Chapter Text
The city was on fire. Large plumes of smoke covered the streets and the roar of the flames was so loud that Yeosang could hear it over the low cries of the woman and children hiding in the temple. His high priest, a gentle man with soft blondish pink, neck length hair, had opened the doors to let in desperate civilians. The high priest in question was walking around frantically trying to give people anything they could use as they disappeared down the hidden tunnel in their floor that would lead out of the city. People were crying as they had to leave behind all of their possessions but Yeosang tried to comfort them as best as he could. At least they would escape the barbarian horde laying siege to their home. He heard men outside yelling and turned to his high priest.
"Seonghwa, I think its time to board up the doors." He said as he reached for the other's dress to get his attention. "I don't think any more people will make it to the temple."
The high priest sighed heavily as he swept loose strands of long pink hair from his face. "I suppose you're right." He said. "Let's give these good people time to run."
With a heavy heart they fortified the front doors as the last of their flock disappeared under the ground. Then they closed the secret entrance to the tunnel. Yeosang had known this would happen. As priests they had sworn an oath never to leave this temple, and he was prepared to protect the statues and altars. He had served the goddess of their city for five years now under Seonghwa's guidance, who had been in this temple for even longer. Whereas Yeosang had been appointed to his role when he came of age, Seonghwa had lived here since birth when his mother left him at the temple doors. The old priest had taken him in and cared for him as a father. When it came time for the old man to retire he named Seonghwa as his successor. Yeosang looked at his mentor and saw both fear and determination and he knew that the priest intended to die in this place. He didn't know if he had the same conviction truthfully. He would defend the temple, but he also felt much too young to die.
He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard loud bangs on the door. Instinctively he found Seonghwa's long thin hand as he tried to hide behind the pink haired man. The high priest tried to comfort him with a small smile but Yeosang could see tears start to pool in his eyes. Still Seonghwa made sure to face the doors bravely as he hid Yeosang's lithe figure behind his. He squeezed the younger priest's hand once more before the doors cracked open under immense force. They were met by the faces of young bulky men who above all looked stunned at the sight of the trebling priests. Some of them quickly recovered and made for the gold statues and altar offerings.
Seonghwa who also seemed stunned for a second looked around as he calculated who to attack first. He let go of Yeosang's hand as he threw himself on a man who tried to hack down the nearest statue of their beloved godess. While Yeosang was still trying to process what was happening, the high priest was scratching up the barbarians tanned face. The slightly taller man in turn flailed around as he tried to get a rabid priest off of his back. Another fierce looking barbarian with short choppy black hair in the front and a long braid in the back ran up to his companion and despite his small frame made quick work of pulling the priest away.
This made the man who was a good head shorter than the pink haired fury the new single focus of Seonghwa's rage as he kept trying to land kicks and punches. Yeosang was surprised when it almost seemed as if the fur clad man wasnt even really fighting back. He was just holding the priest. Soon however it seemed as if the barbarian had had enough of this and landed a single sharp blow to the high priest's head. Yeosang saw Seonghwa's body go limp as his eyes rolled up into his head. The younger priest shook off any shock he might have felt and ran towards his mentor as his anger had won over his fear. Unfortunately he didn't get very far because he felt his body got flipped upside down over somebody's shoulder. He rained down punches on the barbarian's back that seemed to do little damage as he cried out of frustration.
The barbarian in turn only hummed good naturedly and spoke brokenly in Yeosang's language. "Don't worry, we don't want to hurt you." He tapped the priest's ass as he started walking. "We've never even seen someone as pretty as you, I can't believe they've kept you behind these walls all this time. We almost confused you for the statues themselves, little golden haired priest."
"Don't touch the high priest!" Yeosang yelled in return as he shook his hands in rage trying to reach Seonghwa. "Don't you dare hurt him."
He tried to wriggle free but the barbarian had a strong grip and no intention of letting him go.
"We wont hurt him any further." The smaller barbarian answered while smiling good naturedly up to Yeosang. "I just didn't want him to hurt himself or my men." And with that last statement he picked up the high priest's limp body in a bridal position.
"Your men?" Yeosang whispered when he finally realized this fierce looking man covered in furs and war paint must be the general. This was the man who destroyed his city. He felt the man under him move again as he was slowly carried out of his beloved home and started plotting his revenge.
Seonghwa woke up with his hands tied together. His head hurt and he was lying in an unfamiliar place. It looked like a tent. He tried to push away the nausea that his headache was causing him and tried to close his eyes again before his concern for Yeosang pulled him back to consciousness. He sat up too quickly and immediately threw up on the ground next to him. The whole floor was covered in furs but he honestly couldn't care less about the cleanliness of his captor's tent right now. He felt miserable as he used his sleeves to clean his lips and rubbed away some stray tears. He was alone and scared and he needed to know what happened to his companion. Yeosang was the closest thing he had to family right now and he couldn't let them hurt his sole reason for living.
