„You will leave tonight,” his patron ordered as he led Luhan to the stables , the mercenary obediently scampering behind him. The night was dark and people were huddled in their locked homes, away from the dangers of deserted streets. As it was getting close to the morning, there was fog covering bystreets as they passed them, floating around unlit torches. The strident sound of their shoes hurriedly clacking against the cobblestones was the only thing interrupting the otherwise complete silence.

 Luhan was not a paranoid person; still he couldn’t resist turning his head to see if there was someone following them.

“Something bothering you?” his patron asked when he noticed Luhan’s uneasiness.

“It is never a good thing for a city to be this silent,” the mercenary answered, “It either means that someone has just died or that someone is going to very soon.”

“Maybe in the slums,” the man chuckled leniently like a parent does when they listen to their child babbling. Luhan gritted his teeth together in anger, but decided to keep silent, concentrating on the feeling of finally being free and in open space.

 They passed the gate patrol, seemingly the only people awake at this hour together with the guards at the watchtower. They let both men through readily and even bowed to Luhan’s patron. It seemed a bit strange to the light haired male, as he was used to guards taking delight in pointless delays and generally making it difficult for other people to do their jobs. He studied his saviour’s face and tried to remember if he had ever seen it before, but without success. It was strange that a man with such extraordinarily unremarkable face, hunched back and heavy-footed walk seemed to cause so much respect where people with reputation normally would not cause any.

“Why do I have to leave so soon?” Luhan dared to voice his query. He had hoped he would be at least able to pack some of his personal belongings before setting off on such a long journey.

“We have no choice,” answered the man, “Kai is extremely dangerous. Do not forget, he is weak and vulnerable now, but you have no chance at defeating him in his full strength. If you are to stand a chance with him, you have to leave as soon as possible. Not to mention how risky it would be for you to stay here when so many powerful people want you dead.”

He meant Yixing, of course, and to Luhan’s horror, he felt a sting in his eyes as they began to fill with tears. He quickly shook his head to force them away, now was not the time to waste strength on sentiment.

“You should be able to reach your destination in two weeks. There will be little time to rest, though,” the man warned him and Luhan nodded. He knew this task was not going to be an easy one.

“You will ride every day from sunrise until midnight. Our fellow workers had already spread the word around about your journey, so you don’t have to worry about accommodation. You will be provided with a new horse as often as you’ll need,” the man explained, while searching in a large olive drab pack he was holding. Finally, he found what he needed.

“Here,” he showed Luhan a leather pouch, tied up with a thick string with metal coins clinking inside of it, “is your money. Now,” he withdrew the pouch from Luhan’s reach when the mercenary tried to grab it from his hands, “I trust you to handle these well,” he shook the pouch to emphasise his point.

“This is not money for gambling or drinking, Luhan. This is an investment. Do you understand?”

Luhan nodded sincerely and happily accepted the money from the man’s hands, along with the backpack.

“You have everything you will need in there. Spare clothes, two water flasks, medicine, a map and your daggers. Your sword should be with the horse already.” The man paused for a bit, before he continued.

“Be careful not to let people see your face, especially here in midland. Remember, you do not want people to know where you are going. And,” the man lowered is voice a little bit, so that Luhan had to lean in to understand what he was saying, “Remember, once you see Kai, kill him. Do not waste time, do not hesitate, do not even think. You have one shot at this.”

 They entered the stables, where a beautiful young piebald mare was prepared. Luhan fastened his backpack and put his foot in a stirrup, swinging himself up with ease.

“To the north, then,” he said and the man nodded. Luhan spurred the mare, but before they could ride out of the stable, the man’s hand caught onto his halter. Luhan impatiently turned to him, the mare already unnerved from standing for too long.

“I wish you the best of luck,” the man spoke, “but if you fail, it will be in your best interest not to enter the city ever again.”

Luhan stared at him sternly.

“That will not happen,” he asserted and the man shrugged and let go of the halter.

Without looking back, Luhan darted into the night.

***

 The sound of the birds chirping and the rustle of the wind as it slid lazily through the forest and made tree crowns dance echoed on the vast meadow. It was dark and the world was only illuminated by bright moon and two torches, held in hands numb with cold. The fire had long been put out and glowing coal trampled down.

 “The watch is over,” announced Sehun after he checked the star position. Kyungsoo let out a relieved sigh. Both of the males had been freezing the whole evening after instead of the expected spring thaw, the weather got a lot colder. There were little grey puffs coming out of their mouths as they breathed out and the tips of their fingers turned blue from frost.

Both guards grabbed their backpacks and set off for a journey home. They kept mostly silent, but it was a comfortable silence and they both enjoyed the tranquillity of the forest and the soft crunching sound their feet made as they connected with the frozen ground.

