The next day, Tailong was spacing out, thinking after the coronation, that it would be their adventures out of the country, and all of that was covered by his grandfather. He hoped there was still more of it. So, that night, he was stiffly sitting on their common chair, anticipating what his grandfather would tell.

“Grandpa,” he called before the old man could sit next to him, “why there was a White King? Red Queen? White Knight? Why they were called like that?”

The elderly laughed. Tailong was aware he sounded silly, biting his lower lips, but he really wanted to know.

“The Red Queen called her knights like that because of her father — the White King. King Teuk was fond of this colour which symbolized purity, goodness, and perfection.” The old man explained. “She thought those were good qualities for her knight. And regarding her colour, it was certainly from her mother — the former Red Queen. Since Queen Hee herself, believed her daughter was the reincarnation of the phoenix, she embraced the title and had a strong will to spread her passionate love for her country.”

Tailong was enlightened by this new knowledge, and he had more question. “Why was she hiding her face in the veil?”

“She wanted everyone in the country to know her by how she worked, not by her appearance.”

“Did she look like a monster?” The old man combed his hair up, smiling, and then gazed at the fire in front of them.

“I don’t think so.”

~*6*~

A beam of golden light rose up to the sky and scattered, forming a large dome-shaped barrier for the country. It became transparent after a few seconds.

“You see, that’s the Queen’s sign for the approaching war from the north.” Kris said to his comrades, as they gathered in the common ground. “For our first mission, we are asked to defend Bonghuang from the foreign enemies who were trying to conquer our country.”

“There’s a possibility that they heard the recent transition of power from the previous Queen to our current Red Queen,” Suho added, as he joined the conversation, along with Chanyeol and Xiumin. They brought a huge package and everyone knew it was the weapon they were going to use.

“Yes,” Kris continued, “since the Queen is still young, they are thinking her rule is easy to defeat.”

“As if they can,” Tao scoffed, “they are some mere powerless human.”

“Still, we should not put our guard down and fight them fairly,” Suho said and everyone agreed.

“So what are we waiting for?” Baekhyun asked smugly. “The war plan is given. We have our maps, supplies, and weaponry here as well.”

“The Queen’s Blessing,” Xiumin said.

The White Knights headed to the Queen’s Throne and found her sitting there. She seemed to know the purpose of their visit, standing before them. She raised her hand and a harmless flame appeared. The Red Queen tossed it, which split into pieces, and land on top of each of her White Knights’ heads. Xiumin approached the Queen to hear her message.

“Her Majesty wants all of us to be safe in this task.” He informed and everyone who was kneeling had their heads down.

“Hail Our Red Queen.” The White Knights said.

~~~

They left the kingdom the next dawn, along with the needed equipment and supplies. It was normal that some of them were uneasy about their first battle, though they have been preparing for this day. As they rode their horses to the vast sandy plains, D.O. was praying and so was Chen, Lay — and Chanyeol. Kris must be leading with Suho, but the redhead was just behind him. His trembling movement bothers the West Leader so Kris had to slow his pace and meet him. He held Chanyeol’s clasping hands which flinched at his touch.

“I’m sorry if I’m like this.” Blushing, Chanyeol could still give a wide smile. “I’m too nervous.”

“That’s fine,” Kris said. “This is our first battle after all.”

“Hehe, the tension is going to my stomach. I think I need to take a dump.”

Kris could have laughed at his words if the large ball of fire, which came out of nowhere, did not crash at them, making the horse panic and some knights fell from them.

“They’re expecting us.” Kai struggled to get up.

“Find yourselves a cover!” Suho commanded, immediately keeping himself behind a huge stone. The boys followed and scattered all over the land while these balls started raining in their direction. The surrounding became difficult to see due to its impact on the dusty desert floor.

This was no novice for new knights like them. A test that they should all pass.

Not long after, a horde of enemy soldiers attacked behind them. And one by one, the twelve young White Knights faced them.

With their small number, a single-member needed to go against two or more opponents.

“Haha, they sent kids.” One of the enemies said. No matter how he saw them, this man cruelly showered Kris with attacks, and the boy dodged and shielded it with all his might.

“What’s wrong with their brains to do this?” Another opponent said, doing the same amount of bout to the boy. “They were neglecting their future.”

“Indeed.” Kris could not take their prejudice, floating to the air, leaving the two dumbfounded.

Occupied by his sudden revelation, the two completely froze as Xiumin literally do so with his touch. He pushed them and they broke into pieces.

“You alright?” The older asked and Kris nodded in dazed.

A tornado began to grow and wiped off the dusty view. This turned out to be a smaller version of Bonghuang, protecting them from the fireballs. There were fewer soldiers this time and the young knights continued to match with them.

“Captain Kris, while you’re there on top, would you mind searching who was firing those stupid balls?” Baekhyun politely requested, swinging his sword at his opponent at the same time. After several turns of Kris’ gaze, he found where it was coming from.

“There are catapults 3.27km away from here, 45° to the west.” The blond leader said.

“Kai, you better go there and decapitate anyone you see,” Suho commanded.

“Yes, my lord.” The boy dutifully moved, disappearing in just a blink of an eye. The East Captain threw a bow and arrow at Kris. “Your eyes are sharp my friend.”

Without any words from his co-leader, Kris knew what he needed to do. He aimed the arrow at those people and shot them in their heads and vital parts. He could see Kai already killed some of them waving at him.

“Clear.” He announced. Looking down, Kris could no longer see a single enemy.

Suho called Sehun’s attention to stop the wind barrier, a chance for the West Leader to land and reunite with the rest of his comrades. There was no casualty to their side, but all were exhausted and gained some wounds.

Lay wiped the scratches he had with his hand and they mystically vanished. He helped the others too, like Luhan who had broken his leg, and Tao with his arm.

“This was only the beginning so keep your defense up.” The boys roared at what Suho said. Everyone was checking on each other, including Kris. His focus locked on Chanyeol and found him squatting, while innocently staring at two toasted opponents.

He took a moment to approach him and this boy glanced up, looking at him with his guiltless eyes.

“The fireballs must have hit them earlier.” Chanyeol said, untouched, looking new like he never fought at all.

“Monsters!” An eerie voice shouted, and all of a sudden — one wounded man rose. In a flick of the redhead’s fingers, he was eaten by fire. The poor dying man cried as his body became ashes.

“Nah, it was me who burned them.” He shrugged, leaving everyone with mouths hanging open.

~*End*~

“Chanyeol controlled fire, a violent kind, different from the Red Queen.” Tailong’s Grandfather said, looking at the fire sharply.

“Woah! He must be the most powerful White Knight, Grandpa.” The old man laughed to his grandson’s amazement.

“Maybe, but Captain Suho always forbids him to use it since it’s too vicious.” The old man said. “He could simply fight along his colleagues with a sword or usually his arrow. He was getting injured due to it, but overall, he was a good long-rage fighter.”