I stared at Vincent, confused.

I understood what he's trying to say, and how important having Azazel on our side is for our plan.

There's one thing I didn't quite get, though.

"What feelings?"

"Well, your love for her, of course," Max said matter-of-factly, and I stared with mouth agape in shock.

"My love for her?"

"Yes," they all answered me in unison.

"Okay, this is incredulous. Just because I kissed her, doesn't mean I'm in love with her, you moron."

"Uh huh," Mikey said, staring at me. "You still kissed her though."

Sighing, I leaned back to the chair as they all just ignored me and continued on talking, discussing what would be the best way for me to swooned her.

"Okay, you guys need to stop, seriously," I stopped them once they started working on the damsel-in-distress plan that Mikey proposed.

"But why? It's a good plan!" Mikey stubbornly said, looking at me with those huge frog eyes of his.

"Yeah, Mark, It's actually a pretty good idea," Vincent said. "I mean, you saved her before, you can surely save her again."

"Yes, but it will be too obvious, Vee. Way too obvious," I said, rolling my eyes. "Besides, she saw Mikey and Matt already. She knew we're in the same side!"

"Well, it's either that, or you go undercover as a college student and courted her in the normal way," Matt said. "The choice is yours, Mark," he added, and I groaned in frustrations.

"You're supposed to be our brain, Matthias. Think of something else. And why are you smirking smugly like that, dearest Maximillian?"

"Because, my dear Marcus," he lazily drawls out his words. "For someone that's 'not in love with her', you seems pretty worked up to ensure that we had a good plan."

... you and your reasoning, Maximillian.

Luckily, I was saved from the responsibility of rebutting him when Vincent suddenly groaned.

"Dammit," he muttered.

"What?" I asked, quickly shifting everyone's attention.

"Jordan just telepathizes me. He wants all of us to gather, now." He sighed. "I got to go. I'll try to stay in touch with you guys, okay?"

We all just nodded and bid him goodbye, wished him good luck, the normal ritual. Ironic, I mean, we're the fugitive and we're the one who needed luck more than anybody else. But then again, Vincent also risks his head by being on our side this whole time.

My thoughts instantly flew to the day when we were forced to flee fifty years ago.

***

Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked at him expectantly. "You never told me this part of the story before."

"Because time is precious back then, and it wasn't relevant, princess," he says, smiling slightly.

***

It was the morning of the Sovereign Gathering, and we were resting at our quarter. To be exact, we were preparing ourselves for the execution of our plan later on that night.

But then suddenly somebody knocked on our door.

We eyed each other. This was not part of the plan.

"Come in!" I finally called, and Avery, my personal Royal Guard walked in.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at such time, Your Highness," he said, bowing down. "But I get a message to convey from Lord Vincent."

"What is it?" I asked, and I can felt weariness hung in the air. Something's bad about to happen, we just knew.

"He said," Avery hesitated a bit, but then continued. "He wished me to inform you that his pet rabbit was wandering around near the forest, but then a fox happened to spotted him and he was eaten."

Avery quickly bowed down again. "I'm sorry for taking your time, Your Highness. But that was really what Lord Vincent said and..."

"It's alright," I cut him off. "Tell Vincent that I'm gravely disturbed by this fact, and that I would do my best to find him a new pet, so he should be rest assured for now."

"Yes, Your Highness," Avery muttered, retreating.

"Oh, and one more thing," I called him back. "Keep this a secret, okay? We wouldn't want the other family to start gossiping about how sentimental the member of our Royal Family is."

Avery’s cheek went red, and he muttered an "Of course," while scurrying away from our quarter.

"Is that meant what I think it is?" Matt asked after Avery’s gone, and Max sighed.

"Yes. We've been found out. So you better think of an escape plan now, Matthias. And you better start preparing with me, Mikey."

Yes, that message from Vincent was not just him whining about his pet. Rabbit is his favorite animal in the world, hence he often called his dearest person - Nathan and me - as his pet rabbit. And old foxes are what we normally called the Council Members.

"Matt, change of plans," I calmly said as the guys are already preparing to escape now. "Think of an escape route from the Throne Room."

"We'll be going to the King's Court."

Everyone stared at me in disbelief, and Mikey was about to accused me of craziness when Max chuckled.

"I see. You really are a cocky bastard, my dear Marcus," he said, grinning from ear to ear.

Grinning, I shot back. "What can I say? I have the best team in the world."

"You're lucky you do," Max mused. "Matt, do as he said. And later, keep an eye on the Council's members. We need to know our enemy."

Finally, our dearest Matt catches up, and he shook his head in disbelief. "You guys are such risk-takers, I wonder why I even hanging out with you. But fine. When do you think will be the best time to escape? During the hearing?"

"After the sentence has been put," I lazily said. "Aren't you guys curious to know just what punishment those old foxes will give?"

"Oh I'm so curious I can't even stand it. But I think I would rather just save my ," Mikey said sarcastically. His insecurity got the best of him again, it seems.

