[EXO] Hastiludes [2/6]
Preparing for a banquet apparently involved polishing far more silver than Kyungsoo even knew existed in the city. Halfway through his fourth punch bowl, Yixing appeared at his elbow to see how he was doing.
“Losing feeling in my arms,” Kyungsoo mourned. “How many of these do we even have?”
“I think you’ve only got two more lined up for you,” Yixing peered around his shoulder. “Then you appear to have an assortment of goblets and three platters.”
“Why am I stuck doing the polishing?” Kyungsoo asked. He cracked his back and groaned. “I think I’m polishing off my fingers.”
“Well, you could be stuck doing the linens,” Yixing pointed out. “There are still stains from last banquet that they’re trying to get out. At least dishes stay polished for more than one night.”
“Point,” Kyungsoo brandished a dishtowel. “After this, I think I’m on food carrying duty, but what’s my job for the night going to be?”
“Nothing too hard,” Yixing assured him. “I’ve got you lined up to be cupbearer. You just have to refill the wine and think your own deep Kyungsoo thoughts.”
Kyungsoo sighed with relief.
What Yixing failed to mention, of course, was the traditional livery prepared for the cupbearers of Camelot. Kyungsoo stood behind Yixing at the table in the Great Hall and blew the red plume out of his face with an irritated breath, glaring at Yixing the whole while.
“You never mentioned anything about feathers and tights,” he hissed.
Yixing waved at him to be quiet without even looking back. Kyungsoo could see Junmyeon look at him from across the table and smother a laugh in his hand. Kyungsoo seethed silently, staring instead at the performers in the center of the hall without really seeing them. He barely even registered when they took a moment out of their performance to exchange words with King Siwon where he sat at the head of the great table. They were saying something about the honor of performing for the court of Camelot, but Kyungsoo was too busy wondering if they knew what a royal pain in the ass Camelot’s prince was to really listen to the words. King Siwon presented them with several gifts and bid them sit at the table to rest and eat, which they gratefully accepted with another elaborate speech and several gifts in exchange. Kyungsoo watched them hand over two small chests, both covered in ornate carvings, containing matching silver goblets for the king and Junmyeon.
Great, Kyungsoo thought. More silver for me to polish. Thanks for that.
The speeches continued, and Kyungsoo tuned them out once again in favor of making unflattering comments in his head. It sounded like a lot of ass-kissing to him and anyway his legs hurt. Kyungsoo wondered exactly how much longer this was going to go on and how much longer it would be until he could sit down and eat himself. He missed Yixing’s signal for more wine several times before finally feeling a kick to his shin, blinking with surprise and almost dropping his pitcher.
“It’s time for a toast,” Yixing whispered. “Hurry up.”
As Kyungsoo refilled Yixing’s cup, he almost dropped his pitcher once again, distracted by the sight that had caught his eye directly across. He had been avoiding looking at Junmyeon all night long, but now he found himself unable to look away, his gaze drawn towards the prince with growing unease turning into horror. Junmyeon stood ready for the toast, as did the entire hall, but his cup appeared to be overflowing with some sort of black smoke. It poured out of the cup and over his fingers, trickling like something oily and sticky towards the floor. Kyungsoo looked around to see if anyone else had noticed, but they all seemed unconcerned. A sick smell wafted up to Kyungsoo’s nose, something full of putrid rot, and he saw tendrils of the smoke drifting all the way across the floor. Still, no one batted so much as an eyelash. The leader of the traveling troupe was just finishing up his toast, leaving only moments until Junmyeon drank from whatever was in that goblet. As much as Kyungsoo disliked Junmyeon, he knew he would never wish whatever was in that cup on him, so he looked around desperately for some way to stop him. Nothing sprang to mind, and he watched Junmyeon raise the cup in salute before bringing it towards his lips.
“Wait!”
Kyungsoo really did drop the pitcher then. Junmyeon stopped, startled by the loud crash, and stared at Kyungsoo like he was crazy, which Kyungsoo thought he probably looked.
“Don’t drink it!” Kyungsoo said, more forcefully than he felt now, with the eyes of everyone in the hall on him. Yixing’s mouth hung open in shock.
“And why on earth not?” Junmyeon demanded.
“There’s something wrong with it,” Kyungsoo said. “It’s been poisoned or something. I don’t know how, but don’t drink it.”
“This is a serious charge,” said Siwon, narrowing his eyes at Kyungsoo. “What makes you think there is anything wrong with the gifts our guests have given us?”
“I don’t know,” Kyungsoo said, and his voice shook slightly, “I just know there’s something not right. Whatever is in that cup, it’s meant to hurt him.”
“Your majesty,” Yixing cut in, standing up to take hold of Kyungsoo’s arm. “I apologize for my assistant. I gave him permission to drink the wine himself, thinking he needed some refreshment. I had no idea it would affect him like this.”
“I’m not drunk, Yixing!” Kyungsoo snapped. “I know what I’m saying!”
“Shut up,” Yixing hissed in his ear. “What are you doing?”
“There’s something in that cup!” Kyungsoo whispered back furiously. “I don’t know, it’s magic or something. Yixing, I can see it!”
“Yixing, it might be wise to remove your assistant,” Siwon was saying, “before I am forced to take action.”
“Looks like making a fool of himself in public is the only thing he’s good at,” Junmyeon laughed raised an eyebrow. He lifted the goblet in mock-salute to Kyungsoo. “Take him off to bed, Yixing.”
