……………Chapter 28……………

Lord Leeteuk invited a few non officials and his guards had been ordered, a few weeks before  the coronation, to pick out a few lower class people to invite while on patrol; yes even though he loathed the lower classes he pretend once again that he cared by inviting them to persuade them to join his side. … His orders to the gate guards were to turn some away if they were seen with anything aqua or if they mentioned any disloyalty toward him and the new kingdom he was attempting to build while others whom disagreed were to be allowed into the palace grounds. Those that were allowed in would be then forced to watch his coronation and afterwards would be made an example of for they’d have a severe price to pay; the faithful SHINee guard knew that could only mean one thing: death…..

During the course of the week, Yangban (upper class/officials ect.) that lived throughout the kingdom had returned to the royal grounds by invitation to the Palace to join the other officials that were permanent residents of the palace to witness the coronation; the palace was crowded and crawling with people. Prince Joon had arrived the night before the coronation in the middle of the night; dressed like a guard he was snuck in and delivered to the Crown Prince’s Chambers, luckily without being seen by any guests; Loyal SHINee guards patrolled the area during the time of his arrival while the un-loyal soldiers were too drunk to notice the coup unfolding for they were being filled with rice wine…

On the third day after the secret meeting Kings’ Jinki and Taemin held, before the break of dawn of the day of the coronation, the plan began in the barracks as soon as the highest in command after General Choi opened his eyes. After waking the other loyalist soldiers they got dressed as quietly amongst the sleeping traitors… In a toast that deliberately turned into a bender to celebrate Lord Leeteuk’s rise to the throne, the faithful SHINee guards had given the other men lots of alcohol the night before to help them slumber deeply, but its best to stay quiet just in case they stir awake…  The faithful man of the SHINee army grabbed the keys to the stockade jail cells and voicelessly signaled them to wait till his return; with a nod they obeyed his orders. The Commander calmly walked down the hall lest his feet make too much nose if he were to hustle down the dusty dirt floor of the corridor and wake Leeteuk’s men.  General Choi was already awake and waiting when the commander entered; they nodded to each other as he came closer with the key. He stuck the key into the metal lock and looked up at Choi; the suspense in the air was thick as they prayed the inevitable nose wouldn’t wake anyone; locking eyes with the other they held their breath as he finally turned the key. The click of the key pushing the tumblers to unlock the lock thankfully wasn’t as loud as they anticipated; they finally exhaled in much relief. General Choi carefully and slowly swung open the rusty door to his own cell as the commander walked to another cell and set free the other shawols Leeteuk had falsely imprisoned who didn’t bend to his will and were awaiting their death sentences. Stepping a foot outside his cage Choi was finally free; he breathed deeply then smirked while he whispered “Let’s get those bastards.”  ……The general and commander returned to the sleeping quarters of the barracks and with the help of others they carried the heavily intoxicated sleeping men down the hall and placed them in the jail cells locking them in to be deal with later.

The SHINee army gathered back into the common area of the barracks. The Commander handed out strips of silky aqua cloth to every soldier. “Queen Taemin’s mother made these for us; wear them with pride.” After folding the headbands so the emblem of their majesties’ people was in the center of the fabric, they placed them around their foreheads tying them in a knot behind their heads. With the kingdom’s colors and the Shawol’s diamond proudly displayed on their person, they equipped themselves with their weapons, some men with bow and arrows the others with swords. General Choi gave orders of how to proceed: he assigned men to all the gates not just the main entrance and two men to assist Jinki’s maiden and his mother’s maiden to rescue the Physician later. There were other guards of Leeteuk’s on patrol around the palace grounds and at all the gates of the palace thus the others were ordered to stealthily remove the men of their lives and take their places….

…The military brief ended with a vow to the SHINee Kingdom; they balled their fists, a sign of resistance against the evils of Leeteuk, and raised them in the air whilst shouting softly with a SHINee spirit “SHINee fighting!”……..The sun still asleep for another hour or two, the men exited the barracks under the cloak of the black velvet sky…….