 Finally, they reached the village.

“Sleep well!” Kyungsoo waved at his younger counterpart and turned right on the crossroads. He dashed home without so much as looking back, excited to warm his numb fingers.

“You too,” Sehun answered half-heartedly and took the opposite route.

 There was something strange about that night. There was almost a magical feeling to it and Sehun didn’t want to go home yet. He squinted, looking up to the sky. The celestial bodies were not clearly visible anymore, half covered by ominous clouds, which started forming a while back. Perhaps a snow storm was coming, thought Sehun, however strange that would be in March.

 First raindrop landed with a splat on Sehun’s forehead and was quickly followed by numerous others. The young male quickly covered his head by his coat and looked around, seeking a place to hide before the storm begins. As he turned around, his gaze fell on a colourful placard put up next to the road, informing passers-by that a pub called The Skinny Duck just got a fresh supply of southern alcohol.

 The inn belonged to Sehun’s great aunt and it was a place where everyone could take refuge, be it because they were haunted by rain or by infamous reputation. It was also one of the reasons why his aunt didn’t get along well with the rest of the family and was deemed to be somewhat of a black sheep. Nevertheless, Sehun didn’t agree and quite enjoyed occasional visits to the pub and decided for one now.

 He walked fast in hopes of avoiding the blizzard, shoudlers pulled back and down, torso long and straight and chin up, just like he was taught, and with every step he took, the sound of drunken singing and yelling got louder, until a crashing sound of plates being dropped interrupted the merry-making. Silence spread around, only to be replaced by an ear-shattering guffaw.

Sehun swung the front door open and the deafening racket multiplied thrice. The young man took a deep breath and plunged into the room.

“Sehunnie!” his aunt cried from her usual spot behind the bar. She waved at him, once she wasn’t busy with handling numerous beer glasses and Sehun reciprocated the gesture. He pushed a few people aside in an attempt to get closer to her to greet her properly and earned a few drunkenly slurred profanities in the process.

“Hello,” he greeted her once he was in a close enough proximity for her to hear him. She reached over to hug her nephew and offered him a toothless smile. Sehun noticed her wig was ill placed and dishevelled, but didn’t think much of it, since that appeared to be her usual state of dressing.

“Nice to see you!” she patted his cheek and he let her, “What does the young gentleman wish for today?”

“I heard you just got a fresh delivery of soju?” Sehun asked and leaned to closer to her, a waggish expression on his face. She lifted one eyebrow and reached under the counter. She then handed him a mug filled with clear liquid.

“Better keep it a secret, though,” she winked at him mischievously, placing one fat finger on her full lips.

“Cheers,” he grinned at her.

“No problem!” she beamed back at him and after exchanging a few more courtesies, she turned back to the bar.

Sehun grabbed his mug and turned to the rest of the room to see where to sit, there were however almost no free seats left. With such weather, the pub was crowded and more people kept coming in.

 Luckily, after a couple minutes of searching, he managed to discover an abandoned seating hidden in the far corner, behind one of the stone columns. It was a tiny seating, just an L shaped wooden bench covered with dirty red cushions and soaked with cigarette smoke, which enclosed around a small round table along with two other chairs. Sehun quickly made his way towards the seating so that no one would be there first. He took off his slightly wet fur coat and hung it on one of the chairs to dry and then he sat in the corner of the bench, reclining against the cushions.

 He amused himself for a while with observing the guests of the inn. He recognised a few well-known drunkards and even a couple of fellow guards drinking away. A few foreigners stopped on their trek to loosen up a bit and they entertained the crowd with rousing stories from their travels and Sehun had to roll his eyes, when the crowd roared with laughter or gasped with terror at their obviously made up stories. They were simple spice merchants and field workers, and in Sehun’s opinion, they didn’t deserve such awe.

He cautiously sipped from his mug and made a face at the strong taste. It did nonetheless seem to warm him up a bit from the inside and so he continued drinking it, tracing patterns in the ceramic with his index fingers.

“May I sit here?”

A simple question interrupted Sehun’s train of thoughts. His eyes flicked up.  Above him stood a tall man dressed in a thick long fur coat, glistening with droplets sliding down the fabric, soaked and heavy.

Sehun nervously swallowed as his throat suddenly got very dry and his palms sweaty.

“O-of course,” he stuttered as he pointed to the place next to him and immediately cursed himself internally, because his lisp was more prominent than ever.

