Mornings are cold in the desert, contrary to beliefs that the barren space is all low precipitation and hellfire. Ten is back inside his tent, his knees pressed against his chest and his chin resting on his kneecaps. He’s cocooned in his blanket, half of his face barely exposed with the mess that is his hair shielding his eyes. The earth crunches outside where soldiers march around the camp to pack up their belongings.

“Your Majesty?” Hansol calls through the tiny gap of the King's tent.

“Hey, Hansol, come in,” Ten invites, his voice sounding awfully dry. His throat still hurts from all the crying, and he can feel his hip and arms stinging from the bruises purpling his skin.

“Hey,” Hansol greets again once he’s inside. The deep brown carpet provides an interesting contrast to the noble’s white swordsman robe. “We’re almost done packing. We’ll be hitting the road again in half an hour. We need to pack up your stuff too.” By stuff, Ten knows Hansol means his entire tent and whatever’s inside it.

“I—I’ll go get dressed and I’ll be out in ten minutes,” Ten stutters, feeling a bit of the cold weather settle on his skin. He’s still not moving inside his blanket.

Hansol regards him with concerned eyes before nodding and making his way out of the tent.

There’s a small clock on the table adjacent to Ten’s bed, its hands ticking to a couple of minutes past seven. Ten huffs, his shoulders sagging as he makes his way toward the pile of clothes sitting on the same table. He chooses a deep blue swordsman robe from the pile and changes into the thicker garment, feeling the belt hug tight around his waist. He doesn’t even see the mirror furnished right next to it and when he turns around, he’s shocked to see his own reflection staring right at him.

There are dark circles burrowing beneath his eyes and he looks a bit paler despite standing under the sun for most of the other day. His cheekbones are more prominent now and his lips look dry and sensitive, a mild cut near the tip from where Taeyong bit his mouth the night before. There's also a light bruise colouring the side of his jaw. He looks terrible to say the least.

“Ten?” Jaehyun looks the exact opposite when he slips inside the tent wearing a bright silver robe. A lion’s body is painted at the seams of the silk, its head embroidered in black shadows at the heart. His cheeks are rosy and his hair looks neatly brushed to the side revealing a bit of his pale forehead. His face looks fuller and the cast doesn’t seem to be bothering him as much as before.

“Jaehyun,” Ten greets with a frail smile. “Hansol was just in here. I’ll be out in a couple of minutes.”

“I know,” Jaehyun says tentatively, his gaze settling on Ten’s face. “I came to check up on you. Goodness, Ten, what happened to your face?”

“I’m fine,” Ten lies. “My body’s still adjusting to the weather and it’s pretty dark in here so I think some light will do me well. It’s a good thing we’re moving again.” It’s a little too much of a lie and the explanation’s really unwarranted, but it’s not like it would’ve helped if he remained quiet. Ten was never the quiet type.

“Did you see him last night?”

Ten’s tongue suddenly feels too heavy inside his mouth. “Saw who?”

Jaehyun bites on his lips, visibly regarding Ten’s reaction. “You know who, Ten.” His voice sounds tired, like he was expecting him to say the truth.

Ten turns around to stare at his empty bed, afraid that his eyes give too much of him away.

“Johnny told me he gave you his tent number. I know you’ve been wanting to see him.”

“He doesn’t want me anymore,” Ten blurts out, his back still Jaehyun.

“Did he hurt you?” Jaehyun sounds serious, a warning eminent in his tone.

Ten doesn’t answer.

“Did he hurt you, Ten?” Jaehyun asks again. “If he hurt you, I swear to God, I will—”

“He didn’t,” Ten says, turning his hands into fists before Jaehyun could see them shake. His face looks sullen when he turns around to face the Emperor. “Please, Jaehyun,” he begs. He doesn’t want to talk about it. The more he lets his mind wander off to thoughts about Taeyong, the more he feels weak, the more he feels defenceless.

Jaehyun’s shoulders relax a bit, his eyebrows frowning while he watches Ten. “Ten, this needs to stop. You obviously still have feelings for each other. You can’t just keep running away from the truth. You’ll only end up hurting each other more.”

Ten shakes his head, holding his arms around himself. “I can’t be with him.”

“You can change the laws, you can fight for him. You know you can.”

“I can, but I won’t. Siam has been through enough.”

Jaehyun huffs, frowning. He shakes his head as he makes his way to the door. He stops when his hand lands on the flap, and he takes a few seconds before speaking, “Hansol saw him this morning. He stopped by the barracks while the soldiers pulled out their tents, and he saw Taeyong with them. He looks just as miserable as you, Ten.” Jaehyun’s eyes are sad when they meet Ten’s in what little morning light has managed to enter the room. “I don’t know what happened between you two last night, but you got him messed up just as bad. Cuts and bruises too.”

