He squeezed his eyes shut, to get rid of the tears which blurred his vision occasionally. The blisters that were forming on his palms weren’t causing him any pain, and neither did all the scratches he got by the thorns that brushed past his arms along the way. The ache in his chest was way more than anything else he felt right now, making him want to turn back time and change every single decision he had taken.

If only I was more cautious about her behaviour...

If only I did a proper background check on her...

If only I had taken her the investigations bureau once I found out her true identity...

If only I had held back my feelings for her...

Sehun stopped for a moment, and carefully placed down the handle of the hay cart he was dragging with him. Beads of sweat were strolling down his side burns, and he wiped off the sweat on his forehead with his hand.

“Sehun-ah shall I take it now?” Baekhyun asked from behind him.

Sehun turned and shook his head. “It’s just a while ago we switched hyung, let me drag a bit further.” He looked down at the unconscious figure of Chanyeol that was lying on the cart. “His bleeding has stopped finally.” Baekhyun muttered with a sigh.

The two warriors were taking turns in dragging the hay cart along the jungle path, and the cart was brought to the cave a while before the sun had dawned. Sehun, who went to the nearby villages in search of a doctor to treat Chanyeol didn’t get to find one and had decided to drag the cart he had set his eyes on, thinking it would help the to take the injured general to a place where he can be treated. They set off on the small path they found running through the jungle, wishing to get out of the jungle as soon as possible. Baekhyun had made a pulp with some herbs he could find, which the soldiers usually used to stop bleeding, he applied it on Chanyeol’s wound on the abdomen, the deep cut across his chest, and the wound on his forehead where the general had got hit by the shield. Ripping off his outer robe, Baekhyun bandaged all the wounds of his friend with the strips of cloth, and redressed Chanyeol with his uniform only, throwing away his damaged armour. The two captains too, took off their armours and decided to travel in their uniforms only, given that heavy attire was not going to help them in any ways.

“Hyung don’t you think we’re lost?” Sehun asked, looking around the area they were currently travelling through. “I don’t remember this part of the jungle at all.”

Baekhyun bit his inner cheek and bent down to adjust the bandages on his unconscious friend’s chest. “Let’s keep travelling straight ahead. We’ll come to an end somehow then. Sehun-ah his fever is going higher... At least let’s try to find a spring to get some water.”

“Better find the way out before sunset. It’s already noon now.” Sehun remarked while lifting up the cart after staying staring at Chanyeol’s sweating face for a moment. “Let’s go Baek hyung.”

* * * * * * * *

King Junmyeon heaved another sigh as he the queen’s head. “Enough crying already Yoona... You’ve been crying since the morning... You’ll get sick at this rate.”

The queen her bed to face the king. “Where is Chanyeol? Why isn’t he here if all his soldiers have returned?” she sobbed. “Why has everything been ruined just overnight your majesty?” she buried her face again in her pillow.

The king sat beside her in silence, not knowing what to say. His fingers softly through her hair, and he listened to her sobs in despair, unable to believe the fact that he might have lost his brother-in-law, and his most trusted subject in the kingdom without him being able to take any action against his enemies.

“I have sent my soldiers everywhere possible Yoona... they’ll bring good news about Chanyeol soon... he’s not an ordinary soldier and you know that as much as I do. Do you think your brother will lose such a trivial battle and get hurt? Just like that?”

He was just bringing up whichever word that came to his mind in order to calm down his queen, and was hiding the fact that the last soldier who saw Chanyeol had stated that he saw Jung Taekwoon sending his sword through the General’s stomach, and he saw the General falling down to the ground unconscious.

He couldn’t bear to reveal her the fact that the only family left for her in the world got lethally hurt in the battle like that. He feared seeing her tears the most.

“What about Seora... no one can bring her back now...” the queen started sobbing aloud again. “What do I tell Chanyeol when he gets back your majesty? How can I tell him the state her body was in???”

The young king closed his eyes without coming up with any reply to her question. He too couldn’t get his mind off the sight they saw last night, the half burnt corpse in Seora’s attire, and realizing it is her when her sister Bora fainted after seeing the body.

“Your majesty, Captain Seon is here.”

He opened his eyes and looked at his queen. “I’ll be right back love.” He leaned down and whispered in her ear, and placed a kiss on her forehead before getting up from her bed and leaving the queen’s bed room.

Out in the queen’s study, a Captain of the royal army was waiting for the king, accompanied by an unfamiliar figure to the palace.

“Who’s this Captain?” the king asked the military officer, pointing at the teenager who was standing beside him, with his head lowered to the ground.

“Your majesty, this boy came to the judge’s office this morning, with a strange complaint, and since it was too important to be just pushed out, I had to bring him to meet your majesty.” The captain explained.

“Tell me, what is it?” the king asked, and the captain placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You can tell his majesty everything you told us, kiddo.”

The boy nervously looked up at the king, and bowed again. “Can I see that corpse they found here last night... your majesty?”

* * * * * * * *

“Does it hurt a lot my lady?”

Jongin knelt in front of the girl who had sat on a nearby rock because of cutting her foot by a sharp stone along their way, and he started taking off her straw sandal to examine the bleeding foot. “Luckily the cut is not that deep.” He muttered while wiping off the blood with his sleeve. “Let’s find a spring and you can wash your foot there my lady.” He said.

Seora sighed and looked around at the tall trees surrounding them from every direction. “How long do we have to walk more Jongin?” she asked, starting to walk again and panting in exhaustion with every step she took. The guard watched her walking ahead and got back to his feet as well, to follow her in silence. “He must have returned home by dawn... and must be worried sick about me by now and searching with all his men...” she went on, repeating the same set of words she had been saying since morning. “If only I had a way to let him know that nothing happened to me and I’m perfectly safe...”

“We’ll send someone with our message as soon as we reach there my lady.” Jongin said. “It’s just two villages away once we step out of this jungle. And we can go there before it gets dark.” He explained, hoping his words would keep her at ease.

She nodded in silence, and kept on walking ahead, occasionally wiping away her tears with the sleeve of her dress.

* * *

“My lady,”

Seora stopped and widened her eyes at jongin, who had been walking ahead of her for a few hours now and had stopped and turned around to face her, and was now staring at her with utmost concern. “You cannot keep walking denying anything to eat like this!” he said complainingly. “It’s at least two hours past noon and you didn’t have anything to eat since we left last night! You’ll faint at this rate even before we get out of the jungle!”

Seora smiled and shook her head. “I’m not hungry Jongin. And I’m quite stringer than you think!” she added. “Plus I’ve been plucking wild berries every now and then and having them, so I’m not hungry or weak at all... we can just keep walking like this.” she reassuringly smiled at him.

* * * * * * * *

“My Lord, His Majesty is here!”

Minseok quickly got on to his feet at the sound of his servant’s voice from outside the bedroom. He straightened his robes and adjusted his belt, before taking a glance at his wife who was sleeping at the moment after hours of crying. “Coming.” He answered in a low voice before exiting the room and heading to his study to meet the sudden guest.

“Your majesty what brings you here at this hour?” he rushed to the king after his formal greeting, and stood in front of him with surprise. “I would have come to the palace if you sent me a message... Why bother coming all the way here?”

“How’s your wife, hyung?” King Junmyeon asked, pushing away their formalities, and calling Minseok the casual way he had always preferred.

“Your majesty,” Minseok mumbled, taken aback by the difference in the king’s tone. “Well she regained consciousness by dawn, and was crying ever since. My son is confused about the situation and doesn’t understand why his mom keeps crying, so