(a/n: So I had initially thought to do a one shot for a reunion but found upon beginning writing it, that one chapter would not be enough or would end up entirely too long.  So I figure I will have more of a three shot at this point.  Yeah...  I really have a hard time with making things short.  haha  I hope you enjoy it though and the next one should be up shortly.)

           A slightly worn and faded but trusty brown mare placidly pulled the well-used cart behind her, traces creaking softly with each step as the wheels crunched over hard packed dirt, banging lightly when they rolled through a rut or hole in the road.  Her ears swiveled back and forth as she caught the sounds of conversation from behind her.  “No.  We should definitely perform Victory.  What better way to end the celebration than with a reminder of their success?” the enthusiastic speaker demanded, fidgeting on the seat as he spoke.

            “I’m not disagreeing with you, Henry.  I just think we should have something more relevant to their lives now,” Zhou Mi responded with an emphatic flick on the reins, surprising Lute who shuffled forward, jerking the cart mildly, and then settled back to her normal, ambling pace.

            “But it’s only been six years,” the violinist murmured as he slumped forward, clearly under the impression that was still well within bounds for recent material.

            “And they all have different lives now,” was his companions emphatic response.  “Most of them have families of their own.”  Zhou Mi reached over and patted Henry on the shoulder in a big brother gesture.  “I would rather remind them of the joy of the present,” he grinned, remembering quite fondly the small brood they’d collectively introduced the pair to.  Last year, they’d seen Eunchin turn three; Mi Young turn four and her baby brother Kwang Sun turn one; and the twins Jae-Sun and Hyun Ae had been two for a few months already.

            Henry sighed and then smiled slowly in turn, though he couldn’t help adding, “But the past was so much more exciting.”  It wasn’t that he didn’t like the kids, but his fascination with their final battle hadn’t waned yet; especially since the story they told and their performances were so well received, even now.  Their schedule was fairly busy now that they had a greater repertoire of adventure to thrill their audiences with and since they were directly connected with the elementalists, they were in greater demand than ever; a privilege they had not expected to achieve so soon.

            With a helpless laugh, Gentleman Mimi threw his hands up and sighed with a wry smile on his face.  “Oh, alright.”  His eyes danced with amusement when Henry’s arms shot up in victory, a huge grin plastered on his visage.  “How about we open with Shake It Up, perform Victory somewhere near the end, but I still say we end with Happy Together.”  It only made sense to him, considering why they had come all the way out here just to live their lives.

            For a moment, the two looked at each other and then nodded in agreement.  “So what else are we going to perform then?” the younger asked, reaching into the back to retrieve the book that was falling apart with use and full of notes and songs.  They’d had to upgrade to a new one shortly after meeting the elementalists and this was the second such book they’d gone through.  It was time for a new one to start filling all over again, but this one…it had all their best works in it and they fell back on it frequently.

            Carefully, Henry thumbed through the shifting pages that had come free from the binding some time ago, making sure that he didn’t mess anything up.  There was a certain method to their madness when they set down the quill or writing stick to paper and both were loath to mess it up, especially accidentally.  “How about this one?” he asked thoughtfully as he held the book to Zhou Mi so he could glance down at the page and the song that had caught his eye.

            “Hmm…  Maybe.  Make a note of it.  We might could pair it with Walkin too.  You think?” he asked, one brow raised in query.

            After a pause during which time Henry squinted in thought, he eventually nodded in agreement.  “That would work well I think.  And follow it with Good Friends.”  All the songs they were running over were ones that they had come up with after having met the elementalists.  Most had been inspired in the months immediately after meeting them and their subsequent victory over Enrhyll but some of them they hadn’t developed until later, with the song Happy Together being one of their most recent ones.

            As the duo bounced ideas and songs back and forth, Lute listened as always, her ears swiveling to the front and back to catch the shifting sounds.  Though she was getting old herself, their tender care and her relatively easy lifestyle kept her in good health.  That and she was spoiled by every stable hand and child that could get away with slipping her a carrot, apple or cube of sugar wherever they went.

