‘I’m so tired...’

                Taeyeon mumbled, a hand rubbing the back of his neck, a groggy feeling he had making his body more tired than he should have felt.  Standing in Jessica’s shop he looked over the assortments of herbs and other items spread out amongst the shelves, looking for items he had no clue whether he would need to bring along on the trip or not.  Sure he knew what most of these herbs were, his knightly duty required it, but going to an unknown area, any herb could be of use!  He sighed heavily, his hand falling to his side, the other rising to rest on his hip, he needed to concentrate on the task at hand, and he wasn’t going to get anywhere just standing around and looking at things, the airship was bound to leave sooner than later..

                ‘Oh!’

                Taecyeon nearly jumped from his shoes when a rather loud squeak echoed through the small store, his head whipping quickly to the side to find the unknown source of noise that scared him, his knightly instinct causing his hand to twitch towards the sword he always kept at his side, head turning just enough and just in time to meet with a smiling face.

                ‘Good morning Mr. Taecyeon!’

                Jessica’s bubbly appearance causing him to relax instantly, hand carefully back away from his sword, tensed shoulders slumping before he turned back to the herbs…  He should of known that Jessica would more than likely appear in her own shop.

                ‘You scared me, please refrain from doing that again,’

                Taecyeon groaned, again trying to get his mind back on track, he wished it was easier done than said, his eyes closing for a moment before he huffed again, rolling his neck back.  Jessica who was now standing beside him now frowned at the male’s un-cheerful appearance…  Her hand clasped together as she looked towards what he was looking at.

                ‘I did not mean to scare you, I’m sorry…  Here-‘

                Jessica offered, her hands automatically reaching out in a quickened pace pulling different herbs from the shelf and placing them on the small table in front of Taecyeon.  Her face was gleaming yet again as she did so, multiple bottles being set down before she finally stopped.

                ‘I believe that these should all do for your trip.  Have you ever been to Daegu?’

                Jessica asked now, her hands resting behind her back, her smile returning as Taecyeon gathered the bottles that the woman had offered, his head nodding up and down, of course he had been to Daegu, it had been his home since he was little and brought to the kingdom, but he wasn’t sure why Jessica was actually asking the question…

                ‘Of course I have, Daegu is like my home… Why?’

                He asked, an eye brow rising as Jessica’s feature only seemed to become brighter, her hands clasping together in front of her before they gripped at Taecyeon’s arm.   Taecyeon seemed a little shocked by her reaction, his body slightly leaning away.

                ‘You must be going home then!  Is Daegu as beautiful as they say it is?  Oh, I’ve heard so many wonderful things about the kingdom!  I’ve always wanted to go and see the flowers and pick some of the herbs for my shop! ‘

                She chanted excitedly, Taecyeon still beyond confused, home? He would love nothing more than to take Junsu and head back to the kingdom where both of them belonged, where he wouldn’t have to worry whether something was to go wrong and the prince would be hurt again.  Taecyeon frowned,

                ‘Sadly, no, I will be heading towards the kingdom of Busan…’

                Taecyeon spoke, Jessica’s eyes narrowing, this time her face becoming confused, almost like she didn’t believe what he was saying.

                ‘But… Aren’t you going on the airship today?’

                Jessica asked, Taecyeon nodding his head up and down, the herbs still held tightly in hand.  Jessica puckered her lips up,

                ‘The airship is going to Daegu though…  Not to the Busan Kingdom…’

--

                ‘C-Chansung…’

                A small voice spoke, Chansung tossing back and forth amongst his bed, eyes still closed; ignoring the soft pushes his shoulder was receiving.  His body wanted to sleep, the night before being more than a little rough; he hadn’t gotten to sleep until late, all his tossing and turning resulting in a sleepless night.  He groaned loudly, a hand pushing at his shoulder yet again.  He only shrugged it off before closing his eyes tighter, someone else sighing when he had done so.

                ‘He’s not getting up…’

                The voice from earlier spoke, Chansung noted that it sounded like Junsu, a small but not so noticble Daegu accent in the background, so he wasn’t exactly sure if he was just hearing things or if it was just his sleepy mind playing tricks on him.

