Dance into the Fire

~*~

Predicting the future is a tricky business

Most of the time what is said

Proves wrong

But do not dismiss the craft entirely

For some it is

The only truth

~*~

Chapter Thirteen

~.~

There was a general buzz of excitement all around the Capitol as the first Bridal Ball of the year began to draw forth and the city was spurred into transforming itself into a place of celebration the likes of which overshadowed the usual festivities that took place. Fresh flowers sprang up every single turn, fine hand crafted bunting was hung across virtually all of the streets and virtually every man woman and child could be found either cleaning, scrubbing, polishing or else sorting out the mounds of messy paperwork that had been scattered on desks for too long just so that everything could be made perfect.

The only place which was peaceful and calm was the main temple, which housed the most important of talismans to the Matokian gods and the Priests of the Order, as the place was always kept in perfect order but today that reverend peace was broken ever so slightly as the shrine maids began the ritual of placing delicately painted screens around the courtyard and prepared a long water runway for the suitors of the brides.

The runway was only a few feet wide but it was quite deep and flowed with glistening fresh spring water that was cold and said to bring out the true nature of the suitors as they stepped towards the oracles. Quite where this tradition had begun no one could actually say but it was considered to be great practice for all suitors of the brides to attend the ceremony in their finest clothes and present themselves for a glimpse of the future. It was also highly common practice for the ceremony to be conducted in private with only the oracles and the gentleman or lady present so uttermost privacy had to be maintained.

No one but the Shrine Maidens knew whom the Oracles were and they would have a vow of silence on that day, only appearing in their white and red hanbok to present a card with a name on before guiding the indicated person through. Those that had gone through this ritual spoke little of it afterwards as it was believed to be bad luck for those who spoke of what they heard to others but all said that it was a very humbling experience indeed. Yongguk was not entirely sure if he should be looking forward to his appointment or not, but when he had awoken that morning he could not hide the silly gummy smile which lingered on his face.

Youngjae had raised an eyebrow at him as he arrived at the breakfast table, fully dressed in his second best dress uniform as his first had become an unfortunate victim of their puppy dog and the eldest of the Bang brothers had forgotten to have it mended whilst he acted as personal honour guard to the Prince. “Either someone has slipped you a lot of sugar in your tea this morning brother, or else there is something that has made you look incredibly like a child on Nadolig.”

Laughing, Yongguk shook his head, “I can safely say that this is my first drink of the morning and I simply woke up from a dream which has me feeling good about the prospects of the day.”

“Oh? What kind of dream?” Daehyun asked, trying to hide the fact that he was almost staring longingly at the chair which Jongup would use should he be able to grace them with their presence. Ever since he had been assigned to be one of the Brides Handmaids they had barely seen him around the house though when the blond haired youngster did turn up he was all smiles and stories about the young man he was looking after. It was almost as if he had a sort of crush on the carrier the way that he went on about him but when approached with this question, Jongup had merely laughed and shook his head.

“Whilst he is certainly a man of many charms, he is more like a big brother or an adoptive mother the way he fusses on,” Jongup had replied with a smile, “My heart belongs to another...though I doubt I’ll ever be able to tell him that fact.”

“Private matters are not for discussion at the table,” Yongguk quoted his mother before he could manage to step in with the words and Seunghyun rolled his eyes as he set down the General’s breakfast which was lighter than usual.

However, it was the deep chuckle of their father which filled in the reply, “Hopefully your dream was not too lewd, Yongguk, you have to behave yourself today and not go splashing about chasing frogs.”

Daehyun blinked, “What is this?”

“You say a word Youngjae and I will find a way to put slugs in your shoes,” Yongguk glared towards his brother and completely forgot about the presence of his mother.

“When he attended his naming day ritual at the age of twelve, he decided for some unknown reason to go chasing frogs straight into the ponds and came home covered in weeds, soaked to the bone and proudly showing off his pet frog, Mister Grump, and the biggest smile on his face,” Seunghyun could barely contain the laughter which was bubbling out of his lips as he remembered, “To say that he was completely unaware of the upset he very nearly caused was an understatement and now every time he visits the temple they remind him not to go anywhere near the pond or the frogs.”

Daehyun and Youngjae were rightfully rolling on the floor as they heard this story, even though the younger brother had heard it a million times before, but there was just something about their usually stoic face, oh so disciplined General commander of a brother managing to avoid getting into trouble by smiling so brightly at everyone all because he wanted to chase a frog that was just too funny.

Yongguk glared at his mother, “Am I never going to be allowed to live that one down?”

“Quite frankly, my dear, no,” Seunghyun replied, taking a sip of his tea from a very fine white and gold porcelain cup, “Not until the day you die will you live that one down.”

