Meanwhile, many miles away, another ruler was sitting in a small temple pavilion, holding a two-stringed haegum and momentarily lost in thought. The moonlight made the stones at his feet look almost white, but he also cast a long, dark shadow along the ground. The cherry tree nearby rustled as a tiny breeze stirred its pink blossoms. A single petal drifted down and landed in his dark brown hair. He didn’t notice.

“Was it... a D-flat? Or a C....” He murmured to himself, then shook his head and picked the bow up again. It was better to just play music without any thought to it. He had a whole kingdom to worry about- famines and wars and corruption. It didn’t matter what the notes were. Not anymore.

There was always a meeting with his top advisors in the morning, bickering until noon about infrastructure projects and nonexistent funds, then a state dinner in the evening with that week’s surly diplomat from a country whose name he could not pronounce. No rest for the King of Baekje. His territory wasn’t very large, but his officials seemed to think that was a worrying point. Something about Baekje being vulnerable to future attacks and possible absorption into the larger neighboring kingdoms. They were paying close attention to Silla, which had recently formed an alliance with the powerful Chinese Tang Empire to the East.

The king sighed. It felt like just yesterday, he and Jongin, the Silla King, were traipsing about the countryside, hunting foxes by day and partying with beautiful girls by night. (Baekje may not have been the biggest kingdom, but for some reason they had the best brothels.) And now his advisors thought Jongin, his best friend since they were young, was planning on invading? The nerve! These commoners seemed to think passing the civil service examination made them the Sky Emperor’s gift to man or something.

Byun Baekhyun sighed, letting himself wallow in self pity for a brief moment, then began playing again. But there was never a moment of peace for him.

“Baekhyun! Baekhyun!” A rather short, wide-eyed man came running up the hill to the pavilion.

“Oh. Hello there, Archduke.” Baekhyun blinked slowly at his longtime friend and most trusted official. “And isn’t it ‘King Baekhyun’ to you?”

The archduke Do Kyungsoo tilted his head. “Yes, I’m sorry your Highness. It’s just- I’m leaving today. Don’t you remember? I thought I’d say goodbye before the caravan left. But then I ended up running all through the palace looking for you and of course you’re here sitting in your little thinking pavilion avoiding official meetings... Whatever will you do without me, Baekhyun? I mean- Your Highness.” He corrected himself quickly, still rather flustered.

Baekhyun set the instrument down and stood, his long silk robes brushing the ground of the pavilion. “You’re leaving? Why wasn’t I informed of this? Where are you going?”

Kyungsoo’s large eyes seemed to grow even wider, if that was even possible. Then he exhaled a short, resigned breath. It was useless to be surprised anymore. Baekhyun will always be the same, clueless Baekhyun.

“I’m leaving for the Tang Courts. You appointed me to be the ambassador to China, don’t you remember? Nevermind. Of course you don’t. Sorry. That was rude of me.... Your Highness.”

Baekhyun chuckled slightly at his friend’s awkward attempt towards preserving formality. “You know, if it’s too difficult for you, you can just call me Baekhyun. I suppose. Anyways, this is rather disturbing information... You can’t leave for the Tang now. We need you here at home!”

“Oh really?” Kyungsoo lifted an eyebrow.

“Yes! I need you to... look over the municipal affairs! The capital has a huge opium trade problem, you know that! And I need you... to cover for me when I skip official meetings! And who else can I turn to when I spend too much on musical instruments and then the Chancellor of the Treasury yells at me?! And, and-” Baekhyun gestured wildly with his arms, maybe to emphasize how important Kyungsoo was to him, or maybe just to make up for having no good reason for needing him. He just did.
 

The archduke smiled softly. “You don’t really need me. You just need to grow up and lead this country, Baekhyun.”

“Damnit, I’m only twenty years old! I have my whole life ahead of me! And I plan on living that life, not just wasting it away in a musty room with those other sad, bitter, musty old men!”

“You really hate that Chancellor of the Treasury, don’t you?”

Baekhyun made a frustrated noise. “You know what, Kyungsoo? You can leave. Go away. Shoo, shoo. You’re annoying me. I don’t need this. Go on. Have fun at the Tang Courts. Don’t get eaten. I heard they eat everything over there. That’s right. It’s not just dogs, Kyungie.” He wiggled his eyebrows.

Kyungsoo paled. “No way. You’re kidding me.”

“I’m the King, darling. Do I ever lie?” Baekhyun kept a straight face for about two seconds, then burst out laughing. Kyungsoo slapped the back of his head. “Not. Funny.”

Baekhyun grinned, then his face grew more serious. “But really now, Kyungsoo. Be careful over there. The Tang Courts are no joke. Luhan may look like a pretty little kid, but he has some crazy friends. Excluding me, of course. I hear Silla has spies in the Chinese Empire, and they will definitely have eyes on you too.”

Both men paused at the mention of Silla. Baekhyun looked out of the pavilion and across to the forbidding mountains in the East that were his kingdom’s only protection against the larger country. The wind chose that moment to rush through the small space, whipping their robes around them and generally creating an effect of dread.

“I fear the Tang may be the least of our worries, compared to them,” Kyungsoo said under his breath.

Baekhyun nodded in agreement, and the entire moment would have been perfectly reflective and ‘dreadful’ if not for the fact his most recent memory of Silla’s King was Jongin hiding in a temple’s hot springs completely and refusing to come out because some had stolen his clothes.

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hrmph. who's slacking now? you're welcome. now to disappear for a few more months.... -Mel