Hope this chapter is okay! v.v; I've been working on it all day and still feel like I could have done better with it.

--

He wasn’t sure how it actually happened; a chunk of his memory felt like it had just vanished for a moment, the visions he had of the outside was now gone and faded into black.  The last thing he could remember was the prince, the hurt look he held on his face as he strolled across the deck towards him.  He was still angry though, he knew that, because he was going to say something to Junsu, but now; he couldn’t remember what he was going to say…  But he did hear something loud, something ringing in his ear just as his vision faded and his thoughts turned to something he couldn’t comprehend.

Taecyeon!!

He felt his body twitch when he heard his name; well at least that meant he could still hear properly…  Trying to make himself move now, he stopped himself midway when a sudden singe of pain passed through him, and his voice could be heard clearly when a cry of pain came from his throat.  He felt two hands on him now as all his senses came back to him.  He was in much worse pain than he thought.

‘Taecyeon, do not open your eyes keep them closed!’

                Junsu’s voice was loud, directly in his ear it sounded like.  He didn’t want to open his eyes, that’s were some of the pain seemed to be coming from…  Now he felt fear rush through him, and that was rare, he was the Knight of Daegu, Junsu’ protector, and here he was freaking out because he couldn’t open his eyes, he couldn’t feel certain parts of his body.  What exactly had happened?

                ‘Taecyeon, can you hear me? ‘

                Junsu spoke, Taecyeon wanting to nod his head, but felt restricted,

                ‘Y-Yes…’

                He managed after a moment, his voice sounded raspy and he could taste what tasted like iron in his mouth, which was definitely not what he wanted to taste at the moment. 

                ‘Okay good, listen, there was an explosion, someone attacked the ship.  You’re arm and face was injured, you cannot open your eyes until the bleeding has stopped.  Y-Your arm is burned pretty badly…  Your legs are a bit bruised so they are probably sore, but they are okay…   I managed to get us behind some crates, so I need you not to scream again okay… There are some strange men boarding and the last thing we want is for them to find us…They seem to be looking for something…’

                Taecyeon took in a painful breath, but managed a nod finally; his neck just felt stiff, but at least he wasn’t paralyzed or anything.  Shifting slightly, he ignored the pain in his body and managed to find the back of the crate to sit against, of course with the help of Junsu.

                ‘Junsu…  I want you to find a better hiding spot; you don’t need to be here…  If this group of people are bad… Then the last thing we need is them figuring out who you are and you get harmed.  You must leave me though.  If I can’t see I’ll only…

                He was cut off now by a finger, it must have been Junsu’s…  Taeyeon frowned now, feeling Junsu press his forehead to his shoulder, his head shaking back and forth, he knew this wasn’t a good idea.

                ‘I can’t leave you hear Taecyeon.  You’re one of my people, what if you die?’

                Junsu asked, Taecyeon sighing, but managing to lift his good arm, find and placing his hand on Junsu’s head, pulling him a little closer, the prince nuzzling his face into Taecyeon’s shoulders.

                ‘I’m your knight Junsu, I signed up for things just like this.  Keeping you safe, it’s what I was trained to do.  And in the condition I’m in, well you know, I just can’t protect you properly if someone were to come right now. ‘

                He spoke, his body feeling anxious now; this was taking too long, he needed Junsu somewhere other than behind this crate now…

                ‘Junsu, I promise that nothing bad will happen to me…  I need you to find somewhere else to hide before they find you…  That or find Chansung if you can, he will protect you until I can, okay?’

                Taecyeon replied, feeling Junsu shift, god he wished his eyes could be opened, and he wished he wasn’t so injured so that he didn’t have to rely on that thief to protect his prince.  Finally Junsu lifted his head from his neck, Junsu’s hand squeezing his good shoulder.

                ‘A-Alright  Taecyeon,  but promise me you won’t just die right here okay.’

                Junsu stated, Taecyeon chuckling, but nodded to him, he wasn’t sure he could keep the promise, but he would try, Junsu meant more to him than his prince probably thought.

                ‘Alright, now go, no more time consuming, they might be coming here soon.’

                Taecyeon instructed, feeling Junsu slip away, h knew he probably nodded, Junsu’s light footsteps being heard moving away from him.  Taecyeon smiled now, leaning his head back against the crate, the only thing he really could do now was just sit here and wait, wait for what though, he wasn’t exactly sure…

--

                ‘Chansung, let me deal with whoever is on here…  You need to find Junsu just in case they find him and find out who he is.  If they are bandits then Junsu could be fetched for a real pretty penny.’

