After making a bed for Eunbi and Chaewon in the wagon, Nako goes directly to her own tent, where Kwangbae is waiting. The lovers give each other a brief kiss before sitting down on the mat.

"I miss you, tiny bean," Kwangbae kisses Nako's hands. "Oh, they smell good."

"The smell is from the Princess's bedding." Nako laughs lightly and cups Kwangbae's cheek, giving him a perk on his nose.

"How come it's so cold?"

"Yes, I am cold, can you give me some warmth?" Kwangbae says and wraps his cloak around Nako's tiny body.

Nako giggles and lays her head on Kwangbae's chest comfortably.

"So, what did Chaewon nuna ask you to tell me? She was telepathing you, right?" Kwangbae finally asks.

"Yes," Nako lets out a soft sigh. "Chaewon unnie asked us to help the Princess. She can't tell the reason, but she feels worried about Eunbi's marriage, so she thinks if we get married first and get the experiences, we can help Eunbi and Jaeyeon in case things don't work out as expected."

"But I think noona is more than capable of that?"

"She has her limitations – mages are human too. She has been single all her life, not even had a lover. Yet she knows that common sense or conventional wisdom can't be used in every situation, especially for someone like Princess Eunbi."

Kwangbae contemplates a while before he responds. "Jaeyeon loves the Princess. There is no doubt about it. He may not know it himself but I can feel it. His vibe is very different when he mentions the Princess, but not otherwise. I cannot feel the Princess's vibe, and personally, I think she is too young to get married."

Nako sighs again, "I think the Princess is fond of Jaeyeon too, but I cannot tell if this is enough to sustain a marriage. I believe it must be a political decision. The Princess looks like she owns everything, but she doesn't really own herself."

Nako's expression becomes painful when she makes the comment. Kwangbae tightens his hug on her waist and rubs his face gently against her cheek, "we will try our best to support them, okay? So tiny bean, will you marry me?"

Nako chuckles, "What? I think unnie has decided for us."

"No. I want to hear that from your own mouth – tiny bean, will you marry me?"

Kwangbae's eyes shine in the darkness. He lowers his head, trying to capture Nako's lip. Nako smiles as if she has exhausted the whole world's sugar. She raises her chin and moves towards Kwangbae.

"Yes."

***

Eunbi waits patiently for Nako and Saku to make her bed but the curiosity inside her head is actually killing her. Once the servants finished rearranging the wooden boxes inside the prairie schooner and turn it into a comfortable bed, she drives them away. There are many questions she wants to ask Chaewon.

But Chaewon is nowhere to be seen.

It's quite chilly outside so Eunbi climbs in bed reluctantly. She almost falls asleep when she feels Chaewon enters the wagon and lies down beside her.

"Unnie? Where have you been? Are you alright?"

"Why are you still awake? It will be another long day tomorrow." Chaewon hushes gently and waves her hand to dim down the lights in the wagon.

"I am waiting for you." Eunbi pouts.

"Waiting for me? Why?"

"You acted strangely tonight."

"Me? No. I don't think so."

"Unnie, you just said I am an adult now," Eunbi turning to her side facing Chaewon and unconsciously acting cute, that is something Chaewon cannot resist.

Chaewon lets out a long sigh and turns to face Eunbi too.

She moves her lips but cannot utter a word.

Eunbi just stares at Chaewon with curious eyes.

Chaewon inhales deeply and turns to another side with her back facing Eunbi.

"Nothing. Maybe the wine, made me feel nostalgic."

"Why?" Eunbi moves closer to Chaewon's back.

"Eun-chan, you are invading my personal space," Chaewon warns.

Eunbi giggles. It was what Chaewon always said when she was a clingy child.

"You sounded sullen."

"Why don't you sleep, sweetie?"

Eunbi starts to feel frustrated. She waves her hand to brighten up the lights a bit. "You are so stubborn."

"You too, Eun-chan."

"Because I look up to you when I grow up," Eunbi argues, "you are my model."

Chaewon suddenly turns back and faces Eunbi.

Eunbi flinches a bit, but the refute and scolding from Chaewon which Eunbi expected haven't come.

The two lock gaze for the longest of time. Until Chaewon begins to speak in a barely audible voice.

"I should have noticed." Chaewon says, her gaze softens, "I should have noticed."

