Puppet

Prologue

“As per his majesty’s orders, you all are to empty this land by tomorrow morning.” The royal soldier announced, receiving several gasps and shouts of retaliation from the villagers.

“What the hell do you mean by that!?” “This is way too absurd! How come that kid can make decisions like that on his own?” “We aren’t going to go anywhere!” “Yeah!” “We aren’t scared of that damned king of yours!”

The whole mob of people was shouting, threats bouncing off everywhere. The soldier looked around, slightly stumped from the crowd’s reaction. “Keep quiet! QUIET DOWN!” he yelled but the roars of anger only got louder. He looked around hastily when suddenly he felt himself being shoved aside.

“YAH! SHUT THE HELL UP YOU BLOODY RASCALS!” the man yelled, standing in the place of the previous guy. His face was covered by a black cloth except for his eyes. His body was hidden under the brown ratty cloak he was wearing. Surprisingly, everyone fell silent. All of them looked at the man who stood proudly on the platform. “Good. Now, do as the royals say or you are gonna have lot to pay.” He said warningly. He raised his arm, signaling the people to keep silent before continuing. “Just DO as they SAY!”

“But we have spent our whole lives in building this place! It’s our only source of livelihood! Our only lifeline! You can’t just snatch it away from us!” a man cried out, cradling a crying toddler near his chest.

“Yeah I know. But what other choice do we have! If you guys are not going to leave this place, you are gonna get killed. If you care for your families, for your children then just leave. Please!” the man nearly pleaded. The villagers looked as if they were thinking over his words. The man gazed at them with expectant eyes before flashing a hidden smile to the man beside him. The man returned it with one of his own. Both of them stood there together, waiting. Finally the village leader stepped forward.

“Hello gentlemen, I am the leader of this village, Shin Donghee but you can call me Shindong. After talking about this predicament we are in with my trusted fellows, I have come to the decision that we are going to leave the village.”

Both the men looked at each other, relieved that the villagers had agreed.

“But,”

‘Uh oh, here comes the catch.’ The cloaked man thought, sighing.

“Kindly don’t forget to tell that king of yours that there will be a war. We, the people of Oracias, can’t just stand by and see our lives get ruptured in front of our eyes. Tell him that we will not just sit back. This is the first warning, more will come on the way.”

With that said, Shindong turned around on his heels and walked away. The other villagers followed him wordlessly but not before sparing a glare or two at the two men who were standing dumbfounded on the platform.

“What are we gonna do now Heechul-ah?” the soldier asked the cloaked man.

Heechul cursed under his breath before looking at his companion. “We can only return and report back to him.” He said, descending from the platform and towards the two horses waiting for their respective masters. He removed his cloak to reveal a royal blue tailed shirt and pearl white pants with black mid-calf boots. A sheathed sword hung at his side secured by a black sash. “Hannie-ah, are you coming or not?” he questioned his companion who was wearing similar clothes just the color of his shirt was red.

“Chullie, why do you favor him so much?” Hankyung asked him, not moving from his place.

Heechul turned around to face him, sighing. “What do you mean, exactly?” he questioned back.

“You know what I mean.” Hankyung replied, slightly irritated. He made his way towards his companion and stood directly in front of him. “Heechul-ah, even you are aware of how he is misusing the power of the throne. Yes, I agree that even I wanted him to become king one day but that was before. Now he has gotten way too much power in his hands and he is NOT using it like we all thought he will. You know what I am trying to say, right?”

Heechul turned away and made his way towards his horse. “It is our king that you are talking about, kindly stay in your limits.” He muttered.

“Wha-! So you mean to say that you are gonna remain loyal to him?! Heechul-ah! He doesn’t even care about his people anymore!” Hankyung retorted, stopping Heechul in his tracks.

“Stop it Hannie!” Heechul yelled. Hankyung looked wide eyed at him. “Hurry up! We have to reach the castle before dusk.” Heechul prompted him, climbing up on the back of his horse.

“B-but Chullie!”

“Please Hannie, I don’t want to yell at you nor do I want to fight you but I can’t hear anyone, including you, speaking ill about my king. You understand that right?”

Hankyung climbed up on his horse and followed his partner. “Yes, yes I do. I am sorry.” He apologized.

Heechul just nodded in reply before both of them galloped towards the Royal City of Liberaria.

8~҈~8

After a long journey of 3 hours, both of them finally reached the Royal castle. Dismounting from his horse, Heechul made his way inside the castle leaving Hankyung to take care of the horses. He walked swiftly through the winding hallways, his feet finding their way to their destination on their own. He smiled lightly when he saw the grand white doors at end of the hallway he had just turned into. He nearly ran his way there and stopped in front of them. He looked around, not wanting anyone to spot him here. Not finding anyone, he pressed his ear lightly to the door. No suspicious sound came from inside. He sighed in relief before knocking on the door 5 times.

“Come in, hyung.” A voice he knew so well came from inside. He looked around once more before lightly opening the doors and entering inside the room.

“Hey Wookie.” He greeted the young man who was now standing. He locked the door behind him and made his way towards Ryeowook. “So, how was his majesty’s day today? Not much problems today, right?” he asked the young king.

Ryeowook smiled at him before answering, “Yep, pretty much. Were you and Hangeng hyung able to evacuate the village, hyung?” His smile was replaced by a worried frown.

“Yes, they will be gone by tomorrow morning. I can only imagine that Sunho bastard’s shocked face when he will get to know that the village was already empty.” Heechul mused, chuckling lightly. Both of them sat down on the double bed, still chuckling.

“Thank you for helping me out Heechul hyung. At least no life will be lost tomorrow.” Ryeowook said, sighing sadly at end.

“Wookie, how long?”

“Huh?”

“How long do you intend to keep this up?”

“Hyung not now…”

“Wookie, you need to understand. That man, he is trying to make everyone turn against you. Today e-even Hankyung…even he spoke a-against you. Sunho is trying to hamper your image when he-!”

“Hyung…please, just not now.” Ryeowook nearly pleaded, looking directly into Heechul’s eyes. “I know what his motives are and I truly understand what you are trying to say. But hyung I can’t retaliate…not now…not ever.”

TBC

Hope you liked this~ This idea has been sitting inside my head for way too long! >< And now I just couldn't help but type it down and post it. Sorry for any typos or mistakes I made...I tend to do that. Kindly notify me if you see something out of place 'cus I still haven't gotten a hang of how the SuJu members interact with each other...hope I didn't made them too mushy-mushy~!

Next chappie might take a bit long...studies are my priority currently (I can't believe I am saying this XD)

Kindly comment if you deem it worthy enough! Advices and criticism are equally welcome!

Thank you for reading~!