Ten wakes up on his bed, the rays of the morning sun peeking through the silk curtains of his bed chamber. The light is blinding and he could barely open his eyes. His head feels like a ton of lead, and before he could fully sit up and awaken his senses, he chooses to faceplant straight into his pillow instead. He regrets it seconds later when he feels a large lump on his head swelling underneath a heavy bandage.

“Good morning, Your Royal Highness,” it’s that familiar voice that jolts Ten awake as he makes a grab for his satin sheets, pulling them over his chest (he is wearing his sleepwear robe, though).

Ten immediately sees the silver-haired mun nai sitting calmly next to the high wooden doors of his bed chamber. “What are you doing here?” Ten croaks and he can feel his head throbbing in pain again. He groans as a sign of complaint.

“You’ve been knocked out for almost three days now. Here,” Taeyong stands up and pours a steaming brown liquid from a teapot into Ten’s favourite ceramic cup. “Drink this.”

Ten almost gags at the awful smell coming from the cup. “What the hell is this??”

“Just drink it,” Taeyong says. “It will make you feel better.”

Ten has no energy to argue, so he takes one huge gulp from the cup and sticks out his tongue in utter revulsion. “This drink will kill me.”

The mun nai takes the cup from Ten’s hands before the Crown Prince sinks back into the soft duvet of his bed. Taeyong takes a couple of steps back, hands neatly poised on his back as he stares at the Thai Prince.

“Wait!” Ten exclaims, sitting up on his bed. “What happened the other night? Where is everyone?? Father, the King… Johnny! Yuta!”

Taeyong holds Ten by the shoulders in an effort to calm him down. “They’re fine,” he says calmly, his eyes still dark and bleeding with such intensity, Ten isn’t sure if he could trust him. “No one got hurt. At least no one else… but you.”

“B-but,” Ten starts, his voice shaking, “I heard the explosion, and the  fighting, and,” he pauses. He can feel his heart racing again.

Taeyong’s eyebrows are knit together, his lips curved into a small frown. Ten would like to think he’s worried about him, but how could a complete stranger be worried for someone he’s barely met?

“What about the others?” Ten finds his tongue, his hands are gripping the sheets tightly, creases forming in the silk. “The guests… the phrais… everyone! I want to see them. I want to know they’re alive.”

And it happens. That familiar feeling of getting trapped in a dark, hollow tunnel. It has happened before, but it is still as ruthless and Ten still feels like a step closer to death each time it attacks. Ten closes his eyes and digs his fingers in his hair, his head opening to a searing swell of pain. His chest begins to pound madly, constricting the air passages in his lungs. He breathes, rapidly and in short, shallow patterns. Ten feels like drowning and he can’t even bear to open his eyes. His entire system is seething in unknown pain.

Taeyong’s hands are still on Ten’s shoulders, bracing him still on his bed. “What’s wrong??” Ten can hear the alarm in Taeyong’s voice, despite the heaviness that is pulling him away from consciousness.

“Ten!” Yuta’s voice rings in Ten’s ears, the sound of fright palpable as he barges in from the doors. The Crown Prince’s hands find Ten’s wrapped up in the sheets, and he holds them tight. “Ten! Calm down. I’m here.”

Ten slowly opens his eyes, enough to see Taeyong taking a few steps back to allow Yuta to sit on his bed. The pain is still swirling in his head and he just wants it all to stop. “It’s happening again, Yuta,” he mumbles, fingers still pulling on his hair in an attempt to end the hurt.

Yuta takes Ten in his arms, cradling him like a baby. “Breathe slowly. It’s alright. Everything’s fine,” he shushes the Thai Prince. Taeyong is just standing there, his eyes downcast as he worries his lips between his teeth.

Ten coughs before carefully leaning back on his bed. He hates having these attacks. It started the night after he lost his mother, and it has haunted him infrequently since then. “Thank you,” he whispers. “What happened, Yuta? Taeyong said I’ve been out for three days.”

Yuta raises an eyebrow in question, and turns his head to stare at the mun nai before looking back at Ten.