……………

About three months ago the crown prince and his betrothed married in the main courtyard for the large stone yard could hold a high occupancy of people for all to see the blessed honrye (wedding ceremony). Naturally Leeteuk wanted to have a lavish ceremony where they had theirs; he ordered a public coronation with such splendor and pomp to take place in the main courtyard in front of the throne hall just like they had done. He wanted to replace shawol’s memories of the happy wedding with the “happy” coronation. To make them end their suspicions he had to have an official ceremony; He needed the people to believe in him and accept him; the abundance of people had to witness his ascension to the throne to solidify his rule. If anyone accused him after he was officially crowned king he plans on killing them for treason.

The families had been spreading hope over the past 2 and half months along with searching for their sons that the heavens would restore rightful order soon. While the men were always out looking for the young men either alive or dead, the mothers would say to the loyal shawlos in their meetings: Heaven sent an angel once to fix the kingdom and heaven would not let them down in their time of need for they would send a rightful heir or perhaps even return the Crown Prince and his husband, if they kept the faith and believed in their heavenly history of their culture and not in the lies Leeteuk and his men had spread…. Ever since they had been kicked out, the three members of Jonghyun’s family gathered as many supports as possible from Taemin’s village, their own small town and a nearby village to the Lee’s. With teamwork Mrs. Choi and Kibum’s mother worked together in another village and the SHINee City gathering loyal shawols, While Mrs. Kim talked with those of a posh background like herself Mrs. Choi conversed with the lower classes while their husbands worked the guests inside the palace. So by the time Jinki’s maiden had given the parents the good news three days ago, everyone was prepared and more than ready to follow them…

The parents didn’t know they were animals only that they were alive and knowing their children were alive was overwhelming; not only were they excited for the restoration of the kingdom but they couldn’t wait to be reunited with their boys. They followed what Kings’ Jinki and Taemin instructed, they told no one they were alive and relayed his word only to come to the palace to witness heaven judge the devil, Leeteuk, during his coronation.  Even though the subjects were loyal and ready they didn’t have that much information to go on, but the parents adrenalized good mood rubbed off on the subjects that followed them for shawols were pumped up for a rebellion and had full faith all would be ok…..

While many subjects congregated in the SHINee City waiting for the gates to be open by General Choi’s men, a few nights before the coronation Magistrate Lee and his wife opened their village and their home to all the gathered supporters’ that had come from all over…. Before sunrise of the coronation while the SHINee army was starting the takeover, the shawols were lead by Queen’s Taemin’s parents, the 4 families of the missing men and all the loyal shawols outside of the city, began their journey to the Palace…….

…………..

The rising sun aroused the guests, residents, and servants from their slumber. Quickly the palace came alive as the hustle and bustle of everyone getting ready for the big day commenced…..

Before he ate breakfast servants filled Leeteuk’s bath with warm water as others undressed him. Bath filled to the brim, he lowered himself as maidens got straight to work cleaning and beautifying him for his special day.  Never paying full attention to his servants, the arrogant man never noticed their aqua daeng'gi  (ribbon at the end of their traditional braid) showing their allegiance to the late King and Queen’s reign.

……

While the vile man was being bathed the staff was putting finishing touches on the decorations; they laid out the red velvet carpet up the center of the main courtyard. Servants displayed floral wreaths in the courtyard from his real supporters and from others who did not support but feigned allegiance…..

……

Once his bath was over he stood up as a woman draped a cloth around him, once covered he stepped out and sat down. A servant began combing his long ebony hair as others scurried about preparing his clothes. They put on his white socks as the woman finished his hair. Afterwards he stood up and they dressed him in a new royal heavy hanbok in the new color of the kingdom: sapphire blue…………… Finished with clothing the tall man they bowed; he dismissed them but instead of remaining in a bow while walking backwards out of the room like protocol states when in a room with a royal, one young servant stood up and began walking out: showing her back to him, revealing her daeng'gi.   The fact she disrespectfully stood instantly caught his eye, Leeteuk raised his voice “Halt!” She froze as did the other women who were bowing and backing up towards the door. “How dare you show your back to me.” He stormed over to her and grabbed her braid and tugged it making her wince at the sharp discomfort as he pulled the tip to the side of her face so she could view it “What is this?”

