FIREFALL, OR IN EXO WONDERLAND ▷ COMPLETE

Eternal Rose

CHAPTER 3: ETERNAL ROSE

Down the rabbit hole was a hallway, and at the end of the hallway was a small, locked door. Beyond the locked door was the most beautiful garden mortal eyes had ever beheld. The roses blossoming on trees were eternally red, as dripping from their petals was the blood of various executed inhabitants. Gardeners in spades ran here and ran there for the roses, dipping their brushes into fresh buckets and painting for their lives. What a hectic day!

Look no further for the culprit for here he was, seated on his throne with a fire on his left hand and a browning marshmallow at the other. The great King of Hearts was enjoying his evening snack. He smiled in contentment, revealing sets of pearly white teeth when his thin lips parted. A bag of marshmallows was placed on his royal lap.

Suddenly, someone came running in. He was the Knave of Hearts. He leapt next to the King and whispered something to his ear. The King stood up. The flame on his left hand blazed up to the heavens. Its heat was so overwhelming that the Knave of Hearts began to bow for forgiveness. “Great King Chanyeol, please spare the humble me!”

“Who said that I won’t spare you?” The fire was extinguished from the King’s hand with the help of the Prince Regent. “Get up! Summon the Minister of Internal Affairs! Tell him that I want to meet him right now!”

“Y—y—yes, Your Highness!”

Later, the poor minister decked in diamonds was dragged with chains trailing behind him. Two card-soldiers in armour of clubs stood still with a grim expression plastered to their faces beside him. They pushed him to the ground, causing him to kneel before the King.

“What did you say?” The King of Hearts fumed. “The Resistance of Shuffling Decks is active again? Aren’t they supposed to be liquidated long ago? You careless dilettante! You call yourself a minister?”

The King’s tall physique towered over the minister. He was like a giant ready to devour a lost human child. The King’s round fireball eyes watched him—oh, too closely! The poor old minister trembled. His greying handlebar moustache bobbed up and down.

“You’re such a good-for-nothing!” The King threw his marshmallows at the minister. “Hunt them—one—until the last because—two—they’re just—three, four—a royal pain in the neck! How dare they—five—defy me? Don’t they—six, seven, eight—know who am I?” He peeped at his little empty bag. “Blast! Now I’m wasting my marshmallows on you! Off with your head! Give me more marshmallows!”

With these words, the minister was dragged out to the guillotine while the Knave of Hearts gave the King another bag of marshmallows. The Prince Regent was appalled with what he saw. “Chanyeol hyung!” He screamed at his brother. “He had been a loyal minister for decades! And you had sentenced him to death!”

“Sehunnie,” the King smirked and threw a marshmallow at the Prince Regent. “You’re just an underage kid. You’re a total innocent in politics. Shut up and let me rule, won’t you?”

“Don’t call me Sehunnie!” A storm was brewing inside the Prince Regent. “I’m not your Knave, I’m your Regent!”

“Give me your hair and I’ll stop.”

“What does that have to do with my hair?”

“Nothing. Sehun-ah, our measures had been proven ineffective. Perhaps we were too soft on the Resistance. We had mollycoddled them too much.” The King thought deeply for a moment. “Summon the Head of Secret Police. I’ll promote him as the Minister of Internal Affairs. He got some work to do.”

Eun-soo’s eyes hurt as if they were stabbed by daggers. Someone should stop playing with the torchlight. Seriously, it’s annoying. “Get off me!” she hissed.