Yeosang POV
"We reached the island.", Haneul shouts.
I take the hat that Hongjoong borrowed me and go outside. The bright sun burns my eyes. I immediately lower my hat to block it.
It is a bit hard to see because it is so bright outside. We seem to be at the docks of a small town.
"Don't tell me that we will have to through the dessert to get to the main city.", Mingi says.
"We do. It will take us three days to reach it.", Hongjoong confirms.
"What about Yeosang and Wooyoung? They won't handle the sun for so long. Even for my eyes it's almost to much to handle.", Yunho worries.
"I don't know. They might have to stay here."
"Or we blindfold them.", San jokes.
"That's actually not to bad of an idea. They could be blindfolded for most of the way and only take it of at night or for short times if they need to."
"What do you think? Do you want to stay here or be blindfolded?", Seonghwa asks.
"I don't want to miss out anything!", Wooyoung states.
Being blindfolded for three days sounds pretty bad but when will ever get another chance to see the city again? And it will be super boring in the ship especially without the others.
"Sure, blindfold me."
"Before we go, we need a lot of supplies for the way. And take a thin jacket with you to protect your skin from the intense sun."
We take our backpacks and fill them with food and water. Then we go through the village until we reach a stable with weird brown animals that have a longish neck and legs, a very big hump and big brown eyes with long lashes.
Although the hat gives me some shade my eyes are starting to burn.
"Wooyoungs and Yeosangs eyes are starting to get red. Maybe we should blindfold them already.", Haneul says.
"Yeah, we won't be walking much anymore, so they don't need to see anything for now.", Hongjoong utters.
He takes out two pieces of cloth and gives one to Seonghwa. Our captain puts the cloth over my eyes and ties it at the back of my head. The tiniest bit of light still comes through it but otherwise I don't see anything. My eyes immediately feel better.
"Is it good like this?", Hongjoong asks.
"Perfect. This view, it is almost like I am home."
I hear the others laugh at my remark.
Someone takes my hand and we walk a few steps forward. It must be either Yunho's or Mingi's hand because its very big.
"Hello we need to get to the main city.", Hongjoong says to someone.
"Sure how many people are you?", I hear a woman ask.
"Nine and we have eight backpacks."
"33 gold please."
I hear Hongjoongs coin pouch.
"Come with me."
We walk a few steps again. A unpleasant smell hits my nose. It's probably from the animals I saw.
"They want to go to the main city.", the woman explains to someone.
I hear some animals walk towards us.
After a minute the person who held my hand lets go of me. I feel someone else's hand on my back. I walk two steps forward.
"You have to put your leg over it, Yeosang.", I hear Jongho say. I assume he is also the person who grabs my leg. He places my leg somewhere then tells me to sit down. I slowly go down until I feel something under me. I feels slightly warm. I reach out my arms. Someone takes them and wraps them around their waist which makes me slightly flustered.
I hear a man's voice then the animal starts moving. I hear Mingi make some scared noises. He must be the one who sits in front of me. I rub his belly to calm him down. A few minutes later I hear San shout:
"Woah so much sand!"
"Really?!", I hear Wooyoung exclaims. A second later he screams in pain.
"Keep your blindfold on, idiot.", Jongho says.
"I just wanted to see what is out there."
"You will see it later anyway."
I giggle. I also want to know what the others are seeing right now but I am not so stupid to risk my eyesight for it.
We ride through the scorching heat. Occasionally I lift my blindfold slightly to grab my water. After some time we pause to eat something.
Great I am hungry! I really crave some chicken now but we only packed bread and fruits. The animal moves downwards and my feets touch the ground. I dismount and take a few steps but then bump into someone small.
"Watch your step Yeosang.", our captain says.
Seonghwa takes my hand and shows me where I can sit down. The ground is full of sand. No wait! The whole ground is just sand. The other islands were pretty sandy but if we rode several hours through the sand this island beats them all. To eat I put down my blindfold. In the first minute my eyes really hurt then it gets a little bit better. We are surrounded by hills that are made completely out of sand. I see that we also have a stranger with us. He must be a worker from the stable that takes care of the animals. I eat some bread with cheese, an apple and a banana. Then we have to move on.
I sit down on the animal again and make sure my blind fold fully covers my eyes.
