Chapter Text
“What the hell were you doing with him?” Yujun asked as soon as they got back to their house. He’d not said anything the whole way back, which actually wasn’t that far, but it still made Hunter feel uncomfortable since Yujun usually was very talkative and happy.
“Nothing…? He just turned up a few minutes before you did,” Hunter answered, massaging his wrist when his brother finally let go of him. He was sure Yujun hadn’t meant to hurt him, but the iron grip he’d had on Hunter’s wrist, pulling him with him all the way back without letting go, still stung now when he’d finally let go.
“Yeah? And what did he want?” Yujun asked, eyes traveling down to look at his brother’s wrist, which was turning slightly red. “Sorry…” Yujun added upon realizing he’d done that, but Hunter just shook his head.
“It’s fine, but I don’t know what he wanted… he didn’t really get to say that much…” Hunter answered.
“Well, it seemed like he was quite busy pressing you up against the wall, so that doesn’t surprise me,” Yujun scuffed.
“Yujun!” Hunter exclaimed. He felt his cheeks heat up and probably turn red again at the way his brother had described what Seeun had done.
“What? That’s what he did, though!” Yujun said. “Or who would you have described it?” The elder raised an eyebrow at his brother.
“I’d rather not describe it at all…” Hunter muttered before walking past Yujun and back into their house.
“So if I’d not shown up there, you would have just let him do whatever and not moved?” Yujun questioned as he followed Hunter inside.
“No!? I just hadn’t had the time to do anything myself before you pulled him away…!” Hunter argued.
“Didn’t look like you were considering doing much, though…” Yujun huffed. He lightly kicked one of the chairs around the table when he walked by it.
“What are you even… wait… are you jealous?” Hunter asked, which made Yujun turn back around to face him.
“Of you!? No! Why would I want that bastard’s attention?” Yujun questioned.
“No… I meant… are you jealous of him…?” Hunter said, and that made Yujun give him a weird look before realization hit him.
“Oh, uhm, not to be mean or anything, but no… I don’t… I know it’s not really a big deal considering our own parents and ancestors, but I don’t think that’s for me,” He chuckled a little before his face turned worried again. “Did you want me to…? Like, do you like me like that… or?”
“No!” Hunter answered quite quickly. “Not that I’ve actually not put much thought to it, but no,” He added, and that made Yujun laugh.
“Okay, good. Glad we got that out of the way,” He chuckled. “Would have been quite awkward if one of us liked the other, but that one didn’t like them back,”
“Yeah, haha. But why did you react like that, then? I mean, the thing with Seeun…” Hunter questioned.
“Maybe because I don’t want a stranger to push my brother up against a wall,” Yujun answered.
“Can you please stop referring to it like that…?” Hunter muttered while burying his face in his hands out of embarrassment.
“Yeah, no. I’m never dropping that!” Yujun teased, earning a slap on the arm from his brother. “But why were you even out there? Aren’t you supposed to be with Minghao right now?” Yujun added, and that made Hunter look up again as he realized he’d completely forgotten what had happened before he ran straight into Seeun.
“Shit!” Hunter exclaimed before running back to the door Yujun hadn’t closed when they entered. Hunter slammed it shut before going back to his brother and pushing him further into the house.
“What are you doing?” Yujun chuckled. He found Hunter’s behavior a little strange, but as soon as the younger had told him what he’d heard Minghao and Taemin talk about, he didn’t look as amused anymore. “What did he mean by deal with the Martell boy? Do you think he’s going to kill him?”
“What? No… or, I don’t know, but that seems rather unnecessary if you ask me…” Hunter answered. “But I don’t really feel like going back down there either… I’ve never really liked Taemin, and now this just made it worse…”
“Then don’t go there!” Yujun answered. “We should leave; we should have done that a long time ago!”
“You can’t… He’s not done yet…” A voice from behind them came, making them abruptly turn around only to come face to face with Taemin. His silver eyes moved from Hunter to Yujun before going back to Hunter again. “He still needs to learn about the prophecy…”
“What prophecy…?” Hunter asked. Yujun moved to stand in between him and Taemin, but Hunter stopped him by holding up his hand.
“That’s what you’ll learn once you’ve seen what the king’s dragon can show you…” Taemin said.
“King’s dragon…?” Yujun questioned, looking back at Hunter.