"Yeosang!" He yelled miserably. It came out as a sad croak from his dry throat. Just as he tried to make for the entrance of the tent, the flap opened. He instantly crawled backwards towards the far side of the tent as a barbarian came towards him. The man wasnt very broad or tall but he looked dangerous nonetheless with small bones braided into his jet black hair and he had a terrifying glint in his eyes when he smiled.
"Where is my companion?" Seonghwa demanded to know with a shaky voice even though he knew he wasnt in much of a position to make demands. He coughed as his throat hurt and the man's expression changed from a smile to clear concern.
"Your friend is fine" The barbarian said smoothly in Seonghwa's language. "I just figured you might need to cool off first."
Seonghwa bristled at the thought. "You destroyed my city, my home, and you think I need to cool off?" He croaked incredulously.
"You did almost scratch one of my best men's eyes out." The man answered with a shrug. "I will bring you your friend and some water if thats what you want?"
Seonghwa didn't have it in him to fight anymore as he felt another wave of nausea hit him. He leaned to the side again but nothing came out as he dry heaved.
"Please." He whispered. And the barbarian was up and out of the tent in an instance.
It took the man all of two minutes to return with Yeosang, a cup of water and another man who looked like he was from this land. Seonghwa had put his head in his arms as he tried to will away the vertigo. But when he heard Yeosang's voice he instantly looked up. The younger priest carefully wrapped him up in a hug and inspected every part of his head and his slightly red wrists. Big concerned eyes were tracing the bump of Seonghwa's head while the high priest was just taking in the familiar blonde curls and the red birthmark next to his eyes. The pink haired priest had never been so happy to see his companion again. He cried fat tears that streamed down his face openly and made his head hurt even more.
"Give me that." Seonghwa heard Yeosang say in an angry tone he didn't recognize. The younger priest had taken the barbarian's water cup and slowly let his mentor drink small sips of water.
"We don't really have a doctor on hand right now because they're tending to our wounded." The barbarian started. "But this is Wooyoung, he worked as a nurse before we took his city. I will leave you alone for a couple minutes so he can examine you." The barbarian seemed almost apologetic as he turned around one more time before leaving his tent. "Oh, my name is Hongjoong, and I'm the general of this army."
Seonghwa eyed Wooyoung nervously as the smaller man came forward. The red haired nurse looked about Yeosang's age and was clearly in a similar situation as he was. It was strange that Wooyoung didn't seem to be a slave however. Or at least he didn't act like one. He didn't bow to the general and didn't seem to feel terribly scared of the man either.
"I was asked to see how you're feeling." The young man said. "Have you already thrown up a lot?" He asked. Seonghwa nodded and told him about his headache and where the pain came from. After some time the young nurse concluded that he didn't have a concussion but that he did need to eat something and try to rest for a while.
"I understand its difficult because you're in a strange environment and you don't trust these people, but they wont hurt you." Wooyoung said as if speaking from experience. "After a week they give you a choice to stay or leave, but they wont force you to do anything you don't want to do."
The priests looked at each other trying to process this information. They had no city to go back to. It had been ransacked and having left the temple, they wouldn't be allowed inside again.
"We have nowhere else to go." Seonghwa whispered dejected.
Wooyoung nodded his head sagely in understanding. "Take your time." "They wont make you decide right away especially if you need to heal."
He gave the priests one last glance before leaving the tent as well.
Seonghwa felt faint even after having drank water. He decided to lay his head down again. Yeosang slowly ran his fingers through the priest's hair as he fell asleep again.
"Don't worry about me." The blonde said while gently untying his wrists. "This time ill protect you."
Yeosang had known Wooyoung when he was younger. They studied together before Yeosang had been called to be a priest. The redhead was fiercely protective over his friends and would often walk Yeosang to school so he wouldn't be harrassed for his beauty. The temple had been a safe haven for the blonde as he traded one protector for another. As Yeosang held watch over his mentor he considered how elated he was to see his old friend again still carefree and energetic as ever. The old friends had reunited while waiting for Seonghwa to wake up. It had made Yeosang much less anxious over his future as he considered Wooyoung's advice. He wouldn't be killed or be forced into slavery and he could stay close to his old mentor.
While he was deep in thought, the tent opened up again. This time it wasnt the general but another barbarian. Yeosang recognized him as the brute that had slung him over his shoulder and carried the priest into his warcamp. His eyes narrowed as he took in a defensive stance. The young barbarian instantly stopped moving and held his hands in front of him.
