"That's a horrible plan," Changbin shook his head as he sat down across from Minho. "Horrible, horrible, horrible. I don't get why you just don't go directly there!"
"Because I'm a coward," Minho rolled his eyes as he spoke. "I just think that there might be a better way."
"Just walk in. He knows you're still alive anyway now, right? So why not just get it over with?"
"I feel bad," Minho felt something twang in his chest. "I left him without a word for almost two years. That would be enough for me to expect him to never speak to me again and banish me from his kingdom."
"You're still married though, and I'm sure that he still loves you," Changbin muttered. "You just have to explain, and-"
"But how can I explain unless I get him here first."
"What I'm saying is that you... never mind," Changbin stood back up. "Let's get him in two day's time. I'll be back by then. I think I have to go get someone."
"Who?"
Changbin turned back. "Actually, you and Hei-ran should come with me."
"What are you even talking about?" Minho stood up with him, a suspicious look glimmering in his eyes. "What about Hei-ran."
"We need to head west," Changbin looked around. "I'll let Master Sang-hyuk know. We need to get your brother."
"My brother?" Minho's eyes widened. "My oldest brother?"
Changbin grinned. "Exactly."
~oOo~
"But Daddy," Hei-ran pouted as Minho loaded his horse with the needed supplies, Changbin doing the same from where he was standing against his black horse. "I want to ride by myself!"
"Do you really hate the idea of riding with your very own father that much?" Minho laughed as he looked around. "I'll tell you what, I'll let you ride on your own but you have to be on a lead, and I'm going to hold it."
"Okay!" Hei-ran jumped up, clapping her hands. "Yaaay!"
Minho turned to the stable boy and asked for a small horse, probably no larger than a mountain pony for his three year old daughter to ride. "And this is a treat. Don't ask anybody else to do this for you, or I'm going to personally chop their fingers off."
"Okay!" Hei-ran beamed as a small golden pony was led over from her stall. She was small, but as fast as Danbi. "Here we go!" Minho lifted his daughter onto the horse's back with a groan and pulled a thick rope from the supplies, tying it around Hei-ran's waist and tying it to the saddle. "You hold on, alright? We're going fast."
"Okay!" Hei-ran just smiled.
"Ah... what am I going to do with you?" Minho sighed as he turned back to his own horse. "Changbin, we ready to go?"
"I am," Changbin tied down the last of the supplies and looked up at Hei-ran on her horse. "You ready, Hei-ran?"
"Yes, Uncle!" she said brightly.
"We're ready to go," Changbin glanced back at Master Sang-hyuk who was waiting by the door. "I could have just sent him a letter," he muttered.
"I think this is more than just getting the king here," Changbin looked over at Minho and Hei-ran. "Hei-ran has never met her aunt or uncles."
"Whatever, get going," Master Sang-hyuk sniffed and waved them off quickly. Minho mounted Danbi and grabbed hold of the lead that was tied around Hei-ran's horse.
"Let's go!" Changbin took the lead as they galloped out of the cave and into the sunlight. The three horses ran together towards the cave that would lead them through the mountain. They had to first ride towards the capitol, which meant they had to run towards the San Palace.
"We have to be quick," Changbin lay himself against his horse's neck and pulled his sword from his side, riding with it extended like a bird wing. "There could be Black Masks, and there could be royal guards.
And there were royal guards. They came within a few miles of the tunnel, and found that it was already heavily guarded. "How do we get around them?"
"A diversion," Changbin nodded to Minho. He was going to create one first while Minho and Hei-ran went through and followed after. "Do you remember the land of the Stone Lady?" he asked with a small smile.
Of course. When they were first arriving in the Han Kingdom, they had stopped on sacred land to the Stone Lady. The guards of the sacred land had almost killed Yongbok before General Jeon stepped in to stop them.
"Go there. I'll meet you there," Changbin waved as he raced off over the lands. "Don't trespass on sacred land!"
Minho glanced back at Hei-ran on her little horse and pressed a finger to his lip. "We have to be very quiet, alright?"
"Yep," she did the same, pressing a finger to her lip to copy her dad. Minho nodded before slowing to a walk and edging into the mountain where hopefully the black mare and the small golden horse wouldn't stand out too much.
Changbin raced right past the guards with his mask covering his face, not yelling at them as he acted as if he were a black mask. Risky, since if they had bows and arrows, they would be able to shoot him off his horse, but it seemed like a calculated risk, considering the guards only had swords.
Bad planning, on their part. What if Changbin were actually a black mask?