Kyungsoo could see that he was going to drink it anyway, just to spite him. He threw off Yixing’s hand before sprinting around the corner of the table just in time to knock the cup away, out of Junmyeon’s hand entirely. Junmyeon shouted in angry surprise. He grabbed Kyungsoo by the collar and shook him.
“What the hell was that?” he yelled. “Are you in that much of a hurry to get yourself back into the dungeon, because believe me, I’ll be more than happy to oblige!”
He looked like he was about to call the guards to take Kyungsoo away once again, when a word from Yixing stopped him.
“Junmyeon, wait!” Yixing said sharply. “Look!”
They all turned to see what he was pointing at. The goblet had flown out of Junmyeon’s hand and landed on the table, splashing its contents all over the floral centerpiece, which now appeared to be wilting and sagging out of the vase, oozing slightly. Wherever the liquid had touched the silver vase, it was now black with tarnish, worse than it had been before the day’s polishing. Siwon stood up out of his chair, gaping at the sight.
“Seize them!” he ordered, pointing at the group of astonished travelers. “One of them is responsible for this!”
The troupe was escorted out in the direction of the dungeons amidst protestations from them and shocked murmurs from the rest of the court. Junmyeon’s hand dropped from Kyungsoo’s shirt, and Kyungsoo straightened it with as much dignity as he could muster. Said dignity wilted somewhat when the king turned to him.
“You knew,” Siwon said. “You knew somehow. I don’t know what sense allowed you to see this, but you have saved my son from what was certainly a plot on his life.”
“Oh,” Kyungsoo shifted under his scrutiny, “It was nothing. I just had a bad feeling.”
“You must be rewarded for your action,” the king insisted. “Some honor fitting for your deed.”
Kyungsoo tried not to look too pleased at the prospect. “You really don’t have to, your majesty,” he said, trying to exude ‘humble servant of the king’ to piss Junmyeon off as much as possible.
“I will not let this go unrewarded,” King Siwon said. “From this day forward, you have a place in the royal household as personal manservant to the Crown Prince.”
“No, that’s perfectly al- what?” Kyungsoo stopped dead.
“Father!” Junmyeon sounded just as taken aback.
“Everyone, resume the feast!” Siwon announced, ignoring them completely. “And give this man a seat and a plate! He deserves a good meal before all else.”
Kyungsoo found himself led to a seat further down the hall and a plate gently placed in front of him. He looked up to the head of the room, and could see Yixing smiling at him in proud bewilderment even from this distance. Junmyeon still looked as shell shocked as Kyungsoo felt. It was nice to know he wasn’t the only one caught on the wrong foot by the king’s sudden proclamation. He ate in somewhat of a daze before excusing himself from the hall early. The king and prince had already left, so no one would fault him for trying to escape the revelry now. Instead he wandered the halls in what he thought was the direction of Yixing’s rooms, trying to wrap his head around this sudden “elevation” in position. It was true that personal assistants to royalty tended to get more in the way of privileges, and this did place him in the perfect position to follow what everyone kept telling him was his destiny, but at the same time... Kyungsoo groaned. The prospect of spending his time, day in and day out, waiting on Junmyeon hand and foot seemed less than ideal. He could only hope that Yixing was right when he said that Junmyeon just took some getting used to, because he was going to have a lot of time to get used to him now. He fell asleep flipping halfheartedly through the spellbook, and if he dreamed, he remembered none of it.
Yixing shook him awake far earlier than he would have liked.
“What- why?” he mumbled. “Today’s my day off, isn’t it?”
“Today was your day off while you were still my assistant,” Yixing had the grace to sound apologetic. “As Junmyeon’s servant, you have duties to attend to now. Probably nothing more difficult than finding his pants where he flung them last night and making sure his food shows up on time.”
Kyungsoo had to get directions on how to get to Junmyeon’s chambers, but in just under ten minutes, he was stumbling down the hall, rubbing his eyes and yawning widely. He pushed open the door in the middle of a particularly huge yawn, setting off Junmyeon, who was sitting on the edge of his bed in the same rumpled shirt he’d been wearing the night before.
“For the love of all that’s good, stop that,” Junmyeon said. He sounded cranky. “I just stopped yawning and I don’t need you starting this again.”
“Sorry,” yawned Kyungsoo. Junmyeon gave him a look.
“Just… see where breakfast is,” he said tiredly, picking up a pair of pants to stare at it with an expression that was both sad and confused. Kyungsoo almost smiled despite himself. He looked far too much like a child who was too sleepy to think properly.
This fond train of thought was brought to a rather screeching halt when Junmyeon sent his breakfast back three times until the eggs and bacon were cooked to his satisfaction. Kyungsoo got his breakfast by eating the rejected food on the way to and from the kitchen, grumbling the whole time about princes with overdeveloped senses of entitlement. He came back the final time only to see the room completely torn apart, clothes tossed every which way. Someone had emptied out every scrap of cloth in the room into a massive pile in the center of the floor. Kyungsoo edged into the room, plate in hand, watching Junmyeon as he flung the entire contents of a chest over his shoulder.
"What on earth are you doing?" Kyungsoo asked. Junmyeon jumped.
"Ow." Junmyeon rubbed his head where he'd bumped it against the lid of the chest. "Trying to find a shirt. What does it look like?"
"It looks like you've entered the regional pigsty championships," Kyungsoo said frankly. "You have about a dozen shirts lying on the floor right here."
"Oh, shut up," Junmyeon pulled a face at him. He dropped one last armload of clothes on the floor before stepping over it all to take the plate of food from Kyungsoo. "I'm looking for a particular shirt. I don't expect you to understand what it's like to own more than one."
