The next morning there was a shriek, then the tmp Tmp TMP of footsteps pounding down the hall, and suddenly Joy yanked open the door to Irene and Seulgi’s bedroom.

“Irene! Look, I got a summons- oh… oh my GOD!” and then the youngest dissolved into a fit of laughter, leaning on the doorframe for support.

Irene and Seulgi scrambled to cover themselves with the blankets on Seulgi’s small bed, until Irene gave up and threw Seulgi’s oversized t-shirt on. She sprang up out of bed and ran after Joy, who saw the threat in Irene's eyes and sprinted out of the room.

Wendy, who had wandered by to see what the fuss was about tilted her head as she watched the barely-clad Irene tear off after Joy, then peeked her head into the bedroom and gave Seulgi a scowl of approval and a thumbs up.

Seulgi groaned and covered her face with her hands.

+++

“Oh, good,” Amber said as she stood before the opal diaz and golden throne of the Court. “We’ve got the soothsayer and the truthsayer. This ought to be fun.” She made no effort to conceal her sarcasm as Yeri and Joy watched her with apologetic expressions.

“Now, now,” the King said as he leaned forward on his throne. “They’re just here as a formality,” he explained drolly. “Amber, do you know why-”

“Amber!” three sets of voices cried out and suddenly Amber found herself smothered in a group hug. Victoria, Luna, and Krystal were all talking at once and Amber was laughing, trying to peel them off of herself.

“Guys, guys! I’m okay! I was here the whole time! Really!”

“We know, but Amber-” Luna began, but Krystal interrupted her.

“You’ve been gone for a month,” she grumbled, looking the firebrand over. “And why didn’t you tell them I was there?!”

“Children, please,” the King implored, trying to regain some sense of order. “We have some business to take care of, if you don’t mind.” It sounded like a request, but the F(x) girls knew it was a command.

Amber stepped forward and addressed the King. She could see the flames her shoulders reflecting off the contours of the King’s silvery face. It gave his whole countenance a red-orange hue. Around the Hall, the Courtiers in the wings were unusually quiet as if anticipating some profound development.

And Amber knew that she was probably - finally - going to be asked to name her attacker, and what a shock that would bring to the whole entourage. If it had been just about anyone else who had wronged her, Amber would have had difficulty concealing her glee at the upset.

The King cleared his throat, a sound that made everyone’s ears ring slightly, like the striking of a chime. “Amber, I believe you have some information you feel will benefit the Court to know, information that you withheld from us the first time you were interviewed.”

Krystal scoffed at the word ‘interview’.

The King ignored her. “As such, I am giving you an opportunity to relay that information now. If you choose not to, well…” and he gestured at Joy who seemed rather uncharacteristically shy, “we will make sure to get the truth before the end. Is that clear?”

Amber nodded. She was still trying to put the thought that she had been locked up in the Haven for a month aside to focus on making sure she was understood. She knew they were going to get all of the details from her this time whether she wanted them to or not, so she decided to just tell the whole story over again, from start to finish in full.

She didn’t leave out any part of it, making sure they knew about Seulgi, Irene, and most importantly, that it had been all at the hands of Henry. She even described his attack so that there could be no doubt that it was the Musician.

The King sat back in his throne as she spoke, an ankle crossed over one knee, his silvery fingers steepled in front of himself. He never turned his head away, never interrupted her or asked a question. He simply let her tell her tale until she came to the end.

“Once we were sure Seulgi and Irene were through, Krystal and I jumped in after them. I thought we’d all come out at the fountain in the square, but it was just the two of us,” Amber said, hooking a thumb behinder herself, presumably to indicate Krystal.

“That was it,” she said, bringing her story to a close. “The rest you probably know. We went back to the dorm, and you came for me the next morning.” She let out a puff of breath and rocked back on her heels, giving Yeri and Joy a wink. The two younger girls’ faces were stormy. Yeri seemed especially troubled, which confused Amber. Had she said something she had forgotten to mention to the girl earlier? But she wasn’t about to ask, here in the middle of the Haven with all of the Courtiers and the King watching.

The King shifted, uncrossing and recrossing his legs the other direction as he leaned against the arm of his throne. “What do you think, ladies?” he asked, peering down at the two Sayers.

“... Yeri? Joy?” he prompted, as they remained gravely fixated on Amber.

Joy snapped out of her reverie. “She’s telling the truth, as well as she knows it,” she said breathlessly. The King nodded, his chin. He waited for Yeri.

“I…”

Joy looked at the girl next to her. Yeri was the darling of the Court, Joy knew, but the girl also had abilities that had always intimidated her. Joy could make people say what they believed was the truth, but Yeri could tell things about a person that they may not even know about themselves yet. Joy shuddered at the idea of being caught up in one of the girl’s prophecies.

But as she looked at her now, Yeri seemed so small, quiet, and dare she say… afraid?

“Joy, kindly ask Miss Kim a penny for her thoughts,” the King lilted. The implication was clear.

Yeri in a breath and glanced up at Joy fearfully. “W-wait! I was just-”

“Joy, if you’d please.”

Joy pursed her lips, but she didn’t dare refuse. She may have a unique Seeming, but this was only her second appearance in the Court’s Haven since joining the company. She simply didn’t have the clout to risk the King's ire.

“... I’m sorry,” she whispered to Yeri.

The smaller girl looked at her desperately and mouthed, “please…!”

