“Are you all excited?” The professor asked as the bus drove to the ruins.

The plane had landed last night and they had stayed at a hotel. It was comfortable and they slept well, although most of them were too restless to sleep. They now had their belongings on them and were heading to their destination.

Excited was an understatement for everything they felt while on the bus. They were completely enthralled by the fact that the ruins were a mere miles away.

“I’m trembling.” Sehun said as he looked out the window.

Jongin leaned over Sehun to look out the window with him. The scenery was beautiful. They were so far away from the city and all that could be seen was the country side.

“What do you think they look like in person?” Jongin asked.

Sehun shrugged, “I think it’s going to be nothing like I ever imagined.”

“I think so too.” Jongin replied.

Sehun had seen and heard so much about the two ancient cities. It was now time to finally see if it was all true. Would it be as wonderful as he thought it would be? Or would it not reach his expectations?

His eyes looked around the bus and all of his friends looked nervous. Chanyeol and Jongdae were talking eagerly about something. One could tell because Chanyeol’s eyes would widen, while Jongdae’s smile would widen.

Baekhyun and Minseok sat next to each other and laughed about a joke that Baekhyun had most likely made. They both seemed lighthearted and enthusiastic.

Taemin sat next to Kyungsoo. Taemin seemed to be telling a story, Kyungsoo was listening intently with a slight pout. He nodded to show Taemin that he was listening.

His eyes landed on Jongin who had his eyes wide as he stared out the window. Sehun giggled as he said, “What are you—“

The bus suddenly halted and the professor stood up to say, “We have arrived.”

***

“This is it?” A student asked as they got off of the bus.

The professor shook his head, “No, we need to walk a little bit. But up ahead, is Solaris.”

Baekhyun felt his heart accelerate at the sound of that name. He felt sweat accumulate and his mouth go dry. Why was he so nervous?

“This is the place where we will be camping. Luckily the university has provided us with breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

There was a small cabin that would be used for the restroom. Everything else, including where they would sleep, would be outside. There were benches for them to eat on and tents that they had brought for shelter. The university provided all of these things for the students because of all of the hard work they had put in. They were lucky to be able to attend a university that rewarded its students for doing so well.

They set up their tents first and placed their belongings inside. Each tent could house about four people. So they would be need to decide who would sleep in the same tent. The park rangers smiled and greeted each one of them as they assembled their tents. The rangers were there just to make sure that nothing went wrong while on the trip.

“Who are you bunking with?” Chanyeol asked as he set up the tent with Jongdae.

Jongdae shrugged as he wet his lips, “It doesn’t matter.”

“You want to bunk with Jongin.” Baekhyun teased as he gestured to Chanyeol.

They all laughed while Jongin and Chanyeol blushed. Minseok stopped what he was doing to throw a shoe at Baekhyun who dodged it just in time.

“You want to sleep with Kyungsoo!” Chanyeol exclaimed.

Chanyeol didn’t think before he spoke and the rest of the friends laughed even louder. Baekhyun’s mouth dropped while Kyungsoo flinched and dropped the pole he was about to use to make the tent stand.

“Chan—Chanyeol!” Baekhyun shouted.

“You started it!”

“Guys, we have ten minutes before we eat and head to Solaris.” The professor told them as he walked by.

The friends nodded and quickly began working on their tents once again. Baekhyun did his best to not think about what Chanyeol had just said. The latter should think before he speaks. Poor Kyungsoo looked absolutely mortified.

After a couple of minutes, all of the students got together on the benches to eat. They would be walking towards the ruins of Solaris and needed to have a lot of energy. They ate a quick meal which consisted of quail, boiled carrots, and a side of berries.

“The berries were the prince’s favorite.” Baekhyun said as he ate one.

Jongdae rolled his eyes, “Everyone knows that. It’s Solaris history 101. The textbooks always describe how he would send his knights to get berries.”

Baekhyun nodded as he smiled, “They’re my favorite too.”

Once meal time was over, they each cleaned up their mess and gathered the belongings they would be taking with them. This included a small backpack filled with notebooks, pencils, and of course, a camera.

“Everyone follow me.” The professor said as he led the way.

The students all trailed behind him. Each of them nervous yet excited.

“It’s just over this hill…”

***

Awestruck was nothing when compared to what Baekhyun felt when he saw the ruins. He had seen so many pictures of this place. But he never expected it to look like this.

The professor allowed them to roam around the city and tomorrow they would enter inside of the castle. After about an hour of them exploring the city, he would call them all together to give them a brief history lesson on something in the center.

“Is this gold?” Chanyeol asked as he peered at one of the walls of the houses. The homes were almost all destroyed due to the raid by Monalets. But the remnants left behind showed how beautiful they once were.

Jongdae walked over next to Chanyeol to walk inside one of the homes. “This is amazing.” He remarked as his eyes darted around.

Sehun and Jongin wandered to houses and stopped on one in particular. It was a small home in the corner of town. It seemed to be the only one with a roof over it.

“Let’s go inside.” Jongin said eagerly.

Sehun followed behind him just as eager. The wind blew behind him, practically pushing him in. He walked inside and looked around to find what seemed like a kitchen and small living room.

“This is where the priestess lived.”

“How do you know?” Jongin questioned.

“Because of the portrait on the wall.” He pointed to a painting that had been preserved even after the war. It was a painting of the Sun Goddess, the religion that Solarians used to believe in.

“Oh right!” Jongin said as he stared at it. He took out his camera and took a picture and then made his way outside.

Sehun stared at the portrait and furrowed his brows. This seemed…familiar. The wind softly caressed his cheek and he turned. There was no window nor door open, how did wind get inside?

“Sehun come here!”

Sehun heard Jongin’s voice and walked towards what seemed like the back yard. Jongin was standing in front of a small cottage. Sehun stood next to him.

“This is so cute!” Jongin said as he circled around it.

Sehun suddenly felt a chill go up his spine and he swallowed. This all seemed…too familiar.

“Isn’t this amazing!” Jongin replied.

“Oh, yeah.”

Sehun peered at the cottage and suddenly felt the wind once more hit his back. It was gentle at first, but then got stronger. Without realizing, he suddenly began walking forward. It was just a cottage. A simple place that belonged to those that lived here with the priestess…

He extended his hand and opened the door. He peeked in and slowly made his way inside.

The priestess lived here with her husband…

Sehun’s eyes looked around the shack and he took the whole thing in.

And lived with…

His eyes widened as it landed on a single white pigeon that was staring right back at him.

Her son…