Henry rolled off of his horse and fell to the ground, panting heavily. Kyuhyun leaned against the tree he had tied their horses to, resting his arm on the trunk and dropped his head on it. Henry opened a weary eye and gazed up at the king. "Your Majesty, do you know how much longer-?"

"Just call me Kyuhyun, how many times have I asked you that?" Kyuhyun grunted.

Henry blanched and he straightened up, eyes wide and mouth agape. "Your Majesty, I really-!" Kyuhyun shot him a fierce glare and Henry clammed up. "K-kyuhyun..."

"Better." Kyuhyun pushed himself off the trunk and placed his hands on his hips. "We're not far, it’s just over this hill.” And with that, he began striding off, pulling his dull cloak over his head to conceal his face. Henry sighed, but begrudgingly stood up and hurried after the king.

“But, your Maje-I mean Kyuhyun, the ground is flat! I don’t see a hill in sight!”

Kyuhyun only scoffed and pointed towards the horizon. “That’s because we aren’t close enough yet.” Henry was confused, but walked along the elder in silence. All of a sudden, Kyuhyun flung an arm out in front of Henry and stopped dead in his tracks. Henry pitched forward and had to be hauled back from over a steep slope down into a valley, littered with sharp rocks and various plantlife that would have surely taken his life, had he not been caught.

The king gave the younger a small smile and set him back on his feet with a pat on the back. "Careful, you don't want to die before we have Sungmin-hyung's cooking!"  

Henry's eyes brightened and he turned eagerly to look at the village settled snugly in the curve of the valley. "Sungmin's cooking tonight?!" Kyuhyun only laughed and turned back to the tree where their horses were tied.

"He will when we get there!" Kyuhyun called. Henry let out an excited whoop and barreled past Kyuhyun, hopping up on his horse even before the king made it back to the tree. "You look just as excited as Ryeowook does when we come to Ileun!" Kyuhyun chortled, but then frowned and looked back at the road they had taken from the castle.

Ryeowook had always loved traveling to Ileun because of the beautiful scenery on the way and because of the incredible recipes he picked up from their cooks. Kyuhyun smiled as he remembered the way his eyes would light up as the mouthful of succulent beef went down his throat, and the way Ryeowook would turn to him with such delight that it made his heart soar in pleasure.

And not to mention that Ileun was, in fact, Ryeowook's hometown. As the second son of the only noble family in Ileun, Ryeowook was sent into the capital to study at the best school in the country, which is where he met Kyuhyun. If only Ryeowook were with him no-

He pressed his lips together and hauled himself up on his horse. Ryeowook would be fine. He would be just fine. Kyuhyun snapped the reins of his horse and pounded away down the cliff, leaving Henry to gallop behind him.

"It's the king! It's the king!" Surprised shouts and delighted cries came from the houses and villagers began to stream out into the square, bright smiles on every face. Kyuhyun smiled and hopped off his horse, greeting children and shaking hands. Henry followed close behind, slyly blocking those who had weapons on them.

One older woman clasped Kyuhyun's hand with her own. "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

"That is a secret," Kyuhyun replied with a wink. "I do need to speak with your mage, is he available?"

The woman nodded and motioned with a wrinkly hand, beckoning two young men forward. "Eunhyuk, Donghae, please the king to the mage's house."

The men gave the woman a deep bow and turned to Kyuhyun. "Your Majesty, please follow us." Kyuhyun gave them a grateful smile and gently led his horse after the men.

Once they were out of earshot of the villagers, one of the men turned to Kyuhyun with wide eyes. “Where is Ryeowook? Why isn’t he with you? Did something happen?” Kyuhyun smiled and placed a comforting hand on his back.

“Relax Donghae, Ryeonggu’s coming with Yesung. There were just some-” Kyuhyun bit his lip and frowned, how would he describe it without revealing what really happened? “-complications. He’ll be along in a little while.” Donghae didn’t seem like he accepted his answer, and neither did Eunhyuk, but who were they to question their king?

Henry on the other hand, was absolutely appalled at the utter lack of respect these men had towards the king, and it clearly showed on his face. Kyuhyun saw this and snorted. “Henry, it