The prince adjusted himself on his armchair, frowning as he slumbered. Sleep did not come easily to Hyungwon these day as his dreams had become his nightmares, ones that didn’t end even after he woke. His mind would play out the same old scene of him back in the woods behind his summer home. His adult form running after the boy he’d always been chasing. Only this time, the boy wasn’t a faceless entity. It was Changkyun.

In an endless loop, Hyungwon combed through the woods running after Changkyun, and only seeming to get farther and farther away. There were the rare times where he managed to catch hold of Changkyun. But the dream would always end as soon as the boy looked up at him, wearing the same sad, hurt look he’d worn when the prince last saw him.

Hyungwon hated that part the most. Right now, the last thing he needed was guilt eating away at him every time he woke up. Sleep was supposed to be his escape, the thing he loved most in the world, but now the prince desperately looked for any way to avoid it.

The prince did not count it as fortunate but his parents had found a way to keep him busy. Not even two hours after he’d come home, they’d handed him with the enormous pile of paperwork that he’d accumulated during his absence. It was torture trying to get through it, since doing paperwork made him sleepy.

But even while he was awake, the prince felt ill at ease.

Hyungwon had never been aware of how silent his life had been. It was only after living with Changkyun did he notice that he’d grown used to the sounds of someone mulling about. Now, even with the horde of guards that had been placed outside his room, Hyungwon was hyperaware of how alone he was.

With Jooheon and Shownu in Raemi, Hyungwon only had a few people in the palace whom he could refer to as a friend or anything remotely of that nature. Sure, he could order his servants around, but life at the Starship Palace had made him soft. The harsh commands he used to incessantly spout were stuck in his throat. His mind would take him back to Changkyun, who always treated those who served him with respect. If possible, the boy would hate him more if he knew how he’d treated his servants.

The prince had attempted to tell himself that he didn’t care for Changkyun’s scorn, but he was entirely too aware of how much he cared. How badly he wanted to steal a horse from the stable and run back over the border to Raemi and apologize. How much he simply wanted to see the apprentice’s face again.

Part of Hyungwon knew that if he really wanted to, he could sneak past the guard and follow through with his plans. But a larger part was sure that Changkyun never wanted to see him again. And Hyungwon did not need to feel like his heart was being broken. Again.

Because of his hesitation, the prince spent his days grumbling sleepily in his arm chair, fitfully shifting between consciousness. On occasion, he’d touch the stack of paperwork before him, but he’d usually just sit there reading books which he’d asked servants to go fetch him.

Once a day, a guard would come in and deliver his mail, most of which were sycophantic letters from nobles who overexaggerated how relieved they were that he returned home. Today, however, the guard brought him only one letter.

Hyungwon hesitated as he took the letter out of the guard’s hand. In his humble opinion, nothing good ever came from a red letter. And the bright color the envelope was making Hyungwon tired mind anxious.

The moment he read that it was sent from Jooheon, he felt a pit start to form in his gut.

The ambassador started off his lengthy letter going into detail about the tensions rising between the Emperor and the country of Raemi.  Both countries had deployed reserve troops to the borders and they were using Jooheon as a means of communication.

Before the letter ended, Jooheon’s handwriting grew nearly illegible, indicating that the ambassador had written the last part in a rush.

I don’t know how to tell you this, but Changkyun was kidnapped. He’s been missing for four days now and we have no leads on where he could be. If you have any news on his location, please notify Prince Minhyuk or Chief Herbologist Kihyun immediately.

Hyungwon blinked and squinted, shaking his head, wondering if he’d read the letter correctly. Then he read the last part over. And then again. And again. With each reread, panic started to rise inside of him, flaring out and manifesting as his whole body started to shake.

He shoved the paperwork on his desk to the floor and pulled out a fresh leaf of paper, hastily jotting down a note for Shownu, wanting to confirm with him that this was real.

The prince could not accept it.

How? How could Changkyun go missing? This was a joke! This had to be a joke…

But Jooheon rarely joked with him. Especially not about things like this.

Hyungwon haphazardly folded the letter and shoved it an envelope, barely remembering to seal and stamp it before he plowed his way to the door. The guards outside his door jolted as he slammed it open.

“You!” Hyungwon exclaimed, pointing a finger at the first guard in front of him. “Fetch the fastest hawk in the kingdom and make sure it delivers this letter!”

With a quick bow, the man took the envelope from Hyungwon and darted off in pursuit of the bird.

Ignoring the cautious eyes which watched him as he walked to his door, Hyungwon acted like nothing happened as he walked back into his room and slammed the door shut.

Wind whipped through Hyungwon’s hair as he pulled the reigns of his horse tighter. His heart pounded in cadence with the pounding hooves that carried him further and further from his palace. He looked over his shoulder, past his flapping cloak, at the fading lights of the castle behind him as he dared to smile just a little.

It had been years since Hyungwon snuck out of the palace, but it was nice to confirm that he could still get past his guards. It made him feel like a teenager again as he purposefully snuck away in the dead of night.

But this wasn’t some pleasure trip.

