Chapter 16: J

“She wants me to meet with her. She’s going to offer a peace treaty."

Jongin didn’t say anything and simply stared at Baekhyun who was fiddling with the envelope, seemingly deep in thought. Finally, he regained his voice and swallowed thickly, opening his mouth.

“You’re… not thinking of going, are you?” Jongin asked tentatively, afraid that his friend was actually contemplating the idea.

To his horror, Baekhyun did not reply.

“Oh, no, Baekhyun. You’re not that stupid!” Jongin exclaimed, furious.

“Bu-”

“No buts, goddammit! Peace treaty, my ! She’s probably just waiting for you to fall into her damned trap so she can freakin' slaughter you!” Jongin snapped.

“Still, I have to try,” Baekhyun said, his voice amazingly calm.

“No, you don’t!” Jongin protested, placing his hands on Baekhyun’s shoulders and shaking him lightly. “Why are you doing this? It’s worthless!”

“If it can save the life of hundreds, it’s worth it.”

“But it won’t! It’s only going to get you killed!” 

“Jongin,” Baekhyun said gently, taking Jongin’s hands in his. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. It’s not like I’m going to go alone. I’m taking a few men with me. She won’t try to hurt me.” 

Baekhyun’s voice was placating and soothing, an attempt to persuade Jongin. Jongin could only run his fingers through his hair, thoughts about his best friend being a freakin' lunatic running through his mind.

“If she really does offer a peace treaty, we won’t have to fight anymore,” Baekhyun said. “And if she doesn’t… I’ll just leave.”

“It’s not that easy,” Jongin muttered, looking down. “She’s evil.”

Baekhyun let out at small laugh at the description Jongin gave. “No one’s evil, Jongin.”

“She is,” he insisted.

His words sounded like that of a whiny brat’s, but his tone showed that he was completely serious.

“I’ll be fine.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to do something stupidly heroic for the sake of my stupid brother?”

“I’m not doing this for Chanyeol. I’m doing this for the hundreds of boys I grew up with. The ones that are currently fighting a losing battle.”

Jongin stayed quiet, not retaliating. He knew of the deep bond that had developed between the First Cohort. They had grown up together, each of them having no parents, no other family, and only each other. It was only natural for them to treat each other as brothers.

It was only natural for them to give up their lives to protect each other.

Just like him and Chanyeol.

Jongin heaved a sigh, slumping his shoulders tiredly.

“Fine,” he said finally. “But you’re taking ten of the top hit-men with you.”

“Of course," Baekhyun said, leading Jongin towards the training grounds.

There was no need to tell Jongin that the letter had told him to go alone.
 

---
 

Baekhyun and ten of his top men stopped outside of the small separate palace the Emperor had built for his daughter. “Small” was not the correct term to describe it, though it was indeed considered miniature when compared to the Royal Palace. However, it was still a few times larger than a civilian’s home.

Taking a deep breath, Baekhyun turned around to face his men.

“Go back,” he said simply.

All of them widened their eyes, shocked and unable to comprehend his words.

“But Praetor-”

“Princess Soyeon wanted me to go alone. She said there will be no negotiation if I brought anyone with me. Go back.”

“Praetor, I’m afraid we can’t do that. Prince Jongin said to st-”

“Tell him that I’m sorry I lied,” Baekhyun interrupted, heading towards the large gates and pressing the door bell. The gates slid automatically open for him.

“Please, Prae-”

“Don’t follow me,” Baekhyun warned.

“Praetor Baekhyun, Princess Soyeon had requested for you to come alone.”  A footman had appeared outside the gates, looking pointedly at the ten men who were stubbornly refusing to leave.

“Do not worry, they will be leaving soon,” Baekhyun said with a polite smile.

“Baekhyun-ah, pl-”

“I’ll be fine, guys,” Baekhyun said cheerfully, ignoring the pane he felt when one of the men dropped all honorifics and called him by his name.

They’re my friends. I’m doing this for my friends.

“Please, lead the way,” he said to the footman.

The servant nodded, gesturing for Baekhyun to enter the gates. They closed with a heavy clang behind him, giving him no chance of return. He resisted the urge to turn around, knowing that his men were still out there, watching him desperately.

“Right this way, Praetor.”

The footman led him down rows and rows of dimly lit corridors, before finally stopping outside of two large double doors, a large phoenix carved upon the wood.

“I’ll leave you now,”he said, bowing and turning down the hall again.

Baekhyun took a deep breath and pushed open the doors, stepping into a surprisingly bright room, squinting at the light.

“Byun Baekhyun. We haven’t met in quite a while.”

A familiar voice greeted him as his eyes adjusted to the light. The power and authority hiding so discreetly behind the sugary sweetness tone was not missed by Baekhyun. When he finally found the source of the voice, his jaw clenched, and he narrowed his eyes,

“Princess Soyeon,” he greeted politely, giving a stiff bow.