They were gone in minutes, chasing after Changbin on horseback and leaving a single guard at the cave entrance.
"Hei-ran, close your eyes," Minho muttered as they walked along the back of the mountain quietly.
Minho quickly dismounted before silently jumping up the mountain side, his feet managing to find crevices to fit into. He had done this on the training wall back with Master Sang-hyuk for ages. He was good at scaling mountains.
He jumped around till he was right about the guard before he dropped, landing nimbly behind him without making a sound.
He then unsheathed his sword and swung the butt back, knocking the guard out cold before he even knew someone was behind him.
"Alright," Minho jogged back to Danbi and remounted before leading Hei-ran past the fallen guard and into the dark tunnel.
"Is that man dead?" Hei-ran asked in a small voice, her eyes wide.
Minho blinked and turned to look at her as his eyes adjusted to the darkness. "No, baby. He was just sleeping."
"Oh... okay."
Minho sped Danbi up to a steady canter through the tunnel, her hooves sending echos through the entire mountain. They were out of the mountain in a matter of minutes and back into Lee Kingdom territory.
"Have you thought about what to name her?" Minho asked as he pulled Danbi to a slow walk as they found themselves in the middle of tall grasses.
"Well, your horse is named Danbi, right?" Hei-ran's eyes focused on her father ahead of her on the tall black mare. "'To welcome rain'? Well, I think she looks like a Geumbi," Hei-ran smiled a wide smile, "Golden rain."
"I like it," Minho smiled back at his daughter as he looked around. The sun that had been high in the sky when they had left was now falling back down to the earth as night was coming. "We have to make camp somewhere and wait for Uncle Changbin."
"Is he still coming?" Hei-ran looked behind her, but did not find her uncle.
"He is," Minho looked around. They couldn't rest on sacred ground without being attacked, so he had to find some place else.
"What about near that stream?" Minho muttered to himself as he stared out at a patch of grass that had been pulled up leaving a sandy clearing, right next to the stream that they had used last time they had been in this area.
Minho steered Danbi over to the area, Geumbi following after them with Hei-ran in tow. "Let's rest out here, Hei-ran."
"Outside?"
"Yes," Minho jumped down from Danbi's back and walked over to Hei-ran. He untied the rope from her back and set her down on the ground. "Do you want to go sit down and rest over there?" he pointed over to a large rock that was within his sight so that he could still watch her as he took care of his things.
"Okay," Hei-ran walked over and sat down on the rock, staring as her dad started to take things out of packs and untie things from Danbi's side. He pulled up a tent where they would be sleeping and some food to eat. He looked around, not finding any wood nearby.
"I'll have to wait until Changbin gets back," he muttered, not willing to take Hei-ran away where he could not focus on her to keep her safe.
So he let Hei-ran rest in the tent as he sat watch outside, the sun's last dying rays giving him light to see.
Before he was plunged into darkness.
It was not so dark that he couldn't see, but it was definitely harder now. He was on high alert. He couldn't let anything surprise him.
Danbi and Geumbi's ears pricked after a while, giving Minho a heads up that something was coming. He stood from where he sat outside the tent and unsheathed his sword.
"Minho!"
Changbin came running over the high grasses atop his black stallion before he jumped off his back, out of breath. "Oh thank god, I hardly managed to shake them."
"You look tired," Minho observed. "You should rest."
"I have wood tied to his side," Changbin pointed at his horse before falling to the ground, tired. "Take it and make a fire."
"We'll give away our position if we do."
"We'll take turns keeping watch. It's better that we don't freeze to death before then."
Minho glanced at him before walking over to his horse to find a few logs of wood tied to his saddle bag. "How did you know to bring wood?"
"I used to sneak over here when I was younger," Changbin chuckled as Minho walked back and started on the fire. "I would always not be able to find wood around here unless I really looked, so I learned to just bring wood with me."
"I'm glad I have you with me," Minho murmured as he flint and steel sparked a flame.
"You should be," Changbin lay back on the ground, staring up at the sky. "If we start early tomorrow, we can get to the forest that we first met in. After that, it's only a half day to the Lee Palace."
"Sounds good," Minho murmured as he sat down once again. He heard Hei-ran turn over in her sleep inside and glanced in.
"Go rest," Changbin murmured, pushing him into the tent. "I'll keep the first watch and wake you when it's time. Don't worry."
Minho nodded his thanks before he crawled inside and settled himself next to Hei-ran. "Good night," he murmured as he curled around her like a protective ball.
He slept well that night.