Promise- Minsung

Chapter Fifty One

"WATCH IT!" Minho yelled as another arrow just missed his head. "Aim!"

"Sorry!" The younger recruits who had just joined were training in the area that Minho usually practiced, meaning there were many stray arrows that almost hit him or his horse as he was practicing himself.

Minho was just about done when Master Sang-hyuk came down from the room he usually stayed in that was all the way up in the observatory. "Minho!"

Minho reined in his horse and let him slow to a walk. "What is it?"

"Come up with me. I need someone to go over the final plans with."

"Of course, I'll help revise and edit them," Minho jumped down from the stallion and let him go graze. He followed Master Sang-hyuk up the temple and to the very top of the mountain.

"Here," Master Sang-hyuk handed over a scroll with the plans written down on it. "These ones. Look them over. Let me know what you think."

Minho read them quickly before shaking his head. "The forest would be too dense there. We should send men around behind the target and ambush from all sides. If we try to send everyone from the front, we'll all just be tripping on each other."

"Good catch," Master Sang-hyuk nodded and began to write a new plan down.

"Was that it?" Minho asked, settling the scroll down.

"Yes. You may go back now if you wish."

"I want to ask you something."

Master Sang-hyuk paused. Then set his brush down. "What is it?"

"When are you going to bring in Jisung?"

Master Sang-hyuk blinked up at him. "Soon. Very soon."

Minho was satisfied with that answer. He got up, bowed before he walked back down the mountain.

He would just... go back and practice more?

Nope. That sounded horrible. He was so tired of training. He would go on a ride.

There was a particular horse he liked here. She was all black with a strange stripe pattern on her nose that looked like a cross. Her name was Danbi, because she ran so fast she brought the rain once, people say. She was around Cho's age and they were very similar. Since he hadn't been able to bring Cho, she was his horse now.

People had even challenged him for her. He had won every time.

Minho walked to the cave where the horses were kept. It was brightly lit and sunlight was able to flow well thanks to several openings in the cave walls for them.

"Danbi!" Minho came across her stall, a single rope holding her back from the fields of grass. She snorted at him and pawed at the ground, stirring up dust.

"Okay, let's go," Minho glanced down at his training uniform. "Damn, where is my mask?"

"Hyung!" a young boy tossed one at him, a generic black mask that covered up his face. "Take this one."

"Thanks," he waved to him before tying the mask around his face and throwing a hasty saddle pad and saddle on Danbi's back and then a bridle around her face. He mounted her in her stall and looked around. There was nobody around.

"Okay!" he kicked her forward at a sprint. He was out of the cave before anybody could blink.

With the wind blowing in his face, he relished the feeling of being free.

~oOo~

Jisung stood up on the hill that Hei-ran's mother rested on still, staring out at the grassy plains. He was tired. He wanted to rest. But he couldn't let himself fall asleep peacefully for some reason.