“This isn’t a question about my title, this is a question about ethics!” Ryeowook stared in disbelief at the two horses right in front of him.

They had only walked for a few minutes before they arrived at the hunter’s hut that Kyuhyun was using. From what Ryeowook could tell, the hut really wasn’t anything special, the fanciest part standing right in front of it: two horses that looked too well taken care of to match the idea that Ryeowook had of Kyuhyun’s lifestyle.

The fire artist, though, simply laughed while he fixed the saddles’ belts. “I figured that your disease won’t allow you to walk long stretches. Plus, we’ll have the royal guards on our heels, so I thought it to be useful to have an option that’s not walking.”

“But they’re still not yours!”

“Correct.”

“You stole two horses!”

Kyuhyun clicked his tongue. “I rented them, please pay attention to your vocabulary, little prince.”

“One does not simply rent a horse.”

“Indeed.”

Ryeowook looked back and forth between the horses and Kyuhyun, the other’s amusement incomprehensible to him. “You can’t just steal two horses!”

Kyuhyun shook his head. “As I said, I rented them. Get on and I’ll explain?”

“I’m not getting on a stolen horse.” Ryeowook shook his head and took a step back, away from the horses. The poor person whom they belonged to!

“They belong to a merchant who wasn’t allowed to bring his horses into town. I overheard him getting annoyed at the horses on top of that because one of them was limping, so I offered my help. A bit of sweet-talk was enough to convince him that he could leave his horses with me while he’s doing business in town. He plans to go North as well, so we can just fetch a messenger once we’ve come far enough and the messenger can tell the merchant where we’re leaving his horses.”

“You’re stealing them while taking care of them!”

“He left me in charge of them to do whatever I see fit for both horses to get better. Maybe a trip ahead is what’s best for them.”

“If one of them is limping, why would a trip be best for them?”

“Because it hasn’t been limping since I’ve been alone with them. Ready? If you’re not, I might just as well bring you back to the gates.”

“You wouldn’t…” The words died on Ryeowook’s lips because a small voice inside him told him that Kyuhyun would do exactly that. Why would someone like Kyuhyun risk getting in unnecessary danger? “Where do you plan to leave the horses?”

“Get on and I’ll let you know. You do know how to ride a horse, after all, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. I’m a prince.” Ryeowook went closer to the two horses, but he couldn’t shake off the guilt. They weren’t supposed to be riding on these horses, they weren’t supposed to have these horses in the first place! This wasn’t right!

But I’ve taken the first step. I’m running away. I made up my mind, didn’t I? Yes, didn’t he? He would live. He would be able to help more people.

“How did you learn how to ride a horse?” he asked to stall time and distract himself from the guilt.

“Miraculously enough, this is not a thing that my sire taught me.”

“Sire?”

“The one who turned me..?”

“Ah, right.” Kyuhyun had mentioned that word in his explanation about what he was. His sire: the one who had ‘taught’ Kyuhyun the art of fire, the one who apparently liked to acquire things… Ryeowook still couldn’t quite wrap his head around any of that.

“I actually learned how to ride a horse when I was travelling with a few other wandering artists. They were actually surprised that I had no idea how to do that.”

“Did they never suspect you of being different?”

“Oh dear little prince…” Kyuhyun laughed softly. “All wandering artists are different. Not in the vampire kind of different, not most of them at least, but the majority of us does not fit into the average society.”

“Oh…”

“But hey, we all make the best of our situation—or at least we try to.”

Ryeowook suddenly felt childish for having asked that. Of course he had seen the deformations and noticed the occasional strange behavior from some of the wandering artists, but he still hadn’t thought that a vampire wouldn’t attract any attention among them.

The comparably tight-fitting pants that he had chosen for their escape instead of his wide royal robes that he was so used to turned out to be useful once again when he got onto the horse with only slight difficulty after checking the saddle. When he glanced towards the other horse, he found Kyuhyun sitting on top of it, surprisingly carrying a rucksack on his back as well, nodding at him.

Ryeowook gently motioned for his horse to start walking. After only half-hearted protest, the horse did as it was told and Ryeowook patted its neck before he glanced at Kyuhyun. “Won’t it be dangerous for the horses to walk when it’s this dark? What if something happens?”

