Amaya held the sword in both hands, testing its weight. “You sure it’s okay for me to use this?” she asked. ​

“It’s Siwon’s,” Leeteuk replied. “He can’t really use it anymore. You’re fine with this, right?” ​

To Amaya, it seemed as if the horse was glaring at her, but Leeteuk just clapped a hand on her shoulder. “See? He says it’s fine. Go on, test it out.” ​

Amaya attempted to pull off the sheath, but it was rather tight, rusted from lack of use and poor cleaning. She gave it an extra hard tug and sheath slipped out of her hand, soaring across the clearing and hitting Yesung in the forehead. The bard just blinked. ​

"Sorry,” she called. ​

Leeteuk just sighed. “Kyuhyun! Sungmin! Teach her how to use it properly. I want her to have the basics down by the time we reach the Dwarven Mines.” ​

"What?” Ryeowook gasped in alarm. ​

"You can’t be serious!” snapped Kyuhyun. ​

“My scouts say it’s the fastest way to get to the castle from here,” Shindong explained. ​

"His scouts?” Amaya asked Donghae. ​

"Yeah. His scouts.” The young man nodded to the rabbit Shindong was cuddling, which sported a bowtie and a bandage around its hind leg. “That’s the little fellow who warned you about the attack last night.”

​“But that’s a rabbit,” Amaya protested. Donghae just nodded again, as if this wasn’t unusual in any way. But then again, Amaya was beginning to realize that nothing about the boys’ lives should surprise her anymore. ​

“Shindong?” she asked tentatively. “Can your, um, scouts tell us anything about where Setsuko is?” ​

Shindong shook his head. “It’s too dangerous for even them to get that close to Her, but they did say that She has begun increasing the number of guards around her castle. I’m betting that’s where your friend is.” ​

“And She’s expecting us,” Siwon said quietly. A grim silence followed his words.

​“Back to the important thing,” Kyuhyun snapped, waving his hand. “Why the Dwarven Mines?”

​“I already told you, it’s the fastest route,” Shindong snapped. ​

“The what mines?” Amaya piped up. ​

Kyuhyun sighed. “They want us to go back towards the short angry midgets who tried to kill us last night.” ​“

We’re wasting time arguing about it,” Leeteuk snapped. “The sooner we get there, the sooner we can get to Amaya’s friend.”

​“She won’t kill the girl,” Sungmin said quietly. “She needs her as bait.” ​

“But she could be broken already,” the wizard replied, ending the discussion. The group followed Shindong’s lead, heading deeper into the forest.  

​“Lesson number one in handling a sword is stance,” Kyuhyun announced. “Since we’re walking right now, we’ll skip that and come back to it later.”

​Before Amaya could ask if he was serious, Sungmin cut in. “Lesson number two is how to hold a sword properly.” He held out his right hand, tapping his first two fingers with his thumb. You grip it with these three fingers. Keep your ring and pinky loosely wrapped around the hilt. Good. Now, hold your arm out and point your sword upwards.” ​

"This is how you hold it when preparing for a fight,” Kyuhyun added. “Relax your wrist! Keep it in line with your arm or you’ll lose control.” ​

"And when that happens, you get hurt.” ​

“You might even die.” ​

"Can I put it down now?” Amaya asked, struggling to keep to sword from wobbling. “My arm’s getting tired.” ​

"Already? You really need some more muscle.” Kyuhyun rolled up Amaya’s sleeve without warning and studied her arm with a disapproving frown. He pinched her tricep and she yelped. “This blade is three pounds. That’s lighter than most of the drink trays you carry.” ​

"Yeah, but I only have to hold a drink tray for a few seconds,” the tavern girl protested. ​

“Endurance needs work, too,” Sungmin sighed. “I’ll keep that in mind. Now, slash downwards with the sword.” Amaya did as she was told. ​

"Not like that!” Kyuhyun groaned. “Faster! Like you're trying to cut through your opponent’s armor!” ​

"Which is what you'll have to do if you don't want to die," Sungmin added, sounding much too cheerful. 

By the time they stopped for a break, Amaya’s shoulder was aching and her face was drenched in sweat. The boys, however, were glowing as if they’d just woken up, their smiles bright and cheerful.

​“How are we doing?” Donghae asked as Amaya collapsed on a log, rubbing her shoulder. She didn’t respond and he chuckled. “Oh, come on. I was just teasing.” ​

"I’m not mad at you,” she replied. ​

“Then what is it?” ​

Amaya hesitated. “About what Leeteuk said last night…do you really think I have noble blood?”

