Before the Dawn - chp. 5
TITLE: Before the Dawn
RATING: PG to PG-15ish?
PAIRING/FOCUS: Jongho (Main), Cheundong/Krystal (sub) [others to be determined]
GENRE: ...adventure, au, romance?
NOTES: [[Okay. I'm sorry for being so late. I meant to update last week but the plot bunnies fled from me and I didn't come up with anything until yesterday]]
PLOT AND CAST LIST || PROLOGUE + CHAPTER ONE || CHAPTER TWO || CHAPTER THREE || CHAPTER FOUR
( ( CHAPTER FIVE) )
She shuffled nervously, her hands wringing at her skirt as they neared the West Gate. A hand gently caught one of hers and she looked up at the Ex-Lord sitting next to her. He gave her a light grin and gently squeezed her hand. She smiled back and brushed at her odd layered hair, gently fingering the blond tips before she turned her eyes out towards soldiers waiting at the gates. Her eyes flickered over them before she looked at the Lord again from beneath her bangs, long lashes brushing gently at her cheeks. He had changed his appearance somewhat, his once black hair now a light auburn-brown color and perhaps just a bit curlier than it was before. She smiled faintly before she turned around, looking behind her shoulder into the caravan.
Behind the two of them, the Ex-Lord Northglenn at the reins of the horses pulling the caravan forward, were members of their guild. Of course, the number had dwindled some, most of the mercenaries didn’t feel as if running from the empire was on their list of things to do in this lifetime. Including Jung Krystal herself, and Park Sanghyun aka Cheundong, there were about 8 or 9 members of the guild in the Caravan; Kim Jonghyun, the Guild chief, Choi Minho, the Ex-Lord of Westfall and Jonghyun’s “Pet”, Lee Taemin, Bang Cheulyong (Mir), Choi Jinri (Sulli), Park Sun-Young (Luna), Lee Changsun (Joon). Basically, everyone who were close to Guild Chief Kim Jonghyun or at least trusted him enough (which in the last few days, were epically far and few), were in the Caravan and in a few minutes, they would be on the run from the Empire.
The Soldiers didn’t bat an eyelash as their caravan moved through and Krystal’s shoulders stiffened when an offhand comment made by one of the soldier’s rang out towards them. She trembled, a hand catching the frame of the caravan and her muscles tensed. Her breathing quickened and Jonghyun looked at her, his hands stilling in playing with Minho’s all too long hair as the younger man rested in his lap. The younger girl bit her lip and wordlessly, Cheundong switched the reins to Taemin as the youth came forward and the ex-lord just pulled Krystal to his side, arms draping over her form.
“It’ll fine,” his words rang out in the caravan, quiet but firm. “It’ll be fine,”
Behind them, the soldiers continued talking.
“Yeah, I heard that Jung Jessica was taken to the emperor this morning. She’s to be executed but the date is undetermined at the moment,”
~*~*~
“It’s so HOT!” dark eyes flickered lazily and an eyebrow rose as he turned towards the speaker. Mir was flopped on his stomach, his arms flapping as he laid on the caravan’s floor. Taemin had pulled the caravan to a stop a few miles from the gates in a forest and while the abundance of trees provided good hiding, it didn’t mean that they provided adequate shading. It was summer after all and in this part of the Empire, it got really hot. Mir let out a pitiful moan and Jonghyun lightly slapped his thigh.
“Yah, Bang Cheulyong, hush, hush,” he scolded gently. Mir whined quietly and Jonghyun raised an eyebrow before motioning to the some 180-something cm tall man sprawled across the Guild leader’s lap. Minho didn’t move, only shifting slightly before he continued on with his slumber. Shortly after he had been rescued, Choi Minho had been ordered to rest by Jonghyun and he had listened. That had been hours ago, maybe six? and the lord hadn’t even reacted to them leaving the city.
A ways away, Taemin gnawed his lower lip and felt guilty until Cheundong slapped the back of the younger’s boy’s head and said curtly, “He’ll be fine. Min’s stubborn like that. And it probably was his captivity that has him in that state, not your dinky little spell,”
Taemin responded by blasting the older man with a strong gust of wind that made his hair messier than it already was and a short, “Says the man who couldn’t escape said ‘dinky little spell,’”
Krystal grabbed Cheundong’s arm to stop him from lunging at Taemin who just smirked and joined Joon and Sulli as the duo plotted a possible next destination for their “runaway” guild.
