Sooyoung was surprised at the sheer number of people present: the large, circular chamber was over half full even at the early morning hour. Her step nearly faltered when she saw Taekwoon, standing near the center of the room, his hands folded in front of him and his face devoid of emotion. He was still dressed in his dark green shirt, now smudged with filth, and that alone irritated Sooyoung. Junho stood beside him with a hand on Taekwoon's shoulder, a slight smile on his handsome face that Sooyoung realized was a smile of pride. Anger bubbled up within her but she remembered Jihyo's words and stomped on that emotion, trying her best to keep her cool.

"Good girl," came Jihyo's smooth voice from behind her, very quiet and yet it was the encouragement she needed. She straightened her back and raised her head, stepping toward the center of the room confidently.

A Magician had been speaking but stopped abruptly as she approached, a round faced middle aged man with sharp eyes that looked at her like an eagle would look at prey. "Who is this woman? She is not of the Towers-"

"Easy, Minjong, she is here at my sponsorship," Jihyo stepped out from behind Sooyoung and joined the man. "She has an important accusation to make to one our magicians here."

It was funny how Junho's face didn't change at all when he saw Sooyoung, and after a moment she realized it was because he didn't recognize her. She hadn't been important enough to remember and though that threatened to upset her, she shook it off and allowed that surprise to be a tool she could use. "Magicians, Council of Bilar," she said clearly, stopping to give a practiced curtsy to the coucil gathered in the very center of the room. "I am here to accuse Magician Junho of unlawfully stealing a citizen of Arisan."

It seemed every head in the room turned abruptly to look at Junho, whose smile melted off his face quickly at those words. He peered at her closely then, and she saw the moment recognition came to his round eyes. Sooyoung opened to continue but the handsome man beat her to it.

"I was within my rights," he defended quickly. "This is the man in question, and he is obviously of Norian descent. And you can all feel the power he holds." The crowd murmured in agreement, and Junho nodded along with them. "Yes, he fought me. But his magic is untrained and he is too powerful to let walk around like that, and so I bound him and brought him here. I was not in the wrong, was I?" he asked plaintively, turning toward an older woman with a stern visage.

"You were, though," Sooyoung interrupted, seeing her chance as the woman paused to consider her words. A flicker of annoyance passed over both Magician's faces, but she bulled forward anyway. "Taekwoon is in control of his magic, he is not some untrained fool wandering around as a danger to others. And he has obligations, family, that you stole him away from without his consent. Why don't you let him speak?" she added, motioning at the still blank faced man. He hadn't even looked up at the sound of Sooyoung's voice, but she highly suspected it had a lot to do with Junho's hand still resting on his shoulder. "Let him make the choice himself."

The older Magician's face took on a considering look, though a flash of panic crossed Junho's face before he got himself under control. "Because he will fight," he admitted, though not quietly as Sooyoung had expected him to. "He will unleash magic that he does not fully understand, and will tear the very Tower down around us. No, I will not release him unless you command me to, Misook." He addressed the woman, who gave him a nod to say she heard. 

And yet her dark eyes focused on Sooyoung, narrowing as she studied the young woman before her. "And who are you, girl? What stake do you have in this?"

Sooyoung took a deep breath and straightened her shoulders, drawing herself up to her full height. "My name is Sooyoung, and that is my husband."

A flicker of something ran over Junho's face then: was it regret? But he pushed it away and spoke again. "it doesn't matter, Misook. This Taekwoon has too much potential, you must feel that. I would even wager that he is of the Third! I know that he can animate: when he fought me in the marketplace, he very nearly overwhelmed me before I was able to bind him!"

"That!" Sooyoung cried, her suddenly loud voice making Jihyo jump from where the shorter woman stood beside her. "That is proof enough that he can control his magic. He has not been trained in one of your Towers and yet he almost defeated you?"

Her question did the trick it was supposed to: titters filled the room and Junho's faced turned crimson. Before he could answer, the older woman - Misook - raised her hand to silence them all.

"Release him, Junho," she said, her voice quiet and yet full of authority. Sooyoung realized that Misook must be the Head of the Tower here in Bilar. Junho flushed again, but he did as he was told: he stepped away and lifted his hand from Taekwoon's shoulder, whispering under his breath as he went.

The change was almost immediate. Taekwoon's face took on the appearance of a trapped animal, his eyes darting nervously around the many unfamiliar faces. He lifted his hands as if to fight back, and Sooyoung stepped forward to catch them in her own grip. "Taek," she said softly, and the fight went out of him just like that. His eyes met her's and he pulled her close, wrapping an arm about her as if to shield her from the Magicians in the room. 

An emotion crossed Jihyo's face then, something Sooyoung couldn't quite make out, then the woman was nodding as she turned toward Misook. "And you see," she said softly, her words sounding clearly throughout the room. "He is not a danger, not going to pull the Tower down around us." She mocked Junho's words from earlier, making the man flush with the scorn. "We cannot keep him here against his own will,  it is not right."

"But we cannot let him go free with such power!" Junho argued, and Taekwoon's breathing quickened at the sound of the handsome man's voice. He didn't release Sooyoung, but his eyes did search the surrounding people until he found Junho, who he then pinned with what she called The Stare. To his credit, Junho ignored that stare, and when Jihyo began to argue against his case, he raised his own voice to fight back.

Misook sighed and shook her head as she watched the young couple before her. "Silence!" she said, raising one hand: that was all she did but quiet came over the room as if she had shouted or thrown lightning.. She turned to focus her sharp eyes on Taekwoon. "Answer me clearly, boy. Do you wish to remain here in to Tower and train with your magic? Or do you wish to return to your life with your wife?"

"My wife." Taekwoon didn't even hesitiate and Sooyoung felt warmth bloom in her chest. It wasn't that she hadn't been positive as to what his answer would be anyway, but it still felt nice to hear that.

And yet Misook nodded slowly, a frown creasing her face. "And if I were to say that the cost of you leaving with your wife would be that we would have to bind you to keep you from doing any more magic?"

Pain did cross his face then, and Sooyoung could understand the sentiment well. Losing his magic would be like cutting an arm off! It was something he had grown up with, th