donghyuck looked at himself in the reflection of mark's mirror, somehow not recognising the young male standing in front of him.

it wasn't that his face had drastically changed since the last time he had looked at himself in a mirror, or that he had considerably grown up and matured. he sure had, but he looked in the mirror or in the reflection of any glass – or clean kitchen utensil – often enough to be able to know how he looked like.

but still, today, as donghyuck had been staring at his reflection, he had realised there was something about it that wasn't like usual, but he couldn't really pinpoint what.

"still in front of the mirror?"

the tanned male was startled by the royal's voice, causing him to jump slightly before turning around to face the other male.

"why do you look so confused? are there no mirrors in your village?" the future king continued his questioning, expecting an answer - even a non-verbal one – from donghyuck. but instead, all he received was silence.

yes, the peasant was completely awestruck by the sight in front of him, preventing him to actually register the words mark had spoken and to give him an answer.

mark had just gotten out of the bathroom attached to his bedroom after a nice shower. his hair was still dripping wet, droplets of water falling onto the piece of cloth he had around his neck and that he used as a towel to dry his hair. the boy was also fully dressed, but in much more casual clothes than those donghyuck was used to seeing him in.

this time, his robes weren't plated of gold and silver metals, screaming riches and royalty. instead, the fabric of his assorted fit hugged his body nicely, beautiful embroideries crawling their way up from the bottom of his trousers to his shoulders. the material and design still looked expensive, but it definitely wasn't the usual formal-royal-wear that mark usually wore when he met with donghyuck.

and well, donghyuck found himself thinking how ironical it was that mark looked so divine in such simple clothes when he was a royal.

"my clothes look nice..." the future king declared after a while since donghyuck didn't give him any answer.

thankfully, this time, the tanned male had been woken up from his daze by the royal's words, his cheeks slightly reddening as he realised what thoughts he just had.

"t-they do." donghyuck immediately nodded, looking everywhere but into mark's eyes.

the royal chuckled at donghyuck's apparent nervousness. "i meant, they look nice on you."

the brunette could only blink a few times at those words, now glancing into mark's eyes before looking down at himself and the slightly big clothes he had changed into after his shower a few minutes prior.

mark and him had spent a long while playing and fighting each other in the dojo, whether it was with swords or with their bare hands, and inevitably, after god knows how long, both of them had their clothes drenched in sweat, and so, mark had kindly suggested that they headed back to his room to have a shower and change in more comfortable clothes, which had now brought them to where they were.

"wait- your clothes?!" the brunette exclaimed, spinning on his heels to face the mirror again. "you had said they belonged to a servant!"

"well, i lied..." the raven-haired royal chuckled slightly at donghyuck's panicked stated. "and- what are you doing? don't remove them!" he continued immediately as he noticed donghyuck trying to unbutton the shirt he had been lent.

"mark, i-i can't wear a royal's clothes. i'm not worthy of them. please, give me a servant's clothes."the tanned male continued fumbling with the fabric of the shirt he was wearing, being extra careful with his movements in fear of damaging the piece of clothing that was probably worth more than his whole life.

"will you stop saying nonsense." the royal rolled his eyes, gently pulling donghyuck's hands away from the buttons to prevent him from undressing himself. "i told you they were a servant's clothes because i knew you would have made a fuss about it otherwise."

"but- "

"you're already wearing them now, so it's too late." the royal prevented donghyuck to speak, flashing him a smile.

the peasant slowly nodded, his eyes finding their way back to the mirror and studying his reflection again. so, this was what had felt so different since the beginning. he was just looking at the same donghyuck he had ever been, but for the frst time, a donghyuck cuddled in the warmth of royal clothes.

and effectively, he could see it now. the way the clothes were sewn so perfectly in a way that the seams didn't itch his skin like his normal clothes did, the way the materials used were so thin and yet warm and comfortable, the way the fabric fell on his body in a way that highlighted his frail frame. this was nothing like the worn-out shirts he usually wore, with holes and stains everywhere permanently imprinted in the dirty oversized fabric.

"i-i..." the tanned male stammered after a while. "i'll wash them tonight, i promise. and i'll bring them back tomorrow."

"there's no need for that." the royal shook his head. "we have plenty of people here who can do it."

"b-but i don't want to bother..." the boy continued with a pout, causing mark's lips to curve upwards at his cuteness.

"you're not bothering. that's their job." mark replied, his hand reaching for donghyuck's half-dried curls to ruffle them slightly. "you'd be bothering if you washed it yourself. because then, they wouldn't be able to do their job."