Kyungsoo ignored the comment, instead kicking through drifts of clothes until he stubbed his toe hard.
"Is this a breastplate?" he wheezed in pain.
"I thought it might have gotten packed away with my armor last time," Junmyeon explained in between bites of bacon.
"You emptied out the firewood bin."
"Clothes get all kinds of crazy places. Don't ask me to explain it."
"Oh, I don't need you to explain anything," Kyungsoo muttered. "I understand all too well."
"Well, that's a relief," said Junmyeon, a second before he dropped his fork. "I've got it!"
"What?" Kyungsoo was bewildered.
"I completely forgot. That shirt got a huge rip in it, so I got rid of it. Of course I couldn't find it," Junmyeon laughed. He shook his head and went back to eating. Kyungsoo found himself at a loss for words. "I'm riding out in a minute," Junmyeon went on to say. "Just put all this back where it belongs."
"Half of these clothes are dirty now," Kyungsoo pointed out. "You dropped them in soot."
"Then take those ones off to the laundry," said Junmyeon, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And clean up the soot while you're at it. That shouldn't be there."
"Anything else, your highness?" Kyungsoo said dryly.
Junmyeon looked around. "Yeah, find me a shirt somewhere, will you?"
Kyungsoo chucked one at his head.
After Junmyeon had left, Kyungsoo stared for a long time at the mess he'd left behind him. This was not going to be any quick ten-minute job, he thought to himself, mentally waving goodbye to any hopes he'd been holding on to for some free time that day. Then he snapped his fingers. The day might not be completely lost, after all. Kyungsoo cleared up the dishes as quickly as he could, and, after he'd dropped them back off in the kitchens, made a detour around to Yixing's rooms. Yixing was nowhere in sight when Kyungsoo rummaged around under his mattress for the spellbook, which he stowed under his shirt for the trip back up the stairs to Junmyeon's room. He lay it open on the table and flipped through, scanning over each page.
"There's got to be something here in the realm of cleaning spells," he said. "They can't be too hard, and anyway the sooner I get practicing, the better, right?" He flipped over another page to see a spell 'for the polishing of mirrors.' "Sure could have used that yesterday. And that one." Kyungsoo tapped a finger against one 'for the revelation of poisons and other venoms.' Nothing caught his eye as being a spell particularly aimed at cleaning, though. He sighed. "It might almost be easier to do this by hand," he said, but then he looked again at the mounds of clothes piled all the way over the bed.
It took Kyungsoo a while, but he finally settled on one of the spells he came across in the book.
"'For the animation of objects,'" he read somewhat dubiously. "There is absolutely no way an entire wardrobe of animated clothing could go wrong. It says they're supposed to do what I say, so here goes nothing."
He read out the words of the spell, holding out a hand over the clothing dunes. When they started to shift slightly, shaking themselves like someone waking up from a nap, he took a few hurried steps back. The clothes didn't move much, but Kyungsoo had the vague impression of many tiny flickers of life, each connected to his mind, and each awaiting orders.
"Right," he said. "Well. Um... I guess, start by dividing yourselves into two stacks? Dirty clothes here and clean clothes over there on the bed." He tried to hold in his mind as clear an idea of what counted as dirty clothes as he could, hoping they would pick up on it, which they did fairly quickly. Kyungsoo beamed. "Alright," he said. "Clean clothes go back wherever it is you usually live."
At once they scattered to obey him, so Kyungsoo turned his attention to de-animating the pile of clothing to be cleaned. It probably wouldn't be too pleasant to be sent through a wringer, he thought. After that he turned his attention to the fireplace logs that Junmyeon had thrown out of their bin next to the hearth, making them leap one by one over the edge of the box, and by the time they were all stacked neatly back inside, the clothes were finished filing back into the wardrobes and drawers, and all that was left was to sweep up the debris Junmyeon had flung all over the floor. He directed the spell one more time at a broom standing in the corner before lounging back on a chair and flipping through the spellbook. He made notes of which spells he thought it would be useful to practice first, trying to start as small as he could, pleasantly lulled by the sound of the broom sweeping to and fro on the other side of the room.
After the spells, the book had a short section dedicated to magical and supernatural creatures of all different kinds. Kyungsoo only skimmed that section, coming away with the impression that he didn’t want to have to deal with any of them if he could possibly help it. After that came the collection of prophecies. Here Kyungsoo leaned in closer and tried to see if there was a single part of it he could decipher. It was all written in a language he didn’t understand, yet somehow there were entire phrases where he was sure that the meaning was just there at the edge of his mind, ready for him to grasp if only he could turn the right way and find it.
He was concentrating so hard that it took him a while to notice the repetitive dull thuds that had replaced the sound of the broom, so that by the time he looked up, the damage had already long since been done. Apparently letting your mind wander when it was supposed to be directing an animated object was not something you were supposed to do, because now the broom was bouncing back and forth between ceiling and floor. There was a loud smack and a cloud of soot dust every time it made impact, and Kyungsoo was horrified to see several black imprints standing out in stark monochrome on the whitewashed ceiling. He shouted out the counterspell, dodging out of the way when the broom came plummeting back down for the last time. It rolled gently next to his foot, then lay perfectly still.