She flinched “My...my hair my lord.”

“The ribbon? Why do you wear the color of the Lee line?  Where is your loyalty? It lays with the ones that heaven cursed?  Your faith should be in me, I’m saving this kingdom from their filthiness. Who are you? Where is the servant in charge of you? I think both of you should be punished for your outright insolence.” he glanced at the other servants then back to her. 

Nervous and now a bit sweaty she swallowed roughly, “I wear the color of the royal family because I was brought to the palace by my older sister, she is the one in charge of me; Unnie is Crown Prince Jinki’s personal maiden. I was supposed to be Prince Taemin’s after the wedding. I never got the chance to take care of him because..”

Not wanting to hear it, Leeteuk yelled cutting her off, he spewed out hatefully “Because he wasn’t worthy and heaven took care of him and Jinki! I forbid any of you from mentioning their names again!” He then smiled and calmed down and spoke softer but yet kept his grip tight on her hair “Advisor Kim Heechul has distributed the new rules amongst the servants hasn’t he?”

She meekly squeaked “yes.”

“So you are aware he has advised every one not to wear aqua anymore now that I am king.”

The young girl’s chin quivered as she stammered nervously and held back tears, although frightened she didn’t deny her loyalty by uttering “You..You are ..not king….” The other servants inhaled sharply and tilted their heads up to see the two; they held their breath and waited... There was a stressful silence as Leeteuk glared at her.

With a clenched jaw he sneered “I will be.”    Livid, he took a deep breath then condescendingly remarked “It’s not your fault; It’s your unnie’s. You are new here and she is too loyal to Jinki. She knows better, she will teach you when to bow and wear proper dress code. Better yet…” He paused and roughly let go of her hair. “I should have gotten rid of her from the start. Your unnie is a traitor and teaching you badly: brainwashing you. After I’m crowned king this afternoon I’ll jail her for her crimes of turning people against me and you’ll learn your lesson by becoming my personal maiden and living with the fact you had your sister imprisoned for life.”

“No! Please don’t!” She sobbed and dropped to her knees: begging at his feet.

He jerked his leg trying to throw her off “So pathetic.”He sighed “Get up! Or I will have her killed.”

The young woman wiped her tears while she stood up….He crowded into her, towering over the girl he slowly thumbed over her damp cheek and spoke sickeningly soft. “If you and your sister or anyone else wants to keep their lives they will wear and do what I say. This is the last time I’ll tolerate this blatant disrespect especially from a little servant girl. I will be king in a few short hours. You cross the king; you pay with your life. Is that understood?”

A tear slipped from her eye; her sister never told her about the two prince’s returning today, her unnie always told her to have faith though and she had heard the rumors heaven would save them; she had strong faith he’d never get crowned this afternoon thus she tried to be brave and said “I’ll wear sapphire when you are crowned king. If I don’t you may kill me. But until then I will wear royal aqua.”

“Don’t think I won’t. You should be happy you get to be my personal maiden from now on.” He then placed his cheek next to hers and cooed in the shell of her ear as he whispered “Because after I’m crowned you will show your allegiance to me by having the privilege of sharing my bed tonight. Now won’t that be fun?”

She pulled her face away from his “You are a disgrace to this kingdom.”

He laughed evilly “suit yourself, if you rather I take your life than your body, so be it.” He shrugged. “Either way I’ll still be king while you’ll be nothing. If you’re not in my personal chambers by nightfall I will send the guards to gather you and jail you and first thing in the morning you will be ridded of your life.”

She tried to be firm but failed for her voice quivered “So be it.” She turned away from him and began walking the rest of the way out of the room; He laughed and looked down at the other women who were still bowing formally and shouted at them. “Get out!” His voice startled them, causing them to jerk which made the devil laugh loudly. They quickly scurried out of the room before he did anything to them as well.

……………….

