Wooyoung's One Shot done, only Yunho left to go!
TW: More mentions of mass murder, Blood and injury
*******
Wooyoung considered himself lucky to be living in the palace.
At fourteen years of age, he had been sent there with a bunch of other boys. The king had personally employed them as new servants, stable boys, and - as in Wooyoung's case - fresh meat for the army. The opportunity to gain a steady salary and support his family had Wooyoung jumping the situation with fervour. After two years, he finished his training at the top of his class and with motivation still burning bright in his eyes.
Wooyoung first met Yeosang when he was appointed as his personal guard. According to the royal household guards, the prince had specifically asked for a person his age that he could befriend during his lonely times in the castle. Wooyoung vividly remembered his curiosity when he first met the shy boy with the features that must have been carved out of marble. They had shaken hands with tentative smiles painting their faces, and Wooyoung had instantly known that they would become great friends.
By now, he served under Yeosang for two years. The prince only ever treated Wooyoung with utmost respect and politeness. Wooyoung found it funny at first since his rank was considerably lower than that of his friend, but after a while, he understood why Yeosang did it.
It was the prince in him. The princely heritage that forbade him from acting out of line and forced him to show only the best of manners at any given time. Wooyoung soon gave up on asking him to drop the act around him. Whenever the real Yeosang shone through, and he hesitated to move like a puppet polarised on empty traditions, he became afraid that the people watching him constantly would rat him out.
Yeosang was but a shell for power to be stored in.
Wooyoung learnt it the painful way that he and Yeosang, as good friends as they became, were entirely different from each other. After getting to know him better, Wooyoung was ready to give his life for the man even outside of his guard duties. But Yeosang, Yeosang did not want that. If it meant release from the depressing solitude living at the palace meant for him, he would willingly hand himself over.
Thus, new goals found their way into Wooyoung's mindset. Above anything, he wanted to support Yeosang. Wooyoung would follow him to any place the man chose to go, and he would be there for him when the loneliness got too much.
Today was a sunny day. Wooyoung asked Yeosang to go out.
"What an excellent idea. I actually brought the same plan up to my father earlier, and he allowed it after my lessons." Yeosang's eyes were dull as he forced a little smile on his lips. Any lifeless puppet would have no issue replacing him, and Wooyoung tried to share some of his liveliness instead.
"Wonderful! Then hurry to change your clothes so that we can leave soon, your highness!"
At the term that Yeosang had grown to hate, the prince good-naturedly rolled his eyes. Wooyoung grinned at him like a mischievous kid. They had had long discussions about using this term until Wooyoung had made a joke out of it. It tended to shake Yeosang awake whenever he remembered the little jest.
"I sure hope that Changbin will look presentable today." Yeosang retreated in his chambers to change, leaving Wooyoung to chuckle in front of his door.
Last time they had visited the stables to go out, the boy tending to the horses had appeared from the area where the hay was stored with wild hair and half of his shirt open and rumpled. The blush on his cheeks had been redder than any apple Wooyoung had ever seen. Changbin had coughed and excused himself under the pretence of having slipped and fallen. Yeosang had just grinned knowingly while Wooyoung had picked some hay from the boy's hair.
They had not mentioned it towards the superiors. What Changbin did in the hay with who they presumed was the gardener boy Felix was his affair only, and none of the two other boys was responsible for meddling with these matters. Instead, the joke sometimes passed between them when nobody was listening.
Wooyoung waited patiently and still as a statue as Yeosang got ready. One of the maids worked her way around him as she dusted the expensive tapestry off. Her ear was on the two of them most of the time, and Yeosang had informed Wooyoung that she relayed any of their conversations directly to his father.
When their eyes met, Wooyoung gave a polite nod and a smile. She skittishly murmured a greeting.
Yeosang emerged from his room, decked in his brown riding gear. It was made from expensive buckskin that wrapped around his form-fitting enough that Wooyoung sometimes considered it sinful. Even if inappropriate, he often found himself thinking about the prince in this exact gear when he laid awake at night.