The man took off his heavy, drenched coat and threw it on top off Sehun’s, whose protests got stuck in his throat and didn’t make it past his lips. The foreigner then removed his hood and draped it over his coat, revealing a very handsome face with sharp features and piercing eyes. He had light brown hair, which now stuck to his face and turned a few shades darker. He moved gracefully with head held up high, yet there was a certain touch of respect and might to it, which made Sehun straighten his previously slouched spine as the man took a seat next to him.

 The foreigner swept his hair away from his face and stuck the unruly strands behind his ears. He reached for his glass of water, taking a sip, before setting it down. He didn’t spare Sehun a glance; instead he opted for watching the people in the tavern, calm and quiet.

Sehun meanwhile twiddled his thumbs as he tried to figure out whether he should speak to the foreigner. There was something about him that made Sehun want to know more, anything and everything, yet he was too scared to start a conversation. In favour of his odds, the stranger did approach him, maybe even wished to sit next to him. However, there was literally no place anywhere, all seats occupied by drunkards and travellers. But had he wanted to, the man would have had no trouble finding a merry company to spend the evening with. It might have been that he simply wanted to be left alone. But in that case, he could have headed straight to his room. It would be most queer for a man to want to spend the night drinking alone, thought Sehun.

 He desperately wanted to strike up a conversation, but there seemed to be a lack of appropriate topics. After contemplating various themes, he used what he was taught that it was the most effective one.

“It’s strange,” he spoke up, “for a storm to hit in spring.”

 The stranger unhurriedly turned to him and lifted his eyebrows when he realised it was Sehun who spoke. The younger boy felt blood rush to his cheeks as it tinted them pink.

“Very strange indeed,” the stranger nodded and started turning back.

“It is not usually this cold in our village this time of the year,” Sehun blurted out before the foreigner could divert his attention completely.

“It’s usually quite sunny. We haven’t had a storm in over a month.”

The foreigner was watching him with a slightly incredulous expression on his face, but said nothing. Sehun was growing more desperate by the minute.

“You don’t drink?” he asked and pointed towards the glass with clear liquid inside.

“Not anymore,” the man’s grip on the handle tightened.

“Not anymore?” Sehun kept buzzing. The light haired man did not answer. The kept silent for a bit, before Sehun tried again.

“You’re not from here, are you?”

The stranger shrugged, eyes fixated on his glass.

“Where are you from, then?” Sehun asked, a bit annoyed that the man didn’t react the way Sehun wanted.

“Ji,” the man replied curtly and Sehun felt a rush of joy and excitement. It wasn’t every day he met someone from the capital and at the same time he was a bit surer of himself when it came to something he knew so well and held so dear. He let his lips spread in a happy grin; nevertheless the foreigner’s expression remained unchanged.

“I know the city well,” he exclaimed, “My father takes me there quite often. Just last year, we went there for the Celebration of Fertility, it was amazing. I especially liked what they did with the palace, the decoration was breath-taking.”

 He waited a bit for the stranger to speak too, but when he got no response, he just continued talking, as if he couldn’t stop himself and with every word he felt himself more of a fool.

“My father made reservations in the Diamond Inn, so that every morning we could watch the parade from the window of our apartment. Those were delightful little shows.” He fleetingly checked the stranger’s face to see if he was even remotely impressed.

“I suppose so,” the foreigner said, his voice very unexcited.

“Did you like it?” Sehun asked as he tried to get him to talk.

“Haven’t seen it.”

“Oh.”

They fell silent. The light haired man continued to stare somewhere in the distance and Sehun alternated between cringing and desperately trying to find a conversation topic. It was obvious the man didn’t want to talk to him, still Sehun hoped to magically change his mind.

“What brings you here anyway?” he asked finally, leaning forward slightly. The stranger turned to him, eyebrows lifted.

“Pardon?” he tilted his head and Sehun retreated, crossing his arms. The man’s voice was icy and it sent shivers down Sehun’s spine and it made him feel as if he asked something most inappropriate. He suddenly felt insignificant and out of place compared to his seatmate, all his previous confidence gone.

“I am sorry,” he stuttered, rubbing his arms, “It’s just that our village is really boring. Nothing ever happens. Well, aside from that dragon, obviously,” he tried to explain himself, stumbling over words.

“A dragon?” the foreigner suddenly asked, head snapping to look at Sehun. If the young boy felt as if he was talking to a brick wall before, he was now given maybe too much attention. He squirmed under the stranger’s gaze, but excitement took over his common sense, because maybe he did find something to talk about.

“Yeah, there was a dragon sighting two weeks ago. Naturally, it caused a huge commotion. We haven’t seen or heard anything of the dragon since, though.”