                ‘That’s because you are doing it wrong.  Here, let me show you how to wake up a lazy thief.’

                This voice sounded like Wooyoung, there was no way he could mistake that man’s voice, it was to distinct, something he had been living with for years now.  He shifted his position on the bed, about to roll over and open his eyes, but by the time he had managed to turn over, something, more than likely a foot had pushed him over the edge of the bed and onto the floor with a hard thud.

                ‘T-That didn’t seem like a very good idea…’

                Junsu, who when Chansung appeared over the bed side with glaring eyes, seemed more concerned than amused by the action.  Chansung moved his glare over towards Wooyoung who seemed to be holding back his laughter, Chansung hissed as he pulled himself from the floor, dusting off his clothing just as Wooyoung had tossed something towards his face, soft clothing just inches away before Chansung’s reflexes caught the material, his glare returning as Wooyoung lifted his hands with a gesture.

                ‘They are your new clothes; I had the tailor of the town make us some new garments for the trip.  And also, the black smith fixed up our knives, rusty’s sword and armor.  So once you get ready and rusty gets back from the herb store, we can head towards the airship.’

                Wooyoung stated, Chansung looking down at the clothing he had been given, then up towards Junsu, who in all honesty didn’t look like himself, or more like he didn’t look like the prince image he was use too…  He looked more down to earth; a pair of simple, comfortable pants, a cotton fabric wife beater that showed off well defined muscles from his arm down to his abs.  Chansung quickly looked back down to his own clothes before he nodded his head.

                ‘I won’t take long.’

                Chansung muttered, turning from the two men, already stripping off the dirt covered shirt and pants, uncaring about the wandering eyes that were probably looking at him… Maybe, Chansung probably knew Junsu wasn’t, but he’d changed in front of Wooyoung plenty of times before, so it made no difference.  Once fully changed, Chansung shrugged his shoulders up and down, making the new clothing comfortable against his skin, it was amazing how soft and comfortable it was, he could even lift his arm without a tight pulling.  He smiled slightly before turning back, the door to their room opening just in time, Taecyeon stepping in, he wasn’t wearing his armor, but he too wore a new pair of clothing.

                ‘I’m back…  And I see he is up finally.’

                Taecyeon spoke his mellow mood causing Chansung and Wooyoung to raise an eye brow, Chansung frowning, Wooyoung grinning.  Taecyeon tossed the bag in Wooyoung’s direction before taking his place next to Junsu, who gave him a small smile when he did so, turning back to look toward the other two.

                ‘So I heard the airship will be leaving soon, shouldn’t we be getting a move on before we miss it…’

                Taecyeon announced aloud, Chansung crossing his arms over his chest, looking directly at Taecyeon, it was the first time he’d heard Taecyeon agree to anything since the journey to Busan began.  Taecyeon raised his chin towards Chansung before snorting.  Chansung’s lips twitched.

                ‘Stop giving each other those looks… ‘

                Junsu grumbled now, placing a hand on Taecyeon’s face, lowering his chin and just giving Chansung a simple look that made him turn away and towards Wooyoung.  Junsu smiled cheerfully removing his hand from the knight’s face, the taller man obviously gritting teeth, but holding his tongue as the group came together, Wooyoung holding up a fist.

                ‘Taecyeon is right though, we need to get a move on or our quick trip to the kingdom of Busan won’t be here anymore.’

                Wooyoung stated, the other three agreeing in unison, now all moving about to collect their things.

--

                ‘So it’s not weird to tell the driver he’s done?’

                Junsu asked, a cold chill running up his spine as they approached the landed airship…  It was huge in the air and it was huge on the ground.  Junsu swallowed, Chansung answering his question.

                ‘Not really, he’ll just go on to where ever his home is.  We don’t need him anyways, he was really annoying anyways.’

                Chansung shrugged, catching Junsu’s slight look of fear as he gazed up at the large ship.  The prince wasn’t particularly fond of heights, and the fact that this thing would be in the air, Junsu wasn’t very pleased.  Chansung rested a hand on the other man’s shoulder, leaning forward a bit.