There was no romantic tension between them. They were good friends in a restricted environment, and both of them were curious. Yeosang no less than Wooyoung, as he would learn later that day.
As they made their way through the corridors, easy conversation passed between them like the steady flow of a river. Wooyoung greatly enjoyed the dry humour of the prince that he showed more openly towards his friend and he added his own comments to keep Yeosang entertained. Yeosang was pretty when he laughed, orderly and ruly behind his hand. His eyes shone whenever he did, and his little teeth made an appearance that had Wooyoung swoon over the handsomeness they held.
No doubt the man was a sight to behold at any given time, but he just got all the more beautiful when life allowed joy to show on his features.
Changbin, for once not full of hay, handed them over their horses with a grimace as they further poked fun at him and his secret affair. It was not forbidden if they were of the same rank, but he could get punished if he disregarded his work for it. With the grumbled promise that he would take care, he sent them off.
Wooyoung loved the forests of Nomteh'h. The castle resided at the top of a cliff, and down the valley and towards the beach the town spread like a colourful blanket. In the other direction and further along the cliffs, thick woods offered the perfect playground for princes that needed distance from their daily chores. Whenever Yeosang entered these woods, his shoulders drooped noticeably, and his eyes became brighter.
With his mood instantly raised, Wooyoung guided his horse securely through the winding paths. Yeosang was right behind him and revelled in the ambience of birds singing and the hooves of their horses that thumped against the earth dully.
Their two mares calmly carried them to one of their frequent spots far in the north of the forest. As the sunlight filtered through the treetops with a golden glow that cast leaf-formed shadows on the white fur of the horses, Wooyoung threw a glance over his shoulder.
Yeosang had sat back in his saddle and held the reigns loosely between his fingers on his lap. With a longing expression, he was watching the nature around him that was unbound and free.
About an hour later, they reached the spring that fed into a small river deep in the forest. Dragonflies riskily whizzed past Wooyoung as he swung his leg over the back of his horse and came to stand on the earth. He dusted his uniform off as he joined Yeosang on his side and took the reigns from his loose fingers to urge his mare to stand still.
"We have arrived, your highness."
Wooyoung went down on one knee next to the horse, his boots thankfully shielding his pants from getting dirty. He reached into his lapel to bring forth a small rectangular towel and placed it over his thigh.
Yeosang shifted in his saddle, bringing his legs over, too.
"We are far from the palace, spare me of the formalities." His heeled boot carefully stepped on Wooyoung's offered thigh. He was scrupulous with the care not to bring the hard edge of the heel down on Wooyoung's flesh. With a quick movement, he eased the other man of his load and stepped down on the ground. Wooyoung folded the towel to put it away and got back on his feet. Unsurprisingly, Yeosang treated him with far more care than many other regents would.
"As you wish."
Wooyoung trailed behind Yeosang as he made his way over to the little pond that formed around the spring. The stones circling the place offered an inviting seating place. After Wooyoung had helped Yeosang over by balancing him with his hand in his, they settled down together.
The soft murmur of the spring had a calming effect on both of them. Clean air filled their lungs.
"Thanks for taking me here. It's been a while." Yeosang's low and gentle voice mixed well with the melody of nature, and Wooyoung quite liked the combination. He leant back on his hands.
"You were busy with your lessons," he pointed out idly. Two dragonflies hunted each other over the pond. Their wings shimmered in all colours of the rainbow.
Yeosang fell quiet again, sharing the peace with Wooyoung. The water rippled before them as some insects and fishes disrupted the surface.
Time passed as unstoppable and unfreezing as always. Wooyoung wished to slow it down so that Yeosang could enjoy his minutes of freedom for a while longer. Yet, that was not his decision to make. The uncomfortable knowledge that they had to go back at nightfall weighed his subconscious either way.
"I have been thinking about Changbin."
Curious, Wooyoung turned his head towards Yeosang. The prince's forlorn gaze was lost somewhere between him and the pond. He was completely still, only his lips were moving.
"Do you think him, and Felix are in love? Genuinely?"
