(a/n:  For those who have already read the last chapter, no, you're not seeing things.  I felt it needed to be split up and further elaborated upon so while the beginning of this update is a repeat, please continue on as there has been new material added.  Thank you!)

                Bleakly, Kharin watched the horizon lighten in the distance as she finished her watch.  She was still tired from the other day, but at least the headache was completely gone and she almost felt like her old self again.  Her gaze was riveted on the capitol slowly being illuminated by the rays of the sun as it peeked over the earth.  After a moment, she shook herself and reached back to shake Eun Mi awake distractedly.  “Hey!  Eun Mi,” she called softly, jostling the sleeper’s shoulder until she started to come around.

                “Mmmm…” Eun Mi groaned as she cracked her eyes open in the dim light.  “Morning already?” she muttered, positive she had to be joking.  She had just closed her eyes…

                “Yep.  Come on,” Kharin stifled a yawn and stood up, brushing her pants off hurriedly before stretching slowly.

                The healer let out one more reluctant groan and sat up, blurry eyed and stoic.  Stiffly, she got up and went over to check on Glory who was dozing on her feet nearby, ears flicking back and forth with her head down.  Kharin stepped over to rifle through their packs for the food they had left for this morning and dragged it out.  The meat was definitely getting tough and the rest of their travel rations were typically hearty anyway.

                “Here,” she nudged Eun Mi’s shoulder with a handful of the cooked meat, chewing part of her share.

                “Thanks,” the healer nodded gratefully and turned to take her portion.  With one hand, she brushed out Glory quickly and tried to wake up enough so that they would be ready to go soon.  Both were eager to be on their way and while she had a vague idea of what Kharin intended to do to get in, she wasn’t sure by any means.  She just wanted to make sure they had as much time as possible to try.

                After washing the food down with the rest of their water, Kharin nodded at Eun Mi.  “I’m ready when you are.”

                The healer sighed at her condition.  Kharin had bags under her eyes and she still seemed a bit on the pale side, but she could tell she was absolutely determined to get moving.  “Alright,” she sighed, grabbing Glory’s reins and pulling her closer to the packs.  They settled the bags back on the mule and then Eun Mi hauled herself up, reaching down to give Kharin a hand.  The shadow elementalist slowly complied, tiredly hauling herself up with the other woman’s help.

                Eun Mi nudged Glory with her heels and got them started on their path again.  They fell right in with the few persons on the road in the early part of the morning.  Glory wasn’t able to do much more than a reluctant trot but it was enough to get them close to the capitol by midmorning.  Before they got within eyesight of the guards, Kharin spoke up from the back, “Hold up.  Can we stop here?” she asked quietly, one hand on the other woman’s shoulder.

                “Huh?  Oh, right,” Eun Mi sighed, pulling Glory off to the side of the road and out of the way of any traffic.  “What are you going to do?” she asked as she felt the elementalist slide off the back.

                “I’m going to walk right in,” Kharin winked with a forced grin.  “Good luck getting in.  And be careful,” she wished the healer as she tried to hide as well as she could behind the mule, using the creature’s larger shadow as her focal point.

                “You be careful too, Kharin,” Eun Mi wished, looking at her curiously.

                The shadow elementalist nodded once before orienting herself towards the city and then stepped into the mule’s shadow, taking a breath before dropping into the shadow realm.  For a little while, she kept pace with the healer and the mule as they walked at a fast pace, forcing Kharin to jog in that strange realm, but when they neared, the pair in the normal realm was forced to slow down at the gate.  A fairly long line was headed into the city and each person and group was being checked over extensively by the guards there.

                Kharin surged ahead, eyeing the flickering pools of light that denoted people, and watched as they passed under her.  She was never going to get used to that...  Quickly, she walked through the gates, pillars and barriers of light rising up to indicate the walls around the city.  While the shadow realm was easier to cross, the normal barriers were still a problem she had to navigate.  They were easy enough to step around when she didn’t have to worry about avoiding the people.

