Way Home

Chapter 3: Drifting

Soobin and Beomgyu's POV

Six hours, had they been at sea. At least that's what Beomgyu guessed, judging by the darkness of the night and the moon having shifted higher in the sky. Who knows? He never paid much attention in astronomy class anyway. As far as Beomgyu was concerned, as long as he could look up at the night sky and confirm to himself 'yep, that's a star alright' he thought the rest to be redundant. Beomgyu started to have regrets about that now, after being lost at sea with a giant grumpy bunny for a while. Said bunny was out cold, oar on his lap and head leaning against Beomgyu's back. The only sounds that could be heard were the quiet laps of the water against the boat, and a faint snoring from Soobin.

Beomgyu wished he could sleep too, but the fear of being out on the open water coupled with the persistent nagging in his mind kept him awake. Replaying the events of the day, he thought to himself about how on earth he came to end up in this situation.

A few hours before...

His day had started with some ramen in the comfort of his little cottage, before piecing the last details of his disguise together. He had a plan.

Working at the local tavern has its perks, when guests had a habit of running their mouths after a tankard of mead and relaying the town's secrets like their life depended on it. The job paid enough to keep him afloat, but it bored him to death. The same routine, day in and day out. Serve mead, wipe tables, laugh uncomfortably at the crude 'flirting' guests made, rinse and repeat.

One particular evening, a group of men stumbled into the tavern and promptly sat down at the bar (more like death dropped on the benches but hey, minor details). They were already drunk, but continued to order several rounds more of mead. Donned in formal attire with strange feathers, it was clear to Beomgyu that these men were palace guards. It just so happened that these guards in particular had a penchant for oversharing.

"It's not even properly locked... just a flimsy padlock... no wonder his majesty needs so many of us..." slurred one of the gentlemen. "Is he that desperate to be robbed or something? Pretty irresponsible of our mighty monarch I reckon..." The other men at the table hollered, slamming their fists on the table in jubilance. Some of their mead spilt over the table, a job Beomgyu knew he'd have to scrub away later. "Makes you wonder what he's hiding... I overheard his servant advising him to get a stronger lock, but it looked like he was shut down. Poor sod."

Beomgyu kept cleaning the nearby tables, pausing his actions ever so often to eavesdrop the secrets the guards were so frivolously spilling. An idea popped into his head, and he smirked to himself. Time to put himself to good use.

The next day, he set to work scouring the town's library for maps. He already knew that only a padlock kept the King's chambers secure, but he still had to find out where exactly in the palace his chambers were. Upon entering, he ambled his way to the back of the library, where the maps, blueprints and other old parchments could be found. There were piles of them, formed in small unorganised towers of unguarded secrets. Beomgyu maneuvered his way through the towers, picking up one document only to immediately drop it upon seeing another. After searching for almost an hour, he spotted the edge of a page hidden amongst the rest, emerald green in colour. Beomgyu pulled it out, and sure enough there it was - the blueprint of Emerald Palace. Lines of gold scattered the page, revealing the ins and outs of the castle, from ballrooms to staff quarters and then finally the King's chambers at the centre. Bingo.

That's step one down. The next? Disguise. It wasn't as if anyone could simply walk into the palace - everyone must have cause to be there. Beomgyu decided to apply for a job within the palace. Turning up at the front gate in a poorly sewn outfit and a hat with odd feathers, he claimed to be the new court jester. He told the guard a few knock knock jokes for good measure.

Beomgyu walked through the palace trying to be unassuming and natural. This of course involved numerous surprise conversations with other staff that had politely asked if he was new, to which he laughed and nodded awkwardly, walking away quickly in an effort to avoid suspicion. He quickly found the room he was looking for though. The hall was deserted, owing to a council meeting in the hall that required all staff in attendance. All that was left now was to break into the King's chambers. Perfect timing...

Or so Beomgyu thought, before a tall man with dimples came angrily storming towards him. Party over, he guesses.

Present day...

Beomgyu awoke to the sun in his eyes, shining high up in the sky without a cloud in sight. He covered his eyes with his hands and whipped around to see Soobin rowing the boat disinterestedly.

"Morning beanstalk." Beomgyu sighed, the realisation of being still lost at sea and a stomach that began to grumble hitting him. As if reading his mind, Soobin gave him a weak smile,

"Sun's a bit high in the sky for it to be morning, isn't it? Anyway, I think we'll land somewhere today. I can smell it in the sea air. That or I'm just craving a bacon sarnie."

"Let's hope we wash up somewhere with a decent sandwich shop then. I reckon that's the direction." Beomgyu gestured vaguely to his north, and Soobin couldn't quite tell if he was serious or not. Either way, any guess is as good as any when you're lost at sea with a grizzly bear for a crew mate. Beomgyu picked up the other oar, and started to row the boat in tandem with Soobin.

2 hours later...

At this point, the duo had been rowing mindlessly for so long that their arms were numb and their vision cloudy. It was only when the boat jerked forward as if being pulled did they both snap themselves out of their stupor. They locked eyes, both frantically trying to find an explanation for their sudden movement. Moments later, a blue glow that resembled an electric charge flashed beneath the boat, and they lurched forward once again. And again. Beomgyu shrank into himself whilst Soobin leaned over the side of the boat, trying to understand just what on earth was happening. The waves flashed blue and they were pulled forward again, water splashed against Soobin's face as the strange occurrence repeated over and over. Beomgyu had shut his eyes at this point, already half accepted his fate as probable death approached. It didn't come though - the lurching stopped, and Soobin pulled himself back inside the boat as Beomgyu opened his eyes tentatively. Neither spoke, the shock of what they had just experienced stole their voices for a brief moment.

What they had both failed to notice, was that they had finally beached up somewhere. The boat had been pulled so hard that it had been wedged in sand of the island that stood tall before them. It was only then that the two boys broke eye contact and looked up at the island. The beach stretched on to the left and the right of them, and another small boat docked a short distance away. Trees towered over the island with thick trunks and vast canopies. Boulders surrounded those trees, almost like a barrier to what laid ahead. Something else they noticed was that it was silent. Not even the wind rustling through the trees could be heard - it was as though the world was on mute.

Beomgyu and Soobin remained in the boat, too cautious to speak or to disboard. That was until a yelp could be heard in the distance, and three figures broke through the trees onto the beach. In a panic, Beomgyu leapt out of the boat and scrambled for something to defend himself with. He spotted a piece of driftwood and brandished it in front of himself, yelling to Soobin to get out of the boat and take arms.

The three figures approached the boys, getting closer and closer. Neither could make out their words before, but as they neared it became clear they were asking who the new islanders were.

The boy in the middle surged forward, red hair ruffling in the wind and eyes piercing right through Beomgyu. He stepped forward once again, almost chest to chest with Beomgyu. He glanced between Beomgyu and Soobin, before his eyes settled on what Beomgyu was holding.

"Who the hell are y- are you threatening me with a pointy stick?"

AN: Back again! Who do you think the boy above is? (hint: he's secretly a squirrel)

Hopefully this slightly longer chapter was enjoyable for you! What are your thoughts so far? Feel free to let me know anything you like!

See you again soon hopefully heh

- Anne