“I still think we require a team name,” Seokjin mused for the hundredth time that night.

Judging by the dimness of the night, it had only been a couple hours since they had begun their journey. And they were already behind schedule – largely due to the Princess’s stubbornness. She had insisted on recklessly hunting for her horse along a trail that was peppered with the new King’s guards. As a result, they had been set back by half a day, so their 2-day journey would take 2 and a half days instead.

As if that was not annoying enough, Seokjin had been rambling non-stop the entire time about the most irrelevant topics; such as, his favourite word, his least favourite plant, a detailed list of every possible soup ranked from best to worst, and now … team names.

To make matters even worse, Chaeyoung was listening intently to everything he had to say with genuine interest. As Taehyung, Jisoo, and Yoongi led the way through the forest, they could clearly hear the conversation behind them. Every time Seokjin would delve into another topic, Chaeyoung would support his ideas and offer her own insight as well. It made Taehyung itch with the need to separate the two of them to finally gain some peace and quiet. About a hundred trees ago, Lisa had stopped talking altogether, so it was safe to assume she had fallen asleep. Taehyung envied her, wishing he could do the same.

“A team name?” Chaeyoung asked in surprise, “do you have any ideas?”

“For s sakes,” Yoongi muttered under his breath, “why did she have to open that can of worms.”

“Here we go again,” Taehyung rolled his eyes, “we will never hear the end of this one.”

Even Jisoo, who had not said a word for the past couple hours, was beginning to grow frustrated.

She turned to glance behind, where Yoongi and Taehyung’s horses were closely following hers, “I’ll pay you guys double if you can make him stop talking.”

“You don’t have to pay me at all if you can make him stop talking,” Taehyung grumbled, feeling the beginnings of a headache throbbing in his skull.

Meanwhile, behind them, Seokjin had already listed numerous ideas but was still going strong, “there’s 6 of us and we’re all dressed in black, so how about the 6 flying daggers?”

“How about the hexagons?” Taehyung threw over his shoulder sarcastically but was startled when Seokjin began laughing.

“I like it!” he shouted, “that’s the best one yet.”

“How about team shut the up?” Jisoo suddenly snapped, causing Taehyung and Yoongi to chuckle in amusement. She had finally cracked. It appeared, there would be no more nice Jisoo.

They spent the next couple moments riding in silence. The sounds of horse hoofs tapping against soil and the tree leaves bristling in the wind replaced the sound of chatter. In the distance, the soft hoots of an owl travelled through the spring air. But, the howling of a wolf from another corner of the forest briskly drowned out these soft sounds.

Another moment later, it became eerily quiet.

“I think we should set-up camp here,” Taehyung called out to Jisoo, who was a couple steps ahead of him.

They had reached a point where several trees had been cut down to create a small clearing. Given the wide stretch of disorderly trees ahead, and the narrowness of the paths, it would be difficult to find another rest place before sundown. Also, they had passed the last palace guard hours ago, so it seemed like a safe time to take a break.

Jisoo whirled her horse around as everyone came to a halt. Peering up at the ombre of dark to light blue hues that coloured the sky, she nodded in agreement.

“I can take first watch while the rest of you sleep,” she said, jumping off her horse and tying the reins to a nearby pine tree, “I see Lisa is already one step ahead of us.”

Everyone turned to glance at an exhausted Lisa, who was clutching onto Chaeyoung’s waist tightly, her cheek resting on the Princess’s shoulder, as she slept soundly. Again, Taehyung could not help but envy her.

Jisoo was about to shake her awake when Seokjin suddenly jumped off his horse to stop her, “hey, stop it! Don’t you know you’re never supposed to wake a sleeping woman.”

Jisoo rolled her eyes, “then what do you want me to do? Chaeyoung cannot get down until she does.”

“I don’t mind,” Chaeyoung whispered, smiling warmly, “just let her be.”

“No, you need your rest,” Seokjin shook his head, “I will handle this for you.”

Suddenly, he wrapped one arm around the sleeping girl’s waist while placing his other arm underneath her legs. In one smooth movement, he had pulled her off Chaeyoung and into his arms. Taehyung grinned in amusement as he watched Seokjin carry her to an area Jisoo had already covered with a thin piece of cotton cloth. Although Seokjin could be frustrating at times, Taehyung was also beginning to see how soft and caring he was. Glancing at Chaeyoung’s surprised expression, and the subtle smile on Jisoo’s face, it was clear that he knew how to make the ladies swoon. Perhaps having him on this trip would not be so bad after all.

~{❀}~

Taehyung woke up to the sound of muffled sniffles and soft sobbing. He kept his eyes firmly shut, hoping the sound would spontaneously end. But, as he laid there, it only i