With a pensive hum, Wooyoung kicked his feet against the rock beneath him. He knew neither well enough to judge that, but he had heard Changbin talk about leaving the palace and going to live with his lover. That sounded like at least some love.
"Perhaps they are."
This time, Yeosang just hummed. He sat still like a piece of art in a museum, just a gorgeous appearance in the sun. Wooyoung might have mistaken him with the fae folk fairytales wrote about.
"I want that too, someday. Not now, not here, but once in my lifetime at least. I want actual love outside of political relations."
It was no secret that Yeosang would one day marry the princess of one of their neighbouring countries. No emotion would be involved as the marriage was based purely on strengthening the bonds of their alliances. Yeosang had no say in these matters.
"I'm sure you will find it. The world is large, after all."
A woodpecker hammered away at a tree not far from them. The obnoxious noise in the calm surroundings had Wooyoung chuckle.
"Have you ever kissed a person before, Wooyoung?" Now, Yeosang turned to look at him. His eyes conveyed curiosity that mingled with a hint of anxiousness as if he worried about having worded the question in the first place. Wooyoung smiled at him reassuringly.
"I didn't. There was no one around that I deemed worth kissing before." With a shrug, Wooyoung tilted his head in Yeosang's direction.
"Why are you asking?"
"Would you like to share your first kiss with me, Wooyoung?" Yeosang did not take his gaze off him for even a second. The sun pooled in his eyes to make them shine with the colour of the earth, warm and rich. Despite his odd request, Wooyoung did not feel nervous under those familiar eyes.
Yeosang was well aware of his status and that kissing a mere guard was a revolt that he should not afford.
Yet, Wooyoung also was his best friend. And he understood Yeosang's wish rather to have a first kiss that he enjoyed with him than with a bride he had never even seen before.
Thus, he nodded.
"I would like that."
Both of them hesitated for a moment since neither dared to make the first step. Ultimately, it was Yeosang who leaned in first and brushed his lips against Wooyoung's in a tentative kiss. Hot blood rushed into Wooyoung's cheeks as he felt the soft press of Yeosang's mouth against his, and he gingerly kissed back.
They pulled from each other after their shy peck, and Yeosang immediately reached up to scratch his head and lower his eyes. Wooyoung laughed quietly at the fools they were.
Despite his foolishness, however, Wooyoung would fulfil every wish Yeosang ever worded towards him. He would fight a thousand battles and ride through a hundred kingdoms if it meant happiness for Yeosang.
Hence, he did not hesitate to follow the man when he was kidnapped from his room a few months later.
-
"What are you scum going to do with Yeosang?! Don't you dare lay a finger on him, or I will make sure to hack them off one after the other!"
Wooyoung was furious. It had been two days since he had boarded the pirate ship that held the crew who captured Yeosang. Wooyoung had fought desperately against two of the savages when he had been found hiding away in the bird's nest, but he had lost bitterly. The wet and smelly bilge of the ship had become his new home for now, but Wooyoung had no idea where Yeosang was. The darkness he was left in drove him mad.
The pirate that was crouching in front of him gave an amused chuckle. He was one unsettling man with a whip on his belt and high heels that made him taller than Wooyoung. His head presumably came with a hefty sum on it if he was intelligent enough to steal a prince, but Wooyoung did not remember ever hearing from him.
"Ye be such an angry lad. They keep soldiers with such bad manners around these days? What a waste." The stranger grinned sweetly at Wooyoung as if they were not in a hostage situation out in the middle of the ocean. Wooyoung's fists itched to wipe the cocky grin off the man's face.
The pirate had chosen cowardice, however. Safe from Wooyoung's angry fists, the man had wisely decided to keep his distance from the bars that separated them. Wooyoung did not even know why the man had come down here. The fair fight that he had hoped for had yet to take place.
"What do you want?! And where is Yeosang?!" With as much pride he could muster, Wooyoung snarled at the pirate. Again, he barely minded the attack.
"I came to get ye out o' 'ere on demand o' yer princely companion. I can only do that, however, if ye ain't attackin' me mates."
