Chaconne

Chapter 9 : The Dance of (Eternal) Death

Your head feels terribly fuzzy. The world around you is moving in slow motion and you can't seem to escape the sudden daze you're trapped in. The most embarrassing part of it all is the cause of your foggy mindset. By now, Jay had called you 'little one' twice, which shakes you down to your core and melts your entire being all at once. Just like when some of the other princes chose to call you by a nickname of their own, your heart swells at the mere thought and you find yourself willing to do anything for the man sitting next to you.

"Do you have any more questions for me, little one?" There it is again. You can only hope you don't look as affected as you feel. But judging by the smirk resting on the prince's lips, you know you're a dead giveaway.

"What are your powers?" you ask, a little too eagerly and loudly even for the comfort of your own ears. "I know every other prince's powers except for yours," you add, diminishing your tone.

"Super strength," Jay answers rather nonchalantly.

"You make it sound like it's not a big deal," you giggle. Jay feels the tension in his shoulders melt away as he watches you; refusing to admit that he finds the way that you cover your giggles behind your hand painfully endearing.

"Because it is no big deal," he shrugs. "I can lift heavy items, and that's it." You feel a sudden shift in the room like it grows smaller, but you choose to ignore it, focusing all your attention on Jay. He turns to look at you as well, and you miss the way his gaze catches on something behind you for a split second.

"Well, I think it's rather impressive. If my talk with Heeseung goes well, will you show me your abilities in the near future?"

"I'll show you soon, little one," Jay smiles and gives you a reaffirming nod. While you beam at him and flash him your brightest smile, your gaze shifts and you finally discover why there was a change in the atmosphere. You catch a pair of eyes watching you in the reflection of the broken mirror standing behind Jay's chair. They're round and doe-like, not menacing and not judging. Rather, the eyes are soft and observant, watching you as if the moment he blinks, you'll disappear.

"We have finally found you again, Princess," the prince speaks behind you. His voice instantly embraces you like a warm hug and you find yourself tearing up for a reason beyond your knowledge; to which you later realize the unshed tears were brought on by an overwhelming sense of nostalgia and longing surging through your veins. When you turn around to finally greet the eldest prince, his beauty steals your breath away to the point where all you can hear is the sound of your rapidly racing heart.

"Heeseung." The two syllables tumble past your lips faster than you can comprehend. At the sound of his name rolling so effortlessly by you, the prince smiles. It's light and softer than most of the other smiles you have seen, seeming like the prince is treating you as if you're a fragile sculpture that would break under the weight of a spec of dust.

Heeseung's height is practically the same as Riki's, if not slightly shorter; but he has a slimmer jawline compared to the youngest prince. Everything from his gleaming eyes to his beautifully pointed nose and subtly pouty lips reminds you of a mystical deer. You're so preoccupied with basking in his beauty, that you almost fail to recognize Jake standing next to him with a wide happy grin resting on his lips.

"Why don't we give them some privacy, Jay," the younger prince suggests and Jay nods silently before following him out of the room, leaving you and Heeseung staring at each other with a good distance in between.

The silence that settles in the room accompanying the two princes' absence is unsettling. Not necessarily in a way that scares or intimidates you. Rather, the silence leaves you itching to get closer to the prince. Heeseung must feel the same because the moment you rise from your seat to approach him, he takes three long strides closer toward you. The closer he travels with each step, the stronger you feel a subtle hum reverberating deep within your bones. It's the same feeling that has been overtaking your body ever since you felt the pull after crossing the river. Except now, it feels so intense that there's no proper way for you to even describe the feeling. It's like your body has suddenly begun levitating and you're floating above cloud nine without any means of coming back down. But it's also like fate had tied its red string to connect you with the seven princes, and now that you've finally met them all, fate is pulling unforgivingly tightly at the string to draw you all closer, binding your souls together until there's no way to escape the inevitable.