The noise of the hall took Luhan off guard. When Luhan had first been introduced to the court there had been an air of stillness when he had walked in. All had fallen silent as he and his father had stepped into the king’s hall. All eyes at that moment had been on him and Luhan had knew at that moment that the court was no joke. It was a place for the nobility, the polite, the civilized society. It had made it daunting. But now, this court seemed to be the complete opposite. Noisy, chattering, none of the men seemed to pay attention as Luhan entered, all of them seemed to be around his age, and all of them seemed to be interested in their own thing. Perhaps, this made it even more daunting, after all, there was an aura of contempt that surrounded them. There was no graveness in their demeanor, Luhan wasn’t even spared a glance, the door wasn’t even spared a glance when it was opened. He, in their eyes, was nothing and the thought of walking up to them and introducing himself was even more daunting now. In the midst, sat a man, no, a boy on the throne. A boy, definitely King Sehun, who had grown to sit quite well on the throne, his lanky body draped over it, the royal robe of the king and the crown studded with jewels sitting quite perfectly on his head. He looked pristine, perfect, and oh so handsome. And yet while he spoke with joy and his eyes sparkled there was a jerky way that he seemed to move as if he was quite unsure what he was doing. He was graceful, yes, but it was the kind of grace that would be interrupted with a sudden jerk, as if he was a puppet on strings. And Luhan couldn’t help but notice the figure who seemed to be lurking in the back, who would sometimes whisper words in the king’s ear, causing him to either laugh or nod with a hollow motion before returning back to his own conversation. And now Luhan could feel, he could feel how the air was super-charged with tension. No one here was quiet as jolly as they seemed to be. Taking a step forward, the boy hesitated for a moment as none of the couriers seemed to turn, causing him to take step after step before he knelt in front of the king, a couple feet away, not even saying a word. They took no notice of him. They took no notice of him until there was another entrance into the room, Yifan.

“May I introduce the last nobleman to pledge service to you.” His voice boomed throughout the hall and finally, the couriers fell silent. “Lu Han, Duke of SaoJing.” For a moment Luhan didn’t even lift his head, maintaining his position of politeness for if he did, who knows what Sehun might do if he did. But after a couple seconds, the young duke couldn’t help but raise his head, almost curious to see what his former lover’s reaction was. And Luhan couldn’t help but feel an almost satisfied glow at how pale Sehun seemed to have gone, how he seemed to be frozen still. There was blank shock in his eyes as he stared at Luhan, and the duke would have smiled, had he not known where he was. Perhaps the Sehun that Sehun had become was not as unshakable as everyone said he was. All in the hall, it was silent before someone seemed to comment, playfully.

“Luhan huh—what a unique name.”

There, that was where the comment had come from. A boy, skin darker than the rest yet still holding the easy-going smile of the court. He seemed strong, fit, and with ease he stood up with grace, loping over to examine Luhan with ease before he stuck out a hand, lips curling into a playful grin, one that would have shaken and wooed any man or woman had they not been ready. Luckily, Luhan had been.

“Yes, I’m not exactly from around here.” Luhan responded, accepting the hand as he rose to his feet, lips curling into a smile as his gaze slid from the still shaken king over to this other male’s face. “My home is actually very far away, but I spent lots of time at the court which is why my accent is unnoticeable.”

“Curious, curious.” The male said before he grinned playfully, tapping his chin “You’re an interesting one, Luhan, said you grew up in the court? Where have you been then?”

“Went home around six years ago, I came back to serve our…good king.” The words were hard even for Luhan to speak but he spoke them flawlessly, a smile on his face as his eyes flickered to Sehun, a mirror of devotion which was—still true as sad as that was to think. Even in six years, even though Sehun had changed, Luhan had never been able to forget what they had. And he’d written letters, expressing his love, begging for Sehun to forgive him but there had never been a reply. Only a couple years ago had Luhan finally began to open his eyes and see the kingdom for what it was and the king for who he was and he had been devastated when he finally understood.