The foreigner nodded and maybe Sehun was imagining things, but there was definitely a glint of disappointment in his eyes. Maybe because of that, or because he was terrified of losing the attention he was hoping for the whole evening after a moment of brief victory, he added:

“Although, there has been strange things happening. Cattle of nearby village’s herd have gone missing. People talk of a shadow in the night, passing above their homes. There are rumours of strangers hiding in the mountains-”

“Who did you say?” the stranger interrupted him. Sehun opened his mouth to answer, before remembering his promise to Kyungsoo and shutting it again.

“No one,” he tried to gloss over it. He had a feeling something had gone very, very wrong. Now he wanted little else but to be in the safety of his home. The late night visit to the pub didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore.

“Well, if this is all, I’ll just-“he started saying, when the foreigner suddenly reached over the table, quick as a snake. A cold stare, chilling Sehun to the bone, replaced the indifferent expression as he firmly grasped Sehun’s wrist.

“Stay,” he hissed and Sehun shuddered.

“Who is hiding in the mountains?” the stranger almost spat and Sehun borderline panicked.

“I don’t know,” he squeaked.

“You should be more careful,” the foreigner spoke softly, yet there was something unbelievably threatening in his voice, “For I will not have you tell me lies.”

“I am not lying!” exclaimed Sehun, eyes filled with tears. He was shaking like a leaf again, throat dry and palms sweaty.

The man gave him a long hard look, before finally letting him go and Sehun quickly retracted his think wrist, rubbing it where it was held. He then quickly got up and grabbed his coat from under the man’s, which fell down on the floor in the process. Sehun was too frightened to even think about picking it up and instead almost ran past it towards the door. He almost made it when he heard the man’s voice calling him from behind.

“Hey, wait!” Panicking, he looked back to see the man following him. Not knowing what to do, he stopped, heart racing.

The stranger was getting closer and closer and Sehun could not do anything to stop him, alone in the crowd of drunken people dancing and singing around him, oblivious to his fear, and he could only watch as the man reached for him, almost grasping his shoulder.

“Luhan!” a female voice suddenly yelled and the stranger’s eyes flicked to where it came from. There stood Sehun’s great-aunt, her wig dishevelled and make up smudged, yet she looked determined and brave and Sehun felt the urge to run hide behind her.

“Yes?” the man, Luhan, turned to her and put on a slightly strained smile.

“Your room is ready,” she said and there was no room for discussion in her voice. Luhan looked at Sehun one last time before nodding curtly and leaving the scene.

 Sehun smiled gratefully at his great-aunt, but she didn’t return the smile and pointed at the door instead. Her great-nephew sighed and left the inn with shoulders hunched.

***

“The transaction will take place in a month, then.”

“Precisely. The way I see it, your business cannot afford any delays.”

Sehun’s father shifted in his seat, but otherwise didn’t show his displeasure in any way.

“I suppose you will pay for all his necessities.”

“If he meets the requirements, then yes, that was what we agreed on.”

“It is settled then.”

Both men got up, bowed and shook their hands. Sehun sat with head hung low, but watched the scene unfold through his eyelashes. He caught a glimpse of the Choi son, Junhong. It was a boy two years younger than him with an angelic face and soft hair. He sat with hands folded in his lap and ankles crossed. He didn’t raise his gaze once to meet Sehun’s and likewise didn’t raise his voice to speak.

When it was time to say their goodbyes, he politely bowed down to Sehun yet not spared him a glance and Sehun felt sick in his stomach when he imagined what spending the rest of his life with this limp, empty shell of a boy was going to be.

 “You should have tried harder to impress him,” his father scolded him after the Choi men left, “Woe betide you if the son decides you are too much of a good-for-nothing to marry you.”

Sehun blinked but said nothing and his father took his leave. His mother followed her husband, leaving Sehun alone in the spacious dining room. The youngest propped his elbows against the hard surface of one of the table, hiding his face in his hands.

 A few moments passed before the heir lifted himself, walked to his room, took out one of the books he'd stolen when he and Kyungsoo had broken into the Healer’s house and started reading.

***

As usual, the afternoon training was hell. He failed even the most basic drills, be it with swords or lance. Genera; Yong threatening to make him kneel on peas surprisingly didn’t help his morale and Sehun had to be sent to sit during team exercises because he was too much of a threat to his own teammates.

He couldn’t help it though. Every minute of the exercise, he had to think of the Choi boy’s face, dead and expressionless. He had to think of the way he blatantly wiped his hands off in his tunic after shaking hands with his father, as if the Oh family was ill with a contagious illness. Perhaps with the illness of poverty.

