Eclipse *Minsung*

The future

*The main song I listened to while writing this chapter. The lyrics are just so pretty. Wildfire- SYML

"It appears to have been a drug typically used by smugglers and traffickers."

"Are you sure?" Minho's voice reached through Jisung's slowly awakening mind.

"This test kit rarely shows wrong results, Your Highness. And based on my own observations of the Moon Prince, I can confirm what the results say. He'll be weak for another day, the dose was thankfully minimal. The drug is more fast-acting than long-lasting, so he should be fine by tomorrow."

A relieved sigh. "Thank you, doctor."

"Make sure he eats something warm as soon as he wakes up."

"I will. And thank you again."

"Of course. As always, send the word if you need anything."

A few seconds later a door closed, followed by a brief silence. Jisung's head was so foggy, he could hardly feel his body, and he was barely holding onto consciousness despite wanting to sit up and show Minho he was alright.

"So where do we start?" That was Seungmin's voice.

"We can start by killing whoever did this to him."

"Minho."

"I know." The Sun Prince pushed out a breath. "Right now we have nothing to go off of. We'll have to wait for him to wake up."

Jisung was trying to wake up.

"Changbin said he just found him on the floor?"

"On the floor in the middle of what appeared to be a panic attack of some kind."

Seungmin let out a short, dry laugh. "First you're nearly killed at the Moon Palace and now Prince Jisung was clearly attacked in some way. Someone really doesn't want either of you in power."

"So I've noticed. I have my suspicions, but that's all I have."

"I can turn those suspicions into facts and evidence. Just say the word."

Minho was talking again, but Jisung could no longer hear anything. The next thing he knew, his eyes were opening, slow and bleary. The white drapes hanging over his bed swayed, spotted with soft sunlight. His chest filled with air, relieving as if he hadn't been breathing properly, and his body felt... heavy.

Jisung forced his body to move, barely managing to push himself to sit up against the pillows. He glanced to the side, surprised to see Minho sitting at the desk. The quill in his hand stopped writing as his head turned at the hint of movement.

"Jisung." The Sun Prince dropped the quill and approached the bedside table where a pitcher of water a a few glasses were waiting. He filled one of the glasses with water and handed it over, sinking onto the mattress beside Jisung's legs. "How are you feeling?"

To give himself a moment to make sense of his surroundings and his last memories, Jisung slowly drank the water. Behind Minho, beyond the windows, the light of the sun outside was growing dim, indicating that it was nearly evening. "How long?"

Minho titled his head before understanding lit his eyes. "You've been out of it since last night." A bit cautiously, Minho reached to take Jisung's hand.

The Moon Prince laced his fingers with Minho's, showing that he was alright with the touch. "Have you been in here all day?"

"I had no mind of leaving you since Changbin came to get me."

A strange feeling welled in Jisung's chest, tight in his lungs and throat. His eyes began stinging and... something wet slid down his face. He was... crying?