"You're crazy!" Kyuhyun screeched, glaring fiercely at everyone in the drawing room. After dropping that bomb on him, Leeteuk led him back to his house where the leaders of Ileun were all gathered. Henry was there too, waiting patiently at a little table and nibbling on small tea cookies that Saeun had brought out for him.

Taeyeon sighed and waved over a teapot, bending her finger for the pot to pour right into her cup. "I hope you're referring to the Lord Kim, Your Majesty." Heechul squawked indignantly, but with one icy glare had him sinking back in his seat, muttering curses under his breath.

"The plan really is quite sound, if you think it over a bit." Leeteuk reassured him. “Heechul has already arranged to go the capital and speak for his brother’s innocence, and he will need an entourage, so if you just conceal yourself-!”

“Over my dead body!” Kyuhyun spat. “It’s just an innocence discussion, no one needs that big of a party to go with them!”

“Not need, but want.” Jessica realized, leaning forward intently. “No one really needs a large group of people to travel with them, especially considering the distance between Ileun and the capital. The eccentric Lord Kim Heechul on the other hand...”

Kyuhyun frowned, but he could see her point. Heechul was known as the more flamboyant Kim brother, and it wouldn’t be odd for him to bring a more extravagant traveling party to the capital. It would be in character, and a way to show that even with his brother imprisoned, he was still a force to be reckoned with.

Leeteuk smiled when he saw Kyuhyun beginning to agree and relaxed a bit. “Another reason we’d like to have you leave with Lord Kim is exactly because of our close proximity to the capital city.”

The mage nodded at Hyoyeon and she unfurled a map across the table, Yuri and Sooyoung helping to hold the ends down. Leeteuk pointed to the place where Ileun was located. “We’re too close for comfort to the capital, and soldiers will undoubtedly come to patrol more often, considering the king consort’s affiliation with Ileun. This is why you-,” Leeteuk pointed to Kyuhyun. “-will be better off traveling with Heechul. They already know not to bother him, so you’ll be safe.”

Even if he didn’t want to admit it, Kyuhyun had to acknowledge that it was a good plan. “You mentioned a large traveling party; who would that be?”

"Well, the Lord Kim and you of course. Shindong, Sungmin, Eunhyuk, Donghae, and Siwon will be accompanying you as well." Leeteuk said. "I am also coming, for safety purposes."

Kyuhyun frowned. "Are you sure that's wise? Taeyeon is very powerful-" Taeyeon inclined her head, a small pleased smile forming on her face. "-but is it enough to keep Ileun safe?"

"Taeyeon will not be alone." Leeteuk reassured. "She will have many able-bodied men and women who are more than willing to help."

"And don't be worried about leaving the village behind with women to protect it." Tiffany declared. "Because you're not leaving us behind; we're sending you off while we do the dirty work." A chorus of agreement came from the women, and approving nods from the men.

“With your combined brains and power, breaking into the castle will be a walk in the park!” Sunny exclaimed. “We’ll be making sure that everything here will be running smoothly, you just focus on your task ahead of you.”

Kyuhyun smiled at the group. “I sincerely thank you for your willingness to help my cause.”

Heechul snorted, but warmth was definitely shining in his eyes. “We’re not doing this just for you, at least I’m not. My objective is to get my brother back, that’s my first priority.”

“However,” Taeyeon interjected. “In addition to retrieving the king consort, we are planning to reinstate you as king, which shouldn’t be a problem legally, as Jaewon has not been coronated, and they need the majority vote from the council and the mages, something I am positive will not happen.”

“The problem is how we’re going to get Jaewon to stand down without too much bloodshed.” Leeteuk finished. “We do have friends in the towns along the road who are willing to help, so that takes care of the manpower, but there’s no guarantee that Jaewon will be intimidated enough that he’ll surrender.”

Kyuhyun shook his head and stood up. “We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” With a flick of his wrist, Henry was right there by his side. “When do we leave?”

“Now!” The doors slammed open and Yunho ran in, Changmin right behind him, sword in hand and at the ready. “You have to leave now if you want to make it to the capital in time!”

"Yunho!" Heechul rushed forward to meet Yunho and grasped him by the shoulders. “Yunho, what’s wrong?”

Yunho gasped for air and gripped Heechul’s hand tightly. “I-I saw something - bandits - coming fast - mark of the Nams - you need to leave now!” Heechul gritted his teeth and glanced back at Leeteuk, who had already gotten to his feet.

“The Seer has spoken, we must leave!”

Sungmin’s eyes widened and he leaped out of his chair. “We’ll meet at my house in a few minutes, we have mounts for everyone!” Leeteuk nodded, and then Sungmin raced out of th