Yifan could feel every muscle in his body straining as he carried the weight of two extra people over the ocean. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told them in the tower that he’d carried more than one person before. He just hadn’t explained that it hadn’t been for quite so far of a distance.

                The sight of the island on the horizon had him sighing in relief. “That’s where we’re going. The rest of my crew is there. My ship is in the cove on the other side. You’ll see it in a bit.”

                Tao blinked heavily as he turned his head to look at the island he could see in the distance. He kept his hands locked around the bag and ZiZi while trying not to move too much within Yifan’s hold. “How many people are in your crew?”

                “There are nine others.”

                Tao nodded before looking over Yifan’s shoulder to meet Joonmyeon’s tired gaze. He felt bad for him considering Tao was being held but Joonmyeon was the one who had to hold on. “Are they all like you and Joonmyeon?”

                Yifan tipped his chin to look down at the male he carried. “We’re all survivors of the King’s attack on Exodus.”

                Tao looked back at the island in the distance to avoid the hard gaze of the man carrying him. He wasn’t doing anything too strenuous but all his muscles protested being cramped and stationary for so long. He wanted to get to the island so that he could walk around and stretch.

                That and because ZiZi was becoming restless in his jacket. The little kitten was scratching as he tried to figure out how to escape his confines. Tao did his best to keep him still.

                Yifan controlled their descent as best he was able to. He felt wobbly as he brought them low over the water. The beach wasn’t too much further. He was sure if he grew too tired then the man on his back would be able to get them the rest of the way there.

                “I thought you said your ship was on the other side of the island,” Joonmyeon called over the wind as they got nearer and nearer to the island. “Why are we landing on this side?”

                “Because I’m exhausted,” Yifan called back as he strained to keep them in the air. “I won’t make it to the other side.”

                Joonmyeon sighed before he let go and dropped into the ocean. He heard Tao’s shout just before he landed but didn’t do anything but smile as the water engulfed him.

                Yifan rose several feet into the air once the weight was gone from his back. He let out a sigh of relief as he carried his single passenger the rest of the way to the beach. “Stop squirming. He’ll be fine. He’s got the power of water.”

                Tao was well aware of the power that Joonmyeon possessed. He just didn’t like it when they were separated. The King hadn’t tried to keep them apart after the first and only time he had. “Joonmyeon!”

                Stumbling onto the sand, Yifan dropped the struggling boy in his arms onto the beach. “There. Sheesh. Whatever.”

                Tao’s limbs screamed at him as he forced himself to his feet. He ripped open his coat to pull ZiZi out of his confines. He dropped the kitten onto the ground as he kept his gaze on the surface of the ocean. He knew he shouldn’t be so worried because Joonmyeon was in the water. He was the safest when he was in the water. But Tao couldn’t see him. He needed to see him.

                Joonmyeon broke the surface of the ocean and waved toward the shore. On the beach, he could just make out Tao and Yifan. He was pleased to see that they made it the rest of the way without incident.

                Taking a moment to bask, Joonmyeon to his back and closed his eyes. He let his powers connect to the ocean and felt the ebb and flow of the waves. Slowly, he began nudging himself toward shore. He didn’t like being separated from Tao, though he knew that there wasn’t anything anyone could do to either of them while Joonmyeon was in the water.

                Tao waded a few steps into the ocean as he watched Joonmyeon float nearer. “Come on, Joonmyeon! Hurry up!”

                Smiling, Joonmyeon turned to swim the rest of the way to shore. He didn’t bother to propel himself through the water since he wanted to enjoy his freedom. He did, however, send a little stream of water up to splash Tao for yelling at him.

                Spluttering, Tao staggered back onto the beach. He wiped the water off his face as he looked around for ZiZi. “Did you see where my cat went?”

                Yifan turned as he stretched his arms. “No.”

                Frowning, Tao studied the sand until he found tiny paw prints and then followed them. He found ZiZi playing with a large blade of grass just at the edge of the tree line. “There you are. Don’t run away.”

                ZiZi ignored his owner as he twitched his ears and turned to bound after a bug that flew by.