                Still, the shadow realm was a very lonely place.  She wanted to hurry up and find a place she could step back through as soon as possible.  The moving pools of light were distracting and didn’t help her find a corner to reappear in.  Kharin searched for a while, losing track of time as she walked.  The city, what she could see of it in the pale imitation of her world, was huge and it seemed there were people everywhere.  Nor could she just step into a building to reappear either since when she tried, she had no way to manipulate the doorway.  It was like pushing against a wall and her hand slid right around or off the handle.

                “Fine…” Kharin grumbled after attempting another door to no avail.  She trailed her fingers along the wall as she headed around to the ‘back’ and took a deep breath.  There were still people nearby, as far as she could tell by the light shifting within the light, and they were about to be very surprised.

                Abruptly, Kharin fell through the lights in the ground and found herself standing in a shadowed alleyway, blinking dazedly at four rather shady looking individuals who were looking right back at her in open mouthed astonishment.  Quickly, she focused her attention and glared at them.  “What?!” she demanded gruffly, doing her best to appear menacing.  It did not take them but a moment to gape at her and the spot she had suddenly appeared from before they started to babble and quickly vacated the area.

                The shadow elementalist was relieved by their quick exit and took a moment to lean against the wall.  She took a deep breath and then glanced around.  If they were going to find anyone, it was not safe to stay here and she had no idea where she was.  She had apparently found a secluded part between the wall and another building.  Cautiously, she poked her head around the corner and saw people passing by on a small street ahead of her.  That seemed as good a direction as any.  “Let’s see where I am,” she sighed as she straightened her shoulders and strode out into the city as if she belonged there.

                When she stepped out into the moving sea of people, she was immediately engulfed by the masses that tried to carry her with them in either direction.  Some looked askance at her and most ignored her completely, another nameless person in the throng of people.  Quite simply, the majority didn’t pay her any attention but she was in their way and that wasn’t going to stop them from getting to where they were headed.  Firmly, she planted herself in their midst and then edged to the outermost part of the line of traffic, still within the moving line of them but not enough to be considered a nuisance.  When given a chance to breathe, her initial impression was simply bafflement.

                 The wall she thought had been the outer ring around the city was actually another wall entirely and when she looked over it, the palace rose up, grand yet menacing.  She felt her stomach tense immediately and her heart raced at the mere proximity of it and the one she knew was here as well.  Never mind that most of the others were here already…  Desperately, she wanted to see them…to be able to free them, but she acknowledged that in this moment, she could not.  Everything was too big, too new and too confusing.

                  With it being so close, she felt immediately she wasn’t ready for that confrontation and Kharin found herself backpedaling slowly until she bumped into the wall of the building behind her.  She needed to get prepared and being lost in the city was not helping that.  A look overhead showed that the sun was making its way to noon, but wasn’t quite there yet.  Eun Mi should have made it into the city by now, or so she figured.  Would she still be near the front though?  It was all Kharin had to go on so she picked the direction that looked like it would take her to the entrance and allowed herself to be guided by the stream.

                She was hyper vigilant for any patrols in the area and made sure to detach herself from the crowd whenever she spotted the intermittent guard making his way through the city.  So too did she keep an eye out for Eun Mi.  She didn’t think the young woman would leave Glory behind at the moment so she should be relatively easy to spot.  Searching was frustrating when it didn’t show her anything helpful and she worried constantly about being spotted or recognized or any number of things that rampantly tumbled through her mind.

                Her stomach was starting to grumble plaintively by the time she was finally able to see the front of the city; two massive gates pushed open to allow entrance, but the line in was still long and the guards looked annoyed.  Not that she could blame them since they had to check every person that arrived.  A quick scan of the area didn’t show her anyone familiar so she settled herself against the wall of one of the nearby buildings and took on a bored expression, hoping that would keep people from bothering her.  She pretended intense interest in the vendor to her left, closer to the gate, when she spotted a guard or two nearby.