“Luna-yang!” the dark haired girl blinked, her hands pausing in the middle of tying her hair back. Her tie was in her mouth as she bit it to keep it from dropping and she leaned back slightly when Mir suddenly appeared in her field of vision. She raised an eyebrow and he beamed, waiting as she finished fixing her hair. She pulled the tie from her mouth, pulling her hair back, and Luna thought absently that Mir‘s smile was so disarming that it could be its own technique in battle.
“What is it?” she responded lightly, a light smile lighting her lips to match his bright one. She blinked before laughing lightly as the older man flopped down across her lap.
“Snow? Please?” there was that smile again and Luna shook her head before shoving him out of her lap.
“Not unless you want to get caught by the Empire’s Dogs Mir-ah,” she answered. “It’s summer. For it to snow now is pretty much a flashing signal screaming ‘Look! Empire Traitors here!’” He pouted and Luna stood before lightly patting his hair as she passed him back into the caravan. Jonghyun looked at her and Sulli, who was climbing in as well, smiled tiredly and waved. “Chief, is it all right to do a mass empire weather spell?”
“Do you want to die?” Joon snarked as he took up the reins, lightly patting the left flank of one of the horses. He might not have been very skilled in the Arts but he knew the dangers of it all. “A spell the size of the empire will kill you,”
“Not if the chief does it,” Luna answered back. Joon opened his mouth to respond and Jonghyun just lightly shook his head. The other members of their rather odd group were piling into the caravan now and Cheundong raised an eyebrow at Joon‘s frown. “Mir-ah’s right. It’s a bit too hot and if we want to make it to the next town by nightfall a empire wide spell is the only thing I can think of. It’s a bit odd if it were to only rain or something in just one area. And the chief could-”
“Lordling if you will?” Taemin cut in cheerily and Cheundong frowned, scowling at him. The younger male just waggled his fingers. What remained of the Guild looked puzzled though after a moment, Jonghyun returned to tending to the slumbering Minho. Taemin smirked after a pause of silence, and said, “Unless you can’t function a spell of that magnitude?”
The older man snarled something at him and Jonghyun connected the language to that incomprehensible murmur the lordling had said the evening that he had woken after the accidental spell. Taemin laughed and slapped the man’s shoulders and commented, “I’ll take half the country then lordling,” and Cheundong just snarked something again. Taemin just laughed and the duo hopped off the caravan before standing back to back. Jonghyun would note later that it was the closest that the two of them ever were to physical contact.
The air grew heavy, and Minho stirred, dark eyes opening and he rolled onto his stomach, earning an odd squeak from Jonghyun and they watched the magic taking place. It was rare that magic could be seen to the physical eye unless it was willed to form in view but this very magic could be seen.
It swirled in shades of blue-green around Taemin’s thin body and his hair ruffled. His bangs brushed across his face and a smirk quirked his lips. His eyes flickered, half-lidded and he gasped lightly when his magic seemed to sing from the very depths of his soul. His smirk seemed to darken and he lazily flicked a hand off to the side, the magic moving with him. He laughed, the sound dark and cold and Jonghyun shivered, his eyes closing.
He remembered this Taemin. He also remembered that he hated this Taemin. He bit his lip and re-opened his eyes, staying silent as he watched. A hand slid gently into one of his and another gently squeezed his thigh. Minho just sat up, pulling the smaller man into his arms. The others were huddled together to, a bit unnerved by Taemin’s magic and his attitude.
When Taemin’s voice rang out in a strange, dark cackle that looked out of place on his handsome face, Cheundong’s voice was somewhat irritated as he hissed in that strange language, “Shut up and just work. I hate this you as much as she did,”
“And yet I still amuse you don’t I?” was the answering purr and Cheundong just snarled something and his own magic ripped into being suddenly. It soared out of his frame in a haze of silver and red and it collided with a crack against Taemin’s magic. Taemin stumbled in surprise, his brows furrowing and a hand flew to the front of his eyes as they closed.