Kyungsoo stared up hopelessly at the soot-covered ceiling. There was no way he could reach that on his own. He looked up a levitating spell, but found that he could only manage to lift a cleaning rag that far, and the erratically-moving cloth only smeared the soot across more of the ceiling, so he soon gave up. He obviously lacked the finesse required to enchant the ceiling clean. It took a while to clean it all by hand, but he did his best to make everything within his reach spotless before Junmyeon came back, in the hopes that it might distract from the ceiling, or at least mitigate the consequences. He ran armloads of clothes down the stairs to be washed, noting with some satisfaction that, even if nothing else, that was something he'd done well. By the time Junmyeon came back into his room late that afternoon, the place looked cleaner than it probably had in a year at least, judging from the size of the dust bunnies cowering under the bed. Junmyeon stopped just inside the doorway in surprise.
"Wow," he said. "I didn't expect you to have it done so soon." Then, apparently realizing he'd said something positive about Kyungsoo, "I mean, considering you look like you've never seen a hairbrush in your life, let alone any other cleaning implements."
"Thanks," said Kyungsoo, "I think."
He continued what he was doing, brushing through the clothes hanging in Junmyeon's wardrobe to catch anything in need of laundering that might have slipped through. He winced when he heard Junmyeon's voice again.
"Kyungsoo?" His tone gave nothing away. Kyungsoo did his best to imitate it.
"Yes?" he replied.
"I'm curious," said Junmyeon, "about your method of waste disposal."
"What?"
Kyungsoo turned around in confusion. Junmyeon stood in the center of the room, arms folded, just staring back at him with a faint smile.
"I mean," he said, "how did all the soot from there-" he pointed to the stone floor "-get up there?"
Kyungsoo followed his finger up to the black stains still covering the ceiling and completely blanked. He groped for words.
"Well, I couldn't find a dustpan," he explained, for want of anything else to say.
Junmyeon blinked at him before finally doubling over with mirth. He laughed for a long time, while all the while Kyungsoo stood there awkwardly, unsure if he was supposed to laugh too or not. He chuckled uncertainly. Finally Junmyeon wiped his eyes with a sigh. He came over to sling an arm over Kyungsoo's shoulders, which took a slight bit of effort since Kyungsoo was slightly taller than him.
"That's incredible," Junmyeon said. "You're something else, you know that?"
"Um, thanks?" said Kyungsoo. "Does... this mean you're not upset?"
"Not like I have a whole lot to be upset about," Junmyeon shrugged. "Everything's picked up, the room is clean... and there happens to be some soot on the ceiling. All in all, could be worse." He looked around, satisfied. "Of course, you'll have to whitewash the ceiling again."
Kyungsoo froze. "What?"
"Well, obviously it can't just stay like that," said Junmyeon. "They should have supplies somewhere."
"You want me to reach all the way up there?" Kyungsoo asked incredulously.
"Ask someone for a ladder," Junmyeon shrugged again, flopping back onto his bed and kicking his boots off. "Off you go."
Kyungsoo pressed his lips together into a line. As he stalked out of the room, he heard Junmyeon laugh again to himself.
"'Couldn't find a dustpan.' Brilliant."
"-so then I spent the next three hours painting over his ceiling from the top of the most dangerous ladder I've ever seen in my life. And he has the nerve to complain that watching me gives him vertigo."
Kyungsoo lay with his head on the table while Yixing rubbed his tired shoulders and listened to the tale of his woes.
"I bet this is all still revenge for that day in the market," Kyungsoo groaned.
"I doubt it," said Yixing. "If he said he wasn't upset, he probably wasn't. Junmyeon is just used to having things happen when he wants them to happen. I don't think he thought about you as anything more advanced than 'person who is going to make this happen for me.'"
"Oh, that's comforting," Kyungsoo rolled his eyes. "I'm glad I rate somewhere just above furniture in his head."
"Don't sell yourself short," Yixing patted his shoulder. "You probably rank somewhere higher than the cat."
"'Probably'?"
"Probably."
Kyungsoo rolled over so that his face was pressed into the tabletop.
"I don't think I can do this," he said.
"That's the spirit," said Yixing absently.
Kyungsoo paused. "Are you even listening anymore?" he asked.
"What?" Yixing blinked. "Oh. Sorry. I'm trying to figure out what would be the best thing to prescribe for a sort of rattling cough. King Siwon seems to be coming down with a cold."
"I would think the best thing to do would be to sleep it off," said Kyungsoo. "Drink plenty of broth and all that."
"Yes, I don't think that plan will go over very well with the king," sighed Yixing. "He wants something that will keep him on his feet. I've got to come up with something that doesn't produce a soporific effect."
"Good luck with that," Kyungsoo yawned. "I think I'll go to sleep. If today was any indication, I bet Junmyeon will have plenty for me to do tomorrow."
Yixing nodded. "Pass me that other book over there before you go?"
Kyungsoo handed it over. "Don't stay up too late," he told him.
Yixing waved him off with a mumbled 'good night,' so Kyungsoo left him to his work and was once again asleep within minutes of climbing into bed.
He was right in thinking that Junmyeon would keep him busy, but it turned out to be nothing as extreme as that first day had been. Junmyeon was in and out of the palace for most of the day, tracking down as much information as he could about the traveling entertainers who were currently kicking their heels in the dungeons, so he sent Kyungsoo back and forth as well, carrying messages and making any number of small deliveries. The further they got into the less reputable parts of the city, the less weight a royal name carried, but at the same time the mileage a small monetary incentive could get you only went up. Kyungsoo stood by while Junmyeon dropped a heavy gold coin into the hand of a man they had found in a back alley tavern near where the travelers had stayed. He told them that there had been one member of the group in particular who had kept his distance from the others, as if he wasn't very well acquainted with the rest of them. This on its own might have been unexceptionable, but the man also told them that this person had regular access to the caravans full of supplies, including the gifts prepared for the royalty of Camelot. Another coin got them a physical description-a huge, thuggish-looking individual, with at least two of his lower teeth missing right at the front of his mouth. Junmyeon swept out of the tavern, his company of red-cloaked guards in his wake, leaving Kyungsoo to hurry after them.