                It was when she was making her way to another, less conspicuous resting place when she caught just a flash of blonde in the sea of people.  Instantly, her attention was focused on that and she searched the crowd, desperate to find it again.  Everything she knew up to this point told her it was impossible, but she couldn’t let go of the merest chance that it might be him…  “Eunhyuk,” she whispered, as if in voicing his name she could make him appear.

                The plea went unanswered but she couldn’t shake the feeling.  There were just so many damn people…  Frustration boiled to the surface and she grumbled under her breath.  Determinedly, she planted herself against the nearest wall and eyed the crowd intensely.  Another flash off to her right this time, closer to the entrance, caught her eye and she jerked in that direction, refusing to lose it again.  Eventually, her eyes began to note a few things that weren’t quite typical.  While most persons wore hats or nothing at all, a handful had mere wraps or bandanas on their heads.  None of the persons lacking a hat had hair as blonde as Eunhyuk and she marked them off immediately.

                Those wearing hats were either too covered or only showed the darker shades of hair peeking through.  She focused her attention solely on those with simple coverings, hoping she was right.  “Where are you?” she pleaded quietly, scanning incessantly.  At last, her search was rewarded and she saw another flash of blonde hiding under a dark green covering.  He was off to the side, very much like she was, his back to a wall and his face turned towards the entrance.  “Eunhyuk,” she breathed, hardly daring to voice his name out loud, afraid he might simply disappear now that she may have found him.

                She watched him raise a hand up to scratch under the wrap, revealing more blonde hair before he glanced around quickly, alert as she had been.  Kharin felt her heart leap as she saw his face and she could stand still no longer.  It no longer mattered that they were in the middle of Enrhyll’s city or that she was probably drawing too much attention to herself, but she shoved through the people in her way, sliding around the ones that were too numerous to move efficiently.  “Eunhyuk!” she called, daring to raise her voice, terrified he would move away.

                Eunhyuk stood against the wall nervously.  Somehow, he had managed to make his way back to the front and he could only hope that he had not missed Zhou Mi and Henry.  He hadn’t seen them go by but he hadn’t been there for very long yet.  Occasionally he would glance up to see the construct floating far above him in the air.  It had not left him yet and he didn’t know what to do with it…  The wrap on his head itched a lot and he reached up to scratch it again, tugging the fabric down quickly to hide his hair.  He hoped someone would show up soon.  The elementalist took a slow breath to calm his nerves and then turned his head quizzically to the side as he thought he heard his name.

                Confused, he stepped away from the wall and peered around, wondering if perhaps it was Henry or Zhou Mi.  There seemed to be a small commotion as someone was pushing their way through the throng of people.  His eyes widened as he saw her then, the striking shadow elementalist with her hair pulled back into a frazzled and falling apart braid.  “Kharin…?” he asked quietly.  He would have thought he was seeing things but for the fact she was shoving everyone in her path away.  “Kharin!” he cried, suddenly away from the wall and sprinting towards her, leaping through and around the people in his path.

                The last few persons between them disappeared quickly, skirted around or shoved aside, and they crashed into each other, arms hugging tightly as they clung fiercely to the impossible reality they had found.  “Kharin,” Eunhyuk breathed shakily, his eyes streaming tears as he buried his hand in her hair and held her to him desperately with his other arm.

                Kharin had thrown both of her arms over his shoulders and around his neck and she buried her face in his shoulder and neck, breathing in the smell of him and simply holding onto him as if she were drowning.  “I found you,” she whispered, her voice shaking as the rest of her trembled with the intensity of her emotions.  At eternity could have passed in that moment and it would not have been long enough.

                She was reluctant to loosen her hold but when she did, she felt Eunhyuk’s hands shift to clasp her face gently between his palms as he met her teary eyes evenly, his gummy smile elated.  Before anything else could happen and before any more time could pass without it being said, Eunhyuk spoke softly, “I love you, Kharin and I’m never going to leave you alone again.”  She smiled at the words, feeling her heart swell and before she could get a response out, he pulled her into a passionate kiss.  It was warm and long, filling her with such intense joy, it almost hurt.