After waking up Heechul sat up and proceeded to wrap a robe around his body. Thankfully for the Queen’s physician he didn’t try forcing her to do anything ual this morning. She sighed quietly to herself as he ignored her and got out of bed without touching her for a change. Kim Heechul was extremely excited to be officially titled “King’s advisor” in a few short hours; with a smirk he left the room without a word.  Shortly after the door slid open, fearing the worst she rolled over pretending to sleep, not that that has stopped him before but it was all she could do to fight against him at this point…… “Unnie” she heard a soft whisper. “Unnie, doctor-nim?” The physician sat up slowly,  pulling her knees up to her chest along with the sheets to cover her bare bosom, she turned to look over her shoulder at the door; she panicked once she saw Jinki’s maiden and the Queen’s maiden creeping inside “You must go, if Heechul sees you..he’ll…...go.”

“We aren’t leaving you Unnie. The Crown Prince and Prince Taemin have returned; they have sent us to rescue you.” 

The doctor wiped a tear that suddenly fell “Our princes are home?” She sniffled “Are they ok? Do they need me to tend to them? Have they hurt our princes and their friends?”

The queen’s maiden held back tears of her own. “So kind, you worry about the boys. They are fine; Let us take care of you.” Jinki’s maiden hugged her and added. “It’s going to be alright now. We have two SHINee guards just outside keeping watch if he comes back.”

  “I..I have no clothes.” She bawled.

“We’ll find you some.” Jinki’s maiden stood up and quickly went around the room to find a robe in the wardrobe or the chest. After finding something she could wear they helped her get clothed. Meanwhile Heechul had finished breakfast and was on his way to get bathed. The women snuck her out of Heechul’s chambers and to the maidens chambers, a safe building where he wouldn’t be able to find her if he were to come back to the bedroom before the coronation.  “We’ll get you washed up ok?” The queen’s maiden said softly. As they undressed her they saw a few bruises. The doctor tried to cover herself but it was too late, they had seen. “He’ll pay for this.” Jinki’s maid promised.  The doctor mumbled nervously “This is embarrassing.” “It’s not your fault, nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about. He should be for what he has done.”

“I know” The doctor breathed softly then sighed “I’m not ready to talk about it. I’ll let you know if and when I am. Until then tell me about the princes. What have I missed?”

The two maidens informed her “You know what else he and Leeteuk did? You know why there was blood on the floor in the crown prince building? He didn’t have dogs attack the princes; He turned the five of them into animals. Jonghyun is a dog and he bit Heechul and Leeteuk on the legs. Kibum too, he is a fox. A man named Shindong made the poisons.”

The doctor knew that name well; the royal physician’s eyes widened in disbelief “What? animals?” she couldn’t believe her ears as they told her the crown prince arrived earlier in the week and what they plan today as they helped wash her up and got her presentable.

........................

Two hours left before the gates would be opened; the massive crowd grew as they neared the SHINee City……

So many rumors and mixed emotions riding high as the SHINee World marched towards the palace..…were they going to a coronation of Leeteuk’s or was Prince Joon coming to save them and take the throne, what happened to the crown prince, his spouse, and his friends? Were the heavens truly cursing them due to Crown Prince Jinki’s wedding? Was there really going to be a rebellion? Can they force Lord Leeteuk to reveal if princes’ Jinki and Taemin were alive and if not where are their bodies? Would they be allowed to mourn the 5 young men? So many things were racing through shawols minds that early morning... The subjects had mourned the crown (and were still mourning) and were fed lies and rumors for nearly three months by men loyal to him and so much damage had already happened by the new man in charge. Some shawols had stayed loyal and suspicions of the lord from the start. There were other subjects that believed what he had told them for they trusted the royal Lord because to them, it would be unthinkable to betray one’s own family and especially when your family is the Crown and the Crown Prince. Some didn’t know what to believe this whole time and needed closure. But due to Magistrate Lee and his wife along with the others parents’ efforts, too many subjects began figuring out what the parents and palace staff and officials already knew: Leeteuk was a traitor. …The entire kingdom needed closure thus those that were invited and those who weren’t, those that were grouped with the Lee’s, both sets of Kim’s and Mrs. Choi, and shawols from all stations in life, they all travelled to the palace for answers and more than likely they’d give Leeteuk a revolt if they didn’t get it: enough was enough! They continued their march towards the gates with anticipation and determination as time drew closer…..