Then she Eunbi's hair gently. "I don't know why but I feel a bit sad when you mentioned the strawberry incident. Maybe deep down my heart, I don't want you to grow up."

"But I will still be relying on you until many many years later." Eunbi feels a bit confused.

Chaewon chuckles, "I will never leave you unless the Master orders me to, but Eunbi-ya, your life is much bigger and I'm afraid I won't be enough for you very soon."

"That's not true!"

"Listen to your unnie – don't look up to me. I am not your model. You have to search for your own path. I swear to support you with all my life, but it is still your path, you need to walk it by yourself. Do you understand?"

Eunbi shakes her head.

"You do." Chaewon lets out a long sigh. "You will learn to become a tough individual in this training. And it may be your last."

***

Sakura feels very sleepy but she doesn't dare to go to sleep until Jaeyeon is back to his tent. She was assigned to sleep in Jaeyeon's tent and that makes her nervous too. Jaeyeon's dogs, Veggie and Cherry, contrary, like Sakura a lot so they stay close with her outside the tent to give her some warmth.

"Saku-chan, what are you doing here?" After the final check-up, Jaeyeon goes back to his tent and surprised that the child is still staying outside.

"I'm waiting for you, sir," Saku says.

"Oh! Come on, silly; you don't need to wait for me." Jaeyeon says and lifts Saku from the ground.

"You sleep in the inside, it's safer," Jaeyeon says and takes off his boots. The dogs follow Saku and lay down beside him. Jaeyeon can't help and laughs, "you are really good at animals, aren't you?" He then turns to the dogs, "hey buddies, so you protect Saku and keep him warm and safe tonight, okay?"

Veggie hums and Cherry curls up next to the boy's feet already.

Sakura has not slept with another person since her mother's death. Jaeyeon's presence unexpectedly makes her feels warm and safe and falls asleep soon after her head touches the mat. She slept soundly until she is woken up by dog barks.

Sakura jerks up and found that the tent is surrounded by a pack of wolves. She quickly turns to wake up Jaeyeon but the space beside her is empty.

"What are you doing here?" She looks at the wolves' feet on the ground and tries to stay calm.

"Kid, this is our question: what are you doing here?" The Alpha male moves to the front and stares into her eyes.

"We are just passing by."

"We!" The pack howl and laugh when the Alpha male speaks, "do you really think humans treat you as a 'we'?"

"Kid, you should come with us." The Alpha female approaches Sakura boldly, "we need you."

"No way!" Sakura yells and starts to run. She looks for First Snow, and there is nothing around. She runs with her bare feet, but she runs incredibly fast and she soon outruns the wolf pack and extricates herself.

Then she is running in a maze-liked castle, she turns numerous corners like she knows the place well. She never runs on the same path, but the exit is always a step away.

This must be a dream. This is not a reality. She tries to yell, "KURA, WAKE UP!" But she cannot make a sound.

"Saku-chan! Wake up! Saku-chan!"

It's the voice of Jaeyeon.

I am safe!

Sakura opens her eyes abruptly and grabs Jaeyeon's arms. But Jaeyeon's face is that of the Alpha wolf! She screams until she feels someone shaking her shoulder.

"Saku-chan! Wake up! Saku-chan!"

Sakura opens her eyes and only sees darkness. Her heart is pounding heavily and she has to open to gasp for air.

"Wolves!" She jerks up and a pair of hands quickly support her.

"It's okay. just a nightmare. Everything's fine. I'm here. I'm Jaeyeon."

"They tried to take me away." Sakura's voice is shaky.

"It's just a dream." Jaeyeon's voice is relaxed as usual. "You are stressed because we are going to cross the forest tomorrow. Now relax and go back to sleep. I will be watching you, no one can harm you."

Jaeyeon reaches for the boy's feet and found them icy cold.

"No wonder you have a nightmare." He then pulls the boy close to him and wraps him up with his warm feet.

"Hyeong..."

"Yes, Saku-chan?"

"My mother used to sing a song to me when I woke up from a nightmare and I will fall back to sleep."

Jaeyeon chuckles, "that's nice. My mother died when I was very young. 4 or 5, I cannot remember. But yes, I think I can still sing a lullaby. You want me to sing it?"

"Yes, hyeong."

***

The team starts to move very early the next morning. They have to keep the schedule tight so that they can finish the crossing before sunset. Kwangbae bids everyone goodbye before they enter the forest, it is his turn to make Nako promise she will stay safe.

