Demesne ¦¦ Hunhan, Taoris, Kaisoo, Baekyeol

6

"Hey, Jongin?"

"Hmm?"

"There's smoke." Kyungsoo stood at the window, the curtains drawn far to the side. Kai sat up from his game of chess with Baekhyun. The servant was surprisingly clever and very good at this game.

"Smoke?"

Kyungsoo stepped to the side and allowed the soldier to peer out into the world outside of the castle. A column of smoke rose to the sky in a never ending line of black. Kai's heart leapt into his throat. The smoke was coming from the center of the city. The temple.

"Oh no." He ran into the hallway looking for anyone to tell him what exactly was going on. At the end of the hall, Sehun ran out of Prince Luhan's quarters. He looked equally distressed.

"The smoke."

"The temple."

Sehun's face drained of color with the realization. Kai spun around and faced a pale-faced Kyungsoo. "Stay here. I'll be right back."

"Ok."

There was a swish of robes and slamming of feet against the tile, then the soldier was gone. Sehun and Kai ran towards the control room.

"Daejang!" The room was empty. "Where's Chanyeol?" Sehun's voice was frantic.

"My guess would be already at the temple."

"We can't leave. Dammit, I can't just sit here."

"Sehun! Calm down. If they need us they will call us."

"Kai, Sehun, I need you." Chanyeol stormed into the room with a grim face. Kai turned to face his companion, face obviously saying 'see?'.

"Daejang, what happened?" Sehun ignored Kai and tried to keep the seriousness alive. He knew whatever Chanyeol had to say next would make that task a lot easier, but he wasn't expecting what came.

"The temple..." His voice cracked. Sehun and Kai immediately paled. They had never seen their general so distressed. Sure he'd been angry a lot. But never, EVER, did he show any weakness. Chanyeol's knees wobbled and his soldiers caught him as he fell forwards, letting him to his knees gently.

"Chanyeol. What. Happened." Sehun placed both hands on his general's shoulders. Chanyeol's face twisted with emotion. His whole body trembled, from fear or sadness, Sehun didn't know. He looked up at them both with tears threatening to spill. "The temple was attacked. Tao... he's dead."

Silence.

"You need to get back to the princes. Now. Guard them. We need to be on high alert." Chanyeol suddenly regained his composure, leaving Kai and Sehun stunned where they sat. He raised a hand to quickly remove any traces of moisture from his eyes. "Did I stutter? Go. Now!"

Kai and Sehun scrambled to their feet and quickly bowed before running to the door. Kai ran through first. Sehun stopped and looked back one last time.

"Daejang...."

Chanyeol looked up.

"My brother...."

"Is fine. He's speaking to General Choi right now. One of his students may know some information about who did this."

"So he's in the castle. Safe?" His voice shook.

"Yes, Sehun." Chanyeol's face softened and the younger boy let out a heavy breath he didn't even know he was holding in. He bowed again and ran back to Luhan.