She spared the briefest moment of thought to how she could word a question in such a way as to satisfy the King, but also spare this girl whatever it was she feared Joy would dig up, but there was no way to know what Yeri was trying to hide.

“What do you have to say about Amber’s story?” she asked, hoping to keep it specifically about Amber and that night in the Hedge.

“I think it’s my fault,” Yeri answered automatically.

The King rested his chin in his hand, watching the pair at the foot of the diaz. “Go on,” he prompted.

Yeri looked up at him, catching a glimpse of her fearful reflection in his face. “I told… I saw something-”

“Joy.”

Yeri shuddered and dropped her head, resigned to her fate.

“... What did you See?” Joy asked, obliging the King.

Yeri took a deep breath and began a brief recitation.

“With wonderful deathless ditties

We build up the world’s great cities.

And out of a fabulous story

We fashion an empire’s glory:

One man with a dream, at pleasure,

Shall go forth and conquer a crown;

And three with a new song’s measure

Can trample an empire down.”

There was a long moment of silence in the Court as Yeri’s words echoed with profundity. It made Joy’s ears tingle - she could tell this was Yeri’s Seeming settling a fate. Whose fate was the question.

“And who did you tell that to?” the King asked in an oddly gentle voice, almost as if the stunned Courtiers in the wings didn’t exist.

“Henry.” All eyes turned towards Amber as she supplied an answer. Wasn’t it obvious? She clenched her fists at her sides in anger, smoke rising from her shoulders and head. But which actor was he? One man with a dream? Or one of the three with a new song’s measure?

But Joy was watching Yeri very closely still. Yeri glanced up at her and shook her head almost imperceptibly. Joy nodded towards Amber. Yeri took a breath.

“No, I told Leeteuk.”

A wave of murmuring arose from the wings, and several figures retreated into the roiling mist. The King’s hand fell from his chin as he lifted his head and looked around.

“Captain? Would you care to explain where you are going? I don’t believe anyone has been dismissed, yet.”

But there was no answer from Captain Leeteuk, the Gold Knight.

Instead, the Cobalt Knight stepped forward. “He’s gone,” Heechul said with a shrug. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, the thin tendrils of vines slowly lacing their way along his sleeves and trailing from his elbows.

The King sat back and smoothed the wrinkles of his suit jacket. “Is that so? A pressing matter, I hope.” There was a thinly veiled threat beneath that statement that no one present missed. “Please, Heechul, join us,” he gestured that the Cobalt Knight should stand with Amber and the other F(x) girls.

Heechul obliged, leaving a light shower of leaves and flower petals in his wake as he strolled over. Yeri was able to suppress an eye-roll only because of the gravity of the situation. There were some subtleties at play that were almost too far above her head, and as she stole another glance up at Joy, she could see the girl was working very hard to try and keep up. She almost felt sorry for her. If it weren’t for her particular Seeming, Joy could probably enjoy a life solely as an idol in the company and remain blissfully unaware of the drama of the Court.

Amber, however, did roll her eyes. Especially as Heechul gave her a cheesy smirk and made finger guns at her.

“You’re playing this awfully cool,” she muttered at him.

“It’s how I deal with the pain of betrayal and abandonment,” he whispered back.

“That’s dark.”

“I think it’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better.”

The King cleared his throat again and stood. He clasped his hands behind his back and descended the steps until he stood in front of Amber and Heechul. Joy and Yeri were secretly relieved that they were behind him and momentarily out of the spotlight.

“Tell me, my Cobalt Knight,” the King asked. “Where is the Rose Knight?”

Heechul opened his mouth to answer but the King raised a reflective finger. “Ah, wait- Joy, I require your assistance.”

Joy closed her eyes for a brief moment, straightened her shoulders and approached. The King took a step back with a small, polite gesture that she should address Heechul.

“Where is the Rose Knight?” she asked, starting to feel a little winded. There were two sides to her Seeming, and while she had only been required to ask a few questions so far, she had been using that other side this entire time, and was beginning to feel the drain on her stamina. Not only was Joy able to compel listeners to speak the truth, she was also generally able to discern when they were lying.

Heechul laughed. “I have no idea,” he confessed. He had pieced Joy’s Seeming together from listening to the previous conversation, but if they were hoping she would reveal something more, they were going to be sorely disappointed. “I haven’t seen him in weeks.” As he spoke Joy was momentarily distracted by a tiny forget-me-not that carefully unfolded it’s delicate petals one by one just above his brow.

What kind of extra…

“Please, Heechul, I would appreciate your seriousness in this matter. You see,” the King began as he spun on his heel and slowly began to ascend the steps of the diaz again. “It has come to my attention, thanks to the diligent work of these lovely ladies,” and he gestured at Amber and Krystal, “we seem to have uncovered a bit of a… plot, you might say.” He paused halfway up the steps and his chin thoughtfully. There was a hum, like the sound of someone sliding their finger along the rim of a singing bowl.

“A plot against me? Against the Court itself? That I am not sure, but it is clear that someone is working against our collective better interests,” he continued, his voice beginning to take on an edge. He ascended to his throne and seated himself with a flourish of his coattails. “Now, my dear children. I have but one request - and Heechul I want you to listen carefully: the Knights will find Henry and Leeteuk. You will bring me the Rose and Gold Knights.”

He pulled at his collar and straightened in his seat. “And Amber, you are free to go, but do be careful, dear. It seems like F(x) and Red Velvet aren’t quite… out of the woods yet, as it were.”