...What the heck did I just rewrite? I am sooooo hating myself right now. I can't concentrate at all! Not on writing or reading or anything for school! Someone please smack some sense into me and pronto! And...do forgive me for any mistakes and for being a late updater. Commenting and subscribing is very much appreciated.

Reminder: No stealing, copying, translating, or plagiarizing my fic! I will make your life miserable if you do...

Repost: 8/30/14

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Liftoff...Now!

The twelve EXO princes were rendered utterly speechless, their mouths agape, their eyes wide, and their expressions absolutely incredulous at the person before them. They were so dumbfounded that they thought that they were having a wild illusion of you. That, or a crazy dream.

You were older than them. You were taller than them. You were...

...even more beautiful.

As much as they wanted to fire you with floored questions, the queens didn’t give them a chance when the two women ordered their sons to grab their packs. Instantly after doing so, they were all hustled outside the bunker.

“Where are we going?!” Kyungsoo cried out as he and his brothers frantically ran with their mothers down the maze-like underground passageways. You hugged the very back of the group, covering everyone’s backs as the queens skillfully navigated through the numerous corridors and staircases that seamlessly appeared in their path from the gloom. Over their shoulders, Kai and Luhan shot you befuddled looks, not believing that you were real. Everyone else either paid attention to where they were heading or stole curious glimpses at you.

“We’re taking the escape tunnel to flee far from the castle grounds,” Queen Ming explained, not breaking a beat as she turned a corner. “After we reach the exit, Aris will guide you to the hidden royal hanger where a spaceship awaits for you all.”

“What about you, Mother?” Yixing asked breathlessly, not liking the implied fact that the queens weren’t coming with them.

Queen Ming shook her head apologetically while Yifan and Queen Kyungsoon knocked open an old, unused door. “No, I’m sorry, Yixing. It is best if Queen Kyungsoon and I remain here with your father.”

While his brothers were being ushered into a narrow, dusty tunnel, Yixing didn’t budge from his spot. His expression was scared, but his tone was disapproving as he insisted, “No, Mother. You must come with us.”

The sharpness of her eyes softened, and she stepped forward to gently touch her son’s smooth, pale cheek. “Yixing,” she said in her warmest inflection, “my gentle healer and caring son, understand that making sacrifices is inevitable in our lifetime.” She inclined her chin past his shoulder. “Ask Aris for example.”

At his mother’s prompting, Yixing glanced over to you where you stood silently by the decrepit doorway. Your head was ducked as if the queen’s words weighed heavily your sunken shoulders. The somberness of your posture made the healing prince blink out of his stubborn episode. “Aris...” he whispered, then trailed off uncertainly, robbed of words to say.

You raised your chin his way and held out your hand to him. Your pale fingers were slimmer and longer than before, no longer the delicate, thin fingers that belonged to a young child, because now they were dexterous and nimble, marking the teenager that you’ve become.

“Won’t you always stay by my side?” you asked him softly, the shadows of the dim tunnel shrouding most of your appearance, but your bright, intelligent eyes was the anchor that kept Yixing in place.

Yixing’s mouth moved before he could even think. “Always.” His answer had been instinctive and honest, and he wondered if there was some type of hypnotic spell swirling around in your eyes, because your powerful gaze captured his very soul, invoking him to spill out all the lies and truths and secrets that were buried deep within his heart. As if still on autopilot, he took your outstretched hand, and the familiar skin-tingling touch that he associated with you comforted him. He willingly let you drag him down the end of the tunnel where the others were gathered. It was murky and tightly-spaced down there, and the only light available was Baekhyun’s powers.

Queen Kyungsoon, Xiumin, and Yifan were struggling to break away the rusty chains and padlock that locked the door. When the chains finally surrendered and rattled down to the dirty floor, the three of them had trouble opening the door. It refused to budge even when Xiumin rammed his shoulder against it. Years of disuse had allowed it to be stuck in place.

