"Run! RUN FOR IT!" the village was on fire. The houses around him were burning.
General Kim Taehyung ran out of the flames, coughing. General Jeon came running out after him. "It was a trap!" he shouted, looking around. "We have to get out of here!"
The mission was a failure. There had been no leads to the Black Masks found in this village. They had received a clue from a southern-reaching master that there may be a hide out within this village; It was a small village on the outskirts of the country with a low population that was mostly agricultural-based. Seemed like the place the Black Masks might be hidden in.
Well, that was a lie. Or perhaps... It was full of Black Masks, but they were waiting for them when they arrived and attacked both generals and lit the entire village on fire.
"We have to save the civilians!" General Jeon yelled, waving over more of his men. "Hurry and get water from the aqueducts and keep the fire from getting to the crops!"
"Yes, General!" their men ran off as both Jungkook and Taehyung rushed towards the coughing villagers who were stumbling out of their burning homes. "Hurry!"
As the buildings began to fall to the ground, Jungkook and Taehyung checked every last house to make sure there were not more people inside.
"Stop!" Taehyung cried, running to the last house in the village. "There are people in there!" he began to desperately search for a way into the blazing house that was about to collapse at any time.
"Our dad is in there!" three young boys came running up behind them. "And MOM!" they tried to rush into the fire.
"Stop!" Jungkook pulled the boys away with one arm. "Stay back!"
"MOM!" one of the boys cried, falling to his knees in tears.
"WATCH OUT!" Taehyung ran from the side of the building as it came crashing to the ground, embers and flaming wood falling over the ground in a giant heap of burning wood.
Jungkook shook his head as Taehyung turned to him with a fallen face. He looked down at the three boys that were holding each other crying. They were in their early teens, younger than the generals by a few years.
Jungkook sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Get them away from the fire, I don't want them doing anything stupid."
"Hyung!" another small boy came running up as the three fallen young men turned to see him running over, another hooded young man at his side.
"T-Taehyun..." the younger of the brothers looked up with tears streaming down his face. "Our mom and dad were in there..." he sniffled. "They're both gone now!"
The arriving boy, Taehyun, looked up at Jungkook and Taehyung in their battle armor. "Are you here to help us?"
"Yes," Taehyung said quickly. "Anything we can do to help, we will."
The boy looked around at the other four boys around him. "We're all orphans now, sir. Is there some place that you know of that we can all stay for the time being?"
Jungkook glanced at Taehyung, who nodded. Jungkook sighed and leaned in. "Can I have your names?"
"The three brothers are Soobin, Yeon-jun, and Byeomgyu," he glanced at the small boy beside him who hadn't removed his hood. "This is my friend. Kai."
"Kai?"
The two generals stared at each other, then turned back. "Ga-ie?"
"No, Kai." The hooded young man grabbed the edge of his hood and pulled it far enough back that the two generals could see his face.
They stared at each other for a moment before Jungkook nodded. "Take your friends, the brothers, and this westerner and bring them with you. Follow after us, we'll take you to a safe place."
The young man nodded. "Thank you."
~oOo~
"The entire village... is gone?" Minho stared at the messenger in shock. "Are you sure? Are there any survivors?"
"We think perhaps fifteen members of the village died, but General Kim and General Jeon were there, and were able to help get people out of the village."
Minho nodded with a sigh and fell back against the wall. "This is bad..."
Jisung looked up from the scroll he was reading and nodded. "We need to send resources to them. General Kim is still on the scene?"
"We should join him," Minho said quickly, standing up. "I'll ask Chan to watch the kids. We need to go see the villagers."
Jisung turned to stare up at him. "What? Why should we go?"
Minho looked at him strangely. "You're their king. They would have a lot of comfort if you went to see them."
"The prince is correct," Changbin walked into the room holding a letter in his hands. "I just got a letter from General Kim. He says that he's planning on bringing five kids they saved over to the base here at the San Palace."
"He said that?" Minho murmured, rubbing his head. "I guess he feels bad for them. I'm going," he turned away from his husband. "You should come with me. After all, they're your people."
Jisung glanced from a retreating Minho to Changbin who nodded at him to follow Minho.
He sighed and stood from where he was sitting and ran after Minho to catch up. "Wait up!"
Minho reined in Cho as he reared in the air, impatient waiting for Jisung and his horse. "Come on," Minho called as he set Cho loose and they raced out of the palace gates. "Hurry up!"
Jisung chased after him on his white mare.
The village was little more than scattered blackened wood and ashes and somewhat burnt crops, some of which General Jeon's men had been able to save. There were still people staying just outside the village in a makeshift camp site where General Jeon and General Kim were also staying at the moment.