                ‘Don’t look so scared Junsu, the things about as safe as it can get…’

                Chansung spoke; not exactly easing Junsu’s mind about the trip, but at least his shoulders relaxed as he looked over his shoulder, the frown still on is face before Chansung gave him a reassuring smile, patting him on the shoulder before going around meeting up with Wooyoung.  Junsu swallowed hard again, deciding not to look at the large ship and more towards Taecyeon who was speaking to a man at the opening, a smile on his face, it was something he hadn’t seen in a while, maybe Taecyeon was warming up to all of this.

                ‘Alright, let’s get aboard!’

                Chansung shouted from Wooyoung’s side, Taecyeon bowing towards the man before going to Junsu who has seemed to be hesitating to approach the ship.

                ‘What’s wrong Pri – June?’

                Taecyeon asked, he only needed to wait a few more days till he could call the prince his proper name, but he needed to keep the whereabouts of their destination a little while longer, if he was to get this airship properly home and those thieves arrested for their crime, no one needed to know what Jessica had told him.

                ‘Nothing’s wrong..’

                Junsu spoke, shaking Taecyeon from his train of thought, his attention back to Junsu who in his eyes didn’t seem alright.  If he could he wouldn’t allow the prince to get on such a untrustworthy ship, but considering it was their only way home, Taecyeon grasped both of the princes shoulders, squeezing them reassuringly.

                ‘Do not fret prince; I’m sure you will enjoy this!’

                Taecyeon encouraged, giving the prince a small push, Junsu stepping forward to follow Chansung and Wooyoung up a latter and onto the ship, his poor frame shaking the entire way up, Taecyeon feeling bad as well from the sight, but at least he got him on the ship.

--

                ‘It’s very funny how easy they were to find… How under our nose they were.’

                The man’s voice spoke, his footsteps clanking against the hardwood floor, the air whipping at dark curls, his face set in a hard emotion as he looked out over the edge, the skies and clouds a far as the eyes could see, mountain ranges passing by as the large grey airship hovered between and above them.  The man stood at the front of the ship, hands behind his back with two men standing at his side, one after a few minutes stepping forward, and a small piece of paper in hand.

                ‘According to our tip Nichkhun, the airship they are supposed to be taking should be taking off today, we are bound to see them heading this way if they stay on course, but knowing them, they will be heading in another direction…  It was warned that they are unpredictable.’

                The man at Nichkhun’s side spoke, a smile forming on Nichkhun’s face as he chuckled.

                ‘I’ve already figured out the moves that they have made, do not worry about the plan’s we are going to take, just follow my orders.’

                Nichkhun spoke, the two men nodding their heads, Nichkhun turning around on his heels; quick steps making the two other men practically run to keep up.

                ‘The ship must remain heading towards Busan, if we want to stop them in their tracks we will have to take them head on.  Our ship is faster than any small ship that’s carrying cargo so we should catch up in the next few hours or so.’

                Nichkhun replied, the two men nodding, opening the door as Nichkhun passed through to the captain’s room, a young boy standing at the steering wheel, eye wide, almost lifeless as Nichkhun approached.

                ‘When you see the ship, just know to prepare entry on abroad,’

                Nichkhun stated, his arms crossing over his chest, only the two men nodded their head as Nichkhun sighed.

                ‘Wondering Soul, to your home shall you return…’

--

                ‘Wow!’

                Junsu and Taeyeon chanted in unison as the ship lifted into the air, birds flapping their wings furiously as they tried to get out of the way in time, Junsu not exactly leaning over the ship, but looking out towards the open sky.  It was truly beautiful, though frightening at the same time.  Junsu was thankful when Chansung pulled him away from the edge to go down into the engine. 

                ‘Wooyoung has a friend that’s also on the ship; he wants you to meet her!’

                Chansung stated, Junsu nodding his head, not bothering to call for Taecyeon who seemed entertained by the fact that they were actually in the air, he was pretty sure this was his knights first time being on an airship as well, he wasn’t going to ruin the man’s first time by making him follow him around like a lost animal.