Above them, the sky was slowly beginning to darken and across the entire Empire, from the Central City they just fled to the Abandoned Outskirts, a drizzle had begun. There was a moment and the guild shifted nervously before Taemin sighed lightly and both he and Cheundong entered the caravan. The younger of the two grabbed hold of the reins from Joon and twisted the leather so it looped around his hands before he cracked them sharply and the caravan moved out.
“Jonghyun, I'm sorry,” his voice was tight and confusion bubbled beneath the surface as Jonghyun replied with a quiet, “Don’t worry about it Minnie,” His eyes closed and he leaned against the comforting warmth that was Minho and he repeated, “Don’t worry about it,”
~*~*~
Somewhere along the eastern coast of the Empire, a tall man smirked and tipped his hat down as the sky opened and poured. Behind him, his traveling companion let out a squawk of surprise and she brushed her suddenly wet hair from her eyes. She looked up and sputtered, her pretty face creasing into an expression of confusion.
“What the hell?! It was just sunny a moment ago! And not to mention blazing hot,” she grumbled. The man just laughed and ruffled her hair with an amused, “C’mon. Let’s just get to the next inn and wait out this rain. I’m sure it’ll last a couple of days,” before he walked on. There was a moment before his companion hurried to catch up with the older man.
“Yah! Wait for me!” a huff of annoyed fled her lips and she shrieked, “Lee Seung-gi! You long-legged freak! I’ve got shorter legs than you! Wait for me!”
~*~*~
Okay, so here's the next chapter. It's more like Cheundong-Taemin centric as opposed to Jongho. (sweatdrop) Sorry. I suppose this is quite the filler chapter too. I hit a little bit of a writer's block but I should fix that soon! I hope to have another chapter out soon and hopefully, it will be more...Jongho centric with a splash of snarky Lee Taemin and the rest of the gang.
BTW, the person traveling with Seung-gi is NOT Jessica but who ever it is is up in the air for people to choose. I was thinking IU (Lee Ji-Eun) but what do you guys think?
RATING: PG to PG-15ish?
PAIRING/FOCUS: Jongho (Main), Cheundong/Krystal (sub) [others to be determined]
GENRE: ...adventure, au, romance?
NOTES: [[Okay. I'm sorry for being so late. I meant to update last week but the plot bunnies fled from me and I didn't come up with anything until yesterday]]
PLOT AND CAST LIST || PROLOGUE + CHAPTER ONE || CHAPTER TWO || CHAPTER THREE || CHAPTER FOUR
( ( CHAPTER FIVE) )
She shuffled nervously, her hands wringing at her skirt as they neared the West Gate. A hand gently caught one of hers and she looked up at the Ex-Lord sitting next to her. He gave her a light grin and gently squeezed her hand. She smiled back and brushed at her odd layered hair, gently fingering the blond tips before she turned her eyes out towards soldiers waiting at the gates. Her eyes flickered over them before she looked at the Lord again from beneath her bangs, long lashes brushing gently at her cheeks. He had changed his appearance somewhat, his once black hair now a light auburn-brown color and perhaps just a bit curlier than it was before. She smiled faintly before she turned around, looking behind her shoulder into the caravan.
Behind the two of them, the Ex-Lord Northglenn at the reins of the horses pulling the caravan forward, were members of their guild. Of course, the number had dwindled some, most of the mercenaries didn’t feel as if running from the empire was on their list of things to do in this lifetime. Including Jung Krystal herself, and Park Sanghyun aka Cheundong, there were about 8 or 9 members of the guild in the Caravan; Kim Jonghyun, the Guild chief, Choi Minho, the Ex-Lord of Westfall and Jonghyun’s “Pet”, Lee Taemin, Bang Cheulyong (Mir), Choi Jinri (Sulli), Park Sun-Young (Luna), Lee Changsun (Joon). Basically, everyone who were close to Guild Chief Kim Jonghyun or at least trusted him enough (which in the last few days, were epically far and few), were in the Caravan and in a few minutes, they would be on the run from the Empire.