“Layros… King Beomgyu’s dragon,” Hunter whispered back before looking up at Taemin again. “Okay… Show it to me now, then, and be done with it!”
- - - -
“Don’t you think someone will recognize us?” Keum muttered as they walked across the deck of the transporting ship heading north.
“Not if we don’t give them any reason to,” Baekseung answered. “Blending in isn’t so hard when you stop trying so much, and our hair colors aren’t as uncommon as you might think,” He added. They continued to walk all the way to the front of the ship before Baekseung stopped. “Two of my brothers are in King’s Landing. We’ll go there first, and then we can travel up the Kingsroad and reach Winterfell within a month. It’s not as fast as taking a ship all the way up to the North, but I believe it’s safer since no one will expect us to do that,”
“Maybe because the Kingsroad isn’t the best traveling way… and because the Gullet is hard to navigate if you don’t have the right skills for it… and this ship doesn’t look very suited for any potential storms in those waters…” Keum said.
“It isn’t, but if we’d gotten on a bigger ship, the risk of someone recognizing us would have been bigger as well…” Baekseung pointed out before reaching for Keum’s hand to pull the elder closer to him. “Imagine if I’d had a dragon… then I could have just swooped down and picked you up before flying us back to Winterfell,” Baekseung chuckled, while Keum just shook his head, but he still smiled nonetheless.
“You would never have gotten me to ride one of those flying lizards,” Keum laughed.
“No? I can be very persuasive if I want to, you know,” Baekseung grinned.
“Oh, trust me, I know,” Keum answered before tilting his head backward a little so he could kiss the younger. “Why are your brothers in King’s Landing, by the way?” He questioned once they separated again.
“It’s a long story…” Baekseung answered.
“We’ve got time,” Keum said teasingly.
“I’d rather spend that time doing something else…” Baekseung said while placing his hands on Keum’s waist.
“Oh, I’m sure you do,” Keum smirked at him before letting the younger pull him along with him back down below deck.
- - - -
“Make sure to send out whatever they might need and order some additional men to accompany you if needed,” Taesan ordered the two men he was walking across the courtyard with. “Our people need food for the winter, so make sure they have enough before you come back!”
“Yes, my prince,” Both men bowed their heads before turning back toward the castle while Taesan continued to walk. He looked up toward the wing of the castle where his and Leehan’s chambers were, but the window was closed, and the curtains were shut, telling him that Leehan was probably still asleep. He sighed before turning his head back around to see where he was going, but something, or rather someone, standing up on the wall surrounding the castle made him halt his steps.
“Father?” Taesan called out, but Jake either didn’t hear him or just simply didn’t turn to look at him, which prompted Taesan to walk over to the stairs leading up to the walkway before walking up to stand next to his father. “What are you going up here?” Taesan questioned, eyes darting between his father and the open plains outside the city walls.
“You know there was a time when I didn’t think you’d ever be fit to take my place…” Jake said.
“Uhm, yeah?” Taesan answered. His father was still not looking at him but rather just stared out over the plains.
“And that your reckless decisions would just tear our family apart,” Jake continued.
“Well, yes, I’m quite aware you had that thought, but what does it have to do with anything now? I haven’t done something like that in a very long time…” Taesan said, slightly offended that his father would bring that up now, just out of the blue.
“You are very different from me, but not that different from your dad… He always had the devotion to keep both you and your brother safe, but he never believed in locking you up here, preventing you from living your own lives. He knew the world was dangerous, but rather than hide away from it, he was ready to take it all head-on for you…” Taesan watched Jake as he spoke, but nothing really made any sense to him. “I think that’s where I went wrong… I forced you and Leehan to stay here because I thought that would be better for you, and I think I passed on that belief to you as well…”
“Father… are you alright?” Taesan questioned while reaching out his hand to place it on Jake’s arm, which finally made the latter turn his head to look at his son.
“When the snows fall, and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies, but the pack survives…” Jake mumbled, gently prying off Taesan’s hand from his arm before walking back down into the courtyard again and eventually disappearing into the castle. He left Taesan just staring after him, still not really able to comprehend what his father had meant… He stood there until he felt the need to look up, and just as he did, tiny snowflakes started to fall from the sky, and a cold gush of wind blew through his hair…