Unlike the first day, the team becomes much more silent. Eunbi still feels a bit groggy, and Saku looks as if he is still sullen about his dream. Jaeyeon forbids anyone from telling the horror stories of the forest when Hongki reminds everyone to keep quiet and cautious. "Crossing the forest" is not some primitive business depicted in fairy tales. A cross-forest road good for 3 carriages has been built for a hundred years, but the dense growth trees are so tall that they almost blocked all the sunshine. The team has to keep a few fire torches even in the daytime. After lunch, when the team is at the heart of the forest, Sakura feels a small churn in her stomach, and the feeling becomes stronger as the team progresses. After years of surviving in the prairie, she believes in her hunch. She immediately reports it to Jaeyeon and the task force members.

"Saku-chan, it is going to be fine, don't be haunted by your own dream, okay?" Jaeyeonand laughs lightly.

Not long after that, the horses start to act spooky and refuse to move on.

"Come on! Move! We are going to be late!" Hongki yells but now all the horses stop.

Sakura observes the horses and can feel that they are fully alarmed.

And the dogs are barking in distress too.

"Something's wrong," Sakura yells and now the whole team becomes anxious and gets hold of their weapons.

"Wolves." Suddenly, Ugly says. Her voice is strangely calm.

"Wolves!" Sakura shouts in a whisper. Eunbi immediately takes her gloves off and there is a wand in her hand. Sakura turns her back and sees Chaewon doing the same thing.

"Good, Ugly!" Sakura pats Ugly's shoulder, "We fight the predators together?"

Although Ugly nods reluctantly, she obeys.

It doesn't take long before wolves start showing their faces from behind the trees and underbrushes one by one. They begin to howl like background music when a huge Alpha male wolf appears right in front of the team. It walks slowly towards the humans and sits down, staring at them intensively.

The horses back a little and crowd together. The team soon realizes that they have been round up by dozens of wolves. The expert task force looks at each other in total shock. This North-South corridor has been used by travelers for a hundred years, being attacked by wolves is rarely heard of, rather, many accidents occurred because of Tokkizans' own superstitious. They also know under normal circumstances, wolves would not be this bold even in the bitter winter – unless they are werewolves. But there is no record nor report of werewolves on the Continent.

"Protect the Princess," Hongki orders his men in a suppressed voice and slowly moves into a formation.

Sakura stands up from the saddle and tries to communicate with the Alpha.

It is not her first encounter with wolves. Usually, she only met a lone wolf, but it happened once that her herd of horses was attacked by a pack of wolves. While the adult horse breeders throwing stones and spears at the wolves, she stood on a stallon's back, waves her cloak as if it is a weapon, pretending she was tall and strong, and talked the wolves down as if she is the Alpha of her pack.

But it doesn't work this time.

The Alpha is silent and his glare shows that he is here more than staring at a prey.

"What do you want?" Sakura asks.

The Alpha just stares at her and mumbles a word she cannot comprehend.

Sakura puts on her most stern face to hide her fear, "You are not a wolf. Who are you?"

The Alpha howls the word again before he leads out another long howl. The pack immediately starts to attack humans and their horses.

“Snow, it's the time to show you're royal! ” Eunbi shouts to First Snow, and as if he understood Eunbi's command, First Snow starts to prance and kicks the wolves while Eunbi fires bolts of electricity with her wand. Many got shocked and flee, some still try to fight on, but soon slew by Jaeyeon or Hongki and his men after being weakened.

Chaewon climbs and stands on the driver's seat of her carriage to get a panoramic view and fires her wands like a conductor. She doesn't forget to instruct Nako who is in the wagon to release the hunting dogs and to prepare First Aid and medicine.

When everyone is fighting the wolves, Sakura found that she is the only one whom the Delta wolves have not attacked. That also means, when everyone is engaged, she is the only one left to face the Alpha. Her hunch is right. The attack is a well-strategized setup, it is not random hunting, the Alpha purposely comes for her. The sudden realization causes a chill to run down her spine. She pulls out her dagger, but the Alpha is already charging at full speed towards Ugly. Ugly immediately raise her front legs and attacks. The Alpha quickly turns away before Ugly's hoofs land on his face, but Sakura is forced to jump off the horseback. The Alpha seizes the opportunity and pounces on Sakura. Just when he is about to gnaw his sharp teeth onto , a strong kick lands on his head and makes him missed the target.

