The Road not Taken

“There are two paths to Itae, the first is the Sylarn’s pass that go between the mountains and cut through the Xaine River. The second is the Sylarn’s ascent which means trekking over the mountain itself where there are steep climb and dangerous rock fall but it’s a quick day and a half to Itae, laying on the other side of it. If we choose the pass, it will be slower, about four days slower but safer in the end because even with Talmun’s troops right behind us and our larger numbers, once we get on the waterway they won’t be able to touch us,” Suho explains, pointing to the two routes drawn on the map for the Regis to see. “I would recommend going through the mountain pass, sire. It’s our best and safest option as of right now right now.”

The Regis carefully scrutinizes over the map, combing over the slightest details before he finally nods his assent. “We’ll go with your choice—”

“Your Majesty,” Sehun shouts, bursting into the scene in a flurry and with a shim bird on his shoulder. “It’s an urgent message from Captain Jung.”

The improvised war room, under the canopy of a tree at the base of Mountain Sylarn, with only Suho, the Regis, and Tolya in attendance goes completely still as Sehun whistles and the bird hops down to his outstretched arm.

The Regis is impassive and still in front of them even as the air seems to vibrate with palpable tension. Suho in a deep breath, frown set in placed, as the bird opens its mouth and a voice not its own pour out: “This is Captain Jung of the Red Guard,” Jessica says, her words coming through the link in a breathless hurried. “After the Regis and the Imperial Guard had departed for Itae with many of the townspeople, we were side blinded by a surprised attack from Talmun’s army and the fortress was quickly overrun by their horde of wyverns and gomoro lizards. It appeared they have been lying in wait for your departure and had set up spies throughout the fortress for this moment to lower the fortress’ barrier and rush the fortress’s gates with their army.”

Tolya lets out a horrified gasp, Suho’s frown deepens, and even Sehun adopted a pinched look on his face upon hearing the full impact of the message but the Regis remains unmoved.

“We lost a third of Shang,” Jessica continues through with her message, taking on a somber tone, “but I managed to get the Consort out of the battle zone in time and currently we are taking refuge in eastern bloc of the fortress with the rest of the townspeople that chose to stay, Shang’s soldiers, and Viceroy An. We will do our best to hold out here until the Regis come back with more reinforcement but…” a grave pause, and then, “the situation does not look good.”

The bird’s beak closes and retreats back onto Sehun’s shoulder now as silent descends upon them like an anchor that hold them in place.

Suho’s quickly run through all the possible options that they could take but with another of Talmun’s army of several hundred strong at their back and their own band of sixty people to defend and protect the citizens—men and women, young and old, who couldn’t stay in the fortress and fight as Shang come under siege—there’s very little they could do.

“Should we turn back then and assist them, sire?” Sehun asks, breaking the quiet and looking young and hopeful.

The Regis shut his eyes and it’s a beat too long before he open them again but when he does, it’s cold and blank. “No, it’s too risky to do anything about it now,” he says firmly, his right hand curling into fist at his side. “We will continue to Itae and meet up with General Shai, then we can decide on how to deal with Talmun and save Shang.”

Suho bites down on his lip and nods in agreement.

“But sire, there won’t be anything left of Shang if we wait that long!” Sehun protests, face breaking into a distress. “And more importantly the Consort is also trapped there. Talmun is well known for his absolute hatred for the Imperium and so if he managed to capture the Consort, he’ll won’t let the Consort leave unscathed.”

“And you wish we go back there and do what?” the Regis demands, voice low and quiet but there’s severeness in his tone. “We’re just going to abandon the children, the sick and elderly under our care to be delivered to Itae to do a suicide run where we won’t even have a chance to put up a fight with our small numbers and go up against their beastkins? What would that get us except hundreds of lives lost that could easily be prevented if we weren’t acting like fools and rushed in without any plan.”  

Sehun visibly swallows, shamefaced. “N—no, of course not sire.”

“And the Consort,” The Regis stops momentarily, lips thinning, “Talmun won’t do anything to him. To him Donghae is better off alive and acting as a hostage then dead. As long as Talmun find uses for the Consort he is safe,” he says evenly, and it’s such detached way for the Regis to address the situation with the Consort, as though he wasn’t commenting on the welfare of his own husband that Suho nearly flinches. “Sehun,” he continues, voice softening, “I know that your heart is in the right place but we can’t afford to make any hasty decisions right now.”  

“I know that now, sire, I’m sorry,” Sehun says, grimly and the bird on his shoulder chirps as if in agreement.

“Then go informed Captain Jung to do her best and keep us updated as much as she can,” the Regis instructs.

Sehun still has that stricken look on his face, but he nods his head. “Yes, sire,” he says, and bows out.