            Steadily, she pulled the cart into the small town of Fairmeadow, the usually sleepy stead bustling with activity as all the residents were out and about, assisting in getting ready for the yearly New Spring festival.  The elementalists weren’t in the immediate area but the minstrels didn’t expect them to be just yet.  They had word of a special treat they’d been working on and the pair suspected them to be off finalizing it.

            It was only early afternoon and they had plenty of time yet before the events of the morrow.  The celebration would last all day, from morning to midnight with a great bonfire lit at the very end, and there would be much revelry and excitement throughout.  It would be the first year that the elementalists were actively participating and not just present so everyone was a bit more excited than usual.  Considering that the group had been incredibly secretive about what they were working on, no one knew what their surprise was going to be.  Obviously, it would have something to do with their powers but much beyond that would be impossible to guess.

            Easily, they made their way to the village elder’s home, intent upon bunking down with the aging couple again.  Dong Min and Ae Sook were the oldest people in the village and while they weren’t the official leaders, most of the villagers looked to them for advice and a measure of guidance.  Aside from the minstrels, they had the largest bevy of stories to share as well.  Whenever the pair returned to town, the elders were the ones they opted to stay with for the company and they had a small fenced in field, usually occupied by sheep, in which to keep Lute.

            They were greeted enthusiastically with many hugs and kisses on the cheeks by the graying pair.  Their aged frames were slightly hunched forward and many wrinkles lined their weathered faces, but their brown eyes were still sharp and they regularly loved to smile and laugh.  Dong Min and Ae Sook regarded Zhou Mi and Henry as adopted grandchildren and always had a place ready for them should they happen to stop by, though admittedly they had been infrequent visitors of late.  “Just in time I see,” Dong Min grinned with a firm clap on the taller Zhou Mi’s shoulder.

            “Yes, sir,” Zhou Mi responded with a polite bow.  “We wouldn’t miss this for the world,” he winked, looking at Henry who nodded his head energetically in response.

            “Stop holding them up, Min,” Ae Sook chided, taking a hold of Zhou Mi and Henry’s arms at the same time and pulling them towards the house.  “They’ve had a long journey,” she added before focusing on them again.  “And you’re too skinny.  Do you never eat?”  Her voice died down as she escorted them inside, to their amusement, while Dong Min looked after Lute and the cart.

            For the rest of the day, the minstrels remained indoors, finalizing their choices and getting ready for their performance on the morrow.  They wanted to keep their presence a surprise for the elementalists until they saw them tomorrow, though with their constructs, it was entirely possible they already knew.  Either way, it would be good to see them again.  The rarely hungry elders filled the silence for them while they ate over a late lunch and then dinner later in the evening.  Not only were they great storytellers, but they managed to cling to every scrap of gossip that floated their way and for a small village, they could speak about a great many things.  It had been some time since they’d been back though and it was no surprise that things had changed.

            The presence of the elementalists made things easier in several ways.  A great many villagers now had raised herb gardens and even those who had difficulty in maintaining small plots of vegetables had less trouble.  Irrigation was no longer a major concern and fences for the few livestock creatures were easy enough to fortify.  Not only that, but with the presence of more than one healer, the majority of the smaller concerns had been dealt with by their medicinal knowledge.

            Aches and pains were soothed by salves while herbal tinctures and teas chased away headaches and fatigue.  Serious and potentially fatal injuries and illnesses were also taken care of almost immediately and it was practically unheard of now for anyone in the village to pass before age claimed them.  Their quality of life had risen and it was a fact they were eager to speak about, seeing that they’d had various persons inquiring about finding residency here in the time since the elementalists had lived there too.

