the story

author's corner

gemini headquarters 

—  2010; 18:20

  Jineul had no idea what he was doing there, or why he was here. More accurately, he had a brief idea of what this place was, and an inkling formed on what the faery woman behind him - apparently, her name was 'Chess' or something or another - had told him. But so far, he still hadn't had a glimpse of the whole picture.

  Which made him annoyed. 

  He could also feel the weight of her gaze on his outfit - a dark grey shirt with a plaid pleated skirt, the end of his black belt trailing down to his exposed thighs, and a black leather jacket, completed with knee-high combat boots - and to that end, her judgement.

  if he cared.

   "Excuse me, please." Her voice stopped the train of murderous thought in his head, and Jineul came to a halt silently as Chess resumed her place in front. She turned to look back at him, and said, "We will be heading to the King's study now. The corridors are quite confusing, so please follow me. It would also help if you could...ah, place that in our weaponry room." 

  At the mention of that, Jineul reached and unhooked his battleaxe from his back - his Antiopa. Looking at it, he ran his fingers across her gigantic blades, before looking back up to his guide with emotionless eyes. "I can take care of her myself." 

  "I'm afraid it's not an option," The faery woman replied, polite enough, but with a sharp glint in her eyes. "It would do no one good for you to wield a weapon in such close quarters with the King." 

  "If he's so powerful, I don't think she can kill him that easily." With relative ease, Jineul swung the battleaxe to his back, anchoring it in place again. With a sigh, the King's assistant continued on, her heels clicking through the halls again, until she stopped in front of a pair of large oak doors.

  "Go through these doors, and you'll be in the presence of His Majesty. Try to treat him with respect, as he would be leading you and your team in the future. Oh," She added, as her knuckles tapped on the wooden surface. "And try not to decapitate him." 

  The doors swung open to reveal a massive room, covered with bookshelves on every wall save for the one they were facing. Instead of a bookshelf, there was a desk in place, behind which sat a man who seemed to be on the verge of falling asleep.

  "Finally," He spoke, a clear voice cutting through the air. "And here I thought you had at long last lost your way."

  The faery woman gave another sigh. It was obvious that she dealt with this on a daily basis, and apparently the suitable response was to ignore him and carry on. "Shin Jineul, this is His Majesty the King, Lee Sungjong. He is the leader of this organization, and would be leading you and your teammates, formed in a group also known as 'Gemini'." 

  Jineul gave a mute nod to acknowledge this, and with necessary introductions out of the way, Chess spun on her heel and disappeared down the hall, leaving the two in the room with obvious tension in the air.

  The man known as the 'King' gave a sigh of his own, then leaned forward on his folded hands, staring and observing the younger. Jineul could feel the weight of his gaze on him, scrutinizing him, trying to see him through and whether or not he was a threat, an asset, a weakness. Unconsciously, he could feel himself clenching his fists, almost as if through a defensive instinct. 

  Time slowly went by. Jineul could practically hear the seconds ticking by as the older man continued to weigh him through observation, until he finally leaned back on his seat, crossing his legs, seemingly to give his judgement. "So," The King, at long last, spoke. "You are to be the Queen. My Queen."

  Another mute nod gave acknowledgement of that fact. Jineul didn't like the use of the personal pronoun, but he could deal with that later. With Antiopa, of course.

  The man seemed to have something else on his mind, his hesitant nature betraying the fact that he obviously had more to say. However, nothing could prepare him for what was to come, nor, indeed, did Jineul anticipate the next words coming out of his mouth.

  "You're very pretty."

  Jineul preened.