The Soldiers didn’t bat an eyelash as their caravan moved through and Krystal’s shoulders stiffened when an offhand comment made by one of the soldier’s rang out towards them. She trembled, a hand catching the frame of the caravan and her muscles tensed. Her breathing quickened and Jonghyun looked at her, his hands stilling in playing with Minho’s all too long hair as the younger man rested in his lap. The younger girl bit her lip and wordlessly, Cheundong switched the reins to Taemin as the youth came forward and the ex-lord just pulled Krystal to his side, arms draping over her form.
“It’ll fine,” his words rang out in the caravan, quiet but firm. “It’ll be fine,”
Behind them, the soldiers continued talking.
“Yeah, I heard that Jung Jessica was taken to the emperor this morning. She’s to be executed but the date is undetermined at the moment,”
~*~*~
“It’s so HOT!” dark eyes flickered lazily and an eyebrow rose as he turned towards the speaker. Mir was flopped on his stomach, his arms flapping as he laid on the caravan’s floor. Taemin had pulled the caravan to a stop a few miles from the gates in a forest and while the abundance of trees provided good hiding, it didn’t mean that they provided adequate shading. It was summer after all and in this part of the Empire, it got really hot. Mir let out a pitiful moan and Jonghyun lightly slapped his thigh.
“Yah, Bang Cheulyong, hush, hush,” he scolded gently. Mir whined quietly and Jonghyun raised an eyebrow before motioning to the some 180-something cm tall man sprawled across the Guild leader’s lap. Minho didn’t move, only shifting slightly before he continued on with his slumber. Shortly after he had been rescued, Choi Minho had been ordered to rest by Jonghyun and he had listened. That had been hours ago, maybe six? and the lord hadn’t even reacted to them leaving the city.
A ways away, Taemin gnawed his lower lip and felt guilty until Cheundong slapped the back of the younger’s boy’s head and said curtly, “He’ll be fine. Min’s stubborn like that. And it probably was his captivity that has him in that state, not your dinky little spell,”
Taemin responded by blasting the older man with a strong gust of wind that made his hair messier than it already was and a short, “Says the man who couldn’t escape said ‘dinky little spell,’”
Krystal grabbed Cheundong’s arm to stop him from lunging at Taemin who just smirked and joined Joon and Sulli as the duo plotted a possible next destination for their “runaway” guild.
“Luna-yang!” the dark haired girl blinked, her hands pausing in the middle of tying her hair back. Her tie was in her mouth as she bit it to keep it from dropping and she leaned back slightly when Mir suddenly appeared in her field of vision. She raised an eyebrow and he beamed, waiting as she finished fixing her hair. She pulled the tie from her mouth, pulling her hair back, and Luna thought absently that Mir‘s smile was so disarming that it could be its own technique in battle.
“What is it?” she responded lightly, a light smile lighting her lips to match his bright one. She blinked before laughing lightly as the older man flopped down across her lap.
“Snow? Please?” there was that smile again and Luna shook her head before shoving him out of her lap.
“Not unless you want to get caught by the Empire’s Dogs Mir-ah,” she answered. “It’s summer. For it to snow now is pretty much a flashing signal screaming ‘Look! Empire Traitors here!’” He pouted and Luna stood before lightly patting his hair as she passed him back into the caravan. Jonghyun looked at her and Sulli, who was climbing in as well, smiled tiredly and waved. “Chief, is it all right to do a mass empire weather spell?”
“Do you want to die?” Joon snarked as he took up the reins, lightly patting the left flank of one of the horses. He might not have been very skilled in the Arts but he knew the dangers of it all. “A spell the size of the empire will kill you,”
“Not if the chief does it,” Luna answered back. Joon opened his mouth to respond and Jonghyun just lightly shook his head. The other members of their rather odd group were piling into the caravan now and Cheundong raised an eyebrow at Joon‘s frown. “Mir-ah’s right. It’s a bit too hot and if we want to make it to the next town by nightfall a empire wide spell is the only thing I can think of. It’s a bit odd if it were to only rain or something in just one area. And the chief could-”
“Lordling if you will?” Taemin cut in cheerily and Cheundong frowned, scowling at him. The younger male just waggled his fingers. What remained of the Guild looked puzzled though after a moment, Jonghyun returned to tending to the slumbering Minho. Taemin smirked after a pause of silence, and said, “Unless you can’t function a spell of that magnitude?”
