There was something odd that Byul could automatically pinpoint about him; the feeling struck her the second her entered her throne room. There was a glorious onyx-coloured horse coming in beside him with a grand white saddle, which meant nothing but regal wealth. Her had long, shoulder length hair that came down in golden tumbles, curling at his clavicles and framing his heart-shaped face in thin wisps of yellow. His striking blue eyes were a cerulean shade that could easily compete with the ocean's hue. However, in spite of his magnificent appearance, Byul felt nothing. She longed for none of his blonde hair, or blue eyes, or marriage offers; she longed for nothing but a particular man with dirty-brunette hair and dark doe-like eyes.

So the longer the man stood before her, with his men crowded beside him, the more impatient she grew; her fuse started to spark, however, only when he began to coax her further into agreeing into the suggested wedding. I'll take good care of you. Our kingdoms could unite to be one gloriously powerful force. We'll rule the world together. We can conquest so much and conquer over so much land! Marry me, dearest Byul of the Korean province.
The words relentlessly swiveled her mind. They were empty. She knew it. She knows what it's like to hear sincere words; she knows earnest gestures. And this man, this King Charles I had neither sincerity nor earnesty. The lustrous deviousity in his eyes gleamed, yearning for wealth and global conquest, not love. 

He wasn't like Lu Han.

Therefore, Byul didn't want him. So, with defiant rebellion, Byul lifted her chin high, rose from her chair and smirked. "No." The words were soft, yet firm; sharp and quite edge-cutting. The blue-eyed beauty gaped in shock before a glare of incredulity shone from his glistening irises. "Pardon?" he roared as level-headedly as he could. With her elementary English, Byul knew it to be impossible to convey her message. So she smirked once more, knowing a language that she has mastered, that will successfully inform Charles of her disapproval -- Latin.

"Nolo vos," she whispered. I do not want you.

"Unum tantum volo," The only one I want, "une enim te," is not you.

"I sed volo Lu Quarn." I want Lu Han.

There was a quick look of recognition that passed by Charles' eyes before he gave a nod, grimacing with distasteful objection. His lips pulled back fiercely, bearing the sharp teeth that could have resembled fangs. A threatening aura posed around him, causing his men to stiffen substantially; however, at merely this, not even Byul's men reacted. They responded with tedious looks of boredom, lifting their brows every once in a while to ensure their participation in the ongoing conversations, but still remain unfazed by the scary men.. that were not at all scary.

"Do not threat me," Byul declared then, confidently in the English that Ho Dong had taught her briefly. "Do not even return. I will only decline again."
"You know you have a lot of guts --"
"Volo non audire." I will not hear you. "Relinquunt." Leave.

Charles grunted at Byul's rude interjection, scowling pitifully at himself before yanking at his horses' reigns, yielding the horse to whinny with complaint. Byul watched the blonde man retreat past her doors, turning to Suho shortly after. "You take Chanyeol with you and make sure he doesn't cause any trouble," she ordered him blandly. "If he does happen to try to plunder through the villages, take him and arrest him immediately for vandalizing private property and for illegal trespassing; if not, just him to the gate and send him off."

"Ye, my Lady."

Ho Dong glanced disapprovingly at Byul, who returned his glower with a bored look after the vassals had retreated from the throne room; a thin smile ghosted over her pale lips as she brushed back her silvery blonde hair. "What do you think?" she humorously retorted. "I'm getting the hang of being a Queen, aren't I? I'm even rejecting big time kings like Charles now."
"That was the King of England, my Lady," Ho Dong stated sternly with hard features. His stare hardened into a menacing glare, penetrating through Byul's witty, dancing irises. "He could've provided you financially, politically, and religiously. We would have been stabilized and set for life."
"Only if we heed to his demands, though," Byul whispered. "Do not think I reject him only for personal conflicts.. I may long for someone else, Ho Dong, but don't think that is the only reason. He would have became our land's financial lord -- and he has quite the unsavory reputation for taxation without consent-slash-representation. And politically, he can't even work with his Parliament to settle disputes, but rather confides with the Duke that should be prohibited from his court. Do you think I'd allow such a man into my father's name like that?" Byul whispered furiously, unable to find the reason to yell at her sketpical secretary.