Wooyoung squinted at him warily. No trust could form between their so very different natures, and Wooyoung doubted that it was the case with Yeosang. But outside of him, the pirate indeed had little reason to free the irritated guard.
"I don't trust you."
The pirate rolled his eyes at that and nodded exaggeratedly slow and precise.
"Aye, I be very aware o' that. I promise ye that we be on mutual terms there. But we be sailin' the ocean as we be speakin', an' I feel like I can feed ye to the sharks faster than ye can revolt. So, this ain't about ye trustin' me." The cell keys clinked together when he produced them from his belt and sorted through them with annoying passiveness until he had the right one. As he rammed it in the lock with unnecessary force, he locked eyes with Wooyoung, his gaze challenging.
Wooyoung narrowed his eyes at the act, but he stood up still when the door opened with a metallic rattle.
The pirate took a mocking bow and gestured towards the steps leading up to what could only be the ship's deck with an elegant hand gesture.
"Join us on deck then, yer majesty."
Wooyoung scowled at the man, but he did not hesitate to spring up the stairs anyway. His legs nearly lost their trained balance on the pitching and tossing vessel. For a terrifying second, he swayed dangerously until he reached for the handrail that was made from a rope. When he emerged from the hatch, a salty breeze and the unmistakable sound of waves rushing hit him.
The guard shook off his slight discomfort with the open ocean and looked around in the desperate attempt to spot Yeosang. His fear of water would not deter his determination to take care of his prince.
Indeed, the prince was leaning on the railing not far from him. Clutching the wood tightly with both hands and barely holding his trembling legs upright, he stared out over the ocean with a pale face. Wooyoung swiftly made his way over without regard for the heavy steps of the pirate that followed him up the stairs.
"Your highness! Are you alright? Did this foul folk do something to you?" Wooyoung's hand hovered over Yeosang's arm, too shy to touch even as he stood closer than adequate. They were in a tight spot.
"Oh, Wooyoung. I'm glad to see you so energetic. I can't say that the seasickness is going easy on me." Yeosang gave him a wobbly smile that had Wooyoung confusedly draw his brows together. His distress must have radiated off him in waves because Yeosang used the opportunity to clutch a supposedly calming hand onto Wooyoung's arm. He did not even manage a comforting pat.
"What is going on, are you fine?"
Yeosang forced himself to an encouraging nod.
"Yes, worry not. They want to exchange me against money, and since I am precious ware for them at the moment, they promised me utmost safety. No harm came upon me in your absence."
As positive of a surprise that was, Wooyoung could not keep himself from doubting the authenticity of it. Stiffly, he leant against the railing next to his friend. Hi stomach, too, reminded him of the odd movement of the ground.
"That's... not the best of news, but I am glad to hear that you feel fine."
Wooyoung flinched when a body abruptly appeared next to him. The pirate with the long hair casually put his elbow down on the wood to grin at the orderly couple with a smile that screamed danger.
"As if I would e'er lay 'and on such a treasure."
With narrow eyes, Wooyoung looked him up and down.
"Aren't you pirates notorious for just that?"
The sharp teeth the pirate bared at him were enough of an answer.
"I be keepin' me promise. Yer life fer a pile o' gold."
Yeosang gestured his hand at the pirate as if underlining his point. The feeling of comfort had yet to find its way back to Wooyoung in the dire circumstances they had found themselves in. He suspiciously eyed the pirate and his ship. A few crew members were roaming around, but they were not many, and some of them did not even look as if they had been part of this crew for long. Wooyoung suspected that this particular pirate only recently started with his shady criminal life.
"What is your name, good sailor?" Yeosang tried to make conversation as casually as possible around his regal pose and valuable clothing. The two forces left, and right of Wooyoung could not get any more different, and they clashed with each other like two waves.
"I be Kim Hongjoong. Jolly havin' ye, Prince Yeosang."
At least - and Wooyoung had to give his superior credit for his patience - Yeosang reacted in a way neutral enough for the pirate not to feel looked down upon. It must have been hard for the prince to skip over his manners like that, but Wooyoung expected no pleasant reaction from a pirate that felt ashamed.