Suspense was building as well upon the five animals hidden away in the Crown Prince’s Quarters.  Chief Choi, not only because he was a SHINee Guard but also he was the smallest and wouldn’t be seen, he peeked out the window’s crack to see and relay to their highnesses of everything going on in the yards. “I obviously can’t see the main courtyard but I can see everyone starting to leave their buildings. I’d say we have about an hour before the ceremony starts for they seem to be gathering and taking their places now.”

With a small dignified nod towards their devoted solider the kings chimed in unison “Thank you” then glanced at each other with a soft smile and a tender squeeze to the other’s paw.

The royal couple chatted professionally with their Advisor, Kibum, of how to proceed and what to expect once they are crowned and listened to the fox’s intelligent advice. Far from the shy young boy he used to be Queen Taemin was very calm and graceful and even though he was currently an adorable kitten he still managed to exude the manly bravery of a King just exactly like his husband always has as they chatted quietly. Taemin’s calm angelic nature soothed King Jinki and kept him focused on what they were discussing. The younger man truly was made just for him; Jinki always wanted to be king with Taemin ruling equally by his side, he never wanted it any other way; before they knew about the prophecy Jinki had always had faith in him that Taemin would excel at it and the proof, the validation of his belief in Taemin since they were teenagers, was clear and being shown by the younger king for Taemin’s demeanor was simply flawless. Witnessing Taemin’s perfection at being a King, his king, made Jinki fall in love with him all over again. The tokki’s heart thumped loudly in his chest; the pure love made him feel confident and the anticipation he had for the event in an hour rose more rapidly within him. Taemin’s heart being linked to Jinki’s, he felt the elders emotions and the adrenaline rushing through him; the younger glanced over to him once Kibum paused to ask Prince Joon, whom was conversing with Jonghyun, to carry the bunny and the cat to the courtyard when it was time, Taemin smiled proudly and discreetly at his husband “Love you” they mouthed voicelessly. Jinki wasn’t worried or stressed out anymore but for added reassurance his loving caring Queen murmured, empowering Jinki further like a good spouse, “Leeteuk will never sit in your father’s seat, yeobo” before Kibum returned his attention to the couple. Jinki then nodded and added quietly “Soon we’ll be the crown, jagiya.” The kitten purred “Together” The bunny’s nose wiggled proudly as he sighed excitedly to right the wrongs of Leeteuk and begin their reign together.

……………….….

Repaying Leeteuk for giving him the title of Royal Physician, Shindong thought Leeteuk would want poisons to use on future prisoners once he was King and to use on the enemies he may have acquired along his long road to the Throne over the years, especially over the past few months. Shindong opted not to go to the coronation today, keeping a low profile while it took place he was in the Royal Physician building working on the new poisonous concoctions….It was almost time for the people to gather in the courtyard for the ceremony to take place in about an hour and Shindong was already busy working away on his viles of evil toxins and hadn’t noticed a SHINee solider quietly opening the doors behind him to the laboratory. The Queen’s Physician‘s aids had naturally became Shandong’s once he came to work and live at the palace: taking her place. They never knew what he was making, they just did what they were told, afraid to disobey the man who was clearly in Leeteuk’s favor… One of the helpers saw the guard and said nothing, he just froze. The guard placed a finger to his lips signaling to the helper to not say a word to the “healer” The man nodded then gathered the other two workers attention in the room calmly without alerting Shindong to the royal guard’s presences and motioned to them to look at the door. They looked over, saw the solider and immediately stopped what they were doing and walked out quietly through a side door, leaving the guard alone with the portly man whom was working diligently for the devil. The guard opened the door wider for he had another solider with him and that man crept up next to him. Then with a nod they both started stealthily walking up behind Shindong…. He was concentrating on pouring a liquid substance into a small glass bottle when next thing Shindong saw was the inside of a black velvet bag that crashed down over his head, he felt his arms being tied behind his back as he struggled to get away in vein. The three men who were forced to help Shindong that were hiding in the side room could hear his muffled screams and his feet drag against the floor as the two military men took him away.  When it went silent they grinned happily and decided to go to the coronation as well: they walked out of the lab and out in to a stream of people filtering out of other buildings and into the courtyard….