Hiding his face away, Yongguk pretended to be in a huff but even he had to crack a smile at the thought of his younger self and the slight chaos that he had caused on that day. It hadn’t been something he had planned or anything, just a bit of childish mischief that would not filter out of his mind and he had followed through. Secretly he had always blamed Yongnam’s influence as virtually any time he went to the shrine he always found himself feeling like his twin brother was there, lingering in the shadows, ready to just jump out at him and go ‘boo’ like they used to when they were nothing more than kids but of course that never really happened. Yongguk just felt like it would and prayed extra hard so as not to get dragged into some random fun game that always seemed to happen.

The rest of breakfast passed uneventfully, once the pair of giggling idiots managed to get themselves back into their chairs as they were supposed to be and the meal was pleasant, with sweet pancakes drizzled in honey with freshly picked berries to make it at least somewhat healthy. Yongguk ate more than he had ever done in his life but he had no idea as to how long he would be present at the Shrine that day so he thought it best to have as much on his stomach as possible. Once they were all finished, Yongguk helped his father clean the dishes whilst Youngjae sorted out the laundry and Daehyun ensured there was enough firewood to supply each room.

It was normal behaviour for them all, Seunghyun cooked their meals and prepared their lunches and the men of the house would clean and tidy up everywhere. Yongguk smiled as he thought of some of his underlings who had never so much as cleaned a teaspoon in their lives and the shock they received at finding themselves suddenly expected to take proper care of their own house, kit and anything else that happened to come about when they came under his command. Only those of the right mindset could manage to survive under Yongguk’s view and it therefore made him a few political enemies who believed that he was being stubborn when he had chosen to promote someone of actual credible worth over their spoilt little brat.

Those thoughts were pushed out of his head however as he set off down the road half an hour later, debriefing Youngjae and Daehyun on the work that he was leaving them to do in his stead today before heading on alone to the Shrine. Technically he should have been accompanied but realistically Yongguk would have not settled for leaving one Captain to deal with his workload so he chose to go alone. Plus, there would be plenty of people to talk to so it wasn’t like he was going to get bored and fidgety.

Or go chasing after frogs either.

The shrine was a grand building set just off the main square of the Capitol and it sat atop a green hillock which was rumoured to be the resting place of some long forgotten King who would one day rise to save Matoki from invading forces but Yongguk never took that much heed to the tail. The building was classically built out of grey sandstone with white quartz inlayed within it to give a glistening, mystical glow and it was in a circular shape to show that no one person had power as all were equal in the eyes of the gods. Yongguk knew that fact only too well and he took a slight detour in order to visit the family grave and place a small, plastic frog next to his twin’s name just for the sake of old times.

“Give me strength today Yongnam, I don’t think I could handle being told that I was about to receive a rejection from the Oracles,” Yongguk said as he bowed low before rising, “Though please try to keep your childish games to yourself, I really do not need any more stories about me, thank you ever so much.”

For a second he thought that he heard a familiar laugh but Yongguk did not pause as he set off towards the shrine entrance where he formally presented himself, paid his respects to the gods and wrote his name on a slip of bright yellow paper to hand to one of the Shrine Maidens who disappeared almost instantly with it. He carefully shifted himself about until he found a shaded spot where he could sit and wait for his name to be called and passed the time idly by watching the other suitors.

He lost track of time in just the general swirl of life that continued to pass on by, the sea of faces moving back and forth from worried to overly confident a genuine surprise. The only great upset for the day was when the Princes Zico and Kyung were called for their reading and the General, who had been half dozing in the blistering heat had to be nudged ever so slightly in order to correctly bow. However, Zico had merely waved it off as a sign of being nervous and even commented that before the gods all men were equal so he took no offence. Yongguk had spoken to the pair briefly before they were ushered forth by their shrine maiden to take up their appropriate spot and the General happily leant back against the wall to try and relax before his turn inevitably came.

For a while his mind wandered back to the dream which had made him smile so much this morning, of the figure of the young man with black hair in a light pink hanbok with purple overcoat who smiled as brightly as the sun as a small boy came running forward with his arms outstretched and an equally happy smile on his features. Yongguk had felt as though everything about that dream had been soft, gentle and homely and whilst he didn’t know whom the figure was, he got the distinct feeling that he would know very soon.

Starting when a delicate hand tapped his shoulder, he silently apologised to the handmaiden and followed her through the thinning crowd to the entranceway where she silently indicated the route that he was to take. Nodding he thanked her and placed a coin upon her hand to add to the collection in the fountain in the hopes of bringing good fortune to everyone. Quickly he removed his shoes and set them to the side before walking forward, brushing aside the black drape which hung over the entrance and set his bare toes into the ice cold water.