​“Of course you do. Didn’t you hear his explanation?” ​

"Then why am I so bad at this?” Amaya held up the sword and the sheath slipped right off. Eunhyuk had cleaned it for her, and now it was so well-greased that it wouldn’t stay in place. Donghae could tell that their treatment of the sword was physically paining Siwon, who had stayed at the head of the group so he wouldn’t have to watch the abuse.

​“You think it’s really that easy?” Sungmin asked seriously as he handed them each a handful of berries. His dark eyes bored into Amaya’s and she flinched backwards. “You think that just because of the color of your eyes, the fact that your mother had a last name…you think all this makes you a noble?” He shook his head. “No. It doesn’t. It’s something that you have to work at. No one if born wielding a sword or being a hero. You have to earn it.” Amaya shivered. ​

Then the moment passed, and Sungmin smiled brightly at her. “I’d eat the red ones last. They make the black ones taste bitter.” ​

Amaya looked at Donghae with a question in her eyes. ​“That’s his way of being nice, I think,” the young man replied.  

​“Come on! Keep up!” Kyuhyun called as he slowly jogged backwards. Amaya grunted as she swung at him again. He easily parried the blow. “Good. Again.” ​

"I…can’t breathe…” Amaya panted as she slowed to a walk. “Give me a…” ​

"Your opponent is not going to wait for you!” Kyuhyun snapped. “Slow down, and you’re dead! D-E-A-” ​

“Shut up,” Leeteuk hissed as Kyuhyun bumped into Eunhyuk, nearly knocking the blond over. Amaya looked up. ​

Even without the warning sign, she knew they’d arrived. ​

The mouth of the cave gaped like real jaws ready to swallow any life forms that dared enter its maw. Beyond the rows of stalagmites and stalactites that made up the cave’s teeth was nothing but black, even with the sun high in the sky, beating down on their necks. The cavern practically devoured light itself. ​

"Since it’s daytime, the dwarves should be asleep,” Leeteuk said “This is the best time to go if we want to make it through.” ​

Amaya squinted up at the sign, shielding her eyes to make out the warning printed there.

Find wealth quickly with a pick in a mine

Where a million diamonds shine

Sapphires, emeralds, rubies of fire,

But dare to enter and risk our ire

Heigh-ho ​

The last line didn’t seem to fit in with the others, but before she could ask about it, Kyuhyun gave her a push. “Ladies first.” She stumbled forward into the gaping jaws. Blinking speckles out of her eyes as they adjusted to the sudden darkness, she realized that the dots were actually coming from something embedded in the wall. Curious, she reached out to touch one. ​

"Do you see anything?” Donghae’s voice floated into the cave as if coming from a great distance, although he was only a few feet away. ​

"There’s lots of…shiny things,” she replied. ​

"Shiny things?” an excited-sounding Sungmin asked. ​

“Shiny things?” an alarmed-sounding Leeteuk asked. “Wait, Amaya, don’t touch them!” ​Amaya jumped backwards as he came running into the cave. “Did I scare you?” he asked. ​

"Um…” ​

"Sorry. I forgot to mention that the gems the dwarves leave in the walls are y trapped. See?” He nudged something with his foot that Amaya had previously mistaken for a rock. Her stomach turned as she realized it was a fist, petrified and frozen around a small gem. ​

"I-I’ll be good,” she stammered. ​

Leeteuk nodded as the others followed, all blinking from the sudden darkness and surprise. “Don’t touch anything,” he repeated sternly as Sungmin began wandering closer to the walls. The younger man pouted and moved back to join the group.

​Shindong led the way, with a couple bats to guide him. From what Amaya had gathered by piecing together Donghae, Eunhyuk, and Kyuhyun’s botched explanations, Shindong was able to summon animals from an alternate dimension to do his bidding. At least, Donghae and Eunhyuk called it “summoning.” Kyuhyun called it “animal slave labor.” ​

Amaya jolted out of her thoughts upon hearing Siwon’s sharp “Sungmin!” She looked up to see Sungmin running his fingers along a particularly large pink diamond. ​

He jumped away guiltily, but his apology was drowned out by a metallic rattling as an old mine cart came speeding towards them. Most of the group managed to flatten themselves on the ground, but Sungmin, Amaya, and the elves weren’t quite so lucky. The cart scooped them straight up and continued its mad trajectory along the track. ​

