The captain watched the young prince struggle with absolute pleasure. He thoroughly enjoyed the fact that every soft word he spoke could incite such pain in his quarry. He did not realize that at that moment, he had pushed the young prince too far. In that moment, the boy had reached the edge of all his endurance. In that moment, Lee Taemin snapped.

Power surged inside Taemin, flooding him, overpowering his senses. He’d done the best he could to restrain it the last few days so he wouldn’t scare Lauren or halemoni, but now, it came raging through him. The power. A furious inferno roiling in his veins.

 In an instant, Taemin’s eyes changed. No longer the brown almost black of night. Now they were liquid fire, blazing gold. The scream that was ripped from his lungs, released with it a blast of fire from his very being. Taemin smoldered. Flames erupted from his body, engulfing his bonds, the intense heat reducing them to ash that crumbled away instantly.

In that moment, he was powerful. In that moment, no one could touch him. In that moment, he beheld the shock and terror in the eyes of his mother’s murderer. And the wild, uncontrollable side of the flames exulted with him at the look in his eyes.

"No more!” Taemin cried, “No more will you destroy the people around you for no good reason! No more will you violate and ruin the lives of the innocent! No more will you dominate and harm because of your corrupt desires for pleasure and power!

The men that had encircled him scrambled backwards with cries of fear, trying to escape the deadly heat. In front of him, the bearded man gaped at him. Terror shone in the man’s eyes and he scrambled backward, trying to distance himself from the inferno before him.

Attack!” he cried desperately, “Get him, you fools!”

Many of the men turned and ran, but a few gathered their courage and did their best to engage him. Taemin them, a sleek, powerful, rippling, almost beautiful, flaming force. He dodged their attacks, weaving in and out of them easily. Within moments, he had taken care of them. He turned his attention back in the direction the bearded man had lain sprawled in the grass.

The man was gone.

In an instant, Taemin extinguished the fire that flared from his body. With a wave of his hand, he extinguished the torches that had fallen across the yard, plunging the area into darkness. In that dark night, under the faint light of the moon, Taemin’s golden eyes blazed. The eyes that hunted in the impending silence.

A muffled cry sounded nearby and Taemin immediately recognized the voice of Lauren. He his heel and headed towards where the cart had been; determined to go and help, set them both free.

"Not another step!” came a rough voice out of the shadows. There was no mistaking the bearded man’s voice. A soundless snarl marred Taemin’s face. He didn’t stop walking. Because he couldn’t see very well, he held up a cupped palm and summoned a ball of flames to light up the scene before him.

The two guards who had been left to guard the prisoners each had halemoni by one of her arms. The bearded man, had hold of Lauren from behind. He held her between Taemin and himself, using Lauren as a shield. In his available hand, he held a dagger to her heart.

"I said, not another step!” he cried. He pressed the dagger more insistently against Lauren’s chest and a frightened whimper escaped her.

Taemin stopped. He saw the terror in Lauren’s gaze as their eyes met. And why shouldn’t she be terrified? She’d been kidnapped in the middle of the night, was tied like a common criminal, and now had a man threatening her life… As he looked into her fear-filled eyes, a part of him wondered if that were all she was afraid of…could she possibly be terrified of him too?

He blinked slowly. Of course, she would be terrified of him. After what she’d just seen, she must be... As he looked at her, his golden eyes faded slowly back to their regular brown. He raised both hands in the air, a sign of surrender.

The bearded man holding Lauren didn’t lower his knife. He jerked his head towards the cart.

"Get inside.”

Wordlessly, Taemin turned and climbed into the cart and sat down. Immediately, one of the guards holding onto halemoni jumped forward and slammed the door shut, locking it securely as if he were afraid Taemin would change his mind and burst out.

Taemin settled back against the wall of his box. The walls, floor, and roof were a solid, metallic blue material melded tightly together. The only ventilation came around where the door was fitted next to him. If he were to try to use his powers to melt it, it would no doubt take hours. It had to be some sort of specialized metal…not that he’d try to escape. He wouldn’t, not with the threat of what would happen to halemoni and Lauren if he did.

