Truth and Enemies

The sounds of battle and the cries of death linger in my mind, long past the event itself is finished. That feeling of regret and loss is something I will never forget.

We met years ago as children, growing up with my people as the conquerors and his as the conquered, yet though the other children shunned me, Sehun saw me for the person I was and not for the people I belonged to. After a first few bumpy instances, we became friends, closer than any I had known in my home country.

When I was eighteen I was conscripted into the homeland army, and when I told this to Sehun, he cried. It shocked me to see my best friend crying and when I asked him why, he said that he didn't want to lose me. I didn't understand fully until he grabbed me to pull me close and kiss me, and in that moment I realized that what we had shared for the past decade was more than a friendship to him, and in hindsight, to me too.

I kissed him back, trying to pour all of my feelings into that motion, and the following morning I left for my home country.

It was a lot of training to go through, learning strategy for several hours a day before spending the rest of the time before daylight learning how to fight and kill. Learning all of this for my country's advancement, yes, but in my mind every wooden soldier I struck down had Sehun's face. It was painful to imagine him on the other side of a battlefield but I had learned to let go of my childhood innocence; not everything was black and white and one day I just may have to face him in battle.

The idealistic me thought that if that ever came, I would kill myself instead.

A year into my training I was allowed to go home, back to Sehun's country, back to where my father ruled as regent. I had heard some of what was going in the region from my father's letters, but I honestly didn't expect what I found.

The people there had become uneasy with foreign rule, anger of the wrongdoings of the past ten years finally coming to a head. There were even mumblings of rebellion, but nothing had happened... yet. I went to see Sehun despite my father's protests of it being dangerous; Sehun was my best friend and more, and I knew he wouldn't hurt me.

I didn't expect the bitterness, though.

In the year I had been gone, he had befriended some of the local teens, people who told him lies of my people. As we lay in his small house, my hands running through his silky hair and drinking in the sight of his soft skin, he turned to me with those sharp eyes.

"I want to know the truth, Tao. I need to. Can you tell me anything?"

It was his justification for befriending them, I knew, but I thought that actually learning the truth was something he was far from. I had learned some of it myself, though I would certainly never tell him; I knew that my country's end game was to completely subjugate his and rule it with an iron fist. But we were far from it; Sehun and I would likely both be long dead by then and so I figured that we were happier if I kept the truth from him.

Pressing a kiss to his forehead, I told him not to worry so much.

Two years later I found myself back in his homeland, this time as part of an army facing a rebellious uprising. I hoped against hope that Sehun wasn't among those gathered against us, that he had nothing to do with the deaths of my parents when the rebels attacked, but I knew it was likely a futile hope. I could still remember the look in his eyes when he spoke of truth.

The battle was a short one, easy almost, for an untrained group of rebels stood no chance against a fully trained battalion. The rebellion was squashed, the people slaughtered, and though I felt a tinge of regret when I killed someone I once knew as a child, I knew I had to do it for my country. After the battle was over I found myself walking the field, though, searching those faces for the one I hoped I wouldn't find yet knew I would.

I was right, and as I stood over his dead body I felt the tears of regret run down my cheeks. I didn't know what I could have done differently, though; we believed in two different causes, me in my country's advancement, him in his country's freedom. I never thought it would come to this, but it did.

And I was left alone with the blood of his people on my weapons and the look in his eyes when he asked me for the truth.

THE END

A/N

Yeah okay so maybe angst isn't the best way to cheer anyone up but I know you like fantasy, so here is the promised TaoHun AND a big hearty welcome back.

This One Shot is provided by the lovely and talented -Tigress- !