"Sungmin, you idiot!” Kyuhyun hollered over the sound of Ryeowook’s screaming. ​

“It was pink!” Sungmin protested. ​

"Um…” Amaya tugged at Kyuhyun’s sleeve. ​

"What kind of man likes pink, anyways?” the elf shouted, completely ignoring her. ​

Sungmin looked affronted. “Pink is a manly color!” ​

“Uh, Kyuhyun? Sungmin?” Amaya tried again as Ryeowook latched himself to her arm and buried his face in her sleeve. That wasn’t what she’d noticed though, and she pulled Kyuhyun’s sleeve even harder. ​

"Since when?” Kyuhyun demanded. ​

"It’s always been!” ​

“Shut up!” Amaya hollered. “We’ve got a problem!” She pointed out of the cart at the abyss it was speeding towards. ​

Kyuhyun’s eyes widened, instantly forgetting his previous argument with the other man. “Sungmin, can you fly us out of here?” ​

Sungmin shook his head. “My wingspan is too big and you’re all too heavy, anyways.” Wingspan? Fly? ​

"We’ll have to jump. Oi. Ryeowook. Snap out of it!” Kyuhyun shook the smaller elf’s shoulder. ​

"No time for that,” Sungmin warned. ​

"GO!” Kyuhyun leaped out of the cart, hauling Ryeowook with him. Sungmin and Amaya managed to tumble out the other side, landing in a heap on the dusty floor of the cave. Amaya gasped in pain as the hilt of her new sword dug into her ribs. ​

They tried not to wince when they heard the mine cart plummet into the chasm seconds later.

​“Is everyone alive?” Amaya called out presently. ​

“That was fun. We should do that again,” Kyuhyun deadpanned as he picked himself up. “How about you two? Intact?”

​“I don’t think I’m missing any limbs,” Sungmin replied. “Ryeowook?”

​“I…I think I’m hurt.” The elf’s face was pale as he clutched his leg with both hands.

​Kyuhyun immediately bent down and felt the swollen area, causing Ryeowook to yelp in pain. “Broken,” he murmured, barely holding back a curse.

​“I have some bandages,” Sungmin offered. “Maybe we could wrap it up and carry him-”

​“No good.” Amaya shook her head. “It wouldn’t heal properly that way and the bone might end up crooked, which would make walking difficult, if not impossible.” She knelt by the elf’s side and examined his leg. “It’s a clean break, but we’ll have to set it, unless someone can use magic to heal him?” The possibility wasn’t unlikely by this point, but all three of them shook their heads. ​

"I can make a splint,” she murmured. “Kyuhyun, can you find me two thick sticks? Both need to be as long as his legs.” Kyuhyun nodded and disappeared. ​

“Sungmin, hand me those bandages.” Amaya took the roll from him and shook her head. “There isn’t enough to pad the splint. It’s not going to be comfortable,” she warned the elf. ​

Ryeowook smiled weakly. “As long as you can fix it, Doctor Amaya.” ​

“Don’t call me that. This is just basic knowledge. Frankly, I’m surprised you guys haven’t dealt with fractures before.” The sharpness in her tone startled them and both decided not to ask any further questions.

​“I’m sorry, Ryeowook,” Sungmin mumbled after a pause. His head was bowed as he traced patterns in the dust with his fingertip. “I shouldn’t have…I’m really sorry.”

​“It’s okay,” Ryeowook said softly. But they all knew it wasn’t. ​

Kyuhyun returned just in time to save them from further silence and he held out the sticks to Amaya. “I couldn’t find anything, so I took the handles off some pickaxes I found.” ​

“That’s perfect. Thanks.” Pinching the bone back in place, she set one stick on either side of his leg and bound it tightly with bandages. She helped him hobble to his feet. ​

"I’ll take him,” Sungmin offered and he allowed Ryeowook to drape an arm over his shoulders. Amaya knew that for as long as the elf was injured, and perhaps even beyond it, Sungmin would practically wait on him hand and foot out of guilt. ​

"-min! Ryeowook! Kyuhyun! Amaya!” The shout echoed throughout the cavern, making the direction difficult to determine. ​

“Leeteuk! Over here!” Kyuhyun hollered back, cupping his hands around his mouth. ​

Something furry brushed against Amaya’s leg and moments later, the others came rushing over, their relieved expressions changing to worry when they saw Ryeowook’s splint and pale face. ​

“His leg is broken,” Amaya explained. Leeteuk Sungmin in frustration, but Kyuhyun held out an arm to stop him. ​

“He feels bad enough already,” the elf said quietly. ​

Leeteuk just sighed. “Siwon, would you mind carrying Ryeowook?”

