who pranced below Wufan smugly. They had made it. Only when Junmyeon looked back, he realized that in the chaos, Jongdae, who was still mildly disoriented by the elixir, had lagged behind. Kyungsoo, having already recovered from Tao’s scratches, was seconds away from grabbing Jongdae who wasn’t aware that the warlock was so close. "You guys go on ahead first, we'll catch up!" Junmyeon yelled to Tao who simply nodded, shooting him a look. Good luck.
Junmyeon swallowed heavily as he hopped back to confront Kyungsoo. Thanks. He reached Jongdae just as Kyungsoo managed to grab onto the prince’s hind leg. He hurried forwards as Jongdae tripped, catching him before he could face plant onto the soil. "Junmyeon," Jongdae breathed, eyes shining as he looked at the other as if his knight had arrived. In a way, Junmyeon supposed, he did. I will protect you. With a burst of courage, he took aim and flicked his tongue out hard at Kyungsoo's eye. The warlock recoiled, retracting his hand from Jongdae’s leg in favour of clutching his eye, and Junmyeon took the chance to grab Jongdae and escaped, Kyungsoo's yells becoming fainter and fainter.
-
They ran for what seemed like miles, until the trees pressed closer and the forest greenery grew wild and thick. Junmyeon kept dragging Jongdae along, looking forward into the unknown with a determined expression.The sun was burning. Jongdae was tired. And hungry. But most of all, he wanted to go home.
"Junmyeon, let's take a break," the prince whispered, tugging gently out of Junmyeon's death grip. As if he had realized what Jongdae wanted, Junmyeon immediately let go of Jongdae's arm, whirling around to cup Jongdae's face, tilting it left and right as if assessing for damage.
"Are you okay?" he asked seriously and Jongdae shook him off with a question of his own.
"Are you?"
Junmyeon nodded. "I'm fine," he answered, turning back to hop deeper into the forest. He didn't make it far. With the combined weight of both exhaustion and dehydration, he collapses before he could even take another step.
After a day of trudging through the forest with Junmyeon half on his back, Jongdae tumbled into a hole in an oak tree for the night, tucking himself into a nook in order to avoid predators, making sure that Junmyeon was hidden as well. Having made sure that Junmyeon was comfortable, Jongdae jumped out of the nook, trying to find a nearby water source and insects to bring back for the other frog. When he found none, he returned to the hole with a few large leaves that he draped over Junmyeon’s unconscious form before curling up next to him, watching over the other frog until the moon began to descend and the sun rose up to attention. He didn’t know why he was worrying about the other frog so much. Maybe it was because Junmyeon had took care of him through the entire journey despite Jongdae’s stubborn need for independence; or because he had told him about his life outside of the castle, about something that wasn’t about how to run a kingdom or about being a prince. Or maybe because Jongdae wanted to save Junmyeon, to be his knight for a change.
Jongdae wondered if this was what love felt like.
The next day, Junmyeon was still burning up and sweating slightly with a fever, so Jongdae stayed by his side, dabbling at his sweat with a fallen leaf. I will protect you. He smiled, trying to look brave and strong just as Junmyeon was, hoisting an arm around the other frog and pulling him along to find fresh water.
The sun was even hotter and merciless than before. Jongdae now had slowed down considerably, eyes fighting to stay open as he dragged Junmyeon along to the direction of which, led to Elysion castle. He had to find Sehun, he had to turn back into human, he wanted to see Junmyeon’s face.
He wanted to see Junmyeon to wake up to find himself looking back at him.
If he could only move a couple more steps…
Alas Mother Nature did not seem to favor such romanticism and with a cry, Jongdae fell down a sudden dip of land, dropping Junmyeon as he tumbled down on his back , before lying sprawled at the bottom of the hill. He had to go back, he had to do it. He had to save Junmyeon.
He had to save Junmyeon…
The last thing he saw before his eyes fluttered shut was the shimmer of a unicorn’s horn.
-
Jongdae jolted awake when someone drops him in a pool of water. Gasping, he resurfaced, searching for the other frog. Thankfully, Junmyeon was in the water as well, looking shaken, but very much awake and alive. Junmyeon leapt out of the water and held his hand out to Jongdae, who took it gladly. After inspecting one another, they found that to their surprise, Junmyeon’s fever was completely gone and the cuts on Jongdae’s body from the fall had all been healed. The two frogs were perfectly healthy.
Not only were they healed, but as they came to take in their surroundings, they were also on castle grounds.
Faintly, Jongdae remembered the whisper of the unicorn’s horn and thought about Luhan and what he had said about the forest and its inhabitants. He only appears when the pure of heart needs help. He looked up at the sky. There are clouds covering the sun today. “Thank you Yixing,” Jongdae whispered, bowing slightly in respect to the direction of the forest.
“This is the edge of King’s Royal Garden,” Jongdae told Junmyeon, “Just around the corner is where Sehun likes to hang out a lot, we can go there.” As if summoned, a tall page boy walked past in a shock of light pink hair, a scowl deeply etched into his face. “That’s Sehun.”
The two hopped quickly after the boy as he disappeared underneath a willow tree, with the prince calling his name. “Oh Sehun! Sehuna!”
At the sound of Jongdae’s voice, the boy whipped around looking around for the prince, his scowl replaced by a more neutral expression. “Your Highness?”