"Woah woah, I'm sorry." He said. "The general send me to ask if there's anything you need and to clean up your friend's sick. He pointed to the damp spot next to Seonghwa's still body.
"Fine." Yeosang said through gritted teeth. "Stay there."
The priest picked up the dirtied fur and handed in to the man who did look a lot less intimidating without his warpaint and armor. Yeosang figured he could look kind if they weren't enemies as the young barbarian flashed a gummy smile in the hopes of looking disarmed. His brown hair was tousled and his strong stature made him somehow look like a bear cub what with all the furs he donned.
"Whats your name?" Yeosang asked while the barbarian was folding the fur so he didn't have to touch any wet spots.
"Jongho.", the man answered proudly. I'm actually the general's second in command."
"Who's the first?" Yeosang asked with mild interest.
"Ah, that would be Yunho." The barbarian answered. "That was the man who almost had his eyes plucked out by your friend over there." Jongho continued as he vaguely gestured towards Seonghwa.
Yeosang looked at his mentor proudly as he remembered the scene before he had a disturbing thought.
"Will he get punished for it?" The priest asked instantly becoming defensive yet again as he crouched between the two men.
"I doubt it." Jongho answered. "Although he may need to answer to Yunho's partner. Mingi will not be happy that another man touched his lovers face."
The young priest made a mental note to keep a lookout for this Mingi figure as he mulled over the barbarian's words. He was surprised how well they had been treated so far despite hearing legends of the barbarian's brutality for so many years. He had always heard tales of people being sold into slavery or being punished by making them work to death and that was not even mentioning all of the horrible tales of torture he had been told. Yeosang was surprised by the kindness they had been offered so far. Even if he didn't fully trust the brutes.
After some time the young barbarian had given the priests some new furs and left them to their devices. Seonghwa woke up after an hour of restless dreams and Yeosang made sure to make him feel safe. The priest's head still hurt but he no longer felt nauseated as he slowly sat up.
"I want to know where we are." Seonghwa said after a while. "We need to explore the camp." Yeosang was hesitant to let the priest just walk out but he figured it might settle the other's mind. He used one of the furs to cover Seonghwa's no longer entirely white dress and did the same for himself. Then with the pink haired man leaning on Yeosang they finally set out.
The camp was situated on the beach. The priests could see their old city in the distance, plumes of smoke still rising. The noticed that the tent they had occupied was the largest in camp bar none. Yeosang raised one eyebrow as he once again considered his captors hospitality. It seemed that night had fallen some time ago as fires illuminated the tents in an orange hue. Seonghwa could see the moon reflect over the ocean stretched in front of them. He was fearful that soon he would have to cross that ocean and would never see his beloved home again. Seonghwa felt his eyes pool with tears once again as he kept walking through the camp. When the priests eventually reached the outskirts of the camp they were met with an ambivalent guard who easily let them pass. Yeosang helped his mentor sit down on the fine sand as they looked at the ocean in quiet contemplation.
"We could take revenge." Yeosang said after a while. "We know who leads this army."
Seonghwa stared at the sand before turning to his companion. "What good would it do?" He answered. "Our godess teaches that revenge is not ours to take, and it wont bring our city back either."
Yeosang shrugged. He had already known that but he so desperately wanted to give his high priest a sense of control. To be able to change their situation. And deep down he had known that it wouldn't make anything better. He slumped his shoulders as he tried to think of another plan. When he looked back at Seonghwa the man had also slumped over into his fur and soft breathes filled the air as he had clearly fallen asleep again.
The young priest sighed in defeat as he shook his head with a small smile. The day had weighed enough on him however and he soon felt sleep overtake him as well as he held his companion close.
Seonghwa woke up to a commotion as someone was violently shaking his whole body. It took him some time to filter put the blinding light of the rising sun and the sound of yelling right next to him.
"Why did you try to escape?" A man yelled into his face as he was dragged to his feet. Next to him a man was holding Yeosang in a choke hold as the young priest was struggling to get out of his grip.
"We didn't escape." Seonghwa whispered as the man was still moving his body this way and that. Then a little louder he asked for the other man to let his companion go.
"We didn't do anything wrong!" Yeosang protested as the men forcefully pushed them back into camp. Seonghwa tripped over a tent pin as the barbarian pushed him further and the man's patience seemed to wear thin as he kicked the priest down into the sand. Seonghwa yelled in agony as his arms gave out under the weight while Yeosang still tried to reach him.
