It was very obvious that the foreign men were nervous. Even their horses were nervous, their eyes wide, straining in the dark, and their ears twitching, jumping at every little strange noise.
Changbin however, had no problems like he had done this a thousand times before. For all the other guys knew, he had. He strolled through the dark, even though no light could be seen other than their torches.
"How long is this tunnel?" Seungmin called from the back, struggling to lead his panicky horse.
"It goes through the entire mountain. We'll be out in a few minutes!" Changbin informed the group, and kept walking. They followed slowly, each step full of worry.
"Ugh... this reminds me of bad times!" Yongbok murmured, just loud enough for Changbin and Minho to hear.
Minho laughed, knowing what Yongbok was talking about. "You mean the hole by the river?"
Changbin raised his eyebrows. "May I know what this is about?"
Minho grinned. "When we were younger, Yongbok and I used to play by the river and servants would watch over us. One day, they were not paying good attention to us, and we wandered off, and found a huge hole in the ground. I, being the good boy I was, didn't got in, but Yongbok..."
"That was years ago!"
"Yongbok fell in, and he couldn't get out. He kept screaming so much, it gave all the servants heart attacks, and they ran over. The hole was really deep though, and they didn't have rope, so they couldn't get him out."
"Stop it!"
"And he had to sit there, wailing his head off for an hour!"
"And you just laughed at me!"
All who had heard the story burst out laughing, and Yongbok sulked, but he too laughed after some time. They continued to talk, until a small amount of sunlight began to show in the tunnel. "Hurry up! We're almost there!" Changbin began to walk faster. He knew that these guys would go crazy if they didn't see light soon.
The tunnel got brighter and brighter, until they could see the exit. "I'll tell you now, that the Han Kingdom is known for its beauty. Just a warning!" Changbin called, as the group ran into the light.
They were blinded, the light being so bright. They all blinked, their eyes adjusting.
And when they did, they realized that Changbin had been telling the truth. The scenery was amazing. The Lee men stared out at the bright green grassland, with trees sprouting up everywhere. And then, small streams cut through the land, and the sun reflected off of them.
Seungmin sneezed.
"It is a two day journey from here. I suggest we keep moving. We can get to the capitol by tonight. I have some people that we can rest," Changbin told the group. "But we have to go now."
The men nodded, not taking their eyes away from the view, but they followed after Changbin. Together, they made their way towards the small wall off in the distance.
But the wall was not at all small. They realized this as they got closer, traveling all day long. They passed by many small villages, but, having their past bad experiences with small villages, they moved on and did not stop at any.
The sun was setting as they reached the capital gates.
The guard on duty stopped them. "Stop! What business do you have in the Capital?"
Minho dismounted from his horse. He was about to walk over to speak to the guard, but Changbin also dismounted, jumping down in front of him. "Prince, do not worry. I will take care of this."
The second the guard saw him, he bowed. "My apologies, Master Seo. Please, have a safe journey through the city!" he motioned for the doors to be opened, and within seconds, it was, and everyone who was guarding the doors bowed to the entering men.
Changbin nodded. "Thank you!"
When they had crossed into the city, Minho turned to Changbin. "Why did they call you Master Seo?"
Changbin sighed. "It's an old habit. My father was called that."
"Ah..."
Changbin nodded. "Anyways, the sun is setting. If we do not reach this inn soon, we will be stuck out here. The owners do not like to wait."
"Mean owners!" Yongbok murmured.
The pace the group traveled at quickened as the night darkened, going from a light blue, to a mid-shade of blue, and then a midnight blue. Only then, did the sky turn black, and the group was left with no light but that from their torches. Although their horses were tired, and their butts were sore, they continued on, with encouragement from the crown prince.
They reached a richer neighborhood on the outer rim of the city, where each building took up a lot of space. A few giant buildings stood close together, a sign saying "INN" was up in front of it. Changbin dismounted and led his horse, slowing the group down. "We are here!" he announced.
They headed to the huge barn, where only a few horses stood, with many open stalls for the traveler's tired animals. Packs were taken off their backs, and saddles and bridles removed, and they were turned into stalls with water and food. Once their animals were taken care of, the men, backs hunched and feet dragging from exhaustion, made their way back to the courtyard they had started in, and then moved onward to the actual inn itself.
The second Changbin stepped into the building, he yelled, "We're here!"
Instantly, three men rushed to greet them. Changbin smiled when he saw them. "Ah! My friends!" he hugged them each and stepped back to let them greet the other men. "These are my good friends Choi Yongjae, Im Jaebeom, and Park Jinyoung. They are the owners of this inn."
The other bowed to him, and Minho stepped forward. "We are from the Lee Kingdom, and are traveling to see the Han Crown Prince."
"Oh? Then you should all rest up now, since it is a long journey. Unfortunately, we don't have enough rooms, so you will have to sleep in pairs!"
All the men paired up, with one group of three, and Im Jaebeom narrowed his eyes, realizing that they did this, so one special person would be left alone.
"Hey! You!" he pointed to one of the three soldiers that had paired together. He nodded towards Minho. "Why don't you pair with him-"
Changbin crashed into Jaebeom, pulling him away, behind a wall. "You idiot!" he harshly whispered. "That is a soldier that you are trying to pair up with a prince!"
"A prince?" Jaebeom whispered. "That man is a prince? Not an ambassador?"
"No! That is the Crown Prince Lee Minho!"
"Oh...." Jaebeom flushed pink. "Oops... thanks for saving my ass I guess."
