Kyungsoo was already tired of walking. It had been twelve days since they left the warmth of their home. He looked at Joonmyeon, who was looking eager as usual. His guardian seemed to be immune at being tired. They could go on for a couple more hours and still wouldn’t break a sweat. Even if fatigue did come to him, he did his best to hide it.

  “How long are we going to keep on going like this?” Kyungsoo asked.

“Our walk for the day will soon end, young master. We shall make camp when the sky turns red.” But it was not his guardian who answered him. The tall boy who came with them was his father’s personal steward. Kyungsoo never really liked Chanyeol one bit. The tall young man can be clumsy and stupid at times, to Kyungsoo’s dismay.

  “That’s not what I meant,” Kyungsoo said in an irritated tone. “When are we going back home?”
  “It will be a while until we get back home. We haven’t even finished our journey yet.” His guardian told him.

  Joonmyeon can be a little harsh at times but Kyungsoo prefered his company better than Chanyeol’s. Joonmyeon had been Kyungsoo’s companion ever since they were children. Joonmyeon was a base-born child that Kyungsoo’s father brought to his service to act as the little lord’s steward and guardian. Two years older than him, Joonmyeon had been the older brother Kyungsoo never had, and because of Kyungsoo’s affection, he endearingly calls his guardian, Suho.

  “I miss home.” Kyungsoo whispered wearily. He missed his soft, warm bed. He missed the songs the bards played when they would visit his castle. He missed the kisses his mother would give him before he slept. He missed the garden where he and Joonmyeon used to play all day. He missed it all so much that Kyungsoo wanted to just turn around and run back to home. He didn’t care if he left Chanyeol or Suho behind. He just wanted to get back home.

  “There will be no home to go back to if we fail your father.” Joonmyeon answered.
  “I don’t even know what my father wanted of me.”
  “He wanted you to be strong. You will know what this journey is for, when the time comes.”

Kyungsoo was kept in the dark about the details of their journey. He remembered that he was in his room dreaming a sweet dream when his guardian shook him awake. Dawn had not yet broken when Kyungsoo woke up. The sky was still a dark blue color and first ray of the sun was nowhere to be seen when the little lord peeked at his window.

  “Isn’t it too early for swordfight lessons?” He turned to his guardian while rubbing his eyes.

  Joonmyeon, however, was striding across the room carrying clothes and dumping them into a trunk. Kyungsoo threw his feet from the bed and sat on the edge of it. Joonmyeon was in an obvious haste while he packed their things inside a single trunk. When Kyungsoo asked about the situation, his guardian would only give him silence. A few minutes of sheer silence had passed when his father’s steward entered the room and bowed at Kyungsoo.

  “Good morning, young master.”

  “Where are we going?” he asked Chanyeol. If his guardian was too stubborn to answer him, his father’s steward would. While Joonmyeon was unafraid of his little lord, Chanyeol was bound by duty and would have to obey him in a heartbeat.

   “Young master. Your father sent us to—“ Chanyeol started, but the dirty look Joonmyeon gave him made the steward stop at once. Kyungsoo furrowed his eyebrows at Joonmyeon. Insolent prick, he thought. He went to ask the steward again but Chanyeol avoided his questions. In the end, Kyungsoo accepted defeat. “I will break my fast,” Kyungsoo headed for the door but the tall steward blocked the doorway.

  “I believe I cannot allow you to leave, young master,” Chanyeol said.
  “We will break our fast on our way, my lord. We must not delay anymore,” Joonmyeon finished packing their clothes and rose, carrying the big trunk.   “Our steward here has seen to that already.”

  Kyungsoo only grumbled his complaint since he knew nothing would stop Joonmyeon when he gave his final word. When all was set, they left the castle that seemed to be empty at that time.

  I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my mother, Kyungsoo thought. They only stopped to make camp when the sky had already gone dark. Joonmyeon went around the woods the gather firewood while Chanyeol set the wagon down that carried their trunks. His guardian came back with enough dry wood to start a fire. Joonmyeon arranged the pieces of wood down and then nodded at Chanyeol.
  With the snap of his fingers, Chanyeol made a small tongue of fire floating on the tip of his index finger. Chanyeol did a flicking motion and the tongue went down to the pile of wood, which caught on fire easily. Kyungsoo sat near the fire to feel its warmth, listening to the soft cracking sound it made.
  The night started to get cold by the second and Kyungsoo started to get hungry. Joonmyeon made a spit over the fire with fallen branches he took from under the apple tree near them. He put the duck they caught that morning and started cooking it.

  “I’m tired of ducks. I want to eat honeyed beef and lamb stew,” Kyungsoo whispered.