“Move aside,” you ordered calmly. Everyone cautiously cleared a path for you, squeezing their bodies against the filthy walls as if to flatten themselves. With a slight yell, you out your hands, palms out, and a condensed force of your magic surged forward to blast away the door. Thin rays of metallic gray light flourished into the once dim tunnel.

Already shedding tears, Queen Kyungsoon faced her children and pulled each of them into a tight, warm embrace. She murmured heartfelt words to them as she cradled them close. “This is where we have to part ways, my dears. A big group would be easily spotted by the Techas. But don’t ever fret—Aris will watch over you. Listen to her every word and don’t lag behind. Oh, Sehun, be brave and don’t cause any trouble. Joonmyun, always protect your brothers and love them. Chanyeol, grow big and strong. Baekhyun, don’t ever stop smiling like the sun. Kyungsoo, take care of your brothers. Jongin, become a good, honest man.” She held back a sob. “Forgive me. I’m sorry I won’t be there to watch you all grow up.”

“But where will we be escaping, huh?” Luhan demanded, feet planted. “Our home is here, and the situation in space isn’t safe enough to travel in!”

“Aris?” Baekhyun pleaded, hoping for a reasonable explanation, but Queen Ming was drilling you with instructions.

“Aris, the hanger is quite a distance from here, but it’s not that hard to find. You just need to head northwest in a straight direction, and you’ll be fine. When there, have Luhan sense where the hanger is underground, and then use Kai to teleport yourselves in there, alright?” After you gave her a nod of confirmation, she pulled out something from her bag and handed it over to you. It was a compact jewelry box the size of a thick novel. “Here, the badges. I’ve kept them close just as you asked, but now you need to take them with you.”

You took the box and stuffed it securely in one of your bags. “Thank you, Queen Ming.”

“I know I shouldn’t ask, but where are you taking the boys?” Queen Ming inquired, her voice dropping in despair. Tao heard that and tumbled over to tackle his mother’s waist. He cried inconsolably in her dress skirt, and she rubbed his trembling back soothingly. “Shh, Zitao. My baby...”

The scene sorely reminded you of the farewell you had with your brothers. The freshness of their goodbyes ached in your heart, but you stayed resilient and courageous, not wanting to crumble to weakness so quickly. Eyes tight, you shook your head at the queen apologetically. “It would be safer if I kept it a secret. But, so far, your husband and Prophet Yesung know where.” You bowed your head formally. “We must depart now, my queens. I sincerely thank you for your help.”

The princes and the queens cried and hugged and sniffled out their heartbroken goodbyes. Tao and Sehun clung to their mothers rebelliously, but, with heavy, guilt-laden hearts, Yifan and Suho pried them off, having to carry their young brothers in their arms as the two bawled uncontrollably. Through her glistening tears, Queen Ming gave her sons a proud, loving look.

“I love you, Minseok, Luhan, Yifan, Yixing, Jongdae, Zitao,” she whispered.

“Be safe!” Queen Kyungsoo called out, her chest clenching painfully as she watched her sons and you venture out into the woods. From there, all of you would travel deeper into the forest. Queen Ming dabbed at her red eyes, but her chin was held up high. The last person the two women saw had paused hesitantly by the tree line and had turned around to stare forlornly at the disheartened queens.

“Love you,” Yixing whispered before facing away from them and following after you and his fleeing brothers.

...

“Come on,” Luhan insisted through suppressed, frustrated tears. He took point of the traveling pack, having recalled his mother’s directions as to where the underground hanger was. He held Chen’s hand as everyone darted through the dense forest, half-stumbling as the foliage grew thicker to suffocating degrees.

“Thank you,” you whispered gratefully, traveling near the back of the bunch, but Luhan heard you and swallowed the nervous lump stuck in his throat. Your soft, velvety tone was the same despite its matured state.

And it still had the same tugging, melting effect on him.

“N-no problem,” he stammered, ears pink.