Taemin settled back, propping his back against the wall and leaned his head back. He closed his eyes. He pictured the bearded man holding a knife to Lauren’s heart, the same, ruthless man who’d killed his mother.

His thoughts wondered to his mother. It had been over a year since he’d last seen her alive. But for some reason, it wasn’t difficult to conjure her image into his mind. Her subtle, mischievous smile, the one that he’d inherited, how she’d sit out in the gardens in the spring, the delicious sound of her laughter, her encouragement and belief in him.

Then there was Sungmin. Although he technically should’ve hated Sungmin for being the privileged son, the capable, favorite one, you just couldn’t hate Sungmin. He was the best and only brother anyone could ask for.

Taemin recalled the time he’d taken the blame for one of Taemin’s pranks and gotten scolded in his stead by their father. He remembered the times Sungmin would ruffle his hair affectionately, how he’d roll his eyes whenever Taemin said anything particularly ridiculous. He remembered the time they had raced each other throughout the palace, sliding down banisters, and running into servants, sneaking delicacies from the kitchen and laughing as they hurriedly ate their horde in secret.

Then there was Lauren. Sweet, innocent, kind Lauren. He thought back to the way her eyes had sparkled as she’d showed him she could make flowers grow finally. He remembered her happy laughter as she pranced around the yard and called him to play with her. Her delicate, lovely features lighting up when she saw him. He’d never had a dongsang before. She’d been his first one.

And of course, he couldn’t forget halemoni. The old woman who had gently nursed him back to health, and bought him clothes. The woman who was as stubborn as a mule, and would scold him if he didn’t complete his chores…just as if he were her own grandson.

He bent his face to his knees that were propped up against his chest, and interlaced his hands behind his neck, holding himself in a curled-up position as if somehow making himself seem smaller would be able to ease the pain he felt.

You can’t give up now. You haven’t lost them all yet. You still need to fight! If nothing else, to protect your new family now… After a moment, his breathing evened out.

He raised his head with a determined glint in his eye. From what he’d remembered of what halemoni had told him before, it would be several days before they reached the capital. Taemin had no doubt that they were going to the capital. With such a prize as an enemy prince in tow, the leader of their captors would no doubt want praise, honor, glory, and reward. They wouldn’t just stop at the nearest village to execute him. No, they’d do it with fanfare, in their greatest city.

Although it was miserable contemplating living in this box for all that time, Taemin worried for halemoni and Lauren. One was so young, and the other so old. Would they be able to keep up? Would they be given enough food to keep them going? Would they be given breaks to rest?

As they traveled, Taemin subsisted off of the bare minimal amounts of food and water that were given him. He was kept weak. His captors obviously didn’t want him getting any weird ideas about escaping, much less with the energy to do so. The box was tiny and cramped, and the road full of ruts and bumps that it was difficult to get much rest on top of that.

Finally, after what seemed to him the longest eternity of his life, Taemin began hearing people outside. The sound of voices, and bustling of bodies, and the clamor of people working got louder the further along they went. Taemin wondered if this were the capital city of the Mage empire.

After awhile, the cart rattled to a stop. The door was yanked open and Taemin blinked against the light of the sun that shone in his eyes. One of the guards appeared in the entrance. The man hesitated briefly, before reaching in and roughly hauling Taemin out. Taemin raised an arm to block the sun, and the guard flinched at the gesture.

Taemin didn’t even spare the man a glance. As his eyes adjusted, he began scanning the area for Lauren and halemoni. He spotted them being taken towards an arced metal gate that led into what looked like a castle; a bustling village clamored behind him. The castle gate in front of him was dark and foreboding in comparison. Taemin bet it wasn’t a main entrance. Judging by the guards outside, it would lead down to the dungeons beneath. He had lived in a palace before, after al