A pair of human eyes greeted them when the remaining boys crowded around to get a closer look at whatever it was that had scared Chen. One blink was all it took for Sehun, Kai, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Tao? to scream like a banshee and retreat. Kyungsoo was surprised to see the other dragonrider’s shocking reaction, though he wasn’t surprised to witness Kai scrambling to hide behind his much smaller body frame. “Seriously?” Kyungsoo raised an eyebrow at Kai, who had the decency to clear his throat and act like he hadn’t completely freaked out and screamed girlishly earlier. Yifan was calming down a frightened Tao, and Luhan likewise with a white-faced Sehun. Chanyeol and Baekhyun had joined Chen on the ground, and they were now huddled so close, trembling and praying that the block of ice would not gobble them up.

Kyungsoo slowly crept nearer while ignoring the incessant whines and tugs from Kai muttering, “It’s not safe, hyung…” He gasped when he realized what it was that was trapped in the ice. “There’s a boy in there!” Kyungsoo yelled. Who are you and why are you inside this block of ice? The boy’s eyes widened even further when he heard Kyungsoo’s voice in his head and he stared back with a pleading look in his eye. Help me! I got trapped while playing with my powers… Kyungsoo gave him an astonished look, “WHAT?!” Help me! The boy continued to whine and plead.

Kyungsoo stepped back and waved Yifan forward. “Melt the ice! The boy got trapped while playing with his frost powers.” Once everyone had figured out that it was just a boy and not an ice age monster, they all gathered and watched as Yifan placed his palms on the ice before the ice started melting. Layer by layer, the ice melted till a body of a boy not older than around 12 years old came tumbling out. Despite being stuck in ice for god knows how long, the boy wasn’t even freezing at all. They watched perplexedly as the boy sat cross-legged while staring up at his saviors.

“What’s your name and how old are you boy?” Kyungsoo knelt down beside him, with the rest crowding behind Kyungsoo. “My name is Minseok and I am TWELVE!” The kid raised all ten fingers and eyed two of his toes. “Though, I was stuck in there for around five years… Does that make me a 17-year old?” Minseok peered anxiously at Kyungsoo. The group let out a collective gasp. “You’re a 17-year old trapped in a 12-year old kid’s body?” Chen knelt beside Kyungsoo. Is that even possible? Chen asked Kyungsoo. The latter shrugged and returned his gaze to Minseok, who was now playing with his own fingers. “Hey… Minseok? How did you stay alive in the ice? I mean… your body was preserved in its original 12-year old state.” Kyungsoo pointed out.

Minseok brightened up immediately and held out his arms, palm facing up. It was only a few seconds later, when the rest of the boys saw frost and ice forming. The temperature in the cave dropped drastically when snow started to fall from the ceiling. “Ice Manipulation… pretty impressive!” Chen crowed as Minseok beamed at him and clapped enthusiastically. Kyungsoo turned around when he heard Baekhyun’s loud “Awww…” Baekhyun fanned his cheeks and rolled his eyes, “What? He’s adorable.” No one disagreed with that observation.

“Where’s your family, Minseok?” Kai asked as he ruffled the boy’s hair. Minseok frowned at the mention of his family. “I don’t know… I got lost when the family came for our annual trip to the eastern villages of Water Nation. Maybe they went back to the castle…” He pouted. Cue another wave of “Awww…” Chen pinched the puffy cheeks as Sehun cleared his throat, “Minseok, are you part of the royal family?” Everyone except Yifan and Chanyeol turned to Sehun, confused. “It’s known that the royal family of Water Nation takes annual trips to all four corners of their land to check up on the states of the various villages… if Minseok said he got lost during his family trip… I just wondered if he’s a royal?” Sehun shrugged. Ohhh.

“Are you part of the royal family?” Kyungsoo asked Minseok. “Uh huh!” Minseok stood shakily, as Chen steadied his smaller body. “My father is King Minguk!” The boy puffed up his chest proudly. “You’re the long lost Prince!” Chanyeol yelled excitedly. “The Prince of Water Nation disappeared five years ago… it all adds up! He’s Prince Minseok of Water Nation’s royal family!” Everyone turned to gawk, not at Chen who was making funny faces at the boy, but rather at the chubby-cheek 17/12-year old child. They left Chen to entertain the kid as they all huddled around Kyungsoo.

“What should we do?” Kai asked. “We need to bring him back to the Capital of course!” Sehun rolled his eyes. Kyungsoo hummed, “He’s right. I know that he’s probably older than all of us but look at him now-” Everyone turned to the boy who was cackling at most probably one of Chen’s bad jokes, “-he’s too young and probably doesn’t know the way back home. Let’s bring him back and on the way to the Capital, we continue to search for the egg. Sounds good?” Kyungsoo suggested. There was a round of nods and “Yesses” before they broke from their huddle and approached Minseok.

“Minseok-ah… We’ll bring you home alright little buddy?” The small Prince literally beamed and tackled Kyungsoo to the ground. “YES! I like you hyung and the hyung who makes bad jokes…” Minseok pointed at Chen, who looked confused as to whether he should feel honored or wounded. The boy proceeded to cling onto Kyungsoo after the latter introduced everyone’s names to him. Kai scowled when Kyungsoo left the cave with Minseok in his arms. “Jealous of a kid. HAHAHA!” Chanyeol guffawed at his best friend’s annoyed face. I can’t believe you chose a kid over me hyung! Kyungsoo rolled his eyes… he could practically feel the waves of jealousy emerging from Kai. Come along, Jongin. I’ll let you hold my hand. Kai practically squealed and pumped his fist in the air. So childish… Kyungsoo smiled at Kai, who was now basically radiating happiness.

