Diamante | SVT

LXI

ALAM MO BA? UnnieUwU

•••

"Do you acquiesce with my request, your highness?"

The King ponders for a while, chin propped on his palm, eyes scanning the younger King's face, full of sincerity and determination yet he can see a hint of worry clouding them. "Your request is yet to be agreed by your own son and mine. Why the sudden change?"

The Jade King chuckles, no humor and distracted as he avoids his eyes. "Its about time I step down, isn't it? Hansol is capable enough to take my place."

"You're undoubtedly the youngest of all Kings." He says as a matter-of-fact, standing up and sizing the other who stood a few meters away from him. Its useless to beat around the bush, but the Jade King isn't known for being straightforward with important prospects. He, too, was flabbergasted at his announcement of arriving, and was whisked away to discuss about the marriage between their sons. It hasn't crossed the Diamond King's mind, he has more pressing matters to deal, his Queen's death was still weighing on him, and the search wasn't near done. He is whirled left and right with his duties, the days come and go, everyone moves with the time, busy with todays and anticipating tomorrows while he's still stuck on yesterdays.

The Jade King sighs gingerly, swiping his bangs away from his forehead, creases can be seen as he thinks hard. The older waits for a response, knowing it will toll to much for his youngest son, he doesn't disapprove but it all seems rushed and with no clear cut answer for it.

"Hanmin." He calls softly, sensing how the Jade King tenses with the call of his name, all formalities being dropped. His eyes widen as he turns to him.

"I can sense that something amidst all of these, share to me your troubles. Is there something happening in your kingdom?"

The Jade King, Hanmin, hesitantly shakes his head, he trudges in front of the King, the wooden table in the middle blocking him from taking a further step. There was this gleam in his eyes as he breathes out a whisper of, "Death."

Tension increases tenfold, like a rubber band that has been pulled and stretched to far and wide and ready to snap with one wrong move. It has yet to dissipate, as everyone tries to shrug it off and return to normalcy, like how it all used to be. The Diamond King was seeing black and red swirling near his irises as he glares at him. "What?"

Hanmin thickly swallows the forming lump on his throat under the heavy gaze of the older alpha in the room, it makes it difficult to breath as his presence grows stronger, in his peripheral, in the corner he can see the wild flickering of the fire in the fireplace, as it dances in hues of orange, red, blue.

"Please. You need to accede my request. I'll owe my life to you if that's what it takes." The Jade King bows, bending down deeply to show his sincerity, eyes screwed shut.

He feels a hand touch his shoulder, handling him to stand back up. The Diamond King taps his forehead once, and he stays frozen in place, as he was scrutinized under his inquiring stare. It seems like an hour to him when he was tapped again, unknowingly exhaling the breath he was holding.

"I see." Was the only thing he muttered, taking a seat back.

Hanmin wearily blinks, not knowing how to decipher what the king has said, who takes a sheet in his drawers and begins to write something on the blank white page.

"Your highness?"

He receives no reply, as the king busies himself, it makes him squirm uncomfortably. The silence stretches with them doesn't do good to the uneasiness he feels since he arrived and that's what exactly the elder King is doing, suffocating him with the stillness of the room.

"Your Highness, please."

When he was not acknowledged again, Hanmin fidgets with in his place, bouncing one leg to another, eyes scanning back and forth. The scratch of the quail against the paper was the only noise and its clearly ringing in his ears. Beads of sweat trickle down the side of his face as he wrings his fingers forcefully to calm the beating of his heart.

"I need my son to take the throne before I–."

The Diamond King pauses, eyes boring into his dangerously. The younger inhales a lung full before speaking again, levelling the stare. "Your highness, the safety of my kingdom is being threatened."

"What do you mean? Who is threatening? Are your people–"

"No."

Hanmin pulls out a glass container from his pocket, he places it against the table and gestures for the king to open it.

"May I know what this is?"

"Open it, your highness."

Twisting the lid slowly, he lets out a strangled gasp at the content. It was small jade stone, or it used to be one. There was black lines swirling around the bright stone as it faintly emits a soft light, slowly losing its color as it is being covered by the darkness of it.

"T-this can't be." He denies, putting the stone back in the container. Hanmin stays silent, shaking his head left and right.

"I can't lie to you, your highness." He takes the stone out and puts it in his palm, it was now fully covered, jade turning black. He crunches it in his palm, and when opens, it has receded to ashes. "Every Jade I have placed around the borders of my kingdom have dwindle into ashes."

Hanmin dangles his hand to the side, the ashes falling down the tiles. It was obvious and he can't make it up, the stones were a proof of it. Jade has a redeeming quality and that it can absorb negative and dark magic when a user has touched it. They placed it on the borders to check if any signs of black magic has passed through.

And it seems they did.

The Jade Kingdom is in imperilment.

He will not let that happen.

"That's why I'm asking you, your Highness. Please consider the marriage between them." Hanmin pleads, voice going low at the end of the sentence. "I don't know what will happen to me, that's why I need to be prepared."

With a shaky voice, he gives him a bitter smile, "My time is near."