When they got to the dungeons, however, they found the man halfway buried under the straw covering the floor, shivering and muttering to himself. He appeared to be delirious with fever. Junmyeon ordered the guards with him to take the man to Yixing, but they were all at a loss as to what to do next. Junmyeon stayed to question some of the other prisoners, but Kyungsoo decided to follow their suspect. There was something about him that made Kyungsoo think twice, and Yixing was perplexed by the illness since, as far as he could tell, there was no real cause for it.
"I don't understand!" Yixing frowned. "He doesn't have a single other symptom. There's nothing but the fever to tell me what kind of sickness this is."
He had been working nonstop for close to an hour now, having sent everyone else away with the assurance that he would send word as soon as he had discovered something. The man had been mumbling the entire time about "silver cups" and "do not fail", so Kyungsoo thought it was safe to bet now that he was the culprit they were looking for. The only problem would be to see that he recovered enough to reveal who had sent him, which was looking tricky at the moment. He moaned fitfully again, causing Kyungsoo to lean in closer.
"Yixing?" he said, trying not to sound too alarmed. "What does it mean if he's breathing smoke?"
"What?" Yixing whirled around sharply at was at his side in an instant. "I don't see any smoke."
"Whenever he opens his mouth there's this faint trail of- Look! There!" Kyungsoo pointed. Yixing simply looked baffled. A moment later, Kyungsoo clapped both hands over his mouth and nose. "Ugh, do you smell that?"
"Smell what?" Yixing asked urgently. "I can't see or smell anything, Kyungsoo."
It was thick and sickly, like something rotten. It smelled like-
"Like the poison in the goblet," Kyungsoo gasped.
"What?"
"It smells like whatever was in the goblet to poison Junmyeon!" Kyungsoo choked. "It was so much stronger then, but I remember there was smoke coming out of the goblet too."
Yixing shook his head. "There was no smoke anywhere near the goblet. Not that I saw, anyway."
"But that doesn't make any sense," Kyungsoo said. He was pinching his nose now, but the smell that still leaked through was making his eyes water. "It was definitely there. That's how I knew something was wrong."
"I don't see how that could be possible," Yixing said. "Unless... Kyungsoo, do you think this could be magical in origin?"
"Is that possible?" he asked.
"I don't see why not," Yixing shrugged. "It would explain why he has no other symptoms. Maybe your innate powers let you see when some things are magically influenced-a sort of defense mechanism." He stood away from the table. "I wonder if there is any trace left on the flowers or the vase from the other night. I may be able to prove a connection without a doubt."
He moved to leave the room. Kyungsoo called out after him.
"How will that help anything?" he asked.
Yixing slung a bag of implements Kyungsoo had never seen before over his shoulder. "I'm not sure," he said, "but the more I know about what kind of poison this is, the more likely it is that I'll be able to produce an antidote. Make sure he doesn't die before I get back."
"And how exactly am I suppose to do that?" Kyungsoo complained, but the door had already closed.
Yixing did not return for some time, and Kyungsoo had time to change the cool cloth they were keeping on the man's forehead to keep the fever down several times before the door finally creaked open again. Yixing immediately cleared the table opposite, setting up several glass vials and various pieces of equipment. He produced a small bag from one of his many pockets, out of which he poured what looked like a lumpy powder.
"I managed to scrape the surface of the vase where the poison hit it and found some residue," he explained. "I'm sorry it took me so long, but the king had another coughing fit and this time I really did have to send him off to bed. He's stubborn, though, so it took a little bit of convincing."
"What will you be able to tell from this residue?" Kyungsoo asked.
"I'm not sure yet. I'm going to run it through every test I can think of, and see what that turns up. I can tell you one thing already, though," Yixing looked grim. "Whatever this poison is, it looked like it had partially burned the silver itself."
That night, Kyungsoo tossed in and out of dreams where he was back at the banquet, only this time he was unable to stop Junmyeon from drinking out of the poisoned cup, no matter how much he screamed and shouted. Someone held him back while Junmyeon opened his mouth and black smoke poured out, seconds before he burst into flame. Kyungsoo watched everyone else in the hall go up in smoke and fire, and when he turned around he saw the man they were treating looming over them. When he smiled, Kyungsoo could see the teeth missing, a black hole just above his lower lip that threatened to swallow Kyungsoo, then the two of them caught fire as well. Every time Kyungsoo woke up gasping, he peered out around his bedroom door, and every time he could see Yixing working by candlelight, bent over a book or vial, or tending to the poisoned man's fever. Just after dawn, Kyungsoo gave up. He dressed and came out if his room just in time to see Yixing draw the blanket up over the man's head.
"He didn't make it?"
Yixing startled at the sound of Kyungsoo's voice before dropping into a nearby chair.
"No, he didn't." Yixing sounded exhausted. "I don't know what I'm going to tell Siwon."
"You're not going to tell him anything," Kyungsoo said. He made a decision. "You're going to go to bed and I'll tell him."
"That's very nice of you," Yixing smiled wanly, "but what makes you think he'll even speak to you?"
"I'll get Junmyeon to tell him then," said Kyungsoo firmly, "He'll have to listen to Junmyeon. You're going to get some sleep before you kill yourself, working like this."