“We just have to get towards the West gate, from there onwards, we’ll switch to the main roads as much as possible. That’ll be faster, too.”

“Didn’t you say that we’re going North?”

“For how long have you lived in this city again?”

Ryeowook frowned, wondering how one thing was connected to the other, until he realized that it was indeed that obvious—the mountains in the North wouldn’t make their passage easy.

Kyuhyun laughed softly. “You look like you figured it out.”

Ryeowook merely gave a hum of acknowledgement before he changed his question, “So we’re going North after that?”

“Yes. My plan is to get to the coast first and then go North because that will ensure the easiest passage.”

The prince nodded, recalling the few times that he had accompanied his father to China; they had also usually first gone to the coast and then taken a ship to cross over to China instead of attempting the journey through the mountains. “But there are mountains again on the border to China…”

“I plan to use the waterway to cross over to China near the mountains.”

“But won’t we need a permit?”

“No. I mean, technically, yes, but no, we’ll take the… let’s say semi-legal way.”

“You mean illegal, right?”

“Yes, but I prefer phrasing it more positively.”

Ryeowook sighed, wanting to protest, but he knew that there was nothing he could really say. “How fast do you plan to cross over?”

“As soon as possible. My plan is to find a small place over in China not too close to any city before I turn you.”

“Which is when?”

“At best during the small break that this disease takes.”

Without wanting to be pessimistic, that wasn’t a lot of time. If his calculations weren’t wrong, there was less than a handful of days separating him from that break, but therefore a lot of things still had to be done.

“There’s one more thing, actually: I need you to be fully honest with me regarding your condition, okay? No more sugarcoating.”

“Okay.” Ryeowook looked down and slightly ahead, wishing he could see better.

“We can take breaks or ride together anytime. I would just like to avoid accidents.”

“Yes, I understand. But… do we really have the time to take many breaks?”

“As I said, I’d rather take a break than risk an accident. But aside from that, no, it would be best not to take any breaks and if we could move faster than this…” Kyuhyun sighed. “But we can only do so much, after all.”

But Ryeowook wanted to do more, wanted to be more helpful for their escape!

As they rode on in silence, exhaustion and tiredness made Ryeowook feel heavy and the night’s icy fingers slithered into the folds of his clothes. Was he feeling cold because of the temperature or was the fever getting worse again?

Something caught his eye and when he looked up, he realized that Kyuhyun was navigating to ride next to him. “It won’t take all too long anymore until we can move to the main path. Do you want me to take that bundle from you or do you think you’ll be able to manage holding on to it even when we’re moving faster?”

Ryeowook looked down at the bundle in his arms, contemplating the question for a little longer than he probably should have, then he nodded, holding it out for Kyuhyun to take.

“Drink something first, eat a bit if you think that’ll help your condition, then I’ll take it, okay?”

Ryeowook nodded obediently and clumsily retrieved his bottle from the bundle, somewhat surprised to find it in the bundle instead of having to search for it in his backpack. He drank a small bit, trying and slightly failing not to spill any of the water, then he closed the bottle and as neatly as possible redid his bundle, before handing it over to Kyuhyun.

“Still doing alright?”

“Didn’t our escape only just begin?”

“That’s true, but I’ll rather check on you more often than I need to than to miss something.”

Ryeowook smiled softly, finally nodding. “Yes, I’m still doing alright.”

“Good. Are you ready to move faster?”

“Yes.” No, he thought, but he knew that if they didn’t want to get caught as soon as the morning came, they definitely had to move faster! But what if they were still found? The royal army wasn’t to be underestimated, if his father sent a good part of them out in order to find him…

“Do you even speak Chinese, by the way?”

This time, Ryeowook couldn’t hide the offense from his features when he looked at Kyuhyun. “Of course I do, I’m a prince. I may not be perfect at it, but I can certainly get by well enough.”

Kyuhyun laughed softly and took the lead again. As they came closer to the edge of the forest, the moonlight permeated the canopy of leaves above them more often much to Ryeowook’s relief. He felt like the horse also walked more securely and a little faster than before. When Kyuhyun finally deemed it safe to leave the forest and ride on the road, it didn’t take long before they continued their journey at a gallop.

