Chaeyoung was in no condition to meet anyone’s family, let alone Kim Taehyung’s. Her dark clothing was still damp and wrinkled from the previous night’s heroic swimming in the river of death. Her long, chestnut hair, though dry, had soaked up all the humidity available in the air and now hung in loose, frazzled waves down her back. If she felt this sticky and gross, she could only imagine what she looked like.

Now, as her horse followed Taehyung’s towards his precious home town, and the prospect of meeting his loved ones became unavoidably real, she was beginning to panic.

“Lisa,” she whispered urgently, turning her head slightly to glance at the woman seated behind her on the horse, “how does my hair look?”

Lisa’s eyes scanned Chaeyoung’s face quickly before flashing a stiff, almost sympathetic smile, “do you really want me to answer that question?”

“It looks like it used to be a hen’s nest but has since been abandoned by all living creatures due to its lack of moisture and life.”

“Shut up Yoongi,” Chaeyoung turned fully around to whisper yell at him. Though she would normally appreciate his bitter sarcasm and dark sense of humour, this was no situation to take lightly, “stop eavesdropping on our conversation.”

At that moment Seokjin decided to add his input on the matter as well, “Yoongi doesn’t know what he’s talking about. It does not look like a hen’s nest.”

“Thank you –“ Chaeyoung began to say with a relieved smile.

“It looks more like a crow’s nest.”

Everyone, excluding Taeyong who was tied to Jisoo’s horse and remained as silent as a ghost throughout their journey, laughed at that comment. Even Yoongi managed a light chuckle – a rare sight that was probably in part due to the fact that he was also home. Though, he didn’t display his excitement nearly as blatantly as Taehyung did.

Chaeyoung glanced in front of her in amusement as she noticed how far ahead Taehyung was from the rest of the group. It looked like he couldn’t reach the gates to the town fast enough. She could tell how important this place was to him, the realization only aggravating her anxiety.

“Namjoon,” she called the older man over, “do we even have time to spend in Daegu. I mean, we do have a time-restricted mission and those weapons aren’t going to find themselves. Plus, there are many other things we must take care of first – like alliances, and troops. A war is brewing, so we have no time to rest –”

“Relax, your highness,” Namjoon responded in his ever-calm voice, “there are exactly 1440 minutes in a day, taking a couple of those to rest and rejuvenate will not be the end of the world. Even the strongest of warriors and the most committed workers need their rest. Furthermore, Daegu is known to be home to some of the country’s best archers, so the potential for alliances still exists here.”

Chaeyoung sighed, not even Namjoon was on her side – so this was surely an unavoidable situation.

“Why are you so nervous about staying in Daegu anyway?” Jisoo asked with a knowing smile.

“I’m not.”

“You’ve been smoothing your shirt and combing your hair with your hands since the minute Taehyung announced we’ve reached Daegu.”

Chaeyoung’s hand froze mid-way through her hair, realizing that Jisoo was right. But Chaeyoung couldn’t answer her question honestly, “If I’m supposed to be the future Queen of Goryeo, I need to make a respectable first impression on the people.”

“Nice excuse,” Yoongi snickered, “we all know it’s because you’re about to meet your future in-laws.”

Chaeyoung in a sharp breath at the word “in-laws” and what Yoongi was blatantly implying. Although her mind would occassionally wander towards the direction of imagining a life with Taehyung, she never allowed herself to become fully immersed in such an impossible fantasy. It could never happen.

Apparently Taeyong was just as shocked at Yoongi’s words, speaking up for the first time since he was taken hostage, “are you really foolish enough to marry a commoner?”

“Who allowed you to speak?” Jisoo immediately snapped at him, throwing him one of her most ferocious glares.

“Fraternizing between the different classes is illegal,” he responded in a flat, matter-of-fact tone, “unless you give up your noble status, but that would also mean you won’t be able to become Queen –”

“She is well aware of the law, Taeyong,” Lisa rolled her eyes, “and that will be the first law she amends when she does become Queen.”

He laughed at that harshly, “how cute. You really think you hold that much power? That law is as old as the country itself. The officials and nobility will never stand by you, and good luck governing the country without them.”

“Okay first of all, no one is marrying anyone so I don’t know why this conversation has become as prolonged as it has. And second of all, who I do and don’t marry is none of your concern, Taeyong. The fact that you’re providing me with political advice in the first place is quite astonishing.”

Chaeyoung had reached the peak of her frustration. She didn’t need anyone to lecture her about all the reasons she and Taehyung weren’t right for each other, her mind was doing a fine job of doing it everyday. And though a part of her knew Taeyong’s points were valid, that didn’t make it hurt any less.