He packed Yixing off to bed, making sure he was actually asleep before leaving to inform Junmyeon that their only lead had gone cold. Literally. Junmyeon took it as well as could be expected, considering the lengths he had been going to to get more information about the man. No one seemed to have been able to tell Junmyeon when he had joined the company or why they even allowed him to stay in the first place, especially when he didn't have any particular skills to display. All in all, it had been a frustrating time, as Junmyeon was happy to tell Kyungsoo at length. Kyungsoo smiled and nodded and made vague sounds of sympathy until Junmyeon agreed to pass the word on to his father. There wasn't much else to do, so Kyungsoo ran what few errands Junmyeon had for him. By the time evening came again, Yixing was back to work examining the body to see what clues might still be found. He hadn't given up hope that there might be something left to learn about the poison's source, though Kyungsoo thought it was pointless effort.
"Still," Yixing said, "if the king has called a meeting tomorrow, I have to have something to tell him."
When the meeting came around, it didn't seem like anyone had much of anything to tell the king, however. Kyungsoo was not invited in to sit inside the council room, but from his spot outside he could pick out Junmyeon and Yixing's voices as they gave their reports. Neither one took very much time to relate. There was a somewhat longer period, during which there was a heated discussion, probably about what they should do next. Personally, Kyungsoo didn't think that there was much more they could do, but it took the council until long past lunch time to come to that conclusion.
The doors opened, signaling the end to the meeting, and Kyungsoo was about to head off to find food for both Junmyeon and Yixing when a commotion inside stopped him. It was hard to see past the heads of all the people still crowded in the doorway, but Kyungsoo flattened himself up against the door itself, edging forward until he could see into the hall. King Siwon was coughing and gasping for breath while Yixing and Junmyeon hovered nearby anxiously, and even from where he was, Kyungsoo could clearly see the king’s white-knuckled hand clutching the back of a chair for support. When Siwon went over, it was like watching a tree topple, his crown rolling across the floor to rest in front of Junmyeon’s feet.
Kyungsoo’s view was blocked then by the surge of people all racing forward to help, but he could hear Yixing’s voice shouting over them all to keep back and clear a path so that they could carry the king out. They all pushed back out, so that Kyungsoo remained crushed up against the door, unable to move for fear of being swept out with the tide of people, and by the time he was able to look around again, almost everyone had gone. Junmyeon sat by himself in the empty council room, turning his father’s crown over and over in his hands. He cleared his throat when Kyungsoo came to join him, but his voice still sounded shaky.
“He never wants to rest, even when he’s deathly ill,” Junmyeon shook his head. “I know Yixing tried to tell him, but he never listens.”
“He’ll be all right.” Kyungsoo put a hand on his shoulder. “You should go see him. Take him back his crown, before someone steals it.”
Junmyeon laughed quietly. “It’s really heavy,” he said, sounding surprised. “I don’t know how he wears it all day.”
“Good thing you’ve got plenty of time to work on your neck muscles,” Kyungsoo said. “I’d go get a headstart on that, if I were you. You’re looking a little stringy there.”
“You’re one to talk,” Junmyeon swatted at him. “I’m going to make you carry more heavy things. That way if I keep you around I’ll never have to carry anything again.”
He stopped spinning the crown. Before he left the room, Junmyeon turned back over his shoulder.
“I think I want grouse tonight,” he said in his most pompous voice.
“You always want to grouse,” Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.
“Kyungsoo?”
“Yes?”
“Shut up.”
The next day, the king hadn’t gotten any better, and Kyungsoo barely saw Yixing at all, since he was constantly by the king’s side. Junmyeon was in and out of meetings, trying to do his father’s job as best he could, and even though Kyungsoo only saw him in brief snatches throughout the day, he could tell that it was starting to wear him down. Since he had plenty of time to think without Yixing and Junmyeon there to order him around, Kyungsoo thought long and hard about the situation. It seemed strange that the king had collapsed so soon after an attempt to poison Junmyeon, which made Kyungsoo suspect foul play of some sort, but there was no way he’d be able to tell if there was magic of any kind involved unless he could get in to see the king somehow. He couldn’t just walk in there because he was curious, but it struck him that this was a situation in which his rank might actually prove itself more useful than not. When it came close to lunch time, Kyungsoo intercepted the food being sent up to the king’s chambers. He knocked on the door, and the sight of the tray gained him admittance to the room, where he saw Yixing moving around the bed, his face drawn and serious.
“I don’t have time to eat,” Yixing told him. “I’m no closer to figuring out what this is than I was a day and a half ago, and if I don’t know what it is, I can’t treat it.”
Kyungsoo put the tray of food down on a side table. “Can I take a look?” he asked. “I was wondering if it could be anything like that poison we found before.”
“I wondered that too,” admitted Yixing, “but his symptoms are completely different. For one thing, there are multiple symptoms. It looks and acts like a dozen other sicknesses, but doesn’t match up with any of them.”
“It could still be magic, though, couldn’t it?”
“I suppose it could, yes.” Yixing sighed. “I honestly wouldn’t be surprised at this point. I’m running out of other ideas.”
Kyungsoo moved to stand next to Yixing by the bed. Now that he was closer, he could see how pale the king was, and when Kyungsoo reached out to lay a hand on his forehead, his skin was like ice.
“That’s weird,” said Kyungsoo..
“That’s what I said,” Yixing frowned.
