cassiopeia ꒱ markhyuck

seventeen

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

"Move," Donghyuck managed to grit out, shoving Mark to the side and stumbling out of the carriage and onto the grass. He landed on his hands and knees and tried to breathe deeply as his stomach twisted in pain, his whole body feeling warm and feverish.

Mark seemed to catch on to what was going on almost immediately, because he looked up at the soldiers around them and started barking commands.

"Step back! Give him some space!"

All of the guards that had originally been approaching the omega with curious looks all stiffened and obeyed, backing away a respectable distance. Mark came and kneeled down next to him tentatively, placing a reassuring hand on the omega's back. Mark's scent filled his senses—the very same one he had been daydreaming about only moments before—and it oddly seemed to calm his body down. He felt something akin to comfort wash over him as the king got closer, and he found himself reaching out and grabbing onto the hem of Mark's coat before he could think twice about it.

"Stay," he whimpered, his body continuing to tremble with sickness. Mark's eyes widened with momentary surprise, but then he wiped the look off his face and moved closer, rubbing the omega's lower back gently.

"I'm here, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere," he soothed him quietly. Donghyuck turned and buried his face into Mark's side, inhaling his scent shakily over and over again until his body slowly started to calm down. Mark allowed him to and didn't say a word, just kept a comforting arm around his waist and held him for a long moment.

After a while, the nausea faded completely, and all that was left was the shaking of his arms and legs in the aftermath of his body fighting off whatever strange illness he'd just suffered from. With a deep inhale, Donghyuck pulled away, his face flushing now that he was alert enough again to feel embarrassed.

"Are you feeling alright now?" Mark asked, features still etched with concern as he scanned Donghyuck's face for any signs of distress. The omega nodded slowly, looking everywhere except directly at Mark.

"Yeah... I think I'm okay now. I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," he muttered shamefully. Mark shook his head emphatically.

"Don't apologize. I'm glad we stopped and gave you the time you needed to feel better. Did you get motion sick from the carriage?"

Donghyuck frowned. He had never experienced motion sickness before, he used to have no problem with long car rides or anything like that back in his world. If it was not motion sickness, then what had caused his sudden problems in the carriage?

"I... I have no idea," he admitted, "I've never gotten motion sick like that before. I have no clue what happened or what got me sick."

Mark matched his frown, looking confused and concerned. "Do you think you'll be okay in the carriage for another few hours until we stop for the night?"

Donghyuck looked back over his shoulder, glancing wearily at the carriage. It was hard to forget the way he had felt right before they pulled over, like the walls were closing in on him and the air was too stuffy to breathe, like he was trapped. He shuddered at the memory, realizing that getting back in the carriage was the last thing he wanted to do.

Mark must have noticed, because his expression shifted, and he was quick to offer another suggestion. "Would you like to ride on one of the horses instead?"

Donghyuck's eyes widened in alarm at the idea.
"I can't... I've never actually ridden a horse before," he muttered, "I'd just slow everyone down."

"You wouldn't be riding one on your own. You would just sit with one of us on the back of our horses. All you have to do is hold on and enjoy the ride."