                Sighing, Tao followed the kitten as he kept one eye on Joonmyeon’s progress through the waves. He waved when he saw him finally pull himself from the ocean. “Joonmyeon!”

                Joonmyeon returned Tao’s wave as he approached Yifan. “What’s the plan?”

                Yifan rolled his head to help release some of the strain in his neck. “It won’t take us long to hike over the island.”

                “I don’t mind walking. It’ll be a nice change of pace for us.”

                “Then we’ll go meet the rest of my crew and introduce you to them,” Yifan said as he swung out his arms to try and work the kink out of his shoulder. “You should probably go get him. They’re going the wrong way.”

                Joonmyeon nodded as he turned. He didn’t let Yifan see the lift in his brows at his statement. It was an island. There wasn’t really a wrong way. “Do you need more time before we go?”

                Yifan shook his head even though Joonmyeon couldn’t see him. “No, I’ll be fine. Get him and we’ll go.”

                Joonmyeon didn’t bother to respond as he made his way across the beach. He smiled to himself as he got close enough to hear Tao talking to the kitten. “Tao?”

                Tao lifted his head with a grin already on his lips. “Joonmyeon! Look at this place! Look at us! We’re free!”

                “We’re free of the tower, Tao. We aren’t free just yet.”

                Shrugging, Tao lifted his hands to gesture around them. “I’m so excited, Suho!”

                Joonmyeon glanced back over his shoulder. They were far enough away from Yifan that it didn’t matter what they said. Still, he needed to make sure that they were safe. “Tao, you can’t call me that in front of them, okay?”

                “Suho?”

                “Yes, they’ll know what that word means. They’ll know I’m the guardian.”

                Tao frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you think they know the legend?”

                “Everyone does,” Joonmyeon said with a sigh as he watched ZiZi stalk after a piece of grass blowing in the wind. “Yifan already told us that he was looking for the Pearl.”

                “I won’t use it,” Tao promised as he turned to scoop up ZiZi. “Did Yifan say what we’re going to do next?”

                “We’re hiking across the island,” Joonmyeon replied as he turned to look back at the man who had rescued them. “He’s too tired to fly us.”

                “I don’t mind walking!” Tao said with a grin. “I haven’t been near a tree in too many years.”

                “I said almost the same thing,” Joonmyeon agreed. “We should go. I think he’s a little impatient to get back to his crew.”

                Tao shrugged as he followed behind Joonmyeon. There wasn’t anything keeping him on the beach. He’d just been waiting for them to tell him they were ready to go. “How long do you think it’ll take us to cross the island?”

                Yifan turned at the sound of the question. He watched the two men he’d brought with him approach him with a frown on his face. “Depends on how many breaks we have to take.”

                Joonmyeon lifted an eyebrow as he stared back at Yifan. “And if we only take one or two?”

                “Then just a few hours.”

                “Then let’s go!” Tao called as he lifted ZiZi above his head. “I’m sure we’ll make it in no time at all!”

                Yifan held back his scoff as he turned to lead them into the trees. He hoped they could pass most of their hike in silence.

XXX

                The King stood on his balcony and looked up at the tower. The storm had lasted through the night and well into the next day. He’d long ago stopped trying to get Joonmyeon to affect the weather. His little water sprite refused to even admit that he could.

                But the storm had passed. It had passed but the large doors that shuttered the window of the tower were still closed.

                “Guards! Send someone up the tower to check on my treasures.”

                The King kept his eyes glued to the tower as he heard someone salute and then begin calling out orders. He wondered if they were up to something up in the tower. He wouldn’t put it past them to try and escape. They hadn’t made an attempt in a long time.

                They were probably due for another one. Too bad he’d stop them.

XXX

                Tao huffed as he followed behind Yifan through the trees. He did his best to keep his breathing slow and steady as they walked. He was lucky that ZiZi had settled back down into another nap in the crook of his arm. It had been too stressful trying to keep the kitten contained while keeping up with Yifan’s pace.

