With heavy feet, Onew discretely entered through the front door of the cottage in the early hours of the morning the next day. He quietly shut the door and tiptoed inside, careful not to stir too much so he wouldn't wake anyone. His hair was disheveled, and his shirt buttons were buttoned up into different holes as if he put it on in a hurry. He held a small cage in his hand with a messenger pigeon inside that he had just purchased earlier, and it began to feel restless being cooped up behind the bars. Onew quietly tried to shush it and continued his difficult journey on to his bedroom.

Right as his doorknob was just in arm's reach, a soft knock came from the Prince's room. The leader quickly but quitely made his way over and opened it up a peek before Taemin had the chance to knock again and risk waking someone up.

"Yes, your highness?"

"I need to use the restroom." he stated, looking up and down curiously at the man's disorderly state.

"Oh, yes, of course." he replied hastily and gripped the Prince's forearm, practically dragging him out of the cottage.

"Hyung?" a weary voice came from behind them.

Onew hung his head in defeat as his teammate's voice called him before he could reach the door. His gaze shifted from the door to the male standing behind him. His eyes were half closed and his body slumped forward in his standing position, as, if he literally dragged his body out of bed.  "H-hey Minho...w-what are you doing up so early?"

Minho sniffled, still affected by his cold, and then yawned as he spoke. "I heard some noise outside and thought there was something wrong."

Onew looked curiously at his sleepy friend and waved his hand near the man's face to see if his eyes had followed it     they didn't, to Onew's advantage. The thief seemed so tired he didn't even notice that Onew was still wearing his clothes from yesterday and that he had just arrived. He relaxed.

"Well, there's no need to worry. Everything's alright so just go back to bed Minho. I'll take care of the Prince." Onew said and pushed the man back into his room.

Minho didn't bother to protest and immediately went back to bed.

"Onew, what's going on?" Taemin asked.

Jinki placed the pigeon down on the table and sighed. "I-It's nothing Taemin...just don't tell everyone else I just got home alright? "

"Why? Where exactly were you last night? " Taemin asked suspiciously, crinkling his brow.

"...."

"Onew?"

"I was just... staying over at a friend's house...but only you and Jonghyun know about this so keep it a secret, alright? It's embarrasssing..." he mumbled the last part.

"Why would it be embarrassing? Could it be...." Taemin smirked a little, knowingly. 

"You ask a lot of questions..." Jinki muttered as he grabbed the boy by the shoulders and steered him outside to do his business. That was close...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Later that day, Taemin requested if the thieves would allow him to go outside and tend to the horses again, since he knew they were shorthanded because of Minho's sickness. Though it seemed tiring at first, the Prince really enjoyed working yesterday. He liked new experiences, and you can imagine how easy it was to come across those when you've lived in a palace your whole life. His kidnappers allowed him to walk freely without the chain around his ankle as long as someone was watching him, which he was thankful for. 

But even after only a couple of escape attempts, the Prince had pretty much given up. Suprisingly, the people that kidnapped him were actually kind, and if he got caught trying to leave again he was afraid they wouldn't treat him as nicely as they do now. Plus he was outnumbered, and it really was no use no matter how far he ran. 

"Here you go." Taemin said as he offered the thoroughbred, Kidae, an apple, who gladly ate it out of his hand. Taemin chuckled and pet the mare's mane, resting his chin on her back as he did. He felt so relaxed around her; probably because she reminded him so much of home. Though he was only gone for a couple of days, the Prince began to feel homesick, even if he did spend almost every moment of his life stuck inside that prison of a palace.

Suddenly, the Prince felt a pair of hands grip his shoulders and pull him towards the wall of the stables, slamming him up against it. Not rough enough to badly injure Taemin, but hard enough to get the assaulter's point across that he meant business.

Taemin gasped as the hands then moved down to his upper arms, grasping them tightly to keep the boy from getting away.

Taemin's eyes widened when he looked up at his attacker's face, his jaw clenched and his fists balled tight in anger.

"Minho?!" the Prince exclaimed when he saw the older male. "What are you doing?! Get off of me!" he shouted as he squirmed to try and break himself free, also repeatedly attempting to kick the man.

Minho easily dodged most of the blows, and the ones he didn't were feeble against his sturdy frame. "Make me." he challenged the younger male, leaning his face closer to the boy's as a smirk of amusement played his lips.

The Prince struggled harder and moved his arms up to Minho's hands, trying to pry him off of him. The man laughed coldly and threw Taemin towards the ground, laying on top of him. He threw his first punch towards the boy's face, only for his wrist to be captured by Taemin's hand. The Prince struggled to hold the fist from connecting with his face.

Right as the Prince's grip was about to give in, the thief's arm suddenly relaxed. Minho got off of his captive and stood up, then brushed the dirt off of his shirt and folded his arms.

"What the hell was that for?!" Taemin screamed, then clasped his hand over his mouth when he realized he had let a suttle profanity escape his lips.

"Don't let your enemy intimidate you too much. I can see why you would be like that though...since the opponents you normally fight are ones that you know won't hurt you. But don't worry. We can fix that, right?" he said and len