A Tiger Called Rapunzel ✓ || TaeGyu || HYBEPride 2021

I Am Not Dead Yet

Taehyun didn't understand why he wasn't dead yet. More than anything, at this point, he just wanted to be put out of his misery.

The Naeil Tower's Catacombs lay deep under water level, and therefore, the dungeons often flooded during regular intervals as the tides came in. Taehyun would often find himself standing in knee-deep water after dozing off (standing up, of course). The cell was small, barely big enough for him to fit in, and he had had no food since this ordeal began. At first, it had been fine, laying down for brief breaks before standing again, waking up to the slightest trickle of water and realizing he could not drink it, being visited by guards who would yell in his face before dropping off satchels of drinkable fluid, having to relieve himself at his feet.

On day one, he had been confident that Soobin would somehow find his way out and get him. Soobin, after all, never seemed to be in trouble for long. He wasn't sure exactly why, but he knew it had something to do with Yeonjun. But Soobin never came.

On day two, he fell asleep standing up for the first time.

On day three, he started making up stories in his head about how great it was going to be once he got out, considering the immediate threat of death was gone. Maybe Cholong really was Prince Beomgyu, and he himself would get Taehyun out of here, and Taehyun would live in the castle for the rest of his life.

On day seven, Taehyun started talking to himself. He wasn't an idiot -- he knew he could survive without food for days, considering they kept watering him like a plant. But he knew they would have to come down for him sooner or later, most likely to drag him up to the surface without a proper trial and behead him in front of everybody. If they were going to do that, he hoped he wouldn't see Cholong one more time.

By day fourteen, Taehyun was convinced that Cholong was Prince Beomgyu. It made too much sense: the mother being named Heulin, having a daemon and magic powers, living in a tower and being forbidden from leaving for years, being raised as a girl...and he made such a handsome man, too.

Taehyun cracked on day nineteen.

He cried for hours, alone in the catacombs, where nobody else could hear him. He cried because he knew that the castle guards had left him down here to rot. They were watering him, but probably only so he would waste away slowly from lack of food. He would never see Cholong again. It didn't matter if he was Beomgyu or not. It didn't matter if he was in love with him or not. At this point, he didn't understand why they were just leaving him here. If he could only be reunited with Cholong in the afterlife, then so be it.

He wanted to be selfish. He wanted to go visit Cholong one more time, even if he had to keep his hair long and wear a dress. He wanted to sit and read one of his favorite books with him, maybe hang out with his penguin daemon some, too. And before he left, accepting his fate, he would at least tell Cholong how he felt for him. Maybe Cholong would keep that with him as he went through life...whatever his life consisted of now.

Knowing Cholong, he was probably back to being a girl. Like the Tiger Festival never happened.

He drifted off to sleep while standing again, leaning against the wall, and he woke up to something cold being splashed in his face. Shaking it off, he took a fighting stance out of habit, but then relaxed -- it was Soobin. "What in King Bang's name are you doing here?"

"It's a long story," said a voice, and -- go figure it was the captain of the guard Choi Yeonjun, right behind Soobin. He handed Taehyun a bag. "Eat these slowly, don't kill yourself, we kind of need you here."

Taehyun opened the bag; inside were three dates, enough to keep him hungry without messing up his system. "Goodness, what do you need me for? I was starting to think you were going to let me starve down here!"

Yeonjun put the guard's key in the lock, and the door opened, freeing Taehyun. But twenty three days without food had done their work, and he could barely walk. Soobin let Taehyun jump on his back, and he secured Taehyun's weight well so they could all walk together, Soobin next to Yeonjun with Taehyun on top.

"There's been a magical disturbance near Shinkisoku," Yeonjun explained. "The entire guard has been mobilized to find and take care of the threat. Magic is no longer allowed in the kingdom, obviously, unless you're a member of the Royal Family. They think it's related to Prince Beomgyu."

Taehyun found himself blushing at the mention of Prince Beomgyu's name.

"I think it's weird, but Soobin said you knew a magic user who lived near Shinkisoku, that girl you brought with you to the festival."

"She's --" Taehyun corrected himself. "He's not a girl, he's a dude, and he was..." He searched for the right words; his mind was still hazy. "Definitely my date. And definitely magic."

"Did he have a bear daemon?"

"No, penguin."

"Penguin..." It didn't match what Yeonjun had always been told about the lost Prince. "Anyway, Soobin says you know where she lives -- he, I'm sorry. Where he lives. There's a bubble around the magic disturbance, but it's causing some major issues. Started a forest fire and it's getting closer to Shinkisoku. So while most of the guard is taking care of the fire, we need to stop the battle before things get worse...but we can't find where this location is on the ground."

"I know where it is," Taehyun said, holding onto Soobin with what was left of his strength. "But how -- we're not magic, how can we stop it?"

"I'm not saying we'll be able to stop it," Yeonjun said, and then they reached the end of the catacombs hall. Soobin grabbed a tighter grip on Taehyun as they ascended the stairs, making sure Taehyun would not fall. When they got to the top, Yeonjun opened the heavy door. "I've found them, Your Highness."

There was an entire selection of palace guards and people in waiting, filling the dungeon hall when Yeonjun and Soobin walked up the stairs. And standing right in front, crown perfect on his head, was His Royal Highness, King Namjoon himself. He looked completely unfazed by the situation, with a long purple robe on his shoulders and the royal scepter in his right hand, ready to call Saja, his daemon, at any moment. Behind him was his consort, Yoongi, dressed in blue with a huge tiger by his side.

"Oh, great, they're going to kill me now," Taehyun whined as Soobin let him down, then stumbled once his feet hit the ground. Yeonjun reached out to grab him, and both Soobin and Yeonjun made sure Taehyun was stable on his feet before they let go. He did his best to stand in front of the King, then got down on his hands and knees, bowing. "I don't think I'm gonna get up from this."

"Enough wasting my time," the King said, his voice full of authority. "You said he knew where the magic users were. Lead me to them, and we can deal with the rest."

Taehyun looked up. "You're not gonna kill me yet?"

"Not yet. After we deal with this, then yes."

"Cool, then, uh..." Taehyun weighed the decision in his mind for two seconds before blurting it out. If he was going to die, he had nothing left to lose. "You should probably know I'm in love with your son."