Thankfully, that shut everyone up. But, she had been so engrossed in this heated debate that she didn’t realize they had caught up to Taehyung and he had undoubtedly overheard part of the conversation.

“Is he bothering you?” he asked, scrutinizing Taeyong with a stare that possessed the power to intimidate anyone, “it’s still not too late to kill him, you know.”

“Tempting,” she deliberated it for half a second before sighing, “but let’s not shed blood on the holy ground that is Daegu.”

That seemed to brighten his mood in an instant, a wide smile colouring his handsome features and giving it more life than she had ever seen before, “you’re going to love it here. It has everything you could possibly need from customized bows and arrows to endless streams –”

They had just crossed over an arched bridge to reach the town gates when an arrow whipped through the air at an alarming speed, almost close enough to brush Taehyung’s neck before it slammed into the tree behind him.

Chaeyoung’s eyes widened in shock as everyone around her scrambled to find their weapons in preparation to defend her – everyone except Taehyung and Yoongi.

As calm as the stream underneath the bridge they had just crossed, Yoongi led his horse to the tree and pulled the black and white arrow out. He studied it for only a short second before flashing a small smirk. Taehyung only needed to glance at it to smile widely and shake his head.

“Jennie,” they both said together as if they were expecting this type of greeting.

Chaeyoung’s eyes widened even further as she realized she was finally about to meet the infamous Jennie of Taehyung’s childhood.

“I must say,” an alluring, womanly voice sounded from the top of the wooden gates, “your reaction time, Kim Taehyung, has become disgracefully slow.”

Everyone glanced up to see a petite and admittedly beautiful woman perched on the ledge of the towering doors, her feet swinging over the edge and her fingers playing with another arrow comfortably. The only thing sharper than the tip of her weapon were the cat eyes she used to scan below her curiously.

With a hidden bitterness, Chaeyoung realized that she was even more stunning than she had ever imagined.

“And your aim is as inaccurate as ever,” Taehyung fired back with a wide grin that caused a stab of irrational jealousy to flood through Chaeyoung.

Jennie scoffed before jumping down with a smoothness that made it appear as though the height was only a few inches rather than dozens of feet tall, “I didn’t want to kill you. Not yet, anyway.”

She walked towards Yoongi with a gummy smile that mirrored his own and snatched her arrow out of his hands before wrapping him in a tight hug. That caused everyone to raise a brow in surprise as no one had ever witnessed Yoongi engaging in such an affectionate act.

“Neither of you idiots responded to my letters, so I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere,” she chastised them as she moved on from Yoongi to embrace Taehyung too.

Chaeyoung’s whole body tensed as she witnessed their reunion – her lips pursed into a fine line and her hands clutching Midnight’s reins for dear life. It shouldn’t have bothered her so much since the two of them have probably known each other for years and are closer than Chaeyoung could ever hope to be with him but controlling emotions had never been her forte.

“Well, we’ve been a little preoccupied,” Yoongi reasoned, gesturing meaningfully at the rest of the group.

“So, I see,” Jennie nodded, scanning everyone from head to toe until her eyes landed and stayed focused on Chaeyoung, “so, who are your friends?”

Chaeyoung managed to flash a small smile, but Jennie remained as observant and watchful as ever. At this point, it was safe to assume everyone in Daegu possessed the ability to intimidate others.

Taehyung followed Jennie’s gaze and smiled reassuringly at Chaeyoung – most likely trying to dissipate the awkward tension in the air.

“It’s a long story.”

~{❀}~

“Hold up. You’re telling me you’re the fugitives that helped the princess escape the capital?” Jennie exclaimed.

Taehyung nodded. They had just finished briefing Jennie about their adventurous month, and he had never seen the petite woman so shocked. She could not believe the royalty-despising, ambition-driven, Daegu-loyalist that was Kim Taehyung, along with the endlessly bitter and arguably selfish Min Yoongi, had done the things they had to protect a princess. The story sounded unbelievable even to Taehyung’s own ears as he recounted every detail. Once again, he was reminded of how much his life had changed right before his eyes.

“Guys!” she looked between the two men with an expression of pure exasperation, “her posters are posted on every single bulletin in the country. Officers have been roaming day and night through the forests trying to locate her. There is a ing bounty on her head. There’s no way in hell you’re bringing her into our home.”

“Jen,” Taehyung sighed. He peeked a quick, concerned glance behind him at where Chaeyoung looked like she was about to rip Jennie’s head off and Jisoo and Lisa were prepared to hold her jewellery as she did so, “it will only be for a couple of days.”

“No. Not a chance,” she crossed her