"Any of you, have seen the tree?" Nichkhun turned around to look at his fellow companions who were searching their surroundings. Taecyeon felt certain auras spreading from the east. He spotted three men, holding onto a pouch. He squinted his eyes and caught a sight of a pear glittering in the sunlight.

"There's someone over there guys. (pointing towards the east) And I witnessed a pear glittering." he whispered.

Nichkhun turned to where Taecyeon was pointing and gasped. "Let's go!" The group made their way towards the tree as they encountered with three more Jesters, who were caught holding a golden pear. After a minute recognizing their faces, the Jesters attacked them with their own weapons. Yoona and Yuri swiftly defended the group with their spades and daggers. Unfortunately, there were two more Jesters who were hiding from a tree, trying to protect their accomplices. Taecyeon and Wooyoung handled them, while Junho and Sungmin tried to get the golden pear from one of the Jesters.

"KEEP THE GOLDEN PEAR SAFE YOU IDIOT!" One of the Jesters reprimanded his accomplice, since Junho and Sungmin were about to take it out from the pouch.

"JUNHO! LOOK OUT!" Yuri exclaimed as she eyed on one Jester who was about to stab him from the back with a sword. However, the Jester who was holding the sword, eventually dropped it on the ground all of a sudden. The Jester was confusingly fighting with someone as he received a few punches in his face and abdomen. Junho and Sungmin rose their eyebrows when the Jester immediately got knocked down on the ground, appearing unconscious. The Solitarians have managed to chase off the Jesters since, they were badly beaten up. Now, they were staring at the unconscious Jester on the ground, figuring out what happened.

"Ehem." They turned around, stunned to see a young man who was smiling sheepishly. Junho and Nichkhun ran towards the young man, giving him a friendly hug.

"CHANSUNG! How did you escape?" Junho ruffled his hair.

"I used my ability of course. It was actually THAT easy. Anyway, umm...I'm Hwang Chansung, a Hunter from the North Club. Salutations, my friends."  he bowed towards the others.

"Welcome to our team, Chansung! Save your questions later. We'll head to the Palace now, I guess?" Nichkhun asked.

Yoona nodded. "Yes, let's head back now."

Sungmin scratched his head as he didn't know what to do with the golden pear. "Umm...guys, what are we going to do with this?"

Chansung looked back at him, spotting the golden pear in his hands. "Bring it along, it's extremely valuable."

Sungmin dropped the pear back into the pouch as the group finally headed back towards the Palace. They trudged along the path silently, wanting to rest immediately as they reached. Taecyeon kept gazing at Sungmin who seemed rather, aggrieved.

"Is something bothering you?" he whispered.

Sungmin looked up, astounded to see Taecyeon. "Err...nothing. Thank's for your concern."

Taecyeon creased his eyebrows. "Any problems, don't hesitate to ask alright?"

"I will." Sungmin flashed a smile at him, assuring his satisfaction.

-At the Palace-

All of the Queens, gathered in the grand living room as they waited for the Soldiers' approach. Seohyun predicted earlier that they would come by lunch time. Jessica and Hyoyeon were chatting, Sunny tapped her fingers while she glanced at the wall clock, Tiffany was brushing her hair, Seohyun and Taeyeon sat on the white sofas, reading a book.

"We're here~" Yoona and Yuri stood by the front door, with the Soldiers who were feeling anxious behind them. All of the Queens whipped their heads towards the front door, paying close attention to them. Everyone, swiftly sat on the sofas, expecting the Soldiers to come in anytime soon. Some fixed their hair while others, fixed their attires. Taeyeon kept calm as she took a deep breath.

