The pain slithered from the base of her neck, making itself comfortable near her right temple. Their steps were fast, and the shadow at the end of Jisoo's feet furious. Jennie wiped her forehead. Turning at the loud shouts, she saw some of the nobles had streamed out the court.
"Jisoo."
They passed by a few guards, she caught the snarls on two of their faces.
"Jisoo!"
She tried again. Black doors flung open as Jisoo forced her way through. The stairs spiralled making Jennie blink slowly, the darkness thickening. They walked further down. Lisa turned, her eyebrows deeply set. Jennie shook her head at her and nodded for them to continue following.
Their footsteps clattered as another set of doors were barged into. The room was large a round table in the center, a gold cloth covering it and the seats the colour of charcoal. Jisoo stomped towards the window and leaned her hands down. Lisa stopped and pulled out an arm as Suga tried going over to her.
He gave her a scowl but when his gaze returned to the princess, he understood her reasoning. Jisoo stared out of the window, seeing only the greens of the Royal Gardens, the tears in her eyes staining her sight. Jeongyeon closed the door as she was the last to enter. Jennie was grateful for the light in the room, but her heart panged as Jisoo's nails dug into the windowsill. Irene shuffled towards her but hesitated from touching.
"...take a seat everyone," she instructed wiping at her eyes, "There is much we have to plan."
"EON!"
"EON!"
Chaerin hurried to catch up with him. He turned into the Council room, breaths heavy. Running up towards him, she grabbed his shoulders and pushed him into the wall.
"CL!" Bella placed a hand over her mouth as Clive rushed towards them.
"What has gotten into you?" demanded Chaerin as she held Eon up against the wall. Clive shoved her off. Gasping for breath, Eon stood, knees trembling.
"I am your king!"
"You are out of your mind!" she retorted. She lunged at him again, but Clive pulled her back.
"Enough CL," he ushered her to the other side of the room. June looked on, bewildered and scared.
"Explain yourself," said Chaerin, "What demon possessed you to do what you just did?"
"I have nothing to explain,"
"No Eon," said Bella, "You have everything to explain," she walked to the door and locked it, placing the key in one of her pockets, "None of us are leaving until you give us answers."
"Chu, what you said..." Jennie's gaze lowered. None of them had taken a seat, Jisoo's back still facing them, "What your father said..."
"The king," Jisoo's voice was hoarse, "made himself clear," she turned, eyes red, "And so did I."
"Chu, do you understand what this means?"
"I'm fully aware of the implications Jen."
"Perhaps the king was mistaken. Didn't intend to upset you."
"He named Jimin his successor," growled Jisoo, "There is no doubt on what he's done."
"Still Chu," Jennie walked over to her, "Everything was said in anger. With no time for reasoning. We should ask for the king's audience, along with the Council. Demand an explanation and from there decided what we should do."
The light in the room dimmed as Jisoo spoke, "I don't need to ask him anything."
Jennie's temple twitched as Jisoo's gaze bore into her. War...they were already in one. What would it mean to start another? Where would they even begin? Where would it end? The questions compounded as she continued staring at her best friend.
Jisoo was the first to falter as another wave swept over her eyes, "Did you not hear," she whispered, "What he insinuated," a tear fell.
"You are still the rightful heir to the throne," Suga jumped in, "The king is delusional, has been for months now. No one can trust his word."
"That is right," added Max, "King Eon is a fool. Jisoo, you are the only one capable in all of Agara of sitting on the throne."
She wiped her eyes, "I don't know anymore"
Suga glanced slyly at Jennie, "He did visit Jimin's village not so long ago," Lisa perked up, "From what I've heard he didn't inform any of his Council as to what the visit was about. Perhaps," he looked at Jisoo, "he went over to offer Jimin the throne. Perhaps your brother accepted it."
Jisoo's head flung back, gaze returning to Jennie, "Did you know about this?"