"No problem. Now try not to start a war with the Lee Kingdom, okay? That general... don't mess with him," Changbin ordered, pointing at the Lee general, who was scanning the room, his eyes narrowed to slits.
"Yeah... I don't know about that one," Youngjae joined them, sending worried looks after the general. "He's scary!"
"Just stick to his brother, or maybe.... anybody else? Not Yongbok though," the tiny man heard his name.
"What are you talking about?" he asked, joining a small group huddle, with the boys he didn't know.
"Nothing, nothing!" Changbin gently steered Yongbok away, sending a threatening glare after Jinyoung, who may or may not have been staring at Yongbok's ass, probably comparing it to his own. "You're my partner. Let's head to our room."
Their room was next to Hyunjin and Bang Chan's room, and across from the two warrior brothers. Yongbok was so tired, he quickly took off his decorative robe, and lay down on the soft bed, not giving Changbin a second thought. Changbin, however, did not take his robes off right away. Instead, he watched Yongbok curl up in a ball and snuggle into the blanket. He smiled, and carefully sat down next to him.
Before long, Yongbok was asleep, and Changbin continued to watch him. Yongbok's breath dislodge a piece of his bangs, and it fell across his cheek, blocking his eyes from view.
Sighing, Changbin reached over and gently moved the hair out of Yongbok's face, his fingers brushing against Yongbok's cheek.
In his sleep, Yongbok grabbed Changbin's hand.
Changbin froze.
Yongbok rolled over, now hugging Changbin's body instead of the blanket. Changbin remained stiff, until, almost an hour later, his weariness caught up with him, and he was forced to close his eyes.
~oOo~
The next morning, at dawn, people began to wake up. Jungkook was up first, and some of his men followed, and then his brother. Then, Seungmin. Minho then woke up. He arrived in the dining hall, and everyone stood to greet him. "Greetings, to Crown Prince Minho!" the chanted together, and Minho nodded to them, and they sat back down to eat.
Minho sat down at the head of the room, where a long table had been set up for the Young Masters, princes, and military leaders. Food was already set there, and Minho sat down to eat with Seungmin.
Not long after, Bang Chan and Hyunjin sat down with them. Everyone had arrived, except for Changbin and Yongbok.
"Should we go and check on them? What if they were murdered in their sleep?" Hyunjin wondered aloud.
"Murdered? HA! You wish!" Bang Chan slapped him. "He may not look like it, but Yongbok can kick butt. I'm sure that Changbin is the same, with a good upbringing."
"But... should we check on them?"
"No point. If they're not here, then I know what happened."
"What?"
"What happened last time."
Hyunjin's eyes widened. "Really? You think so?"
"I know so!"
"What happened last time?" Minho asked.
Chan and Hyunjin smirked at each other. "You wanna see?"
Sure enough, they were tangled together once more, in a tight embrace. It was clear to the other boys that they were never to bring this up with their friend, for he would tear their throats out if he knew they knew he was cuddled together with a man of the Han Kingdom.
So, after the prince had witnessed the defeat of his cousin's hard outer shell, they left the two alone.
This time, Yongbok woke up first. His eyes flicked open, only to find the sun shining in them. He closed them tighter, trying to move his hand to block the sunlight. But... it was stuck.
Yongbok was awake at once, realizing what type of position he was in. Since the first time this had happened Changbin had left before we had woken up, he was unaware that this had ever happened and was, to say the least, freaking out.
He carefully pulled his limbs away from Changbin's, quickly, so as to not wake him up. As soon as he had untangled himself, he walked over to his pack, pulling out a dressing robe that he had brought.
Yongbok threw on his robes, and then ran out of his room, desperate to get out. He ran right out into the dinning hall, where everyone turned to see him. They all stood to greet the panting lord. "Lord Yongbok, good morning!" they chanted.
Yongbok gasped, and nodded, trying to recompose himself, as he walked to the table where his group was gathering. Everyone was trying not to laugh and smile at how obviously flustered Yongbok was at the moment. It got even worse when Changbin arrived, not knowing why Yongbok was blushing so much.
"Are you hot?" he asked, staring at Yongbok in worry. Yongbok shook his head, shoveling food into his mouth quickly, since nearly everyone else had finished.
Changbin didn't even bother trying to fill his stomach. "We have to get out of here quickly. If we don't, we'll be stuck in the dangerous part of the capitol at night. Plus, we need to pick someone up on our way there."
"Then we should get going!" Minho stood up, catching all the soldier's attention, and they turned to face him. "Men! We will begin the last part of our journey now!" he announced. "Everyone, pack up your stuff, and get your horses set. We must leave soon!"
Upon hearing this, everyone scrambled to get back to their rooms to get their things, and those who had left their stuff with the horses ran out to the stables, to get their horses.
Half an hour later, Changbin was bidding farewell to his friends, who stood at the entrance of the inn. "Thank you for hosting us, my friends!" Changbin said, smiling at them. "I will make sure that I repay you!"
Jinyoung scoffed. "Don't. There is no need. What is the point of being friends, if we are not giving and kind to each other?"
Changbin nodded to this. "That is wisdom at it's finest!" he murmured. He glanced back to where everyone sat on their horses' backs, waiting for him. "I must go now, friends. I will stop by again soon!"
The three owners waved goodbye to the group as they exited the inn, and made their way out, towards the palace, where a certain Crown Prince was expecting guests.
Hello! Everyone! I'm sorry. I was reading this chapter and realized how rushed things were. I promise, when we get settled in the Han Palace, things will slow down. Thank you for putting up with this story so far! I hope you enjoy reading it!