mark had rarely had such a good night of sleep, and yet, that morning, his eyes had fluttered open so lightly, his mind and body rested more than sufficiently.

the reason for his well-being so early in the morning was mostly due to the mop of golden hair that was still nestled between his neck and his collarbone, the curls tickling his chin in a delicious way.

the future king let his eyes run over what was visible of his lover's face and body, a fond smile inevitably taking over his features as he stayed still, too scared to disturb the tanned male's beauty sleep. their bodies were completely tangled under the sheets, making it impossible – if not for their different skin tones – to identify which limb belonged to whom. donghyuck's face was pressed against mark's skin, taking in all of the warmth he could, and breathing in the royal's scent like it was something vital for him, and this could only make mark smile more.

after long minutes of staring, mark's eyes eventually fell on the boy's closed eyelids, and this had his smile faltering and be replaced by a frown. they were slightly red, a sign that donghyuck's eyes would most likely be puffy upon waking up; this had to be because of all of the crying that had occurred the night prior.

mark hated to remember the way donghyuck had broken down completely the night before, the way his tears had started cascading down his cheeks and his lips had quivered to let loud sobs slip past them. the sight of his lover so sad and hurt had caused mark's own heart to shatter, and made him feel the urge to resolve whatever was happening, to make his lover stopo crying and to reassure him, to fight against what had put his precious boy in that state...

as beautiful and enchanting as love was, it was a dangerous feeling, one that could fuel the darkest desires and cause people to make the worse decisions. mark surely wasn't aware of it before, but he had somehow understood it perfectly the night before, as his whole being was first hit by ultimate sadness from seeing his lover in a bad state, but as this sadness slowly morphed into burning rage as he came to the realisation of how hurt donghyuck really was.

donghyuck hadn't told him what had him barging into the royal palace so late at night, with a heavy heart. he had simply asked mark about his opinion on what he should do – follow his family or his own self – and mark had answered him truthfully. they belonged to a world in which the family you were born in defined who you were and what your life would be without a possibility to change it. as much as mark wanted to encourage his lover to pursue his dreams and follow his desires, he knew that this would lead him straight to his loss. mark himself would love to forget about his future duties and just run away with donghyuck to forget about all of their differences and start over from a more egalitarian stage. but this wasn't possible. mark was a royal, the future king of aes, and he had duties. donghyuck was just a peasant, someone living on aes' lands and at the royals' mercy.

anyway, to be completely honest, mark didn't think knowing what or who put donghyuck in this state was a good thing. with how mad he had become the previous night, he could only guess that knowing who or what was to blame for his lover's despair might push him to do things he could regret later on.

damn, love was indeed something powerful and dangerous...

"mmh..."

the royal looked between his arms at the tanned beauty who was stirring from his deep slumber, slowly coming back to consciousness after a long night tangled in his lover's embrace.

"morning, sunshine." mark whispered, a bright smile taking over his features at the sight of his boy's bed head, half-asleep eyes and pouty lips.

"morning..." donghyuck mumbled without articulating, pressing his body closer to mark's.

the future king could only chuckle at donghyuck's cuteness, leaning forwards and rubbing their noses together lovingly.

"you're adorable..." he declared, looking deep into donghyuck's eyes as he tightened his grip on the boy, as if he was too scared he could slip away from him.

"mmh." donghyuck hummed, protesting against mark's skin as he had nestled his face in the crook of mark's neck once again, surely to doze back off to sleep.

mark could only let him, keeping his gaze on the peasant in his arms with the same loving smile he previously wore. he never wanted to get out of bed and slip away from donghyuck's embrace ever again. and judging by the way the other was clutching onto him, he could only guess that this feeling was mutual.

♕

concentrating was hard.

right now, it seemed like it had become the toughest task he had ever been asked to.

his mind was too focused on everything that had happened the night before, his thoughts going wild and his brain refusing to focus on the very simple task he has been assigned to.