"Ofcourse not," she answered earnestly, "And I believe Jimin doesn't either. I've been in the village for the past couple of days now, and there has been nothing out of the ordinary."
"But still," said Jisoo, "You aren't invited into their meetings. Perhaps Suga may have a point," Jisoo gritted her teeth as her mind begun to buzz, "Has Chaeyoung said anything to you?"
Jennie froze, "No, and I'm certain she knows nothing. Jimin didn't even inform her of their father's visit."
Jisoo squinted, "So you did know?"
Jennie's mouth opened, hands on her hip, "You also knew about your father's visit. What I'm saying is that I don't know what it was about," Jisoo's head tilted, taking in her friend's words.
"We can speculate all we want," Lisa stepped in, "What we need to do is find out the truth."
"I agree," said Jennie, "And then act," Jisoo looked between them, jaw tightening.
"No," she said, "We find out the truth and act at the very same time," she walked past Jennie and pulled out two seats, "We don't have much time," said the princess, "Jen," she gestured with her eyes for her to sit, "You can lead the meeting as we formulate a strategy."
Looking over to Lisa, Jennie saw support in her gaze. Her lips formed into a thin line as she briskly walked towards the seat. Lisa followed. And as they sat down next to the princess, Jennie felt the pain slither again, as if its skin was shedding inside of her.
Stretching up, Kat's fingers got hold of the bottle. Two glasses in the other hand she walked to the fridge and placed some ice in each. Returning to the resting room, she sat down. Eyeing the brown liquid as she finished pouring, Chae took a sniff as the glass was handed to her.
"It's not as strong as it looks," said Kat.
Shrugging Chae sipped freely. It charred down her throat, her tongue curling. Kat laughed at the pulling of her mouth, "It's stronger," she chuckled taking a sip of her own. The burning lasted some seconds before a welcomed warmth engulfed the pit of her stomach, impressed, Chae took another sip.
"It's very good."
"I made it myself."
"From what?"
"You don't want to know."
The glass halted at that, eyebrow rising as she glanced at her friend. Kat giggled again, her braids shaking.
"I'm kidding," she said.
"No, you're not," Chae smiled, "It's fine. I don't need to know."
"Great! I'm glad to hear it, "she moved her glass around, the ice whirling, "So what are you going to do?"
"I was hoping you would give me some ideas."
"Well," shrugged Kat, "If it's true that it was E'dawn, then he must be there for a reason. It can't be a coincidence that he's in the Midlands," Chae nodded, "But that's something we can ponder about later. The real question," Kat leaned back in her chair, "Is why a famous rebellion military general and a start-up fake priest would be conversing with one another?"
Taking another sip of her drink, Chae ruffled her fingers through her hair. Kat's hut was slightly off the main path, just like hers. But the tree that masked it was larger, making the rooms cooler. Placing down her glass, Chae crossed her legs.
"We need to lay it out. Everything we know," she said.
"How long will Jae and Dayhyun be with that book?"
"I don't know, but," Chae bit her lip, "Have you heard from your meta recently?"
"No," said Kat, "She's been very quiet. Yours?"
"Same," said Chae, "We should note that too," she got on her knees, ready to cast a spell when there came a loud banging on the door.
"KAT! KAT!" the voice urged, "IS CHAE WITH YOU?" they both hurried up, opening the door to find an out of breath DK.
"Did something happen?" Kat looked outside in concern.
"Yes," DK leaned on his knees, "Chae, you need to get to Sowon's office right now. It's urgent."
"What is it?"
"I don't fully know but they sent me to find you."
She turned to Kat, "Come with me."
Mouth jutting out for a second, Kat frowned, "Do you think that's wise?"
"I want you to come with me," said Chae.
"Well then I can't refuse, can I?" she said and nodded for Chae to lead the way.
When they reached the tower, trickles of sweat were on all their faces. DK was still attempting to catch his breath. Rushing up, they quickly went into the office. Jimin was seated at Sowon's desk. Kali was on the couch, Ren next to him. Sowon was leaning against the windowsill and Devlin stood in the center.