"Oh come on, Mikey," Max laughed. "I thought you always wanted to spar with the Fraternity Guards."

"Well, yes I do..."

"So this would be the right moment, no?" Matt asked, joining in. "It's not like you won't be able to beat them."

"I'm quite sure I can indeed beat them..."

"Then what are you so scared about?" I asked, cocking my eyebrows. "Scared, little Mikey?"

That got him. Groaning in frustrations, he finally agreed. "Fine, fine! I'm in! But don't come whining at me if I can't save your precious little asses later!"

And so we kept our composure when four Fraternity Guards – Eusebio, Allen, Kevin, and Ellison – came to us to the King's Court. We calmly followed them, and we didn't resist when they insisted that we shed all of our weapons and left them outside the Court.

Then once we're inside, the four took a step back and watched us intently from the back. We took that moment to assess our situations.

Apparently, the whole Court members were present. King Dennis sat highly at the Throne, with Jordan – the head of Fraternity Guard and also King Dennis’s personal Guard – stood behind him. Meanwhile, Casey of Sapphire stood at the right side of the throne and Ivan of Ruby stood at the left side. Then in the steps below, the other Sapphire Counselor, Andrew, stood alongside Charlton and Kyne of Topaz at the right side while Michael (do not confuse him with our Mikael, please. Their name have different pronounciation) of Ruby stood at the left side of the steps alongside Theodore and Noah of Amethyst.

"The four Crown Princes are brought here, to the court of the Second Monarch, King Dennis the Wise, to be punished for treason," Casey announced, reading off of his parchment. "They have been planning to kill you, Your Majesty, and they will use that fact to justify their claim for the throne."

Weird, there's only four Fraternity Guards in the room, those who brought us in. Has they underestimated us? I conveyed this fact to Matt through my mind, and he assessed it warily. Yes, we can communicate through our minds, thanks to our special ability as the Crown Prince and our strong bond. We only use this kind of method at special times, however. Like now.

"The attack was supposed to be done today at the Sovereign Gathering, during their private court session with Your Majesty inside the Majesty's sacred quarter, where nobody will guard Your Majesty except for Jordan outside the quarter's door. With this, they ensured that Your Majesty will already be dead by the time Jordan manages to reach them."

"Despicable!" Kyne cries out. "Mikael! I knew you have always been hot headed and reckless, but how could you actually join this...ridiculous plan to attack our beloved King?!"

That's not how he called him back in our mansion, Mikey informed us with his mind. Mikey's rude commentary earned him a soft chuckle from the three of us, but this didn’t seem to amuse the elder.

"How dare you guys laugh at such time and place?" Ivan inquired with harsh tone, while Michael just shook his head, putting on his best somber face.

Theodore followed suit, putting on his tired face while looking at Matt with pity. "I am disappointed in you, Matthias," he softly said, voice laced with grief. I must admit, the actor blood does run on the Amethyst's veins. "You have always been a good boy. What have corrupted your mind to commit such grave mistake?"

"I think that would be the responsibility of the leader," Casey said, eyeing me maliciously. "I have always known that we pampered our dearest Marcus too much, leading to his...inappropriate character and behavior. But to think that he would actually do such horrible thing..." Casey ended his sentences with a shudder.

I see what you're doing, Casey. Very smart indeed, trying to pin the blame on me, as it's easy to see that I'm the Leader, the core of this little group. Without me, it will be easier to deal with them.

You really worthy of being my mentor, dear old Casey, I mused in my mind as another low chuckles escaped my mouth.

Ivan shook his head, taking my chuckle as another sign of my inappropriate character, "I suppose you are right, Counselor Casey. He has not acted properly ever since he stepped into our Court today."

"And if we take a look toward the past, it is easy to see that our Maximillian has always been a little naive," Michael joined in, talking in his smooth and soothing voice. "I would not be surprised if some bad influences is all it took to sway him off his track."

Yeah, and you're the bad influence, Max snorted in his mind. You and your tendency to play with girls and ignore your responsibilities as the Council's member, my beloved Micky.

"I can certainly sympathize with you, Counselor Michael," Noah said, speaking for the first time. "Our Matthias has always been a good and obedient boy. But ever since he met... him, he changed. He does not even talk in properly or respected us anymore."

That's because you're no longer worthy of my respect, dearest Noah. Not after I saw what you've done, Matt said sweetly in his mind, forcing us to stifled another laugh.

"The same thing also happened to us," Charlton said. "None of us can handle Mikael anymore."

None of you can handle me in the first place, Mikael thought, annoyed.

Finally, the last Council's member, Andrew, let out his voice. "Why have you guys said nothing?"

Though he asked us, his gaze lingered at me, and I almost gagged out of disgust because he didn’t even bother to hide his misplaced interest in me.

"Oh, I have not notice that it was our turn to talk," I rebutted sarcastically. "As far as I’m concerned, you guys were rambling, accusing us of ridiculous things without giving us a chance to even say a word."

