A Tiger Called Rapunzel ✓ || TaeGyu || HYBEPride 2021

Just A Station

Of course, that's all a load of crack, and I know it. The only reason the Tiger Festival exists is to make money for the Crown!

It was a bright, sunny winter day in the Naeil Kingdom, and "King" Kang Taehyun was escaping from the castle.

He did a somersault out of the high window and landed on a parapet, running along it and jumping from wall to wall until he reached the ground. Then, he let out a shrill, high whistle, and his horse came running, white and bright and glittering in the sun. Taehyun grabbed a hold of the horse and whipped himself up onto the saddle as she passed by.

"Good girl. Now, let's go find Soobin."

He secured the pack on his back, then directed the horse down the center courtyard. "Now, where could he be...?"

"Right here!" Choi Soobin yelled out, waving from his own horse, headed straight for Taehyun. There were at least two packs secured to his side as well.

"There you are. Let's get out of here! Yah, Brenna!"

Both horses thundered down the way, straight through the palace gates before they could close. They raced over a bridge and then to the forest, where they set into a steady rhythm. Both horses knew where Taehyun and Soobin were going. They had been over this path many times before, over years and years, during castle heists much like this one.

Both Taehyun and Soobin had grown up outside the castle and had suffered under King Namjoon's leadership. The man who never showed his face, even at official castle events, was a nameless villain in the hearts of his people. Decrees would be issued randomly, increasing taxes and introducing new laws without any respect to the people they affected. And nobody was doing anything to stop it...which is precisely why Taehyun was.

It had taken years to set up and countless meetings with others, some whom he could not trust. But at this point, the project Taehyun called the Magic Island Network operated on its own like a charm. The network consisted of several stations, outposts located all over the Naeil Kingdom. Most were normal locations: storefronts, houses, even a cave in one spot. But beneath that, they were a secret underground connection of sorts, passing money back and forth to places that needed it most. Taehyun and Soobin would take the money from the castle, drop it off at an outpost, and the other outpost owners would do their thing.

Taehyun and Soobin rode up to the first outpost, through the forest and to a hill to a small shack. This was the first outpost that they had ever built, many years ago, and it was the closest one to the castle. The palace guards now knew it existed, and most of the time it sat abandoned, but it had a new function now.

Taehyun rode up to the shack's front door and knocked. "Sam? Are you there?"

"Coming, Taehyun." A beautiful girl with a very long and detailed dress came out the front door, a smile on her face. She had a sign in her hands and put it on the front door; the sign read "Just A Station." Sam did not live here, but she knew to be at the station during days when Taehyun and Soobin did their raids. She no longer collected the gold, but she had a different, special role.

"How much today?"

"We got...four bags, I think? Not much, but we got what we could. Thinking of taking it to Ego and having Hobi distribute it there."

"Gotcha. I will let them know to expect it." Unbeknownst to most, Sam was a magic user, albeit one who never went to magic school. Because of this, though, she had a daemon, a small bluebird who was useful for carrying letters far and wide. Sam quickly wrote her message on a scroll, then handed it to her daemon, and the daemon flew away into the sky. It would arrive at the next station before Taehyun and Soobin did, so they would know to expect the two.

"King Taehyun strikes again." Sam smiled at Taehyun. "You have more leadership than our current king does, Taehyun. You should seriously be the one holding the crown."

"Oh, I doubt that," Taehyun said, brushing the dirt off his shoulders. "That role is something you're born into. We just...all know the King hasn't had a good life. First there was that whole looking for a bride thing for years before we were even born. And now the king and his consort still don't have an heir. I know I'd be pretty bent out of shape if I had a son or daughter and they went missing."

"Yeah, but it's still not an excuse to be a rotten king."

Taehyun shook his head, coming back to reality. No use dwelling on his past. "This is true. We have to get going. Thank you for sending a message ahead."

--

Asterhythm: Welcome, officially, one and all to this year's HYBEPride book!!! I hope you all enjoy this adventure and celebrate PRIDE and all that comes with it. I honestly don't think this year's entry could possibly be more chaotic than last year's, but I'm still here with the next book in the collection, even if I have it already written ahead of time.

Because this book is written ahead of time, there won't be as many cameos of friends, mostly because I can't just add them randomly in. But adding Savaginity to the book was already planned last year. Not only is she smart and crazy, but she's an excellent writer, and I wanted to give her a shoutout here. I know you're busy, Savvy! Stay safe and know we love you!