"ouch." the brunette winced as he – once again – let the knife slip from the potato he was peeling too fast, causing him to skin the palm of his hand.

sighing in exasperation, the peasant put the vegetable on the counter to put his hand under the cold water to stop the light bleeding and hopefully not let the wound get infected.

as he stared at the water pouring on his hand, donghyuck's thoughts wandered elsewhere again, recalling him too vividly the events of the night prior.

donghyuck's brain didn't allow him to get a minute of break, constantly reminding him of his and his father's fight, of the awful words his father had told him, of the truth he had put up to light, and of the way his calloused hand had slapped his soft cheek so hard.

his skin had slightly bruised from the hit, and he could still feel it stinging when he touched it. mark had caressed his cheek so lightly after waking up, and donghyuck had instantly jerked back, the feathery touch being enough to release a small pain that had made another bigger one resurface.

he had killed someone. he had killed the king. he had killed the father of the very man who had caressed his cheek in nothing but fondness and love.

and he was sleeping in his bed, letting himself be curled up against his side and be loved and admired by him.

what a monster donghyuck was...

"zoning out again." a feminine voice startled donghyuck out of his daze as a hand came to close the tap. "we don't have infinite water, you know that?"

the tanned male blinked a few times, looking from his co-worker to the closed tap and finally to his hand. "sorry..." he mumbled. "i just... i don't know..."

donghyuck's co-worker sighed. "having a rough day again? seems to happen quite often these days."

the brunette could only shrug at those words, mechanically grabbing the half-peeled potato and the knife to keep what he had previously been doing.

the other cook stayed silent for a few seconds, staring at donghyuck intensely before taking a step closer to him to ensure them a bit more privacy.

"did you have a fight with your lover?" she whispered.

"no, it's not that." donghyuck immediately shook his head. "everything is good with him. that's not the problem."

well, 'that's not the problem'.

let's say it wasn't the 'main' problem. but staying in the arms of someone you killed the father of certainly was a problem in itself.

"oh, it's not that..." his co-worker hummed. "what is it then?"

donghyuck barely hesitatd before answering. "my father."

"ah." the kitchen lady could only let out, her mouth staying shut after.

surely, she knew who donghyuck's father was. everybody knew who he was, perhaps not exactly what he did or what he fought for, but he was still an important figure of their village, a big mouth that loved to gain attention. and working in the kitchen alongside donghyuck, she had seen the boy's father a lot, and seen him interacting with donghyuck from when he was still a child. he had even probably seen him with donghyuck's mother when she was still alive.

"we had a fight yesterday." donghyuck continued, discarding the peeled potato to grab another one that he started to peel. "i'm just a bit shaken off by it."

"i assume he is the cause of this, then..." she stated, her fingers reaching for donghyuck's chin lightly to lift up his head and stare at the light bruise on his cheek.

"mmh." donghyuck simply hummed, his mind getting haunted by the memory once again.

there were a few seconds of silence between donghyuck and his co-worker, the woman letting go of donghyuck's chin and crossing her arms over her chest as she leant back against the sink. donghyuck continued to peel the vegetables, not knowing what more to say in this situation. thankfully, he didn't have to think too hard, because the kitchen lady by his side spoke.

"i know hitting you isn't the solution. i know it's the worse way to deal with things and to make you understand a lesson." she started. "he shouldn't have done that, that is very wrong of him..."

donghyuck could only nod, his cheeks somehow magically hurting more, as if thinking about it was making the pain more present.

"it is so wrong but... but you know how hard your father has it..." his co-worker sighed sadly. "he's... he doesn't have the easiest life. his days are long and tiring, and... and he has lost his wife, leaving him on his own to deal with a lot of things... that's a lot of hard work for him, and he struggles to deal with it." she continued, her eyes staring into the void as she told what she had witnessed after all those years staying at the restaurant. "he's not the easiest man to be around, he's not necessarily the one you'd want to fight again, but one thing i know for sure, is that he's risking a lot for what he thinks is right and who he loves, and that mostly includes you, donghyuck."

the tanned male nodded almost robotically, recognising his father in all aspects that his older co-worker was describing to him.