"Behind me!" Jaeyeon yells and swings his sword to block the Alpha from Sakura.

Chaewon spots the Alpha. She fires him an electric shock before he is about to launch another attack. The sudden pain and demobilization make him furious. When Jaeyeon raises his sword, the Alpha uses all his strength to get back on his feet. He fiercely attacks Jaeyeon and bites his forearm, causing him to drop the sword. He then seizes the opportunity to chase the running Sakura and pounces on her back. He can't afford to miss this time and bites hard on the human's head – on her helmet to be exact. His bite is so strong that his teeth have pierced through the metal onto her skull.

Sakura screams and her mind went completely blank. Under extreme fear and stress, her body shuts down...when the force is ignited...

Chaewon points her wand and charges at the Alpha again but she hesitates when Jaeyeon picks up his sword and stabs fiercely on the Alpha's back. But what happens next stunned her. A huge force erupts (presumably) from Saku's place, throwing the Alpha into the air. The shock wave also blows Jaeyeon away, causing him to roll involuntarily on the ground for over a dozen times before he can stop. The wolf is hit hard on a tree truck before he drops on the ground, apparently dead.

What's following is more dramatic. All the wolves which are in the midst of fighting fiercely stop suddenly and all flee at once. Eunbi who is nearest to Sakura immediately jumps off First Snow and runs to her. The child is lying unconscious face down covered with blood. She checks Sakura's pulse and thanks to Heaven she is still breathing!

Chaewon and Nako arrive seconds later. Gingerly, they take off Saku's helmet and examine his wounds. Miraculously, physical injuries on his skull are not fatal as Chaewon has expected when she was watching it from her lookout point. There are a couple of puncture wounds on and behind the child's left ear, but thanks to the protection of the helmet, the bites barely crack the bone.

Together, they turn Saku's body to one side so she can breathe easier. Eunbi immediately treats the wounds with magic power to disinfect and stop the bleeding.

Chaewon can now see Saku's face is pale as snow. She scans his torso with her palm and found that the fire of his astral energy has almost extinguished.

At that moment, they heard Jaeyeon's groan from another side while Hongki suddenly appears at their back.

"How is the boy?"

"He is alive," Chaewon says, "you help the Princess to attend Jaeyeon – Eunbi...Saku's energy level is dangerously low. I need to do an astral energy exchange."

Eunbi nods and stands up dutifully, although her eyes are still glued on Sakura. "Nako, you help me bandage his wounds first. I will stitch him up after we camped tonight."

Jaeyeon looks like a roller cleaner with all the dirt and fallen leaves stick to his body, his right arm is covered with blood and there is blood under his nose and mouth. He struggles to sit up and Hongki immediately kneels down and helps.

"Are you alright? I was on the other side and didn't see what happened." Hongki askes.

Jaeyeon seems to be still in shock when Eunbi examines his injuries. "Saku-chan...is he dead?" Jaeyeon cries weakly while hissing in pain.

Eunbi squeezes a smile, "don't worry, he is alive. The wolf is dead. But he is very weak, Chaewon unnie is doing astral energy exchange for him."

"The force..." Jaeyeon murmurs in a daze, "I now understand what you mean."

Eunbi frowns and lies, "I didn't see exactly what happened either – now relax and let me examine the internal organs?"

Jaeyeon shuts up and his face gradually turns from pale to pink when Eunbi puts her palm on his torso. Eunbi is in deep focus and she doesn't notice that. Contrary, she feels worried as she found some internal injuries in Jaeyeon's lungs.

"You have some internal injuries, but they are not serious." Eunbi shoves a remedy into Jaeyeon's mouth and tries to sound relaxed, "now let me takes off your glove, it may hurt a little."

Jaeyeon grits his teeth but doesn't make any sound. His arm is not in very bad shape, but there is a minor fracture.

"Thank Heaven that our gears did their jobs well," Eunbi says and gives Hongki a glimpse.

"Chaewon-ssi has brought the technology from the 12 Dimension, and this is the magic of 12D's," Hongki says. When he is watching Eunbi at work, he suddenly feels nostalgic. "You know what? When you accidentally ate the poisonous berries when you were a child, Chaewon-ssi performed the energy exchange to save your life. After that, she has to lie in bed for almost a week. And you are suddenly a grown-up now."

