cassiopeia ꒱ markhyuck

five

Donghyuck was laying back against the headboard of his fancy bed, his hands tied in front of him and his feet tied to the edge of the bed with a rope, making it so that he could shift and move around to an extent, but it would be impossible for him to leave the room.

The servants who had tied him up had seemed extremely apologetic about it, at least. But no matter how many times Donghyuck desperately asked "aren't I the queen? Don't you have to listen to me too?", he always got the same response in return.

"It is the king's orders. We must execute the king's order."

It didn't matter how much he cried or screamed at them or flailed around. It didn't matter that they all had looked at him guiltily once he was properly restrained and had no way of escaping. In the end, they were loyal to their king and their king alone, and now Donghyuck was sitting in an empty royal bedroom with ropes chafing his skin and absolutely nothing he could do about it.

He had stopped yelling and crying out for help about an hour into his solitude, giving up once he realized that not one person was going to come in to save him. His throat felt wrecked, he still had the remnants of tears on his cheeks, and most of all, he was so, so tired. He had been fighting sleep for the past few hours, because he couldn't be sure that he would really be safe if he let his guard down like that, but eventually, the exhaustion was too much for him to even care about that anymore. He finally let his eyes close, laying his head back against one of the many pillows on the bed, and within minutes, he was knocked out cold.

┈ ୨ 👑 ୧ ┈

He awoke to the sound of shuffling in his room. His heart jumped, and his eyes immediately shot open as he sat up so fast that he gave himself vertigo. At the other end of the room, the blonde beta servant that had been doing something in his closet froze, slowly turning around to face him. Despite everything, Donghyuck was relieved to at least see a face that he recognized, someone that had shown him kindness during his short stay in this world.

"Ah... you're awake. Good morning, Your Highness," the beta mumbled, lowering himself into a bow. Donghyuck just stared at him for a long moment, blinking dumbly as his sleep clouded brain tried to catch up and process what was happening. His gaze fell onto the ropes around his wrists and ankles, where there were now red marks from the rough material scraping against his skin, and he grimaced a little. That's right, I'm still a fucking hostage in this stupid place.

"Not a good morning for me," Donghyuck grumbled back. The beta gave him a sympathetic smile, shutting the closet door and approaching Donghyuck's bedside.

"Is there anything I can get for you to make you more comfortable?" He asked politely. Donghyuck narrowed his eyes as he looked up at him.

"I don't suppose that you'll listen to me if I ask you to untie me, right?"

The beta winced a little, bowing his head in apology. "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I cannot untie you."

"Figured," Donghyuck scowled, sitting up and letting his head thunk against the headboard behind him. "What's your name? I've seen you more often than I've seen anyone else."

The blonde beta hesitated, visibly taken aback by the question. Donghyuck distantly wondered if anyone he had served before had ever cared to know his name.

"Um... my name is Renjun, Your Highness. Huang Renjun," he murmured, "you will see me a lot in the future as well. I've been assigned as the head of your personal staff, and as long as you're here, I will be taking care of anything you might need."

"You're like my little lady-in-waiting then, I guess?" Donghyuck chuckled. Renjun blushed a little, ducking his head.

"We haven't used that term in years. But yes... I suppose I serve the same sort of purpose," he mumbled, a little shyly.