Graced (Prologue)
Title: Graced
Rating: PG-13
Genre: graced!AU, adventure, romance
Pairings: Eeteuk/Kangin, Heechul/Hankyung, Yesung/Ryeowook, Kibum/Donghae, Kyuhyun/Zhou Mi, slight!Kyuhyun/Sungmin, Sungmin/Siwon, Shindong/Nari, Eunhyuk/OC, Henry/OC
Summary: The king keeps all those Graced with two different colored eyes and unique abilities under his command. From his throne, he ignores the needs of his people in favor of wine and women.
Now, under threat of a war the king so dangerously ignores, a group of Gracelings secretly rally together to protect the king and the people from danger, destruction, and even the king himself.
A/N: For oreocookeys because she is a sexy creeper and asked me to do this in the first place. 8D
The ballroom was alive with activity. Tiny shimmering lights bounced off the floor, glinted from jewelry, played across faces. The air was stuffy despite the cool breeze flowing in from the open doors. Light music played from the middle of the room, flutes and harps accompanied by a soft voice from a man with one black eye and one yellow eye. Three more people with different colored eyes danced behind him, two male and the other female, and a crowd of people surrounded them, cheering and clapping.
Along the sides of the room were tabled laden with food and drink. People milled around the tables, talking and laughing. A closed door stood along the right side, a tall man with gold and purple eyes leaning casually next to it. At the head of the room, the king sat, voice loud and carrying even over the noise. Surrounding him were four more strange-eyed people. Three stood silently, but the fourth one with light blue and green eyes sniffed every so often.
In the top left corner of the room, a man with green and red eyes leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He surveyed the room with his uneven gaze. At the corner diagonal to him, another man mirrored his position against the wall. Every few minutes or so he glanced away from his fingernails to throw a glance to his left with the eye that wasn’t covered by his black hair.
Since the party had started, roughly an hour and a half ago, the man in the corner had hardly moved, except to flick his hair over his shoulder once or twice. Now, however, with a quick glance at one of the men surrounding the king and an answering nod, he stretched his arms above his head and yawned.
At this, the tall man with gold and purple eyes straightened and sidled in front of a woman a few meters along the wall. The man by the king watched at her surprised face changed and her eyes glazed over as the tall man leaned in and whispered something in her ear. He swallowed when they slipped out of the room through the side door, and stared resolutely out of the open front doors.
***
Outside, perhaps an hour’s ride away, two silent figures rode south down a dark dirt road. Pink and grey eyes flashed from one face, blue and gold from the other. They rode quickly, as quickly as they could without ruining their horses.
At some unspoken signal, both of them stopped. The taller one with blue and gold eyes led his horse behind a tall bush, and climbed himself into a nearby tree. The other stood in the middle of the road, arms crossed.
They waited.
***
The tall man and the woman stumbled through the corridors, the woman trusting the other to know where he was going. They grabbed at clothes and gasped into each others mouths. Eventually, the tall man backed her into a door next to a food cart. One hand rested on her hip and the other reached for a bottle of wine as he kissed her jaw and whispered nonsense into her ear.
A small moan escaped her mouth as they fell through the door. She had him half out of his shirt before he managed to uncork the wine and take a swig before handing it to her. She took it and drank heavily, and he turned away and walked across the room. She took a confused step toward him before slumping to a heap on the floor, dead. The wine bottle slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
The man sighed, spat his unswallowed wine into a potted plant, and turned around.
“Anything?” he asked, looking at the man clambering out of the closet. The other man looked down at the body and sighed before looking up and answering.
“Nothing,” he said. They both sighed and picked up her body. They left her on the bed. The second man continued to look at her, but the first seemed unable to for any longer than was absolutely necessary. After a while, the second one spoke again. “Well, let’s go. No use standing around here where someone could find us,” he said quietly, and after a moment’s pause, “Good work, Zhou Mi.” He clapped Zhou Mi on the back in a reassuring manner. Zhou Mi sighed again and turned toward the door.
“Yeah,” he said. “Thanks, Yesung.” Together, the two men walked out of the room and back to where they came from.
***
Out on the road, the two men continued to wait-the pink and grey-eyed one in the middle of the road, the blue and gold-eyed one in the tree. The one on the ground had a sword at his belt and a knife in his boot, and the other had an arrow notched and pointed south.
They remained like that for another quarter hour before they heard hoof beats in the distance. Both of them raised their guard, sharpened their senses and squashed any nerves they might have had. When the carriage approached, pulled by two horses, and screeched to a halt in front of him, the pink and grey-eyed man narrowed his eyes and raised his chin.