"mmh, okay..."

mark couldn't help but chuckle at the boy's endless cuteness. the more days passed, the more he got to know about donghyuck, his life, his attitudes and his worries, and it was no secret that he had somehow grown fond of the younger's presence.

donghyuck brought something refreshing and exotic that was so unfamiliar to him, and yet so pleasant. he loved the boy's curiosity and the glistening eyes he had each time he discovered something. he loved the way the tanned male would be so careful with his words, and so considerate when speaking about things that may be triggering for mark. he loved the brunette's childish amazement at everything, but his impressive maturity when it came to harder topics.

and well, all of this only pushed him to want to get to know the younger more.

"were you close to your mother?" mark asked after a few seconds of silence as he took a seat on his bed, patting the space next to him to invite donghyuck to sit down with him.

"yes, very." the tanned male nodded immediately, a smile appearing on his face as he took careful steps to the bed and sat down on it – off-topic, but the mattress was nothing like the thin thing he slept on every night; this one was soft and very comfortable, as if you were on a cloud. "but well, i lost her when i was six, so... i didn't really have the time to have mature conversations with her. i still visit her often and tell her about everything though, which is why i still feel so close to her." he continued, his hand unconsciously reaching for his left wrist to check if the golden bracelet was still there, something he now did very frequently, and almost unconsciously.

the royal hummed at those words, keeping his eyes on the brunette whose face had lit up so beautifully at the mention of his mother. despite the harsh words he spoke, and the pain that was hidden between his words, donghyuck looked so at peace and happy about his and his mother's relationship. he loved her dearly, and for mark, this was perhaps the most beautiful thing to ever exist.

"what about you? are you close to your mother as well?" the younger male returned the question to the future king.

"i..." mark hesitated for a few seconds. "not as much as you are, i guess." he replied with a small sigh. "i used to be, but well, after she took regency, she has been much busier and more stressed. so, yeah... it's not like it used to be anymore."

"oh..." the brunette's head lowered in sadness. "i'm sorry about that..."

"that's just... life..." mark shrugged despite the pain the words brought to him. "i had always been closer to my father anyway."

mark lifted his head, his eyes meeting donghyuck's glistening orbs and strangely causing his heart to miss a beat at the fond look and the beautiful smile the tanned male was giving him.

"you must miss him so bad..." the brunette spoke in a low voice.

"i do." the royal replied. "he was such an incredible king, and leader, and fighter, and father... he was the best, there's no doubt about that. he's the one who taught me to fight, and i really wish he was still there to teach me more..."

"he truly seems like an amazing person..." donghyuck stated, flashing mark a small smile. "i'm sorry you couldn't spend more time with him..."

"he sure was an amazing person." mark nodded; his eyes staring into the void as he remembered all those times he had trained with his father. the souvenirs were still vivid despite the many years that had passed, and as much as he had tried getting over them, he just couldn't. "he was always training me so hard, and teaching me how to become the best leader, just like he was. he said that one day, i'd become the greatest swordsman of the silver age, and i believe that if he was still there to train me, it would be easier for me to become the best."

"don't worry about that." donghyuck assured with a small chuckle. "with how well you fight, you definitely have to be one of the best."

"how can you assure that, huh?" the royal raised a teasing brow. "i was barely using my strength not to hurt you." he added with a small laugh.

donghyuck muttered a small 'show off' before laughing along.

their laughter calmed down after a few seconds, the two of them staring at each other intensely with small smiles on their faces, and without uttering a word.

donghyuck was the one to break the silence as he couldn't bear holding the eye-contact with the royal much longer – his cheeks already betraying him and showing the other how flustered he was under the royal's gaze.

"m-my father may not be the king like yours was, but he's an incredible leader too." the brunette voiced out as he diverted his eyes from mark to his hands that were resting on his lap.

"how come?" the future king questioned.

"well..." donghyuck thought for a few seconds of a way to form his sentence without giving in that he was the leader of the anti-royalist movement that had started to spread among the kingdom. "he works with lots of people, and he's the one in charge. he's making the important decisions and taking responsibility. and he's doing it very well." the tanned male explained vaguely. "i really hope i can become like him one day."

mark could only nod at the brunette's words, finding it endearing how sincere and happy he was, taking about his fatherly figure. and hearing the boy's genuine request, mark couldn't help but hope he would one day manage to become like his father.

because yes, donghyuck was genuine and sincere. he was amazed by his father and wanted to become as good of a leader as him. sure, he didn't necessarily want to be the one leading the anti-royalist movement – something that he seemed to understand less and less the more he spent time with the royal – but he wanted to be able to lead people in whatever they would be doing.