She laughed, sitting with one leg crossed over the other on a lavish couch.

“As polite as always. Do you know what you are here for?”

“You mentioned something about a peace treaty.”

“Why yes… a peace treaty,” she mused as she stood up, stalking gracefully towards Baekhyun.

She got terribly close to him, leaning in as she traced her fingertips along his jaw, feeling a muscle jump at her touch.

“Relax,” she crooned.

“Please do not touch me,” he said coldly, looking her straight in the eyes, not bothering to mask his spite.

Soyeon stepped away and laughed again. “You are one interesting person, Byun Baekhyun.”

She gave a signal to the two soldiers standing guard by the door, and they quickly headed over to Baekhyun, grabbing his arms and pinning them behind his back. Having expected this, Baekhyun did not struggle as they tied him against a chair, the rope cutting into his wrist as he flexed.

“Now,” she said, settling back onto her sofa. “Let us negotiate.”

Baekhyun could only grit his teeth out of frustration, throwing her a deadly look, before plastering on a smile and nodding with as much dignity as he could muster.

“Would you like to hear my terms?” She asked amiably, shooting him a bright smile. Without waiting for an answer, she grabbed a piece of paper lying beside her and read, “The death of Prince Chanyeol, Prince Jongin, and Prince Sehun.”

She put the paper back down daintily, turning to look at Baekhyun, tilting her head innocently. “What do you think, Praetor Byun Baekhyun?”

“I think you’re either incredibly stupid or incredibly delusional. You should know I will never agree to that,” Baekhyun replied icily, not missing a beat.

“Oh, but I’m sparing their younger sister!” She exclaimed as if it was a good reason for Baekhyun to agree. "Wouldn't Sehun be glad? His twin sister will be saved!" Then, she laughed, her sugary demeanor changing. “I’m just kidding.”

Her eyes narrowed as she stood up again, walking towards Baekhyun. “I know you’d never let your best friend die, Eshe said softly. “I called you here to see if you were willing to die for him. If you agree to declare to everyone—and I mean Chanyeol, Jongin, Kyungsoo, and whoever else—that you are on my side, and always were, I will have my troops to retreat. Of course, you’d have to drink this tiny bottle of sweet liquid after.”

Soyeon snapped her fingers, and one of the guards immediately delivered a small, dark violet vial into her hands. She held it up to Baekhyun, leaning down, shaking it slightly, a small grin appearing on her lips.

“So?” She prompted, straightening up.

Baekhyun didn’t reply and continued staring at her with hatred evident in his eyes, biting his lip, looking ready to bite her head off.

“Don’t worry, I’ll give you until sundown to make your decision,” she said, gesturing towards the large French window to her side.

The sun was already disappearing behind the mountains; the world slowly fading into darkness. Soyeon waited patiently, smiling serenely from her couch, as she sat gazing at Baekhyun. Thoughts whirled through Baekhyun’s mind as he glanced nervously at the ticking clock, its hands moving closer and closer towards seven o’clock.

Finally, the minute hand clicked into place, and seven resounding chimes of the grandfather clock in the room brought an even heavier silence upon it.

“Byun Baekhyun,” Soyeon finally said, her voice deadly and sweet. “Your decision?”

___________________

A/N: Fell asleep writing this last night LOL, sry. >.> But I worked on it the first thing today, when I woke up... after my guitar lesson.

Anyways, the title is Janus, who is the god of gates and doors and decisions and the like. The reason I chose it is quite obvious, I think. Um... Yeah, Soyeon is sorta... mean ;___; I imagine her as those little lolita girls who look terribly innocent but are liked freakin' crazy inside. I personally think she's a little whacky in the mind. We're going to have a lot of Baekhyun screaming his head off and awesomeness in the next chapter 'cause I'm a and I like cliff hangers, and I have an unhealthy obsession with freakin kim jongin. You did not need to know that.

The battle arc should be done in like, two or three more chapters, depending on how well I feel. If I'm too tired I'll probably.... extend it and make the chapters shorter 'cause then my brain will be too fried to write anything worthful (not that any of my writing is worthful). I'm actually really looking forward to the next chapter, because something good's going to happen! SOMETHING GOOD'S GON' HAPPEN. Then after it's going to be all angsty again. Yeah.

Um... I've been reading like, a fanfic a day (sounds like some kind of reading program in elementary school), and I actually have some to recommend. I'm not going to link it 'cause I'm much too lazy to find all of it LOL.

So, there's "Countdown" (Kaisoo), "Turns on a dime" (Kaisoo), "Crossword" (Hunhan), "Finest thing in history" (Kaisoo), "If on Shanghai afternoon two writers" (Kray), 如烟 (like smoke) (Taoris), and "Someday Dream" (BaekYeol). obviously my otp is freakin kaisoo

Um. Go read it guys. They're all on livejournal :D