"Gathering the price into one place, while the Seals prepare themselves for the fall." - The Prophecies of Light

Seungcheol's horse was not happy about carrying another person, but to the blond man's shock, he obeyed his rider and didn't try to throw them. Seungcheol smiled at that, but he didn't dare to trust the horse too much as he sent him into a full run away from the Keep. Lady Youngae clung to his sides, her face pressed up against his back to keep away from the cold air. Seungcheol was half expecting pursuit, but by the sounds of battle that rose all around the Keep, he figured that his father's men were being hard pressed by the men from the Marches. 

He was headed for Moret, practically flying across the snow, when he spotted another rider coming toward him. The newcomer rode an unfamiliar black horse, but as they drew closer to one another, Seungcheol recognized the rider.

Surprise painted his face when he drew rein, pulling his snorting red horse around to come up side by side with Hyesung. "You're... how..." he floundered for a moment, then shook his head. "Never mind. Hyesung, where is the Well? And Jeonghan and Mingyu and the thief? There is open war at the Keep, and the Western Tower fell, and-"

"Slow down," Hyesung said, his eyes darting back to the older woman holding tightly to the back of Seungcheol's saddle. Then his eyes widened as he recognized her. "Lady Heo?" he asked in surprise.

"High Mage," she greeted, her teeth clenched tightly. "Are you heading to the Keep to help my son? Or are you here to help that snake Dongwan?"

Confusion flooded Hyesung's face, and he opened and shut his mouth several times in succession. Seungcheol was surprised, too, but not for the same reasons. He twisted in his saddle to look at the older Lady. "How do you know about Dongwan?" he asked, trying not to be suspicious of her but knowing that he couldn't trust anyone so easily.

She shook her head and gave him an unimpressed look. "Where do you think that he has been staying, Seungcheol? Think, fool. He's been meeting with your father several times a week since I arrived here, and a little more than a month ago he simply moved in. They've been working together all along! Are you really saying that you did not know?"

"No," Seungcheol said, right as Hyesung said, "What?" The blond man turned to the High Mage then, true sympathy on his face as he shook his head. 

"He played us all, Hyesung. Dongwan is the one pulling the damned strings. I returned to Redien and was framed for his murder. He set me up because I am a Seal, or at least I think that's the reason. Maybe it was just because of my father. But he's alive, and damn us both for that."

Hyesung shook his head slowly, his lips moving silently as if he were quoting something to himself. He probably was, come to think of it; spewing prophecy again. Seungcheol's red horse shifted, having grown tired of just standing; by his tensing muscles, the blond man could guess that the Sadovian was planning on wreaking havoc if he didn't set him to a task. "Come, we need to take Lady Youngae someplace safe. Moret, I guess."

Hyesung shook his head abruptly, seeming to come back to himself finally. "No, not Moret. The Western Tower has fallen and I finally realized that the demons are probably about to target Moret. We do need to go back and fetch the other two, though I do not know where Jeonghan is. Just... I am sorry, Lady Heo. You're going to have to stick with us for the time being."

The older woman let out a huff and grasped the cantle of the saddle once again. "I don't care where we go, as long as we get going," she snapped. A wry smile crossed Seungcheol's face at that; she was a Lady and in command, through and through. 

"Yes, ma'am," Hyesung told her, but Seungcheol could see right through the thin facade the Mage had put up. He was hurting, and the young lordling could understand why. It would have been better if Dongwan truly had died; it would have hurt less than this betrayal. And if Seungcheol was feeling the sting of it, he could hardly imagine what Hyesung was feeling.

They made haste