“Calm down, Crystal,” Jong called while walking back over and hugging her against his chest. 

“He has red hair...he’s a wizard, I know it!” she told him while hitting a hand against his chest. “Jong! Listen to me!”

“Crystal, look. This other gentleman doesn’t have strange colored hair,” the man pointed out while motioning towards Baekhyun. “We all know that in a wizard family, either everyone has strangely colored hair or no one does.”

“That’s right,” Chanyeol quickly replied. “I just like having fun colored hair and I found a way that works really well. I’ll tell you though, the process is messy and stains anything you touch. I ruined three good shirts to get this color.”

“See? You shouldn’t jump to conclusions like that or we’re not going to get customers and my parents won’t be able to afford this place anymore,” Jong explained. “Sorry for the disturbance, gentlemen. You can go up to your room and rest now.”

“What about the cost?” Baekhyun asked as Chanyeol started walking towards him. 

“We can take care of that tomorrow morning. It’s late now and we’ve inconvenienced you enough,” Jong said while pushing his girlfriend back through the door. “Have a good night.”

With that said, Jong and Crystal disappeared and shut the door behind them. Both Baekhyun and Chanyeol looked at each other, letting out a huge sigh of relief that they had gotten through that incident. Chanyeol silently nodded his head towards the stairs and they headed up to find their room. When they came to the door number that matched the number on the key, they entered and locked the door behind them. Although they had not eaten a lot that day, they were both too tired to worry about eating now.

Since the place they were staying in seemed to be heated better than the last, Baekhyun actually found himself taking off his cloak and tossing it on a chair in the room. 

“This is a lot nicer of a place,” Baekhyun commented as he placed Molzey down on top of his cloak so she could sleep there. “A bigger bed, better view out the window, a small table, and two chairs.”

“But keep in mind that means we will end up paying more for our stay,” Chanyeol added as he took off his cloak as well and kicked off his boots before he pulled the cover back and laid down on the bed, releasing an exhausted sigh as he sunk into the mattress.

“Let’s just enjoy it while we can,” Baekhyun groused as he went and laid down next to Chanyeol on the bed. “We’ll come to the money part when they ask for it.”

The room went silent as they laid there until Chanyeol rolled onto his side and shifted to get more comfortable. “You know, Baekhyun. I’m really proud of how easily you spoke with...what was his name...Jong?”

“Ah...well it’s all thanks to that spell you did,” Baekhyun told him as he also rolled over onto his side and looked at the wizard. “If only I could always feel this way…”

“Hopefully this will help you see that you can. Isn’t it easier this way?” Chanyeol asked, smiling at Baekhyun.

“I have to admit...it was kind of easy speaking up in the last town...and even easier in this one. Maybe whenever the spell wears off, I’ll be so used to it that I won’t even notice it has worn off,” the prince said in a hope-filled voice. “Wouldn’t that be great?”

“It would be fantastic,” Chanyeol agreed. “Now can you do me a favor?” he asked while smiling.

“Sure. What is it?” Baekhyun asked, moving slightly closer to Chanyeol. Now that they were resting, he felt like he could keep talking with Chanyeol well into the night.

“Let me sleep.” A tired smile flickered across his face. 

“Ah...yes. Good night…” Baekhyun rolled over onto his other side and laid there, closing his eyes to rest. 

In no time flat, Chanyeol moved and hugged him, raising his temperature so they could be even warmer. “Good night, Baekhyun.”

The sun came streaming through the window the next morning, lighting up the room. It was so nice to have sunlight and not wake up feeling freezing that neither Baekhyun nor Chanyeol could bring themselves to move from the bed.

They would have loved to stay in bed for longer and rest, but Molzey had a different idea about how they should spend their morning. She jumped up on the bed and started making her way between them and jumping around. There was even an attempt she made to burrow in the covers, but they were scared she would destroy them with her claws and had to put a stop to that. 

“I think I smell food cooking downstairs,” Chanyeol commented. “Do you want me to go down and see what I can get so you can keep an eye on Molzey?”

“Sure that sounds like a good plan to me. Do you need some money? I feel like you’ve been paying for everything…” Baekhyun told him in a guilty voice.

“No, I have it all covered. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Chanyeol said before getting out of bed and leaving the room. 

Chanyeol made his way downstairs and instantly saw Jong walking around.

“Morning, Jong!” Chanyeol called, waving over to him. 

“Oh, hello! How was your night?” Jong asked happily.

“It was great once we got into bed. We were both so exhausted after traveling all day yesterday,” Chanyeol explained.

“That’s great! I’m glad the room was to your liking!” Jong stated happily. “Would you like some breakfast now?” he then asked.

“You read my mind. I was going to ask if you served breakfast here,” Chanyeol said with a kind smile.

“Oh yes! Let me grab you a small menu we have. Everything is made fresh so we don’t have a huge selection. I hope you don’t mind,” Jong explained. 

“Not at all. Any food you have to offer I’m sure is fantastic,” Chanyeol replied.

As Jong disappeared to grab a menu, Chanyeol looked out the window to see the town already bustling with people. It looked like a nice calm town, just like the other. He heard feet shuffle behind him and stop, causing him to turn around.

“Crystal...right?” Chanyeol asked, remembering that was the name he had heard Jong call her last night.

“Don’t say my name,” Crystal hissed at him. “You might have Jong fooled...but I know what you are.”

“I really don’t know-”

“Cut it out,” she hissed again. “Don’t try fooling me. I will be keeping my eye on you till you’re gone,” Crystal told him in a threatening voice.