"my mother's death hit him pretty hard, and after more than ten years, he's still not over it." the boy continued speaking. "i try to always be here for him and to reassure him, but it's not the same. even the strongest of us have our weak moments..." he sighed. "but my father... he's everything i have left, and... and i don't want to see him leaving me as well. this is why i make sure to always please him and be there for him in anything he may need."

"you're so strong..." mark muttered, the words slipping past his lips unconsciously after donghyuck finished talking. "i admire you for that..."

"i have to be..." donghyuck shrugged. "for me and for him. otherwise, i don't know what could happen..."

mark flashed the boy a sincere smile. "that's truly remarkable." he stated. "you're remark- "

the royal was interrupted before he could finish his sentence by a knock.

"mark?" the sound of his mother's voice rang on the other side of the boy's bedroom door before the royal saw the handle being pushed down, sign that the queen was about to open the door.

"my mother, hide!" the future king whisper-shouted with wide eyes at the peasant that was sitting on his bed and who had become livid at the knock.

donghyuck jumped off the bed, rolling under it just in time as the regent queen of aes entered the room, approaching her son who was sitting on the bed.

from where he was, donghyuck could only see the royal's feet who were adorned with a pair of beautiful heels.

"m-mother?" the future king blinked, flashing his mother a nervous smile, his heart beating at an incredible speed inside his chest in fear of getting caught.

"why do you look so surprised to see me?" the regent queen questioned, raising a brow at her son.

"o-oh, i just... didn't expect you to come to my room." mark smiled. "you usually ask a servant to come and get me to your quarters."

the queen simply hummed, letting her eyes wander across the room, sensing that something was off with her son's behaviour. after glancing at the cabinets and through the open doors of the bathroom and walk-in closet where she hadn't found anything suspicious, her eyes fell on the bed where her son was sat on, noticing that it was slightly dipped somewhere mark wasn't sitting on, as if someone else had been sitting facing mark.

"so, did you need me for something?" the future king questioned, making his mother look back into his eyes.

"yes." the queen nodded. "we have to discuss about your coronation."

"oh..." mark sighed. "do we really need to do it right now?" he questioned with saddened eyes.

"yes, mark. your father's death anniversary is only two weeks away, and we need to have everything settled by then for your coronation which is coming the month after." the regent queen explained sternly.

"i know, but..." the future king stopped for a few seconds. "i don't feel like taking about it right now... can't we do it tomorrow? or the day after?"

his mother stared at him with an eyebrow raised, as if trying to read his thoughts.

"i'm just not in the mood for that right now..." mark added hoping that he'd make his words more believable.

the queen waited for a few more seconds before giving him an answer.

"alright." she gave in after barely any resistance. "but i won't accept 'no' as an answer tomorrow morning."

"of course." mark nodded. "we're discussing everything tomorrow morning."

the woman nodded. "i'll go back to my work, then."

mark watched his mother turning on her heels and walking towards the bedroom door before going out and letting the door shut behind her back.

the royal heaved out a long sigh after his mother disappeared, not believing that he had managed to get rid of her that easily when she usually was more insistant – and mostly about mark's coronation which was the main subject of discussion the two of them had these past weeks.

remembering about the main reason of his panic, mark hopped off the bed and bent down to peek under it, finding donghyuck lying there hidden the best he could.

"she's gone, you can get out." mark stated, holding his hand out to help the brunette slipping out from under the bed.

"thank you." the tanned male gladly accepted the hand, wiggling out and standing up again before slightly dusting the royal clothes he was wearing. "i'm sorry, i crumpled the clothes."

"donghyuck, this is really the least of my concerns right now." mark snorted at the boy's apologies, finding it endearing how donghyuck had to always apologise for the slightest thing he thought he did wrong.

the tanned male could only nod at that, his hands fumbling with the expensive fabric of the clothes he was wearing as if to iron them.

"she scared me so much." mark sighed. "i thought we would get busted and- "

and well...

before mark could finish his sentence, the door of his bedroom opened again without a knock this time, revealing the regent queen of aes – again – with furrowed brows.

neither mark nor donghyuck had the time to move or think about hiding, both staring at the queen with wide eyes and fast-beating hearts.

"m-m-mother...?" mark stuttered, gulping down the lump that had formed in his throat.

"i knew you were hiding something from me." the queen simply stated as her eyes stared at donghyuck from head to toe. "who is this?"

mark bit his lips as he turned his head to face donghyuck, the tanned male looking at him with an equally frightened stare, not knowing what to expect from this conversation.

"h-huh..." mark stuttered, his eyes screaming panic as he tried to think quickly.

"i-i..." donghyuck muttered barely above a whisper, not able to for a correct sentence.

"mark." the queen spoke sternly. "who is this?"