Ten’s gaze fall to his open palms.

“Oh, and there’s one more thing,” Jaehyun lets go of the flap to fully face Ten.

“What is it?” Ten asks quietly.

“You need a new King’s Guard now that Taeyong’s not a mun nai. He’s no longer qualified to protect the King. Sir Gamon might be able to fit the part.”

Ten’s eyebrows furrow and he shakes his head. “I don’t need one. I can survive with just Johnny and Hansol by my side.”

“You do realise that they’re still under me, right? They are not reporting to you.”

Ten sighs. “I know, Jaehyun, but—”

“Look, it’s fine,” Jaehyun cuts in before Ten could finish. “We’re all friends, and I’m sure Johnny won’t want to leave your side too. I just wanted to let you know that you’re still free to appoint anyone in Siam now that the position’s open again.”

Ten smiles softly. “Thanks, Jaehyun. You should consider promoting Doyoung as one of your advisers too. He’s doing a great job taking care of you. You’re barely limping now and you look a lot better than you were a few days ago.”

Jaehyun bows his head, pink spreading across his cheeks. “He is helping me a lot,” he says softly before training his eyes back on Ten, the sparkles that were once lost now finding their home again in his dark brown pupils. “I hope you find someone to take care of you too.”

“RAVEN!!!”

Ten and Jaehyun whirl around in time to see Johnny and Hansol coming through the gap in the tent, a piece of parchment squeezed in Johnny’s hand. Their eyes are wide in alarm, Hansol’s hands falling to his knees while he catches his breath.

“What’s going on??” Ten asks loudly.

“A raven just arrived from our men at the ships!” Johnny exclaims, shoving the parchment into Ten’s hands, and the latter quickly reads it.

“Ships??” Ten asks, his eyes still glued to the letter while he reads.

“Three ships arrived at the farther shores of Yongil Bay. It’s quite far from where we docked, but we have men doing rounds at the perimeter,” Hansol supplies in between pants. “Three ships were reported to have docked on the other side with men on horses. There are a few hundred men aboard their ships.”

“What??” Jaehyun exclaims. “Did they say who they were?? Were they armed?”

Hansol shakes his head. “There are no flags on the ships to identify where they’re from. Our soldiers said some of them were wearing masks.”

Ten turns to look at Jaehyun, a horrified expression drawn all over his features. “Could it be the same men who attacked our university? China??” he asks, feeling his heart tumble inside his chest.

Jaehyun’s forehead wrinkles in thought. “It doesn’t make sense. How would the enemy know we’re here? They would have expected us to go back to the South and West… but not in the East.”

“Where are they now?” Ten asks, his fingers curling around the parchment.

Hansol’s face is pale when he answers, “They’re heading towards us. Here at the camp.”

Ten’s mouth hangs open in shock. “These men have horses. They can easily catch up with us even if we start running now. It’s inevitable. We will have to face them.”

“You mean fight them,” Johnny corrects, fear bubbling in his voice.

Jaehyun nods. “I agree with Ten. If they only have a few hundred men, it means they’re outnumbered and we can definitely win against them.”

“But Jaehyun,” Hansol starts, biting his lips. “We can’t afford to lose men now. Not now when we’re still hundreds of miles away from the enemy’s gates.”

“We have no choice, Hansol. If they’re coming for us now, we have to prepare. We can’t just surrender to this unknown force,” Ten says.

Johnny clears his throat, his face looking visibly worried. “Ten’s right, Hansol. We have to listen to him. He is the standing captain of all troops now.”

Hansol sighs, his eyes mirroring uncertainty. “Fine. Tell us what to do, Your Majesty.”

Ten breathes, closing his eyes. “Take down all the tents and ready all the soldiers. We’ll wait for them here.”

***

It's somethin akin to a landscape painting. The top of the sandhill is littered with black dots before they spill over like dark waves across the lands. Horses and men pound onto the earth, the sound dribbling in everyone’s ears. The soldiers are dressed in all black, trousers and lose robe shirts that look oddly familiar to Ten. The sand circles around them, drawing up a cloud while the hoofs of the horses knock on land, throwing more earth up in the air. Ten’s men are waiting at the clearing right next to the well, tents tied down to their crates and men holding on to the guards of their swords, poised for attack.

It doesn’t take too long for the unknown men to come into clearer view. Their faces are masked as reported, shrouding their identities. They are much fewer though, barely fifty in number, but something tells Ten there’s more from where they came from.

They’re still riding toward them and any minute now, any second, they would come barrelling on to their faces. Ten inhales deeply, feeling his fingers tighten around the guard of his sword. He squints, opening his mouth to signal their attack.

“Wait!” Hansol shouts, gripping Ten’s shoulder.

“What’s going on Hansol?” Johnny’s right next to Ten, confusion muddling his features. “We’re about to get attacked!”