"But my Lady, this is about the sixth wedding proposal you have declined this month --"
"And we can wait just a little bit longer. My birthday is not for a couple of more weeks, we have time," Byul insisted complacently. 

"Why are you waiting for someone who won't come?"

"Why are you smugly stepping upon your Queen's dreams so carelessly?"

Ho Dong sealed his lips then, viewing the hurt look upon Byul's features. Her picturesque visage displayed nothing but pain. There was betraying glimmering somewhere behind her eyes, and Ho Dong knew then that he has ignited a flame that what never meant to be played with. He sparked a false hope inside her, and now Byul will rebel against him and what her father would have wanted even more just to prove her point -- Lu Han will come.

Little did Ho Dong know, that was exactly what was going to happen.

"I just might have to tell your vassals --"
"Ho Dong-shii," Byul growled, her eyes darkening profusely, "if you mention a word about my relationship with the Chinese king to any of the knights, I will personally execute you in my dungeon, and your body will never be found."
"Is that a threat, my Lady?"

A small fear lurked within the trembling man, who had suddenly began to quiver beneath Byul's teary glare.

"No, it's a promise."

"Qui estis?" Who are you?

The dirty-brunette haired male glanced curiously at the blonde man before him, his doe-like eyes blinking erratically at the burly Englishman coming in from the direction of the Korean province. Lu Han blinked, awaiting the blonde man's answer before gruffly repeating himself, personally confronting the foreigner, saddled upon his substantially larger horse, with his profusely larger army standing behind him. The Englishman cowered at that moment, only for a brief moment, but it failed to escape Lu Han's sharp eyes. His acuteness never fails. And at this point, it couldn't have done a better job. "You've just come from asking Lady Byul for her hand in marriage," Lu Han stated darkly, the foreign English slipping from the tip of his tongue smoothly. He chuckled, an envious bite nipping at his stomach.

"I don't believe you heard me the first time," Lu Han firmly snorted, "but state who you are."

An order, no longer a question.

"King Charles the First of the English Empire." The answer made Lu Han's blood boil; this was the son of the man that had took out his father. "Some of James the Fourth, then?" Lu Han growled. The man nodded. The smaller man looked up at Charlest with a fierce beam revelating from his eyes, a devious aura radiating off of his slim figure. "You don't return here, Charlest the First of the English Empire," Lu Han whispered harshly, leaning in to meet the blonde's shimmering blue orbs. 

"If I hear of your presence setting foot in the Korean province again, I will personally behead you."

"Then, you must be Lu Han of the China lands."

The latter straightened his back, an unspoken inquiry lacing his grunt as he looked the Englishman up and down with a questioning gaze. "I sed volo Lu Quarn," Charlest cited bitterly. A tough chuckle escaped from the folds of his parched throat roughly, with his men guffawing forcefully from behind. "I will never forget those words," Charles stated, "ever."
"You mean.. Lady Byul is --"
"She's looking for you.. however with all the men coming in from around the globe, she doesn't have the time to even step down from her throne," Charlest snorted morbidly.

Lu Han bowed his head, dismissing the English army entirely, his eyes following them until they were out of eyesight, having disappeared far into the dark pits of the mysteriously errie forested woods.

"What did he say, my Lord?"

Tao's voice nearly made Lu Han flinch.. he hadn't even realized he had been accompanied by his vassals. "He was here for the purpose of asking Byul for her hand in marriage. She apparently declined him, stating she only longs for one suitor."
"And who must that be?" Yixing inquired.
Lu Han shook his head, lying straight through his teeth, "I don't know."

