#shineexo

By the time the sun had passed it’s zenith the first snowflakes had fallen, and it didn’t take long before the drifts made it difficult to walk. Junmyeon’s legs hurt from both the strain and the cold, and so he decided that he had to rest, whether he liked it or not. He looked around for a place to sit, inhaling in surprise when he saw a horse watching him with mild interest from behind a fence. He had always liked horses, and this one was particularly beautiful; it’s coat and mane shimmering in white, making Junmyeon wonder where it began and the snow ended.

He was greeted with a snort when sat down on a nearby rock, and then the horse started to speak.

“Hi.” 

Already before catching a glimpse of the Frost King in his window he had believed his mother’s stories to be more than simple fairy-tales, and therefore he wasn’t that shocked when encountering his first talking animal.

“Hello,” he greeted back, then he gasped as the edges of horse turned blurry and a boy climbed over the fence to stand beside him. 

“I’m Yixing, and I got worried when I noticed you wandering alone. Is everything alright?”

A sheepish laugh escaped Junmyeon. “Yeah, it’s alright. It’s just… it’s the first time I hear a horse speak and see it turn human…” Yixing grinned, a mischievous look in his eyes and multiple dimples revealing themselves on his cheeks, but they disappeared when Junmyeon started shivering.

“Are you sure you’re alright?” Before Junmyeon could answer him, Yixing got down on his knees and put a hand on his thigh. “You’re in pain, right? Your feet, your legs, your soul, they’re all hurting.” He shifted so that he was sitting more comfortably on the ground, showing no signs of being affected by the freezing temperature. “Tell me your story, I’ll heal you in the meantime.”

Junmyeon tensed as he felt hotness spreading from the hand on his leg, but the warm look in Yixing’s eyes got him to slowly relax, and then the words fell from his mouth like running water.

When he had told Yixing everything he was completely warmed up, and nothing hurt anymore. The horse-turned-boy got up when he realised that the story was finished and he looked up to the sky, mumbling to himself for a minute before clearing his throat.

“I think I might have seen your friend.”

Junmyeon was on his legs in no time at all.

“Really? Did you see Jongdae?!” 

“I’m not sure, but it could be the new prince. King Jinki got to know about his younger brother being adopted by mistake when they were children, and announced that the one who could find him and bring him back would be greatly rewarded. I have an acquaintance in the castle who told me this.”

Junmyeon listened with interest since he knew Jongdae had also been adopted as a child into the family he now called his own, but his hands soon started clenching and unclenching as he grew impatient. “And Jongdae?”

Yixing smiled. “I’m getting there. There was a list of things that the King remembered from his childhood that he ticked off as people came to claim the prize, but until a couple of days ago they all turned out to be frauds. Then your friend arrived, clad in nothing but rags but with a bright expression on his face. He had been on the run for a year or so, his hair rather long and his stride full of confidence, like he had his mind set on something.”

“That must’ve been Jongdae!” Junmyeon clapped his hands in joy, his enthusiasm drawing a chuckle out of Yixing before he continued.

“It might be him, yes. In any case, this boy took the King by surprise when he revealed that he himself was the lost prince, and after he had showed that he remembered everything King Jinki remembered he was made prince once again. If my information is correct they are planning to take a tour throughout the land to show him off, and even I’m looking forward to that.” 

He stopped to take Junmyeon’s hands in his own. “I can take you to the castle and ask my acquaintance to sneak us in tonight, if you want to see your friend. The brothers share a room, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find him, but we have to get inside first and that won’t happen until tonight at the earliest. Can you wait?”

Junmyeon's fervent nod was all he needed to see, and Yixing let go of his hands and turned around. 

“Want a ride?” He laugh-whinnied as he startled Junmyeon yet again by turning back into a horse, Junmyeon laughing along with him as they rode towards the castle.

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"Pssst, Junmyeon!" Junmyeon woke from his slumber where he was sitting against the wall of the castle. It had turned dark now, and his heart rate sped up as he ran towards Yixing.