"h-he's..." there were a few more seconds of silence. "h-he's donghyuck." he answered, hoping to get a few seconds more to think of an answer.

"i am not asking for his name. i want to know who he is." the queen started to lose her patience, taking a threatening step in the two boys' direction.

donghyuck took an immediate step back at that, hiding himself behind mark in fear as the royal gulped again, staring into his mother's eyes.

"h-he's the nephew of the king of the lumen kingdom!" mark blurted out, hoping that his mother would buy his lie.

he knew his mother wouldn't be able to tell whether this was true or false, because despite the fact the lumen kingdom was one of the border kingdoms to aes, the king of lumen and his mother weren't exactly in good terms.

the two kingdoms barely interacted and pretended like they didn't exist, knowing that neither of them was powerful enough to attack the other and expand their lands. so, they stayed each on their side, ignoring of each other's existence.

so, as he was trying to find what to answer to his mother, he had judged that saying donghyuck was from lumen was the best solution, because first, his mother would never go ask the king of lumen to confirm those facts, and second, then mark had a reason to explain why he was so eager for his mother not to know about donghyuck being there.

"the nephew of the king of lumen?" the regent queen repeated her son's words before glancing at the peasant in royal clothes. "tanned like that? he cannot be a royal from the kingdom of lumen."

"h-he's... he's visiting in lumen, but he's actually from one of the southern kingdoms." mark was quick to justify. "they have different royal culture, and there, having a tan is much better seen than in here." he added to prove his point.

"mmh..." the queen simply hummed, keeping her eyes on the brunette.

mark turned around as well to face donghyuck, silently motioning with his head that donghyuck show bow to the queen to make this all more believable.

"y-your majesty." the tanned male bowed all the way down. "i am sorry for coming inside of your palace without prior approval."

the queen's eyes then diverted to her son, looking at him sceptically.

"when did you even meet him?" she asked.

"a few weeks back." mark replied, thankful that he didn't need to lie on that. but well, he still needed to add a bit of fantasy to make his mother believe him fully. "while you were at the flores kingdom for a few days, the lumen prince came with him to introduce him to aes and to show him around before he left back to the south." mark explained. "i met him then."

"so, he's staying at lumen?" the queen inquired.

"y-yes, your majesty." donghyuck answered with a nod.

"and have you been around a lot?" she then aswed.

"just a few times, your majesty." donghyuck replied.

"i asked him to come more because we became friends, and i want to enjoy the time we have before he leaves again." mark explained quickly after, hoping that his mother would understand.

the queen hummed again, her eyes diverting between her son and the fake-royal for a while before she cleared her throat.

"alright." she nodded. "i'm glad mark could finally make a royal friend."

the two young males heaved out a long sigh in unison at those words from the queen, sign that she had bought all of her lies and that the end of their freidship wouldn't be tragic like they both had imagined a while ago.

"i'd be happy to get to know my son's friend more. please stay over for dinner tonight. we will treat you with amazing specialties from aes." the queen then stated with a smile, causing the two boys' eyes to widen in surprise.

"h-huh..." donghyuck stuttered, not knowing what to answer as he glanced at the royal.

he definitely didn't need to spend a full meal around a royal table in company of the regent queen of aes.

first of all, because he would end up ridiculing himself for sure, not knowing all of the royal manners and everything.

second of all, because they would most likely end up being caught is the queen asked him question about the imaginary realm from which he was.

and thirds of all, because at dinner time, donghyuck was supposed to be behind the stove in his village, preparing food for the clients of the restaurant he worked out.

so, no, there was no way he would be able to eat there.

"t-tonight?" mark coughed, glancing back at donghyuck and seeing the distress in his eyes. "h-huh... didn't you tell me you had something planned for tonight already?" he acted out of the blue, hoping that donghyuck would understand what he was trying to do.

"tonight... oh, yes." donghyuck nodded. "i am sorry your majesty, but i'm afraid it won't be possible tonight." he apologised with a low bow.

"tomorrow night, then. i'm looking forward to eating in your company, donghyuck."

the brunette gulped, understanding that the queen didn't leave him much choice.

"likewise..." the tanned male replied, trying his best to smile despite his will to cry.

"that's settled, then. see you again tomorrow." the queen bowed her head slightly. "i must really go back to my work, now."

mark and donghyuck watched as the queen exited the royal's bedroom again, staying frozen for a few seconds as the woman walked away, the sound of her heels slowly fading in the corridor outside the room.

and it was only after a minute of complete silence that the two friends looked at each other while gulping simultaneously.

"we're so doomed..." mark let out.

and donghyuck could only agree with him. "we really are..."