Doria twirled her dress in her fingers, thinking back to the day she was kidnapped. Taura watched her silently rethinking her own question. Taura understood the difficulty of trying to put that kind of trauma into words. Reaching her hand out to assure Doria she didn’t have to tell her anything, Taura spoke, “You don’t have to tell me…if you don’t want to.”

            The girl shook her head, letting go of her dress. Meeting eyes with the mermaid beside her, Doria knew telling Taura would do no harm and might even help her relieve some of the stress and frustration she felt.

            “No, I want to. I do. Just give me a second to remember,” Doria took in a breath and shut her eyes, “It was in the afternoon. I was near the coast, on my way to the docks to see my boyfriend. Destan,” Doria paused, smiling, “I always liked his name. He worked with some company unloading the goods on the ships that came in from all over. He got off work around three or so, I think. Well, I remember the place that I walked…there wasn’t a lot of people there. Really there was no one around.”

            There was a slight pause, but Taura could hear Doria repeat those last five words. She wanted to tell Doria that it was okay, that she didn’t have to say anymore but the girl continued, “They blinded me from behind, put a bag over my head…I tried fighting back but they tied my hands together, and put a cloth over my mouth and nose. After that, I remember waking up on the ground, my eyes were still covered but I could hear other girls screaming for help. I spent hours maybe days in there until I heard someone coming. I couldn’t do anything. My hands and legs were tied and I couldn’t see anything. I could’ve screamed but they placed that cloth over my face and I was out again. The next time I woke up, I was on a boat in the middle of the ocean and there was a storm coming my way. Luckily I freed my feet but my hands were still tied together. I thought I was going to die.”

            Taura knew the story from there and before Doria could continue, Lay came in to check on the two girls. Seeing how they sat on the same bed, Lay smiled, “You two feeling better?”

            “Define better?” Taura smiled back as Lay came over to the two of them and pulled a chair. Sitting down, he held out a hand in Doria’s direction, “Lay.”

            Doria took his hand and shook his gently, “Doria.”

            He gave another smile, one that made Doria blush as she let go, “Luhan is organizing the crates downstairs so I decided to check on you guys. Someone should be coming back later on with some medicine for you Doria.”

            “Thank you.”

            Lay gently touched Doria’s head as he stood up. He turned to Taura keeping his expression indifferent as he leaned into Taura’s ear, “Luhan and I are going to head down and check out the area. You guys gonna be okay?”

            “Kris told you to stay on board this ship.” Taura whispered back wanting to keep them on board for their safety but she could see that her attempt to keep them back was futile, they already decided on their plan.

            “He told you and Doria to stay on board. We won’t be gone long, don’t worry.” Lay pulled away and bid the girl beside Taura goodbye before he left the room. Doria watched the older man exit and let out a sigh as the door shut. She touched her chest as she rested her head on the wall behind her.

            “Are they all that handsome up close?”

            Taura chuckled remembering how she thought the same thing when she first met the guys, “Pretty much.”

            *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

            Sitting together in the small study that Kai and Sehun had found they stood on either wall while Kris, Suho, and Baekhyun sat at the table in the middle of the room. The fire crackled in the fireplace as its flames casted shadows in the space. Sehun flipped through a book he pulled from the shelf behind him while Kai spoke, “That consultant gives me this uneasy feeling. When he rode with us in the carriage, he seemed so uneasy especially when Destan talked about his girlfriend.”

            He gazed over to Sehun who shut his book and placed it back on the shelf. Seeing that Sehun wasn’t going to add anything, Kai continued, “We need to know more about this Habaek Destan mentioned. Maybe we could ask more questions when he gives us a tour of the city tomorrow. Right Sehun?”

            The siren shrugged, “Let’s just hope Emiyn doesn’t come along.”

            Sehun pushed off the wall and headed for the door as the others in the room watched him. He’d been quiet, more than usual, after getting off the ship. His demeanor felt colder, almost icy even as he stood near the fire place. His eyes never met anyone that spoke to him and his responses to people were brief sentences that gave away his annoyance or better yet attitude.

            Kai wanted to say more to the other prince but refrained from doing so as Sehun left the room. He rubbed the side of his face with his hands and turned to Kris, “I think it’s time one of us heads down to the ship to check on Luhan, Lay and the girls.”

            Kris stood up along with Suho as they both agreed that would be a good idea, “It’s time we head back anyways. We’ll be on the lookout for anything and bring them some supplies.”

            The prince nodded as the men left, leaving him alone. Running his hands th