“You did not.”

“I did.”

“And now you’re walking to your death?”

Luhan sighed at Yixing’s words, the other’s challenging gaze. The other boy had burst into the room just a moment ago, eyes wide with panic as he blabbered something about Sehun accusing Luhan of aiding a traitor. It was true of course, but Luhan had to calm down Yixing before he admitted it so he was sure the other wouldn’t go well, do something brash while in such a state of mind.

“I’m not walking to my death.” Luhan replied, rolling his eyes at his friend’s words. “The deed is already done, how am I walking to my death?”

“Fine, but when you did the deed, you knew what it could lead to, you knew that treason meant death if you were found out, why did you do it?”

“Because he was an innocent man and didn’t deserve to die.”

“Was he really?” Yixing’s answer confounded Luhan for a moment and he found himself staring at his best friend, an expression of pure shock on his face before he gathered himself, narrowing his eyes as he stared at his best friend.

“Of course he was innocent. How would he not be innocent?”

“There were papers found against him. Solid evidence that he was a traitor.”

“You believe that as much as I do Yixing. We both know he was no traitor.”

Yixing merely shrugged, eyes worried as he murmured, meeting Luhan’s own eyes “Perhaps it wasn’t. But was it worth saving him? Are you sure he was a good man?”

“Are you suggesting that I should have left him to die?” Luhan bristled, lips pursed into a thin line as he crossed his arms.

“I wasn’t suggesting anything.” Yixing merely picked at his sleeves, a bad habit that he always did when he was nervous, avoiding Luhan’s eyes before he sighed, raising them to meet his friend’s eyes head on. “But was it worth throwing your life away for his?”

It was a hard question and Luhan couldn’t help but hesitate for a moment. How was he supposed to bring the kingdom back to fruition if he was dead? And Jongdae couldn’t take his place, the other was in exile. Perhaps Jongin would have been able to accomplish what Luhan would have but it would take much longer. Sehun and Luhan had a history and though their relationship was slightly fractured, Luhan would have a much easier time gaining Sehun’s trust again, even if he broke it. However, with Damian in the mix, Luhan’s position was much more compromised. A circus performer walking on a tightrope with no netting under him. And what little confidence he had in the king before he had come home to the court had been destroyed. But Luhan was good at heart, with all the corruption around him, he had a kind and pure heart, though he was not afraid to manipulate, but only if it lead to good outcomes.

“You know I will always do good if given the choice.” Luhan murmured softly, pulling a sigh from the other boy as he ran his fingers through his hair, looking down at the floor for a moment before he looked up at Luhan, a helpless smile on his face.

“You really are so pure Luhan.” Luhan shrugged, a soft chuckle on his lips. “I wish you the best anyways, maybe Sehun will let you go because of your well—history.”

“I can only hope I guess.” Luhan shrugged again though he noted the almost hopeless look in the other’s eyes. Was this goodbye? “Hey, don’t worry about it though, you know I’m good at weaseling out of situations like this.” Yixing merely laughed, eyes twinkling as he grinned.

“I guess that’s what I expect from the person who was such a troublemaker as a kid. Watch out for Damian though, he’s brutal. He won’t cut you any slack Luhan. You can only hope he’s in a good mood. Anyways, I need to get going, Yifan and I have some papers to sort though, good luck ge.”

“I’ll be fine, I promise.” But it seemed like an empty promise, even to Luhan’s ears.

--

The walk into the throne room was every bit as painful as Luhan thought it would be. It wasn’t even the looks from the other’s that brought him the most pain, the way everyone avoided his eyes, but the fact that his “trial” was done so casually. He was made to wait thirty minutes before the king would even see him and when he stepped in, the casualness of the whole situation was what caused his fingers to curl into fists. Sehun was dressed in casual clothing, looking bored out of his mind as if nothing instrumentally important was about to happen, Damian in a chair which looked like a mini throne only slightly set under Sehun’s. Perhaps they had gone through this many times, how many innocents had they killed? The fact that Sehun seemed so bored showed that perhaps there were more than Luhan could even fathom. The audacity of the court, the plain corruption made Luhan furious. And so, while in other situations Luhan may have bowed, the young duke stood stock still, back straight as he stared at the king, who, surprisingly, seemed to then straighten up, coughing slightly as he avoided Luhan’s eyes just slightly.  There was a moment of awkward silence before Damian, words just purring out murmured

“Ah, Lu Han, how kind of you to join us here. How do you enjoy the music?” Luhan had not even noticed the lute player, plucking a tune to the left of him, a haunting tune. The way the lute player’s fingers plucked the strings so quickly, so gracefully, was mesmerizing and Luhan could hardly tear his eyes away and focus back on the two kings. The shadow king and the puppet king. He had no response to offer the financial minister, merely staring at the other, meeting Damian’s gaze head on. A cough from Sehun brought Luhan’s attention back to him. He seemed to sit straighter now, and his eyes burned as his voice echoed through the halls.

“Lu Han, you have been accused of treason for aiding the traitor Kim Jongdae who, as of last night, has escaped the cell in which he was kept. Did you, or did you not aid Kim Jongdae in his escape?”

There was no hesitation in Luhan’s response. “I did.”

“Then—“ Sehun seemed to falter, “Then…” he fell silent, face betraying shock as he stared at the young duke in front of him. Meanwhile, the lute player continued to pluck at the strings, and the king could feel himself swaying to the hum of the tune, lulling him into an almost stupor as a sleepy feeling seemed to fall over the room. Damian seemed to shift, leaning in as his words were covered by the mesmerizing tune though Luhan could perhaps guess the words whispered in the young king’s ear. Sehun seemed to steel himself moments later, and Luhan could feel despair bleeding into his heart as the lute player’s tune reached a crescendo. “Then, as king of this kingdom, I pardon you Lu Han and leave you with a warning. You will not defy the kingdom again, and consider this as generosity from your good king.” The lute player’s fingers stumbled and a resounding snap of the string could be heard as the player looked at the king in disbelief, the same disbelief mirrored on the faces of the duke and the minister. Luhan recovered first however, dropping to his knees as he hid a smile, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the floor.

“Thank you for your generosity good king, I will not betray you again.”

“You better not Lu Han. I am watching you and next time, I may not be as generous.”

And finally, Luhan looked up, a glimmer of brightness in his eyes as he met the eyes of King Sehun, surprising the boy on the throne almost as much as the king had surprised the duke. “Again, I will not betray you once more my king.”

“Very well, you are dismissed.”

And for the first time that Luhan had returned to this court, he felt a glimmer of hope in his heart.

AN: Apologies for the slightly weird update schedule, I'm still not aquainted with the fact that I have time because it's summer and the fact that I'm like--crazy lazy when i have this kind of time. I'll be updating at least once a week of course, though i've been busy watching LCS for those of you who know what that is. Anyways, enjoy the chapter! c:

Have a picture of cutie Reignover as my sorry <3