Six men clambered out, each with a sword of his own. From his perch in the tree, the archer couldn’t hear what they shouted, nor the cool response. He saw the leader of the men gesture with his sword in anger, and he saw the two men at the back of the group glancing nervously at his partner’s eyes.
When his partner drew his sword in warning, he took better aim at the leader. He waited and watched his partner’s sword out of the corner of his eye. The other five men took out their swords as well.
The man on the ground flicked his sword up at the men, and hardly a second later heard the soft release of an arrow from above. Before his opponents could register what had happened, before the leader had even hit the ground, blood seeping out from the arrow in his chest, he lunged forward and drove his sword into the stomach of another. The remaining four rushed at him, but he had the knife from his boot into the throat of another before they could take more than a few steps. He dodged a swipe from a sword and heard another arrow, but not before he felt his sword kicked from his hand.
He faced the remaining two men, weaponless. He kicked the first one in the groin, and then punched up at his jaw when he doubled over in pain. While the man staggered, the fighter grabbed his sword and sliced at the neck of the other. Then he turned back to the first man and kicked him in the stomach, sending him backwards. One more arrow from the archer and the fighter stood alone in a circle of dead men.
He turned to the tree and called out. “All clear! Thanks for your help there, Kyuhyun.” He turned back to the men on the ground. Behind him, Kyuhyun jumped down from his tree and went to retrieve his horse. He retrieved his sword from the stomach of one and his knife from the throat of another and wiped the blood of them. By the time he was done, Kyuhyun had returned and was watching him silently.
“Good job, Sungmin. Most of them shouldn’t have felt much pain.” He walked over to the horses that were pulling the carriage. “What about them?” he asked. Sungmin looked over and shrugged.
“Set them free, I suppose. They didn’t do anything wrong.” He turned back to his own horse and climbed on. Kyuhyun shrugged and removed their reins and saddles. He gave them both a pat on the back and let them wander away. Sungmin absentmindedly stroked his own horse’s mane. Kyuhyun mounted his horse and looked down the road in the direction of the castle.
“We’d better get going before it gets too late. The party must be almost over by now,” he said. Sungmin nodded, and the two of them spurred their horses forward, away from the group of silent figures on the ground.
***
After the party, sixteen men and four women gathered in a dark room, one of the many hidden within the secret passageways of the castle. Zhou Mi and Yesung; Sungmin and Kyuhyun; the four men that surrounded the king; the three male performers; the two men that stood in opposite corners of the room; two more men with two-colored eyes; and one man and four women with normal eyes.
One of the men that had surrounded the king, the one that had nodded, the one with black and white eyes, spoke. “Zhou Mi, Yesung, no problems?” he asked. All eyes flicked to the two. Zhou Mi answered dully.
“Everything went fine, Eeteuk-hyung. No one would suspect us.” Eeteuk looked at him grimly for a second, and Kyuhyun put his arm around his waist. There was an awkward silence before Eeteuk cleared his throat and turned to Yesung.
“Any information?”
“No. We were right about her, but she didn’t have any dangerous ideas yet.” Yesung spoke quickly and nodded. Eeteuk looked relieved.
“Good,” he said. “What about you two, Kyuhyun, Sungmin?” he asked, looking at the two. Kyuhyun straightened and spoke first.
“Everything went as planned. We stopped the raid party before they could do any real damage.” He leaned back in his chair and stared at a spot in the wood. Eeteuk nodded and looked around at the rest of the people grouped around the table.
“All right, then. Nothing else important tonight, and I don’t want to keep you all up. Meeting dismissed. Good work, everyone.” He clapped his hands and stood up. He watched as the people stood up, stretched, walked out in twos and threes. Another of the men that surrounded the king walked up to him, the one with black and brown eyes. He held out his arms silently and Eeteuk leaned into his chest.
“You did good tonight too, Eeteuk-hyung,” he said. “Take some credit for yourself next time.” He wrapped his arms around Eeteuk’s waist and rested his chin on his head. Eeteuk smiled and laughed, just a little.
“Thanks, Kangin.” They stood there silently for a while, in each others arms and absorbed in their own thoughts. After a while, Eeteuk spoke, more to himself than to anyone in particular. “This is what we do,” he murmured. Kangin looked down at him and thought for a moment. He nodded.
“Right,” he said. “This is what we do. Come on, Eeteuk. We can’t stay out too late. Let’s go.” He put his arm around Eeteuk’s shoulder and led him out of the darkness of the room.
This is what they did. Secret, hidden from the king. Protecting the king, his people, themselves. Disposing of spies, spies that could be the downfall of their kingdom. Protecting civilians from thugs and bandits, set upon them by their own king for some twisted reason. Keeping some semblance of peace, so the people could sleep at night. Protection. Safety. Good. This is what they did.