………..

The crowd of marching citizens from across the land had finally reached the boundaries of the SHINee City only a matter of minutes before they reached the Gates…

General Choi walked up to the gates where his men had been guarding since before sunlight. “An hour until the ceremony begins. It’s time to open the doors and let the SHINee World in.”

The men pulled on the massive wooden doors and were greeted by the city folk protesting the many things since the King and Queen’s death.  Some shawols were demanding not to crown Leeteuk and begging for Prince Joon to come to the palace and do something. Others shouting “What did Leeteuk do to our Crown Prince and prince Taemin?” “Did he kill the King and Queen?” People began shoving and pushing while complaining and demanding to know what had become of the five missing young men. “How dare the royal soldiers take advantage of our women while patrolling the streets?” An older man was waving his fist madly and added how Leeteuk’s guards don’t pay for their soju at his little restaurant. There was a long list of complaints flying at the guards.  Everyone was talking and shouting over one another. While some yelled at the guards others each other, debating heatedly, shouting back and forth of the many possibilities and speculations of what has happened for the past 3 months.

General Choi raised his hands in the air slowly and the boisterous mob began lowering their voices and at the same time Magistrate Lee, his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Kim and their daughter, and Kibum’s mother, and General Choi’s wife arrived with all the traveling followers.   “All your answers will be answered, the problems will be fixed. We will get our answers one way or another today; Leeteuk will not turn us a way any longer.” The city subjects turned to see a well dressed wealthy man addressing them all making his way through the crowd. “The crown prince has gone missing, His spouse, and their three companions. Trust me we all want answer as well for my son is Prince Taemin.” He answered the unspoken question for those that hadn’t seen him before and didn’t know who he was. Gasping and whispering the shawols blocking the gates parted, making a path letting Prince Taemin’s parents and the other parents of the missing come forth with ease. Magistrate Lee greeted General Choi with a nod of his head as he neared the gate; Choi bowed then with a very quick wink he acknowledged his wife. They knew they could not pull this off if they let an angry mob into the ceremony if they were to take the devil by surprise.  Magistrate Lee had to make sure they’d act normal and not tip the traitors off. He smiled calmly “Nothing is settled with yelling. These soldiers here you’ve been screaming at aren’t Leeteuk’s guards but the Royal Lee’s of the SHINee dynasty. This is General Choi, his son is Chief Choi Minho one of the men whom have mysteriously, and suspiciously disappeared in the middle of the night when the Crown passed away nearly three months ago. I’ve come with the parents of the other missing men. So as you can see we want to get inside more than anyone; we want answers, justice and the crown to be on the heads of those that are truly worthy of heaven and our SHINee Kingdom.” He gestured to wife and the others then returned his attention to the General “The heavens must be on our side already if General Choi and his army are back.”  He smiled softly. “But to make Leeteuk see his wrongs we must keep the peace and not stoop to his level. No shouting for after all this is a place built by a King and an Angel, a heavenly place that deserves respect and decorum no matter what has happened thus we must remain calm and watch the ceremony; our answers will be received then. I guarantee the crown will sit on the head of rightful heirs once it is all over.” The crowd that came with the families and the crowd of city people looked at one another and slowly blended together as they closed the path behind the parents; as Taemin’s father spoke. The city shawols noticed a majority of the other group where wearing aqua, some even holding flags of the kingdoms color; they were clearly supporters of the crown prince and his parents like they were.

An older male citizen remarked at the crown prince’s father in law “We will watch the coronation and the officials will make him give us answers during the ceremony?”

