A black mist forms in the center of Luhans bedchambers and he knows that Jongin is coming.

It used to creep him out, the black cloud that looked like the subject of nightmares that kept young children awake every night, but now it did nothing to him. If anything, he had expected Jongins visit and no longer had to mentally prepare himself for the strange sight that was Jongin's teleportation mist.

Jongin, whenever he could, would come to Luhan this early in the morning, before the sun had yet to fully rise. His clan of teleporters, the nomads who belonged to no specific realm or nation, had taken up temporary residence in the East. It was a few hours after the sun went down in the East and began to rise in the West when Jongin would come visit Luhan. The lights went out and Jongin was gone in a puff of literal smoke.

Luhan adjusts his position on the seat by the window and waits.

This time was different than the other times. Luhan can sense it. An urgency hangs around in the mist that isn't usually there. The fog forms thicker that usual and Jongin appears faster than he normally did. He was pushing himself to teleport faster, something dangerous for a teleporter to do when they are travelling such large distances. When Jongin finally appears, he's breathing hard and when he lowers the hood to his cloak, he's uncharacteristically disheveled. Luhan gets worried.

"They think it's you. The eastern council. They think it's you who killed the princes." Jongin breathes out, saying the words as if he's racing against a clock.

"Well, nice to see you too, Jonginnie." Luhan jokes, knowing full well that now probably was not the time for such behavior, but not really caring because after the things he'd experienced in the past few days, a joke wouldn't do any harm.

Jongin gives him a look and sits down on one of the feather filled cushions on the other side of the room.

"Did you kill her?" Jongin asks this with hopeful eyes, knowing that Luhan will tell him the truth and wishing to get the answer that would prove his friend innocent.

Luhan is taken aback. How dare Jongin ask him that? If anything, he should be convincing the eastern council that he was innocent instead of coming and questioning him.

"No." Luhan spits, standing up from his seat and striding over to where Jongin was, pointing a furious finger at the younger boy, "Why would I eve-"

"Do you have proof?" Jongin interrupts, voice rising to Luhans level with wide, accusatory eyes but the rest of him remaining calm.

Luhan pauses to think. He was on the opposite side of the church when the fire happened. The only proof he had was Sehun, and who was going to believe a slave?

"Nothing solid."

Jongin pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs, "If you don't have any proof than, to the eastern council, you may as well have done it. They are never going to believe you. The head of the Water clan wants to start a war. We need proof and we need proof fast."

"And how exactly am I supposed to get proof? Out of thin air? Any proof I had burned in the fire with Princess Lennandria and the Dragon Clan's leader."

Jongin sighs again and stands up,  smooths out his cloak and pulls up the hood. He reaches into a cloth bag that Luhan didn't notice he was holding before and hands something to Luhan. It's a soft, dark cloak identical to the one Jongin is wearing.

"Put it on so nobody sees you. If there is no proof there is only one thing we can do."

Luhans eyes widen and nods.

They have to go see the prophet.
 

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A/N: this is kinda like a prologue thing. Everything starting next chapter will be a flashback of sorts leading up to this part wooooo.