It was only years of having been a foot solider that stopped him from crying aloud at the shock but after only a few steps the feeling was extremely pleasant and he almost felt inclined to remove his heavy set robes and just bathe in the cooling spring water. Though that would probably be seen as highly offensive and he was sure that he had caused too much offence in the past. A frog did croak towards him though as he made his way through the steadily deepening water and he sent it a fond look before turning his eyes towards the three oracles. They were set upon three chairs, one of gold, one of silver and one of black and each wore a robe of matching colours that made them almost blend in with the chair that they were eat sitting on. All three were masked with completely white full faced Matoki so none would be able to truly look upon their faces and dark eyes seemed to stare directly at Yongguk in such a way that he felt intimidated.

But he did not stop, he kept on going forward until he was waist deep in the cooling water and he formally bowed to the three oracles with the help of a marble flat pillar which had been set in the water way.

Before he had even finished, the first in the golden chair spoke, “Ah the General arrives at last.”

“We have been waiting for you, Yongguk,” the one in the middle replied, her words sharp and to the point but in a friendly manner, “Unlike many suitors this day, you have a path that whilst not completely clear will certainly become one of those we shall keep an eye on.”

The third one was far older than the first two, it was easy to tell by the way her tones spoke of age and wisdom, “Do not think that you shall have the easiest of paths. Love for you will only come when darkness has all but destroyed it and you will have to put aside all your personal feelings to obtain it.”

“Your love shall arrive swiftly, almost upon first sight but it will flitter away like a butterfly caught on a favourable breeze,” the first spoke again.

“Until a heavy storm will brew and if you are not quick to respond, then the love will be gone,” the second spoke, sounding grave and quite traumatised by the events.

“Beware the green eyed monster, for it will try to claim you but you must resist,” the third spoke, “Life will treat you unfairly and may break your heart but there are many ways to skin a rabbit as you well know. Trust to your instincts and feelings, they have gotten you far and they’ll take you so much further than you think.”

The first giggled, “Though indulge in the sweetness of life and be a little more childish.”

The second also chuckled, “Remember that you can always talk to family as well. Do not bottle up any negative emotions for they will only serve to fuel the beast and make it angrier then you could lose everything that you work towards.”

The third did not laugh but slightly inclined her head towards him, “Also be understanding that those who arrive not knowing love or not having enough experience of receiving it shall be too easily captured by others who show more outward affection initially but always think of the first encounter and make your memories from that point on.”

A million questions rippled through Yongguk’s mind but the frog who had croaked at him before chose that moment to leap onto the platform and crawl towards him almost as if it were demanding to be petted. Yongguk recalled that Mr. Grump used to like that and on childish instinct did reach out to pet the frog, before picking it up and walking out of the pool to head back into his normal world.

However, as he stepped through the curtain into the chamber beyond, he nearly jumped when another oracle appeared out of the twilight gloom. This one was merely a child, dressed in white but with a black Matoki half mask that allowed a beaming smile to come across, “Love and a family await you but only after a long struggle. Remember all that you learn and do not be afraid of the unknown because you shall flee to the stars to protect the one you love and they will follow.”

The little boy offered a small Matoki doll with unique blue markings towards Yongguk and the General took it before giving the boy the frog which caused a happy smile and giggle to escape from him before it melted away and he found himself on the grass outside of the shrine. Yongguk looked down towards the doll in his hands and smiled, “It sounds like love is going to be a long journey for me...I think I’ll call you Toto.”

Placing the doll inside a dry part of his uniform, Yongguk shook himself off and started to head towards his office where hopefully there would be a fresh change of clothes and two very disgruntled captains who would be glad to see the sight of him. He did ponder briefly on the words which had been spoken to him but he chose to keep them to his heart and he swore that if he did indeed find love then he would make sure to protect the person no matter what the personal cost to his own happiness. 

authors babbling:

In a way I'm kinda sad that I already know what all the prohecy is about (for those of you who have read Edge of Fire you'll know what I mean) but it all makes sense and boy am I going to get killed by the spirit of Yongguk when I write those dark bits later on. But I do hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I'm curious to know who you think was the final oracle whom presented themselves to our Gukkie 

Also the frog thing came about purely on the spur of the moment but I figured that our lovely silly baby Jello had to get something cute and crazy from his Daddy after all (oopse, spoiler alert lol) and Gukkie is the most cute, cuddly and silly leader I have ever known, hence why I love him so much. 

Hope you are all still enjoying and see you on the next update