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Last Chapter. I feel so sad. For most of the part because this chapter is as ugly as anything and everything else I've written. Boo, I am disappointed with myself. I'm sorry for the mess, everyone. So, nothing's working out for me and basically everything I had planned in the first part didn't get into this chapter. It's so cliche and ugly and everything hideous. It's like it's been taking from one of those children books omg. This chapter is a little confusing so please pay attention to the plot. Hohoho, I love Kibum, damn that guy and he's not even my bias. There is a small exposure here of Taemin and Sulli, too so watch out for that. The lovely poster here is done by nikatsu-unnie at her shop. The next chapter will be the round up of everything (thank you's and some clarifications), and the epilogue will come after that. Haha, stay tuned. ♥

Chapter 19: And in all honesty, I’ll never be able to repay you

She was running. Not because there were people growing supicious of her rushing through the streets, but because Victoria, being the true friend she considered herself to be, wanted Nichkhun to know that it was him who should be sitting as the next heir, and also because she wanted Kyuhyun so much to know that he could finally love Seohyun.

She halted, hiding, breathing, and trying to create a small map inside her head as to where was the fastest route to the palace. If she told Kyuhyun the truth, it would only drift both of them apart; and if she told Nichkhun that he was the lost prince, he too would be farther from her more than she thought.

And besides, would they even believe her? What proof exactly did she have?

Tick. Tock.

“Look for that gypsy! She’s an accomplice of the lost Byungmi prince!”

Tick. Tock.

It was making her dizzy, all these things she must accomplish and decide in mere seconds also to save her existence. In the middle of a war, what exactly do you do to save the ones you love? Really, now she wasn’t even trained in any sort of fencing nor the ways of aikido. her lips, Victoria turned to her left, eyeing more of the guards in green merely from the shadows. If they were still searching for him, it meant that Kyuhyun and Nichkhun hadn’t reached the palace yet. And they were bound to be hiding as well. Only Victoria didn’t know where in Sangdokchi could they be.

“Unnie.”

A feel of electricity pushed Victoria a little, a small chunk of omo, before turning to see none other than the Princess Krystal herself and two of her friends, the other one Qian recognized as the princess of a nearby nation while the other one was the son of the town’s baker. They looked at each other for a moment.

“Omo! What are you doing here?” Victoria wondered.

Krystal sighed. “Prince Kibum told me to fetch you and Kyuhyun-oppa. He asked me to gather you three together with the rest. As of now, every exit is on lockdown, every post is heavily guarded except for Baekham bridge because that is where the King of Dongsook is making his exit for Byungmi to kill their king. He sent me as a messanger so you need to come with us.”

“But where are Kyuhyun and Nichkhun? We can’t leave without them.”

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Sulli, as she was the other princess Victoria had known, cleared . “Taemin and I must get going now, Krystal. We’ll get everything set. According to planned.”

The girl nodded hastily, giving her a strong hug, and then extending her arm outwards for Taemin to be included. “We’ll see each other in a few days. This is not goodbye.”

“Be safe,” Taemin added, before Sulli inhaled deep.

She patted his cheek along with Sulli’s. “You two should be referring that to yourselves! Now hurry, or they’ll get on to you!” With smug smiles and short salutes, the two chased after the wind, emerging in the corner before Victoria suddenly heard the guards call out, “The Hayanchul princess! She’s escaped! Follow her!”

Krystal held onto Victoria’s hand, before heaving a huge breath in. “And this is the part where we run back to the palace.”

“I don’t get anything yet. Where are Kyuhyun and Nichkhun if they are not yet in the palace?” Victoria responded, and Krystal smiled happily as they scurried quickly uptown.

“I’ll explain everything along the way.”

-o0o-

As she woke up, her back seared horribly, like it was burned and dipped into the fires of hell, so a small scream of pain was echoing in the cells, the sanctuary of the evil and the bad and the gruesome, but she was in here, and her eyes immediately fell on the other two the occupied the room with her.

“Changmin!” she called, crawling towards him because her back still crippled her from doing anything else. “Changmin-ah!”

He was lying on his back, sleeping she noticed as she placed her ear by his chest. Her sister sat at the corner also wide-awake, stunned, practically damaged also just like Yoona.

“What... happened, Seohyun-ah?” she tried asking even when she knew she wouldn’t give any response. She looked up, teary and holding her legs together. She had been crying, just like her but dark circles under her eyes proved how it was too tiring to be doing the same thing over and over again, yet the outcome remaining unchanged.

“Seohyun, answer me! Do you know what happened?”

