Far away, in the Land of Tae, the streets are almost deserted.  Those that can afford it, have moved out of the Kingdom of Tae upon hearing the rumors of the coup.  Others are now too frightened to roam the dangerous streets.  Not only is it a scary time for the royals, it is a scary time for the citizens.  Due to the concentration of matters inside the palace walls, the crime outside the palace walls have risen.  Those backstreet vagabonds and lowlife thieves used to skulking in the shadows were now holding their heads high and prowling the streets.  There is no enforcement on the streets as all royal personnel are busy with internal matters.

In the Inner Court, the atmosphere is equally extreme.  Not only is the Queen bedridden, the King refuses counsel.

"Please, Your Highness" the councilors cry out in the royal court.  "You must take precautions.  You must listen to your advisers!"

"You mean to tell me that my own beloved brother is plotting my death!" the King shouts angrily.  "I've even received word from the King of Nyo.  Must I be pitied by my bosom friend?!  How am I able to hold my head up high with these offending rumors even reaching Nyo?!"

"Your Highness, please calm your anger.  We only want what is best for you!"

But the pleas of the Council do not resound genuine to the King's ears.  He cannot come to believe that his own brother would wish him any ill - not after what they had been through together.  At a young age, they had seen the incessant fights for the throne between their uncles and father.  Surely, Yeolgoon would not want a repeat of history?  Surely, Yeolgoon would never think to harm his own brother, the King?

"Ah yes" the King spits sarcastically.  "I am sure that the Council has only my best interests in mind.  Nevermind the kingdom or the citizens!"

"General Yeolgoon is a figurehead for the military forces, Your Highness.  You place too much trust on a man who harbors ambitions for the throne!"

"Insolence!  How dare you try and break the trust between two brothers?!  Be gone with you all!  This court... is over."

The Councilmen shuffle out of the hall with their heads to their chests.  Some have already given their loyalty to General Yeolgoon, knowing that the King would never retaliate.  Some are loyal to the King but have been disappointed again and again at the blind eye the King turns to his own brother.

After the men leave, the King is left alone on the throne.  His heart is heavy.  He closes his eyes with a deep sigh that resounds from the bottom of his stomach.  No matter what he says, he is no fool.  No matter how much he loves his brother, he cannot pretend to not see when the armed forces suddenly find fault only with the families that have allied with the King.  No matter how much he tries, the King cannot turn a blind eye to the lustful glances that Yeolgoon gives his Queen.

Taeyeol reaches into his robe and pulls out the letter from the Land of Nyo.  His bosom friend, Sejun, had carefully worded the correspondence.  Taeyeol is not able to oversee the brotherly affection that emanates from the letter.  Perhaps it's an affection that reaches deeper than that of his own blood brothter.  King Taeyeol knows that Sejun has planned this carefully to give as much support as he can without affecting his own Kingdom.  King Taeyeol's thoughts reach Nyo's Queen and their son, Sehun.  He remembers seeing the boy in his brief visit to Nyo, not long after Sehun had been born.  The King's thoughts naturally flow to his own son, Chanyeol.  

The thirteen year old boy was now old enough to live in the Prince's palace, removed from the Inner Court.  But when the Queen had fallen sick, Chanyeol had come to stay in the chambers of the Inner Court once again.  If there was anyone the King loved more than his brother, it was Chanyeol.  But what was the best thing for Chanyeol?  King Taeyeol grips the bridge of his nose.  He had been experiencing head splitting migraines for over a month now.  By Yeolgoon's favor, a natural healer from a far off land had drawn up herbal medicine for this very ailment and yet...

What if the councilmen were right?  What if Yeolgoon was to overthrow him?  What if Yeolgoon was slowly poisoning him?  What if he would hurt Chanyeol?

"Ah..." another jolt of pain courses through the King's head.

He rises from the throne, eager to lie back down in his bed chambers.  But as he takes a step, he falters.  Suddenly, Chanyeol is by his side.

"Father, are you alright?  You look pale."

Chanyeol's large, worried eyes fill the King's vision and Taeyeol thinks, 'Ah, only if my son were to live a healthy and happy life.'