                Wooyoung spoke, both men eyeing the intruders from a far behind a pair of barrels that just happened to be nearby.  Chansung nodded his head up and down, he was planning to find Junsu whether Wooyoung told him he needed to or not.  He was already kicking himself mentally that he had let him go by himself, but what could he have done?  He had no idea that the ship was about to be attacked!  Grunting to himself, Wooyoung placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze.

                ‘Chansung, just think of the task at hand right now, you can beat yourself up AFTER we get out of this spider web.’

                Wooyoung stated, Chansung’s eyebrows furrowing, but Wooyoung was right, he needed to find Junsu, he only hoped that Taecyeon was with him, that big giant would protect him no matter what the situation. Well, he hoped, looking to Wooyoung again he gritted his teeth, this wasn’t exactly the smooth trip he was hoping for.

                ‘They aren’t here for anything good, take them out and just look for Taecyeon and Junsu.’

                He spoke, Wooyoung rolling his eyes, but nodded his head, yeah Chansung knew he just ignored what Wooyoung just said, but he wasn’t going to be able to take all those men at once, so they just needed to take them out quietly, hopefully.

--

                Junsu took short breaths as he weaved through crates, hiding behind anything that could provide a suitable barrier.  There were unknown men everywhere, looking everywhere, unsure of what exactly what they were looking for, he still needed to remain unseen, if these really were bandits, what Taecyeon said about them possibly finding him it would not turn out well for him at all, nor any of the people on the ship.  Luckily though he was always the good one at hide and seeks back at the castle, especially when hiding from his mother’s staff.

                ‘Chansung, where are you?’

                Junsu mumbled now, pressing his hands on a barrel, peeking around only to jolt back into hiding when a rather bulky man passed by.  How he hated this moment right now, his mind wandering back to Taecyeon, his lower lip being bitten as he only prayed nothing would happen to the man that he had to leave behind.  Clutching at his chest, Junsu pushed down the aching feeling in his heart and began moving again, he knew staying in one spot would only get him discovered faster…

--

                Nichkhun took easy steps, his hands still resting behind his back, eyes wandering over the ships as his personal assistant followed behind, what looked like a sword held tight in his right hand.  Nichkhun only glanced over his shoulders a few times, before moving his eyes back to their normal mission, find the Prince…  He knew he was on this ship somewhere, and he was going to find him.

                ‘Are my men spread out wisely among the ship looking for the prince?’

                Nichkhun asked, his assistant giving an instant yes, Nichkhun nodding his own head up and down.  Stopping now, his head turned in the direction of a few crates, his eye brows rising; it wouldn’t surprise him to find someone possibly hiding behind them.  Stepping closer, he waved his assistant to follow, the man quickly shuffling to his side, Nichkhun urging him to go first and around the crate.  His assistant doing so, carefully taking steps around the crate, his stance ready to strike at anything that might be behind the crates.  His shoulders slumped though, his eyes looking towards Nichkhun who seemed unfazed by it.

                ‘No one is here sir, but there are drops of dried blood on the wood.’

                He spoke, Nichkhun only turning away, someone had been there at one point in time, but they weren’t there now, if they were around, he was going to find them, just like he was going to find the prince and bring him back, whether it was by force or not.  Continuing down the ship again, his foots steps sounded heavily, he was heading towards the drivers cabin, if he couldn’t find anyone on the outside deck, then he was surely to find someone on the inside, there was no way no one was not on this ship…  That or they were more than likely good at hiding.

                ‘Nichkhun…’

                Nichkhun stopped in his tracks, a knife flying out of nowhere, hitting between two crates on the right side of the ship, his assistant literally jumping their eyes going wide, the sword automatically coming up in a defensive position.  Nichkhun turned around, a soft smile plastered on his face.  His assistant was more than tense,

                ‘Sorry, you scared me.  That’s all.’

                He spoke, his assistant giving him a skeptical look, but slightly relaxed,

                ‘I was just going to state, that maybe we should check the drivers room first, see what we can find there…’

                He spoke, Nichkhun giving a thoughtful look, agreeing with the man, but strolling over to where his knife had been thrown, the object being taken back in hand and stuck back into his boot.  Turning back to his assistant, his hands went behind his back again.

                ‘Yeah, sounds like a very good idea, let us proceed.’

--

                ‘S-!’

                Min spoke, her body shaking, that knife had come more than to close to stabbing her, but luckily at the last moment she had managed to jump back from the object…  It was into someone’s lap, but at least she wasn’t dead.

                ‘What the hell??’

                Taecyeon asked, the girl obviously sitting in his lap, but he wasn’t sure why, he still couldn’t properly see bandages blocking his view.  Min shifted in his lap, a cold sweat running down her cheek as she laughed nervously.