"You tried to escape so you could whore yourself out to another army didn't you?" The man said mockingly as he rolled Seonghwa over with his foot and sat down on the priest's waist trapping him in place. "Has our general not been much too kind to you already", the man continued as he produced a knife. "Giving you his own tent to live in." He spat at the priest who was trying to shield himself with his arms. Seonghwa heard Yeosang fall to the ground as the other man had pushed him down as well.
The high priest's blood ran cold muttering a string of prayers seeking any protection from his godess while the man pinned down his arms. Seonghwa was certain they would die now, but instead of taking the knife to his throat the man cut through the fabric of the robes he was wearing. Seonghwa wailed as the man violently ripped off the straps and the upper half of his dress.
"You two are much too pretty to be kept in the general's tent anyway." The second man said through gritted teeth to Yeosang who was still adamantly fighting back. "Let's see if you're even men at all." He raised his arm to punch the younger priest but that arm never came down. While Seonghwa felt the weight being lifted off of his body as both the men were pulled backwards violently.
"What do you think you're fucking doing right now?" An unfamiliar voice spat at the men from above the priests. "The general will hear off this and he will not be pleased knowing that you harmed his personal guests."
Another voice chimed in. "San, I trust that you can take these animals to the brig untill we hold trial."
"It would be my pleasure." Another man chimed in before leading the miscreants away.
Seonghwa found himself shaking as a kind face entered his field of vision. It had scratches all over it, but the man seemed to hold no ill will towards him as he offered the priest his hand.
"I'm Yunho." The man introduced himself as he offered Seonghwa his own coat to cover up again. "I deeply apologize" He continued while helping the priest stand. "These men are mercenaries from a different tribe and clearly have not understood how we do things around here." His tone was grave and serious at the end but his face stayed kind nonetheless as he tried to make himself appear non threatening to the shaking priest.
Seonghwa looked over at his companion who sported a nasty cut over his lip and deep bruises on his throat. Yeosang was being held up by the young barbarian who Seonghwa thought was called Jongho but he couldn't remember who had told him that information.
"I don't think we should let it become a habit that you carry me." Yeosang tried to say jokingly but his throat was scratchy and Seonghwa heard him push away his emotions. Jongho gave him an encouraging smile as he lifted the young priest in his arms. The blonde wrapped his arms around the barbarian's neck as he hid his face in the soft fur on his shoulder. Seonghwa saw his companion softly break down as he openly wept into the fur. Once again the high priest felt as though he hadn't been able to protect his young friend at all.
His ribs hurt while walking and though Yunho had offered to carry him, Seonghwa kept going while covering himself with the other man's coat. He knew he was punishing himself but he didn't care. It had been his idea to go outside the camp and now his companion was hurt. He stumbled through the camp as he followed Jongho untill they once again reached the general's tent.
The young barbarian had only barely sat down with a weeping Yeosang still in his lap when the tent flaps ripped open. A distraught general walked in, his hair sticking to his body as he'd clearly ran over.
"What happened?" He demanded to know as he looked at his first and second in command. Before his eyes fell to Seonghwa. The priest stood slightly hunched over as he held his ribs, the coat having fallen off of one shoulder exposing the fresh bruises and tears in the fabric of his dress. Hongjoong's face went from shocked to enraged to apologetic and he fell down to the floor on his knees in front of the priest. He bowed his head as deep as he could, his hairs touching Seonghwa's bare feet as he uttered apologies.
"I will avenge you in the gravest way my guest." The general said. "Under my protection not one hair on your head should have been hurt and I've let this occur under my watch. It will be amended and you will receive anything you ask of me." He did not raise his head untill Seonghwa gently nudged his with his fingers. The priest felt somewhat embarrassed at this pure display of remorse.
He thought about it for a second and once again looked at Yeosang who was in turn watching Hongjoong with comically round eyes of pure shock. He still hadnt let go of his emotional support barbarian however and it gave Seonghwa an idea.
"I want you to keep Yeosang and I safe for the rest of our lives." He said confidently. "Make me your permanent guest and let my companion be protected by your friend here." He finished as he pointed at Yeosang and Jongho.
"It would be my deepest honor." Hongjoong said before bowing to Yeosang as well. He gave the both of them another look over before he said. "I will fetch a doctor right away."
"Wooyoung?" The younger priest mumbled in a barely audible voice. However it seemed that the general had heard it when he nodded and ran out his tent again.
Wooyoung arrived with a doctor in tow and he immediately went to hug his old friend. As the doctor was examining Seonghwas ribs, the high priest heard the redhead say almost conspiratorally.
"By the time Hongjoong gets done with those guys they're gonna wish they were dead." Seonghwa turned to the nurse who was cleaning the cut in Yeosang's lip and heard him continue to say. "He gonna make an example out of them like we've never seen before."