Curled Horns

41. Off for Peace

Ave sidled about on the spot. Her back was heavy with a festively decorated saddle on top of a golden blanket. Yunho perched on her back, clad in matching golden garments that dragged behind him as his veils.

His skin was decorated with gold today. In hours of delicate craftmanship, two servants had knelt above him and filled the dark patches of his tattoos with golden dust until only a tasteful black border reminded of the tattoos beneath the paintings. His majestic figure matched Ave's gold-painted horns and hooves to perfection. Like a shining star in their midst, he sat at the top of their group.

Hongjoong was to his right. Clad still in his assassin's clothing that had been fixed for him to wear comfortably and with his hair done up in two lazy buns on top of his head. He looked small even on the smallest horse the palace could provide for him, his sword at his side appearing like a toy compared to Yunho's massive size.

Mingi was to Yunho's left. On the kind mare, he had basically adopted by now. He wore all black today to match the theme of their group. His piercing was exposed under his cropped jacket and he wore one of the golden ones today, one that Yunho had lent him.

Behind them, the guards in their black armour bustled about. A group of servants waited behind them, equipped with emergency medical utensils and various gifts they had brought.

The birch trees surrounding the clearing they waited on whispered secretively. Their barks were a shining white with green leaves that matches the wilting grass under the demon horses' hooves. The vibrant colours bustled as if lively with a thousand little creatures that the demons couldn't perceive.

The murmuring in the tall branches in a language the demons didn't speak made the horses nervous, but Yunho had asked all of them for patience. As long as Hongjoong sat relaxed on his horse, none of them had a reason to panic.

They waited at the rendezvous point for a while. The little scared voice inside Mingi reminded him that this could be a trap. They were on pixie lands and exposed to the wrath of vengeful creatures. Every hair on Mingi's body wanted him to tuck his tail in and flee, but he practised patience. As long as Yunho throned on Ave in front of them with his shoulders squared and back straight, none of them would run.

When finally something moved in the forest, Mingi didn't notice it until it was right in front of them. Entirely soundlessly, a snow-white fox had made its way out of the thicket. The person on top of its back was alone to their eyes, but Mingi didn't doubt that they had been surrounded by the invisible warriors in the trees ever since they had set foot onto their land.

Their king was small, smaller than the two warriors that had created a bloodstained path into the Fiery Lands. His long hair and beard framed his sharp features until only his ears stood out from the thin mane. Icy blue eyes bore into one after the other of the demons. Mingi willed his shiver down as he regarded the king in his wispy green garments.

He had wings, unlike the pixies Mingi had seen before. Formed like the leaves of an acorn tree, the brittle and delicate pair projected over his shoulders. They were nearly transparent and shone in their golden shine when the light from the clear skies fell onto them.

"Crown Prince Yunho," the pixie greeted their group. His voice was deeper than Mingi would have expected and sounded like scratching one's nails over the bark of a tree. Fascinated, Mingi balanced his weight on his nervously shifting horse.

Despite all that they could see being a tiny pixie on a demure fox, the spike of deadliness around them didn't escape their rough demon senses. The only one who looked entirely unbothered was Hongjoong. Mingi wondered if he knew the warriors in the trees that pointed their poisoned spears at the demons.