Luciana's body was heavy as steel. Lying on a surface so hard, every inch of her back ached, she heard the princes before she saw them. 

"Kai's probably going to be down for days, a week at least."

"Well, brother, we're just going to have to deal with it, aren't we?" Someone replied.

Lux turned her head away from the light that was making her eyelids red before attempting to open her eyes. Xiumin's face greeted her.

"She's up." He said, stoically.

"It's about time." Chen chimed in, exasperated. "I was beginning to think she was dead." 

"Nope." The princess mumbled in reply. "Just sleeping."

"More like passed out." Tao's voice was the first sign of his presence, silently sitting by the window.

Lucy realized she was laying on a mat on the pressed earth floor of one of the village's huts. The boys took up most of the remaining space in the room, their long bodies piled onto chairs too close to the ground to suit them. 

"Where are the rest?" She asked.

"Gone." The voice she had struggled to recognize, unsurprisingly, belonged to Luhan.

"You just never let Xiumin out of your sight, do you?" She joked, trying to sit up as the strength of her arms failed her.

"What?" He asked, obviously annoyed.

"Nothing."

"Now, children, this is no time for fighting." Xiumin chimed in, standing from his spot. "We have a long road ahead of us; there will be plenty of time to bicker on our way back to the palace."

"Excuse me?" Chen asked, eyes wide with indignation.

"Why are you so surprised?" Tao rolled his eyes. "Kai's gone and God knows where the Queen's teleporting rat has gone to hide. We came here by carriage and we can go back by carriage. Stop acting so spoiled."

Chen turned to him. "Why, sorry, brother, I had forgotten we have the prince of the nomads in our midst. Unfortunately, I don't know if you've looked around but this isn't your beloved desert and, perhaps you've forgotten, dear brother, most of our supplies were destroyed in yesterday night's raging fire. So, how, exactly, do you propose to guide us through this damned jungle alive?"

Tao looked like he was about to spit some venom back at him when Xiumin interrupted.

"First of all, we also lost our carriages, so we are going to have to walk until we encounter a town in which we can buy new ones. Second, our original guide is still here and I'm sure the villagers would be more than happy to grant us enough sup