Eclipse *Minsung*

Whatever it takes

^silver haired Jisung inspired literally this entire story ^u^

Minho pushed his back into the wall, his breathing thankfully muffled by the mask covering his face. He listened intently as the footsteps faded away, and he sagged, pulling his mask down and grabbing the small canteen hanging from his hip. This was Seungmin's job for a reason, Minho was not all that suited to sneaking.

Four days had passed since Jisung was taken. Four days filled with useless searching and sleepless nights. And by now, Minho knew it would be impossible to find his prince while working in official capacity. Not only did being a member of the royal family slow him down, guards and those under the Moon King's thumb slowed him down at every turn and sent him in the wrong direction.

So finally, Minho decided to take matters into his own hands. He wasn't sure what happened to Seungmin or where he had gone, but it seemed he had to take over the job of being his own spy. 

He was nearly to the limits of the city, but with everything going on, guards swarmed every inch of the streets and patrolled the limits. Minho was the one to set the patrols out, but he still didn't want to be caught up in convincing his soldiers to let him take off on his own without informing anyone else. Like a criminal in his own home, he was escaping the City of the Sun, all in search of his love.

It took much longer than he wanted or anticipated, but Minho was finally able to make it out of the city, and he set out heading East. During their searches, Aja consistently directed Minho in that general direction, so that was his best start. The griffin would be a few hours behind him, mostly to avoid further suspicion that something was wrong, but at least he would have her to help with the search.

The closest town to the city was small and quiet, and according to the Moon King, it was searched thoroughly. Minho didn't believe that for a second, so he was set on looking into every crack and corner. He had to find something. Anything.

And he did.

An abandoned restaurant drew his attention some time after entering the town, and once Minho found his way inside, he was certain he found where the kidnappers had kept Jisung at some point. The front area was clearly used as a space for them to eat and rest, as freshly burnt candles were spread along with dirty dishes and a few items the criminals forgot.

The kitchen were recently used, the smell of food still lingering in the air, and the stairs leading down to the basement were scattered with a few empty bottles of alcohol, likely from those standing on guard. The back pantry was empty save for some trash. And then Minho reached the cooler where produce and dairy was typically store, and he felt sick to his stomach.

The heavy metal door of the room was lightly splattered with blood on the inside, and a thin blanket laying in the corner of the room was splattered as well. Lastly, two short chains were hanging from where they were embedded into the stone wall.

He was about to leave, if only to get some air, when he noticed a strange shape in the darker corner of the room, and he quickly grabbed a torch off the wall to light it. As soon as light spilled into his vision, Minho felt the first hint of hope prick into his heart. Four bodies lay where they were thrown in the corner, very clearly having been strangled to death by a chain or having their necks broken.

Jisung had fought back, and that saved him, because Minho could very clearly see the bodies adorning symbols of Banscar. He tore one of the badges off the bodies and quickly left the building. If he moved fast, he could catch up with them. He had to.

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Jisung's head snapped up, and he blinked several times in an attempt to keep himself awake. At the sound of a low laugh, he glanced to the side uneasily.