"Thank you, DK, you and Kat may leave now," said Sowon.
"Kat came with me," said Chae, "I'd like her to be here," Sowon's eyebrows inched down, and Kali moved to stand but Ren beat him to it.
"That's fine," he said and look to the others, "If Chae would like her to be apart of this then she may be."
Looking over to Devlin, who had been in a hurry to say his say, Jimin waved a hand, "It's fine, I permit it. Just close the door so we may begin."
DK bowed and made his way out. Chae walked over to the empty couch, Kat sitting down next to her. Sowon eyed them both. Kali huffed, mouth parting but Ren interrupted.
"Alright Devlin, everyone you asked to be here is present, you can start."
"I'm going to get straight to the point. King Eon has stepped down from the throne. He named you," pointing to Jimin, "His successor."
Hardly anything was said, besides a cough from Kat, "Jisoo is heir to the throne Devlin," said Jimin.
"Not anymore. That was the announcement. Your father made you his heir."
They turned to Jimin, who held his hands folded before his mouth. His back sat straight, and his hair was combed neatly. However, his eyes had morphed into large cylinders, circling in confusion. Devlin stepped closer to the desk, hands plastered down and shook his head.
"Jim, this is not good."
Kali got to his feet, the news settling in and his voice roaring, "Not good! This is disastrous," he stomped over to the desk, "Is there more to the meeting with your father than you let on?"
Jimin's eyes stopped circling, "No, I told you all everything. Of this...I did not know."
"Jim," said Sowon, "Those in the capital, will also be suspicious of your father coming here, right before this."
Jimin dropped a hand over his mouth, "I know," he huffed up his cheeks, "I honestly had no idea."
Chae looked at her brother, then towards the others, "Jisoo must not have been happy," she said.
"She wasn't," said Devlin, "Eon insulted her, they argued. She stated that she would take what is hers."
Sowon folded her arms, "How?"
"Well anyone could gather from her words that, she would go against her father. Most likely start a rebellion."
"Another one?" asked Jimin and Devlin nodded.
"Jim," Chae's voice was light, "Make a public declaration," she continued, "State that you knew nothing of this, refuse the king's offer and emphasise your belief that Jisoo should take the throne."
"But," said Jimin.
"But what?" asked Chae.
"What of father?"
Chae squinted, "Did your father place any thought about you and the village when he made this decision? Besides, it will not harm him if you refuse."
"Yes, but," Jimin swallowed thickly, "Why would he do this?"
Devlin sighed deeply, "I should've told you sooner, but I didn't think he would resort to this."
"Now what?" asked Kali, throwing his arms up.
"He requested it from me," said Devlin. He took some paces away from the desk, head low.
"Who are you talking about?" asked Ren.
"Eon," Devlin looked at Jimin, "He came in the middle of the night to our home. Needed to speak to me. He and Bria had gotten into another fight. She had said some things that rattled him."
Chae looked off to the side. Another? How laughable. Fighting was all the palace was about. The king and queen were the prime examples of it. She glanced at her brother, his shoulders slacking.
"Then he asked me something, I thought he never would," Devlin shook his head, "He..."
Turning he took a seat on the couch. Rubbing a hand over his face, he continued, "He asked me whether Jisoo was his child. I-I," he shook his head.
Jimin stood up, "What?" Devlin bit his lip, "But Queen Bria and our Father. They went into the Falls together," he said, "And Jisoo... was born during their partnership."
Devlin breathed in deeply, "That is all true but also not really," he bowed his head, guilt raking through him from having to bring up the past again."
"Jim, your mother and father had an affair. At the time his cousin, De'Claude was still alive, fully in love and betrothed to Bria. But your father was in love with her too. He harboured those feelings for a very long time. During a drunken escapade he and your mother jumped into the Falls. He must have had some love for her because nine months later she had you. It was a huge scandal."