“I see.” The male continued as if he hadn’t even noticed Luhan’s hesitation as he smiled lightly “Well, join the club. I’m Jongin, Kim Jongin, a well, baron though that’s technically my father’s title. Let me introduce you the rest of the court present other than our good king who I’m sure you already know.” In moments, Jongin had rattled off so many names and titles that it made his head spin, Byun Baekyun and Park Chanyeol, Im Yoona, Kim Taehyung, Kang Seulgi, Park Bom, Yoon Bomi, the names floated by so quickly Luhan barely had a chance to register. Somewhere in the midst of names, Luhan’s eyes had drifted back to Sehun, who still sat there, stock still. A woman next to him, practically draped over there who Jongin had yet to name seemed to lean over, whispering in his ear, shaking him lightly. But she was way too close, way too touchy with him, a mistress perhaps? Perhaps the one he had been with last night when Luhan had passed his rooms. It sent a shiver of disgust down the boy’s spine. “And finally,” Jongin finally presented with a smile “Our foreign financial minister, claimed to be the best from Europe, Lord Damian of York.” The man in the shadows seemed to step forward for a moment, giving Luhan a nod of acknowledgement before he receded again, a sly smile seeming to, for a moment, flicker over his face. For a moment his eyes seemed to capture Luhan’s, holding Luhan’s eyes as the lord seemed to search Luhan’s soul, searching for any weakness. It sent shivers down Luhan’s spine.

“Lu Han is it?”

Sehun had finally woken from his stupor, successfully breaking the spell as Luhan again fell to his knees, bowing though his eyes flickered up to the boy on the throne who seemed to regain some of his color. For a moment his face was blank, then he smiled, eyes hard as he added. “Are you sure you’re in the right place? Perhaps, were you meant to be a lady in waiting? You do not seem like a man at all.” He laughed and the others in the court laughed along with him. Luhan could feel himself coloring though to his surprise, Jongin merely frowned, gazing at Sehun. Perhaps it hurt even more because Luhan remembered a time when Sehun had called him beautiful, when Sehun had called him an angel. And now he was, throwing around insults about Luhan like stones into a river. But Luhan could not afford to show any weakness in front of the king, so he merely looked up, gathering himself as he replied with a smooth

“I am indeed a man, good sir, though perhaps my face shows otherwise. You must know however, your majesty that in a country like this filled with ruffians, it is good to have a misleading face. After all, under my pretty face, I am just as strong and fit as you my king.” Silence. It was a subtle barb and Sehun seemed to recoil for a moment before smirking,

“Well that pretty face of yours must get you many suitors do they not? Men and women alike. How many have you, pray tell, taken to bed?” For a moment all Luhan could feel was anger. How dare the king accuse him of that? In all these years he had remained faithful to the one he loved, but could the one he loved say the same? Was the woman by his side not proof of that?

“Only as many as you have, my king, or—so I have heard.” That was enough to anger the king, the young duke could barely keep the smug smile off his face as he watched the other grip the throne with all his might, eyes lighting in anger. He could practically feel the tension broiling off of Sehun and the tension in the room seemed to increase immensely with each second of the silence between them.

“You dare—“ Sehun started but Damian seemed to step forward, murmuring something in his ear. Fascinatingly enough, the king seemed to pause for a moment and then in a moment calm down, hands unclenching as he relaxed, the tension in the air dissipating. Curious, how curious, that one man could have such an effect on a king who was supposed to be able to do whatever he wanted. “Well Duke Luhan.” Sehun continued, almost as if he hadn’t heard the barb, almost as if his anger had been an illusion “Since you claim to be as much of a man as me, why don’t you and I along with the rest of the company go hunting.” There was a sinister edge to the smile on his face, but refusing would be backing down, and Luhan refused to back down when it came to Sehun.

“I accept of course.” Luhan answered just as smoothly, a fake smile on his face as he rose “The king gladdens me with his gracious presence.” Waving off the other’s words, Sehun merely stood, the rest of the court rising as he instructed almost as if he needed no help as all

“Men will hunt with me, women will retire to the queen mother. Do whatever you wish, now,” he spoke, voice ringing through the room and for a moment Luhan thought he saw a true king “Let us hunt, I’ve been craving one all day.”

AN: Wooo, the first meeting! Hope you enjoyed it. Plus an intro to some other characters, I hope that was satisfying for all of you. Yep, Sehun is--well yep. I dunno what to say, he's just not--he's a king, not a good one but a king. Luhan's no pansy though, I'd say they're on pretty even ground. Happy reading! c: