"He's not by the stream!"

"He's not in the stables and none of the horses are missing!"

"He's not hiding under any of the beds!"

The thieves continued scrambling around the cottage, complete havoc breaking out when they discovered that the Prince was no where to be found.

"Honey...he's a grown man now. I'm sure wherever he is, he's fine." Luna stated calmly, oblivious to the fact that their lives, plus hers possibly, were depending on this very teen that had just gone missing.

"Luna, I love you, but this is really an emergency and I wish I could explain but there's just no time!" Onew panted, turning the whole living room upside down as he continued searching.

"Hmph...men." Krystal rolled her eyes, sulking on the couch after her and Minho's "love session" was interrupted (quite rudely if she may add) by a panic-striken Kibum who didn't even hesitate to break the two apart. "And where's Minho?"

"Yes...where is Minho?" Jonghyun wondered, scanning around the room for the missing maknae.

The sound of a horse's whinny could be heard from the stables outside, and the thieves exchanged confused looks before rushing towards the noise.

"Minho, where are you going?" Key asked the man, who was already saddled up and in the process of getting onto the thoroughbred.

"Going to find Taemin! Where else?!" he shouted.

Minho wasn't sure what he was feeling at the moment. There was a mix of worry, anger, and disappointment. Worry    because Taemin was no where in sight and living in these woods for years now, the man knew how risky it was when travelling by yourself after dusk.

Anger     because he couldn't possibly believe that he trusted his so called "friend" would run away after all they had been through!

Disappointment      because although he would never admit it, he was a bit saddened at the betrayal. He had honestly thought the Prince was different from what he'd expected when they first met and that he had found a true friend.

Guess he was wrong.

"Well, wait for us first! Sheesh." Key complained, helping Jonghyun saddle up their shared horse.

"Jinki, is there anything we can do?" Luna asked, feeling helpless knowing that she wasn't able to do anything for her lover.

"Just stay here for the evening and we'll be back as soon as we can! Don't worry." Onew assured, flashing her a smile as he hopped onto his horse.

"Well...if you insist." she hesitated. "But be careful!"

"We will." he promised, then rode off with the others.

Once out of sight, the men slipped on their masks, blending themsleves in with the darkness of the forest and transforming once again into the infamous SHINee.

~~~~~~~~~~

A harsh pounding resonated against Taemin's skull as he began to awaken from his unconcious state. He could faintly hear the sounds of other voices surrounding him, but none seemed to be directed to him. He shook his head a couple of times then fliched, panic setting in, once he realized he opened his eyes to complete darkness.

A blindfold. He figured, feeling the fabric tied around his eyes.

Taemin tried sitting up, noticing the soft forest grass cushioning his side, but struggled to as he felt his arms restrained by something cold and heavy. He felt around his wrists and guessed they were chains of some sort as the sound of clattering and clinking was produced from hitting his arms together. The Prince tried his legs as well, and as expected they were also chained up at the ankles.

Great. Taemin thought as he propped himself up against the tree resting behind him. Serves me right for leaving I guess.

Stupid Minho.

"Awake, I see?" a male voice called out.

Taemin flinched and turned his head in different directions to seek out the owner of the voice, though he was aware his vision was blinded. It was different from the voice of the man that led him into the carriage.

"Good evening, your highness." he spoke again, a hint of wickedness in his tone. He approached the victim with long strides, then crouched down in front of him, harshly cupping his chin and forcing it upwards.

"Wh-who are you? Release me this instant!" the Prince demanded as he desperately struggled against his bindings.

"There's no use struggling, Prince Taemin. Unlike your previous kidnappers, I won't let you out of my sight." he chuckled darkly.

"Why did you take me?" Taemin breathed, his voice only coming out as a soft whisper.

He could feel the man smirk as he hissed into his ear, "I'm going to take what's rightfully mine."

Taemin visibly shuddered as he pulled away, feeling fearful of what his capturer's plans are for him. "What do you-"

"Boss, we're all set to go." another voice called out, and Taemin assumed it was directed to the man he was speaking to.

The kidnapper grinned devilishly at his coveted catch, then snapped his fingers towards his hench men, who roughly grabbed the helpless boy and threw him over one of their shoulders.

"Stop! Please! Let me go!" Taemin pleaded as he wiggled and writhed in the stranger's arms. It was all in vain though, when the feeling of leather seating hit his back as he was thrown into a carriage.

He opened his mouth to yell out again, hoping to catch the attention of a bystander, when the coldness of a sharp blade was felt pressed up against his neck. "Stay put or I won't hesitate to hurt you," a new voice growled into the younger male's ear.

Taemin obeyed the man's command and shook in fear as the carriage began moving, taking him to an unknown destination.

They rode on for about another hour or so, and the Prince could feel his eyelids feeling heavier and heavier until he had completely fallen asleep, exhausted by all of the running he'd done earlier.

"We've arrived."

Taemin jerked awake as the carriage came to an abrupt halt, startling him. There was a short silence before the door was slammed open and the teen was grabbed by the shirt collar, then roughly tossed outside into the arms of two men. He squirmed in their grasp as he was dragged a short distance when he felt the ground beneath him transition from soft to solid, as if he were standing on stone. They pushed him down onto his knees and pressed him up against a hard surface, and he yelped at the harsh impact as it came upon his abdomen.

His kidnapper approached him from behind and pulled his head up by the hair. "I'm going to enjoy this."

"Please...stop." Taemin choked, tears wetting the blindfold. "What are you going to do with me?"

"See this?" the man hissed as he removed the cloth from Taemin's eyes. "This is your fate!"

Taemin gasped in horror as his eyes met a deep pool of lentic water sitting below him. Observing his surroundings for a brief moment, he concurred that they seemed to be standing on a stone bridge, at least a good fifteen feet high above the still, yet terrifying body of liquid.