Seunghyun crashed to the floor in a ball of fire and rage.

His teeth harshly grinded together and he let out a feral snarl when he heard Youngbae’s mocking words follow him soon after.

“Maybe you should stay down!” Youngbae shouted across the dusty field.

Seunghyun looked up from his sprawled position on the ground to see Youngbae pelting towards Daesung, who was screaming and thrashing in a wooden chair to the left of him.

Staggering to his feet, Seunghyun summoned every last ounce of energy he had and formed the strongest orb of pure light he could muster in the palms of his hands.

He grit his teeth, silently praying it would hit its mark, and sent it flying across the field with all the strength he had.

His heart rose, just for a second, then a flurry of sparks and flames erupted.

And Youngbae was still running.

“No…” Seunghyun whimpered silently. He could feel his eyes sting and the old feeling of helpless frustration flood his system again.

“No!” he repeated. He was better than this, he can do this.

So he ran after him.

Close… so close. His ragged breathing swamped his ears and his tongue ran dry on the roof of his mouth, but he had caught up to him - in arms length of him.

He could hear Youngbae’s equally laboured breathing and in the background Daesung’s constant shrieks for help piercing the calm surroundings. Seunghyun let out a deep roar and flung himself at Youngbae, sending them in a tumbling heap of dust and flailing limbs.

Bursts of light and fire cloaked them from being seen and growls of sudden pain and victory masked the outside world.

And then it was all over in less than a second.

Youngbae had managed to grasp Seunghyun by the neck, raise him up, and then brutally slam him down on the ground. Winded, this allowed Youngbae to sprint the short distance to Daesung and after hastily scorching the ropes, taking home the prize.

Seunghyun had lain there, unable to move; the strength he once had had seeped all too quickly out of him and so he lay there utterly defeated.

“And now I’m going to lock your beautiful in my tower to keep you there for all eternity! Mwuhahaha!” Youngbae said, throwing his head back in mock laughter.

“Oh ha ha very funny. Doubt you’ll be able to handle my sweet anyway,” Daesung teased, and not so subtly squeezed Youngbae’s own.

Youngbae jumped, but quickly composed himself, “Ah ah, that’s for the privacy of the tower.”

Seunghyun heard Seungri snicker behind him. “Ok ok guys calm down, now is it my turn yet?”

Seunghyun had had enough. He smashed his fist down on to the ground, sending up a shower of dust, then faster than the eye could register, ran into the gleaming halls of the palace, up the majestic winding staircase and into his immaculate bedroom, adorned with golden furnishings and a huge open window stretching across his back wall.

The whole place seemed to emit light and all things good, but at the moment Seunghyun felt like it was all the happiness out of him.

A red fire seemed to burn suddenly inside of him and he felt the cruel waves of anger crash in the pit of his stomach again and again.

The storm was brewing quickly and before he knew what he was doing, he strode over to the wall backing his bed, brought his fist back, then smashed it as hard as he could, concentrating every last drop of fury into his tingling muscles, into the smooth white wall of his bedroom, completely destroying it.

Seunghyun was breathing heavily as he brought his fist back through the enormous hole he had just created, taking bits of random debris and flakes of wood with him.

After a moment of just standing there waiting for his mind to catch up with his body, the realisation of what he just did came crashing down on him like a waterfall of jagged boulders. He looked down horrified at his shaking hands then back up at the carnage in front of him.

 He had done this?

Seunghyun left the room much the same as he had entered, trying to push from his mind the overwhelming and uncontrollable anger he just experienced.

He looked down at his hands again, but they were the same unblemished and scar-free ones as usual – almost as if nothing had happened.

Still running down the endless hallways, he shook his head roughly from side to side, hoping to dispel the emotions that faintly vibrated inside of him, the only clue that all that did in fact take place.

Suddenly he burst into the gigantic dining room, the sounds of his skidding feet echoing around the vast space which caused three heads to snap up at the unexpected visitor.

“Ah Seunghyun, so you finally decided to grace us with your presence,” Seungri said, pulling out a chair as an invitation to join them.

Wordlessly, Seunghyun walked over cautiously and sat down slowly on the offered seat.

“Hey if this is about me, don’t take it personally. You know how I get when we do these sorts of things...” Youngbae trailed off.

“No it’s not. It’s…nothing,” Seunghyun replied, forcing a smile.

“Yeah, clearly. We heard you busting up your walls from here! Just tell us what’s wrong. It’s obviously not just about what happened out there.” This time it was Daesung to speak and Seunghyun didn’t miss the worry underlining Daesung’s tone.

He looked at each of his brother’s faces, each etched with concern. Concern for him. Seunghyun gave a short sigh before lowering his eyes to the glossy mahogany table.

“Who is going to be the next King of Aselot?” he said softly.

“Um, you hyung,” Seungri said and Seunghyun heard the confusion in his voice.

“And what does a king do?”

“Protects his people,” all three said automatically, the countless lessons of this one phrase permanently imprinted in their minds.

“Right,” Seunghyun said, finally looking up, “and how am I supposed to do that when I can’t even protect a damsel in distress”

“Hey! I wasn’t a da-“ Daesung started before abruptly shutting up after Youngbae gave him a quick glare to say this definitely wasn’t the time.

“Hyung. You are seriously the perfect person that could fit the role of King. You are the smartest out of all of us and you never make rash decisions. You see every possibility and then plan for every outcome in meticulous detail. Out of all of us you would be the most likely to win a successful battle if there ever was one. You have the ability to empathise with others when most of us can’t and you can see their side of the story as if you were actually them!

 Ruling isn’t about one on one combat like we just did, although learning to protect yourself is a valuable skill, no, the key to a successful reign is to be able to make the right decisions for the good of the empire in the minds of its people. And there is no one here that can do a better job of that than you. If it comes to fighting, don’t forget that that’s what we’re for. We will always be by your side. Always.”

Seunghyun felt his eyes prick for the second time that day, but for a different reason this time. Youngbae’s speech had left him feeling utterly stupid and childish, but somehow stronger and more confident at the same time.

“Thanks Youngbae. That was – “ he took a deep breath, “I just really needed to hear that.” He smiled warmly at all of them, trying to convey how completely grateful he was, for everything. “I do really appreciate that. I just can’t help feeling the weakest out of all of you sometimes, especially when we do stuff like that. And I don’t know about you, but I think there was a reason why we were born with these abilities, and I think something big is coming. And I think it’s going to change everything.”

And none of them, not even Seunghyun, could have imagined how drastically he was right.

So this is just an introduction, but please tell me what you think and subscribe if you enjoyed and (somehow) want more ^_^