Eunbi is a bit surprised. She can remember how Chaewon held her for the whole night to get her well the next morning, but she never learned about the aftermath.

"What happened to her?"

"Well, I think that was fatigue. You may not have the memory because you were too young. I remember that because I have to carry her around the castle before she can join you in the lesson."

Eunbi presses her lips tightly together. Astral energy exchange is the lesson she is yet to learn because it is extremely demanding for mages, only senior mages who have the purest heart and practice diligently can acquire the knowledge and method. Eunbi suddenly feels emotional, but she manages to act out her role.

"So, Hongki, how is everyone?"

Hongki smiles genuinely. "Thank you, the boys are all fine, thanks to the help of you and Chaewon. Some of them just have minor injuries – we are well-trained to fight against predators."

After Eunbi treated and bandaged his forearm, Jaeyeon feels better and struggles to stand up. Again, Hongki lends his arms and shoulders.

"Thank you, Seonbaenim," Jaeyeon says in gratitude.

"What do you want?" Hongki asks.

"Saku-chan..."

"I think we'd better not to disturb them," Eunbi says in a professional tone. "Maybe we should go to see the body of the wolf?"

Jaeyeon pants heavily when he walks, so Eunbi also lends him her shoulders.

"Eun..."

"Come on, oppa!" Eunbi doesn't let Jaeyeon finish and put his arm around her shoulders.

Even though they believe the giant wolf is dead, they are still very cautious. Hongki grabs his sword and Eunbi her wand in their free hands.

Two task force members are already squatting there examining the dead wolf.

"I've never seen such a large wolf," the one with a mustache says. "He should have been as tall as a human."

"It is so strange. We have explored this forest so many times, but I have never seen such a creature." The other member who is a bit chubby says, "did you count how many wolves were involved in the attack?"

"How can we count when we were fighting for our lives?" The mustache guy his mustache, "I guess there were at least 50? Just a feeling.

The chubby guy raises his fingers, "normally, one pack can consist of a maximum of 20 wolves, so it must be a joint-action with 3 to 10 packs."

The mustache guy sees the Princess and their leader walking with the Royal Knight towards them and quickly stands up. The chubby guy turns his head and follows suit.

Eunbi signals them to go on while squatting down herself. She puts on her gloves and touches the body, picking up its legs and examines its torso. Then she presses the skull and speaks, "wrap up this body, I want to do an autopsy after we camped."

"Yes, Your Highness! We go to prepare now." The men jump up again, bow, and leave.

"What are your preliminary observations?" Jaeyeon asks and coughs a bit.

Eunbi raises her head abruptly but feels relief to see Jaeyeon is not coughing blood. "It seems that its bones are all crushed – except the skull. I must perform an autopsy to confirm."

Jaeyeon just stares at Eunbi, and Eunbi nods. Obviously, the young pair are sharing a secret that Hongki doesn't know, so he casually suggests, "let's go see how Saku is doing. The sky is darkening, we must leave here as soon as possible."

When they walk close to where Saku is, they find it amazing that all the dogs have come back unharmed. The dogs are sitting quietly around Chaewon and Saku, while Hongki's greyhound is sitting side by side with Nako to support Chaewon's back. Chaewon is pressing her palms against Saku's when the boy is lying peacefully on Chaewon's bosom. The boy's face is gradually gaining back its color and his breathing becomes more stable. Suddenly, Saku's body jerks a little before he opens his eyes briefly and closes them again. Everyone lets out a big sigh of relief.

"Hongki, please take Saku and unnie to the wagon." Eunbi decided this is the moment she must lead, "Nako, please make the bed and then you will ride Mandu and let Jaeyeon take the carriage. Poor Ugly will carry the wolf, and I will illuminate the way."

"I will ride beside you." Hongki quickly rearranges the horses' positions and the team finally gets back to the move.

Author's Note:

It took me quite some time to finish this update. There are lots of details as the story develops, I hope you will like it. Please leave me some comments so I know how you perceive it, and if you can, please give me an upvote for encouragement.

I started writing fanfic in January 2019, so it will be my third "anniversary" in a few days. As WIZ*ONE, we are going to face the heartbreaking moment in 2021, but IZ*ONE will be forever there in our fics, and in our hearts. This is not what I have expected 2 years ago, but now the existence of IZ*ONE and their fics have changed me forever.

Thank you for reading the update and wish you all a Happy New Year!