"This is horrible," Minho said thickly as he rode through what used to be a Han village full of normal citizens.
Both generals were waiting for them at the start of the camp. The bowed on one knee as Jisung dismounted from his horse and walked towards them. "Stand. What happened here?"
General Jeon sighed. "We were tipped off that there was a Black Mask base within the village, which was true. But they were waiting for us when we arrived and they set the entire village on flames."
Minho looked around at the scattered villagers from old men and women on the edge of life and death, working parents, people in the prime of their lives, young girls and boys that had just witnessed their homes burning to the ground.
"This..." he blinked. "Is horrible..."
"Indeed," General Kim stepped forward. "We have a few young orphans now that we're planning on taking into the army, if you will allow it."
Jisung hesitated before nodding. "Of course. Take care of them well, General."
"That's the thing," General Kim and Jeon both shifted on their feet. "There is one kid... he is not like the rest."
"What?" Jisung glanced at Minho who shrugged.
"Kid, come here!" General Kim called over a short young guy with a hood covering his face. "This is the king, please show respect."
The young man removed his hood and Jisung and Minho both found themselves staring at his face.
"Well, isn't that something else," Jisung murmured.
He turned to General Kim. "Make sure that he is safe within the base. There are people that would hunt him down and kill him because he is from the west. Make sure that does not happen," he turned back to the young man. "Don't worry."
The young man bowed his head. "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Jisung nodded before he walked to see more of the people who were staying here within the camp. Minho stayed behind to speak to Jungkook about the attack.
The king and the prince decided that they were going to stay on the campsite for that night, despite the generals' protests.
As the sun set and Minho and Jisung retreated to a spot that they had chosen to rest in, a man who would normally be dressed in all white, now dressed in normal traveling clothes, arrived on the scene.
He found an old woman and her middle-aged daughter caring for the fire at the center of the camp.
"Is that the king here?" he asked, sitting beside the fire warming his hands and arms. "What do you think of him?"
The older woman looked up from the fire. "He's a handsome young thing isn't he? Very polite and caring now, despite what I've heard about him. And that prince with him..." she shook her head as her daughter placed another place of wood on the fire. "They are something else, I'll just say that."
"I suppose that's good," he nodded.
"I have a feeling that Prince Minho is working some magic on him. He used to never come out of the palace. I do hope that he stays around for a while," the middle-aged daughter added. "I don't know if the king would be here if not for him."
"Daughter, that is for certain," the old woman patted her daughter on the back before she turned and hobbled off.
Leaving the disguised White Mask sitting by the fire. He sighed and shook his head, suddenly very conflicted. He had come to collect Minho but... he couldn't now. He had to wait. Just wait a little longer, and hopefully Jisung would be able to handle being without him for some time.
The man shook his head and stood from the fire. He had heard all he had to hear. It was clear that it was not quite time yet. But, given a week... things might have to be rushed.
The man walked back to his horse and swung up onto his back. He turned and kicked his heels as his horse sped off back towards the mountain.
As he arrived at the base of the mountain he entered a large tunnel as his horse snorted. He rode until he found himself in a familiar cave where it was lit with torches.
Master Kang stood at the entrance. "Where is the prince?"
The man jumped from this horse's back. "I could not take him. It was too early. If not for this darn fire," he shook his head. "Jisung will change when we take him, you know?"
"And he is fond of that daughter of Minho's," Master Kang agreed.
"I dare say that she is just as much as his own daughter now," the man sighed and put his arm around Master Kang's neck. "I fear that this may drive my..." he trailed off. "May do more harm to Jisung than good."
"But it is for the good of the country, is it not?" Master Kang turned and walked back into the mountain fortress above them with his friend. "We must all sacrifice things for the sake of our country. That includes Minho... and it included Jisung as well."
The man nodded but still felt a feeling of guilt crush his gut. "I'm just sorry to him."
"Maybe one day you'll be able to apologize in person," Master Kang suggested. "I'm not sure he would recognize you though."
"I'm aware," the man nodded. "After all, I ran when he was just a baby," he sighed and shook his head. "No, Jisung will not remember me."
"You don't think so?"
The man turned to face Master Kang. "He will not remember his own father. I am sure of that."
Master Kang stared at his friend for a moment before looking away. "You... just need to tell him. Perhaps if you do, we don't need to take Minho."
"No... it needs to be Minho," the man cut in. "It is for Jisung's own good as well, after all..." he trailed off. "That is what every father wants. The best for their child."
Lol. Plot twist ;)