We keep going forward with nothing happening. When it starts getting dark we decide to rest until the next day. I put down my blindfold. Since it is starting to get dark, the brightnes is much more bearable. It is also starting to get a bit cool. I eat something similar to what I had at noon then get out my blanket.
"Why is it suddenly so cold?", San asks.
"That's just how it is in the desert.", Hongjoong replies.
"I guess we will have to cuddle together tonight.", Haneul says.
"I also miss plants.", Mingi utters.
"Yeah, all of the islands here lack some green.", Jongho comments.
"That's probably why the people here dress so colorful.", Yunho adds.
"There will be some green in the main city. I know that riding through the desert is exhausting but it is just for three days.", Hongjoong explains.
I wrap myself in the blanket and lie down in the sand. I still hear the others talk for a while then someone lies down directly next to me. Our backs are pressed together which gives me warmth.
The next morning I wake up at sunrise. Jongho has wrapped his arm around me. I try to carefully remove his arm. The youngest mumbles something inaudible and turns around. I see that the others also slept in pairs. Hongjoong sleeps back to back with Seonghwa, San is hugging his sister in his sleep and Wooyoung is stuck between the two human pillars.
I eat some bread with jam while I wait for the others to wake up.
We continue once everyone is awake and fed. Of course I have to put on the blindfold again. Apparently we encounter someone who is bringing goods to the docks. Otherwise not much is happening. We rest at noon again and eat something before we move along again. After some time I hear the others talk about some ruins that you can see in the distance.
The man from the stable explains to us that there used to be a temple with monks several hundred years ago. Apparently it is unclear what exactly happened to them but the archeologists believe that there was a tornado that destroyed the building.
"Can we pause here for a bit and take a look at it?", Hongjoong asks.
"Sure."
We seem to change our direction. A few minutes later we stop. Mingi helps me off of the animal. Hand in hand we go somewhere. I try to feel my way but I accidentally touch someone's back.
"Ouch. Who is touching my back? My wound still hurts if you press on it like that.", I hear Wooyoung say.
"Sorry.", I mumble.
"Be careful there is a step.", Mingi warns me.
I somehow still manage to stumble over it but someone catches me.
We walk somewhere, apparently there are paintings on the walls. The others say that most of them are incomplete because the walls collapsed.
"There are people that are kneeling in the sand, looking up and praying to something. They are all bald and wear lilac robes.", Haneul describes one of the paintings to me.
"This one is about a meal. All the monk raise their glass to ceiling.", San explains.
"There is also another painting but you it's to withered to recognize anything.", Hongjoong says.
We go a few steps forward. Suddenly Mingi lifts me up and carries me bridal style. I feel heat rise to my cheeks.
"W-what are you doing?", I ask.
"There are just some pebbles. I don't want you to stumble again."
He puts me on ground and takes my hand again. The others tell me that we stand in front of an destroyed altar now. Mingi leads me somewhere.
"Wait isn't this shape like the key that we searching for?", Yunho exclaims.
"Seems like it was stored here once.", Hongjoong states.
What is going on? Where are we what is there?
"I think the walls tell us the story that clairvoyant told us.", Seonghwa says.
"What is going on? Where are we?", Wooyoung asks.
"In a small room with a pedestal. It seems like the key was displayed on it.", Jongho replies.
"Whatever happened to the monks, they must have taken the key and brought it away before that.", Hongjoong says.
Mingi puts his hands on my shoulders and turns me around. We walk a few steps forward. I step on some pebbles and hear the sound of metal against stone. I let go of Mingi's hand and kneel down to search for the thing that made that sound.
"Yeosang? What are you doing?", Seonghwa asks.
"I heard a metallic sound when I stepped on something."
"I don't see anything.", San comments.
"Me neither.", Wooyoung jokes.
I put some rocks to the side.
"Oh, I see something glitter.", Yunho says. I hear something scratch against stone. Mingi helps me up. Someone, I am guessing Yunho, puts something around my neck. I reach for it. The necklace has some sort of big stone its end.
"It's so pretty and weirdly in a pristine condition. I love how the metal is kind of blueish and the stone sparkles in rainbow colours.", Haneul tells.
We go back to our mounts and continue riding towards the city. We stop again when the sun is setting.
I can finally take of the blindfold and look at the necklace. The pendant is shaped like a tear. I love how the stone sparkles. We eat our dinner then we roll and slide down the dunes. We also try to bury Hongjoong in the sand but unfortunately it doesn't work that well.