The Regis turns to Suho the moment Sehun left the area. “Suho,” the Regis addresses Suho with an impassive look, “get everyone ready and pack up. We’re heading out right now and will be traveling through the night.”

For the last two days, they been moving through the forest when daylight is out and rest at night, and at the pace they’re going at it’ll take all of four days to make it to Itae.

He nods his head in acknowledgement but before he can depart and carried out his order, “And Suho? The route you gave us,” the Regis says, and there’s a significant pause before he continue, “we’ll do it in two.”

Suho grimaces at the logistic of moving that many people that quickly but he thinks of the raging battle left at Shang and the people still trapped under Talmun’s onslaught and knows he’ll do it even if the last thing he’ll do.

“Of course, sire,” he says, bending low and that’s when several dark specks staining the forest floor right beside the area Regis is standing on catch his eyes, something that he hadn’t taken any notice before when he was too busy with dealing with the news Sehun had brought them, and traces it back to its original source. He looks up and up and recognizes it coming from the Regis’ clenched fist—and it’s blood.

 “Sire, your hand!” he says shocked, and stumbling forward but the Regis steps out of his reach.

“It’s fine,” the Regis says dismissively, waving him off with his uninjured one. He opens his right hand to reveal visible cuts on his palm that appeared where his nails hud dug into his flesh, the force that was applied must be so great that it sliced through his skin, but he neither seem to care or bother by it. “Go and make sure everyone is ready in the next thirty minutes.”

Suho bites on the inside of his cheek to keep from protesting and the dawning realization that the Regis had hurt himself, that maybe he was more affected by this troubling news about Shang than Suho had originally thought, but once again he bows and retreats this time.

It is simply not his place to say.

But just as he about to leave, he hears a quiet, “He will be fine, sire,” Tolya offers in comfort. “The Consort is a resilient sort.”

He doesn’t hear any respond from the Regis, but—the world doesn’t stop just for one person.

The Regis is a king first before he is a husband and while a man can be self-regarding with his own life and the life of those around him without bringing repercussion on the head of hundreds but the Regis’s one selfish action can lead to a fall of an entire nation and death of thousands at a single word.

His actions have rippling effect. There’s just no room to be capricious and emotional over one single person when the Regis is responsible for the millions of lives under his domain.

And so the world doesn’t stop just for one person. The Regis probably knows that better than anybody else but it doesn’t make his decision any easier.

Suho thinks of the tightly coiled fist at the Regis’ side and the blood drawn from the Regis’ own flesh is answering enough. It’s not that the Regis doesn’t care, it’s never a question of that, but it’s a choice between one person over the fate of many and it’s the Regis who lose either way. The Regis may be the most powerful man in this country but right now he’s helpless. He can’t even save his own husband and that must have cut at him like the edge of cruel knife.

Suho sighs wearily and looks up at the evening sky. Please watch out for the Consort, Suho offers a silent plead to the gods, not just for our sake but for sake of our dear Regis’ fragile heart too.

a/n: originally, i wrote this in hyukjae's pov bc i thought it would be more impactful, the central theme being a king (or a leader) means you often have to make extremely hard decision that has a lot of rippling effect and sometimes that mean stomping on your own heart for the better of the many. for me the point was that being king is hard, sure you got the wealth and power and ppl revered you but you also served the ppl bc a good king is a king who carries out his duty with severity- bc it's your job to keep you country in prosperity and your ppl safe and that means putting them above your own desire /o\ and hyukjae is a great king. he's very selfess in that regard, rarely think of himself and give his all for his country and ppl but even a king is a human and even he has his own desire i.e. wanting to drop everything and go back and save donghae but he can't, bc it's selfish and not wise ://.

so yea i really thought writing in hyukjae's pov would drive the message across but i struggled a lot in hyukjae's pov and then i realize i dont need it to be in hyukjae's pov just to make a point bc action speak better words sometimes and hyukjae say one thing but look he's so frustrated and mad at the situation and his inabiblity to do something about it personally that he digged his nail into his palm and CAUSED IT TO BLEED--that's i think say a lot more than any words he left unspoken. even suho thought he was cold and unfeeling after hearing the news at first but that one single action from hyukjae revealed how shaken he was and that hyukjae isnt unfeeling monster, that he can't always depart himself from his own emotions and that he too hurt. in that way hyukjae is humanized in that single action in suho's eyes and even as suho admit you can't value one person life over the lives of many (can't drop everything to go running to donghae clearly), it must be hard for hyukjae to decide to leave his own husband to the ravenous wolf and hope he'll be okay /o\. 

i was actually going to expand on this scene more but it was venturing kinda out and above my central theme for this scene /o\ but i was hoping to lead on that donghae right now is hyukjae's weak point but donghae is donghae and he's an usurper at heart and that just mean once you think you got him all down he'll destroy all your expectations :P, so yea don't count him out >:]]]].