"I'm alright, Son" the King replies.  "Just a bit tired.  Go.  Help your mother."

Chanyeol withdraws his hand around the King's waist.  His father has grown steadily thinner and thinner.  And though it is his mother that seems unable to be rid of her body-racking cough, his father looks more sickly in physical form.  Chanyeol sends a worried look as his father's back grows smaller and smaller as he disappears down the hall.  The young Prince of Tae clenches his fists.  He hates it that he cannot help in any way.  He doesn't know the ways of healers.  He has never been interested in politics.  He isn't a great fighter.  He hangs his head as he sighs deeply, feeling the weight of incompetence on his shoulders.

Back in the Land of Nyo, King Sejun reads King Taeyeol's reply with great consternation.  The letter outlines that there is no need for war provisions as the rumors of Yeolgoon's malicious intent is baseless.  Though not explicitly stated, the King can feel the immense weariness that comes from Taeyeol's brush .

The Queen squeezes the King's arm.

"Isn't this good news, My King?" the Queen asks nervously.  "If there is no war..."

"My Queen..."

That there's another letter from Taeyeol's Council goes unsaid.  That there are rumors reaching even the streets of Nyo of the madness of Tae's King goes unspoken.  For now, the preparations have been officially stopped.  As long as the official stance of the Land of Tae was that there was no danger, there was no need for the Land of Nyo to respond with war preparations.

"At least... at least, tonight, you will be able to sleep at a reasonable hour, my King" says the Queen gently.  "For now, there will be no nightly meetings."

"No" agrees the King.  "Not for now."

They both retire to bed at an early hour.  They are both exhausted, not only from their dealings with the Land of Tae.  However, both have a lot on their minds and fail to have  a restful sleep.  The King rises early the next day, even before the sun rises and begins his duties.  The Queen sleeps a little longer, but rises in a panic to the hysterical voice of one of the court maidens.

"Your Highness!  Your Highness!"

"Who is making such a hubbub in the morning!?"

"Forgive me, Your Highness!  But the Prince won't listen to anyone but you!  He won't leave the odd boy's side.  Prince Sehun, he..."

The Queen is quick to dress, following the court maidens out to where Prince Sehun is.  From what the Queen can understand, there is something terribly wrong with Minseok.  Seeing this, the servants had tried to take Sehun away, but Sehun had refused to leave Minseok's side.  The Queen walks briskly as running is decidedly not allowed as a member of royalty.  However, her step is quicker than ever and her hands fist her heavy and abundant skirts so that they don't get in the way of her feet.

When the Queen's arrival is announced, the servants are too scared to even draw close to the late Seer's chambers.  The other visiting shamans, though not scared off, are at a loss as well.

"We've not had to deal with this kind of... happening before" explains one Seer from the South.  "The Kim daughters were famous for their Gift, passed along the female line.  However, none of us have lived long enough to see a male Kim with The Gift.  It seems as though, as his mother's spirit passes on, The Gift is slowly filling the son's body as its vessel."

The Queen finds it hard not to stare as Minseok lies in his room, back arched and eyes rolled back.  His eyes are wide as if in shock, but there are no pupils that fill the whites of his eyes.  Minseok heaves as though he is trying to breath in an airless room.  Next to him, shedding soundless tears, is Sehun.  Sehun barely registers his mother's arrival.

"Hyung!  Hyung!  What's wrong?  Wake up!" Sehun cries, holding Minseok's slack hand.

And just as quickly as it had happened, Minseok stills.  His body lies back on the bedding, peaceful.  And his eyelids close as if in a dreamless slumber.  A breath from the depths of his body escapes his lips.  And because it seems as if the worst of his fit is over, the Queen ushers the others out of Minseok's small room.

"Give him some time to rest" the Queen orders.

When the Queen turns around, she sees Sehun pressing his lips to Minseok's cheek.

"Minseok hyung" Sehun whispers.  "Please wake up."

There are two people that Sehun fears the most.  If it is his mother's or Minseok's words, Sehun will not disobey.  But no matter how much the Queen begs, no matter how much the Queen scolds and threatens, Sehun refuses to leave Minseok's side.