            Before they turned in for the evening, Dong Min was pulled away to take a final look over what had been set up so far and the minstrels could see a mounted stone glowing brightly with a pale white light; the light elementalist’s contribution.  With identical smiles, Henry and Zhou Mi looked at each other and then returned to tuning their instruments lovingly.  The journey had not been too hard on them and only Zhou Mi’s hand harp had suffered from the weather, mild though it had been.

            After much deliberation, they had finally chosen their lineup of songs, most of which they would be playing throughout the day.  There would be other events to keep the villagers occupied and give the minstrels a break, such as the May pole and games for the children as well.  A handful of villagers had a decent hand with their own instruments and agreed to carry the entertainment during the main afternoon meal.  The opening song first thing in the morning would be to get the village energized and ready to have fun while the ending one would commiserate how far everyone had come.  Hopefully, it would have a good balance and they were really excited about it, a fact that kept bleeding over into nervous energy.

            Ae Sook made sure they had plenty of covers for the cots, worrying over them as if she were their grandmother.  “Now if you need anything, just help yourselves or go ahead and wake us,” she assured them as she always did, a warm smile on her face while she patted their cheeks with her slender hands.

            Dong Min approached her and placed gnarled hands on her upper arms firmly.  “Ae.  They’ve done this before.  Come on dear,” he chuckled, placing a kiss on her temple and then steering her back towards their room, a heavy curtain serving as the door.

            When they disappeared behind the cloth, the minstrels looked at each other again and Henry grinned, “You ready for tomorrow?”

            With a wave of his hand, Zhou Mi gave him a half smile and nodded, “Of course.  A performer is always ready.”  He added a theatrical bow to his companion and then stood up, only to gracefully fold himself into the embrace of the cot.  “But this one is also very tired,” he laughed lightly, one hand resting on his forehead in his repose.

            “Old man,” Henry chuckled, a wry quirk to his mouth.  The exuberance of youth was immediately erased when he stifled a yawn, to his chagrin, and relented in taking a seat on his bed.  Thankfully, Zhou Mi refrained from commenting, though there was a twinkle in his eye as he watched his companion lay down.

            “You must be tired,” the harpist stated and he rose fluidly and moved over to the gentle lantern light that flowed from the middle of the room.  The glass covered flame hung from a peg to provide as much light as possible and Zhou Mi lifted the cover to blow it out, standing on tip toe to do so.

            “Oops,” Henry murmured in apology, already pulling the top cover up to his chin sleepily.  Before his companion could settle in, he rolled over and looked up out of the corner of his eye.  “Do you think he’ll perform it with us tomorrow?”

            It took Zhou Mi a moment to realize what he was asking about and then he took a breath and sighed, “I’m not sure.  We’re lucky they’re even letting us play it,” he reminded him.

            “I know…  But it’s such an important song,” Henry persisted quietly.  Hope Is a Dream That Doesn’t Sleep had been a song they’d originally had to request from Young-Jae in locating a copy after they’d convinced Eleanara to give them the title four years ago.  She’d been understandably shy about it, for various reasons, but had been happy enough to give them that much at least.  It had been an amazing success in every place they’d performed but they had been surprised and gratified at the initial agreement to their request this year.

            “I guess we’ll just have to see tomorrow.  You know they’ll be there and if he will, then he’ll let us know,” Zhou Mi chuckled, his features shadowed in the traces of light that filtered through the window.

            Dissatisfied with the answer but unable to get anything more out of his companion, Henry sighed and rolled back over.  “Tomorrow…” he murmured softly, a smile pulling at his lips.

With a fond smile, the taller of the two shook his head and melted into bed.  “Good night, Henry.”

            “Night, Mimi,” he heard the violinist mumble.

(a/n: Also, I wanted to note that I chose the songs that Henry and Zhou Mi are listing mostly for the lyrics.  You won't see several for the same reason.  Considering the event, they wouldn't play a great many romance songs (and SuJu has a lot of them  lol).  Victory isn't quite meant for Victory Korea as I could find nothing I wanted that was comparable to the same idea so it's more of a use your imagination one.  Thanks for reading!  <3)