General Choi and Magistrate Lee replied firmly. “Yes”

“And if we don’t get answers? If that man gets crowned King and sits on the throne.. Lord Leeteuk will have a rebellion on his hands.” Even though they claimed to be the fathers of the missing, the state of the kingdom made him untrustworthy after all Leeteuk and his army had done; the older man looked back and forth between Choi and Lee to see if they’d do anything about his threat to revolt, but the two fathers did nothing not even the SHINee Army.

Without hesitation Taemin’s father replied “And I will gladly join the honorable fight” Magistrate Lee nodded. “Every one of us wearing aqua is prepared to fight in an uprising. If heaven does not intervene it means they want us to take back our Kingdom ourselves thus we have been ready for months if the challenge is presented to us by the Angels that guard our kingdom.” They gained his trust to believe heaven would sort it out during the ceremony and accepted their deal to retaliate against Leeteuk if need be; he would too follow their lead. The crowds took a moment to murmur to each other…Some city shawols knew of Mr. and Mrs. Lee’s group of supporters and informed the others of how they searched for the men everyday amongst other helpful information…. soon it went silent again, united by loyalty, faith and their common cause the older man asked “May I have a strip of aqua?” Mrs. Lee smiled softly and handed him one. He tied it around his arm and bowed. “Thank you Prince Taemin’s mother”; Magistrate Lee bowed to General Choi. “May we enter?”

General Choi declared proudly “This kingdom has nothing to hide any more, all may enter.”  While the guards manned the doors General Choi escorted the parents and Jonghyun’s sister inside…..

………………..

In the main courtyard Advisor Lee Sooman was mingling with the other officials when a young woman passed him. She flicked her fan open, it was pearlescent aqua with a diamond embroidered into the fabric waving in front of her soft smile; seeing a fellow supporter he smiled and nodded towards her. With a slight bow she greeted him. It took him a minute to realize it was Jonghyun’s sister. With tears in her voice she whispered to him as she fanned her face “Is my brother ok? I must know.” Just then the mothers walked up to him as well, the females were all dressed the same. White skirt with their hanbok top the color aqua, on the hems of their pearlescent sleeves, circling their wrists, were five thin strips of color for each missing man; and emerald strip, naturally symbolizing the crown prince and yellow for the spouse of a crown prince, pink for Kibum which was the color of intelligence, Minho represented by blue for devotion and red for her brother’s love of the performing arts. “Ladies, all I can say is they are fine…or will be fine that is. So to save you from shock when you see your sons, and brother, I must warn you. They look different but I reassure you the royal angels are on our side and all will be ok. Please blend into the crowd I wouldn’t want Leeteuk to see you. He still has two loyal guards around. I’m not sure if they are with him at the moment for he is still getting ready they could be spying and lurking around..”He glanced around nervously “If they see you. I….please… for your safety until the crown prince has returned.”

Taemin’s mother’s eyes began to water “Different? What has he done to my baby?”

Kibum’s mother nodded to him and said softly “We understand.” She hooked her arm through Taemin’s mothers arm. “Come Taeyeon, let’s go. He is right we mustn’t get caught just yet.” Jonghyun's mother hugged her daughter and smiled weakly “We’ve waited this long. We can wait an hour.” Mrs. Choi guided them back into the crowd and found a spot for them to view the ceremony. Taemin’s mother shook her head “No, we must be upfront. I want that bastard to see me. He should see us. Look us in the eyes when he tries to deny what he has done to our Queen and her family and our boys.” The woman looked at each other and it was decided, they agreed with a firm nod and proudly walked to the front of the red carpet and faced the throne on display on the top of the throne hall steps outside in the courtyard. They saw General Choi standing discreetly on the sidelines; Scholar Kim was nearby with other officials and Jonghyun’s father was mingling with the crowd seeing what he could find out, Jonghyun’s sister joined him.