                Eunhyuk pulled back slowly, feeling lightheaded and giddy.  When they had space enough for her to speak, he was elated to hear, “I love you too,” rush from before speaking became impossible again as she pulled him close, kissing him fiercely in return.

                Nearby, they became aware of voices speaking and while the words seemed unintelligible at first, they formed into, “What are you so surprised for?  He just proposed,” a grinning Zhou Mi explained to the nearest group that was eyeing the couple uncertainly.  Their stop had definitely drawn some attention and he was doing the best he could to diffuse it.  “Congratulations!” he cried instead, stepping up to the pair.  “Allow me to buy you a drink, my good sir, on this happy occasion!” he cajoled, raising another cheer heartily, to which the crowd around began to respond.

                “Here, here!” they cried and as the blushing couple allowed themselves to be guided, hands firmly clasped together, by Zhou Mi, who looked over his shoulder to find Henry slowly leading Lute and the cart after them.  More cheers began behind them as the party continued up the street.  A small group followed along, anticipating entertainment and drinks while the rest dispersed and the guards were assured enough not to investigate further.  He kept the focus firmly on him while he sang bawdy songs and guided the group to a reputable tavern, furiously thinking of ways to get them out of this sober.

              The Minstrel's Dance tavern was one of his favorite choices for various reasons, the name notwithstanding.  It was located pretty much in the middle of the city with a variety of patrons from all walks of life, with a sizable stable in the back, and as the name implied, there was always at least one minstrel in attendance.  Zhou Mi was hoping to use that to his advantage today as he guided Eunhyuk and Kharin to his favorite haunt and, with the assistance of several persons ahead of him, burst into the tavern with admiral aplomb.  Having heard the commotion from outside, the patrons within were ready and greeted him and his two charges enthusiastically.

                Even if he had not been trying to make it as obvious as possible, the crowd likely would have picked up on the furiously blushing expressions of the elementalists anyway, especially since they were still holding hands tightly.  If nothing else, the attention kept Kharin from striking him down immediately for the ruse he was running, though it had pretty much removed all suspicion.  People wanted a reason to be happy in these times; they had plenty enough to be suspicious of already.

                As the minstrel swept his gaze over the room, he noticed a trio of minstrels performing on the stage and grinned.  This was going to be better than he expected.  Easily, he swept the pair in front of him to a table that was quickly vacated for him and his guests and set them down, leaning in to whisper with a grin, “Just sit tight.”  With a reassuring squeeze on both their shoulders, he made his way through the throng to the bar where the owner was apparently watching, a very large smile on his face.  “Dong-Min, my friend,” the minstrel started smoothly with a charming smile.  Easily, he slid a handful of coins to the owner unobtrusively and winked, “Two rooms for the evening if you would, good sir.”

                Dong-Min smiled then and his eyes turned calculating as he looked about the room, already fairly full, and it was early yet.  Nonchalantly, he turned back to peer through the door leading to the back and yelled out, “Jin Sang!  Better bring up the reserves!  It is going to be a good day!”  By the time he turned back around, Zhou Mi was already gone and returned to the table of the, what appeared to be betrothed, if not already wed couple.  Dong-Min’s grin widened as the minstrel prompted a round of drinks to begin already and a flock of men pressed up to the bar to comply quickly.

                Henry made his way back in after stabling Lute, their instruments in tow.  Quickly, he appraised the situation and made his way over to Eunhyuk and Kharin, amused by the grins plastered on their faces as they tried to hide their mortification.  The only way to take the attention off of them now was to make an even bigger spectacle and that was something the minstrels in general were good at.  Immediately, he found Zhou Mi and handed off his harp to him so that they could join the trio on stage.

                Eunhyuk and Kharin had absolutely no idea what to do so they sat and accepted the congratulations and the pats as best they could.  They gripped each other’s hands so hard it hurt but they found it helped them to focus, though when a pair of mugs were set in front of them by a random person, they were baffled.  A quick sniff showed it to be ale and both forced a grin in thanks and pretended to take a sip.  This wasn’t good…

                As the minstrels started to resume playing in full form, Zhou Mi having negotiated briefly with the flute player at the front, the tavern came to life again with patrons dancing over the floor.  Another song was played and more drinks were passed around and while they had not finished their own, another set of mugs was set before the ‘betrothed.’