However, there was something within him that was awakened by the Englishman's profound information. Was it his longing affection for Byul? His lust, or his love? No, it was everything -- everything he had come to feel for Byul; they were being re-awakened, and it felt like a sudden Enlightenment hitting him with such a harsh impact that the wind was suddenly being torn away from him. He erected his back again, repositioning himself upon his saddle before giving his steed a tough kick.

"Let's go," he stated. "The faster and the swifter our ambush, the more successful we may be."

"Yes, my Lord!"

I'm coming Byul. Please wait just a bit longer.

"Ma'am, we have to retreat! Let's get you into hiding, quick!" Sehun burst into the throne room, startling Byul out of her nap with his sudden outburst. Behind him followed a finicky Kai and a panicky Kyungsoo with wide eyes and disheveled hair, as if they had just escaped a rough spar. "Please my Lady, rise from your throne and fetch your belongings. We must take you to the high tower and safely keep you there until they leave!"
"What, why? The high tower? Why must you take me to Namsan?" Byul inquired furiously as she was being yanked into her robes and outgoing shoes. Her frantic irises averted and shifted back and forth from Sehun's wandering lips and Kai's furious hands trying to get her cloak on.
"My Lady, the Chinese men have entered our grounds incognito and managed to slip past our guards. They're currently on an onslaught, going through various villages, plundering and looting through our people's stuff. We have sent Zhou Mi and his unit with Chanyeol and Baekhyun to pinpoint their location exactly; they should have the Chinese men arrested within the next few hours," Kai reported hastily, mounting Byul forcefully onto his horse. He followed on quickly behind, leading Kyungsoo and Sehun.

"But we still must take you to the tower to ensure your safety. We believe they might try to take you hostage again," Kyungsoo informed her, speaking up for the first time since their eruption of an entrance.
"W-wait, who did you say was here?" Byul breathed, feeling her breath being knocked away by the harsh pace of the horse she was on. She gripped the sides of its neck to stabilize her wobbling body, feeling the blood and energy drain into nothingness. Her mind blanked into a dark abyss of confusion and puzzlement, feeling erratic curiousity brew in the back of her head. "The Chinese men?" she echoed with a flabberghasted expression glued to her incredulous visage. "Lu Han?"

Her heart began to beat furiously, pounding against the thresholds of her rib cage as she mentally called for his name; how she wished for some ability to telepathically communicate with him. How long has it been since she has felt her slender fingers pass through the locks of his silky brown hair? Too long has it been since she has met those doleful irises, since she has felt his tender caresses against the side of her bare waist. Her mind rounded, swirling as she timidly gripped onto the horse to calm herself.

He's here. He's here. Why is he here? What is he thinking? My men will assassinate him!

"Take me to him," she whispered.

Her orders drew her three escorts back, causing them to furiously halt their horses, causing a disarray of whining whinnies from the objecting animals. "Pardon?" Sehun muttered, glancing at his respected Queen with a bashful disbelief.

She didn't know exactly what happened next, but she heard a clutter of war cries coming from ahead of them, a series of yells and disclaiming shouts ensuing as the pounding hooves continued to hustle against the dusty floors. The sounds of countless, numerous horses echoed vibrantly into the lilac-coloured evening, drowning out the sounds of Byul's orders and Kai's enraged objections.

But..

But then the sounds of the horses drew so close, the four arguing suitors turned their heads to meet several pairs of eyes; all foreigners glaring at them with contemptuous menace so deathly that it could drive anybody's confidence into the ground. The silence hung in the air, so thick that you could cut through it with your blade. Amidst the unspoken hostility, there lay a minute amount of forbidden emotions wafting about, only known to two suitors amidst the foreboding calamity.
Though despite the fact that Kai and Sehun, and Kyungsoo had met eyes with as many men as they could, only Byul kept her eyes glued to one. She sustained a suitable amount of eye contact with him. Her mind was too busy trying to process the logical outcome of what was happening; so instead, her heart informed her first and forehand, exactly what was going on. She was finally meeting the eyes of the one she's been longing for for so long, yearning for for so long. He's here.

He's finally here.

He. is. here.

"... Byul."

"Lu Han."