That earned me a pained look from Andrew and furious looks from all the others. Sadly, my three so-called friends just laugh silently.

Stop laughing and go back to thinking about how we shall escape from this place, , I ordered. And I could practically picture Matt grinning from ear to ear as he announced that he already got it settled.

As he started giving us a briefing on how to run away, Casey started screeching on how I brought disgrace to our Sapphire Clan while Andrew tried to calmed him down. But inside, I knew Casey's glad because I just gave him another reason to pointed at me as the heart behind this failed uprising.

"Silence."

The seconds the words left the King's mouth, the room fell silent at once, leaving only Matt’s voice, continuing his briefing in our mind while keeping his stoic face. From the corner of my eyes, though, I noticed that both Max and Mikey has changed their stance. Always so eager to get in brawls, those two competitive idiot.

"I'm giving you a chance to talk now, Marcus, so you better answer me truthfully," King Dennis warned. "Is it true?"

A smirk made it's way to my lips. "No," I calmly said, and then I cocked my head to the side, pretended to be deep in thoughts. Once Casey and Ivan looked like they’re about to said a word, I nonchalantly said, "But then again, it depends on what are you referring to, Your Majesty."

King Dennis heaved a sigh of annoyance, and I almost smiled. Ah, it's so nice to see the Dennis that I knew so well.

"The treason," he tiredly said.

"Ah, that," I nodded, acting like I just remembered something. "It's half and half. Yes, we did plan a rebellion, but we never planned to kill. At the very most, we planned on taking you hostages and forcing you to hand over the reign to us."

"And what difference does it made?" Charlton inquired. "You four are still planning an usurp!"

"The difference, my dearest Charlton, is that there was no life at stake here," Mikey finally said. "Unlike what you and the other have believed all this time."

Both Charlton and Kyne looked like they're having a heart attack now while me and Max chuckled softly and Matt just rolled his eyes.

"See, Marcus, this is the effect of your bad influence on them," Andrew said, shaking his head in pity, making me groaned in annoyance.

"Quiet, everybody," King Dennis said. He gazed down at me, and I returned his half-hearted gaze with my mischievous one, and it snapped him back, back to the Wise King Dennis.

"You may say that none of you four had wanted my death, and there was no life at stake here. But that does not change the fact that what you four have been planning is a rebellion, betraying our treaty and our people by trying to claim the reign, something that is not yours to take. So I have no other choice but to punish you."

"Counselor Casey, Counselor Ivan, come with me to decide their punishment," King Dennis inquired.

"The rest of you, wait here. And you four should get a tight hold on them."

The time is coming. Ever so subtly, I changed my stance, getting ready to pounce on Eusebio, the Fraternity Guard that's currently holding me.

No, Mark. Your share is Casey, remember? Matt reminded me, and I groaned in annoyance. And Max, Ivan is yours.

My pleasure, Max half-purred inwardly, excited from the prospect of hurting his ex-mentor.

Not long after, Dennis finally came back, along with Casey and Ivan.

"Announced their punishment," King Dennis commanded.

"According to our law, the punishment for treason is death sentence," Ivan spoke. "But since they are our Crown Princes, the best of all Royal Family members, we shall make an exception."

"Banishment," Matt breathed out softly.

As if on cue, Ivan announced, "From now on, the four Crown Princes shall be exiled and erased from our bloodline. They will be escorted out of our border, and shall not be allowed to step inside again. Their relations with everyone will be cut off, and anybody who contacted them will be considered as traitor."

"However, we realized that the real problem here is the leader. The poison in our veins, the corruption that started this unruly rebellion," Casey picked up. "Hence, we offer these three Crown Princes: Prince Maximillian of Ruby, Prince Mikael of Topaz, and Prince Matthias of Amethyst, a chance to redeem their honor and status."

The four of us raised our eyebrows. What's this chance they're talking about?

"If they were to admit their mistake and make amends right now, they can plead their loyalty again by completing Your Majesty's request."

King Dennis took a deep breath and he stared at me with pity and guilt, but I stared back with defiance.

"They shall make amends by exterminating the very one that brought them here," King Dennis said calmly. "Kill Marcus."

I laughed then and there.

"Amusing. So you would actually go this far to secure your throne. What a worthy King," I chuckled, then looked at the other three. "Go ahead, I dare you."

There was silence for quite some time, until a voice shakily spoke.

"I will do it."

A/N: Sooo these are the list of the idols :D

Avery - EXO-K's Suho

Eusebio - U-Kiss's Alexander

Allen - U-Kiss's Kibum

Kevin - U-Kiss's Kevin

Ellison - U-Kiss's Eli

Dennis - Super Junior's Leeteuk

Jordan - Super Junior's Kangin

Casey - Super Junior's Heechul

Andrew - Super Junior's Siwon

Ivan - DBSK'S Yunho

Michael - DBSK/JYJ's Yoochun

Charlton - SHINee's Onew

Kyne - SHINee's Key

Theodore - CN Blue's Yonghwa

Noah - CN Blue's Jungshin