Kali nodded, "That's true, back then nobles were forbidden from having intimate relations with forest folk. Up until today we still don't know how Minova and your father met. She was in love with him. But what does that have to do with anything?"
"De'Claude, I've heard of him. He was next in line for the throne?" asked Jimin.
"Yes, he was. But his mother, the Queen and ruler at the time did not have much faith in his capabilities. He was an average student, barely performed in the military and showed too much favour for her liking to the forest folk and magi-users," said Devlin.
"From what I heard he also saw things," said Kali.
Devlin nodded at him, "He did. He was not well mentally, much like his mother in her old age. Either way, it caused friction amongst the different noble houses. Some supported De'Claude others wanted another of the family branches to take the throne. With Eon being the most favoured."
"How do you know all this?" asked Chae.
"We grew up together. De'Claude and Eon, were two of my best friends," he bowed his head again, "But things turned ugly soon after the Queen passed away before she was able to announce her decision to make Eon her heir. The crown was bestowed upon De'Claude but before he could take the throne, he was..."
"What does this have to do with Jisoo?" asked Chae.
"She's De'Claude's daughter. He and Bria had gone to the Falls before their communion. And well," Devlin fiddled with his fingers, "Bria only ever loved De'Claude. And the only way you carry another's child is if there is honest mutual love between two partners. She...De'Claude he..." Devlin lifted his head up, then breathed out, "He'd found out...about a possible assassination attempt. Asked me to conceal Bria's pregnancy. So, I-I-I...I placed a spell on her prolonged Jisoo's birth by a few years."
Chaerin's mouth dropped. A shocked expression covered June's face. He'd heard rumours but the Queen had not even told him. Bella shook her and Clive sat silently, arms crossed, lips stern.
"I didn't want to believe it either," continued Eon. His mouth quivered and his hand on the table formed in to a fist, "But she confirmed it. Told me herself. That it was the least she could do for the love of her life after I-I"
"Is that why you turned into a recluse?" asked Clive. Eon nodded, "And the absurd amount of drinking?"
"Yes, that and a lot of other things," said Eon.
"This makes things even more complicated," said Chaerin. It took some seconds for it to dawn on them until her words hit like a boulder, "Either way, Jisoo..."
"...still has a legitimate claim to the throne," said Chae, "Her being De'Claude's daughter reinforces that," she looked at Jimin, "We must refuse and support Jisoo taking the throne."
"I agree," said Sowon, "That is the best way forward. We can not involve ourselves with any disputes."
Jimin shook his head, "This is very unexpected. How were things in the capital?"
"Utter chaos," said Devlin.
"We should get word to Jisoo immediately," added Kat, the room's full attention on her, she caught her breath, "What I mean is that, if possible, the princess should be informed of our position."
"That's right," said Chae, "I can sense Jennie's energy and take us there. I have no doubt they are meeting now."
"Wait," Ren held up a hand, "We must not approach this with haste. We can not just barge into the capital, especially you Chae, have you forgotten? You aren't allowed to use your powers there."
"But this is an emergent situation," said Chae, "Who knows what is currently happening? What decisions are being made?"
Taehyung paced outside of the door. After some strides, he paused, seeing the sun hanging low. The streets had thinned, but there still appeared to be an urgency amongst those who were trailing on the cobbles. The doors burst open, making him turn.
"Let's go," said Kai.
Taehyung ran up to him, looking back at the doors, "What happened?"
Kai's steps were fast, his hand reached out, "I told them the truth," he made them both turn a corner down a set of stairs.
"And?" asked Taehyung has he held on to his grip.
"And now I must tell Jisoo too. It's time," said Kai, a smile on his lips.
Taehyung's eyes bore into his, seeing what he knew, "The Spirit of Meta...will be awoken?"
Kai paused on a step, leaning in for kiss, "Yes," he whispered, "It will."
