Sehun stormed down the long corridor to his room. His fist clenched and jaw tight, he thought only of caging himself up in his room away from everything and everyone. He could feel the sharpness of his teeth with his tongue and from that he realized that his eyes must be pitch black. If anyone were to see him they would be afraid, as they should be. He was angry, frustrated, and hurt. A combination that left him deadly.

            He turned the corner without realizing that someone was coming in his direction. Seungyeon gasped at the hard collision and could feel her feet slip under her when two strong hands wrapped around her arms. She gasped. Sehun had his eyes on something behind her but the blackness of them was deep enough to where she felt lost and disoriented in Sehun’s hold. She squealed when he let her go and pushed her to the side with a huff but quickly latched onto Sehun’s cold wrist, “Wait. I was looking for you.”

            Her hand felt weird on his skin and he quickly pulled away. “What?”

            Avoiding his gaze, Seungyeon whispered, “The meeting. I thought you’d like to join me—“

            “Wasn’t invited.” Sehun stepped forward but was stopped once more as Seungyeon stood in front of him. She could feel his cold aura on her skin and took a small step back. Sehun exhaled loudly through his nose to express his annoyance as the princess continued.

            “I wasn’t either, but there is a way to still hear what they’re talking about.”

            Sehun scoffed looking up at the ceiling before lowering his eyes to the girl, “Why would I want to hear what those officials have to say? The people out there said it all.”

            “But they have reasons for it, I’m sure! Our people aren’t spiteful. Everyone has a reason for disliking or liking someone even if it’s obscured by other vain reasons.” Seungyeon’s voice grew confident as she saw Sehun’s eyes slowly turn back to brown. She wanted to reach out and hold his hand but opted not to and instead nodded her head in the direction from which she came. “There is a secret room, where we can see what’s going on in the council room without them knowing.”

            She took a few steps back, hoping Sehun would follow.

            “Whatever.” Sehun dug his hands into his pants pockets and followed her down the hall.

*~*~*~*~*

            “The water god?” Taura enunciated each syllable hoping she heard right. Mijin nodded with a smile as she poured herself a cup of tea.

            “Mm, Habaek. Would you like to hear his story?” Mijin picked up her cup and sipped as Taura stared blankly at the table in front of them. What would the harm be to know?

            “Sure.”

            Mijin smiled with a nod and set her cup down. She settled into her chair to get comfortable as she fixed her dress’s skirt. Taura did the same as she grabbed a nearby pillow and hugged it to her chest as she stretched out her legs.

            “Hm, well…it starts with a young woman. She was the daughter of one of the richest men in her kingdom and she was, of course, beautiful. Pretty enough, that even the King’s son was taken by her beauty. Well, the King arranged for their engagement once he found out of his son’s affection for this girl but the girl would not have it. With all of that beauty, her weakness was that s