                Seeing their dilemma, Henry begged a small break and shuffled over to find one of the waitresses who was carting around various beverages as needed.  With one of his mischievous smiles, he slipped her a few coins and winked knowingly, “Nothing but water for the couple, alright?”

                His request prompted a flirtatious blush from the young woman who smiled despite herself and then winked back in understanding, already heading over to them.  Promptly, she whisked away the mugs of ale and replaced them with duplicate mugs.  She grinned and couldn’t help but add, “I know how it is.  Ye want ta have a good time tonight.”  To her delight, after a brief pause, the flush in their faces intensified as they looked away, incredibly embarrassed.

                Neither tried to correct her as they reached for their water instead, downing the mug in seconds as they struggled to control their embarrassment. “I’m going to kill them,” Kharin murmured through her forced grin at Eunhyuk as they watched the minstrels perform and pretended to have a good time.

                Eunhyuk pat her hand with his free one and spoke through his smile, “Let’s get out of this first.  One thing at a time,” he forced a laugh and gratefully accepted another mug from the suggestive waitress.

                Despite their reserves, they were cajoled into a couples dance by the crowd and then spent far more time on their feet and lost in the sea of people than they would have preferred.  The excitement of the crowd ebbed and flowed as people filed in and out with the mood or the songs that the minstrels were playing.  Time slipped away from all of them as they were plied with further drinks from the waitress who, per Henry’s request, continued to ply them with water, though the flush they earned from dancing would have made one think otherwise.

                Finally, already disoriented and lost in the crowd, Zhou Mi made his way over to the elementalists and still grinning as if nothing was wrong, leaned in to speak.  “Kharin, I’m going to need you to faint or swoon now.”  He moved along with them in the crowd as they danced mainly by rote to the song that was being played.

                Kharin laughed at the absurd idea and then blurted, “Why?”

                “Just trust me,” Zhou Mi urged with that same expression.

                Disgruntled by the request, since Kharin never did either of those, her eyes smoldered but as he had yet to lead them wrong, she relented.  “I hate you for this,” she muttered before promptly leaning into Eunhyuk as if she were about to fall out.  She even managed a very convincing hand to her forehead to emphasize that she was quite faint.

                “Whoa!” Eunhyuk exclaimed, forcing a laugh as if it were unexpected.

                Zhou Mi helped to catch her with a laugh, “Uh oh, lad!  Looks like she’s had a bit too much fun,” he winked, helping to support her and usher the pair towards the stairs.  Still playing the part, he leaned in to whisper to Eunhyuk, “We have two rooms upstairs.  Wait for us there.”  Easily, he pressed a key into the elementalist’s hand and then turned back to the crowd, his usual jovial self again.  “She’s alright!  Just a little too much fun,” he explained, shepherding the curious crowd back towards the main part of the room.

                Hurriedly, Eunhyuk helped to lead Kharin up the stairs until they were out of obvious sight when she could stand back up and he looked at the key in his hand.  It had a number 8 attached to it and they made their way to the door quickly.  With shaking hands, he unlocked the door and they rushed inside, glad to escape the noise and the crowds, though they could still hear the revelry going on through the floor.

                In the quiet of the room, the pair was finally able to take stock of themselves and the tension just seemed to drain right out of them.  No longer the main focus, they threw their arms about each other and held tight, letting the other person be their strength for just a little while.  No words were necessary as the time they had spent apart seemed to fade away like a bad dream.  Against all hope, they had found each other again.  They didn’t have to face their task alone.

                They weren’t sure how much time had passed before they broke apart long enough to lock the door for their peace of mind.  The sounds of merrymaking were still ading the tavern but it sounded as if it was tapering off finally.  Now that they had a moment to speak, it felt as if they had no idea what to say or how to begin.  Fortunately, they didn’t have to just yet.  A knock on their door startled them and Eunhyuk moved to open it after he’d made sure Kharin was seated and resting.