“Hi Yixing! Did it go well?” Yixing held his thumbs up and grinned.

“It went well. This is Yibo, my acquaintance. He has an extra key as he belongs to the castle staff, and now that everyone else is asleep we can get in.” Yixing showed towards a tall boy who took Junmyeon’s outstretched hand in a firm grip before he turned to open what could only be a back door. 

“Just follow me, and be quiet,” he whispered, and Junmyeon and Yixing heeded his warning as they went in. 

Yibo cast a glance over his shoulder as they walked down the corridors.

“Yixing has told me many good things about you, Junmyeon.” He snickered as he saw the boy blush at the compliment. “You seem like a nice guy. I really hope that you find your friend. Okay, we’re here.” They had passed by many beautiful rooms and the one they had stopped by was just as amazing as the others. Two beds were standing next to each other and when Yibo pointed towards the one standing the furthest from them Junmyeon nodded and started walking, taking careful steps until he was able to lean over the head of the bed. There he saw a tuft of black hair and he started to smile - it was Jongdae! - but it vanished as quickly as it had arrived when the man moved and Junmyeon got a good look at his profile.

There was no denying it. This was not Jongdae, and as Junmyeon broke into tears he made the prince wake up.

“Who’s there?” 

The King woke up hearing his brother's outburst, but Junmyeon just kept on crying and so they both got up to put a hand to his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

Neither the King or the prince were angry with him, rather the opposite - after hearing his story by the fireplace they wanted to aid him in any way they could.

Taemin, the reinstated prince, expressed a lot of enthusiasm towards Junmyeon’s further adventures and even offered to give him a place to stay as they searched for Jongdae on their tour, but Junmyeon wanted to save Jongdae himself and therefore had to say no. He did ask them for some help though, since he had no idea where to look for his friend next, and he got it straight away.

“Of course we’ll help you! You came all the way here, it would be awful if you had to return now.” Jinki truly was a kind king and it was evident that it ran in the family as Taemin led Junmyeon to his bed.

“Sleep in it tonight, you look like you need it. Me and my brother will talk and figure something out for your trip.” Junmyeon gave them a tired smile and barely managed to say thank you before he fell asleep.

Morning arrived, and after being clad in new clothes Junmyeon had a big breakfast and was shown outside to where a beautiful carriage stood, pulled by a white unicorn. Junmyeon beamed as he recognised Yixing, and even more as he saw Yibo by the royals’ side. When he had greeted them, King Jinki turned and gave Yibo a serious look. “What the two of you did wasn’t right, but if you agree to not do it again before talking to us I think a promotion will suffice.”

Taemin smirked as Yibo laughed in disbelief, Yixing whinnying softly as Junmyeon got closer to admire his horn. “I guess I didn’t see it because of the snow,” he said breathlessly, “I thought you were beautiful before, but this…” The unicorn seemed to get embarrassed by his words and nudged him with his muzzle, Junmyeon giggling before leaning his forehead against it.

“Thank you for all your help, and for agreeing to accompany me on my journey.”

Yixing threw his head up and down. “Don’t mention it. What are friends for?” And he let out a squeal as Junmyeon threw his arms around his neck.

The carriage was already packed with food and blankets so all that was needed was for Junmyeon to take a seat. He did so, and turned to give the king and the prince one last, grateful look.

“Thank you for everything, Your Majesties.” His efforts to use formalities caused Taemin to shake his head.

“Drop the titles, please? I lived the majority of my life without them and I’d very much like to do so for a little while longer.” The smirk reappeared on his face as he said this, King Jinki soon following suit.

“And we didn’t do much, we just helped a friend out. Take care, and tell us all about what happened when you return!”

Junmyeon nodded as Yixing got the carriage moving, waving goodbye with a smile on his face; a smile that stayed on his lips as he turned forward and looked at the shimmering landscape that spread out in front of him.

He was on his way again.