t w o .

A day later, the marketplace was bustling with excitement, Minseok observed. He was taking a stroll in the marketplace. He had an apple on his hand and a very grumpy Sehun by his side. The both of them were dressed in commoner’s clothing to avoid any attraction from the public.

Girls occasionally squealed, which caused some confused and annoyed looks from their surroundings. Minseok bit into his apple, trying to catch what some girls were saying.

“I can’t believe it!”

“I can’t wait to see Hyuk!”

“Well, I can’t wait to see Kai and his dancing!”

Minseok thoughtfully chewed on his apple before turning to Sehun, who was looking at a few accessories.

“What are you looking at?” Minseok asked, causing Sehun to jump slightly when he placed an arm around Sehun’s shoulder.

Sehun frowned at the older male; “It’s my mother’s birthday soon. I’m looking for a gift. Get your hands off me.”

“Well, aren’t you a grumpy young man.” Minseok chuckled, ruffling Sehun’s hair. Sehun grunted, pushing Minseok’s hand away from his hair.

“Well someone decided to suddenly barge into my room when I was taking my long awaited nap.” Sehun grumbled. He picked a jade bracelet and gave the store vendor the money.

Minseok laughed, “Okay, okay, sorry Sehun.”

“By the way, are girls nowadays crazy? Look at them, giggling over a piece of paper and blushing.” Sehun pointed out.

Minseok shrugged, “I was wondering about that too. I’ll go ask them.”

“Wait, what?” Sehun’s eyes widened at the older man who was already approaching the group of girls.

“Hi there ladies, what seems to exciting you all?” Minseok smiled charmingly at the group of girls.

A girl giggled, “XCITE is coming to town tonight! We are all going to catch their performance!”

“Excite?” Minseok blinked, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

“No, no, not excite, but XCITE!” The girl shook her head, emphasizing on the X with her arms by making a cross. She showed Minseok the flier.

“Ah, I see.” Minseok nodded, noticing the group’s name in the flier.

Another girl nodded, “Yes! They are a performing troupe, all males and extremely good looking! Oh, they’re so talented and handsome! I’m so glad we can see them tonight!”

“Do you think the Her Majesty would come and watch their performance? They are popular after all.” Another asked; her excited expression turned sour.

The first girl scoffed, “If she comes, she’ll ruin the whole thing for us and for them! That witch better keep her clutches away from my Suho!”

The other two girls hissed, “Bea!”

One of them laughed nervously at Minseok, “Please don’t mind her, she tends to be a huge potty mouth.”

Minseok chuckled, shaking his head. “No worries. I won’t tell anybody.”

Sehun rolled his eyes behind Minseok.

“Well, enjoy the performance tonight, ladies.” Minseok winked and walked away, causing the girls to giggle.

Sehun came up next to Minseok, “Are you going to tattle on that girl? She did speak ill of Her Majesty.”

“It’s best to not tell. My queen would be very sad.” Minseok frowned.

“She knows how to be sad?” Sehun raised his brows at Minseok. He yelped when Minseok hit the back of his head.

“You’re lucky you’re my friend and that she’s fond of you”

“I must be in a nightmare then.”

Sehun yelped in pain again, clutching the back of his head.

***

“My queen!” Minseok grinned, entering the queen’s chambers.

He gave her a short bow, before rising.

“Is something the matter, Minseok?” She asked, never looking up as she dipped her fountain pen in the bottle of ink. She continued writing on the papers.

Minseok frowned. Have she been working on her paperwork for the entire time he was out on a stroll? He thought she would take some rest after the court trial of an accused. (Like the day before, it ended on a bad note with the accused yelling curses at her, and her yelling ‘off with his head’)

Minseok took out a flyer and placed it on top of the stack of papers