                Zhou Mi and Henry were standing in the doorway, and off to the side, seemingly very confused was a baffled Eun Mi, to Kharin’s surprise.  “Well that was quite a celebration,” Zhou Mi laughed as he gestured for Henry and the young woman to precede him.

                “Dong-Min will certainly owe you for this one,” Henry laughed as he set down the instrument on the floor with a grin back at his companion.

                “Eun Mi?” Kharin asked as she stood up to appraise the young woman who still seemed overwhelmed by everything.

                “Kharin…” she started to say as the confusion wore off.  “You left me,” she stated angrily, stepping right up to her and struggling with the right words to say.

                “No I didn’t,” Kharin defended, her brow creasing in annoyance.  She had actually been swept away as opposed to voluntarily leaving the young woman but she doubted that would make much of a difference just now.

                “Easy, ladies,” Zhou Mi interjected smoothly, pressing them apart carefully.

                “So you do know each other,” Henry laughed with a nod.  “She said she was a friend of yours, but I wasn’t sure.”

                “How did you know Henry and Zhou Mi?” Eunhyuk asked, baffled by her presence and her connection to Kharin.

                “Siwon told me about them,” she answered automatically, finally letting herself calm down and actually look around with more of a level head.  “I sort of followed the commotion out of curiosity and while I didn’t see you,” she gestured at Kharin, “they were impossible to miss.”  She shrugged and the minstrels laughed.

                “Well done then, Eun Mi,” Zhou Mi smiled with a bow in her direction.

                Kharin leaned over to quietly explain how she knew Eun Mi to Eunhyuk, whose mystified expression disappeared quickly.  At length, the rest of the group settled down, taking seats on the beds and pulling up the one chair in the room.  Zhou Mi explained that he had seen guards in the crowd which had necessitated their departure.  He assured them they weren’t looking for anyone and had simply been enjoying the merriment but he didn’t wish to risk them being found regardless.  Given the explanation, Kharin was considerably more understanding about being asked to faint and blushed lightly at Zhou Mi when he complimented her on her acting.

                “We have the rooms for the night, so don’t worry about a place to stay,” Zhou Mi urged assuredly.  “I’ll have Dong-Min bring up some food later too.”

                The elementalists looked grateful while Eun Mi remained quiet and thoughtful.  Henry grinned in amusement as he went over the day in his head and finally laughed, “That was a bit of a close call there, but at least you got in.”

                Eunhyuk and Kharin chuckled lightly at first, which devolved into slightly hysterical laughter as they gripped each other’s hands again and wiped at teary eyes.  While quite true, the statement had seemed slightly absurd considering what they had just endured to get in without notice…  “Aye.  That we did,” Eunhyuk agreed with a more natural smile.

                Kharin took a deep breath to get control of herself and looked up to meet the eyes of the others in the room.  “Yes.  And now that we’re here, do we have a plan?”  Silence met her query.  “That’s what I thought,” she muttered dejectedly.

                “Nothing yet, but we have time,” Zhou Mi cautioned.  “I suggest we sleep on it and we can certainly make plans in the morning.  From the looks of it, we could all use a good night’s rest,” he laughed lightly.  The elementalists weren’t the only ones who appeared tired and he was more than ready to admit that performing earlier this afternoon had simply worn him out.

                “Fair enough,” Eunhyuk nodded with a comforting pat on Kharin’s hand.  She tightened her grip automatically.  As much as they wanted to help the others, they were far more worn out than they wanted to admit.

                The five took a bit of time to pass around further introductions and then tentatively start brainstorming before Zhou Mi went downstairs to order them food for the evening.  They had a lot to figure out and they only hoped that they would be able to come up with something feasible by tomorrow morning.

(a/n:  So?  What do you think?  Like I said, I wasn't entirely satisfied the first time around but I thought this update left me at a much better position with the story.  And yes, I do have the next update for you as well!)