Siwon didn’t respond in the least to any touch, and his breath came in shallow rattles. He wasn’t coughing anymore, but everything about him seemed frozen and slow. Kyungsoo watched carefully as a faint mist appeared around his mouth with every exhale.
“Do you see that?” he asked.
“You see something else?” Yixing peered over at where Kyungsoo was pointing.
“It looks like when you can see your breath in the cold,” Kyungsoo said. “Like he’s lying outside in the winter, only he’s the only one who can feel it.”
“That would explain why his skin is cold to the touch,” Yixing said. “I can’t see anything like what you’re describing though.”
“It feels like magic,” Kyungsoo said. “I don’t know how, but some spell is making him sick.”
“If that’s true, we have to figure out how to break the spell before we can cure him.” Yixing rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “We would have to start by either figuring out exactly what spell it is, or finding whoever is causing it.”
“I took a look through that spellbook the other day, and there’s way more in there than I think I could learn. It sounds like it’d be easier to find the person than the spell,” said Kyungsoo.
“You may be right.”
Kyungsoo stood staring down at the unconscious king while he thought without really seeing him. Behind him, he could hear Yixing picking through the food on the tray. He didn’t seem to be eating much.
“Worrying isn’t going to make him any better, you know.”
“What?”
Kyungsoo turned around. “You’re always worrying about other people, but this time just let me take care of it, all right? If it’s magic, you’ll need me to handle it anyway, so don’t worry so much.”
“I’m not sure how leaving it to you is supposed to make me worry less,” Yixing arched an eyebrow.
Kyungsoo made a face at him.
“If you’re going to find the person responsible, you’ll want to get Junmyeon to help you,” Yixing suggested.
“Why would I need his help?” Kyungsoo grumbled.
“This is no ordinary criminal, Kyungsoo,” said Yixing. “Whoever it is, this is a magician with more than a little power on his side. You’ll need all the help you can get, and Junmyeon is not a bad person to have with you in a pinch.”
“Well, that’s great,” Kyungsoo waved an arm. The entire idea of trying to explain his idea to Junmyeon seemed absurd. “I’ll just go up to him and say ‘hey, your father is deathly ill because someone thought it would be a good idea to cast a spell on him, but don’t worry, I’m going to use my own magic to fix everything.’ That will go over perfectly.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t say it just like that,” Yixing admitted. “But get him on your side, no matter what you have to say. You’ll thank me in the end.”
“We’ll see about that.” Kyungsoo said. “None of this is going to do any good if I can’t figure out where we need to start looking. It has to be coming from somewhere. It wouldn’t have been in anything he ate or drank, would it? I mean the last one was definitely meant to be drunk.”
“He hasn’t consumed anything out of the ordinary recently. Those cups were the only thing I didn’t know the exact origin of.” Yixing looked at Kyungsoo.
They ended up going through the spellbook together for anything that could trace the origin of a spell, but they were interrupted when Junmyeon came into the room to take the seat by Siwon’s bedside. Kyungsoo retreated into the corner to watch him and to do whatever he could to sense the incoming spell on his own. If Yixing had such a high opinion of his innate magical powers, there had to be some way to focus in on magical activity in the area, and if he could see spells where they manifested, Kyungsoo saw no reason to believe he wouldn’t be able to see other traces, if only he knew where to look. He watched the candles in the room burn down while he searched for anything that felt out of the ordinary or gave off any of the same vibes as the other magic he’d identified. Junmyeon didn’t say much the entire time. He stayed late into the night, until Yixing gently sent him packing, assuring him that he’d be the first to know if anything changed. Junmyeon left without even glancing at Kyungsoo.
“Anything?” Yixing asked quietly, as soon as Junmyeon had gone.
“I’m not entirely sure,” said Kyungsoo. Several times he thought he had seen the curtains rustle out of the corner of his eye, but when he’d turned to get a proper look they were still. It was always the same window, only ever when he was looking elsewhere, something that he could only catch faintly in his peripheral. “What’s in that direction?”
Yixing looked at the window. “The woodlands are over in that direction. They’re still too dense to settle in any real way, though more and more people are headed out that way, for want of space.”
“What’s past that, though?”
“Well, on the other side of the forests our lands stop. We don’t have many dealings with the kingdom over to that direction, and in recent years the messages between Siwon and their king have become fewer and far between. As far as I can tell, they want as little to do with us as possible.” Yixing looked at him curiously. “You think it’s coming from there?”
“I know there’s something there. It’s either in those forests, or it’s coming from further away. What’s so special about that place?”
“As far as I know, nothing,” Yixing said. Then he paused. “Though…” His face was carefully blank. “I have heard that they are far more accepting of magic there than Siwon is comfortable with. I would suspect that his attitude as far as magic is concerned has a great deal to do with why relations between the kingdoms are distant. I don’t see why they would want to do this, though.”
“Well, Camelot isn’t exactly known for being the most tolerant as far as magic is concerned,” Kyungsoo pointed out.
Yixing nodded thoughtfully. “True, but that’s hardly a reason to stage an attack against us. The last magical instance I can think of from that area was the curing of a great plague. A number of years ago, a young magician cured the king and many of his subjects and I believe he was appointed the king’s main advisor as a reward.”
“Certainly sounds like a different place,” Kyungsoo said. “I can’t imagine actually getting rewarded for using magic here. Far more likely, you’d be thrown in prison for the rest of your life, chased out of town, or stoned by a mob. Must be nice.”
