A letter, enshrouded in scarlet fabric, arrives from the Land of Tae one late night.  The messenger is exhausted from making the three day trip without stopping once, but his duty is of the utmost importance.  Once the letter reaches the hands of the King, the King quickly reads the correspondence and furrows his brow in concern.

"What is it my King?"  The Queen sits intimately beside the King of Nyo.  She had been getting ready to retire with the King, but news of the letter had come suddenly.

"It is from Counselor Sol" the King says somberly.  "There is talks of a coup in the Land of Tae."

The Queen stops a gasp with her hand.  This is no light news.  The Land of Tae was a close ally to the Land of Nyo.  If there was to be an uprising, it would mean that relations between the two kingdoms would also falter.

"It says here that because Counselor Sol has ties with the military, he has learned of this information before anyone else.  He has informed the King of Tae, but Counselor Sol is also in danger."

"Does that mean...?"

"Yes, my Queen.  It means that the Yeolgoon, the King's step brother is heading the revolt."

The main candles in the room flicker as the night wind catches on the door frame and rushes in.  The Queen shudders; to her, it is a bad omen.  The King, however, is not so superstitious.  Instead, the King wraps a reassuring arm around the Queen's smaller frame.

"We will help Taeyeol as much as we can.  After all, we are close friends."

The King speaks fondly of the King of Tae.  He briefly remembers how they had been close as young boys.  He remembers now, that they both have families to protect as well as a kingdom full of citizens.  His mind touches in the fact that the King of Tae has a son just a few years older than Sehun.  The Queen leans in to her husband's touch and presses her lips to his cheek.

"Tomorrow, I will ask Shuhwa for an omen about this."

The King frowns lightly in concern.  

"We must tell no one about the Land of Tae until our plans our set in motion."

But the Queen is firm.

"This is what I must do.  Besides, Shuhwa is my closest friend and ally.  If there is a betrayal, it shall not be from our Royal Seer."

Before the sun is full risen, the King is secluded in meetings with his most trusted men.  The Queen too prepares herself for the coming day.  She must prepare provisions for the event of an upcoming war.  She must reassign the servants of the palace to account for any lost manpower they may be faced with.  War may be the worst possible outcome, however, the land of Nyo must be ready.

It is the time of year when winter melts into spring and the Queen remembers that it is eleven years ago today that Prince Sehun had been born into the world.  She hopes that Sehun won't need to be into the wagings of war at such a young age.  The sun starts to peek through the clouds as the Queen makes her way with her train of servants to the West Hall.  It's not a short trip from the Inner Court to the Outer Court of the palace.  On the way, the Queen's mind whirls with ideas and tasks.  Utmost on her mind is the well-being of her family.  But when the Queen arrives at the gate leading to the Outer Court, she sees the worried faces and scurrying of the maid servants.  The air is awfully still and the whole of the West Hall is silent.

"What is the meaning of this?" the Queen asks the court lady heading her train.

Instead of fear, there is determination reflected in her eyes.  Her step quickens as the court maiden disappears to find the answer to the Queen's question.  It is unfortunate that her curiosity is soon sated.  For before she reaches the steps of the Royal Seer's chambers, she hears it - the cries of a boy.  The Queen's mind flashes images of Minseok, the Seer's now fifteen year old son.

"The Queen has arrived!" the door keeper announces.

As per custom, an array of servants come out to greet her and with them is Minseok, red-eyed and inconsolable.  The Queen's eyes meet Minseok's and the deep heart-break in Minseok's eyes breaks a part of the Queen's heart.  The empathy is so greatly felt that the Queen rushes over to the young boy, forgetting her lifelong royal etiquette.

"Your Highness!" the court ladies shout in horror.  

But to the Queen, all she sees is her closest friend's child in pain.  She quickly envelops the child in her arms and Minseok bursts into tears once again.  

"Child... where is Shuhwa?  Why do you cry so?"

"Your Highness" comes a calm voice.  "The Royal Seer is dead."

Minseok crumbles to his feet as the Queen's breath stops in .  Her face drains of color and her surroundings fade into silence.  In her times of trouble, Shuhwa had always been by her side like a silent but dependable pillar and those memories flicker through the Queen's mind in an impossible speed.  She doesn't even know it as tears wet her cheeks.  Though Shuhwa had been with the Queen in times of trouble, she had not been able to be there for her friend.  

From then, time goes by both in slow motion as well as speed by.  The court maidens rush beside her and the rustle of their skirts echos loud in her ear.  However, Minseok shrinks into the ground in slow motion, becoming smaller and smaller as the ground around him grows darker with tears.  She's not sure how the Prince knows or when the Prince has arrived, but she hears the court maidens exclaim in surprise when Sehun runs to Minseok's side.  The Queen is not sure if Sehun knows what's going on or if he's crying because Minseok is crying.  But Sehun's body racks with sobs as his small arms try to encircle Minseok's larger body.

