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Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered, you had fought your way here to the castle beyond the goblin city to take back the child he had stolen. And what a fight it had been. The city was little more than a dense forest, but it was positively teeming with life - feral goblins, sentient plants, and magic as old as the towering trees. To an untrained eye the wild labyrinth must look completely untamed. However, after nearly thirteen hours you could see the precision of its design as though you held the map in your hands. After all, Yixing was the forest’s king and he did nothing by half measures.
His castle was hidden behind a high wall covered in dark, unruly vines. Vines which, of course, you had been forced to scale to gain entry. You finally reached the top of the wall just as the sun was setting over the treetops of the labyrinth.The palace on the other side was long and low with peaked roofs of champagne gold. Lovely, to be sure, but even the castle’s beauty diminished in comparison with the terraced gardens all around it. They were not as wild as the surrounding maze, but they were just as alive and full of magic. Everything flourished, with perfect specimens of every fruit you could name hanging heavy on innumerable branches.
Looking down from your perch atop the wall, your weary eyes settled on the most beautiful sight yet. You gave a small cry of relief - stairs! A set of rough-hewn steps snaked down the inner face of the wall. In a fraction of the time it had taken you to get to the top, you scurried down them and into the verdant grove below.
You ran into Yixing nearly by accident as you wandered down a row of apple trees, following a strange lullabye on the evening air. It was only when you interrupted him that you realized the lilting melody had come from the goblin king himself. A simple gold circlet adorned his brow, the only overt indication of his status. His pale blue shirt was cut wide at the neck, exposing his collarbone and just a touch more chest than you found necessary.
The baby was with him, sleeping soundly in the goblin king’s arms and cuddling a bright persimmon as though it was his favorite toy. At your approach, Yixing held a slender finger to his lips, then gently tossed the child into the air. Your body reacted before your mind did, reaching out to catch him, but your brother was snatched up by moving, twisting tree branches. They wove themselves into a basket around him, and he slept on peacefully as flowers bloomed into a pillow beneath his head.
As the basket settled back in the king’s arms, he leaned down to kiss your sleeping brother on his forehead. Then, with a wave of his hand, the crib vanished, taking the baby with it. You were alone with the king of the goblins among the whispering leaves of his orchard.
“Give me the child.” Your voice was calmer than you expected. Yes, he had superficially shown you that your brother was safe, but the labyrinth had taught you not to underestimate Yixing. He was as tenacious as he was beautiful. A dimple bloomed in his cheek, chasing a smile of approval at your determination.
“Darling, beware,” he replied. The words were a threat, but his tone was soft and sweet, as always. “I have been generous until now. I can be cruel.” That you knew. His forest labyrinth had tested your every limit. Luckily for all of your frustration and toil, he had yet to present you with a challenge you were not able to overcome. Every time you defeated one of his minions or traps it only stoked the fire in you to succeed, and that seemed to please him. But for him to act as though these trials were a gift? You nearly laughed out loud, it was so absurd.
“Generous?! What have you done that’s generous?” It was truly incredible how fast his gentle eyes could turn to steely disappointment. Yet he remained patient. The full moon had only just risen, after all, and the thirteen hours he had given you to solve the labyrinth would not expire until it had reached its peak.
“Everything.” He answered coolly, striding off towards the trees. How dare he turn away from you after you had come so far! You jogged to follow him deeper into the orchard as he continued to explain.“Everything that you wanted I have done. You asked that the child be taken, I took him. You cowered before me, I was frightening. I have re-ordered time. I have turned the world upside-down and I have done it all for you!” He punctuated the last exclamation with a jab of his finger and then whirled to face you. “I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me. Isn’t that generous?”
Now that you looked at him, he did seem thinner than he was at the beginning. Paler too. His breath rose and fell in a labored rhythm. It was easy to believe that he truly was exhausted from manipulating the magic of the forest. All of the abundance around you seemed to flow from him, using his energy like a battery. But, you reminded yourself, he had taken the child in the first place - not because you had asked it of him outright, but because he wanted to.The fair folk were known to twist the words of mortals to justify such things, after all.The labyrinth was his creation and thus it was his burden to bear. You certainly hadn’t asked him for dangers untold and hardships unnumbered.