"I appreciate your hospitability. I will make sure it will come in your favour if you ever run in troubles. This is my friend and personal guard, Wooyoung."
Hongjoong did not give them his hand in greeting. Again, he merely resorted to watching them with gleaming eyes.
"I be sure we will be 'avin' fun together."
-
The day they anchored at a town that Wooyoung had never been to before, but Yeosang at least knew the location of from his studies, Wooyoung was asked to stay back on the ship together with Yeosang and Hongjoong. He had not bothered to learn the names of the other guys, but one broadly built one, and a really tall one set out together to collect some provisions while the rest of them stayed on board.
Wooyoung spent his day in boredom and secret plans on how to sneak off the ship and into safety with his prince. By the time night fell, the two crew members had returned and got busy inside the ship belly while Wooyoung spent his time lazing around outside and watching the town's brightly lit nightlife. He was curious to explore the place since he had only ever seen the same city all his life, but he knew that Hongjoong would not let him and that he should stay near Yeosang.
He stood on the other side of the ship, the one that faced the ocean and watched the salty waters lick on the barnacle-decorated hull when a commotion erupted. Without minding it at first, Wooyoung just crossed his legs to continue with his boring task. However, when the steps that sounded loud on the wooden jetty near their ship thundered closer, he curiously rose his eyes.
When a head promptly appeared over the gangplank that led down to the docks, Wooyoung whipped around entirely. His unarmed hands balled into fists, and with quick steps, he crossed the deck to stop the intruder where he was. Wooyoung was not responsible for guarding this ship, but any type of trouble could also possibly endanger his prince.
When he came close enough to the newcomer to see him in the faint light of the lamps strung around the masts, though, Wooyoung halted in disgust. Not only was the man naked and showed some obvious marks of intimate acts, but he was also covered in blood that seemed to seep from his side.
The stranger helplessly crashed down on the planks and laid there twitching in a pool of blood before Wooyoung could even raise a finger. Harsh breaths tumbled from his lips.
Wooyoung approached him carefully, soon detecting the dagger that stuck out from the man's abdomen. From how much the man was groaning in agony, it must have hurt gravely. The orderly palace guard quickly drew his conclusions. This stranger must have been one of the measly prostitutes that sold their bodies for money in shady alleys as soon as night fell. Wooyoung was less than keen on having any of these lowly folk meet Yeosang.
Thus, he decided to speak up. But first, he freed the man of the dagger, presuming that it hurt him further. More blood collected beneath him, and his hoarse yells were unnecessarily loud in the night.
Was he being followed? Maybe he was a murderer who had been caught in the act.
"What brought you here, whore? Get off this ship right this instant!"
Wooyoung kicked him in the side to roll him around, getting only a pained grunt in response. When there was nothing else, Wooyoung decided it was not worth it. He would get rid of the man and ease his suffering so that the pirates would not come up with something even more brutal to end his life.
However, just when Wooyoung dug the dagger in the wound that already had been made to give the man a quick end, swift steps got loud behind him.
Before Wooyoung knew what was happening, he was getting kicked off by a heeled boot as the wrathful pirate caught up with him. As he was protesting confusedly, Wooyoung was already getting dragged off by one of the minor crew members. Hongjoong tended to the fellow scum that had found his way onto his ship.
Wooyoung could not say that he was surprised.
-
Wooyoung got locked up again after that. He heard from Yeosang that Hongjoong had been promoted to captain only when he visited him down in the dirty bilge. In his flaming anger, Wooyoung also found himself repeatedly asking for the newcomer. Apparently, his name was San, and he had brought a bunch of other kids from the streets with him. Yeosang did not know much about him, but it seemed as if he was a close acquaintance of Hongjoong's.
The man had the audacity to visit Wooyoung down in the bilge even. He came by to explain himself, but Wooyoung chased him away with his unforgiving words. He was going crazy with suspense about what was happening with Yeosang up on deck, and an annoying boy sticking to him did not help.