“Ouch!” Kyungsoo had tripped over a tree root, but Kai and Yixing helped him back up and supported him by holding his arms as you all journeyed under the cover of the tall trees. Yifan and Suho had to resort to letting Tao and Sehun ride their backs, since their younger brothers were too emotionally drained to run on their own two feet. In the center were Chanyeol and Baekhyun, the fire and light duo holding each other hands protectively. A little behind them were Yixing, Kai, and Kyungsoo. You and Xiumin were near the very back, to sense and protect everyone else from danger.

Chanyeol frowned up at the gloomy, muddled sky that he caught a glimpse of between the thick layer of leaves. “It’s gray and black.”

“Many towns are on fire,” you told him in hard remembrance. “Lands are bloody battlefields. The sky is full of terror.”

 “No,” Sehun whimpered, ready to bawl again. He buried his distressed face in Suho’s neck for comfort. Meanwhile, Xiumin and Yifan looked steely at the news.

After ten minutes of nonstop sprinting, you decided that the princes needed a break, especially Suho and Yifan since they had extra weight to carry. The twelve of them hunched down next to a set of thick, overgrown trees. Sweat poured down their wan faces, and they were panting heavily from a mix of panic, distress, and exertion. The alert ones, like Xiumin and Luhan, scanned the area apprehensively for the enemy if there was one.

“Princess Aris...” Yifan nearly had a when you answered your name by looking at him directly. Of course it was you—Aris was your name. He was silly to think otherwise. “How...are you older? How old are you?” During their trek, the flight prince had noticed that you were now taller than him, nearly five inches at most, and it was a bit unsettling to him to be honest.

“I used a very complex spell that burdens the body—a body growth spell,” you replied in a small voice. “My brother, Onew, said I’m about fifteen-years-old. I’ve added ten years to myself.”

The princes were astounded at the news. Fifteen-years-old?! You were two years older than Xiumin, the eldest of them, who was thirteen! Knowing this made them shift with uneasiness and maybe a hint of awkwardness. They had always recalled that you wanted to marry someone older than you (mainly because practically everyone had been older than you), but, with a war raging on their home planet, the prospect of their marriage with you would have to be prolonged to another day.

“You’re beautiful,” Luhan whispered. He couldn’t help but to say that as he stared at you in captivation. Even when older, you still retained that natural, angelic beauty that the princes had fell in love with at first sight. Right now, you were neither too young nor too old; rather, you were in between the development of an older girl to a young woman. In other words, you were timeless.

Your smile was worn yet grateful. “If you say so, then I’ll believe it.”

Everyone fell quiet after that. Kai, Suho, Chen, and Yixing would shoot you puzzled glances, but there was nothing more to say after your conversation with Yifan and Luhan. When you felt like the princes had regained their second wind, you declared it was time to go. In the same positons as before, the thirteen of you trudged through the dense forest at a careful, even pace.

“Wait a second,” you breathed out cautiously and paused midstep. You held up a warning hand when probing looks were aimed your way.

You heard it—like an exhale of a hissing breath. Then there was a slight ruffle of disturbed leaves. After that was a scratch of hard metal against an unsuspecting branch.

 “GET DOWN!” you shouted when one of the enemy launched itself out of the bushes and attempted to slash at Baekhyun, but Chanyeol tackled his brother onto the ground, a buzzing saw whizzing harmlessly past their heads.

That attack had been meant to kill.

Soon, more Techas made themselves known, emerging from their hiding spots and advancing closer. Without needing to think, two sparkling, blue-white plasma bolts appeared in your hands, and you hurled them out to destroy the heads of two Red Assassins. Their lifeless bodies dropped onto the ground, their severed necks bleeding an inky substance and their exposed wires sparking from being cut.

“WATCH OUT!” Xiumin yelled when two Red Assassins had stealthily snuck up from behind you. You whirled around to face them while, at the same time, they raised their arms, which were equipped with razor-sharp blades.