"I admit defeat" the Queen tells the servants wearily as she closes Minseok's door behind her.  "Let the Prince be."

Outside the inner rooms, Shuhwa's wooden coffin lies in the center of the main room.  The other Seers and shamans who remain sit around the coffin.  They too seem tired and their sunken faces tell of the hardships of the funeral rites of the Seer.  Shuhwa's robe has been fluttered in the wind on the rooftop, signaling the reapers.  Rice and gold coins line her coffin as do cotton linens and her favorite musical instrument.  Her journey to the underworld is well prepared for.

"All of you have worked hard.  Shuhwa would have appreciated this very much."

They bow their heads to the Queen.  The Queen too sits, a ways off, to spend time with her departing friend.  And while the Queen is praying she can't help but overhear the conversations of the Seers.

"It is a long drawn out process, yes?" one of shamans ask.  "The passing of The Gift."

"It is more so since it is a son, no doubt.  I've heard that the pain is more unbearable for a male descendant."

"How long?"

"It should be no more than three days, but..."

"Yes, Mistress Shuhwa's spirit is stubborn.  As long as she remains in her worldly body, her spirit is not fully passed on."

"Then?"

"Yes, then the passing of The Gift will be as long and drawn out as the passing of his mother's spirit."

"Poor boy."

"Yes.  I'm sure Mistress Shuhwa did not have ample time to train her son.  He will be lost for a while."

"And there's nothing we can do to help."

"No.  Nothing.  For we are not of the lineage.  No."

"The Prince though..."

"Shh... the Queen shall hear!"

"But the aura of the Prince is quite calming, yes?"

"Yes, he has the aura of a spring breeze."

"Yes, though it will be hard for the young Prince... his presence will at least give some peace to the Seer's son."

 Though somewhat worried for her son, the Queen is reassured.  If Sehun can provide a small help to Minseok, - though it cannot be as much help as Shuhwa was to the Queen - the Queen is satisfied.  She orders meals to be delivered to Sehun in Minseok's room.  And she orders them not to be disturbed.  

For a while, everything remains still and stagnant.  There seems like time to turn a breath.  But there is a saying that Shuhwa always said and it comes to the Queen's mind now.  'Catastrophes always come in threes.'  And the Queen has never doubted her friend.

This time, it's a convoy from the north, from the mountainous Land of Seol.  A grim looking band of men arrive on dark, ominous boats and request an audience with the King of Nyo.  The Queen too sits in, nervous and on edge.

"We have come to relay a message and request from the King of Seol" says the leader of the group.

"Proceed" the King allows.

"The King of Seol has heard about the passing of your Royal Seer.  He sends his royal condolences."

The Queen frowns deeply.

"He has had signs interpreted from his own wizards and shamans that the Seer's abilities have been inherited by her offspring" the man continues.  "The King requests that the offspring of the Seer be sent to him as a gift."

"A gift?!" the Queen shouts in anger.

"My Queen" the King calls out gently.  In a more cold tone, he address the foreign group, "And what is the occasion of this request?  Surely the King of Seol is not so insolent as to request a gift and have nothing to offer in return?"

The group of men sneer.  "We offer news from the west.  From the Land of Tae.  The King of Tae is dead.  The King of Seol offers peaceable relations with the Land of Nyo for the price of the deceased Seer's child.  To be delivered with us in a week's time."

The King's expression grows dark and the Queen clutches her chest.  The King of Tae.  Dead!

"How do we know this is true?" the King returns.  "The Seer was a close person to the royal family and her child will not be treated as a trinket to be given away."

The man shrugs.  "The King of Seol gives you a week's time to weigh your decision.  It will bode well to send the fastest messenger to the Land of Tae if you would like to see if it is true or not."

"Leave us" the Queen commands.

The men bow half-heartedly before leaving the throne room.  They retreat back to their boats to wait for an answer.  Already they are itching to get back to their own land as the land here is too warm for their comfort.

+++

It's slow goin' but don't worry, we'll get there. ^^;;;