While you were distracted by your own frustration, Yixing slipped away from you and now he was nowhere to be seen. Was this another challenge? You found your bearings when you heard his lullabye once more. It led you down another row of trees until a thick tangle of blackberry bushes sprang up suddenly from the undergrowth and blocked your way. You rolled your eyes, but pushed your way through the thicket and emerged into a clearing on the other side.
The music had not led you to Yixing this time, but to what looked like a party. The creatures of the forest were feasting and dancing in the clearing under the light of the stars. Your clothes, dirty and torn from the maze, would have compounded the embarrassment of your undignified entrance, but they had changed as you moved through the brambles. Yixing’s magic had turned them into a garment so soft and beautiful it could have been fashioned from a petal.
The creatures seemed to be largely indifferent to your presence as you circled the clearing. There was no sign of your brother anywhere, but surely Yixing would have him somewhere safe. He doted on the baby, even while he had made you run, jump, climb and fight all the way here. You could not seem to find him at the party either, but after a while you sensed a pair of wolf-like eyes tracking you from the perimeter of trees. There - a glimpse of pale blue silk caught your eye at the opposite end of the clearing. You stormed straight across what passed for a dance floor with a million admonishments waiting on your tongue for the king who had made you chase him once again. But suddenly he was there in front of you and he cut you off before you could let loose a single one.
“Stop. Wait. My love, look what I’m offering you. Your dreams.”
He held a single fragrant cherry blossom between his slender fingertips. The flower gave you pause. Last time it had been a chaste white rose he held out to you - a trap. The petals had burst into a shimmering powder that left you dazed while he made his escape from the nursery with your brother. Still, this gesture felt different. The blossom was so delicate and so alluring by comparison. Against your better judgement you reached a single finger out to touch it, but his hand caught yours halfway there.
The blackberry briars had given you a deep red scrape across your palm and the sight seemed to worry him as he gently unfurled your fingers. Strange that such a trivial thing would crease his brow after all he had put you through. Gingerly, he took your wounded hand and lifted it to his soft lips. Under a lingering kiss the scrape knit itself up, leaving only unbroken skin. With a contented sigh, he pressed his cheek to your newly-healed flesh, and then those eyes looked up at you. In the light of the full moon, Yixing gazed at you as though there was nothing else in the world to see.
You expected the healing magic to tax him further, to make him even more wan and hungry-looking, but instead the touch of your skin brought color back into the edges of his face. And as for the look of hunger - well, there was a different sort of hunger in his eyes now.
“I ask for so little,” he murmured, drawing you to him by your healed hand and casting the cherry blossom away. The surge in vitality had made him bold. You could almost feel him grow stronger the closer you moved. Something about it made your pulse quicken.
“Just let me rule you and you can have everything you want.” A blush rose to your cheeks at the suggestion. There was no mistaking the sentiment behind his use of the word ‘rule’; certainly not when he bit his lower lip in that very un-kinglike manner. But he would not take this from you unless you would freely give it - those were the rules. And so he asked once more.
“Just fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave.”
Your blush deepened. You were so close now, with his other hand grazing the small of your back. Had he been this tempting before? Every aspect of him seemed calculated to seduce you into staying in his kingdom - his tender eyes, his shapely lips, his smooth chest rising and falling under that damnable blue shirt.
But something in his voice begged you for an answer - any answer, to put his remaining doubts to rest.The labyrinth was a test of your tenacity, your dedication. But was it dedication to the child or to him? How much of the dark forest had he truly been willing to protect you from? The goblin king could be as gentle as a lamb, but there was a hard edge to his will. It was clear from your trials in the labyrinth that he expected the same strength from you as his opponent. Or as his queen.
He was also protective of the baby and throughout your travels you had seen your brother grow to trust him in return. At your last meeting outside the palace walls, your brother had clung tightly to Yixing, refusing your attempts to take him away. The look of satisfaction on the goblin king’s face at that had been both infuriating and endearing in equal measure.The only way he would return the child to you was if he felt you were worthy.
And exactly what sort of person grew exploding flowers, anyway?
Yixing softly cleared his throat, soliciting your attention. Without a word, he flicked his eyes towards the moon, now high overhead. Time had shifted. Your thirteen hours were nearly at an end and he could wait no longer for you to make your decision. Little did he know, your decision was already made.
For your will was as strong as his and your kingdom as great.