She shook her head, closing her eyes. “I pretended to be asleep, so it would be easier for them, so that they wouldn’t hurt me more, but they did and they were doing a spell around the palace so you couldn’t breathe anymore and took away your last oxygen. When you were in that state, they took your ring effortlessly. Changmin-oppa struggled and fought back but ended up getting bruised. They threw us in here... and unnie... I’m so sorry... sorry for not doing anything. I’m sorry I could have done better. I could have fought back with you, for you... but... but I was so scared. Now they’re after Kyuhyun and his friends. They would take away his life too. They would capture him first then all three of us would be executed in front of the crowd in an hour. Changmin-oppa and Krystal-ah would be next. But right now she’s still missing and it wouldn’t be long.”

Yoona shivered in the cold, as Changmin finally stirred, his head turning left and right before he finally bolted, dazed but still composed and Yoona wrapped her hands around him hastily in worry.

“They’re going to kill us,” she whispered.

“I... I tried to take away your ring...” Changmin muttered, remembering. “I’m... I’m sorry.” He placed his hands around and she flinched away in horror, her eyes going smaller in agony.

“Eh, don’t. Touch. Me.”

“Sorry, I... how is your back hurt?”

“She was hurled to that wall over there as if she was dead!” Seohyun answered.

Yoona clicked her tongue, cupping his face. “It doesn’t matter. We have to get out of here. We have to go look for Kyuhyun and the others. We have to save each other. We have to stop the King.”

“In one hour, Yoona? It’s already impossible imagining it!” Changmin was exasperated, standing up. “Our dungeon’s are hard to break through!”

Yoona puffed. “Says a person who has only been locked up once.”

“Oh so you’ve been a delinquent before? Well, do tell me more of what you were as a child and something that won’t surprise me otherwise.”

“As I’m trying to say you’re not an expert at cells more than I am so stop bluffing about your precious kingdom! It’s already in someone else’s hands even before you started ruling it!”

“Quiet down there!” bellowed one of the guards.

Seohyun’s mind was also running hastily, devising whatever would be available and quick for their escape. Yet there was nothing, and only the memories of her stupidity and inability to act quick caused them to be dumped into this place. She remembered Kyuhyun again and how much she missed him, again her heart thumping hastily at how wrong all of a sudden this was.

Loud grunts along the hallway, the light from the entry way touched all of their eyes, and Seohyun momentarily was sharing stares with Kyuhyun struggling to get away even when his hands were tied behind his back, his cousin also beside him.

“Kyuhyun-sshi!” Yoona shouted.

The two were also shoved into the cell, by none other than Kibum the traitor himself, and Yoona’s eyes began its teary session once more, just the smell of him and his voice and his presence made everything even more complicated and the rage inside rose as she squirmed to the door, Kibum closing it at once and uncaring at her squeak like a little rat.

“Yah!”

“The King of Dongsook would waste no further time. After he has rested and eaten, since the crown of Sangdokchi is already with him, his last stop before all of Korea is in his hands is Byungmi. He will combine all three of the rings, decompose it to its original state which is the elixir of youth, and by then if drank it, he would be immortal. He will dispose all of you in time so wait until then, okay my dear Yoona?”

Yoona slowly stood up, despite the pain, and held onto the bars as Kibum walked away. “Don’t you turn your back from us!”

He faced them once more, his own heart crushed under the thick layer of Dongsook clothing and he knew it was because he made Yoona cry again. This girl, this princess had also been the main reason for him to fail, and his beautiful plans would go to waste. But now he felt no pity.

It was promised that his father be kept alive until the end of the month, until Kibum successfully accomplished the mission of taking the rings. Because it had already been a month and more, the delay as he realized had been what caused the former king of Dongsook his head. It had been heartbreaking news that Kibum only heard of before Kyuhyun and Nichkhun were captured. Now he felt no pity.

He gripped his side for the revival potion. He had to go back. His father’s body would be deposited at Baekham bridge were river currents meant hurricanes. He had little time left to find his father.

“My father... died,” he gulped before proceeding. “And it’s beacuse I made a tiny small mistake by getting too involved with the two of you. And now I regret it. It’s your fault why my father died.” The keys at his side continued to make a tink, a sound the others needed now as he got further away into the entrance.

“It’s your own damn fault why he died! You should have never trusted them!” Changmin stood beside Yoona, also talking some sense into the other man.

He smirked, shaking his head. “This isn’t goodbye yet, I assure you guys. For now I shall leave you and let.... destiny work its magic.”

“What the ing destiny is he talking about,” Kyuhyun cursed grudgingly on the floor, kicking the bench where his Nichkhun was seated. “If I get out of here I’ll push him off Baekham bridge myself and get the rings.”

“If  you get out of here,” Nichkhun reminded him, knocking on the walls. “Then again, Sangdokchian dungeon’s are far from having prison breaks.”

“Told you,” Changmin said with a smile and Yoona rolled her eyes.

“Not the right time to be immature,” she said. “We need to get out of here.”

