Eunhyuk saw the sun setting, and knew that he had to hurry, but his whole body aches so much that he had to slow down the pace of the horse. He tries not worry about Donghae, because when Heechul promises to do something, he always comes through. His mind drifts to Donghae’s marriage, and he wonders why Donghae has not told him about it.

He tries not to dwell on it and focus on Donghae’s promise, on the three words that he whispered to him.

Dammit, Eunhyuk curses.

Suddenly, a sharp object whizzes past his face. His horse panics, and it rears back, making him fall to the ground. He groans, and he struggles to get to his feet. He crawls on his knees and keeps his head down. It was dark anyways and he thanks his lucky stars that the moon is not giving out too much light.

~

“Donghae?” Heechul whispers. He knocks on the door, ignoring the sleeping bodies of the palace guards at his feet. It pays to be smart with herbs sometimes.

Heechul slides the door open and found Donghae lying on the ground, clutching a piece of dirty clothing to his chest. He whirls around and suddenly draws his sword.

Heechul raises his hands. “I’ve come to break you out!”

Donghae lowers his sword. “Hyung.” He stares at Heechul lifelessly.

Heechul rushes to his side. “Let’s go. I promised Eunhyuk that I will bring you back.”

“You were there?” Donghae queries. He follows Heechul out, carefully watching his feet so he won’t step on anybody.

“Yeah, you think I won’t notice that you called most of our cousins and allies?” Heechul sighs. “We didn’t think you’d come back here.”

Donghae stops. “You were really in this too?”

“Yes. A while now,” Heechul confesses. He beckons Donghae forward. “Let’s go.”

Donghae stays where he is, uncertain.

“Donghae, let’s go.” Heechul’s voice is steely. He comes over and drags Donghae by the arm like a little kid.

Donghae suddenly feels uneasy.

~

Eunhyuk wakes up with the sun in his eyes. Could this be a dream? He tries to move, but his shoulder is exploding in such excruciating pain, he finds it hard to breathe. His hand goes to his injured shoulder and pulls the arrow out. He groans, and he cries out in pain, but he chooses to ignore it. He has a mission to do, and he won’t fail now.

He reminds himself. This is for Donghae. Or maybe the people too, but today was the first time he did not want to care about the kingdom.

He focuses on his path, feeling grass on his fingertips. He trudges on, ignoring the blinding sun by squinting his eyes, ignoring the thirst, the hunger, the pain. He thinks he hears Donghae’s voice, but he knows that he’s not here.

He stumbles here and there, almost falling to his face again, but he grits his teeth. He feels Donghae’s ring getting heavier with each step he takes.

He did not know how long he has been walking like this, but in the distance, he can hear people shouting. He thinks he must be near.

Eunhyuk clears his mind, and observes the situation. It has gotten worse. The streets are in disarray, and the people are congregating in front of the palace’s gates. He scans the area, wondering how he can talk to all of these people.

He walks straight ahead, into the chaos. He ignores the noise, the nauseating feel of hundreds of bodies squeezing him. He trips on something, and yelps when he discovers that dead bodies cushioned his fall.

He wants to panic, because this is all too much for his senses to handle. With a shaky breath, he tries again.