“Don’t draw your swords!” Hansol shouts, taking a step forward and out of the thick line of soldiers from their side.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Ji Han—”

It’s too late. Hansol is already running before Johnny could finish his sentence.

“Oh, ,” Johnny curses under his breath, watching Hansol run faster, dropping his sword into the sand while his soles dig into the earth. “It can’t be.”

Ten’s eyes are still wide in shock but he’s running now, tailing Hansol from behind, his sword pulled out from its sheath and up in the air ready to swipe it through the attackers’ bodies. From a few feet away, he sees Hansol stop right in front of the group of soldiers aboard their horses, the men also drawing to a halt when they come face to face with the General’s son.

“Hansol, don’t—” Ten’s words backpedal when he sees the man in front of Hansol pull off his mask, revealing a bob of auburn hair and a perfect set of pearly white teeth. His smile is blinding.

“Ohayou, Your Majesty!” Yuta greets, smiling widely at Ten and the latter instantly drops his sword in the sand, his mouth agape.

Hansol practically carries Yuta off his horse, crushing the Crown Prince into a tight hug, his arms enveloping the royal’s tinier form.

“What the— ya! Nakamoto Yuta!” Johnny screams half-diving into the sand while they watch Hansol kiss the life out of Yuta.

Ten grabs Johnny’s arm warningly. “Give them a moment.”

Jaehyun is already laughing beside Ten the moment he arrives, Doyoung running by his side.

“Are my eyes deceiving me??” Doyoung looks flabbergasted.

“He’s real,” Hansol confirms, his lips barely a hair’s breadth away from Yuta’s mouth. His arms are still linked protectively around the prince’s waist. “It’s really him.”

“Oh, were you doing a taste check? Ow!” Johnny winces as Ten elbows him in the stomach.

“Yuta!” Ten cries, choking at the flurry of sand around them.

“Ten!!!” Yuta cries back, running towards the King with open arms before wrapping him in a firm embrace. “I missed you!”

“How did you know we were here??” Ten asks, his heart almost bursting at the sight of his best friend.

Yuta’s eyes twinkle when he turns to look at Hansol before looking back at Ten.

Ten squints, looking utterly confused. “Wait, so you two… still communicate??”

Yuta throws his head back with a laugh. “Actually, not us. Doyoung and I do.”

Ten whirls around to look at Doyoung and the latter just gives him an uneasy smile. “Wait… what??” Ten asks again.

Yuta smiles, slinging an arm around Ten’s neck. “It’s a long story. One that involves codes and highly illegal stuff,” the Crown Prince laughs. “Long story short, Doyoung helped Hansol and I write letters to each other in the form of codes; a cipher if you will.”

“It’s called the Vigenère*,” Doyoung supplies.

“Vinegar—WHAT?” Johnny’s face is all crumpled in bewilderment.

Ten shakes his head in an effort to get rid of all the confusion clouding it. “Wait. I thought your father didn’t want your country to help in the war. Does your father know you’re here?”

Yuta shrugs. “I’m not here for my country, Ten. I’m here for you. For my friends,” he pauses, turning to look at Hansol while the wind fiddles through his hair. “For the man I love.”

“Oh God, please don't. This is so cheesy!” Johnny flails his arms helplessly as he ducks his head in the sand. Jaehyun is already doubling in laughter beside him.

Ten smiles, hugging Yuta tighter. “Thank you, Yuta.”

It doesn’t take a few more seconds till the rest of Ten and Jaehyun’s men arrive right next to them down the sandhill. Yuta’s men are still sitting on their horses, waiting for the Crown Prince’s instructions.

“Your Royal Highness!” Sir Gamon bows low in front of Yuta.

Yuta smiles widely and Ten almost tears up just seeing him here. He misses Yuta so bad. His positivity would help a great deal in alleviating the tension in the air.

“So how many horses do you have?” Jaehyun finally speaks up in the crowd of busy soldiers.

Yuta frowns. “Thirty-eight. I only have three ships with me. The rest of my men are on our ships back at the shore.”

“It’s a good enough number,” Jaehyun chucks his chin in his hand while he thinks. “Ten, we can use Yuta’s horses to get to the East faster. We don’t need a lot of men with us. You can bring twenty of your best, ten of Yuta’s and I’ll bring eight of mine.”

Ten’s forehead crinkles in thought. “But what about the rest?”

“They can head back to the ships. I don’t think the East poses a threat to us, especially since the enemy is still recovering.”

“Jaehyun’s right, Ten,” Johnny agrees, his hand on the Emperor’s shoulder. “You said it yourself. Sicheng would be expecting us to go to the West and the South. The East should be safe for now.”

Ten bites on his lips, considering his friends’ suggestions. “There’s one other problem though.”

“What?” Yuta asks.