~ Jiao Lin’s POV ~

The journey started off pretty well and we could move forward quickly, as it was really nice weather. Not a single cloud was seen and the sun was shining brightly. It was a bit chilly at first but after a while it became warmer and warmer. Soon it became unbearably warm…
 

We had to stay halfway to take a small rest. Lu Han had decided to also follow us on the way to the palace, not even giving us a reason why he wanted to go there though, and was now sleeping inside our chariot. Chanyeol, Baekhyun and Joon Myeon had taken their horses to the small river just by the roadside. But Chanyeol had tried to persuade Xiu Min and Yi Xing to change places with him, saying that he ONLY wanted to sleep for a while in the chariot. Xiu Min didn’t let him though, telling him that he would never let him sleep next to me, since he wanted to be the only one who’s that close to me.
 

He didn’t like Lu Han after the incident earlier this morning, knowing that he was the first guy to sleep in the same bed as me. And the fact that he still was kind of a stranger to us all. He didn’t talk much about himself, unless when asked, but he ended up falling asleep soon after the departure anyway.
 

Zi Tao was keeping an eye on all the guys for me, keeping me safe from mainly Chanyeol. He said that it would be bad if they did something unexpectedly again. While Yi Xing was, well, being himself… Spacing out in the middle of a conversation, looking dreamily into the thin air. But he did actually hear everything we said, surprisingly enough.

“Hey…” Chanyeol’s dark voice called out, glancing into the chariot where I was still seated. “Want to take some fresh air with me?” He asked with an innocent look on his face. I thought for a short while before answering with a nod.
 

“Sure, as long as you don’t try anything.” I said seriously, looking suspiciously at him. He shook his head and widened his eyes excitedly.
 

“Nothing!” He said, smiling brightly. I looked over at Zi Tao who stared suspiciously at Chanyeol before letting me go. Zi Tao already knew that I could handle things on my own, and didn’t have to worry much.

I followed quietly behind Chanyeol who were happily skipping around in the grass, running around in circles every now and then. He suddenly grabbed my hand and dragged me with him towards the river. He smiled brightly when he crouched down to touch the cold water, dragging me down on the ground with him.
 

And just as he had said earlier, he didn’t try to do anything. We only sat there quietly and looked at all the fish that swam around. Chanyeol looked like a child when he started playing with the cold water, splashing it on Xiu Min who stood just a few meters away. They both started a water battle, making water splash everywhere. And out of nowhere, Yi Xing came running between the two and jumped into the river, making faces because of the coldness of it.
 

I laughed while watching the three childlike guys. Zi Tao came to my side with a curious look on his face as he sat down next to me to watch the guys playing around. A big wave soon came towards the three, engulfing them in the freezing water. Joon Myeon had used his power obviously. Just as Chanyeol charged against his friend, we got interrupted by Li Yuan’s servant who was stern as usual.
 

“It’s time to continue the journey. So stop playing and get ready.” He said coldly before turning back.
 

Lay got up from the river with a disappointed look and walked unhappily towards the chariot. His clothes dripped with water. The others also made their way back and I followed them from behind. Just as Lay was about to get in the chariot, I stopped him.
 

“Wait! You’re wet. Well… you all are…” I said out loud. “You should change or something.”
 

“So… by something you mean like… getting… ?” Chanyeol said with an excited look and a wide grin. I fervently shook my head, blushing at his comment. Xiu Min was blushing madly thinking about it too and Yi Xing looked like he was daydreaming.
 

“No! I didn’t mean… that!” I said embarrassed. “I meant that maybe you could like, dry it?” I added hastily, looking away.
 

“Why not?” Chanyeol pouted unhappily. “I’ll do anything for you.” He added mischievously grinning now. Baekhyun who was standing next to Chanyeol only sighed.
 

“Use your power to dry your clothes already. Li Yuan won’t wait much longer.” Baekhyun announced while tilting his head in the direction of the angry prince at the other chariot. Chanyeol made a grimace and then used his power to dry all their clothes, smiling proudly afterwards.

Lu Han slept the whole time, not budging at all even though Yi Xing poked him several times during the trip. Xiu Min sat beside me this time, glancing every now and then towards me. He even tried to hold my hand a few times, but Zi Tao slapped his hand away every time. I tried to read a book that I got as a present from Shen Guo Li, who’s actually one of my favorite servants at the palace. Even if I haven’t told him that, he probably knows about it. He always nags about reading all those old books, well some of them are really interesting but some of them are just plain boring. This time he had given me a book about dragons, since he knew so well about my huge interest for them.
 

According to this author, he’s one of the few fortunate people to actually come close to a dragon. Obviously he survived since he was able to write this book. The most interesting thing that I’ve read so far is about that dragons are very intelligent creatures and sympathetic. They can sense the different moods people and other creatures are in. And act thereafter.
 