Little did they know that from the other end of the hallway, another ray of hope, a knight in shining armor as they all know it to be appeared.

“Princess Yoona? Kyuhyun? Nichkhun? Are you guys in here?”

“Qian?” Kyuhyun mumbled, eyes widening and standing up, nearly losing balance. “Isn’t... Isn’t that....”

“Victoria!” chorused the cousins, and Seohyun also getting up to see that it was in fact their rescue.

Changmin’s smile was the brightest though because walking behind Victoria was none other than his younger sister Krystal, her hair tied to a bun and wearing boots that appeared worn out. She was scowling as usual, a very nice feature of hers that resembled their parents he noticed.

“Took you long enough!” Changmin commented.

His sister scoffed. “Too idiotic of you to get caught!”

“This is a surprise! What are you guys doing here?” asked Yoona earnestly, holding on the bars and bearing her legs to keep her up. She had forgotten little of her pains, seeing a new hope.

Victoria pursed her lips, the two girls looking behind them as another woman dashed towards them, taking off one of her shoe as it seemed to have broken and still started walking to them, laughing happily. Changmin couldn’t take his eyes off her suddenly, and all the promises, moments, every inch of little excitement came flooding in. Was it really her?

“Whoo, that was some bad ditch!”

Yoona’s eyes travelled from this girl to Changmin standing beside her, observing how his eyes seemed to twinkle happily, how his lips curved to what seemed like a smile and before she knew it the two bowed at each other in greeting--- which wasn’t anymore important in desperate times like such.

Absentmindedly she scratched the back of her head, looking away to give them some sort of privacy, even though she didn’t actually wanted that. Not heartily at least.

“How you’ve been?”

“Wonderful!” she answered excitedly, giggling afterwards.

Krystal felt the need for Yoona to in so she cleared herself, seeing that the unnie wasn’t budging at all. “I believe we shall have further I miss you conversations when all of you are free. So Sooyoung-unnie, if you please?”

“In case you’ve forgotten, the Dongsook King’s already preparing to get to Baekham Bridge. We got in just right after. We have to hurry or else the King of Byungmi is sure as... dead!”

At the reminder, Sooyoung clapped her hands together, pulling out the keys from her pocket. She hastily unlocked their door, all five of them getting out at once when Seohyun was hesitant, her eyes observing the situation. Krystal passed two swords to Changmin and Yoona, while Victoria handed her friends the ones she had taken from the guards outside, slashing first the ropes that kept them from using their hands. Too easy. Very easy, Seohyun noticed.

“Seohyun?” Yoona called from the outside, as she seemed to be still.

“How come she has the keys?” She suddenly spatted in disbelief. “Didn’t Kibum have them?”

Kyuhyun nodded, holding his sword out at once, and then aiming back at his friend Qian. “What’s the catch here? Victoria?”

Sooyoung repressed her laughter but later just chuckled anyway. “You guys don’t get it yet, do you?”

Krystal crossed her eyes, sighing heavily. “I’m not telling them everything. That’s not exactly my job.”

Victoria smiled lightheartedly, before pressing her hands together. “Kibum’s behind this all. Sooyoung’s here for a reason. How do I say this? Er... you see...”

“Kibum sent me letters about Dongsook’s invasion. Do you know that?” Sooyoung was turning to Changmin, and he shook his head, along with the sisters. “It’s because he said he needed my help. He planned everything, along with your dearest Krystal here who improved most of the flaws in the plan. He wanted to have you all prisoned and then us three had to bust you out of here. He wanted me to come because I brought with me a ship that would take all of us to live in China.”

“Out? Escape? We can’t escape, I have to save father!” Yoona immediately countered, Changmin pressing her tensed shoulder, and he wasn’t anymore sure if it was because this was Sooyoung talking or because she was just scared as she said she is.

“Kibum’s really like that as a person!” Yoona exclaimed. “Coward. Always wanting to run!”

“Easy there,” Sooyoung added. “Without him, you would actually be dead in an hour. He wanted to act as though he was one of them, because it’s actually the case. He is in fact one of them, but after meeting... you, he shifted his plans. His father died therefore he had to adjust. Kibum’s not a traitor; he posed to be one for your sake, Yoona. For your sake and the future of Korea.”

Her cheeks flushed red at the idea, lowering her head somewhat in apology. Victoria’s eyes immediately widened, jumping up and down at the very reason why she was after Kyuhyun and Nichkhun in the first place. She held both of their hands and grinned.

“Kyuhyun-sshi isn’t the prince.”

Seohyun blanched. “I thought Victoria-unnie said Kyuhyun isn’t the prince.”

Fervently, the woman nodded, startling all of them. “It’s Nichkhun. Nichkhun’s the lost prince!”