                Joonmyeon smiled as he followed behind Tao. Every time the wind blew through the trees, he closed his eyes and basked in it. They were free. There were no doubts in his mind that the King would realize they were gone and immediately begin searching for them, but he couldn’t know to start searching so far away. Not when Yifan had slipped in during the storm.

                The chances of them being caught and returned to the King were slim. They would need to get away from Yifan and the rest of the crew, but they were in a much better situation than before. “Do you need another break, Tao?”

                “No,” Tao groaned as he made it to the top of a small hill. “I can keep going. I promise.”

                Yifan rolled his eyes as he started his way down the hill. “Good, because your last break was only twenty minutes ago. If we keep stopping like we have been then we’ll be lucky to make it there by morning.”

                “You could just go without us,” Tao huffed as he stumbled a little. “Go tell everyone we’re coming and then we’ll be there eventually.”

                “No,” Yifan said sharply without looking over his shoulder. “I didn’t tell them I was going to seek out the King’s Treasure. We’ll go the rest of the way together.”

                Joonmyeon blinked in surprise. He shook his head as Tao quickly looked at him over his shoulder. “They don’t know you left?”

                “I’m the captain,” Yifan bit out. “I can do whatever I want.”

                Joonmyeon shrugged when Tao looked back at him the second time. “Okay. We’ll keep going for a little while longer before taking another break.”

XXX

                “Sir! The runner reported that the tower was empty! There is a large hole in the ceiling and the prisoners are gone.”

                The King turned from the railing of his balcony that looked out over the ocean with his hand on the hilt of his sword. “What?”

                “The runner reported-

                “I heard you the first time,” the King bit out. “Begin searching the grounds! I want them found! They can’t have gotten far!”

                “Sir!” The guard saluted before turning to hurry away to do as commanded.

                The King returned his gaze to the tower. He sneered at the thought of his treasures escaping.

XXX

                Tao seriously considered lying down on the ground. He imagined refusing to get back to his feet. He was tired. His body was exhausted from the long flight and he hadn’t slept in far too long. Their hike across the island was taking its toll on him.

                Then the ground started shaking and moving under his feet.

                “Tao!”

                “Joonmyeon!”

                Yifan sighed as he shot up into the air. “Don’t panic. It’s probably just Kyungsoo.”

                “What!” Tao yelled as he dropped to his knees. ZiZi hissed at him for the rough handling. He was forced to put the little cat down to avoid hurting him. “How does that make this okay?”

                Joonmyeon staggered his way to Tao’s side as the ground under their feet dropped and the sides rose. “Tell him to stop!”

                “He probably felt us coming but knew there was more than just me. He’ll be here soon.”

                Joonmyeon growled as he grabbed onto Tao and held him tightly as the earth continued to move. The fact that Yifan seemed unconcerned about them just pissed him off more. “Don’t worry,” Joonmyeon said quietly to Tao. “We’ll escape these people as soon as we’re able to.”

                Tao whimpered but nodded as he kept one hand on Joonmyeon and one on the ground as they were put into a pit. He was glad that ZiZi was with them purely because he didn’t want to have to try to find his kitten after he was scared away.

                He was thankful when the ground stopped moving around them. Tao caught his breath as he stayed on his knees. “When I was hoping to be done walking, this wasn’t what I had in mind.”

                Joonmyeon huffed out a laugh as he dropped to sit next to Tao. He looked up at the walls of the pit and sighed. “I suppose we rode it down and we’ll have to ride it up.”

                “Great,” Tao said as he made himself more comfortable. “I didn’t get enough scratches the first time. I was hoping to do that again.”

                Joonmyeon grinned as Tao settled against his side. “At least we’re not in the tower.”

                “True,” Tao agreed as ZiZi scampered back to them. “This is so much better.”

                “The view leaves a bit to be desired.”

                Snorting, Tao shook his head before resting against Joonmyeon’s shoulder. “But I’m with you and the King is far away from here.”

                “There’s no king here,” Joonmyeon agreed. He stared up at the top of the pit but couldn’t see any signs of Yifan. “But I worry that we’re not safe yet.”

A/N: Do you guys like this one?

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