                ‘Nothing really, I just almost got stabbed by a flying knife…  One of those guys that are on board has some crazy senses.  I was sure he knew we were here… ‘   

                Min shivered, the thought of that knife getting so close again, she didn’t want to think about!  Placing a hand on Taecyeon’s hand, she slowly shifted off the man’s lap, gripping his hand in hers carefully. Taecyeon’s lips formed a thin line, he absolutely hated being in the dark, but he at least he was lucky enough to be living thanks to this girl…  If it hadn’t been for her finding him trying to helplessly crawl to a safer place, he probably would have already been found and probably killed…  He was even lucky that Min carried bandages on her and she had gotten the bleeding over his eyes to stop, she told them that there would likely be scars from the scratches the debris the explosion on deck had caused, but once they were all healed up, he would be able to open his eyes again, but until then he was practically blind and helpless…  At least his arm that had been burned pretty badly wasn’t hurting him anymore, it just felt numb, Min hadn’t said anything about his arm but that there was nothing she could really do, but he would still be able to move and use it.

                ‘Okay, let’s keep moving; we have to at least find June before that man does…’

                Min instructed, tugging Taecyeon’s hand to lead him in the direction they were heading in the first place.  Taecyeon frowned, he was hoping the prince had already found Chansung and that stupid thief was doing his job of protecting him.

--

                ‘Ack!’

                The man fell to the floor with a thud, joining the small heap of other men who had also been knocked out.  Chansung and Wooyoung knocking elbows, smiles spreading across their faces before they dove behind another set of crates, not bothering to hide away the men, no one would be able to find them anyways.

                ‘That’s a few down, but once they realize their men’s asses are getting kicked they will come find us.’

                Wooyoung spoke, Chansung shrugging his shoulders, he could of cared less about the men they were beat the crap out of, until he found Junsu, he wasn’t going to relax, not with Junsu’s life possibly in danger.  Wooyoung must have noticed his discomfort, a hand being placed on his shoulder.

                ‘We’ll find him before they will trust me, I’m sure he’s with Taecyeon at this very moment.’

                Wooyoung reassured, Chansung bluntly ignoring him, the smile and thrill of kicking those men’s asses suddenly faded.

                ‘We have to find him… I’m not losing him too…’

                Chansung spoke, already moving forward, Wooyoung rolling his eyes behind him, but followed quickly.  They both hated how big this ship was, finding someone seemed almost impossible when they were all probably moving around.

                ‘Chansung, wait!  Look!’

                Wooyoung instructed, his hand already over his shoulder, pointing in the direction of a couple of crates, they were a little more spread out then the others, but you could still hide behind them, and that’s exactly what they were being used for, Junsu’s body pressed up against them, his face drenched with sweat probably from the constant moving and the fear, a hand gripping at the shoulder he had injured a while back.

                ‘June!’

                Chansung shouted with a smile, Junsu’s head tilting in his direction, his own smile forming on his lips, he looked in a little pain, but Chansung was hopefully going to change that, his body already up and heading in his direction.  If only it was that easy, the moment Chansung stepped a foot forward a rather large sword stopping him in his tracks.

                ‘Ah, I knew there were people on this ship…  You all are very skilled at hiding you know…  But then again, that’s expected of pathetic peasents.’

                The voice sound almost amused, one Chansung had never heard before in his life, his head slowly turning to meet eyes with another tall man, maybe a little shorter than him, along with another man that looked rather short for his age.  Chansung’s eyes narrowed, his lip twitching.  The other man seemed smug as he stepped forward.

                ‘Is there anyone else back there?’

                He asked, Chansung quickly moving out from behind the crates, he wasn’t about to give away Wooyoung or Junsu’s position.

                ‘No… It’s just me…’

                He replied, the man raising an eye brow, watching as Chansung took the sword from the wall, his grip tight on it.  He couldn’t help the smile on his face, Chansung uneasy.

                ‘JR, I believe he has your sword, I think you should get it back.’

                The man spoke, this JR guy glancing in his direction.

                ‘If you say so Nichkhun sir,’

                JR replied, Chansung bracing himself, JR’s foot work rather fast, Chansung only having time to blink before he had to move, the sword being ripped out of his hand unwillingly.  Chansung stumbled sideways, reaching down just in time to avoid a deathly swing from the man’s sword, his dagger from his shoe being drawn.  Their metals clanged together, Chansung using his own foot work to side step another blow from the skilled man.

                ‘Wow, for such a petty person you have very developed skills. Especially with just a knife’

                JR stated; Chansung giving him a smile, his knife being flipped in hand before brought up in his defense.  JR smiled himself,

                ‘Well you know I learned from the best.’

