It was unavoidable now, they all knew it. With the door closed, there was only one option left to end it all.
War.
Jaehyun rubbed his temples as he thought to himself. With Wooyoung's death, Doyoung was far from the state he needed to be to rule the realm. With Taeyong assisting Luminosa's King with his duties, training for the upcoming war was placed onto Jaehyun's shoulders.
It should have been easy for him, second nature. Jaehyun had grown up preparing to take over Feu one day, as the son of the late General. That was all before he died though, before he went to the other side. Back when he was still his selfish self, the version of him that Jaehyun now hated and wished never existed. Despite what the others told him, he couldn't get it out of his head. He knew that times had changed and in the end, it was for the better but at the same time, they weren't actions he could easily forget.
Enough of that, Jaehyun shook his head, taking a deep breath. He had troops to train and people to deal with, neither which he was very excited about.
A sudden commotion coming from outside Jaehyun's study made him lift his head. He soon heard the sound of his wife, sounding very exhausted.
"Grace, calm down please. He's been very stressed, you can't just barge in like this." Haesoo said.
"Well I hate to break it to you but we're going into war. You out of everyone should know how important training is, considering the fact that last time a war broke out in Orenda, some of us didn't make it back alive."
Jaehyun smiled as he heard Haesoo sigh, standing up from his desk. As the two girls bickered, he made his way to the door, opening it.
They both froze, heads turning immediately to Jaehyun. The thing that surprised him were the colours of their eyes, which were quickly returning to their normal brown. For a brief second though, he could have sworn Haesoo's eyes were a bright red while Grace's were a violet.
Were they always like that? Jaehyun wondered as he gave Haesoo a reassuring nod before turning to Grace. "Do you need me?"
"All of Orenda needs you, Jaehyun." Grace said, shaking her head. "This isn't exactly the best time to be hiding."
"I told you, he's been busy." Haesoo argued, sticking up for her husband. "Just because you don't need a break, that doesn't mean that the rest of us don't either."
"We have no time for breaks, Chanyoung can come for us any moment." Grace said, staring daggers at Haesoo before turning back to Jaehyun. "If you still need more time, I'll get my brother to assign someone else to be the head of training."
"Yah!" Haesoo exclaimed, not liking the suggestion Grace had given.
"It's fine." Jaehyun said, resting a hand on Haesoo's shoulder. He could feel how stiff her muscles were underneath his touch, as if she hadn't gotten proper sleep in days. That's weird, she always seems to sleep soundly at night. Jaehyun made a mental note to ask her another time. "I was just planning. We can head out now."
Haesoo gently pushed Jaehyun's hand off her, adjusting the long red dress she wore. "Don't tire yourself, Jaehyun. I'll be running my errands then."
Without another word, Haesoo turned down the hall, walking away. Jaehyun couldn't help but notice how out of place she had been acting all day. They were married, living a lifetime together. There's something wrong.
He wasn't the only one that noticed this, the male picking up on Grace's reaction as well. "There's something strange going on."
"Can you tell because you're her best friend or because of something else?" Jaehyun asked. The two of them began making their way out to the training grounds, where troops were beginning to gather. Jaehyun had heard them preparing all morning, waiting for his instructions.
"Both." Grace said, lifting her hand. Jaehyun watched as a purple spark danced across her hand like the way the people of Luminosa would show off their powers. It was the first time he had seen her do it though, a sign that she had been training hard. "There's something different about her."
Jaehyun wasn't one to go against his love but with the small exchange, he had already noticed something different with his wife. He couldn't help but think if it was because he had been so busy that he didn't realize sooner.
"If you want, I can ask her tonight." Jaehyun told the girl. "She can't hide anything from me, we're married."
"You can hide a lot from people, even the ones you care the most about." Grace said, dropping her hand. Jaehyun noticed the same flash of purple dance across her eyes, before disappearing again.
"You sound like you're speaking from experience." Jaehyun replied. He inhaled deeply, tilting his head as he let Grace walk a few steps ahead of him.
It was hard to think that they were engaged once, destined to rule together. Jaehyun felt like he knew her well but at the same time, he didn't know her at all. She was unpredictable, acting based on her gut feeling rather than using logic or emotions.
"Do you tell Haesoo everything?" Grace asked, glancing back at him. It was a trick question, one that he knew the answer to.
"Of course not. There are some things that you're meant to keep to yourself." Jaehyun responded, earning a smile from Grace. It soon faded, her face becoming serious again. "So you can't expect her to do the same."
"Why can't you be direct with your words?" Jaehyun asked as they walked again. "Tell me what you're thinking."
Grace scoffed, shaking her head. "It's better if you figure it out yourself. Plus," she motioned out the door, where a large group of people were waiting. "There's training to be completed."
Jaehyun wasn't quite satisfied with that response but he could feel heads turning as they walked out the door, heading towards the training area. Before they arrived where the others were, he pulled her back by the shoulder, stopping her.
Grace looked over her shoulder, the two meeting eyes. He tightened his grip on her, showing that he meant business.
"I'll ask her but I still want to hear what you're thinking." Jaehyun told her, his eyes glaring at hers.
Not intimidated one bit, Grace nodded her head, understanding Jaehyun's intentions. "I'll tell you when the time is right, I promise."
"Good." Jaehyun said, turning towards the troops and cracking his knuckles. "We'll deal with this later."
Grace stepped out of the way, letting Jaehyun take over while she stayed back. Jaehyun clapped his hands, gathering everyone's attention even though he already had it.
Alright, Jaehyun thought to himself, straightening his back and puffing his chest ever so slightly. Let's make sure everyone here is ready to take on the monster waiting for us.
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I'M BACKKKKKKK
Hehe exams are coming up but that means school is dying down so i'll try to update twice a week or once a week to make up heheheh