​“Not at all,” the horse replied. He winced as Ryeowook’s injured leg banged against his side as Donghae and Sungmin attempted to lift the elf onto his back.

​Leeteuk murmured something and the elf’s eyes fluttered shut. He slumped forward hard, his face burying into Siwon’s mane. The horse snorted in irritation. “That tickles!” Sungmin turned Ryeowook’s head to the side as Eunhyuk tied him in place with some ropes. ​

Amaya’s eyes widened. “What did you do?”

​“Relax, he’s just asleep,” Leeteuk said. “Helps with the pain.” ​

The girl looked wistful as she watched Sungmin secure a blanket around the sleeping elf. “Yes,” she said finally. “I suppose it does.”   ​

“Pumilio dormiens nunquam titillandus,” Leeteuk whispered. ​

The five remaining dwarves were sprawled out on bedrolls and backpacks with weapons resting beside their heads. Their snores were loud enough to shake the hanging rocks overhead, forcing the unnoticed trespassers to whisper in each other’s ears to be heard. ​

"Is that a spell of some sort?” Amaya asked.

​Leeteuk shook his head. “It’s one of my personal philosophies. ‘Never tickle a sleeping dwarf.’ Same goes for dragons. Let’s get out of here.” ​

It was easier said than done, with burnt-out lanterns and pickaxes purposefully scattered about the ground. Dwarves, she judged from Kyuhyun’s explanation, had extremely sensitive ears. Even if their snoring was loud enough to deafen a snake, the slightest rustle would catch their attention and wake them up instantly. ​

Eyes trained on the floor, Amaya walked alongside Siwon, carefully picking her way through the mess. Once, she nearly tripped over a loose stone, but Donghae caught her by the back of her tunic just in time. As Siwon threw her an amused glance, she flushed. It was embarrassing to be less graceful than a horse. ​

A tiny moan sounded through the thunderous snores, causing them all to stiffen. Ryeowook was waking up. ​

Amaya swiftly clamped a hand over his mouth and his eyes widened. “We’re sneaking past the dwarves right now and they’re sleeping,” she hissed in his ear. “So don’t make a sound, okay?” Ryeowook nodded to show he understood and she removed her hand. ​To his credit, he kept his promise well enough until they’d made it past all the dwarves.

“Yeah!” he cheered exuberantly. Leeteuk whipped around in warning, but it was too late. ​

The snoring stopped. ​

"Run for it!” Shindong hollered, leading the sprint down the corridor. Upon reaching a small turn, he immediately dodged inside. While Kyuhyun and Donghae were able to keep up, the rest of the group didn’t register the change in direction quickly enough and ended up running right past them.

​As they sprinted through the cave, the yelling of angry dwarves drawing closer behind them, Leeteuk pinched one of Ryeowook’s ears. “If we somehow make it out of here alive and intact, I will make sure that Kyuhyun is the last elf in this country!” he hollered. ​

“Dead end!” Eunhyuk called out in warning, skidding to a halt inches away from the rock wall. Yesung wasn’t so lucky; he smacked into it face first.

​Leeteuk cursed as he turned around. He clapped his hands and a stone wall rose out of the ground in front of the dwarves, but the creatures merely plowed through it as if it hadn’t even been there. ​

"We’re in their territory now,” Siwon snapped. “They have every environmental advantage here.” ​

“Eunhyuk,” Amaya said suddenly. “Can you cut down those stalactites with your cutlass?” She pointed at the roof of the cave. ​

"I think those are stalagmites, Amaya,” Eunhyuk corrected.

​“It doesn’t matter! Can you cut them down or not?” she snapped.

​“Amaya, I just said-” Siwon protested as Eunhyuk flung the cutlass towards the ceiling awkwardly. ​

Amaya pointed at the glimmering specks in the stalagmites. “y traps, remember?” she whispered. ​

The cutlass came whistling back into Eunhyuk’s hand, but the rocky spikes showed no signs of falling. A few wobbled, sliced through halfway, but it wasn’t enough. “If I get you close, can you knock them down?” Sungmin asked Amaya. ​

“Yes, but how…” Amaya’s words died out as hung open. ​

The creature standing beside her still looked like Sungmin, but Sungmin didn’t have fangs protruding from his mouth. He didn’t have black fingernails or glowing golden eyes or silvery blond hair.