"i'm not saying that this justifies hitting you, definitely not." she spoke sternly, glancing at donghyuck who had stopped peeling the potatoes. "i'm just saying that... that if he's so hard with you and with what he makes you go through, it's only because he wants what is best for you." she heaved out a sigh. "he just never really knew how to express it. in the past, it's your mother who used to tame him, and to be the intermediary between you and him. but now that she's gone... well... he's lost himself, and he didn't manage to get better in this field. so, he may be a bit rough and harsh, and things you wouldn't think a father should be, but that's just because he's going through hell with the loss of his wife and dealing with everything that comes with it."

donghyuck gulped, swallowing the lump that had started forming in the back of his throat.

it hurt that she wasn't wrong. hell, it hurted so bad that she was right on the whole line even.

his father had always been like this, it had simply been a bit messier since he had lost his wife. but donghyuck couldn't blame him, he had been much messier as well. everything had become so damn messy for him, he was certain that his father had managed to keep his shit together more than donghyuck had.

"you dad loves you, donghyuck." the kitchen lady smiled at the boy. "he loves you more than anyone else, and he's lost ever since your mother left you. he just wants what's best for you, what him and your mother have always wanted. he wants you to follow his path, their path. he knows that this is what is going to be best for you. and i must admit that he doesn't show it in the best way, but i assure you that there's nothing more than he wants than for you to follow your parents' paths and make both of them proud."

a single tear slipped down from donghyuck's eye at his co-worker's words.

he couldn't believe that he hadn't seen it. he couldn't believe that he had let himself being so blind not to realise how bad his father was struggling, and how strong he was despite everything that had happened to him.

and to say that he had spoken to him so bad the day prior...

to say he had spat to his face that he didn't know how to lead his own family when he had had to go through donghyuck's mother's death and through everything that came along with losing one's wife...

donghyuck had been so bad, so selfish, so self-centred to realise everything that his father was doing for him. he had been so narrowminded to realise that this was the way he showed donghyuck his love. and donghyuck had only a parent left, so he couldn't be picky about how he received the love from his parents.

god, he truly was a monster for being so bad to someone who wanted nothing but his good.

♕

"everything alright, my little gem?"

the future king of aes blinked a few times before lifting his head from the pile of papers he was previously reading to look at his mother who was seated on a golden armchair, a few feet away from him. her eyes were full of hope and pride as she batter her eyelashes, a smile appearing on her face.

"h-huh... yeah." mark could only stutter. "everything alright."

"why are you looking so stunned?" the regent queen questioned, leaning forward a bit to be closer to her son who was seated facing her.

"it's just that..." mark sighed, his fingers fumbling through the pile of paper resting on his lap. "...the coronation seems like a big thing..."

the regent queen stayed frozen for a second before she leant back against the backrest of her armchair, head pulled backwards as she let out a cheerful laugh.

"of course, it is a big thing, my little gem!" she beamed. "you are going to be the king. all of the lords from the neighbouring kingdoms will be there to witness this amazing event. we need to make it memorable."

the young royal sighed at his mother's words, eyes scanning over the sheets of paper on which were listed all of the orders for food and beverages for the occasion. he flipped through the pages as well, reaching the commands for flowers and plants, and a bit more, only finding an endless number of lines with orders of hundreds of things that mark wasn't even sure were necessary for a coronation.

"but isn't all of this a bit... a bit too much?" the royal asked worriedly.

"what do you mean 'too much'?" his mother snorted. "you're not getting crowned every day. and we're the kingdom of aes, we need to show the others how powerful we are."

"but what if..."

mark took a pause in the middle of his sentence, ensuring that his next words were in the right order in his mind before speaking them out in the wrong way and scaring his mother to death.

