"Taecyeon-ssi! Wake up!" Wooyoung yelled into Taecyeon's ear. 

"What now, Wooyoung...?" a yawn escaped Taecyeon's mouth.

"We're going around town remember? Come on! Get ready!" Wooyoung tried to drag Taecyeon from the bed but he was too heavy.

"What's the rush? We have all day." Taecyeon stood up and stretched. Wooyoung shook his head.

"We can't waste precious time here Taec! Get dressed. I'll be waiting for you downstairs."

Wooyoung closed the door as he left Taecyeon standing there waiting for him to get ready. Taecyeon took out a plain white collared shirt and a pair of black pants from a closet. He combed his hair and went downstairs. He noticed Wooyoung leaning against the front door. Both of them headed to the town. Taecyeon was just marvelled of how the town looks like even though seeing it for the second time. Wooyoung took him to random shops and places. They stopped by a pastry shop. Taecyeon's stomach growled as soon as he sniffed the aroma of the freshly baked bread.

"You haven't eaten breakfast yet right? Let's go inside. My treat!" Wooyoung suggested. Taecyeon nodded as both of them went inside the pastry shop. They settled down on a table near the window. They waited patiently for the orders to be served. Taecyeon spotted a young man who was sitting just a few tables away from them. He appeared rather suspicious as he felt a certain aura coming from the young man which somehow threatened him. Taecyeon ignored the feeling as he tried to regain focus.

"Hey, are you okay?" Wooyoung noticed him feeling uneasy.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a slight headache." Taecyeon faked a smile. Suddenly, he saw the young man standing up and leaving the shop. His senses telling him that he was now safe. Surprisingly, the aura that he felt earlier was gone and he felt normal, perhaps relieved. A waiter approached their table and served their orders.

"Smells good~" Wooyoung his lips and took a bite of the pancake.

"So, do the Queens go to public?" Taecyeon broke the silence. Wooyoung looked at him with his mouth stuffed with pancakes.

"Only on special occassions..."

"Like what?"

"Umm, the Parade Festival at the Deck." Wooyoung took a sip of his coffee.

"Parade? the Deck?"

"It's like some sort of stadium, just that it's not covered. Solitarians go there for special occassions. Confusing? I know. Hey, can we ask questions later? I'm still eating you know."

Taecyeon was embarrassed. "Sorry, Wooyoung."

Wooyoung took a last bite of the pancake and drank all his coffee. "Okay, I'm satisfied. Anymore questions?"

"Nothing for now," he smiled.

"Man, you ask a hundred of questions when I'm busy but when I'm free you don't utter a word."

"Sorry, boss."

"Anyway, I guess I have to get my hands dirty. I'm going off to work. Would you still want me to show you around?"

"No, thanks. I can handle myself. Besides, I wouldn't want to bug you all day long."

"If you're fine with it, then I guess I shall go now. Oh, and please don't get into any trouble when I'm not around." Wooyoung begged him. Taecyeon nodded as he saw Wooyoung leaving the shop. He was all alone now. He got up from his chair and left the shop. Taecyeon looked around his surroundings. He wondered where to go since he didn't want to go back home just yet. Without him noticing, he bumped into the guy he saw earlier in the pastry shop.

"I'm sorry," the young man bowed in front of him and dashed off. He didn't even get the chance to look at the young man's face. A wallet on the floor caught his eye. He picked it up and chased after the young man.

"Sir! You dropped your wallet!" Taecyeon tried to catch up with the young man but to no avail. He realized he ran until the forest. Great. Things were going just fine until he met that young man. The forest seemed eerily quiet like it was when he first came here. Dead leaves were scattered all over the place and some broken branches. True enough, there weren't animals hopping or  lingering around the forest. Adding to his frustration, he didn't know the way back. Suddenly, two suspicious men approached him. Panic set in as Taecyeon stiffened. 

"Jester, I think we found another Solitarian on target." A man whispered to his other friend.

"Right, indeed." One of the men took out a dagger and the other held a rope. Taecyeon was processing a way to escape. He didn't have any weapons with him so he ran away. The other two men chased after him and to his dismay, he tripped on a log. The Jesters finally caught him as one of them plunged a dagger on his right shoulder. Taecyeon yelled in agony. There was no chance for him to escape now. The Jesters carried Taecyeon until they heard a horse neighing. The Jesters stood rooted to the ground.

"STOP!" yelled the woman who was riding on a horse. She hopped off the horse and attacked the Jesters with her spade. Taecyeon was still lying on the ground clutching his hand onto his bleeding shoulder. He tried to see who the woman was but he immediately fainted. The woman rushed to Taecyeon's side.

"Omo! Are you hurt?" she was frantically asking him until she spotted his right shoulder bleeding. Taecyeon only could wail as the pain was just unbearable. She carried him onto her horse as she headed towards the palace.

-At the Palace-

Taeyeon clenched her fists. She heard that the Jesters were killing her people and many faced their death without mercy. She thought that they made a deal with the Kings that they were to leave the Solitarians alone until the war occurs. How merciless of them. The eight sisters sat in obsolete silence in the dining room.

"What are we going to do about this Taeyeon?" Tiffany asked her sister. The other six glanced at their eldest waiting for an answer. Taeyeon pinched her temples.

"We have to look for hunters. The forests aren't protected. As you can see all of our soldiers have died in the cruel war last year." Taeyeon sighed.

"So far, we haven't seen any Solitarian with hunting abilities. Only the nine of us here are professionally trained," Yuri commented.

"Also we have our own special abilities, remember?" Hyoyeon added. The seven of them glared at her.

"Hyoyeon unnie, we only use them if it's really necessary. Our abilities aren't for fun." Seohyun commented as she was concerned with her other eight sisters.

"Seohyun's right. Besides, our abilities cannot be used on mortals." Jessica replied. 

"Not necessarily, Jessica. We use our abilities if there's critical danger. Anyway, where's Yoona?" Taeyeon looked around as Yoona's seat was empty.

"She roamed around in the woods. You know her, she's the one who at least hunts on the Jesters." Sunny replied.

"She doesn't know how dangerous it is. Look, one of the Kings might just attack her in the woods. You know how powerful they are. We can't withstand them." Taeyeon warned as she was concerned about Yoona's safety.

"Don't worry Taeyeon. She's incredibly strong." Yuri patted her on the back.

They heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." The eight of them commanded. It was one of their servants, pushing a trolley.

"Dinner is served, your highnesses." Jung Yonghwa announced. He pulled out nine different trays from the trolley. He served each and every one of them. He was confused that one seat was empty.

"Please just leave it there. Yoona unnie will come anytime soon, thank you." Seohyun flashed a smile at him.

"Oh...alright, Seohyun-ssi." Yonghwa blushed. He left the room as he sighed in relief. He felt his heart skipping a beat when Seohyun talked to him. Quietly, he headed back to the kitchen.

-Wooyoung's apartment-

"Yah, it's six already. What's taking that big guy so long?" Wooyoung stared at the wall clock waiting for Taecyeon to arrive. He was at the dining table staring at his food. I have a bad feeling about this. Wooyoung shook off his thoughts as he ate his dinner alone.

-At the Palace-

Yoona reached the palace. She asked one of the servants to help her.

"Junsu-ssi, please help me take him to the guest's room." Yoona ordered him.

"Right away, your highness." Junsu carried Taecyeon off the horse and headed straight to the guest's room. Yoona rushed to the dining room. All eight heads looked up as soon as Yoona entered the room.

"My apologies for being late. I had some business to deal with." Yoona bowed infront of her sisters and sat on her chair.

"You're lucky we will let you off this time." Taeyeon warned her.

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