It was Hongjoong who told Wooyoung about Yeosang's wish to burn down Nomteh'h. Wooyoung was shocked by this decision at first, but he understood Yeosang's motives after a few hours of thinking. Their current surroundings had shifted something inside of Wooyoung, as well. The wild pirates had unleashed something dark, something that was meant to stay hidden far in the dark corners of their souls. By Wooyoung's guess, it was far more dangerous than it could have been had it not been suppressed most of their lives in the palace.
Wooyoung asked them to join their raid to make sure that his parents and friends were at least out of the way, but that was his only price for showing the pirates to the heart of their town. They plundered, they killed, and while Wooyoung barely took part in it since he mostly functioned as a guard, he saw things differently from then on.
As he watched the flames blur in front of his eyes and blood drip from the pirates' weapons, he felt human. Rather than an empty puppet full of phrases and formalities, he finally understood how fleeting and precious life was. As he saw so many of them die in front of his eyes, he pictured himself, disappearing and dying without ever having had a purpose.
Wooyoung wanted to break free from the shackles holding him down. Freedom called for him in the form of a ship with a black flag.
San was not participating in the fight but rather keeping an eye on Wooyoung. After a terrifying punishment last time when Wooyoung had defied him that nearly ended with Wooyoung becoming shark food, the soldier had learned to keep his distance. Yet, he found himself sneering at the other man as they waited in the shadows of an alley while the other three spread their fires.
Their eyes crossed from time to time. San's eyes were skittish and tried to skip over Wooyoung to the best of his ability. When Wooyoung continued to stare at him grimly, the man got nervous and shifted awkwardly on his legs.
The skies burned bright red with the fire that filled it.
"What do you want? Spit it out."
San startled, one hand coming up to protectively wrap around his injured side as if he felt the need to protect it from Wooyoung. He nearly scoffed at the man. San was weak; he would not make it for long as a pirate.
"I... I just felt sorry that you had to part with your home. It must be hard." San swallowed, and his adam's apple bobbed jerkily. Wooyoung icily stared him down.
"What would you know?"
San lowered his eyes, submissive. Fresh disgust crawled up Wooyoung's throat to collect sourly on his tongue. He was sure that this was the sight that San's costumers got, too. The sight repelled the guard.
"I never had a home to protect, but I imagine it to be difficult to destroy it with your own hands."
Wooyoung chuckled at him. His voice was husky with the roughness the smoke had given it. Soon, they would have to move from this place.
"You know nothing. Don't pretend to be on my level when you treat yourself as you do." With a last sneer, he turned his head away from the man and into the direction they could expect their companions from. San fell completely quiet at that.
Their trip back to the ship weighed heavily on Wooyoung's shoulders. While he was Yeosang's guard only, he had been taught to protect people, not to destroy their homes and slaughter them. His befuddled mind had yet to catch up with the impact his actions had. Yet, as much as Wooyoung might excuse it with him following Yeosang through anything, he felt oddly at peace with his decision.
The dark part in him rejoiced at the bloodbath they had left behind. It called him out that they had deserved it, that the royal family would have brought far more misfortune and despair over Yeosang had they not acted.
Wooyoung was keenly aware of his morals shattering, of the darkness that seemed too great to control and that threatened to take over. But even as his healthy mind screamed at him to put a stop to it immediately, he had already made his move. He had followed Yeosang down a path that meant no going back.
As the group reached the ship, Wooyoung found his prince, his one and only treasure and the most modest person he had ever known bent over the railing of the pirate ship. The captain had conquered him and had taken everything he had wanted from Yeosang.
Wooyoung had to laugh.
His gloomy eyes shifted to San, who was just using the strong pirate's help to scale the plank painfully. He shuffled cautiously around every step he took, and his shoulders were drawn tensely as he visibly struggled.
And Wooyoung made his decision.
He strode up the plank as soon as it was free again and faced Hongjoong head-on. Without regard for his wrecked and flushed prince that was presented by the pirate in all of his glory, Wooyoung stared at the captain only.