"...what if i didn't want to show to the others how powerful we were?"

the regent queen stayed frozen again, for longer than a second this time. and contrarily to moments prior, she didn't burst out laughing. instead, she blinked once, twice, three times, her lashes caressing her cheeks lightly at each of them, and making two piercing eyes appear.

"what are you saying, mark?" she asked, her previously cheerful tone replaced by confusion.

"it's just that... it's not necessarily the image of our kingdom that i want to show..." the young royal explained carefully, keeping his eyes on his mother to know whether it was better for him to stop or not.

"what other image than that of a powerful kingdom would you want to give?" she frowned, her eyes almost disappearing behind her carefully drawn brows. "do you want to get invaded by the neighbouring kingdoms the second you are crowned?" she snorted.

"i-i don't know..." mark started. "what about a kingdom closer to the people of its land? a kingdom in which there isn't so much difference between royals and peasants. something perhaps fairer for them...?"

it didn't take longer than half a second this time for the regent queen to laugh hysterically, almost falling from her armchair in the process. mark could only gulp, knowing very well that this reaction was nothing good for him and his ideas – at least he would have tried.

mark had never really thought about the way peasants were treated on the lands of a kingdom before meeting donghyuck. but after witnessing how different they were, and how donghyuck could be amazed and stunned by things that seemed all the more normal for mark, the royal understood that they definitely didn't live the same things and didn't have the same life. hanging out with the peasant was an eye-opener for mark, a gift from heaven that had showed him how unequally the riches were shared in their world, how royals lived with much more than they needed, and how peasants lived with much less that should be acceptable.

his union with donghyuck had made mark want to give him the whole world and a taste of all the riches that he had the opportunity to have around him. but after visiting donghyuck' village, seeing where he had spent all of his life, where he worked and where he slept, he had realised that not only donghyuck, but everyone who lived like him deserved to be able to taste to those riches. the royals had plenty of them, and they would surely not die if they had to share a bit of them with the peasants that lived on their land.

and more than just giving them enough to live better, mark was certain that sharing all those riches a bit more could have prevented the assassination of the king. this unfortunate event had surely occurred because the peasants wanted to rebel agains the royals, because they considered that the royals had everything and that they had nothing. but if the royals could share their riches a bit, perhaps that the peasants would be pleased with it, and see the royals as better people, not living in the fear of being thrown away from the kingdom at the first fault they did.

mark did admit that all of this was a crazy idea, and that he would never have thought about it if he hadn't met donghyuck, but to him, it seemed like the best solution; both for him, and for his people.

"see, this is exactly why there is a regency, my little gem..." the queen said after she had finally calmed down. "to prevent your young mind to do crazy things because you suddenly get a wild thought..."

"it's not- "

"i don't know wher you got that idea from, mark, but it will never happen. it is impossible." his mother cut him.

"why? we have more than enough to share a bit and- "

"we are royals mark." the queen spoke sternly. "it is our duty to appear strong and powerful, and to keep the peasants we have on our lands under our control. they are our strength, and they cannot be used properly if they don't worship us. and the only way to have them worshipping us is to make them fear us so bad that they don't have another choice."

"i don't think- "

"you are too naïve, mark." his mother cut him again. "this will be problematic for you when you'll be a king."

before mark could give her an answer, three knocks were heard against the wooden door of the tea room in which the two royals were sitting.

"come in!" the regent queen called.

the door opened, allowing a servant to slide in, bowing low as soon as the royals came into right.

"your majesty, your highness." she stated before looking at the regent queen. "the lord responsible for the armed forces requested me to confirm that he would be ready for your meeting tomorrow, your majesty."

"perfect. i'll be there. thank you." the queen smiled, making the servant bow again before leaving the room.

"what meeting with the responsible of the armed forces?" mark frowned. "you didn't tell me there was one. i thought you were supposed to make me come to all the meetings you had to ensure the smoothest transition possible for after my coronation."

"do not worry about it, my little gem." the regent queen shook her head. "this is nothing you need to worry about."

and well, after everything he had heard from her, mark wasn't sure he could exactly trust those words from his mother.