“Down here you oaf!” Jongdae shouted sweetly.
Sehun looked down and yelped. “Am I hearing things again?”
Jongdae laughed, waving to the boy who looked at them like he wanted to throw up. “It’s me, Jongdae! I got turned into a frog with this other boy, Junmyeon! So we need your help Sehuna, you’re the only one that I know who would know the antidote.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s true love’s first-”
“Hush Junmyeon, I’m talking.”
Sehun looked at the two frogs, his eyes darting back and forth before nodding in understanding. “I am a frog whisperer.”
Jongdae smacked his hand against his face. “What? No! It’s Prince Jongdae you dumb fuck.”
Sehun looked like Jongdae had slapped him, eyebrows furrowing in hurt before they straightened again, shooting the pair a cool look. "How do I know if you really are Prince Jongdae? For all I know, I might really be a-" he began, eyeing them suspiciously.
"You make out with that boy, Kim Jongin, behind the stables every Tuesday and Thursdays at 7," Jongdae replied flatly, watching in amusement as the page boy paled visibly.
"J-Jongdae, we’re friends right? Y-you're not gonna tell anyone right?" Sehun whispered fearfully.
Jongdae smirked. "Not a soul," he promised. "I can't vouch for him though," he jerked a hand at Junmyeon. Only when the other frog confirmed that he wouldn't tell anyone did Sehun look willing to speak.
"True love's first kiss breaks the spell," the page boy told them and Junmyeon smacked his face in frustration.
"That's what I've been telling you the whole time!" he said, throwing his hands up and shooting Jongdae one of his best glare. “But you never listened!”
"No," Sehun interrupted as he watched , Junmyeon motioning closer to peck the prince on the lips. "You," he pointed to Jongdae and then to Junmyeon, “have to kiss him.
There was a beat of silence.
"How was I supposed to do that when I was in a fucking coma?" Jongdae exclaimed.
Sehun shrugged, looking bored once again now that he knew what was going on. "The warlock probably wanted you to sleep forever."
Jongdae scowled. "Loopholes," he muttered with feeling. The prince leapt over to where Junmyeon was standing. "So I guess I have to kiss you this time," he whispered, suddenly looking shy and uncertain.
Junmyeon nodded, feeling slightly awkward. "Right."
Jongdae leaned forward and pressed his lips to Junmyeon's, eyes fluttering shut. It was odd at first but Junmyeon relaxed into the kiss, allowing his body to take over. He imagined how it would feel, kissing the human Jongdae, with their mouths lined slick against each other's, drowning in each other's taste. His tongue licked up into Jongdae's mouth, running lightly across human teeth and suckling on human tongue, trying to memorize every nook and cranny. Jongdae moaned, slim fingers pulling Junmyeon closer until their bodies were flush against one another as Junmyeon moved his hands around Jongdae's neck, fingers carding through soft hair. Soft hair....
They break apart.
For a few beats, they just stare openly at one another, drinking in each others’ appearance. Junmyeon was slightly shorter than Jongdae, but while he lacked height, he was slightly more muscled and tan from years of work out in the field in comparison to Jongdae’s milky soft frame. He was devastatingly handsome, the prince could not help but think, watching how Junmyeon looked at him with warm brown eyes. I could wake up to those eyes.
That thought quickly dissipated. Sehun cleared his throat and Jongdae breaks away first, blushing furiously as he turned away. "Well, you're not hideous." he muttered.
Junmyeon smiled wryly. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself."
-
The sun was setting by the time Jongdae and Junmyeon walked to the castle gate.
Junmyeon realized that by turning back into human, Jongdae had to go home. He has done his duty, returning his prince to his kingdom. Junmyeon had to go home too, back to the village to live off adventures through his books. Jongdae had to go back to the castle, where he would learn about ruling the lands and eventually marry another royal. Jongdae had to leave.
He didn't want Jongdae to leave.
The prince tapped him on his shoulder, the gold circlet on his head glaring at Junmyeon. "So I guess this is goodbye." he murmured.
Junmyeon didn't want to say goodbye. "I guess."
"Bye, Kim Junmyeon," said Jongdae, kissing him softly on the cheek. That seemed to wake Junmyeon up. With a jolt, he grabs Jongdae’s wrist and turned him back around.
"Please don’t go."
Jongdae was staring at him, eyes wide and hopeful but Junmyeon doesn't even notice.
"I know I'm not the best storybook hero a prince would have. I'm not perfect nor am I a knight. But if you were with me, I would try my best to make everyday of your life the best one. I would create a happily ever after for you, Jongdae, I would do that... for you."
There were tears in Jongdae’s eyes, Junmyeon thought, that or his own tears were obscuring the view.
And then Jongdae lurched forwards, wrapping his arms around Junmyeon’s neck and pulling him closer so their foreheads touched. "Silly." Jongdae said, smiling. "How could I ever have a happily ever after if you weren't in it?"
"I-"
"Just shut up and kiss me."
So Junmyeon does.
**
1. the name for the kingdom in this fic, Elysion is taken from the Greek meaning "designation of a place or person struck by lightning" or enelysion, enelysios. I thought it would be nice as Jongdae's power is lightning.
2. roughly based on the frog princess by e.d baker
3. past tense will be the death of me the things i do to hide my identity from marcel lol