~
A/N 2: Look it's here :D
Rating: PG-13
Genre: graced!AU, adventure, romance
Pairings: Eeteuk/Kangin, Heechul/Hankyung, Yesung/Ryeowook, Kibum/Donghae, Kyuhyun/Zhou Mi, slight!Kyuhyun/Sungmin, Sungmin/Siwon, Shindong/Nari, Eunhyuk/OC, Henry/OC
Summary: The king keeps all those Graced with two different colored eyes and unique abilities under his command. From his throne, he ignores the needs of his people in favor of wine and women.
Now, under threat of a war the king so dangerously ignores, a group of Gracelings secretly rally together to protect the king and the people from danger, destruction, and even the king himself.
A/N: For oreocookeys because she is a sexy creeper and asked me to do this in the first place. 8D
The ballroom was alive with activity. Tiny shimmering lights bounced off the floor, glinted from jewelry, played across faces. The air was stuffy despite the cool breeze flowing in from the open doors. Light music played from the middle of the room, flutes and harps accompanied by a soft voice from a man with one black eye and one yellow eye. Three more people with different colored eyes danced behind him, two male and the other female, and a crowd of people surrounded them, cheering and clapping.
Along the sides of the room were tabled laden with food and drink. People milled around the tables, talking and laughing. A closed door stood along the right side, a tall man with gold and purple eyes leaning casually next to it. At the head of the room, the king sat, voice loud and carrying even over the noise. Surrounding him were four more strange-eyed people. Three stood silently, but the fourth one with light blue and green eyes sniffed every so often.
In the top left corner of the room, a man with green and red eyes leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. He surveyed the room with his uneven gaze. At the corner diagonal to him, another man mirrored his position against the wall. Every few minutes or so he glanced away from his fingernails to throw a glance to his left with the eye that wasn’t covered by his black hair.
Since the party had started, roughly an hour and a half ago, the man in the corner had hardly moved, except to flick his hair over his shoulder once or twice. Now, however, with a quick glance at one of the men surrounding the king and an answering nod, he stretched his arms above his head and yawned.
At this, the tall man with gold and purple eyes straightened and sidled in front of a woman a few meters along the wall. The man by the king watched at her surprised face changed and her eyes glazed over as the tall man leaned in and whispered something in her ear. He swallowed when they slipped out of the room through the side door, and stared resolutely out of the open front doors.
***
Outside, perhaps an hour’s ride away, two silent figures rode south down a dark dirt road. Pink and grey eyes flashed from one face, blue and gold from the other. They rode quickly, as quickly as they could without ruining their horses.
At some unspoken signal, both of them stopped. The taller one with blue and gold eyes led his horse behind a tall bush, and climbed himself into a nearby tree. The other stood in the middle of the road, arms crossed.
They waited.
***
The tall man and the woman stumbled through the corridors, the woman trusting the other to know where he was going. They grabbed at clothes and gasped into each others mouths. Eventually, the tall man backed her into a door next to a food cart. One hand rested on her hip and the other reached for a bottle of wine as he kissed her jaw and whispered nonsense into her ear.
A small moan escaped her mouth as they fell through the door. She had him half out of his shirt before he managed to uncork the wine and take a swig before handing it to her. She took it and drank heavily, and he turned away and walked across the room. She took a confused step toward him before slumping to a heap on the floor, dead. The wine bottle slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
The man sighed, spat his unswallowed wine into a potted plant, and turned around.
“Anything?” he asked, looking at the man clambering out of the closet. The other man looked down at the body and sighed before looking up and answering.
“Nothing,” he said. They both sighed and picked up her body. They left her on the bed. The second man continued to look at her, but the first seemed unable to for any longer than was absolutely necessary. After a while, the second one spoke again. “Well, let’s go. No use standing around here where someone could find us,” he said quietly, and after a moment’s pause, “Good work, Zhou Mi.” He clapped Zhou Mi on the back in a reassuring manner. Zhou Mi sighed again and turned toward the door.
“Yeah,” he said. “Thanks, Yesung.” Together, the two men walked out of the room and back to where they came from.
***
Out on the road, the two men continued to wait-the pink and grey-eyed one in the middle of the road, the blue and gold-eyed one in the tree. The one on the ground had a sword at his belt and a knife in his boot, and the other had an arrow notched and pointed south.
They remained like that for another quarter hour before they heard hoof beats in the distance. Both of them raised their guard, sharpened their senses and squashed any nerves they might have had. When the carriage approached, pulled by two horses, and screeched to a halt in front of him, the pink and grey-eyed man narrowed his eyes and raised his chin.