Oh, right. Ten forgot he’s yet to introduce his best friend to his personal guard. This should be interesting, he muses, feeling the pain in his head gradually melt away. Ten waves a hand at Taeyong before speaking, “This is Lord Taeyong, he is one of our most able mun nais in the army. He is now my personal guard.”

Yuta laughs and Ten is not the least bit surprised with his reaction. “Well then,” Yuta says, nodding at the mun nai as Taeyong takes a long steady bow in front of the Chrysanthemum Throne Prince. “Nice to meet you, Lord Taeyong. You’ve got quite the job here.” By job, they all know Yuta was referring to Ten.

Ten rolls his eyes with a grunt. “Can we get on with the updates, please?”

Yuta’s smile highlights the beautiful lines in his eyes. “Right,” he starts. “Well, it looks like Emperor Jung announced the renewed alliance between Siam and the South, and some people in their lands were a bit unhappy about it.”

Ten’s eyes are fully awake now, his hands clasped on his lap as he listens intently. “Unhappy?” he repeats.

Yuta nods. “When an emperor accepts aid from another army, especially one that is not their own, it reflects a sign of weakness. There was a minor mutiny formed in the lower branches of the South Korean army, and they attacked the party three days ago. They were disguised as nobles.”

Ten’s knuckles are turning white from the tightness of his clasp. “I see, but how were they able to get past the tight security? Were all the rebels caught?”

The Japanese Prince nods again. “Sadly, no one knows how. One rebel was killed in the process. No guest was hurt. I guess the target was you and the King. Your father is currently in a meeting with the highest mun nais of your army.”

Ten does not look unfazed at all. “But the explosion—“

“It was minor,” Yuta cuts in before Ten could start worrying again. “Lord Punyaa and Lord Somchai were able to shield your father, they all came out unscathed.”

Ten sighs, relief washing over him. “Well I guess it’s true then. I was the only one who got hit pretty bad. I bet everyone’s probably laughing at me now.” Ten looks down at his hands, his fingers fidgeting in silent shame.

Yuta puts a hand on Ten’s shoulder. “One of the rebels really went in for the kill. You were his main target, and he put up a pretty intense fight. The soldier is pretty skilled, too. If Lord Taeyong didn’t put a knife through his heart, the rebel would have done that to you instead.”

Ten looks up to see the mun nai staring at him anxiously, his eyes are still dark and brooding, but there’s a glint of dejection there that Ten has never seen before.

“Everyone’s really worried about you in school. They all know your family was the target of the mutiny. It wasn’t your fault, Ten,” Yuta reassures his friend.

Ten runs a hand through his dishevelled hair. “Wait. What about Johnny? His party was ruined,” Ten frowns inciting another laugh from Yuta.

“Stop it, will you??” Yuta yells, pushing Ten back in his sea of pillows playfully. “Johnny’s more worried than upset right now. He knows full well your head’s in a cast. It’s his last day and he really wanted to come here and see you, but the headmaster’s pestering him to finish a few papers. His ship sails tomorrow.”

Ten instantly throws himself out of bed, as he stands upright in front of his friend. “I’m going to school then.”

Yuta an eyebrow at him teasingly. “Looking like that?” he asks, eyeing Ten’s pink sleepwear robe with stitches of clouds in the seams.

Ten crouches, attempting to hide his bare legs. He barely sees Taeyong shifting his feet awkwardly at the side of the door.

“Fine then,” Yuta finally says as he makes his way towards the door. “I’ll go ahead first. I need to talk to the headmaster about something. You might want to take a bath, though. You smell weird, and your bandage is begging for a change.” With that, the Crown Prince takes his leave, the doors closing behind him with a silent creak.

Ten is left standing in front of his mun nai, his pink robe hanging around his knees exposing half of his bare legs. Taeyong stares at him from head to foot before averting his gaze and clearing his throat awkwardly.

“Your Royal Highness,” the mun nai speaks, his voice incredibly soft, “do you want me to call a phrai to prepare your bath?”

Ten’s hands are on the hems of his robe, trying to keep them glued to his knees. “Y-yes,” he stammers, as the Crown Prince quickly jumps back on his bed, throwing the sheets over his legs. “Yes, please call someone to prepare my bath.”

Taeyong nods as he saunters his way outside the door.

Ten does not