Arcus // ATEEZ ✔

8: as warm as ice

"Huh, what a spoilsport. Looks like Yeosang is in a bad mood today," Wooyoung grumbles as he stomps his right foot to put out the open fire.

Only then Narae notices the lack of light except for the illumination coming from the moon high above, as Wooyoung holds out a palm for her to take again.

"Second best choice, the princess of ice," he hums. "Maybe we'll get the welcome we're looking for."

She looks questioning, but at the same time doubtful in what she herself knows. Still, she asks, "Isn't that the Aesa Realm? I thought the previous king and queen bore no princess, only princes? And the oldest prince is now the king?" Hurriedly, she adds, her mind whirring with the facts that were fed to her. "Are there any of their relatives we're visiting?"

"You're absolutely correct," Wooyoung does a satisfactory nod as the dimensions around them changes, the transition seemingly much faster than the previous one. "The previous king and queen only have two sons. The youngest likes to be called princess, though. Sweet guy, he is. Seems to have his own language as well."

The first telltale sign that shows they're currently in the Aesa Realm is the smoke that comes out of her mouth as she exhales in surprise at the change in temperature. She immediately releases Wooyoung's hand before proceeding to hug herself.

"Ah, sorry for not telling you to dress warmer. It's an unplanned visit since Prince Yeosang looked like he wouldn't want to have us for tonight. Here, here," he chastises as he guides her along a stretch of ice tunnel, nothing but slippery ice and the reflection of white covering them. "Our next best choice is Mingi; sometimes if he can't sleep he would hang outside the palace compound-" he takes a deep breath, "-and sing."

She almost slips a few times but even without looking at her and moving forward, Wooyoung makes sure that his cousin is well-cared for. He lets her grip the back of his shirt as they span the walkway, having it tugged occasionally followed by her yelps until they reach the end. Sure enough, Wooyoung's guess proves to be spot-on as they hear the echo of someone singing, funnily, about orange juice.

"Princess! Mingi!" Wooyoung shouts, hoping to halt the singing of the prince who's currently sitting among the crystal-covered leaves.

The prince stops singing, searches around for a moment on who could be interrupting his session, before his face breaks into a goofy smile. Prince Mingi, as Narae has come to learn, despite living in a monotonous realm where his palace is covered entirely in ice, likes to dress in colours that give a stark difference between him and the rest of his surrounding. His red hair glimmers under the moonlight, with his pink-coloured silk pajamas twinkling like they're dusted with glitter.

From the top of the tree, he makes a descending walkway out of ice, enjoying himself too much as he slides down, not caring even though he almost tumbled in front of his guests.

"Princess Narae, Prince Wooyoung! What brought you here?" he grins, stretching out his arms as if to offer a hug.

It does seem so.

Wooyoung, a person who likes skinship and is clingy towards people around his age, falls into his embrace like it's the most natural thing he could do. After what seems like a full minute of embrace, they let go of each other and Mingi excitedly addresses the princess, "What might be the reason you're here, princess? It's too deep into the night and I don't think you went out of the palace through the front door." He eyes Wooyoung with an accusing look.

"She wanted some fresh air," Wooyoung defends himself. "I'm just following orders."

"Come on, you're making me sound as if I forced you to come here with me," she deadpans, rolling her eyes. Both men laugh at this while they walk to a spot where they can sit under the expanse of the starless sky. "We went to Kryon, but it didn't seem like Yeosang was eager to have us there. Got out as fast as we came."