☆ ☆ ☆

Ryeowook had no idea for how long they had been on the road, but he felt like it had been an eternity. He was grateful for the great training that his horse had obviously received because even when he was beginning to lose focus, the horse never acted up and always obediently followed Kyuhyun. He was sweating and exhausted and endlessly, oh so endlessly tired. How could he be tired after he had slept almost all day?

His vision was unfocused, but focusing it required too much energy that he needed in order not to fall. How much time had really passed since they had left court? Was it even past midnight yet?

“Kyuhyun,” he called out between pants, nearly losing his balance when his horse suddenly slowed down.

“Do you need a break?”

“We don’t have time for one.” But he wanted to take a break. Take a break, lie down, close his eyes and sleep, sleep for a century…

“It’s okay, we’ll make time.”

Ryeowook shook his head. “Isn’t there another way?”

“I mean, we could ride together… We could look for a chance for you to switch onto my horse, if that’s alright for you.” Ryeowook glanced at Kyuhyun with furrowed brows, prompting the latter to elaborate, “You could get on behind me, since I think your condition should still allow you to hold on to me even if you fall asleep.”

“Ah.” Ryeowook’s gaze stayed on the moonlit path in front of him, several steps passing before he realized that he still hadn’t answered. “Yes, let’s do it like that.”

“By the way, why did you decide to come with me in the end? I mean, as much as I did expect you to come with, I was also kind of surprised that you came tonight.”

“You were surprised?”

“Well, yes… I was certain that you’d come with me when I first made that offer, though I also had my doubts, of course. But when you kept on not showing up…”

“I didn’t want to leave my family or Changmin. And also, we’re not supposed to be selfish…”

“Says who? And what would have happened if you hadn’t left? Your friends and family would have lost you either way.”

“That sounds harsh…”

“I’m sorry. But am I wrong?”

Ryeowook looked ahead, the darkness passing by him in a blurry mess. Leeteuk and the twins would miss him and mourn for him. His mother, too. Changmin as well, though, when Ryeowook thought about it, Changmin was the most likely one to figure out what was going on. And his father… What about him? He would be disappointed, angry for sure… But would he miss him?

The memory of the discussion conference came back to him and he grabbed the reins a little tighter.

“Is everything okay?”

“Maybe it’s good that I’m not there anymore.”

“What’s wrong?”

Ryeowook shook his head, recalling his manners, and he took a deep breath—stopping mid-breath. What did it even matter? He wasn’t a prince anymore, what need was there to follow all the mannerisms that he had been taught were essential, especially when they obviously didn’t apply to everyone anyway?

“It’s just an argument that I’ve had with my father.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Ryeowook shook his head once again, keeping his eyes firmly focused on the path in front of them.

“It’s okay. I don’t really like talking about my sire because a lot of things have happened that I don’t like to remember or am not proud of.” Kyuhyun’s voice was light, but at the same time, it had a melancholic undertone.

Ryeowook glanced at Kyuhyun who kept his eyes on the path. “I’m sorry. I asked a lot about her, didn’t I?”

“I understand your curiosity, don’t worry. I’m just asking for you to also understand if I won’t answer all your questions that may relate to her.”

“Of course.”

Guilt weighed down on Ryeowook as silence settled between them once again. How often had he already unknowingly asked about Kyuhyun’s sire and awoken unpleasant memories? Maybe he couldn’t have known, but that didn’t mean that he didn’t feel like he should have been more sensitive.

“Ryeowook?” The prince looked up upon hearing his name and found Kyuhyun nodding off towards the side. “I think there is an option for you to change to my horse.”

They guided the horses to the spot that Kyuhyun had seen. A tree had fallen over, but it was so enormous, that Ryeowook couldn’t use the trunk. It wasn’t difficult to find a branch that they could access easily and that was sturdy enough for Ryeowook to use it as a step, though. After a small break to drink some more water, Ryeowook got onto Kyuhyun’s horse with some difficulty, needing a bit of time to adjust his position to the most comfortable one, though he couldn’t get entirely satisfied. Eventually, he wrapped his arms around Kyuhyun, leaning against the other.

“Let me know if we’re moving too fast or you feel like you can’t hold on anymore, okay?”

Ryeowook nodded and held on to Kyuhyun a little tighter, soon wondering if riding on his own wouldn’t have been easier. On the other hand, the slightly more uncomfortable position and the other’s proximity at least kept him from falling asleep.