But before they could slice you into tiny little pieces, a mighty cold breeze blasted around you to freeze them into a block of ice. Strong arms pulled you away from the ice sculpture.

“Are you alright?” Xiumin asked breathlessly, his worried face close to yours. He swore he’d almost died of a heart attack at the sight of you almost getting slaughtered before his very eyes.

You nodded faintly. “We have to move on. They’ll be on our trail now.”

With Xiumin tightly grasping your hand, you caught up with the other princes, but now your paces were rushed when danger was close at your heels. Baekhyun seemed traumatized by his near death experience, looking faint and shell-shocked, but he held it together.

There was another sudden attack when two speedy figures converged closer, and you immediately recognized them as Red Reptiles. One pounced over to you and Xiumin, while the other leaped at Luhan and Chen up front.

Instinctively, you and Xiumin shoulder-rolled in diagonal directions as a spiked tail lashed out to smash against the ground where the two of you once stood. Without getting up from your crouch, you were given a clear view of the Reptile’s chest, and therefore shot a large plasma bolt there to drill a crater in its center. Its smoking, twitching body fell to the ground, and you and Xiumin hurriedly got to your feet. The second Reptile was currently being disposed of when Luhan levitated it into the air and Chen’s electric shock fried it dead. The telekinesis prince threw the hapless body into a tree for good measure, and everyone urgently continued darting in the northwest direction.

“Are. We. There. Yet?” Suho wheezed after a long while, exhausted from hauling around a scared Sehun.

As of now, the thirteen of you were idling in a clearing warily. Luhan was bent down on one knee, with his eyes closed in concentration as he pressed his hand firmly onto the hard, grassy ground. A silent moment passed, then he stood up and pointed at a small rock formation covered in a fluffy green layer of moss. “The hanger’s entrance is accessed through there, so that means we’re standing right on top of it.”

“Kai?” Yixing patted his younger brother’s shoulder who nodded tiredly in understanding. You all latched onto each other’s arms, and Kai, despite being exhausted, focused hard when activating his power. Wispy black smoke enveloped everyone. For a split second, everything disappeared, and then thirteen pairs of feet touched solid concrete. The spaceship hanger was a confined area mostly shrouded in darkness, though some electrical lighting had been here and there to illuminate walkways and doors.

“Princes?” inquired a wary, low voice from the darkness. A person appeared, dressed in a gray and black jumpsuit with multiple patches stitched in. He was the head technician who had been, alongside his small group of colleagues, posted here in the underground hanger by the king to prepare the escape ship and guard it until the princes arrived. The man’s eyes locked onto you with outward shock and interest. “You must be Princess Aris.”

You affirmed his guess with a brusque nod. “Is the spaceship ready?” you asked with a hint of anxiousness.

You received a dutiful nod. “Yes, everything is set. The sky here is clear of danger, so it should be safe to take-off.”

“Let’s hurry,” you told the princes, gesturing at them to hustle. First, it was mandatory that the thirteen of you changed into space-traveling jumpsuits, which were made of a silvery, metallic fabric with the EXO symbol emblazoned on the back. After that, you were all piled into the sleek, advanced-looking spaceship that was probably a private spacejet if it was designed for speed and maneuverability. Packs were stored away in compartments, and everyone chose a seat to be buckled up in.

“Help me pilot?” you asked Yifan in a soft, pleading voice. Silently picking up on your shift of uneasiness, the flight prince only nodded and situated himself in the co-pilot seat. Behind you where you and Yifan were in the cockpit, Luhan and Suho had planted themselves at the control consoles and were dutifully helping with the ship’s controls and navigation, their fingers flying across the panel of buttons and their eyes glued to the bright computer screens. Buckled up in the passenger cabin, the remaining princes reached out and interlocked hands to comfort each other. After this, they only had each other.

