With the evergreen of Lady Salia’s will continually overtaking the once barren and cursed clearing around Sumin’s final refuge, Yunho sat quietly from the back of his horse cradling the newest member of their little brotherhood gently in his arms as the injured young man slept quietly and his brothers readied themselves to continue their journey towards Emberstone Castle.

Salia’s gift had long since chased away the fire that had raged within sleeping young man’s body, yet he was far from healed. The days and months of starvation and loneliness he had suffered through had left him far too weak. The uncountable beatings and neglect he had been subjected to had left him far too weary. And the bruised, battered, and broken foot, now treated and bandaged by Junsu with care, was still far too damaged to find his own sure footing. Unable to walk or stand, nor carry himself upright with strength, it would take days, if not weeks, of constant care for him to, once again, stand on his own. So much so that when the hour of the raven was close at hand, and the time had come to leave, Jaejoong had been ushered gently from the makeshift straw bed of the lonely hut to the back of Yunho’s beautiful equine companion, in his newly charged champion’s arms, without ceremony nor consult –while the effects of Junsu’s care muddled his mind, pulling him deeply into dreams.

 “It will be better if he sleeps...” Junsu had said to Yunho, when he pulled the black bottle of sleeping draft from his medicinal kit. “Give him this. It will make him sleep.”

“The road is treacherous and long, and he still needs time to mend. The rest will do him well and make him easier to carry.” he had justified.

Yunho had agreed; yet somewhat reluctantly; knowing full well that a day’s rest, a gift from an otherworldly goddess, a haphazard bath and a bowl of Changmin’s makeshift version of venison and vegetable stew, would not be enough to undo the evils wrought upon the poor soul for so long –no matter how much he had secretly hoped it would.

After the late night commune with the great Goddess of the Hunt, her words and the promise she had bade him to make, Yunho found himself far too curious about their newest little brother for even his own good. He knew not how their ill charge had ended up in such a lonely and secluded place, nor who would have inflicted such despicable injustices on such an innocent. He knew not for what reason he had been trapped in that small stone cell, chained to the ground like a hobbled and abused animal, or why it had seemed as if, by Divine providence, he had been destined to appear before them at that moment.

“As you have your destiny...so does he...” The great Goddess had said. “Until the time comes that you must be separated by fate’s hand, it is you that must take up the mantle of his protection.”

Her words...Echoed in his head...like an unavoidable fate...

Separated by Fate’s hand?

The sound of those words as the fell from the beautiful goddess’s lips had made Yunho’s heart shrivel at the moment of their utterance. The tone, the certainty of her conviction, seemed absolute. As if, it was unchangeable; unyielding. He had a fate, one that must come to pass. A fate that the great goddess had entrusted to Yunho. To see it done. To see Jaejoong safely to his destiny, but why? What was it about Jaejoong that would make such a reclusive Divine appear into the mortal realm and command this of him? Why did she really come to the Shattered Forest? Did she simply come to reclaim that which despair and decay stole from her so long ago? Or, was that just a coincidental moment in time? Was that the true reason why she appeared before him, or was she truly there only for Jaejoong’s sake?

“Where you go, he must go also. When danger emerges from the shadows, it is to his life that you must surrender, putting it above all others, even above those of your dearest brotherhood.”

“What makes his life far more precious than those of my closest allies...my brothers...my family?” he wondered. “Will there come a time, when I must choose between them? Will I have to sacrifice them for Jaejoong’s sake?”

“Show him the way through the darkness, be his beacon in the lingering midnight.”

“What is this darkness that lingers all around him? What nightmares stalk him in in the midnight? Is his life truly in danger?”

“His defender, his champion, his shelter from the storm that rages both from within and from without.”

Her cryptic words, full of mystery and the unknown, had filled Yunho’s heart full of questions. There were no words of encouragement, no explanation of what she truly desired of him or what the young man’s destiny entailed, only the simple orders of protection and guidance. To be his champion. To protect him above all others...to show him the way. But, why?

“Who are you?” he wondered gently. “What makes you so special?”

As he cradled Jaejoong in his arms and looked down upon him, Yunho felt eerily at peace with his divinely ordained responsibility even though his head was so full of questions. From the moment his eyes had fallen upon the lithe mess of matted hair and filthy clothes, in that small and miserable place nearly a day ago, Yunho had felt something flicker in him that he had never felt before. He had felt pity for the less fortunate before. He had felt sadness for the ill, concern for the weary, protectiveness over the innocent, and compassion for those who had suffered the greatest of horrors, but with Jaejoong what he felt was far different than anything he would have ever imagined.

Jaejoong had floated into his life, not with an agonizing wail as those who came before him, but simply with a whimper.

A whimper that cracked like thunder across the clear sky of Yunho’s heart.

It was unimaginable...

It was unbelievable...

It was almost spiritual...

“We’re all set.” piped up Yoochun as he settled into his saddle and gripped his horse’s reins. “Ready to head out, brother?”

“Yeah.” answered Yunho, in agreeable fashion, as he tore his eyes away from Jaejoong and instinctually tightened his grip around the young man with one arm. “The hour of the raven is upon us, we must move quickly if we are to break free from Salia’s will in time.”

