Royal ~ Minsung

-43-

"Minho." Changbin said, rushing over to the group.

"Changbin, did-did you?" Minho asked, gesturing towards the king.

"Yes, I did. But that doesn't matter Minho. Jisung is alive. Jisung is alive Minho." Changbin said, grabbing his shoulders.

"No, I-I saw him. I saw him laying on the table." Minho sobbed.

"That wasn't Jisung. Jisung's alive, Minho. Jisung is alive." Changbin said, wiping his tears.

"How do you know?"

"I snuck him away. I know where he is, Minho."

"Where." Minho shouted, wiping his tears furiously.

"The water in the forest."

---

Changbin hurried down the hall, looking around. He had a bad feeling something had happened to Felix when he suddenly couldn't find the boy in the party venue.

As the captain hurried down the halls, he met maids and other workers rushing the other way while looking over their shoulders.

"Hey, hey you." Changbin called out, stopping one of the maids.

She turned to him, bowing.

"What are you all running from?" Changbin asked.

She looked over her shoulder, biting her lip.

"The king has two of his sons being led this way by his guards." The maid whispered, immediately running off.

Changbin hurried in the opposite direction of everyone else, just barely getting the time to see Felix and Minho getting shoved into the king's office.

His heart twisted with worry. Why were they both crying like that? Looking so broken.

In the distance Changbin could see one last royal guard leading a casually dressed boy through the halls. Changbin walked over to the two, feeling distressed about this whole situation.

"Oh, captain Seo, please, could you oend me a hand?" The guard called out, making Changbin speed up.

Changbin made eye contact with the tied up and gagged Jisung for a second, acting unaffected. He knew that if he wanted Jisung out of this situation he would have to act as though he didn't know him.

"Of course, what can i do for you?" Changbin said once he reached the two.

"I can't remember the way down to the basement, and I'm supposed to take him to the freeroaming cell." The guard said, smiling embarrassed.

"Oh, why dont I just take him? Im in no rush and im sure you have other duties to tend to." Changbin suggested.

"Really? That'd be great captain, I am already behind schedule." The guard answered, smiling.

"Oh it's no problem." Changbin said, taking a hold of Jisung's upper arm.

The guard let Jisung go, bowing towards Changbin.

"Thank you so much, captain. Be sure to find me if you ever need me to return the favor."

Changbin waved him off with a laugh, before starting to lead Jisung down to the basement. Once they were in a less crowded area, Changbin softly whispered in Jisung's ear.

"Don't worry, I'm getting you out of here."

Jisung immediately relaxed, nodding his head subtly. The two kept their correct act on every time they met someone. Once the two reached the stairs leading down, Changbin took the lead, making them exit the stairs one level above the basement.

Changbin led Jisung into the stable, immediately untying him and removing the fabric from his mouth.

"What can I do-" Jeongin immediately froze as he saw what was going on.

"Jeongin-ah. Please, I need you to keep this to yourself. Jisung's life will be put in danger if you tell anyone about what you're seeing just now." Changbin said, hurrying over to his horse.

Changbin saddled up his horse in less than a minute, hurrying up the process. He climbed up, immediately helping Jisung up behind him afterwards.

Jeongin opened the doors for them, letting them run away on the back of Changbin's horse. Changbin's horse ran as fast as it could away from the castle

The horse reached the forest in no time, running towards the waters. Jisung held tightly onto Changbin in fear of falling off. Everything that had happened the last day seemed so surreal.

First the wedding he had attended, him and Minho sleeping together for the first time and exchanging their first 'I love you's, the king threatening to kill Felix if Jisung didn't come with him, and lastly Changbin saving him and running off with him.

Jisung stepped down from the horse once they reached the waters.

"I'll ride into the cuty to buy us some supplies and then I'm coming back to stay the night with you. We can't risk telling anyone that you're here until we know what the king ordered upon you."Changbin said before steering his horse around and running off, leaving Jisung alone and scared in the forest.

He worried about Minho. He didn't know if the elder would face a punishment or not. Would he get beaten up? Tortured? Starved? Would the king focus on punishing Jisung instead? Would anyone notice that he had ran away?

After a couple hours Changbin returned qith both foods and blankets for them both. The captain made a small campfire to keep them warm and to warm their food, and the two silently fell asleep beside the campfire, feeling scared of what would be awaiting them tomorrow.

Jisung woke up the next morning to Changbin building another campfire. The elder smiled and explained that he would be going to the city today to see what had happened and to try to figure out what had happened.

Soon after Jisung was left alone again. Changbin decided to ride down to the city first, knowing that a celebration would take place in the city today. He left his horse by a tree, slowly sneaking into the heart of the city, clutching his bow tightly.

Up on the stage sat the king on his throne, with Woojin and Chan on his right side and Seungmin and Hyunjin on his left side. People were enjoying themselves, laughing, dancing, eating and drinking together.

Changbin suddenly noticed a change of mood in the crowd. People were watching one person in particular, who was rushing through the crowd. The boy ran up on stage, immediately hitting the king in the face. Changbin recognized Minho's pained screams as he watched the boy get held back by guards. The next few seconds were a blur. Minho charging at his father woth a sword and the king getting ready to kill his own son in front of the kingdom.

Changbin's eyes widened. He saw the king raise his sword into the air, and immediately did the only thing he could think of. He shot the king with an arrow. By the time the arrow had hit the king, Changbin was already panicking. What would the punishment for killing their king be? Prison? Death? Would he lose Felix over this?