A royal physician comes slowly out from the Seer's chambers, hanging his head.

"I'm so sorry, Your Highness" the physician apologizes.  "At the Seer's insistence, we did not report her illness.  But unfortunately, the Seer has..."

Before the Queen hears the end of the sentence, she rushes inside.  The chambers are dark and cold as if the space knows of its owner's departure.  When she reaches Shuhwa's bed chambers, her feet slow and her hands start to shake.  Since spring is almost here, the breeze is warm even in the early morning.  The Queen wonders if it is the universe's way of celebrating the fact that Shuhwa has joined the other world now.

Finally, she slides the inner door open.  There, on stark white bedding lies Shuhwa.  Shuhwa's skin is impossibly pale and her body impossibly still.  In her mind, the Queen knows that the body lying there is Shuhwa; however, it does not seem like her close friend at all.  Behind the Queen, there's a soft sound and Minseok comes near the inner room.

"Prince Sehun, please don't look" comes Minseok's soft whisper.

"No!  I'm coming with you!"

"You mustn't Sehun!" Minseok panics.

But there's the rushed sliding of the door opening and a pattering of feet as Sehun drags Minseok by the hand.  The Queen looks around and sees the small Prince leading the older boy to his mother.

"You can say goodbye now" Sehun tells Minseok tearfully.  "Now there's no scary healer or servants crowding her.  You can say goodbye properly."

Sehun looks up at the Queen.  "Right, mother?"

Behind a watery smile, the Queen nods.  "Yes, Minseok.  She would have wanted that."

The Queen mourns one step away as she watches the two young boys holding each other.  Minseok is on bent knee next to his mother's side, holding his mother's hand.  His last whispers to his mother's departing soul are inaudible.  Even so, sitting next to Minseok, Sehun sits next to Minseok, rubbing his back with Sehun's small hand.  As he does, Sehun nods slowly as if understanding.  It's an odd sight, the younger boy consoling the older boy.  There's something oddly mature about Sehun's movements.

The Queen blinks the tears from her eyes and when she looks at the two boys again, there's a vision that wavers briefly in the air.  A transparent vision of a much older and taller Sehun overlaps with Sehun's now smaller form.  The older Prince Sehun is broad shouldered and stands with his back regally straight.  There's a deeply ardent look in his eye as he watches over Minseok's form.  But as suddenly as the vision had appeared, it vaporizes into thin air.  It puzzles the Queen but a grateful smile plays on her lips - somewhere in her heart she knows that this vision is a parting gift from her friend.

Though grieved by the loss of her friend, the Queen cannot afford to lose time.  From the tired shadows under the King's eyes and the weary look on the Councilmen's faces, the Queen doesn't need an omen to tell that a war is coming.  With a gaunt face, the King expresses his regret at not being able to be with the Queen at such a sad time.  The Queen shakes her head, shaking the locks of dark ebony hair that only come loose when the couple is alone together.

"It is my greed that brings me to take charge of Shuhwa's funeral rites" the Queen admits.  "I should be aiding you... preparing the palace and..."

The King grasps her two slender hands with a soft sigh and a gentle shake of his head.

"No, my Queen.  Please, do what you think is right in the eyes of your soul."  The King looks deep into the Queen's eyes.  "Send your beloved friend off into the Other World properly.  I..."

The King looks away for a moment, gazing into the distance.  He is thinking of his own childhood friend in the Land of Tae.

"I may never get to act as a proper friend, but you should do all you can" the King finishes.

Shuhwa's body is preserved by other Seers who have gathered from various parts of the world.  Having been famed amongst those with The Gift, Shuhwa had been very loved, even from afar.  The other fortune tellers gather around Shuhwa's body, chanting and praying so that her soul would be able to leave peacefully.

A Seer maiden from the far north approaches the Queen with a somber face. 

"Mistress Shuhwa's soul is troubled for leaving this world so quickly" she tells the Queen.  "I believe it's...tied to her son."

They both look toward the corner of Shuhwa's room, where Minseok sits.  His sunken eyes and thin frame look so pitiful that they both let out an involuntary sigh.

"It is the fourth night*.  Shuhwa must be washed and her body prepared tomorrow night."

The Queen nods, adding, "I have prepared her favorite haegum* and other cotton cloths.  I will bring them tomorrow at sunrise."

The maiden bows before shuffling away.

The Queen looks upon Minseok, heart aching with unsaid words of comfort.  But the night is young and the Queen must proceed with her duties.  She forces herself to look away, whisking away with her train of court maidens.  She brushes a tear from her cheek.  She must be brave for Minseok.  She must be brave for her family.  And she must be brave for her Kingdom.

+++
*There are various steps in traditional Korean burial rites, but they are simplified in this fic.
**"Tae" means sun/fire.

Also, if you haven't realized already... the plot build in this story is a bit slow. ^^;;  So I've tried to make this chapter longer.  Thank you so much to everyone reading this fic!