cassiopeia ꒱ markhyuck

twenty nine

It was obvious that the sorcerers had not been expecting any visitors, judging by the way a young apprentice startled horribly as soon as he saw Donghyuck in the doorway.

"Y-Your Highness!" He spluttered, quickly lowering himself into a deep bow. Donghyuck just stiffened, awkwardly nodding before gesturing for the servant to rise.

"Yeah, yeah, it's me... you don't have to be all formal or regal with me or whatever, just please don't tell the king I was down here, okay?"

The apprentice nodded hurriedly. "Whatever you say, Your Grace."

Donghyuck winced at the title, giving one last tense nod before he ventured further into the lair, Renjun and Jeno staying close behind him.

"Uh, hello? Scary witch guy?" Donghyuck called out. Renjun elbowed him in the side in reprimand, causing the omega to whine out in pain.

"He has a name," Renjun hissed, and Donghyuck just responded with his own glare.

"Okay, well no one has ever told me his name, so how the fuck am I supposed to know what to call him?"

"His name is Jaemin," Jeno cut in, exasperatedly. Donghyuck stuck out his tongue at Renjun childishly before clearing his throat and trying again.

"Um... Jaemin? Are you in here?"

"Ah, so I suppose I am who you were referring too when you asked for the 'scary witch guy'?" A strange voice said, amusement in his tone. Donghyuck turned and watched as a figure stepped out of the shadows and approached their trio, a grin tugging at his lips. Donghyuck vaguely recognized him as one of the people that had been in the room when he arrived through the portal—he was the rude one who had bluntly told him to forget about everything in his world when he had been distressed and crying in a puddle of potion.

"Uh, yeah... you're the guy who opened the portal to my world, right?" Donghyuck muttered. Jaemin tilted his head, all nonchalance.

"That would be me, Your Highness. How may I help you?"

Donghyuck shifted on his feet, scratching at the back of his neck. "Um... I came to ask you about opening the portal to my world again, so that you can send me back home."

Jaemin narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously. "Is that so? Did you get the king's approval to come here?"

Donghyuck stiffened, letting out a sharp nervous laugh. "Uh, duh, of course I did."

Jaemin didn't look convinced in the slightest, but he seemed to decide that it was ultimately not worth his time.

"Well, I hope you know that me opening the portal for you will not be nearly as easy as you may think."

Donghyuck furrowed his eyebrows, confused. "Well... why not? You just need to do whatever little spell you did before to open it again, right? Seems simple to me."

"You seem to be poorly miseducated about the complexities of magic and spells, Your Highness," Jaemin laughed sharply, "it is not nearly that simple. I would have to wait for the right moon cycle, gather all the ingredients to make my potion, and summon forth all of my apprentices... and even then, it still may not work."

Donghyuck deflated a little, his shoulders dropping. "Really? But why?"

"Magic is a very finicky thing, Your Highness. It is not just a tool that we can easily use and abuse, it is a living force that acts at its own whim and carries out the will of destiny. If the magic decides that you are not meant to return, then the portal will not open for you, for it obeys the goddess of fate and no one else."