After playing around we go to sleep. This time I am the one who is stuck between Mingi and Yunho.
I am standing on a platform in front of a crowd. My father stands next to me. Directly in front of me kneels a man and four headless bodies lay next to him. Their heads have rolled to edges of the platform. One even rolled off of it and lays in front of a young child in the audience.
"This traitor had the audacity to be doubtful of the royal family. He said that Nekra would be a much better place without us. What he fails to see is that the kingdom would go under in chaos without us. He will be killed by the prince today. Let everyone know that all people that are as ungrateful as him will have the same fate.", father announces.
But the man is right. Everything would be better without us.
The king puts his arm around me and gives me a big axe. Nervously I turn my head to our servants. Wooyoung smiles at me to comfort me but it can't hide the stress and fear in his eyes.
Father pushes me towards the man.
I strike out to cut off the man's head. My hands tremble. The axe is visibly shaking in my hands. I look at the man. I can't do this!
I slowly put down the axe. I turn around to my parents. They try not to show it but I can see their anger. I quickly turn around again. I strike out again. I try to pretend that I am chopping down a tree. I take a deep breath before I swing the axe. The first hit was pretty bad. Blood splatters on my arms. The second chop get me halfway through. With the third one I successfully detach the head from its body.
"See son. You don't have to be nervous. You are excellent at this.", father says to make up a reason to why I hesitated.
Wooyoung helps me out of my clothes and we take a bath together. I mindlessly stare into the distance while he scrubs my back. I still can't over the fact that I killed that man. I have done it many times before but I still struggle to do it. It still leaves a scar on my heart every time. A tear runs down my cheek. Wooyoung hugs me and kisses my cheek.
"You have been through a lot today. I wish I could do something to help you."
"I'm sorry that you had to see all of this."
"I am used to it."
"You shouldn't be."
Wooyoung's eyes get a bit teary for a moment. He gets out of the bathtub and gets a towel for me.
After I am dressed again, my father's butler comes in.
"Prince Yeosang, your father wants to see you."
Wooyoung accompanies me to my parent's bedroom. I knock on the door and father opens. He drags me inside.
"WHY DID YOU HESITATE?! DID YOU THINK THAT THE MAN DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE? DO YOU WANT TO RUIN OUR REPUTATION?!", he screams.
"He did not deserve to die."
Father slaps me.
"HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT? I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MY SON! MAYBE WE ARE TO NICE TO YOU THAT YOU THINK YOU CAN REBEL AGAINST US?! UGHH THAT'S WHY I HATE TEENAGERS!"
"I wish I wasn't your son either."
He grabs me by my hair.
"SO TELL ME WHAT I SHOULD DO WITH YOU? MAYBE CUTTING OFF YOUR VALET'S HAND WILL BRING SOME REASON INTO YOU!"
"No not Wooyoung! He has nothing to do with it. Please I do anything you want! Just leave him alone!"
"Then how about you show me that you are not afraid to kill."
He grabs me by the back of my neck.
He aggressively opens the door and throws me out of his room. Wooyoung wants help me up but father pushes him away and he falls to the ground.
"Don't hurt him.", I cry out.
Father grabs my arm and drags me away. My heart races. I fear what comes next. What is he going to do?
Suddenly I feel someone's wet lips on my forehead.
"Sangie is everything okay?", Wooyoung asks.
I open my eyes. I am lying in Yunho's arms. The others are either kneeling or sitting next to us. Sweat is dripping down my face and I feel a little out of breath.
"Why are you all awake?", I ask.
"You kept on screaming in your sleep.", Seonghwa explains.
"I just dreamed about something from the past."
"Here have something to drink.", Hongjoong says and gives me some water.
We talk a bit until I have calmed down before we go to bed again.
The next morning I wake up early again. We quickly eat then we continue our journey. Of course I have to put on my blindfold again. Nothing really happens. We meet some people who on their way to the harbor and eat our lunch at noon again.
Just before sunset we finally reach the city. The man who accompanied us brings us to the stable and bids farewell to us. I can finally take off the blindfold again since the sun isn't very bright anymore and the houses give some shade. I look at my friends and smile.
Looking back on the last few days makes me realize how much I can rely on the others and comfortable we became with each other. It almost feels like I have a real family now.