"Come in guys." Yuri glared at the Soldiers who were being cowards at the moment. Taecyeon clamed himself down, as he was the first one to go inside. Yoona and Yuri frantically sat on the available chairs in the living room, leaning their exhausted bodies on the soft cushions. One by one, after Taecyeon had entered, it goes by Wooyoung, Nichkhun, Junho, Chansung and Sungmin. The Soldiers formed one straight line in front of the Queens and bowed graciously with forced smiles plastered on their faces. They examined their surroundings, amazed to see how grand the living room was. The Queens dropped their jaws as they observed every single one of them. From head to toe, the Queens admired how handsome these human beings were. Stunning to see their reactions, the Soldiers each flashed a smile to them making their hearts flutter. Taeyeon stood up, with her hands clasped and a smile on her delicate face.

"Welcome to the Palace, Soldiers. As you may know, all of you have been chosen for a reason. Since we cannot fight with the Kings alone, we need a fresh batch of Soldiers who are born with impressive abilities. However, all of you might not have known your abilities just yet, since they are still developing subsequently. But, not to worry. Each and everyone of you are accustomed with a Queen to train your own abilities. We might not have the same ability, but all of us here are highly trained. Oh, right. We have new Soldiers here to join us. They are Jung Yonghwa and Kim Junsu. Soldiers, I believe all of you are exhausted. Yonghwa will lead you to your own rooms to rejuvenate yourselves. And, one last thing. Be sure to be on time for dinner later on. 7.30pm sharp." Taeyeon signalled Yonghwa as she sat back at the sofa with her sisters.

Yonghwa cleared his throat and gestured a hand signal towards the Soldiers. "Follow me." All of the Soldiers briskly climbed up the staircase and vanished.

"Woah...they are...RIDICULOUSLY HANDSOME!" Hyoyeon squealed in delight together with Jessica, Sooyoung and Tiffany. Yoona and Yuri eventually slept on the chairs since they had no energy left. Sunny and Seohyun also discussed about the Soldiers' presence just now while Taeyeon was stuck in her deep thoughts. Something unfamiliar about one of them...

"Unnie!" Seohyun snapped a finger in front of her.

Taeyeon shook her head, and sighed. "Huh?"

"Are you okay? Something bothering you?"

"Nothing, I was just thinking that there's still one Soldier left to complete the team. But, I guess we'll find him sooner or later." Taeyeon headed back to her room as she went to configure out something. Seohyun raised her eyebrow.

"Do you think something's wrong with unnie?"

Sunny shrugged her shoulders. "Let her be Seohyun. She's fine."

-Wooyoung's room-

Wooyoung heard a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" As he opened the door, he was confused to see Sungmin standing awkwardly by the door.

"I...uhh...hope you could deliver this to Taeyeon-ssi." Sungmin held out a pouch, containing the golden pear inside.

Wooyoung grabbed it and awkwardly bowed to him. "Oh, sure." Sungmin dashed back to his room while he left Wooyoung standing there staring at the pouch. After a few thoughts, he searched for Taeyeon's office downstairs. A moment later, he stood by a door. "Kim Taeyeon" was carved on the silver polished metal on the door. Come on, muster up your courage Wooyoung! Just give it to her, and leave. Okay, maybe explain a bit of information about this thing. Alright, knock on the door, greet, explain and leave. Without a minute to waste, he knocked on the door as he waited for Taeyeon's approach. The door immediately swung open as Wooyoung glanced at Taeyeon. He stuttered as he was caught up in an eye-contact with her. For a moment there, he felt that he was bewitched and mesmerized by her eyes.

"Yes, Wooyoung-ssi?" Taeyeon asked.

"I...uhh...wanted to give this to you. Eh, no! I meant that the Soldiers and I...found this." Wooyoung bowed and handed her the pouch.

"What is this?" Taeyeon peeked inside the bag, amazed to see something sparkling.

"It's a golden pear. I think..." Taeyeon's eyes widened as soon as she heard 'Golden Pear'.

"I see...well, I guess you can go back now. Thank you for delivering this to me." Taeyeon bowed and closed the door. Wooyoung felt relieved as he placed his hand on his right chest. My heart was about to explode... I'm lucky that's over. Taking deep breaths, he went back to his room, smiling like an idiot.