Shownu’s reply had left Hyungwon feeling hopeless as it only confirmed what Jooheon had told him. He was going to spend however long he needed moping in his office until he saw the letter attached to the back of Shownu’s. Sloppy, unfamiliar writing filled the page but Hyungwon made out the cursive “W” at the bottom and figured there was only one man who could send it.

Wonho had asked him to go to Changkyun’s parents home and check if Changkyun was there. He made up some excuse about how he couldn’t leave Prince Minhyuk’s side because of the impending war. The guard had basically handed him the address to Changkyun’s parent’s home to tell them that their son was missing, if he wasn’t somehow at his parents’ house, that is

At first, Hyungwon had planned to ignore the letter and just let it sit amongst a pile of other letters he’d never read again. But his mind kept going back to thinking - what if Changkyun was there? That one thought alone was enough to silence any form of reason the prince had. It took less than fifteen minutes for the prince to slip on his boots and throw on his cloak before vanishing into the night.

It took him a nearly an hour to ride up to the foothills of where Changkyun’s parents lived. Chills ran up and down his body as his horse trotted through the forest. It wasn’t just the cool night air nipping at him. If he looked down at the valley below him, he could see the glimmering rooftop of his summer home. This was the very forest in his dreams and nightmares. The fact he had to cross this eerie place to get to where he was going left the prince feeling unsettled, but he focused on the task ahead.

Relief spread through Hyungwon as he made out lights of a large cottage up ahead.  He slapped the reins and sped towards his destination just as rain began to drizzle from the sky. The prince dismounted and tied his horse to one of the posts in the stable by the house.

A wooden pharmacy sign outside welcomed Hyungwon as his boots sloshed on the wet ground that lead to the door. The door in front of him was aged and weathered, indicating whoever lived in this house had been here a long time. It made Hyungwon wonder what it might have been like for Changkyun to grow up here.

Before he could get lost in his thoughts, the prince raised a hand to the door and knocked.

Shuffling sounded from across the door and a few moments later it swung open. An older looking woman who had smile lines around her eyes and creases in her forehead looked up at him apologetically. Her voice was gentle as she spoke, “I’m sorry, dear, but the pharmacy’s closed for the day.”

“I-” Hyungwon froze. He had no idea what to say to her. Where did he even begin? With each second that passed his mouth hung open, making him look like a fool. The rain began to pour harder, prompting him to speak. “Is Changkyun here?”

The creases in her brow grew more prominent as she raised a brow. Changkyun looked a lot like his mother, Hyungwon noted.

“No. I’m afraid Changkyun hasn’t been around since his last visit in January,” she explained as if stating something Hyungwon should have known already. She eyed him curiously as she asked, “Are you a friend of his, by any chance?”

Hyungwon choked. He lied through his teeth knowing full well Changkyun no longer thought of him as a friend.

“Y-yes. I am,” the prince stammered as he shifted from foot to foot restlessly. He could see the wall behind her, filled with portraits of Changkyun. Looking back down at the old lady, who was now smiling at him, sent a pang through his chest.

The more he looked at her the scarier the resemblance was. She looked just like Changkyun as she smiled. There was no way he could tell her that her son was missing. He didn’t think he could bear seeing shock and pain fill her eyes, knowing how much they looked like Changkyun’s.

The prince covered his trail, wanting to retreat. “If he’s not here, then I guess I’ll be going.”

Changkyun’s mother placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a determined look as he was about to turn away. “You’re really going to try and head back in this weather?” she chided, lowering her hand to his. “If you really are Changkyun’s friend, I don’t think I can let you go home while it’s so terrible out.”

“Are you sure it’s okay for me to stay?” Hyungwon asked, his voice small as he hovered in the doorway.

A voice from the back, likely belonging to Changkyun’s father, called out, “Stop arguing and come on in, boy. That rainwater is getting all over the floor.”

Hyungwon ducked his head into the house, barely remembering his pleasantries. “Pardon the intrusion.” He looked at Changkyun’s mother again and asked, “How are you so trusting?”

“I can see it in your eyes,” she said with a knowing grin. “The moment I said he wasn’t here you looked so disappointed, so I’m certain you know my Changkyun.”

Hyungwon felt his face grow hot. He guessed Changkyun’s sharp wit came from his mother.

“By the way, I never got your name, dear?”

Hyungwon froze. Changkyun didn’t know he was the prince because he didn’t live in Gwangju. And though it was possible to not recognize him by face, most of the residents of Gwangju knew his name. “Iksoo. My name is Iksoo,” he said, using his favorite character’s name as an alias.

Changkyun’s mom just nodded at him as she smiled, continuing to lead him past the clerk’s stand and down a narrow hall to where the living room was. Sizzling sounds came from the doorway to his left, which he assumed led to the kitchen. In front of him was a square living room with large, plush chairs and a quaint fireplace.

“Put your cloak and boots by the fire so they can dry off,” Changkyun’s mother said, gesturing to the wooden chair by the fire. “You’re welcome to wear any of Changkyun’s clothes, though I’m not sure how they’ll fit.” She chuckled good-naturedly.

Hyungwon would have found it funny in any other circumstance but he had no idea how to behave in front of Changkyun’s parents. How would a normal friend of Changkyun’s behave? Now that he thought on i