 It was not long since his father had betrothed him to the mayor’s son and most people thought it was a simply strategic move, to marry the inheritors of the two most powerful men in the village. What they didn’t know was that Sehun’s father lost an enormous amount of money, which he tried to earn back by repeatedly visiting the capital and seeking fortune there. That only put him further in the debt, though.

His father never spoke of their arrangement in any other way, but as of a transaction. As time went by, Sehun started to think of it that way too. Arranged marriages were, after all, common. Most people had to go through it and if he was to save his family, marrying Junhong was a small price to pay. At least that was how Sehun was taught to think of it.

 Shaking his head, he tried to clear his thoughts. In place of the unhappy ones though, the memory of his frightening experience with Luhan took their place. Sehun got goosebumps just thinking about it. He hasn’t seen the man since, but since their chance meeting, he had a tendency to check every street and every store before he went it. If it was because he wanted to avoid the man, or because he wanted to see him again, Sehun didn’t know.

As the drill ended and the guards ran off to take a bath and change into clean clothes, general Yong whistled at Sehun.

“A word, Oh!”

The young guard groaned before plodding towards the robust man.

General Yong waited for everyone to leave, as usual. He waited until they were completely alone, away from curious eyes and ears, and only then did the general deal the first blow.

“I would hurt you, Oh Sehun. I swear it to my honour I would hurt you. If it was not for you father, that is.”

What a small victory for Sehun. Little did Yong know that Sehun’s father would probably encourage him had he known.

As much as he tried not listen, not to take the general’s words to heart, he could not ignore the harsh words. He could not stop himself from wondering, if maybe the man was right. He wanted to say something, he really did, but there was a lump in his throat and so he stayed mute. And meanwhile, the general continued.

“I can only hope for the sake of your husband-to-be that you will not flop at polishing the sword like you do at swinging it.”

What followed, Sehun hadn’t been expecting.

 Out of nowhere, a hooded figure appeared and then there was a flash of metal and general’s head was forced backwards, a knife placed on his neck.

“I would not speak if I were you,” hissed the figure and Sehun opened his mouth in awe when he realised he recognised the voice. The man threatening to cut Yong’s throat was none other than Luhan.

“Who are you?” It seemed that the general was either a very brave or a very stupid man.

“I gave you a warning,” growled Luhan and a disgusting snap followed. The general shrieked, whether it was from pain or surprise Sehun wasn’t sure.

“Stop!” he squealed and there was panic in his voice.

“Not until you apologise to the lad.”

There was a silence following. Then Luhan most likely grew bored of waiting and another cracking sound was heard. The sound of general’s fingers being broken, Sehun realised with horror.

“You’re not a very bright man, are you,” said Luhan and he sounded awfully indifferent for someone who was breaking someone else’s fingers. He threw the general on the ground and the man immediately got up to face him.

“Everything he told you is a lie!” he yelled, pointing at Sehun, “Oh Sehun is a liar!”

Luhan chuckled.

“And I am a murderer. We tend to stick together. Now,” he completely changed his tone again, from light to threatening, “Apologise to him.”

The general was pale; his gaze lingered on the long dagger Luhan was nonchalantly holding. He didn’t hesitate much longer after that.

“I am sorry, Sehun,” he blurted out and Luhan burst out laughing.

The general just started to get up, when he was caught by wrist and yanked forward.

“If I ever hear about you even looking at him funny, I will personally make sure you will not walk ever again,” Luhan said, slowly and clearly.

With that, he let Yong go and the man immediately took off running, soon disappearing between the trees.

“Pitiful men you have in your guard,” Luhan grinned at Sehun, before extending his hand. Sehun warily met it with his own and shaking it gently. Luhan smiled at him and the younger boy slowly reciprocated the gesture.

Because according to Oh Sehun, there were two kinds of people in the world. Those who were nice to him and those who weren’t.

And Luhan just became the one and only member of the latter category.

Hi there!

So whew, that took quite a long time. I am really sorry for the delay, school just got crazier and busier than usual, so yep... Three weeks whoops, hope you'll still find the time to read this :)

If you're thinking this chapter is a bit over the top, you are absolutely right! Usually, I think authors who have to explain themselves in author's notes are not very good at what they're doing, BUT I'm going to break my own rule here, since I will not be doing a POV chapter for Luhan but I still think it's important that I explain why is he acting like a character straight out of a bad western movie.
Firstly, Sehun is the narrator here, and by default he sees everything cooler, maybe even exaggerates slightly. Secondly, let me just say some of these things are pretty intentional on Luhan's part. So yep, hope that cleared it up for now :)

That bring me to the last point, where did you guys all come from? Thank you all so much for subscribing and upovoting, hope you'll like this update too even though it's Hunhan and not Kaisoo!

Love, Onion