Soon enough, the final check-up was cleared, and the mechanics filed out of the ship. The head technician hovered uncertainly in the cabin and regarded his princes with a tight, miserable expression. He seemed reluctant to go, feeling as if he was standing before a line, but once he crossed it, there was no going back.

“Good luck, be safe, and farewell, my princes,” he finally said, sounding choked up. His eyes were beginning to water, and you could feel his seeking gaze pinned on your back as he whispered pleadingly, “Please take good care of them, Princess Aris.”

Your neck was taut, but you quietly raised a hand then fisted it in promise without turning around. Normally you would have vocally answered him, but your throat was too clogged up with conflicting emotions that your voice would’ve been a gargled mess—and that wasn’t exactly the best impression when making a vow. With that last reassurance, the grieving man bowed low, then quickly exited the ship and locked the door hatch tight.

“Where are we going? What’s the destination?” Luhan demanded, anxious to pull up a map on the computer screen.

There was a purring growl when you the engines, bringing life to the ship as the reverberations gently filled the interior with its lazy, rumbling music. It was only when you flipped some switches and turned a dial all the way over did you answer Luhan’s queries.

“Earth. Our destination is Earth.”

Earth?! Hearing that word brought baffled expressions upon Yifan’s, Luhan’s, and Suho’s faces. To them, the stories of Earth were like fairy tales to them. To actually decide that they were going to find refuge in a world that was practically a fantasy to the princes was mindboggling. However, they quickly recovered from their bout of shock and obediently, yet hesitantly, inputted their destination.

Simultaneously, the ship’s runway was angled upwards at a ninety degrees while the hanger’s ceiling hatch split apart to reveal a polluted gray sky. The engines thundered with intensifying fire and accumulating smoke as they got ready for blast off.

Five...four...three...two...one. Liftoff!

Unleashing a mighty loud roar, the spacejet blasted itself out into the open and veered upwards towards the ugly, hazy sky. As it did, all that was left behind was a tail of smoke.

And promises that were meant to be kept.

Earth. They were going to Earth—a planet rumored to be as blue and green as EXO.

...

If King Heechul could visibly see the sleek spacejet that was rocketing through the sky, then so did his enemies. From where he stood amidst the battlefield, the speeding ship was a spear thrown towards the heavens at a desperate breakneck velocity as if it wanted to impale through something, which, in this case, was the atmosphere.

“Oh no, you don’t!” King Heechul snapped when he spotted two Techa ships beginning to desert the battlefield in favor of pursuing their target. It didn’t matter that he was on the verge of collapsing from fighting like it depended on his life. It didn’t matter that his castle, his city, his home planet was being invaded and razed by heartless monsters. No, none of that mattered because what mattered most was in that spacejet that was fleeing for the sake of a better future.

No one would be allowed to ruin that. No one.

Not caring about his own state of health, King Heechul used his influence over time to make it stop. He spread out his control far and wide until everything within sight was completely and utterly silent, making it appear as if it were a painting of war. Knowing that he couldn’t maintain his time control for too long, he immediately launched himself into the air and zipped over to the two Techa battleships frozen in midair. He extended out his sword horizontally and reinforced the blade’s deadliness by coating it with searing hot fire. Two swings. It only took two swings for him to slice a fatal, penetrating line into the hulls of the battleships like it was butter. Then he let time run again and BOOOOOOOM! The engines of the Techa ships exploded and sent them crashing to the war zone below.

The king was panting and sweating buckets as he settled himself onto high ground. He was beyond exhausted, but he had done his job and was quite pleased if not happy about that. Looking up, he was able to see a tiny, shiny bullet that was a spacejet successfully penetrate through the planet’s atmosphere unharmed and seamlessly enter the realm known as space. He had mixed feelings, full of regret and loss and love, as he watched the ship disappear. Surrounded by chaos, King Heechul took a brief second to raise his hand in farewell, his dark eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Goodbye, my sons. As long as you all live, so will your home.

...

“We have to maneuver away from any approaching spaceships,” you warned. “It is imperative that we are not followed and that we don’t sustain high levels of damage to the ship.”

