The morning seemed longer this day. The horses were the only lively one among the entire group. While they passed through the marketplace of the Han Kingdom's capital, they had the first fun they had received the entire morning.
Since it was lunch time anyways, Changbin let them get off their horses, and shop around the market, while he found some place to eat. The soldiers were sent off to have their own fun by the Crown Prince, and together, the large group of friends, plus the armed captain and general, went by themselves.
Their stunning good looks caught the attention of many of the Han Kingdom's young, noble ladies.
"Is that the Lee Crown Prince? He is so handsome! AHH!"
"That's the prince! On his way to see Prince Han."
"General Jeon Jungkook! The hero of the Lee Kingdom! That's him!"
"So handsome!"
They were swarmed by compliments and stares as they shopped. Hyunjin and Bang Chan wanted to stop at every booth and buy something. Although they could have easily afforded it, they didn't have that kind of time. The general was ordered to drag them along as they continued, and he did so, earning much laughter from those watching the group.
They made their way back to where Changbin had left them, and found that he had sat down at a little soup shop. Minho was guided to his side where he sat down.
"This is the special soup of the Han Kingdom!" Changbin told him, putting a bowl of soup down in front of the prince. The prince licked his lips, the lovely aroma hitting him in the face. He was about to down the entire bowl, when the general stopped him.
"Your Highness, we must try it first. There is no telling if it's poisoned."
Minho nodded, and the general took a small sip of the soup. They waited for a moment, before the general nodded. "It is safe, Your Highness."
Minho nodded, before he lifted the bowl to his lips, and drank to his heart's delight. The others around him did the same.
When they were done, Changbin stood up. "I have to find someone around here. I think... I know where he is."
Yongbok stood up too. "We'll come too!"
"You don't have to. I'll be back in less than an hour!"
Yongbok refused to let Changbin change his mind, and he pulled Bang Chan, Hyunjin, his cousin, Seungmin, and the captain and general with him. The large group had trouble getting around the crowds. It took them a while, before Changbin stopped them. "Here!"
"Here?" Yongbok checked. "A liquor store?"
Changbin rolled his eyes. "This friend of mine... he's just like that."
"Ah... okay."
Changbin pulled the shop's door open, and walked inside, followed by the others. There, in the center of the shop, looking at all the drinks, stood a younger boy.
"Yang Jeongin!" Changbin yelled, making the younger jump from where he stood. His hand moved towards the sword, eyes widening at the size of the group. "What- Changbin Hyung?"
Changbin rolled his eyes. "Get out of here! If your mother finds you here again, he'll-"
"It's fine," Jeongin stared at the ground. "My father sent me here again to get him some liquor."
Changbin rolled his eyes. "You should not listen to your father anymore. He is only a bad influence on you," he turned and stood between Yang Jeongin and the rest of the group. "This is the Lee Crown prince, his cousin Prince Lee Yongbok, and the rest of their traveling party."
Jeongin stood there for a moment, before he bowed. "I apologize. Let me properly introduce myself. I am Yang Jeongin, son of Master Yang Hyun-suk."
Minho nodded. "I am Crown Prince Lee Minho of the Lee Kingdom. It's nice to meet you, Young Master Yang."
Jeongin nodded, and bowed to the rest of the group, before he turned to address Changbin once more. "Are you heading to see Prince Jisung?"
Changbin nodded. "You have to come with me."
"I do?"
"Yes. It's not an option. You must. Hurry home, tell your father you have been summoned to the palace, and then hurry back. Don't keep his highness waiting!" Changbin warned.
Jeongin scrambled away, and Changbin sighed, turning to the group around him. "Sorry about that. He'll be back soon, and then we have to go. I have another place that we can stay at for tonight."
Bang Chan groaned. "If I knew it was going to take so long just to get to the palace, I would have never agreed to come!"
"You wouldn't have? Some friend you are!" Yongbok mocked.
"That's not what I meant, and you know it!"
"Surely you wouldn't say no to the king, sir?"
"No! Of course not! That would be treason!"
"So you have committed treason?"
"NO!"
The two boys continued to bicker, and Changbin stood on the sidelines, watching with amusement. He had not had the time to get in a good talk with Yongbok yet. He had so many questions about the younger... Why did he hate his name? Why didn't he want to be a prince? It could be as simple as he just wanted to be normal... but Changbin felt that there was something deeper than that.
While they waited for the youngest master, Changbin sat down with Minho and had a good talk. "Why are you going to see that Han prince?" Changbin asked.
Minho sighed. "I actually never wanted to go meet the prince... but my older brother has forced me to go. I have no choice. I must obey him. I am here as a representative, so that peace may be reached between our countries."
"So you have older siblings?"
"Yes... I do."
"How many? What are their names?"
"My only sister is the eldest, and Princess Ji-eun. My brother, the king, is King Lee Minhyuk... the first born boy. Then, my second brother, who is Prince Jihoon. And then, my third brother, Prince Min-hyung. I am the youngest."
"Then... Princess Ji-eun and Prince Jihoon are from different mothers?"
"Yes, my father had two queens."
"And... why are you the Crown Prince, when you have older brothers?"
"My father didn't like Min-hyung of Jihoon, so he ordered my brother to have me as his crown prince. Of course, without that order, Jihoon may be next to rule... but no one ever argued about it. Plus, at this point, Jihoon and Min-hyung don't want to rule, so the burden is passed to me alone."
"Ah... do you hate them for that?"
