Jisoo's POV:

I stare around the crowd, looking for anyone that stands out.

No one.

"Hey, bro," Hansol comes up to me, whispering under his breath. "We don't have any leads on Aki yet. But we might be able to find some people who are willing to help us. Mingming, Dongjin and the others are meeting Kacie at the moment."

I nod, taking everything in.

"Let's split up," he says quickly. "We'll cover more ground that way..." he blushes. "Plus, people keep staring at us like we're either cannibals or royal blood...uh...which we are..."

I smirk.

"And now your'e grinning at me like I'm an idiot," he murmurs. "Okay." He sighs. "I'm gonna go look near the arena, 'kay?"

"Yeah," I reply. My brother smiles at me before running in the opposite direction. "Hey!" I shout. He turns around, confused.

"Something wrong, bro?"

"No!" I reply, smiling softly. "Thank you for everything, Hansol!"

He laughs, waving.

"No problem!"

Aki's POV:

Samuel is firebending now.

I managed to get him performing similar moves to the ones I've seen Hansol, Jisoo and other firebenders do. At the thought of Jisoo a sharp pain runs through my body.

"Aki?"

I look up to see Samuel, covered in dust and burns, his hair sticking up in the air.

"Yeah?"

"I...uh...accidentally melted the bars..."

...

"YOU WHAT?!"

I look up to see a gaping hole in the bars, the metal quickly solidifying again. How did Samuel do that?!

No time for that, Aki. Run for God's sake!

I grab Samuel by the hand and run, blocking out the surprised noises when the guards realised we've escaped. I run without stopping, quickly pulling Samuel into my arms as I jump down the stairs. He holds onto me, screaming something about guards and firebending. I can't hear him over the pounding of my heart.

"Aki!!" He yells, thrashing against me. I put him down after I crash through the doors. "They're shooting flames at us! Are they trying to kill us?!"

"I'm sure they'd love to, but we're not gonna let that happen..."

"Yeah," he replies as we hide behind the bushes. "Hey..."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think we have a chance if we they surrounded us?" His voice is quiet and he isn't looking directly at me. What do I do? Tell him the truth? Lie?

I smile at him.

"There's always hope, Sammy..."

"I don't see any at the moment, Aki," he grumbles, sulking. Despite myself, I laugh.

"Trust me, Sammy," I giggle. "You're not looking hard enough."

He grins up at me.

"And when we find it, can we go back to Sis and the others?"

Again, Jisoo's face fills my mind. The thought of being reunited with him makes my heart soar.

"Yeah." I whisper, tears falling down my cheeks. "Of course we will be with the others again."

Jisoo's POV:

I have searched every corner of the city and I haven't found anything!

Cursing under my breath, I walk to the spot where Hansol told me to meet him and Kacie. My mind drifts to Aki as I wait. I wonder how she's doing right now. I wonder if she's hurt. At the thought of her crying face, I growl uncomfortably, gritting my teeth.

"Damn you, Earth King!" I curse under my breath. "If you've even hurt a hair on her head, I will kill you!"

"Jisoo!" Kacie yells and she runs over to me, waving her arms. Pogi, Mimi and Hansol come running after her. "Did you find anything?"

"No..." I reply, hoping that she didn't hear what I said. "You?"

She sighs, disappointed.

"No." Tears threaten to fall but she angrily wipes them away. "I hope they're okay."

I look up to the sky, feeling the wind blowing around me.

"I hope so too."

Aki's POV:

"You love Jisoo, don't you?" Sammy asks me, his eyes filled with curiosity.

"I-I don't know," I stammer as we walk through the trees. "I only met him a few days ago..."

"You look so happy when you're with him," he whispers, whistling slightly. "The way Kacie looks at Hansol. And Ma looks at Pa."

I notice the look of longing in his eyes when he talks about his family. I hug him tight.

"Until we get back to them, I will look after you as much as I can," I murmur. "I will be your 'sister' for our little expedition."

He laughs and hugs me back.

"Yeah," he replies.

"And you can be my brother..." I whisper, closing my eyes at the words. Aram would be proud that I'm not crying at the mention of a brother. I'm proud.

Sammy is quiet for a little while but when he speaks, his voice is calm and steady.

"Not a replacement for yours, right?"

"Of course not. You are 'Sammy' and Aram was...well...he was Aram," I giggle at the thought of my brother pulling ridiculous faces at me and playing pranks on my mother and father.

He pulls away and smiles happily, the joy reaching his eyes.

"I like that idea, Aki..." he laughs. "Thank you."