“Understood,” was Yifan’s apathetic response.

After checking his screen, Suho said, “It seems that our launch had been cleverly planned to shoot us out in a deserted part of the atmosphere. Now all we need to do is to slip past the Electric Net.”

Luhan was frowning as he typed in something into the console. “Which one are we doing: warp drive or hyper drive?”

You peeked at the coordinates for Earth and sighed. “Warp drive. How long will it take to prepare it?”

“Five minutes at most,” Luhan replied, already firing up the drive.

“Alright, hurry—” You were abruptly cut off when a shower of bullets rained down upon the ship’s shield.

“EEK!” Kyungsoo screeched when the spacejet shook violently then got shoved seconds later. Seatbelts rattled noisily, keeping everyone in place while the ship got assaulted with persistent and merciless attacks.

“Curse them,” Yifan hissed out. He scowled at the monitor as a small fleet of Techa battleships rid themselves of their invisibility cloak. They must’ve been stationed outside the Electric Net to apprehend or eliminate any EXO ship that managed to escape the planet. Now their prime target was them, and it wouldn’t take them long to receive news that the princes were on this ship. Even without having to know that, the enemy was relentless anyways, unleashing their long-range weaponry on them without an afterthought.

Suho was frantic at his console. He did his best to multitask, but it was a toll on him. In order for Luhan to concentrate all his time and effort to power up the warp drive, Suho was burdened with the ginormous task of maintaining the ship’s shields, checking its damage levels, and trying to cancel out whatever threaten to shut down the systems. The sound of shooting and firing and blaring alarms did not help with the headache that he was getting from all the stress and commotion.

“EVERYONE, HOLD ON!” you yelled when you saw a barrage of missiles heading your way. With an impulsive yank, you had the ship spin twice, then had it take an unexpected dip only to straighten out again. That did the trick; the missiles exploded when they failed to make impact on time.

“I’m going to be sick,” Xiumin moaned, his chubby face tinged with an unsightly shade of green. To him, the sudden spinning and diving of the ship only did trick to worsen his motion sickness. Chen hastily shoved a paper bag at him, and the frost prince threw up noisily in it.

“MISSILES! I SEE MORE MISSILES!” Chanyeol shouted hysterically, flailing out his gangly arms like a madman.

“AAAAAH!” Tao screamed when a missile exploded near the ship’s hull, and the force aded through its already weakened shield. It rattled the cabin, startling the princes out of their skins. The interior of the ship was swamped with red lights and wailing alarms. Two more blasts made impact, and that shockwave felt like an earthquake. How much longer could they hold up?

“The shield won’t last much longer with those missiles!” Suho cried out distressfully.

“Luhan, the warp drive!” Yifan barked, struggling to help you dodge and evade the unyielding onslaught of attacks brought upon from about six enemy battleships. You were horribly outnumbered and surrounded. Your only hope of escape was the warp drive. That way, the spacejet could zoom straight past the Techas and not be stopped.

Luhan’s doe eyes were narrowed in complete focus as he finished up with the last steps of the procedure. His fixed gaze never left the glowing monitor screen before him as he flipped switches and typed in keywords. Everything seemed to be in check... His heart leapt in elation when he had a confirmed countdown. “Warp drive in five...”

Throughout the passenger cabin, the other princes began to wordlessly interlock hands with whoever was nearest to them. Kai, Sehun, and Kyungsoo shut their eyes tight as they thought of a fervent prayer, their quavering lips moving to form silent words.

“Four...”

The vice-like grip Chanyeol and Baekhyun had on each other made their knuckles go white and taut.

“Three...”

Tao, Yixing, Xiumin, and Chen took shaky, deep breaths in anticipation.

“Two...”

Suho shot worried glances at you, Luhan, and Yifan.

“ONE!”

You immediately slapped the blinking green button and the lever forward to maximum power. The spacejet disappeared from the eye as it warped through space.