‘As long as you don’t try to meet a dragon with hate in mind, then you can be able to gain a long-lasting friend. Loyalty is for them a must, and respect is of the most importance. Without trust you’ll not get far. Let your mind be free from all bad and hurtful thoughts if you want to befriend a dragon, they can read minds and definitely knows when you lie as well.‘
 

It was a bit hard to concentrate on reading when Zi Tao and Xiu Min kept on fighting quietly, well not really fighting. Yi Xing was in the middle of teasing the sleeping Lu Han by poking him, tickling him and blowing in his face. It was amazing that he didn’t wake up. But when Yi Xing sat closer to him, Lu Han suddenly kicked him away so he almost fell out of the chariot.
 

I stared at Lu Han with widened eyes, who kept on sleeping soundly. Yi Xing was in total shock of the sudden attack, but it didn’t take long before he kept on poking him. I looked a bit weirdly at him, not able to grasp why he continued after being attacked like that. Did he like getting hurt or something?

~ Xiu Min’s POV ~

I tried to be as discreet as possible when trying to hold Jiao Lin’s hand. But even though I was cautious, Zi Tao noticed every time and just slapped my hand away. I didn’t mean anything bad with it though… I just wanted to be closer to her.
 

I grumpily sat with my arms crossed when I couldn’t even touch her even a little bit. Zi Tao changed place with me by forcefully squeezing between me and the princess. Jiao Lin looked at Zi Tao confused and he only smiled happily at her, she then decided to keep on reading her book.
 

Why does Zi Tao keep me from being near her anyway? It’s not like I’m dangerous or something… If it’s not… that he… likes her too?
 

Anxiously I turned to look at the black haired guy beside me. I observed his every move closely, as to see any signs of any feelings towards her. Feelings a bodyguard shouldn’t have towards the one he’s supposed to protect…

They were chatting happily about the book Jiao Lin was reading, mentioning dragons over and over again. Zi Tao seemed fascinated when she told him about the book, telling him also about things her teacher had told her about the same subject. But didn’t he seem a bit too… excited about it?
 

I felt a bit jealous not being the one talking happily with her. But why did it feel like Zi Tao was being too close to her? Sure, he’s her bodyguard and met her before I met her, but it didn’t feel right anyway… I’m not really fond of dragons but if it’s for her then I would do anything, at least anything I’m capable of doing that is.
 

After a while I couldn’t stand it anymore, the sight of Zi Tao and Jiao Lin together made me only angry and sad. The mixed feelings had built up to an unbearable amount and I just had to do something about it.
 

“Zi Tao.” I said, making both him and the princess look at me. “Do you also love her?” I asked him out loud, staring at him sharply. Not even caring about the surprised faces of Yi Xing and the princess or the now awake Lu Han with sleepy eyes. I just had to know. “Well? Do you?” I urged him.
 

He looked at me confused, not sure of what he had been questioned about. He tilted his head perplexed. “What?” He asked unsurely.
 

“Do you like Jiao Lin?!” My patience was as good as zero as I stared into the puzzled eyes in front of me; wanting an answer to ease my worries. The silence was lingering for a while before Zi Tao decided to reply.
 

“I do like her, but not in the way you’re asking of.” He calmly answered. “I like her as my friend and companion. Why?” He finished, curious about why I had even asked something like that in the first place.
 

“Eh? Because… because you’re being too close to her! And you keep getting in my way when I try to be close to her!” I said frantically, the jealousness still taking over my mind. “What about me? What about my feelings?” I cried out.
 

“Eh…?” Jiao Lin let out, her expression showing how surprised she was. I ignored my pained heart for a minute to just concentrate on this matter. I didn’t want her to know about my worries and my jealous feeling right now, but I didn’t have a choice.
 

“But…” Zi Tao began, furrowing his eyebrows while thinking deeply. “It’s not me you should talk with about that…” He continued and I looked at him a bit confused. “I mean, it’s the princess you like… you should talk about your feelings with her not me…” He added quietly.

 

I realized what it was he was getting at, and I felt a bit embarrassed over how stupidly I had acted towards one of my friends. But the feeling of being worried and anxious about how another guy felt about the girl I love kept on bugging me, pushing me into this jealous state of mind.
 

I felt regretful now. Not knowing how I should show how sorry I am about it. The shame made it hard to look into his eyes, but I forced my eyes to look up at him. And with a deep sigh I opened my mouth to whisper a simple sorry. A small smile spread on his face and then he put one of his hands on my shoulder.
 

“It’s alright. But it’s not me you should worry about… it’s Li Yuan…” He said all serious now. His smile disappeared when saying the name out loud. A heavy atmosphere took over the chariot as all of us suddenly thought about the future of the princess. We’ve soon arrived at the palace already, but we haven’t even thought about a plan of getting her away from this unfortunate event that will take place soon. No one of us wanted her to get married to that horrible prince; we all knew that, even though we haven’t actually talked about it.
 

The only clueless one was Lu Han; he sat in the corner looking puzzled. “What about him?” He asked curiously, not sure if he actually wanted to know about it or not. Yi Xing suddenly decided to speak this time.
 

“Jiao Lin is supposed to marry Li Yuan.” He simply said with an unhappy pout.
 

“What?!” He burst out in disbelief of the news. But before any of us could tell him more, the chariot stopped.
 

“We’re here now.”  Joon Myeon announced while peaking inside. All of us looked outside to see that we indeed had arrived. And the sudden feeling of fear hit me. Is it too late?