Eunhye was glad that her love for cats had passed onto her daughter, the queen watching as Chaesoo played with two of them along the beaches with Jaemin. She sat back in the shade underneath an umbrella, resting as her husband took his turn playing with their daughter.
Sora had been talking to her earlier, reporting on the results from the first day of searching for Taeyong. As expected, they hadn't found much and in all honesty, Eunhye would be shocked if Taeyong was in Vatten. Their realm was nice but not very useful to anyone who couldn't control water like they did, which is why she understood why Hendery enjoyed staying in the comfort of his home.
When another presence joined her, Eunhye expected it to be Johnny, reporting on the search from the seas. Eunhye still kept her walls up around him despite all the years that had passed. He had stepped onto the other side once and wouldn't be surprised if it happened again.
"Did you find anything?" Eunhye asked, turning her head but the person seated in the beach chair beside her wasn't Johnny.
"I didn't know I was supposed to." Taeil answered, crossing his arms and legs as he got comfortable in his seat. "My niece is pretty adorable, don't you think?"
"If you want to spend time with her, just ask." Eunhye said, placing the sunglasses resting on her head down, covering her eyes. "But Jaemin isn't that fond of you so good luck."
"Jaemin holds too many grudges, I did you all a favour." Taeil argued, shaking his head. "Whatever though, that's your husband and your problems. I came here for something else."
"What could you possibly want from me?" Eunhye groaned, done with her brother's antics.
Taeil chuckled, grinning from ear to ear. "So my lovely sister, have you heard that the dark realms are looking for Jaehyun?"
Eunhye shot up from her seat, ripping the glasses off her face as she stared at her older brother.
"What did you just say?"
...
"Where's Hua?" Ten asked as he entered his shared bedroom with Meixin. She was on their bed, ready to fall asleep.
"She went to visit Wooyoung." Meixin mumbled, exhausted from her long day of helping the people of Eis adjust to Aria. She felt Ten's arms wrap around her waist as he placed a soft kiss to her neck before resting his chin on her shoulder. "Why? Worried?"
"A little." Ten admitted as Meixin turned around gently caressing his face. Ten's eyes fluttered close for a moment, making Meixin smile. "She's our princess, I don't want anything bad happening to her."
"She's fine. Grace and Jungwoo are looking after her." Ten's eyes instantly opened.
"What?"
Meixin adjusted her position, not expecting Ten to be this surprised. "You didn't know?"
"I've been trying to fight that wretched monster for the past week, no I did not know that those two were alive!" Ten exclaimed. "How did you know?"
"Hua met them." Meixin told him. "Minsun and Xun pulled them out of the door, they're back Ten. They're alive again."
"Oh my gosh." Ten sighed, pushing his long black hair back, revealing his forehead. "I had no idea."
Meixin hugged his torso, kissing his cheek. "It's fine, you were busy, trying to protect our realm."
"Does Rosa know?" Ten asked, turning towards his wife. "She needs to know, Grace meant so much to her."
"I have no idea." Meixin admitted. "I just know that Grace and Jungwoo are busy looking for Taeyong right now."
Ten's mouth hung open for a second, staring blankly at Meixin.
"Taeyong's back too?"
...
"So many people." Jisung mumbled as he and Aera stepped out of Aria's palace. He had originally liked living here due to the peace and quiet of the realm but now that it housed the people of Eis as well, it had gotten twice as busy.
"That's why we're leaving the palace today." Aera smiled, taking Jisung's hand as the pair made their way through the village the palace was in. "And going far away. To the outskirts where no one can find us."
Jisung had to admit, he was slightly afraid of encountering some nasty beast but at the same time, they were both more than well-trained to handle a situation like that. With the many years that had passed, their powers had only gotten stronger, but the fear in Jisung's head never changed.
When he had found out that Jungwoo and Grace were back and that the rulers of the realms were looking for Taeyong and Jaehyun, his first instinct was to talk to Aera about it. Unfortunately, Shuyu's one rule was that he couldn't, the rulers not wanting to give Aera false hope.
So as Aera walked with a slight bounce to her step, her ponytail bobbling with her movements, he couldn't help but wonder how long he could last without spilling the beans.
"Something wrong?" Aera asked as they approached the wide field where they would be training for the day. "You're awfully quiet."
"Just worried." Jisung said, hoping his excuse would get her off his back. "I don't want a creature popping up."
"I don't think something will pop up around here so there's nothing to worry about, Jwi." Aera said, taking the targets out of the bag on Jisung's back. "Can you do me a favour and set these up?"
"Sure." Jisung said, hesitantly taking the targets from Aera's hands. He was about to walk away when he noticed how serious her face was, and had to give her a kiss.
"Jisung!" Aera exclaimed, not expecting it as she instinctively pushed him away. Jisung giggled to himself as he walked away, feeling proud of his little action.
Jisung had no problems digging the target into the ground. With a simple wave of his foot over the dirt, the hole he needed formed. He stuffed the target in before using his earth powers to fill in the extra space.
When Jisung was heading back to where Aera was, he could have sworn that something flashed from behind him. He turned around, but there was nothing there, just the low layer of fog that typically covered Aria.
"Weird." Jisung mumbled to himself as he continued walking, eyes focused on the girl sharpening her knife. When he felt the flash happen again, he turned around once more, but just like before, there was nothing there.
"Okay, you've been acting funny all day." Aera said, shoving the knife sharpener back into her belt as Jisung returned to her side. "Are you hiding something from me?"
"I would never." Jisung said just as he noticed the flash once again. He was about to turn around but decided to look over at Aera instead. "Am I the only one or are you seeing all that too."
Aera didn't answer, eyes focused on the direction the sudden flashes of light had been coming from. She patted Jisung's arm, her stare never leaving the patch in the distance.
"Stay here for a moment." Aera said, walking towards it.
Jisung had a bad feeling so he decided to follow Aera despite her words, running behind her. If she heard his footsteps, she didn't show it, continuing to stride ahead.
When they reached the top of the hill, Jisung heard Aera gasp, her hands covering her mouth as she looked down. Jisung instantly spotted the figure down below, a person holding onto his abdomen, pain all over his face.
Despite the many years that had passed, it was a face that Jisung would never forget and knew that Aera felt the same way as she used her powers, lighting up the area so that the fog dissipated. Her eyes brimmed with tears, threatening to roll down her cheek as she ran down the hill, straight towards the person lying there, almost lifeless.
"Taeyong!"
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Oooo so many people returning :D