It's just the beginning...

"My Lady, I assume it be safe to say you know of the sacred sword within the English lands?"

Byul looked straight ahead, only to lock eyes with her right-hand man; she lifted a brow curiously before releasing a breathy chuckle of solemnity, a nod of her head commencing as a twinkle of reminisce glittered behind her irises. "It was all Abeoji could talk about... what of it?"
"Do you not wish to withdraw it?" Ho Dong inquired incredulously, eyelashes fluttered at a maddening pace. "Only one destined ruler has been chosen by the heavens, my Lady! Only that one appointed nobleman or noblewoman may be able to pull the blade from te marbled anvil. My Lady! The Chosen One shall be blessed with eternal power and authority!" He panted severely, wiping a bead of seat off his brow as he glanced up desperately at his superior.
"And you believe that deity to be me?" Byul shot back promptly, a bitter flick to her tongue as she scoffed complacently. "Don't be foolish, Ho Dong-shii. You know how the times are. No god or saint shall choose a woman to be the divine ruler of the kingdoms."

There was an awkward moment of tense silence; Byul looked ahead, locking her dagger-like orbs with her assistant's, narrowing them menacingly as she silently dared him to speak up. "But my Lady," he stammered uncontrollably; his tongue blubbered nonsense as he attempted to rise back to his feet. He removed his cap, brushing off imaginary dirt off his cloak as he flashed Byul a forced grin. "His Majesty Lu Han of the Lu clan will be venturing to the English lands to attempt the mission!"

At this, Byul's eyes blinked timidly, lips parting as she found herself at a loss of words for the first time in what seemed to be the longest time. "Lu?" she echoed with a baffled expression. "Abeoji's nemesis clan? They..." She scoffed, shaking her head as she released an un-lady like snort of contemptuous dismay, "They actually believe.. that... that that Princess-faced King can carry the title of the Holy One? That weakling?" she sighed humorously. "Have they been dropped one too many times during infancy?"

Ho Dong smiled wickedly behind his long goatee, his coat of greying hairs masking his dismal beam; he scratched his head, lowering his head and gaze respectively. However, there was a mischievious glint in his eyes as he gazed back up at Byul, a nod of his head signalling to the new Queen that he wished to speak. With a complacent smirk and a smug tone, he returned to her, "It would surely disappoint His late Majesty if he were to discover that you rejected his greatest dream of withdrawing -or even attempting to withdraw- the Holy Sword, my Lady," he retorted deviously. A twitch of his lips curved his sick smirk into a gruesome smile, drawing an arched brow from the puzzled Queen. "It could very well be you the heavens have appointed to authorize a new order -- it's true these times view women as inferior, but it is also true these times are changing. Have you not heard of the rebellious Luther from the German lands who? He, who is refusing the Holy Church's practice? If that can happen, my Lady, your role in society may change as well..." There was a long pause as Ho Dong fought for more words of persusasion, whilst Byul contemplated deeply on the matter.

"But as much as it could be you," Ho Dong tittered briefly, "if could almost as well be His Majesty Lu Han -- and that would be distasteful, to see your own rival strive to immortality and eternal rule of the divine without even putting up a fight... Am I not wrong.. my Fairest Lady?"

Byul rose a brow, a suspicious air wafting about her as she glared down defeatedly at her assistant. "Pack your bags," she ordered shortly, a snapping tone lingering somewhere in the back of . "We beging our trek to European territory tomorrow at dawn, at the sun's rising. Notify my mean of the Round Table," she demanded, "and ready our steeds. We shall not waste time."
"What time is there to waste, my Lady?" Ho Dong coaxed gently.

"As the superior clan, it is only routine practice to arrive there before our opposing party, is it not... Ho Dong-shii?"

...but it feels so close to the end.

This is a large beginning...

Lu Han fed his small, white barn owl another handful of bread crumbs before turning to Wufan, who lifted a friendly eyebrow. "What is it, my good man?" the elder questioned worriedly. In return, the younger blonde sighed heavily, falling back into the contents of his mattress. "Nothing," Lu Han breathed promptly, lifting his glazed eyes to the ceiling of the steep bedroom. "Just worried --"
"--about tomorrow's journey?" Wufan predicted mindlessly. A grin broke out instantaneously. "You've never been worried about anything before. What's the difference now?"
"The Queen of those wretched lands," Lu Han whispered disdainfully. "She worries me."
"And how so?"
"There's something about her I resent."

Wufan's eyebrows knitted closely together as he attempted to piece together his king's ubiquitous replies. "You've never met the woman," he pointed out knowingly. A bland expression crawled onto Lu Han's picturesque features as he voided his visage of emotion.
"There are readings and manuscripts of her; I've read them," Lu Han returned curtly with a fervent nod. "In just two weeks following her coronation, she's already seized so much land; she's already gained such the upper-hand in commerce trade; she's founded the new insitution of the new currency for her country.. does that not strike worry within you?" Lu Han asked banally. "She's only a woman... how could she have accomplished so much without breaking a sweat? Even I have not been able to do that, being too worried about our peasant revolts and all?"

"Her father must have taught her well," Wufan retorted.

He shrinked back, however at his superior's infuriating glare. Lu Han's normal look of childhood innocence diminished as he rose to his feet, drawing on his velvet cloak and leather boots. "Let's go," he urged hastily, tugging on his sheath. Wufan looked up incredulously at his master, rising to his feet as well as he tugged on his maintenance cap. 
"W-wait, Your Highness," Wufan cried, stumbling out the door after the hot-headed king. "You can't just be up and ready to go; what about our food supply? It'll be a months-worth trip, and we've had nothing prepared. What about clothes? It's the winter season. We shall catch a cold, a flu, a fever -- something deadly! Maybe even the plague, Your Highness!"

Lu Han didn't listen. He simply strolled down the hallways and corridors strewn about the grandeur of his castle, knocking his hard fists upon the wooden doors of his appointed vassals; he drew them awake immediately, for all of his trusty noblemen and knights could recognize that harsh, urgent knock anywhere. Lu Han gathered them to his royal courtroom, drawing on his final piece of outerwear, before brushing his hair back, exposing the pallor of his forehead. The young king sighed heavily, smoothing out the creases of frustration lining his fatigued features.

Five pairs of exhausted eyes stared up at him as he sat down upon his jeweled throne. "We shall leave in the early morning, so pack your belongings, my men."

Their eyes widened profusely, drawing a scowl from their superior. "Don't question me, or it will be off with you head," he growled impatiently. "Luckily for you, I've come to realize the threat the new Queen of the Moon clan has posed to us. She's a danger, indeed and that is a fact, not an opinion. It is an observation made by the manuscripts and readings I have made based on her coronation and accomplishments. We have to reach the English lands before she does, and we must defeat her, for she will surely wage war upon us. Strengthen  yourself up; eat; rest; ready your steeds. We leave at dawn tomorrow morning at the sun's rising," Lu Han informed professionally. "It will be a months-worth of travelling, maybe two or three if we are unfortunate -- but regardless, we shall reach the town of London before the new Queen... and we for once and all, settle who the new divine ruler of the heavens is.. as I pull out the sword from the anviled stone."

...Small beginnings are for the weak.