chapter.37  »  enthroned.

Fire rained down from the vast expanse of beautiful blue sky.

It still did not make sense that there was a war going on at this kind of day.  It was ridiculous, and everybody knew it was ridiculous.  Jinki was deeply perturbed by the ridiculousness of it all that when he came back to the castle grounds, he abandoned the stallion in the hands of a stable buck and decided to command guards on foot instead.

He placed a little over half of them to the weakest spots around the castle (which weren't even weak, honestly).  Then the rest, he carefully assigned to mission support, to patrol, to reconaissance, and to actual guarding.  After delegating and after the guards reported to their assigned posts, Jinki glanced up at the castle, squinting high up to where his parents' bedchamber was.  He heaved a sigh before entering, his steps light and wide, his mind set on finding his mother.

He was so hellbent on finding his mother that when he passed by the throne room, he barely heard the commotion inside of it.  Still, he stopped in his tracks, glancing curiously at the grand doors.

“Your majesty,” the mustachioed man bellowed, his right hand gripping Soojin's arm like a toy, "we caught these pillagers in the forest and are presenting them to you for proper punishment."

"Proper punishment?"  Mara made a face.  The men had bound her and her friends in ropes.  She wrangled herself against her captor.  "We didn't do anything!"

The guard at her arm pointed an admonishing finger at her face.  "You will not speak."

"Silence."

Soojin couldn't help but ogle the man seated on the throne before her.  He had to be the most elegant man she had ever seen.  He wore a long robe that ended past his feet, draping over the steps of the dais.  The robe was a velvet burgundy, a combination that proclaimed royalty proudly but not braggingly.  His attire was what could be expected of a king from medieval times.  And that crown—there was no mistaking that golden crown on his brow.  Its gemstones glistened like stained glass, and the crown itself looked heavy.  Oddly enough, Soojin was not afraid of him.

Rather, she felt remorseful.  Because while the king was regal, the pallor of his face was anything but.  It didn't take any special sort of intellect to know that he was under heavy stress.

The king closed his eyes, rubbing his temple.  "What were they doing in the forest?"

Soojin felt the mustachioed man tense.  "M- Majesty?"

"You said they were pillagers.  What were they pillaging?"

The man swallowed.  Soojin watched a drop of sweat trickle from his temple to the ends of his mustache.  He felt her staring; he growled, tightening his grip on her arm.

"Your majesty—"

The king motioned nonchalantly around the throne room.  "Do you know what is happening in the kingdom, sir?"

"Your majesty, these children— I mean— Just look at their garb, it's hideous—"

Mara scoffed.  "I'm going to hit him."

The king continued speaking as if to himself.  "An ancient war has come back to life... An army is marching on our kingdom as of this moment... My wife, the queen, is off searching for answers from the infamous Mage... And I somehow still have to deal with this."

"Father, no."

All heads turned to the doors.  A man stood there in royal military uniform.  There was a crown on his head, a simpler version of that which sat on the king's head.  He marched forward, and the closer he got, the darker the shadow on Soojin's brow became.

"Jinki..." she muttered.

The man's head snapped to her.  Immediately, a lump grew in Soojin's throat.  Her eyes began to sting.  Her heart throbbed against her chest.  Somewhere in the crevice of her head, she knew.  She felt the itchiness of the ropes on her wrists, all of a sudden.  The weight of the world rested on her shoulders.  She couldn't say a word.

The expression on Jinki's face was so soft that it broke Soojin's heart.  He opened his mouth as if to say something to her, but his father spoke.

"Do you know them, son?"

Son, Soojin grimly thought.  She turned her head to her left where Seungpyo stood.  His eyes were cast to the floor, and he wasn't struggling against his captor.  He looked up and his eyes met Soojin's.  He only shook his head softly before looking away.

Jinki gulped.  "Yes, father.  They cared for me On Earth."

Soojin closed her eyes, tears b her lashes.  "Oh my God..."

Jinki turned to the guards.  "Release them."

"You were a damn dog..."

The mustachioed man glanced from the prince to the king before settling on the one on the throne.  "Your Majesty?"

"Release them."  There was an edge to the prince's voice.

Begrudgingly, the guards sliced off the ropes from the wrists of the visitors.  The one with the mustache knelt on one knee before the king, pouring his sincerest apologies for wasting the king's time.  His Majesty dismissed him and his men with a wave of a hand.  They scampered from the throne room as quickly as they could, their sabers clanking awkwardly against their bodies as they ran.  Once the doors of the throne room slammed close, Jinki rushed to Soojin's side.

"Soojin!"  He exclaimed.  His hands found her shoulders, her face, her neck.  "Are you hurt?"

"She..." Seungpyo sighed.  "She doesn't know who you are."

"What is going on?"  Mara asked no one in particular.  She tugged on Seungpyo's sleeve.  "What's happening?"

There was silence, and then soft sobs.  Soojin had hung her head low, but the shaking of her shoulders couldn't be mistaken.  Jinki could only look on, his hands feeling rather awkward on her arms.  When Soojin looked up, her face was tear-stained.  The war had nothing on the way Soojin destroyed Jinki.

"I'm so tired, Jinki..."

They barely heard her voice.  Ever so smoothly, she fainted and fell to the ground.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

LMFAOOOO Y'ALL

i can't even begin to tell y'all stuff. actually, i don't even know where to start.

life update:  i'm graduating from high school in 2 days.

so.  there's that.  that's how long i've neglected this story.

to those who are still there, thank you.  to every single one of you whom i have disappointed, i know words aren't enough to show you how sorry i am.  so i'm just gonna show you.  we're gonna finish this story.  just hang tight.

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