BWOOSH...

And the Techas were left with nothing to destroy.

...

‘Commander, we’ve just received news that an EXO spacejet, assumed to be boarded by the EXO princes, had escaped off of the planet and fled the grid via warp drive. They must already be out of the solar system.’

‘That was not supposed to happen! It is unacceptable! Motherboard won’t be pleased by this.’

‘Then what do we do if we are unable to pursue after our targets?’

‘Just continue on with the invasion. Send out some scouting ships to explore the space around SHINee World. Keep them isolated on their own planet. Do not let any of them escape.’

‘Yes, sir.’

...

“Yesung?” King Leeteuk inquired in a quiet, hushed voice. He fidgeted with unsettlement as he witnessed how still and silent the prophet had become in his seat. The man’s tan face was unable to retain anything but a blank expression, and his mahogany eyes were clouded over as he saw images only he could see. The king’s posture sank more and more with despair as the seconds ticked by torturously.

He hated it. He couldn’t help his allies. His friend. His own daughter.

If a father couldn’t protect his children, then he was a failure.

Finally, Yesung was freed from his trance, and he slouched back with an involuntary exhale. That exhale didn’t bode well with the king, for it was hollow and dragged out. The prophet didn’t look reassuring either; in fact, he looked like a lifeless doll that had lost its beauty as the years had gone by. The words that spilled from the man’s thinned lips stabbed the king right in the chest and through the heart.

“They did it. They’re gone... She’s gone.”

No... No. NO! King Leeteuk buried his face in his hands and wept bitterly. His youngest child...his baby girl...

“F-first my wife,” he sobbed, his shoulders shaking violently with grief. “...N-now my o-only daughter who...who was the last m-memento of her.” A strangled sound interrupted his sobbing for a moment. “I...I am such a horrible fa-father. I-I can’t protect anyone I l-love.” His voice cracked on that word. “I’m so useless! I am a dreadful, worthless KING!”

It pained the prophet to see his close friend and king be broken into a fragile, crying being. He felt profoundly guilty for every tear that the king shed because it was his vision that had sparked all the mayhem around him. No, perhaps he should’ve worded that differently. His vision wasn’t what sparked the chain reaction that led up the Techas’ invasion. Instead, it was what sparked the protective flame that was nestled deeply inside the core of your very being. Due to his decision to forewarn you about the Techas, he was at fault when it came to your decision to leave in order to protect what was most important to you.

The princes. Your fiancés.

Oh, Aris... Yesung chuckled dryly. You’ll never change, will you...?

Though his face was etched with guilt and sorrow, Yesung was only concerned for his friend. He patted the king’s sunken shoulder and urged the aggrieved father to meet his eyes, which were full of wisdom and faith.

“Leeteuk, do not cry as if she were dead—that would be insulting her strength and intelligence. Aris is someone who won’t ever admit how mentally and physically and emotionally drained she is. She endures her hardships passively and moves on with her life as if she were burdenless. Think about it, Leeteuk. If she can live on, then so can you.” Yesung’s chiding tone became fond. “And remember: she is your daughter, the girl who always and without fail keeps her promises. She will see you again, alive and well.”

That speech stopped the king’s sobs. His eyes were red and puffy, seeking comfort and consolation. “Did you...did you see the future?” he asked, hope coloring his hollow voice.

Prophet Yesung’s answer was this: “I may be able to see what will happen in the future, but that is different than believing what will occur. I believe in Aris, and so should you.”

King Leeteuk forcibly composed himself, wiping at the wetness of his tearstained face with his sleeve before standing up with his spine straight and erect. His once trembling voice was even as he agreed, “Then that is what I’ll do—for my little girl.”

Prophet Yesung was proud of his friend. He nodded earnestly. “We will wait for her return in the future.”

Whether it’ll be tomorrow, next year, or decades from now, just come back so I can tell you how much you mean to me.

...