"No. I would not wish this burden to be put on my brother's shoulders. They have been nothing but loving and kind to me my entire life. I will suffer through, for their sake, and my country's."
Changbin said nothing to this. It seemed like Minho only thought of others. He now was becoming increasingly interested in the crown prince, as well as his cousin. What an interesting family.
Jeongin finally arrived back, much slower than thirty minutes. Changbin gave him a good scolding, and they were off once again through the city, this time with another young lord traveling with them. Jeongin took the boys in the back, Seungmin and Hyunjin, and stuck to their sides, trying to avoid being in the front with Changbin and the princes.
Moving all day, they hardly stopped for breaks again, only short stops to let their horses drink and eat quickly. They still gained more attention as they reached the other side of the city. They were reaching the area where all the masters, young and old, lived in great buildings, almost the size of small palaces.
Changbin let them know they were almost at his friend's house. They took one last stop at a small grassy area. The riders dismounted, leading their horses to a small creek, or letting them graze on the soft green grass. Minho did the same, before Cho started to throw his head around, and whinny like it was the end of the world.
"What do you want? Wanna ride?"
Cho whinnied again.
Minho laughed, and boosted himself up, back onto Cho's back. "Alright then! Let's go!" He kicked Cho forward, and the tall stallion took off, nearly flying off the ground. The other soldiers turned and stared at the prince, who was riding like... nobody they had ever seen before. He was the best. Truly.
The two jumped around the park, catching the attention of every person who was passing through, the travelers, merchants, and noble men. One man took particular interest.
Eventually, Minho pulled Cho to a stop, much to the horse's dislike, and hopped off his back. The second that he touched the ground, his arm was pulled.
"I'm sorry to bother you sir, but you must not be from around here, right?" it was a taller man, with a boxy face. "I haven't heard of a horse master as great as you around here. May I ask where you live?"
"Me? I am from the Lee Kingdom," Minho answered.
"Lee?" The man took a step back . "From the Lee Kingdom? How did you get over the mountain? How were you let into the city?"
"Sungjin!" Changbin's loud yell cut through the air, and the man whirled around.
"Changbin?" Park Sungjin murmured, spotting his friend. His frown quickly turned into a smile, as he jumped at his friend. "Changbin! Where have you been! I haven't seen you in a while!"
Changbin gritted his teeth, and pulled Sungjin away, to a safe distance, where Minho couldn't hear them. "You're so clueless, Hyung! Both you and Jeongin! What the heck? You think you can talk around a prince like that?
"Well we used to talk to Ji- what? Prince?"
"Oh my god! You are all idiots!" Changbin held his head. "That was the crown prince you were just talking to, informally."
"What?" Sungjin's eyes grew as round as the earth was flat. "That... that's the crown prince?"
"Yeah... that's Crown Prince Lee Minho!"
Sungjin ran over back to where he had been standing with Minho seconds earlier. "I'm very sorry, Your Highness. I was unaware... usually Lee men are not as.... welcomed here. Perhaps with your presence in our kingdom, you will change that."
"That is my goal," Minho murmured. "And please, don't fuss. You are Changbin's friend. Do not worry about it."
Sungjin bowed. "Yes, Your Highness."
The rest of the men had gathered around. "Everyone, this is my childhood friend, Park Sungjin. Sungjin, these are the soldiers from the Lee Kingdom. Young Masters Bang Chan, Hyunjin, and Seungmin, General Jeon, Captain Jeon, and Prince Yongbok."
Yongbok rolled his eyes. Unsurprising at this point.
"Can we stay with you tonight, my friend? I am afraid that we will not get to the palace tonight, and I find it better that we sleep inside the capitol, and not out."
"Yes, that is indeed a good idea. There are men outside that you should not mess with, at all costs. I have so many empty rooms, they will for sure host all of you!"
The group bowed in thanks to the young master, and readied their horses for the trip to his house. It was not far, as he had walked there. It took them a matter of minutes before they reached one of the largest houses they had seen on their way through the capitol. It was the size of the inn they had stayed in the night before, and for sure filled with more rich goods.
Sungjin had people bring all of the men to their rooms. Once again, they split up, this time with different pairs. Changbin and Yongbok, Bang Chan and Seungmin, Hyunjin and Jeongin, and then the brothers together, followed by the rest of the soldiers also in groups of two. Minho and Sungjin were the only ones to sleep alone, and no one complained.
Some whispers of how Yongbok should have also not been sleeping with another man spread. But Yongbok ignored them. When Changbin brought this up, Yongbok glared, and told him, "I will not be treated as equal to Minho. That is not me. Now don't speak of this."
Yongbok was once again the first to fall asleep. He lay, his bangs hanging in his face. Changbin watched over him, as he had done the night before. Yongbok flipped over, facing away from Changbin.
Changbin sighed, and began to lower himself to the bed, facing Yongbok's back. At some point, his body must have decided to move itself, because his arms eventually found their place, once wrapping around Yongbok's back, and the other resting on his waist. This was how they two stayed the entire night.
Minho, however, did not sleep well, and this time, his mind was swirling of thought on the next day, and the first meeting with Crown Prince Han Jisung, that he could remember in his whole entire life.
What would happen? Would he mess up? Would all the Lee Kingdom's plans with this meeting fail? These thoughts swirled around the entire night.
Hey! And chapter seven is also done! Thank you so much for reading, and giving support to this book, especially from the beginning, when it only had a few chapters. I really appreciate that! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and see you in chapter eight!