The older man snarled something at him and Jonghyun connected the language to that incomprehensible murmur the lordling had said the evening that he had woken after the accidental spell. Taemin laughed and slapped the man’s shoulders and commented, “I’ll take half the country then lordling,” and Cheundong just snarked something again. Taemin just laughed and the duo hopped off the caravan before standing back to back. Jonghyun would note later that it was the closest that the two of them ever were to physical contact.
The air grew heavy, and Minho stirred, dark eyes opening and he rolled onto his stomach, earning an odd squeak from Jonghyun and they watched the magic taking place. It was rare that magic could be seen to the physical eye unless it was willed to form in view but this very magic could be seen.
It swirled in shades of blue-green around Taemin’s thin body and his hair ruffled. His bangs brushed across his face and a smirk quirked his lips. His eyes flickered, half-lidded and he gasped lightly when his magic seemed to sing from the very depths of his soul. His smirk seemed to darken and he lazily flicked a hand off to the side, the magic moving with him. He laughed, the sound dark and cold and Jonghyun shivered, his eyes closing.
He remembered this Taemin. He also remembered that he hated this Taemin. He bit his lip and re-opened his eyes, staying silent as he watched. A hand slid gently into one of his and another gently squeezed his thigh. Minho just sat up, pulling the smaller man into his arms. The others were huddled together to, a bit unnerved by Taemin’s magic and his attitude.
When Taemin’s voice rang out in a strange, dark cackle that looked out of place on his handsome face, Cheundong’s voice was somewhat irritated as he hissed in that strange language, “Shut up and just work. I hate this you as much as she did,”
“And yet I still amuse you don’t I?” was the answering purr and Cheundong just snarled something and his own magic ripped into being suddenly. It soared out of his frame in a haze of silver and red and it collided with a crack against Taemin’s magic. Taemin stumbled in surprise, his brows furrowing and a hand flew to the front of his eyes as they closed.
Above them, the sky was slowly beginning to darken and across the entire Empire, from the Central City they just fled to the Abandoned Outskirts, a drizzle had begun. There was a moment and the guild shifted nervously before Taemin sighed lightly and both he and Cheundong entered the caravan. The younger of the two grabbed hold of the reins from Joon and twisted the leather so it looped around his hands before he cracked them sharply and the caravan moved out.
“Jonghyun, I'm sorry,” his voice was tight and confusion bubbled beneath the surface as Jonghyun replied with a quiet, “Don’t worry about it Minnie,” His eyes closed and he leaned against the comforting warmth that was Minho and he repeated, “Don’t worry about it,”
~*~*~
Somewhere along the eastern coast of the Empire, a tall man smirked and tipped his hat down as the sky opened and poured. Behind him, his traveling companion let out a squawk of surprise and she brushed her suddenly wet hair from her eyes. She looked up and sputtered, her pretty face creasing into an expression of confusion.
“What the hell?! It was just sunny a moment ago! And not to mention blazing hot,” she grumbled. The man just laughed and ruffled her hair with an amused, “C’mon. Let’s just get to the next inn and wait out this rain. I’m sure it’ll last a couple of days,” before he walked on. There was a moment before his companion hurried to catch up with the older man.
“Yah! Wait for me!” a huff of annoyed fled her lips and she shrieked, “Lee Seung-gi! You long-legged freak! I’ve got shorter legs than you! Wait for me!”
~*~*~
Okay, so here's the next chapter. It's more like Cheundong-Taemin centric as opposed to Jongho. (sweatdrop) Sorry. I suppose this is quite the filler chapter too. I hit a little bit of a writer's block but I should fix that soon! I hope to have another chapter out soon and hopefully, it will be more...Jongho centric with a splash of snarky Lee Taemin and the rest of the gang.
BTW, the person traveling with Seung-gi is NOT Jessica but who ever it is is up in the air for people to choose. I was thinking IU (Lee Ji-Eun) but what do you guys think?