"Don't be a fool Eon!" Clive stood up, angst coursing through his steps as he moved to a window, "We cannot start another war."
"He's right," said Bella, "We do not have the resources to sustain more battles."
"She doesn't have the resources either," said Eon, "She can not start a rebellion without my help."
Chaerin sighed, "You really have been missing for months."
He turned to her, stare cold, "What?"
"She has a following Eon. A growing one," said Chaein.
"Are you talking about those lunatics dressed in red?" he cackled, "Is she going to take the throne with an army of mumbling fanatics? Ha! Let me see her try."
"You're being arrogant," said Chaerin, "Do not underestimate her or her council."
Bella shifted in her seat. June was unusually quiet. Eon wondered if he'd known all along. But that thought didn't last long as he focused on Chaerin's words, "Is that your concern?" he asked, "Having to go against your own children?"
"You don't seem to have that worry," chirped Bella.
"Jisoo is not my child."
"But you raised her as your own. Showered her in affection," Chaerin shook her head astounded, "You cannot sit here and say that you do not still hold love for her?"
Eon looked off to the side, hand unclasping, "Will you help me if she chooses to fight against me or not?" he asked.
"She's already made her choice," voiced June.
Eon spread out his hand, palm gluing on to the table as his eyes roamed over them all, "And what is yours?"
"We have to be reasonable," said Chae. She moved forward, bending her back so that her elbows were resting on the top of her knees, "And I get it Ren, caution is important in this situation. However, if we do not hurry, then things might escalate."
"We can start writing a response right now," said Sowon.
Jimin held up his hand, "Woah woah," he looked at them, "What exactly are we doing?"
"We're going to give a response," said Sowon," Stating that we had no idea about the king's decision," Chae nodded, "And that you do not want the throne, that the position should be given to Jisoo. The rightful heir..." Jimin's expression showed a sense of nervousness.
Chae saw the tensing of her brother's posture, "You don't want it right?"
His lips slapped together, "Ofcourse not, it's just...what if the king doesn't relent?"
"We'll deal with that if it happens," said Chae confidently, "For now, let us focus on the issue at hand, which is covering your reputation and in turn the safety of the village."
A tingling sensation rippled underneath her skin. Jisoo gripped her wrist, pushing her seat back. Lisa placed a hand on her shoulder, as Jennie stopped talking. But before they could ask what was wrong, the door opened. Lisa frowned seeing Kai and V.
"How did you," Lisa was cut off.
"We need to talk," said Kai as he bowed in front of Jisoo. She looked down at her wrist, feeling the sensation was gone.
"Then talk," she said. Kai bowed his head lower.
"It may be best to speak alone," he said.
"Whatever it is say it to us all," said Jisoo, "I don't know if you haven't heard but,"
"We did," said Taehyung, "It was shown in the Midlands as well.
Kai stood up eyes fixed on Jisoo, "Your highness, perhaps you should hear it alone and then decide whether the rest of the council is entitled to hear it."
"I trust everyone in this room," said Jisoo, "Let us all hear," nodding Kai reached into a pocket and took out a piece of paper, handing it to Jisoo.
"Then its best I start with how I came to be on this path," he breathed out, "Towards the Spirit of Meta. Towards you."
He felt himself being thrown down. He tried pulling his hands apart, but it was pointless. The door cranked. He tried to speak but even he could hear it was nothing but muffles. The steps were faint and on his next breath, his eyes could finally open.
Hyuna crossed her arms as E'dawn bent down, "Were you uncomfortable?"
He wriggled hands fixed, "Mmatheleffmmm," he tried.
"Sorry if it was," E'dawn snapped his fingers, "But we are in a hurry," he began to cough, mouth free. E'dawn's smile was small, "And we didn't have time to convince you," he looked up at Hyuna who shrugged, "Either way, Elder Dupont, we're going to need you to tell us everything," he smiled further, "With no breaks in between."