ROYALLY UNFAIR .

SIXTEEN - SWIMS AND CITIES

sixteen . swims and cities .

☀☀☀

Jordan stuck her tongue out at him, grinning as she spun around to walk away. Before could take a step forward she felt two hands grip her ankles and she screamed as Jeongguk dragged her back into the lake, a mischievous, lopsided grin on his face. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pressing her back against his chest to stop her from drowning.

"Hey, hey, stop thrashing about," He laughed, treading water carefully, "You'll drown both of us. Just relax, okay? I've got you."

Jordan's bottom lip jutted out as she tried to stop kicking her legs, her heart racing. "You could've killed me."

"But I didn't," Jeongguk's smile widened and he let go of her for a fraction of a second only to spin her around in the water so that she was facing him. He smirked at the shocked look on her face and used one arm to hold carefully onto her waist, making sure her body was pressed against his.

"Wha..." Jordan began, eyes widened as she looked at him, "What are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Jeongguk asked, his hot breath fanning her face. "Nothing. I should teach you to swim though."

"I know how to swim," Jordan insisted.

"You do. But really badly, so badly it-" Jeongguk didn't finish his sentence, getting distracted by footsteps heard nearby. He frowned, looking at the bank, his eyes widening when Pixie and Taehyung came into view. He immediately separated himself from Jordan, the girl gasping as she was pushed away from him.

"Jeongguk!" Pixie looked at the man in disbelief as Jordan's arms flailed about, the girl bobbing in and out of the water as she tried to breathe. Pixie groaned and quickly tugged her shoes off before impressively diving into the water, managing to bring Jordan back to a shallower area.

"Fucking hell, dude," Taehyung mumbled as he watched Pixie help Jordan back onto land. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "We've been here long enough. Let's continue on our way."

"God, the weather is weird here," Jeongguk said casually as he lifted himself out of the lake, feeling the heat of the sun on his body – it was as if they were in a completely different continent than yesterday.

Pixie sighed deeply, standing straight. She made sure Jordan was okay and smiled weakly when Taehyung joined them, "We don't even know where to go," She said, looking up at him, one arm still around Jordan. Her eyes begged him to take the lead. She was tired of making the decisions.

Taehyung obliged, his expression soft, "We could follow the cart tracks of our kidnapper. Not directly in case he returns, but keeping them in sight. There'll probably be civilisation where he's going, and hopefully someone nice enough to give us directions to the palace."

"Good idea," Pixie smiled, one hand holding Jordan's as they began to walk.

☀☀☀

The sun had begun to set when the quartet reached a city. It was dull, with tall buildings casting enormous shadows onto the ground. Everything seemed a shade of grey as they got closer – the city was clearly not well looked after, not enough to be called 'modern' yet certainly more modern than the village they had stayed in the day before. Taehyung's hand reached out to take Pixie's, giving it a small squeeze – more to assure himself than her that everything would be okay, that the gloominess of this city did not mirror their fate.

"People," Pixie breathed, looking around as they walked. People, indeed, were roaming the streets. Yet no ordinary people. They were far taller than the four, and somewhat grubby-looking, making it increasingly difficult for them to blend in as they got closer to the heart of the city. Many pairs of eyes followed their movement, and whispers filled the air around them.