"The Silver Hand will fall into the grasp of the dark, tainted and twisted until unrecognizable." - The Prophecies of Light

The door closed behind Jeonghan and Seungcheol took a deep breath to prepare himself. Thanks to everything that the immortal had told him, he had a pretty good grasp on what was happening and who some of the players were, but he needed to know what was going on with Youngsaeng.

He stood from his seat and moved first to pick up the fallen chair, wanting to give his older friend time to compose himself. Maybe that was a foolish thing to do, but Seungcheol hated seeing him in such a position. Placing the chair back in it's proper place, he smoothed the front of his shirt as he approached the Marcher Lord.

Youngsaeng still stood facing the fire, but his hands were no longer over his face. Instead, he stared blankly into the flames, exhaustion and remorse in every line of his face. He winced when he saw Seungcheol watching him, his eyes flickering toward the younger man.

The blond waited patiently, though there was a small voice inside of him that told him to not give Youngsaeng time to gather his thoughts. He just had to trust that he would be able to get him to tell the truth. 

Long moments passed before the young Lord spoke, his voice so soft that Seungcheol had to strain to hear it. "Surely there is someone that you would give the world away for."

"Maybe, at one point," Seungcheol agreed, thinking of his deceased mother. She had always been kind and compassionate, and tried her best to instill that in both of her boys. "This has to do with your mother, doesn't it? Where is she, Youngsaeng? What is going on?"

Silence once again, but just when Seungcheol opened his mouth to ask again, Youngsaeng spoke. "The worst part about all of this is being unsure of allegiances. I trust you. I do," he repeated, turning to look the other man in the eyes, "But I am not sure how loyal you are to your family."

For the second time that day, Seungcheol shook his head and said, "I am not like my father. I may be a Choi but he lost my loyalty years ago. I don't claim that name and I don't agree with his actions. Besides all that, you do know me, just as I know you. You're not the type to be going along so willingly with something you don't agree with. The Marches have always been loyal to Redien, yet always allied with the Reaches. So why have you now chosen one over the other?"

"Because I have no choice," was his response, soft but imperative. "Your father came to visit me almost as soon as I took the title here. He said that the time was coming soon that I would have to choose, and I, in a moment of utter stupidity, told him that of course I would side with Redien over him. Redien feeds and clothes us here in the Marches, we owe everything to them. I was so proud and naive and just..." he sighed then, running a hand through his thick black hair. "Just so stupid."

Seungcheol took a moment to think, merely watching as the Marcher Lord moved across the room to take his seat at the table once more. His father had come to visit Youngsaeng when he ascended the rule? So over three years ago. He had been planning this for at least that amount of time, though knowing his father's devious mind, he had likely been planning it even longer. Had he allowed Seungcheol to go to Redien and enter the Tower guard all because it would help him to reach his goal? Did he know that the murder of Dongwan would be pinned on him?

A horrible thought occured to him then. What if Dongwan had taken such an interest in him all those years ago because his father had asked him to? After the five years of companionship, had the ArchMage betrayed Seungcheol, all because he was allied with Lord Choi? Had he been the one to set Seungcheol up, to pay for a murder he hadn't committed?

Seungcheol felt as if he had been plunged into ice water, and only remembered to breathe when he realized that Youngsaeng was now watching him. He moved across the room, trying to push his thoughts back into the conversation, but it wasn't easy. "So then my father returned home, angry at you, and then he did something to force you into his alliance. Right?"

Youngsaeng nodded, his face twisting in frustration. "I was away in Redien earlier this summer, meeting with the High Mages. When I returned home, my mother and her entourage were gone. I questioned the guards and they said that Siwon came here to visit with her, and that she left with him, leaving word for me t