“I’ll take point.” nodded Yoochun as he pulled his horse’s reins to the right and gave the beautiful animal a gentle kick.

For two days and two nights, the brotherhood traveled northwest through the thick, lush forest of Timeria unhindered. 

After the time spent in the shattered forest; the harrowing and life-threatening drake attack, the haunted and tormented lingering spirit of Sumin the Wise, and the discovery of the tortured and imprisoned Jaejoong; the accompaniment instinctively were on edge, aware of every little sound and movement. Fully expecting to come across another unforeseen obstacle in their path, they couldn’t help but be apprehensive of what the days to come would bring. Their worry and fear was evident, ever too real, but, as if they were being protected by the hand of a great Divine, there was nothing. It was as if the forest, itself and its inhabitants, had accepted their presence within its sacred place and found them deserving. No creature, be it large or small, threatening or harmless, crossed their path and the gentle winds of the secluded forest continually brought an ever-inviting warmth to their worried and weary hearts as if to say that they would be forever welcomed there.

While their journey towards the Timerian border was relatively quiet on the outside, from within a storm raged. The first day and night since they had left Sumin’s refuge, Jaejoong had slept deeply under the effects of Junsu’s very potent sleeping draft, but Yunho couldn’t find any resemblance of peace in that fact. As they traveled down the long and narrow path slowly, almost apprehensively, he spent far more time looking down at the sleeping man cradled in his arms and wondering a great many things about their newest little brother than staying focused on the task at hand.

He took in the delicate, almost woman-like, features of Jaejoong over and over simply amazed that someone so sickly could still looks so intriguing. The fullness of his cheeks had slowly begun to return, the bruises around his eye had begun to fade, his once pale and cracked lips had warmed to an unusually and rarely seen soft peach, and his once pale and sickly looking skin had begun to show more color like a chameleon sunning itself in the light of the sun. He felt so frail and thin against him, yet there was strength behind that lithe physique, and he carried with him a nearly unperceivable regal aura that Yunho couldn’t help but notice in such close proximity.

As he continued to watch the man while he slept, Yunho noticed that Jaejoong’s facial expressions flickered between being seemingly almost at peace with the world to unbelievably sad as if his whole world had shattered into pieces in an instant. And other times, he would even smile as if a wickedly mischievous thought had crossed his mind or as if he had sensed something almost joyful. It was perplexing, and almost entertaining.

“What are you dreaming about?” he wondered.

When Jaejoong woke for the first time after taking the sleeping draft, he was expectantly confused. The memories of the last few days had become a blur, seeming almost like a strange dream. It had taken a few hairy moments of flailing arms, panicked reactions, one near fall to the ground from horseback, and Yunho’s quick reflexes for Jaejoong to realize that he was once again somewhere safe. Yunho had spoken to him softly, reassuring him that everything was alright...that he had no need to fear him...and though Jaejoong had no reason to really trust him, he had accepted Yunho’s words willingly.

They traveled in relatively unabashed silence after that, save for the random questioning by Yunho as to Jaejoong’s condition, until they neared the hour of the wolf in the early morning of the second day when Jaejoong had answered that he was hungry to Yunho’s question. Pulling some dried venison and a piece of dry flat bread from his saddle bag behind his left hip, and handing it to Jaejoong, had somehow managed to spark a small wave of private conversation between the two for the first time since they had met. While Yunho reserved his questions to those he deemed safe, Jaejoong was more forthcoming than he had anticipated.

They spoke of general things, avoiding the obvious questions as to how Jaejoong had ended up in that cell and why, and slowly began to feel more comfortable around one another. The moment was comfortable, almost as if they had known each other all their lives, and not one ounce of awkwardness had fallen between them. It was strange.

Yunho didn’t know if it was simply because they were physically so close, sitting on the back of his horse, or if it was because they were beginning to create a bond, but deep in his heart he realized that it had felt good to get to know the man in his arms a little better.

As the sun began to make its decent behind the horizon, and they neared the edge of the Timerian border, in the afternoon of the third day, Yoochun reined his horse to a stop along the path near a tiny clearing and immediately motioned their little band to halt. Scanning the forest all around him, his senses heightened, he seemed almost perplexed as the brothers watched the strongest of them for a moment, wondering what was wrong.

“What is it?” questioned Changmin as he followed Yoochun’s gaze down the path before them.

“Are we lost?” he added questioningly.

At his words, Yoochun’s shoulders visibly relaxed.

“No.” he chuckled softly as he turned back to look at his brothers. “Just getting my bearings.”

“Yunho.” he called out. “Nightfall is just beyond the horizon. Should we make camp here?”

Without answering him, Yunho instinctually looked down at the man in his arms sitting sidesaddle before him.

“What do you think? Are you ok?” he questioned softly as Jaejoong seemed to snuggle closer his chest looking for warmth. “Are you tired? Should we stop and rest?”

“I’m...ok...” Jaejoong hummed in response.

“Ok.” nodded Yu