Sooman’s heart rate increased as his eyes left the ladies and roamed the much bigger crowd and noticed so many subjects of all stations of life were wearing the royal color somewhere on their person. Some with just a small patch sewn into their clothing or an item, or a belt, a hair ribbon or a fan while others had more obviously made their statement of loyalty with a top or bottom half of clothing being full aqua and some bold enough to hold a peal aqua flag. With a happy smirk he knew King Jinki and Taemin would be happy; Sooman more than ready for the event to start anxiously made his way to Mr. Kim and his daughter….

……..

Half an hour before the ceremony was to start. The commander asked General Choi if he should close the gates: one, the ceremony was about to begin and two the grounds couldn’t hold another soul. General Choi answered “The gates are to remain open until the ceremony is finished. Every SHAWOL is worthy to witness this day……”

Loyal or not or undecided, rumors and truth and speculations had spread quickly amongst the classes; Mr. Kim, his daughter and The late King’s advisors helped persuade them and or give them hope as they waited  for the ceremony to commence but they weren’t the only ones talking: everyone was as the moment intensified with anxious anticipation every passing minute....The official guests and those the SHINee army had let in had merged together in the massive open area in front of the throne hall; the grand courtyard was jammed packed with shawols eagerly waiting to see what was going to happen. Some couldn’t get in the gates for the crowd was too huge and blocking the opening; the sea of people was overflowing back out the open gates and into the city road. While some stood on tip-toes to see over the crowd, Shawols began climbing up the wall to sit atop it, the army allowed it and didn’t stop them matter of fact the Commander even gave them a ladder to scale the tall surrounding palace gate wall so they wouldn’t hurt themselves and topple down as they had made a human chain to get on top of the wall… In the courtyard palace staff even gathered and filtered into the crowd of subjects…..

Every seemed to have, not only a complaint, but a story to tell…The maidens that serviced Leeteuk and Heechul in the morning left the two men to talk privately and snuck into the courtyard as well. The women explained to other staff what had happened to the young girl who wore aqua in her hair earlier in the morning. Officials and upper class members of the kingdom overheard them conversing and spread the word to others. Entertainers that worked with Jonghyun’s family wanted them to be remembered as well, thus while everyone gossiped about the last few months they told stories in remembrance of the Kim’s and how the Royal Lee’s were always so kind not just to the Kim’s but to them as well and how Leeteuk always degrades all the performers and palace servants. As they waited the cooks whom Prince Jinki had helped when he was just a young boy told stories of the young prince and his family to people who’d listen and remember his kindness. Jinki’s maiden arrived with the Queen’s maiden and the Royal Physician. People had wondered where she had gone for the past three months. She and the two maidens conversed with others about the horrible things Leeteuk has done since the Crown had passed away and how he turned the palace upside down. The Royal Lee’s never would have done the things he had. The doctor told a group of people of what she and General Choi accused him of; they nodded and agreed with her conclusions and gasped in shock once she told them he had locked her away in the chambers of Heechul’s sleeping quarters. People were shocked by Heechul and Leeteuk’s behavior for they never knew.

Suddenly the crowd went silent when they heard an official professionally proclaim loudly that the ceremony was beginning. Everyone turned in the direction of the throne displayed prominently at the top of the steps of the Throne Hall Building…..

Not a sound was heard safe for the sapphire blue flags waving in the slight breeze behind them above the main gates; the doctor and the two maidens made their way towards the front of the crowd next to the line of mothers and Magistrate Lee; Jonghyun’s sister and father joined them seconds later. As they politely pushed their way to the front Taeyeon smiled and gave a small nod to her friends then looked down at the Queen’s maiden’s hands once she stood next to her. In her hands she held something that was covered with a yellow silk fabric. Curious Taemin’s mother arched her eyebrow and inquired softly from behind her peal aqua fan “What’s that?” “Its proof your son was meant to be King, mother-nim.” There was no time for more questions and they’d all be delivered soon anyways; anxiously awaiting for her son’s return Taeyeon smiled and took a deep breath and looked straight ahead and whispered “Here we go.”  All eyes were upon the newly appointed Advisor to the King, Kim Heechul, as he walked out elegantly into sight…….