Taeyeon grabbed a book about golden pears from one of her bookshelves. She settled down at her desk, flipping through the pages. "The Golden Pear" she was mentally reading out the words in her mind. "Once eaten, the living creature will stimulate his/her/its own abilities making them the most powerful/strongest immortal in the land. It also contains all of the abilities that any immortal has, but due to its own excessesive energy, it might provoke any violence/harm/aggressiveness which can lead to certain death. Its cure remained unknown." Taeyeon closed the book abruptly, panting at the same time. No wonder she witnessed some people before, turning out aggressively strong but led to a certain death. She kept the golden pear inside the pouch and stored it in the drawer. It might come in handy someday, despite the fact that it leads to certain death. She sighed and pinched her temples, creasing her eyebrows.

-Taecyeon's room-

Taecyeon stared outside his window, glancing at the whole view of the town. It was 3.30pm and yet, he still hasn't taken his nap. Feeling drowsy and dizzy, he dropped dead on the bed, snoring quietly.

-At the Dining room-

"MY APOLOGIES FOR BEING LATE!" Taecyeon swung the doors open, breathing heavily. The atmosphere in the dining room was in obsolete silence, that Taecyeon's words echoed in the room. All 16 heads whipped to his direction, surprised to see his presence. Taecyeon stood rooted to the ground as everyone was staring at him with curiosity. Yoona suppressed her chuckle as she placed two fingers on her lips.

"Explain no more Taecyeon-ssi and take your seat. Since you're late by a minute, you shall help Yonghwa with the dishes." Taeyeon gestured a hand over an empty seat which was in between Nichkhun and Wooyoung. The Soldiers bit their lips as they tried not to giggle or laugh at him. Taecyeon felt his blood rising through his cheeks and made his way to his chair. Wooyoung gave him a sinister grin, while Taecyeon gave back a cold glare.

All of them ate their dinner quietly since the atmosphere was quite awkward. After 30 minutes, all of them finished their meals and dispersed to their own bedrooms. Taecyeon helped Yonghwa with the dishes as he was told.

"What happened to you?" Yonghwa amusingly grinned.

Taecyeon sighed. "I woke up late. Also, a bad dream. Quite extraordinary this time."

"Really? What is it about?"

"I can't really put a finger to it but, I've seen us struggling and screaming. Do you think it's about the war?"

"Well...I hope not. This is my first attempt to fight in a war actually. I'm quite nervous."

"Me too. The Jesters have been quite hard to fight with, I can see myself chopped into pieces if I would confront the Kings."

Both of them laughed as they finished cleaning the dishes. Yonghwa went back to his room, while Taecyeon unexpectedly heard a conversation between Seohyun and Taeyeon in the living room. He hid behind a pillar.

"Did you predict anything about the Golden Pear?" Taeyeon asked in a worried tone.

"Isn't that an exotic fruit? It's dangerous isn't it?" Seohyun placed a finger under her chin, aroused in her predictions.

"It is. That's why I'm asking you."

"Hmm. Aha!" Seohyun raised a finger in the air.

Taeyeon curiously looked at her. "So...anything?"

"The pear which you're holding onto will be consumed by...a Soldier."

Taeyeon's mouth stuttered. "It can't be...Okay, thank you Seohyun. I have to settle something in my office."

"You're welcome, unnie...?" Seohyun rose her eyebrow as she glanced at Taeyeon who was skipping towards her office. How weird of unnie...

Taeyeon sat on her swivel chair, with her fingers tapping on her desk. What might happen to the one who has consumed? Gosh, we don't even know the cure! This is not good... She shook off her thoughts, and headed to her own bedroom.

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Greetings my fellow readers :) ~ I was feeling unwell recently @@ But...I still had some time to update a chapter :3 anyway, please comment and subscribe if you haven't~ ;D Thank you~ and god bless everyone! ^^