  If his father wanted something, why didn’t he just send off Joonmyeon or Chanyeol alone? Why did he have to be sent with the other two? Kyungsoo sighed and hugged his knees, staring idly at the fire.

  When it was time for supper, Kyungsoo ate little. Chanyeol, however, wolfed down most of the duck. When he looked at him, Kyungsoo saw grease dripping down Chanyeol’s chin. Chanyeol wiped his mouth with the back of his hand when he saw his little lord looking at him. Kyungsoo rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze at his guardian. Joonmyeon was silently eating his food. When their eyes met for a moment, Kyungsoo set the rest of his food down and took his leave.
  Kyungsoo went to his sorry excuse of a bed made from dried leaves and grass not too far from the fire. He spread his cloak over the leaves because he found that they made Kyungsoo itch. His pillow was a sack of dried leaves. Not as soft as the one at home, he thought. But nonetheless, it made Kyungsoo get his sleep.

  It was way past midnight when Kyungsoo woke to a sound that he identified as a crack of a whip. Kyungsoo sat up and looked around. The fire was already burning low, he saw. Joonmyeon slept across Kyungsoo with his back facing the fire. Chanyeol was sleeping by Joonmyeon’s feet, his hair standing in all directions. There was no other sound but the soft snores of the sleeping steward. Kyungsoo was about to lie down once more when he heard it again.

  Crack!

  Kyungsoo shot up and whipped his head around, looking for the source of the sound. He figured that it must be the twigs breaking around them. But if it is, then there must be something or someone near them. Thieves. His heart was racing now. He listened closely to the sounds around him.

  Crack!

Kyungsoo instinctively turned his head to their wagon. There it was. He could see the shape of a man, a foot near their belongings and coming closer.

I must do something!

Kyungsoo raised his hand up as high as he could and then slammed it against the ground. Please work. Please! There was a deep grumble coming from the ground. The man must have heard it, but not too quickly. The earth beneath him rose in a big mount in fast succession. The wagon was caught by its side and toppled over, spilling its contents. Kyungsoo saw the man tumble and fall from the peak of the hard-packed earth. There was another loud crack and Kyungsoo saw the man no more. No, it didn't reach the ground.

Kyungsoo didn’t remember seeing Joonmyeon or Chanyeol get up, but his guardian was now in front of him. Joonmyeon silently studied the situation before turning to Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo looked back at those eyes full of concern. Joonmyeon searched for signs of injury from Kyungsoo; He sighed when he had not seen any. Kyungsoo could feel his hands shaking uncontrollably. He could hear his heart pounding hard against his chest.

“Are you alright, my lord?” Kyungsoo jumped at Joonmyeon’s touch. It was long before he realized that the danger was gone. Remembering the question Joonmyeon raised, he nodded his head. Chanyeol went to the toppled wagon then back to them.

  “There was nothing missing but our wagon needs repairing,” Chanyeol announced and Joonmyeon nodded.
  “Search the area, Chanyeol,” Joonmyeon commanded.

Chanyeol held an open hand with his palm facing up. There was a spark above his palm and it grew into a ball of flame with the size of a big rock. He set off to the deep woods with the fire illuminating his way. It was only when the steward was gone when Kyungsoo found his breath hitching. He was hyperventilating. Things happened so fast that it shook Kyungsoo deep into the core. He did not remember lying down but the next thing he knew, Joonmyeon was crouching over him. He let go of Joonmyeon’s hand when he realized that he was gripping on it very tight.

Chanyeol came back afterwards, the fire in his palm gone. “Did you see anything?” Joonmyeon asked. Chanyeol only shook his head. “I searched the area but there was nothing. There were no disturbances on the twigs or leaves below, I noticed. No one could have possibly got close.”

“He can teleport,” Kyungsoo heard himself say. The steward and the guardian both looked at him. He pointed at the raised earth that he made. “I saw him fall but he didn’t reach the ground. There was no impact or anything. There was a loud crack and he was gone.” Joonmyeon studied Kyungsoo carefully. Joonmyeon walked towards the destroyed wagon and looked at the hard-packed mount of earth beside it.

 “Chanyeol, we shall take turns in keeping a look out. I’ll start the first watch."

Kyungsoo caught Joonmyeon by the wrist before he could stand up. "Don't leave me," he heard himself say. He knew that the man wasn't returning but he felt the need of Joonmyeon's presence near him.

Joonmyeon let a sigh leave his lips and sat by Kyungsoo's side. Kyungsoo's grip on Joonmyeon's wrist began to loosen. His guardian ran his fingers through Kyungsoo's hair to brush it aside. It took a few soothing words from Joonmyeon before Kyungsoo finally had his breathing slow down. Joonmyeon watched as Kyungsoo's chest rise and fall in a slow and steady pace.