Six men clambered out, each with a sword of his own. From his perch in the tree, the archer couldn’t hear what they shouted, nor the cool response. He saw the leader of the men gesture with his sword in anger, and he saw the two men at the back of the group glancing nervously at his partner’s eyes.
When his partner drew his sword in warning, he took better aim at the leader. He waited and watched his partner’s sword out of the corner of his eye. The other five men took out their swords as well.
The man on the ground flicked his sword up at the men, and hardly a second later heard the soft release of an arrow from above. Before his opponents could register what had happened, before the leader had even hit the ground, blood seeping out from the arrow in his chest, he lunged forward and drove his sword into the stomach of another. The remaining four rushed at him, but he had the knife from his boot into the throat of another before they could take more than a few steps. He dodged a swipe from a sword and heard another arrow, but not before he felt his sword kicked from his hand.
He faced the remaining two men, weaponless. He kicked the first one in the groin, and then punched up at his jaw when he doubled over in pain. While the man staggered, the fighter grabbed his sword and sliced at the neck of the other. Then he turned back to the first man and kicked him in the stomach, sending him backwards. One more arrow from the archer and the fighter stood alone in a circle of dead men.
He turned to the tree and called out. “All clear! Thanks for your help there, Kyuhyun.” He turned back to the men on the ground. Behind him, Kyuhyun jumped down from his tree and went to retrieve his horse. He retrieved his sword from the stomach of one and his knife from the throat of another and wiped the blood of them. By the time he was done, Kyuhyun had returned and was watching him silently.
“Good job, Sungmin. Most of them shouldn’t have felt much pain.” He walked over to the horses that were pulling the carriage. “What about them?” he asked. Sungmin looked over and shrugged.
“Set them free, I suppose. They didn’t do anything wrong.” He turned back to his own horse and climbed on. Kyuhyun shrugged and removed their reins and saddles. He gave them both a pat on the back and let them wander away. Sungmin absentmindedly stroked his own horse’s mane. Kyuhyun mounted his horse and looked down the road in the direction of the castle.
“We’d better get going before it gets too late. The party must be almost over by now,” he said. Sungmin nodded, and the two of them spurred their horses forward, away from the group of silent figures on the ground.
***
After the party, sixteen men and four women gathered in a dark room, one of the many hidden within the secret passageways of the castle. Zhou Mi and Yesung; Sungmin and Kyuhyun; the four men that surrounded the king; the three male performers; the two men that stood in opposite corners of the room; two more men with two-colored eyes; and one man and four women with normal eyes.
One of the men that had surrounded the king, the one that had nodded, the one with black and white eyes, spoke. “Zhou Mi, Yesung, no problems?” he asked. All eyes flicked to the two. Zhou Mi answered dully.
“Everything went fine, Eeteuk-hyung. No one would suspect us.” Eeteuk looked at him grimly for a second, and Kyuhyun put his arm around his waist. There was an awkward silence before Eeteuk cleared his throat and turned to Yesung.
“Any information?”
“No. We were right about her, but she didn’t have any dangerous ideas yet.” Yesung spoke quickly and nodded. Eeteuk looked relieved.
“Good,” he said. “What about you two, Kyuhyun, Sungmin?” he asked, looking at the two. Kyuhyun straightened and spoke first.
“Everything went as planned. We stopped the raid party before they could do any real damage.” He leaned back in his chair and stared at a spot in the wood. Eeteuk nodded and looked around at the rest of the people grouped around the table.
“All right, then. Nothing else important tonight, and I don’t want to keep you all up. Meeting dismissed. Good work, everyone.” He clapped his hands and stood up. He watched as the people stood up, stretched, walked out in twos and threes. Another of the men that surrounded the king walked up to him, the one with black and brown eyes. He held out his arms silently and Eeteuk leaned into his chest.
“You did good tonight too, Eeteuk-hyung,” he said. “Take some credit for yourself next time.” He wrapped his arms around Eeteuk’s waist and rested his chin on his head. Eeteuk smiled and laughed, just a little.
“Thanks, Kangin.” They stood there silently for a while, in each others arms and absorbed in their own thoughts. After a while, Eeteuk spoke, more to himself than to anyone in particular. “This is what we do,” he murmured. Kangin looked down at him and thought for a moment. He nodded.
“Right,” he said. “This is what we do. Come on, Eeteuk. We can’t stay out too late. Let’s go.” He put his arm around Eeteuk’s shoulder and led him out of the darkness of the room.
This is what they did. Secret, hidden from the king. Protecting the king, his people, themselves. Disposing of spies, spies that could be the downfall of their kingdom. Protecting civilians from thugs and bandits, set upon them by their own king for some twisted reason. Keeping some semblance of peace, so the people could sleep at night. Protection. Safety. Good. This is what they did.
~
A/N 2: Look it's here :D