A Stalemate

“You have exactly fifteen minutes” Dongwoo whispered to a tall servant at the bottom of the stairs to the east tower. “Don’t worry, I’ve been in stranger situations” the servant, who was actually Sungyeol in a disguise, mumbled. He stepped up the stairs two at a time and stopped in front of a door with a heavy lock. An armed guard was standing next to it. He eyed Sungyeol with suspicion; “I don’t think I’ve seen you before…”

“Yeah? Well, I usually work at the Winter palace, so I guess I am a new face around here.” The soldier seemed to buy the explanation. “What’s your business here, then?” he asked. Sungyeol opened the lid of the basket he was carrying to display meters of white fabric. “I’m here to change the princess’s sheets” Sungyeol winked, making the guard smirk back against himself. “Okay, sorry, it’s kind of my job to be suspicious.” the man said as he dug a keychain from his pocket and opened the door. “I understand. Keep up the good work” Sungyeol laughed.

When Sungjong recognized Sungyeol he was about to run to him in excitement. Sungyeol’s warning hand-signals stopped the boy at his tracks. Sungyeol bowed and bid a formal greeting, maintaining his role until the guard locked the door behind him. That is when a huge grin appeared on the trickster’s face.

“Man, it’s good to see you again” he said, stepping closer to pat Sungjong’s shoulder. Sungjong couldn’t help but smile back. “You look strange in these clothes. Or should I say… normal” Sungjong remarked. Sungyeol pulled at his tight collar with mild disgust; “I feel so mundane in these. But I didn’t sneak all the way in here to talk about clothes. I have information.” Sungjong nodded and sat on a window sill.

“I don’t have a whole lot of time, so I’m going to cut to the chase here.” Sungyeol paused theatrically; “I know why you collapse when you use your powers.” he declared. When Sungjong didn’t let out a sigh of surprise or jump from his seat, Sungyeol cleared his throat and continued; “Yeah, so, until now, when you’ve healed, you’ve drawn the power, the sunlight or whatever, from inside yourself.”

“Ye” Sungjong confirmed. “Well, it takes energy to heal something, the worse the injury the more energy it takes is how I figure it, and one person has only a limited amount.” Sungjong nodded; he’d figured as much.

Again a bit disappointed at Sungjong’s bleak reaction, Sungyeol continued; “But here’s the cool part; I know how to bypass that.” this time Sungjong sat up, his voice an octave higher than usually; “Really?”

Sungyeol smiled smugly. “Yes. You just have to borrow a little power from everyone around you.” Sungjong’s enthusiasm turned to a frown and he sat back down; “I’m not going to steal anybody’s vitality.” “Only with their consent, of course. I’m sure people won’t mind if they can save a loved one like that.” Sungyeol pointed out. “I guess… How do I do it?” Sungjong asked. “You have to figure it out yourself, just like before. What kind of a teacher gives his student the answers ready?” Sungyeol said.

Truth be told, Sungyeol had absolutely no idea if that could even be done. He’d found the reference in a convincingly old and formal-looking book he’d picked up from the (out of bounds to civilians) basement of the book-keepers library. Who knew; maybe it was true.

 “How does this help me? I won’t get to use my powers while I’m here.” Sungjong said, defeated. “Why don’t you go with that prince, what’s-his-name, the pretty boy? I hear he has promised to get you out.” Sungjong shook his head; “I’ve heard him speak of his mother; I’d end up in just another prison. I want to be able to help people!” “Why are you so dead set on this?” Sungyeol asked.

Sungjong fell silent for a moment. “You know that I’m an orphan, right? Both of my parents died a slow, painful death. All I could do was watch and feel helpless. I don’t want anyone else to go through that. Not when I can make a difference.” Sungjong told. His eyes were glistening like two dark pearls, but there was a fire inside.

Sungyeol’s heart, always a little detached, twitched at that moment. Sungjong’s stubbornness and eagerness to learn, they all made sense now.

“How about it then? Want to explore the world with me?” Sungyeol heard his own mouth say without thinking further than those two beads looking at him.

Sungjong considered his possibilities for a second. Myungsoo, dear Myungsoo, had asked him to go back with him and abandon everything, Hoya had begged him not to, the king had lost his mind and he had this gift that apparently no one else realised the potential of. He was at a stalemate, and the best option was probably jumping of the board entirely.

“Sounds good” Sungjong answered, and once more Sungyeol found himself in a situation he definitely hadn’t foreseen. But what the heck, he had always been good at improvising.

It took only five minutes to turn the bed sheets into robes.

“Remember, you’re one of the silent ones. Just keep your head down and mouth shut and you’ll be fine.” Sungyeol the servant instructed Sungjong the monk (who was still a bit out of it because of the pace things were happening with).

“Ready?” Sungyeol asked Sungjong, who said nothing. “Good work. Now keep behind me” Sungyeol said and knocked the door. After the distant sound of a lock being opened the door creaked open. Before the guard had time to react, Sungyeol had shut his mouth with one hand and stabbed a needle on his neck with the other. The man made a brave attempt to pull out his sword, but found himself on the floor instead.

“Is he dead?” Sungjong whispered, shocked. “Nay, he’ll wake up in an hour with the worst hangover ever.” Sungyeol spoke in undertones while tucking the needle in his chest-pocket for later use.

* * *

“What happened?! He must have gotten help from inside the palace, huh, Hoya? Dongwoo?” a voice echoed trough the throne hall. The king looked somewhat unstable as he eyed two of his most loyal subjects.

Dongwoo stayed silent, eyes downcasted. Guilt was burning at his guts; he never meant for Sungjong to actually escape; he’d just fixed a meeting. Hoya’s face was stoned; “I’ll find him. Just let me go look for him.” “And leave this country defenseless? You know what you signed up for when you joined the army. The pledges you made. Right now I want to find the traitor responsible for this.” Sunggyu yelled.

“Calm down-“ Woohyun began, but the king sushed him fast; “Don’t you tell me to calm down. I spesifically gave an order to keep that boy locked up, yet he manages to escape within two days?! How does that make sense to you?” “-this isn’t good for your heart” Woohyun ended. He couldn’t have chosen his words more poorly. “Yes, my heart. And the only one that can keep me alive is gone now.” Sunggyu sunk down. The powerless figure made Dongwoo feel even worse than the shouting one.

 * * *

“So, you sure you’re ready to leave without saying your goodbyes?” Sungyeol asked as they walked away from the marketplace, bags filled with essentials. Sungjong ignored the question; he’d rather not mull over his decision too much. “Which direction are we going?” he asked. Sungyeol was relieved; he didn’t really feel like pressing the matter either; “Let’s see… This morning I had an itch on the left side of my nose, so I say we go west”.

Sungjong stared at the trickster for a minute; “That is the most idiotic problem solving I’ve ever witnessed. But I guess it makes us hard to follow if we avoid making rational decisions.” “Yeah, what I meant exactly. You are learning well, my young apprentice” Sungyeol said as they turned their backs to the city that had been Sungjong’s whole life.