Yeosang did not seem too surprised when he asked to join. Much rather, he looked like a broken prince. They both had lost their identities and everything that had ever given them purpose. Both were vessels again, but this time they were their own. Wooyoung could fill his vessel with whatever interested him most, and this time, it was piracy. Since his shadowy side sapped on the intense hatred and adrenaline that fuelled him from now on, he was compelled to dip into it.
Wooyoung did not doubt that all of the pirates here knew exactly well how it felt like to have obscurity consume them. If he were secure anywhere acting it out, it would be here.
While his will to follow Yeosang down the grave was still his utmost priority, Wooyoung by now also found himself distracted by a certain dark-haired consort. His new obsession kept him bound to this place for now, and he would wait and see what Yeosang's decision would be. He suspected the man might correspond and join the crew, or at least stay for a while now that he had lost his home. Hongjoong seemed keen enough to let him stay.
Wooyoung caught up with the man with the lip piercing to help him store away some of the booty they had collected from the town. The man surprisedly rose his eyes to him when Wooyoung grabbed onto one of the heavy duffle bags.
"Let me help you. What's your name?"
They grinned at each other as they went to work together. The man named Youjin turned out to be an airy person with little worries in his life. He greeted Wooyoung as a new crew member without holding it against him to have thrown him in the water. Wooyoung respected his honesty.
He slipped into his new role nearly too smoothly. Being a pirate did not ask for long training and tiring hours of lessons that strained Wooyoung's back and spirit. As a pirate, he was free to be whoever he wanted to be. Looking down into his own soul, Wooyoung found so much potential. All the things he had never been allowed to do or that were considered unbecoming and had to be punished were open for him to explore. His possibilities were vast like the ocean and Wooyoung thrummed with energy at the prospect.
They weighed anchor when Nomteh'h was reduced to nothing more than a pile of glimmering ashes. No soul was left behind, and no movement stirred in the ghostly still town. As they sailed off, Wooyoung stared at the place for a while. The superstitious side in him wondered just how much wrath and evil energy would collect at this place. No priests were around to banish the forlorn ghosts in their quest for revenge.
Destroying the town was the first step of becoming a pirate. And Wooyoung did not consider all of the shivers that ran down his back at the sight of the blackened ruins bad. Some of them carried a sense of positive anticipation.
A few days later, when they anchored at another harbour to catch up with the news about the fallen kingdom, Wooyoung left the ship with the others as a pirate. As always, he held his head pridefully high, but he had lost the stiffness and discomfort of royalty. Today, he squared his shoulders because he felt confident in his decision and the new path in his life.
He, Hanbyeol and Youjin went the smooth route and hid away in the back corner of some inn. They shared casual drinks while listening in to the conversations that coursed through the room and sprung from one table to the next whenever people picked it up. The news of the fallen kingdom spread like wildfire and had people spinning the tale with their own dramatised versions of it.
The bruits circulated in different mutant forms, and most of them were mere speculations since the few survivors of the incident had yet to speak up. However, the original arsonist stayed the same.
Captain Kim Hongjoong.
His name had found its way in the mind of the people, and they were fired up about this new obsession of theirs. Quicker than expected, it was on everyone's lips, and Wooyoung did not doubt that the amount of money that was put on Hongjoong's head would soar within a few days.
The most important aspect was the opinion of fellow pirates, though. Some of them had settled down in this very inn, and even they spoke highly of Hongjoong. They respected his guts, and their murmurs about his might were laced with wonder.
Wooyoung could not keep his chest from swelling warmly with pride when he heard them whisper about him taking the throne for himself and raising the stakes for every pirate out at the seas.
There was no questioning it that the navy would have many sleepless nights over the celebrity that Hongjoong had become.
A week later, an updated wanted poster found its way into their hands. It featured Hongjoong's portrait and a hefty sum of money that would be issued to anybody who brought him to the government; dead or alive.
And while his name stood there in the small little subtext beneath the title they had given him, the biggest and most blaring thing stood out screaming for attention.
In the middle of the sheet of paper and right beneath the picture, it read something that let excited shivers run down everybody's spines.
Pirate King.