“The time will come when your talents will be recognized,” Yixing sighed. “Siwon may be hostile to magic, yes, and so far that is all Junmyeon has known. But he could be shown the good that magic is capable of, if only he has the right person to prove that to him.” He looked at Kyungsoo meaningfully. “If you can break whatever spell has done this, you will be well on your way to earning Junmyeon’s trust. Even if the spell did not originate from that kingdom, it might be worth your while to see if the king and his advisor can do anything to assist you in breaking it.”
He put down his fork and pushed away the plate. There was a mug of plain broth there for Siwon, which Yixing carried over and began to carefully feed him while Kyungsoo cleared away the dishes.
Since it was already late, Kyungsoo had to wait until the next morning to inform Junmyeon of their theory. He readily accepted the idea that the illness was caused by magic, but he seemed less inclined to go in search of a magical solution. Obviously Kyungsoo could not tell him that he had sensed the direction of the spell, and Junmyeon wanted nothing to do with the kingdom to the southeast, even if they had a court magician who was apparently skilled in magical cures, dismissing Kyungsoo’s arguments by sending him off to prepare his horse. It wasn’t until Junmyeon returned that Kyungsoo learned he’d given any thought at all to the suggestions.
“I rode out in that direction to see if anyone had any information,” Junmyeon said, tossing a jacket to Kyungsoo. “Several people said that they’d seen a large man with missing teeth, like the one we found with the travelers, but he was alone at that point. It certainly sounds like he came from the other side of the forest, but the path wouldn’t take me far enough to track down where he came from.”
“But it sounds like he’s from across the border then, doesn’t it? Shouldn’t we go looking to see what else we can find out?” Kyungsoo asked. Junmyeon rolled his eyes.
“It’s not that easy,” Junmyeon said. “I can’t exactly just get up and leave, now can I? That would be the height of irresponsibility.”
“What else do you have in mind then?” demanded Kyungsoo.
Junmyeon glared at him. “I don’t know! How should I know? I can’t walk off and abandon my duties here on some wild goose chase, and it’s not like your plan is any better. I’ll think of something else.”
Kyungsoo grit his teeth. He wasn’t going to be able to convince Junmyeon to take the magical route, and he couldn’t say what he wanted to say, which was that Junmyeon was being incredibly stupid, so instead he remained silent. When Junmyeon went to see the king again after he’d eaten, Kyungsoo came along. Once again, Junmyeon barely noticed the presence of anyone else, pushing past Yixing to sit and hold his father’s hand. Siwon was stirring slightly now, and Yixing explained that he’d been able to mitigate the symptoms somewhat.
“Knowing that it was magically induced went a long way towards helping me come up with a remedy,” said Yixing.
“But you still can’t completely cure it, can you?” Kyungsoo asked.
“No,” Yixing shook his head. “I can hold it off for a while-buy him more time-but sooner or later it will progress past a point where I can treat it. You’re going to have to find a way to stop it before then.”
“I don’t know what else I can do, unless I’m supposed to just give up and go over there on my own. Junmyeon didn’t take too kindly to the idea of asking for magical assistance,” said Kyungsoo.
They both looked over to the scene by the bedside. The king was just waking, and he had noticed Junmyeon there. He gestured for Junmyeon to come closer, clearly wanting to say something. Both Yixing and Kyungsoo hurried to help prop him up, which meant that Kyungsoo was close enough to hear the whispered words.
“Junmyeon?”
“Here,” Junmyeon said quickly. “I’m here.”
“Junmyeon, I know it’s asking a lot of you,” the king said. “Too much, too quickly… but you have studied your whole life to take my place when the time came.”
“And I’m going to keep studying,” Junmyeon said. “I’ve got plenty of time still. Yixing, tell him I’ve got plenty of time still.”
“I am doing my best to give you as much time as possible,” said Yixing diplomatically.
Junmyeon nodded enthusiastically. “See, you’ll be fine. It’s just a cold. You’ll be back before you know it.”
“I just want you to know,” Siwon continued, as if he hadn’t heard, which Kyungsoo thought was more than likely, “that no matter what happens, I believe in you. The people of Camelot believe in you. You will be a great king, far greater than I have been.”
“Now I know you’re delirious,” Junmyeon said. It sounded forced.
“Promise me this at least,” said Siwon. “Promise that you will find the one responsible for these attacks. I fear your life will not be safe either, if they are not found out."
"We're all doing our best. It's going to be difficult, but Yixing will get you back on your feet, and you can help us," Junmyeon said.
But the king would not rest until Junmyeon had promised, which he did reluctantly, as if the words were all that were needed to make his father succumb for good. As soon as he heard, Siwon lapsed back into unconsciousness.
Junmyeon stayed there for a long while, and when he finally stood up to leave, he looked directly at Kyungsoo for the first time that night. Kyungsoo followed him out of the room, nearly bumping into him when he stopped right outside in the hallway.
"What was your plan again?" Junmyeon asked.
"The plan to go see if the magician to the southwest can do anything?"
Junmyeon nodded. "Yes, that one. I'll do it. I'm leaving at dawn, so see that a horse is ready."
He walked away without waiting for a response. Kyungsoo watched him leave, and almost followed him, but remembered in time that he had a lot to prepare now if he was to accompany Junmyeon in the morning.
Yixing already knew that Kyungsoo planned to leave, so it was mostly a matter of making sure he had a bag packed of everything he might need, including the spellbook, carefully wrapped in cloth and buried under everything else so that it wouldn't be seen accidentally, no matter what Junmyeon ended up rummaging through his possessions to find. He did his best to anticipate anything Junmyeon was likely to forget, but in the end he had to give it up, instead lapsing into a broken and unrestful sleep.
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