"My Lady, it has been reported that King Arthur, foster son to Sir Ector has been succeeded to the throne, having been able to withdraw the Holy Sword from the anviled stone."

Byul's eyes flickered with a minute amount of envy before it diminished into nothingness, lavishing her onyx black irises with an emotionless facade. She bowed her head politely to the vassal in a civil manner, bringing her legs over on another into a more comfortable position as she sat back against the cushion of her jeweled throne. "Thank you, Kyungsoo." Her voice was hoarse, a raspy whisper. Despite the anger she should be feeling, she felt a numbing sensation instead, occurring in the regions of her abdomen. Her mind swiveled constantly back to her last night in London, in which the Chinese king had had her pinned her up against the oak tree, submissive to his mercy.

"My Lady, are you unwell?"

She shook her head. "It's been an exhausting month for all of us," she replied curtly, "so please don't worry; it's just the fatigue." She paused momentarily, eyeing Kyungsoo as he waited obediently for her dismissal signal. "Kyungsoo..." His head shot up at the sound of her silky voice resonating through his elf-like ears. "Do you have any more reports?"
"Not that I know of, my Lady.. is there anything I should fetch for you in particular?"
Byul pursed her lips thoughtfully for a second. "Do me a favor and.. just check up on how our commerce is flowing; check the inflation rates, also if you can, tend to the wounds of my vassals... and if you could.. find out what the Chinese king is up to."

Kyungsoo's eyes widened, humorously competing with that of an owl's. "Chinese king?" he echoed dubiously. "As in His Majesty Lu Han? .. If you don't mind me asking, but why --"
"He left me a warning.. I just want to know what it could have meant," Byul promptly interjected, finalizing her demand.
"Could we be in danger?" Kyungsoo returned worriedly, scratching his temple.

Byul frowned. "That's your job to find out, isn't it?"

Lu Han glared down at his hands with exasperation, feeling a soft tingle run through them as he thought back to his last night in London; her pallor stuck out against the moonlight, glowing luminously in the darkness of the night; her red lips were tainted with sin and monopolized authority. He remembered every vague description of her, from her snow-white hair to her unhealthy slim posture. 

His eyes flickered shut, his mind pounding rashly as he leaned back against the throw pillows of his bed. He sighed heavily, drawing a confused glance from Yixing, who was currently translating his appointed works. "Is there a problem?" Yixing voiced, a bit perplexed that his scribe-work was being so selfishly interrupted.
"Not quite," Lu Han resonded vaguely.
"Something must be on your mind, Your Highness," Yixing returned casually, turning to look over his shoulder.

Lu Han held a small scowl, as if he were trying to prioritize his thoughts -- he seemed to be failing at this point; his fingers drummed a soft, rhythmic beat across his flat stomach, teeth sinking down onto his bottom lip. "Byul.. that was her name, correct?" Lu Han voiced smally.
Yixing's back straightened then, with a miniscule alarm. 

He knew what this meant; having known Lu Han almost all his life, he knew exactly what it meant when Lu Han began to recall trivial names during random hours..

And knowing exactly what was running through Lu Han's mind at this point, Yixing knew this was not going to be an acceptable thing.

"My Lady." Chanyeol stepped into the barren throne room, holding a package of gauze in one hand. "Kai and Sehun are recovering substantially and it is predicted will be the firsts to heal. Suho however, as two broken ribs and will have to make do with his work in bed; Kyungsoo and I are fine, as Baekhyun has many sprained limbs. His recovery rate is well, though, and should be fine in a matter of weeks."
Byul nodded gratefully, lifting her hand to dismiss Chanyeol, when he interrupted her, with apologetic eyes.

"London and the New World are currently accepting our exported goods graciously; we're receiving a remarkable profit from them. Their are newly established colonies in the tropical islands, as well, that want to start trade with us... However.." Byul's eyebrows rose in question at Chanyeol's reluctant tone. "China has stopped accepting our exports, and are demanding that they will no longer accept any other imports; they're refusing trade, and are demanding to only distribute their exports in exchange for the New World's bullion."

"What?" She didn't mean to sound harsh, but out of reflex, she had stumbled to her feet in an unlady-like manner, her robe falling to a small pool around her ankles; her words spat out harshly, causing her young, deep-voiced knight to cringe back in apprehensive fear. "They're refusing our exports?"
"Everybody's exports, ma'am," Chanyeol breathed hurriedly.
"How badly does that affect us, then?" Byul demanded.
"Not as badly as you would expect. The amounts the New World are acquiring from our manufactured goods are making up for the lack of purchases made by the Chinese."

Byul nodded. "That's good... any more reports?"

Chanyeol nodded slowly, taking snail-like strides over to the risen queen. He held his hand out gingerly, beholding Byul with two manilla-coloured envelopes. "Letters for Her Majesty," he whispered tenderly, bowing his head. He knelt before her, giving her respective condolences before heading out of the throne room altogether.

She peeled open the top one first, discarding it almost immediately, seeing as how it was just another petition notice from the guilds demanding back their financial stability. She disregarded it with a nonchalant shrug, before averting her attention back to the second and last envelope; her fingers moved swiftly, tearing the papers apart, before drawing out a small papyrus sheet out of its contents.

Her eye brow raised at the unfamiliar handwriting, jaw dropping with scorn at the ubiquitous meaning behind the vague words. However, something touched at her heart that she knew exactly who this was. At the thought, her mind raced, her heart pounded -- all for reasons unknown. The remembrance of his warm breath hitting her neck sent shudders throughout her body, ricocheting waves of eerie worry throughout her internal system.

She her lips, her feet moving instinctively down the steps from her thrown, into the courtyard area of the small perimeter. The spacious walls of her chambers echoed the sounds of her elaborate heels, sending the echoing rings to reverberate through her ears; shills and shivers ran through her body as she pushed through the doors of her room, out into the lobby of the main wing of her magnificent castle.

She caught sight of Kyungsoo first, her breath hitching; and she almost yanked him by the neck if he wasn't so much taller than her.

"Kyungsoo-ah," she breathed hurriedly. "Summon Ho Dong to my study.. immediately."
"My Lady, what is the matt --"
"Now, Kyungsoo."

"Y-Yes... my L-lady."

"I warned you Byul Xiaojie. Do not take my words lightly because of my mediocre appearance; to show you who I truly can be, and will be.. here is my declaration of war."