Kyungsoo was afraid that Minseok would have an adverse reaction to the dragons. After all, they’re much bigger in size as compared to a small kid, and they can look scary at times to children. What they did not expect was for Minseok to jump out of Kyungsoo’s arms and leap at Midnight. The short boy was jumping as high as he could and straining to reach an amused dragon’s neck. Minseok’s face was scrunched up in concentration as he tried once again to reach up, before Midnight willingly bowed to allow the boy up. “FLYYYYY!” Minseok giggled as he urged Midnight to take off. Everyone chuckled at the cute sight.

They decided to travel without flying on the dragons to the nearest village, Löhren, for food. Midnight and Whisper were ambling alongside the boys with an excited Minseok on the former, whereas Hunter remained beside his rider at the back of the group. The three of them, Yifan, Tao and Hunter, were often found distanced from the main group of boys and Kyungsoo stared wistfully… Maybe it’s time for me to let bygones be bygones. I don’t want to ostracize them… maybe we can work at being friends.

“What are you thinking about hyung?” The warm hand of Kai wrapped around his smaller hand, pulled Kyungsoo from his thoughts. He smiled up at the younger, “Not much… just that maybe I should start to accept Tao and Hunter. I don’t want them to feel left out… if we’re all in this quest together…” Kai smiled and squeezed the hand of the older, until the raised voice of a child broke their two-person bubble.

“Why is Kyungie holding Kai’s hand?” The two boys looked over to see Minseok furrowing his eyebrows at the couple’s joined hands. Sehun and Luhan sprung apart, even though the boy hadn’t pointed them out. Kyungsoo wanted to wriggle out of Kai’s tight grip, but Kai was one stubborn and possessive man. Kai knew what the boy was thinking… if he were to let go of Kyungsoo’s hand, the little devil would probably come over to take his place. I’ve already fended off Sehun the ert… no way I’m letting an ice cube near my precious hyung. Kai glared at Minseok. “Stop glaring at a child, Jongin!” Kyungsoo whacked Kai’s arm. He decided to ignore him and proceeded to raise their clasped hand in Minseok’s face. “Kyungsoo is mine! ONLY I CAN HOLD HIS HAND!” Kai stomped his foot to make his point. “Why is Kyungie yours?” Kai held back from punching the smiling boy. Everyone else chuckled at how worked up Kai was while arguing with a child. “Cause I love him! I want to spend all my time with him… that’s why I’m holding his hand.” Kai stuck his tongue out at Minseok as Kyungsoo rolled his eyes.

Minseok frowned and looked down at Chen who was walking alongside him on the dragon. “So people hold hands with the ones they love? If they want to spend more time with them?” Chen chuckled and nodded. The frown on Minseok’s face disappeared as a wide chubby grin spread across his face. The boy stuck out an arm at Chen, causing everyone to stop whatever they were doing and stare. Chen was puzzled, “What are you doing?” He stared at the waving hand in his face. Minseok beamed, “Hold my hand, Chen!” The said boy squawked as the other boys laughed. “WHY?!” Chen stared wide-eyed at Minseok. “Because I love you, Chen!” The boy claimed with so much conviction. “You’re the first one to play with Minnie… I want to spend all my playtime with you!” Some of the boys (aka. Sehun, Chanyeol and Baekhyun) were already rolling on the ground in laughter. “Don’t you dare break a child’s heart, Chen!” Kyungsoo smirked. Chen scowled but switched on a small smile when he caught Minseok staring at him. Hesitantly, he took the boy’s hand and thought to himself. Maybe this isn’t that bad after all… He couldn’t help but grin back when Minseok smiled at him.

Kai’s attitude towards Minseok brightened up considerably, after he knew the boy wasn’t after his Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes… typical Jongin. They soon came across a huge lake on route to the Capital. The boys had already prepared to settle on the dragons to fly across when Minseok jumped down from Midnight and ran towards the water. Everyone tried to make a grab for him when the boy jumped into the lake… they didn’t want the boy to drown after all. Except that, with every step Minseok took, the water beneath him froze… allowing the boy to run around on the frozen lake safely. The other boys whooped and ran/slid across the ice, immersed in their temporary fun time.

“Would the ice hold the weight of the dragons?” Tao asked timidly. Having seen what Minseok can do with his powers while unintentionally reading his mind earlier, Kyungsoo was the one that replied Tao… surprising a few of the boys when he did. “It’ll be fine…” Kyungsoo even afforded him a small smile. Though tiny it was, it was nevertheless still a smile and it counted for something. Tao returned the smile hesitantly before stepping onto the ice with the dragons.

It was a fun sight, seeing the dragons attempting to ice skate across the lake. The boys were having fun too. Minseok was a natural on his element. The same cannot be said for a clumsy Elf. “Chanyeol is having a hard time huh…” Kai chuckled. Kyungsoo nodded, “Yeah… remember the first time we met at the Woods? Sehun and I swore that’s the first time we saw an Elf tripping haha.” They watched as Chanyeol was sliding across the ice, only for him to fall every few seconds. Baekhyun was trying to catch him before he made contact with the hardness of the floor, but it wasn’t going to work since the Elf was considerably much taller and bigger in size compared to the ‘dwarf’ twin.

Out of a sudden, a loud yelp from Yifan attracted everyone’s attention. When they looked towards him, everyone saw Yif