​And Sungmin most definitely didn’t have giant glossy black wings. ​

"Come on,” he said impatiently. Without waiting, he wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her into the air. “I want a solid strike, like you’re aiming for the stomach.” ​

Flying. She was flying. Even though his wings were barely grazing the sides of the cavern, Sungmin flew her straight towards the first stalagmite. Amaya drew her sword and slashed it horizontally. The blow not only knocked the rock from the ceiling, it sent it crashing towards the others and causing a chain reaction that threatened to bring down the whole cave. ​

"Hurry, Leeteuk!” she heard Siwon yell. The wizard placed a hand against the shaking rock and the wall shattered. The shockwave carried straight through the rock, boring a tunnel in its solid surface. Without hesitation, Sungmin folded his wings and dove straight into the rapidly forming passageway. ​

Siwon’s hooves thundered along the rock, sweat gleaming on his sides. Exhaustion clearly showed on his face, with the weight of the other four now on his back, but he gritted his teeth, willing his legs to move faster. ​

Amaya gasped as the cool night air struck her face. Sungmin and Siwon finally slowed down, casing one last glance back into the tunnel. Seeing no signs of the dwarves, or anything else, they stopped. Had they really spent an entire day in the mines?

​Leeteuk and Eunhyuk quickly hopped off Siwon’s back, patting his neck fondly. “Good job, Sihorse,” Leeteuk teased as Eunhyuk first helped Yesung and then Ryeowook down. ​

"Thanks,” Siwon replied, too tired to come up with a retort. ​

Sungmin set Amaya down before reverting to his normal self. “What are you, an angel?” she asked. ​

"Angel?” He hummed in amusement. “First time I’ve heard that one. Usually, I get devil, demon, or monster.” He sighed and turned away from her. “I’m a shapeshifter, Amaya. Though I never wanted to be.” ​

“What do you mean?” she asked, lowering her voice to a whisper to match his. ​

"Don’t ask me that question,” he replied and she flinched back as his hard eyes met hers. “I can’t lie to you, so please, don’t ask me that.” She nodded hesitantly. ​

“What now?” Eunhyuk finally asked. ​

"We find the others,” Leeteuk replied. “If we can.”   

"I’m telling you, we can’t go back!” Kyuhyun snapped. “The others will be fine, they have Leeteuk with them. They can fight off the dwarves.” ​

“You’re not worried about Ryeowook at all?” Donghae retorted. “He’s injured and he’s the only elf remaining besides you and-” ​

Kyuhyun gripped his sword, glaring at the rogue dangerously. “Finish that sentence and I will kill you.” ​

"Whoa, hey, come on. No killing each other, alright?” Shindong stepped between them, holding his hands up. “Donghae, Kyuhyun’s right. There’s no way we can go back now. All we can do is get out of these mines and wait for them outside.” ​

"That’s if they show up,” muttered Donghae. His brow creased as he thought of Amaya. He knew his friends could probably outrun the dwarves, even if they couldn’t fight them, but could she? ​

Kyuhyun noticed the look on his face and guessed his train of thought. Rolling his eyes, he muttered, “If you’re really that worried about your girlfriend-” ​

"She is not my girlfriend!” Donghae snapped. ​

“Moving on,” called Shindong and after an exchange of hostile looks, the two followed after the summoner. ​

A boom shook the tunnel they were in and the overhanging rocks trembled dangerously. “What the heck was that?” Kyuhyun gasped, looking startled for once. ​

“I think it was the dwarves,” Donghae replied. ​

"What makes you say that?” ​

“Well, how do you think they built these tunnels?” ​

Shindong’s eyes widened. “I found them! My scouts found them! They’re heading outside right now! This way!” ​

Donghae’s heart was pounding in his chest, and not just from the sprinting as he raced after Shindong and Kyuhyun down the long, winding path. Were they alright? Were they injured? His worries immediately dissipated when he spotted the group clustered together, staring out into the distance. “You’re okay!” he burst out in relief, but none of them even glanced his way. ​

Slowly, the trio turned to see what they were staring at. ​

The massive face of Taeyeon’s castle loomed over them.