                Moing farther down into the ship, Chansung had led Junsu straight into what felt like a oven, and looked like one too, the bright orange lights from behind thick  iron bars giving off radiation of heats, Chansung pulling him quickly past them over to a room where the door stood wide open.  Junsu was pretty sure this was a storage room, the boxes stacked high all around them, but a small table sat in the middle of it all, occupied by a small thin girl and Wooyoung, the thief leaning against the table while the girl, who looked no older than him, stood up straight hands on her hips, talking about something to Wooyoung who seemed more than happy to be listening.  Both of them ce he and Chansung entered the room, the prince’s hand being let go, it falling to his side as they approached.

                ‘This must be the Prince of Daegu that Wooyoung was just telling me about.  It’s a wonder you so willingly came along.  Most royalty would have at least put up a fight, but I heard you even brought your royal knights with you.’

                This girl smiled towards Junsu, stepping forward, Junsu smiling all the same but kept his place next to Chansung.  The girl hesitated now, stopping quickly.

                ‘Oh forgive me!  Here I am speaking to you like we are best friends.  My name is Lee Min Young; please, just call me min though, it is nice to make your acquaintances.’

                The girl, Min, spoke reaching a hand out toward Junsu, who also did the same, he was sure that in already knew his name, so he felt no need to make an introduction as they shook hands and then released, Wooyoung stepping forward.

                ‘This here young lady will be the one you can trust to get you safe and sound to Daegu, I’ve known her for quite some time now and she’s an exceptional airship driver.’

                Wooyoung stated, earning a punch from Min’s direction, she didn’t seem to like being flattered.  Junsu only nodded his head as he stole a glance towards Chansung who seemed to be looking in his direction, but quickly looked away when he noticed Junsu’s eyes.  Junsu turned his gaze back towards Min and Wooyoung now, something he hadn’t noticed till now popping in his head.

                ‘Hold on, if you are the airship driver that will be bringing us to Busan, then why are you down here and not driving the ship up there?’

                He asked, his head tilting out of curiousity, Min’s grin growing wide.

                ‘That’s because I have to get up there and take my control over the ship.  Right now we are heading in towards Daegu-

                ‘D-Daegu!?  But I thought this ship was heading towards Busan!?’

                Junsu asked in a panic now, the only one who seemed to be in a panic, the rest of the small group rather calm about the situation.

                ‘Junsu calm down, that’s what Min here is for…  She’s going to be the one steering the ship soon so it will be heading in the direction of Busan.’

                Chansung reassured the prince, a hand grasping at his soothing it; he wouldn’t allow that to happen even if he couldn’t stop it. Junsu looked over towards Chansung, this time his eyes lingering, asking silently whether this girl could be trusted.  Chansung gave him a simple nod before Junsu nodded as well.

                ‘Alright then, let’s get this whole ship turned around then!’

                Min announced once Wooyoung nudged her, chuckling when she faltered a bit, though Wooyoung was more just taller than her than size wise.  Pushing past Chansung and Junsu, Wooyoung and Min made their way back up to the deck of the ship.  Junsu turned back towards Chansung with a frown upon his face.

                ‘Why didn’t you tell me this earlier? ‘

                Junsu glanced down at the ground, Chansung sighing where he stood.

                ‘I didn’t want Taecyeon figuring out and somehow altering the plans.  If you didn’t know he wouldn’t know…’

                Chansung replied taking a step closer towards Junsu, his shoulders slumped forward, he didn’t like the look on Junsu’s face.

                ‘What if something goes wrong though?’

                Junsu asked now, Chansung shaking his head.

                ‘I promise I’ll get you to Busan, even if it’s a long and difficult road.’

                Chansung promised, his hands already outstretching to grab Junsu’s hand, but instead of doing so he tumbled forward, the ship tipping along with him, Junsu’s body falling backwards.  Both of them managed a gasp before Chansung properly wrapped his arms around Junsu’s waist, taking the hit from the fall.

'They wasted no time in getting this ship turned around I see...'