                He replied, mentally thanking that of an old man for his skills with a knife, gripping it tighter, JR seemed only a little impressed, the talk obviously pushed aside, his form shooting towards him again, Chansung darting his knife forward, pushing the blade aside just in time, stumbling back yet again, an aggravated grunt passing both of their lips, both of them clumsily moving around, metal clanging.

                Nichkhun crossed his arms over his chest now, watching as JR and the man went at it, it was interesting to see such a rundown man putting up such a rough fight against his most prized fighter.  Shifting his weight onto one side, Nichkhun let his head tilt, his eyes catching movement other than the two who were sparing at the moment.  Nichkhun’s lips curved into a grin as a shock of dark brown hair could be seen, the prince only being seen at a glance, along with another mysterious boy.

                ‘Ah you sneaky little child, you cannot hide from me…’

                Nichkhun spoke to himself, stepping away from all the commotion, over to the crates that he was sure hid the one person he was looking for.  And sure enough, there he was, being helped by another peasant.  This peasant now looked up in his direction, his face going hard with an angry expression, cursing as he pushed the prince behind him.

                ‘My, my, just so many people today, including the prince who I have been looking for.’

                He stated, the man’s eyes never leaving him, only the prince seemed to perk up.

                ‘You’ve been looking for me?’

                He asked aloud, the man holding him back with his arm; a knife being brought out from nowhere, Nichkhun chuckled.

                ‘Why yes my child, you’re mother has sent me out to retrieve you and bring you back to the castle.’

                He replied, the prince looking over the other’s shoulder,

                ‘You do realize I’m not going to go home right…  So just tell my mother that and leave.’

                The prince stated, Nichkhun looking amused, this boy seemed to think he had a choice in whether he was staying or going.

                ‘I’m afraid child that you do not have a choice as to whether you are going or not.’

                Nichkhun instructed, the man in front of him pushing the prince back,

                ‘He’s not going.’

                He spoke sternly; Nichkhun didn’t even have to blink an eye before he was in front of the other man, kneeling down, a hand darting out.  The knife had already been knocked aside, Nichkhun’s hand encased around the man’s throat.  The prince gasped as Nichkhun lifted the man directly into the air, his hand tightly around his throat.

                ‘W-Wooyoung!’

                He shouted, Wooyoung struggling against the restraint, his feet kicking in the air, trying to get free of Nichkhun’s death grip.

                ‘Let him go!’

                The prince shouted, Nichkhun ignoring the shouts as he only gripped tighter, looking down only to notice the prince charging towards him.  He shook his head back and forth, reaching out a hand going to grab him mid charge, but instead, they all jolted in one direction, another loud bang throwing them all to the ground.

                ‘What the hell?!’

                Nichkhun shouted, his grip on Wooyoung being lost, his body being brought to the ground like everyone else.  Only he managed to get to his feet as another rumble shook the ship.  Nichkhun’s eyebrows furrowed as he held on to the nearest sturdy object.

                ‘Why the hell is the ship going down?’

                Nichkhun shouted, watching as the ship brushed against a tree, it seemed to be getting lower and lower…  Which meant it would probably crash.

                ‘Chansung!’

                Someone shouted, Nichkhun turning his head as the ship jolted yet again, shaking everyone, most of the crates flying away, Chansung and Jr rolling long the deck, down towards where the front of the ship would probably hit the ground first.  Nichkhun gritted his teeth, this was not what was supposed to be happening!

--

                ‘Junsu hold on to me,’

                Wooyoung shouted, Junsu watching horrified as Chansung went rolling, down the deck of the ship.  Wooyoung grunted loudly, grabbing Junsu by the collar, the prince wrapping his arms around Wooyoung who was already grabbing a nearby cloth that was rather big.

                ‘Dear lord I hope this works…’

                Wooyoung mumbled, grabbing each end of the sheet,

                ‘W-Wait, we aren’t about to jump are we, what about Chansung?!’

                Junsu asked, his arms tightening around Wooyoung,

                ‘If we crash with the ship god knows what will happen, Chansung knows that too, he’ll be alright, and so will Taecyeon and everyone else.’

                Wooyoung spoke, making sure Junsu was secure, the prince instantly shaking his head back and forth, but Wooyoung couldn’t take no for an answer, there was no time and he had no idea where that Nichkhun guy was and he didn’t want to know.

                ‘B-But Wooyoung, Taecyeon is injured, I can’t leave him!’

                Junsu shouted, but was a little too late, Wooyoung already bringing them over the edge, luckly they were already close to the ground, the cloth automatically catching the air, drifting them down slowly.