Jong came back just in time because it looked like Crystal was about to blow up on Chanyeol.

“Crystal, I thought you were helping to gather the eggs,” Jong said as he passed Chanyeol a menu.

“I finished and then saw he was roaming around. I figured I would make sure he was not causing any trouble,” Crystal explained, casting her gaze back towards Chanyeol and glaring at him.

“Relax, will you? Everything is completely fine with him,” Jong said while rolling his eyes.

“Ugh! Why don’t you see it!?” Crystal shouted before storming out of the building and leaving the two of them standing there shocked.

“Sorry about her...again. She’s usually not this bad…” Jong apologized. “But please, take a look at the menu and let me know what you would like.”

Just as Chanyeol nodded his head, he heard feet pounding down the stairs and looked up. When he did, he was shocked to see Baekhyun running down while holding Molzey out at arm's length.

“She has to poop! She has to poop!” Baekhyun shouted as his feet hit the floor and sprinted towards the door and out of it as fast as possible.

“Well...that’s um...new…” Jong said with his head cocked to the side.

“I swear he's not usually like this either,” Chanyeol told him followed by a small sigh. “And we will do two of these breakfast specials,” he said while handing the menu back.

“Alright. Will you be eating down here or in your room?” Jong asked as he gave his head a few shakes to clear it of the scene he had just witnessed.

“Our room would be great,” Chanyeol happily requested.

“It should be up in a little bit then. But you might want to go check on your brother and your…uhh…pooping fox…”

Chanyeol embarrassingly laughed as he backed up towards the door and headed out to find Baekhyun. When he did, he found the prince crouching down on the ground and calmly talking to Molzey while she finished doing her business.

“You just had to make a scene in there,” Chanyeol said while standing there and shoving his hands into his pants pockets.

“She started getting ready to poop on the bed. I had to get her outside,” Baekhyun explained right before sneezing and startling Molzey. 

“Come back in. It’s cold out and you’ll get sick without wearing your cloak. Not to mention food will be brought to our room shortly,” Chanyeol explained to him.

Baekhyun agreed to go back inside without putting up a fight, grabbing Molzey off the ground and carrying her with him. They made their way back in and past everyone who was giving them strange looks, probably because of what Baekhyun had done mere moments ago. Finally back in their room, Baekhyun threw on his cloak and sat bundled up in it, trying to get warm again. Chanyeol took Baekhyun’s hands in his to help warm them, and then proceeded to cup his hands around the prince’s ears to the same. When Baekhyun eventually stopped shivering, he lowered his hands and gave him a pleased smile.

“Thank you, Chanyeol. That was really helpful,” Baekhyun told him before running the sleeve of his shirt under his nose.

“No problem, Baekhyun. I cannot have you freezing to death on me,” Chanyeol commented back. 

It did not seem like much time passed before there was a knock on their door. When they opened it, they found it was Jong with their breakfast. As Jong placed it down on their table, he also let them know the total for the room and meal. This time it was Baekhyun who dug into his money pouch and paid for everything. Once Jong double counted the money he was given, he left the room to allow Chanyeol and Baekhyun time to enjoy their meals.

“Wow, this looks amazing!” Baekhyun exclaimed as he sat down in one of the chairs surrounding the table.

On the plate was a few strips of bacon, some cooked ham, four eggs, sliced potatoes, a buttered roll, and some sort of sauce that was drizzled over all of it.

“Then let’s dig in,” Chanyeol told him, motioning towards their plates.

The two of them dug into their food and found it delicious. Baekhyun fed a little bit of the ham on his plate to Molzey because she had been putting her front paws against his leg. Chanyeol also shared a little of his food with the fox, opting to give her some of his eggs. They finished their meal with no problem and decided to sit around for a bit before going into the town to look for food to bring with them and if there were any other items they would need for their travels.

“Chanyeol…” Baekhyun called after a while of silence. He had moved back to the bed and was laying down with Molzey resting on his stomach.

“Yes?” Chanyeol turned his head towards Baekhyun, since he was still sitting in the chair around the table.

“You mentioned before that your family was evil,” the prince mentioned.

“Right…” Chanyeol replied with hesitation in his voice, not knowing where Baekhyun was going with this topic.

“Do you think you’re evil? Do you consider yourself a bad person?” Baekhyun asked.

Chanyeol leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes. He took a few deep breaths before he picked his head back up. 

“Well…”

Before Chanyeol could get another word out, they heard a bunch of screaming and running. People were frantically running down the hall and down the stairs. The sound of the front door could be heard slamming over and over again. Startled, and not knowing what was going on, they both got up and pulled on their cloaks. Chanyeol grabbed their bag, Baekhyun grabbed Molzey, and they sprinted out of their room. 

After getting out of the building, they heard cries of, “Fire!" "Put it out!" "Help!”

It did not take long for them to find where the fire was. It looked like a blacksmith shop was being engulfed in flames. Frantic horses were running through the streets, people were backing away from the flames, and others were grabbing buckets of water to try and douse the flames which were only growing more fierce by the second. It was complete chaos with no end in sight as the wind fueled the flames, which sent them dancing higher into the sky.

There was a loud snapping sound right before the roof of the blacksmith shop collapsed. As it came down, embers dispersed through the air, threatening to catch other buildings on fire as well. Black smoke rose into the air, causing a cloud of terror to cover the town. Mothers and children crouched down closer to the ground, looking up in horror at the sight before them. Men were trying their best to keep people