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

Through the Castle Gates

Taehyun woke up early to the sounds of Hobi knocking on the door. "Rise and shine! We leave in one half of an hour!"

He slowly got up and realized two things. The first was that Cholongkkoch had already left. The second was that he had slept entirely through the night for the first time in years. He was usually up hours before Soobin, operating off four hours of sleep, stretching and working out a bit, keeping an ear out for anybody who might be coming after them. There had been none of that today.

He couldn't dwell on it for two long. He needed to put his shoes back on. It was still a long walk to the castle gates.

But when he went downstairs to the store, Hoseok and Cholongkkoch were sitting together at a table, eating scones. "The horse and cart are all set," Hobi told Taehyun. "We'll be within the castle gates in no time."

A horse and cart! Taehyun had totally forgotten that Hoseok had a mare of his own. "Did you hear that, Cho-yah? We'll get to the castle early! We'll have extra time to do whatever you want to do!"

And Cholongkkoch found herself smiling. Even more time at the Tiger Festival? Taehyun had said they wouldn't arrive until noontime!

The cart hitched up to the mare was typically a cart that would be used to transport goods. Today, however, it would be taking people to the castle. There were already some people seated in the cart, and Taehyun jumped in, reaching down and taking Cholongkkoch's hand, helping her sit on a haybale that had been placed in as a temporary chair. Hoseok waited a few more minutes, and then he sat in front and directed the horse where it needed to go. "Yah, Maykie! Onward, girl!"

Taehyun was so used to seeing the Naeil Kingdom while riding Brenna that this was almost similar, but still different to him. He wasn't riding the horse in front, and because of the weight, the cart was too slow to gallop. The horse went at a steady trot, pulling six or seven people behind her as they proceeded. Taehyun knew all of these roads like the back of his hand; these were the same roads that he used whenever he was escaping the castle, gold strapped to his back and Brenna's sides, running reserves out to the towns that desperately needed it.

Cholongkkoch, meanwhile, wasn't getting enough of this spontaneous hayride. Her head turned every which way, looking up at trees, away at the town that disappeared behind them, over at flowers on the side of the road. There was one moment where she saw a squirrel in a tree, and she nearly fell out of the cart looking at it!

"You have to be careful," Taehyun said, and without thinking, he put his arm around her. He held onto the side of the cart, keeping Cholongkkoch seated upright and safe. "I know this is all new to you, but if you fall out of the cart, you'll get hurt."

Cholongkkoch blushed and looked at her feet. She seemed especially female right now. "I'm sorry, Mama. I will try to behave."

It made Taehyun stop. "Cho-yah, I'm not your mama."

"Oh." She looked up at him, brown eyes batting from under blonde bangs. "I forgot. I'm sorry, Taehyun."

"No more sorries, okay? Just...I've got you. So if you want to look around, you can."

She nodded, then made the mistake of leaning against Taehyun as they rode together. Taehyun found himself blushing and looking straight at the floor. Pretend she's a girl! She's a girl! She thinks she's a girl so she's a girl, just let that be!

Before long, the horse and cart joined several other horse and cart combos as they made their way toward the castle grounds. It was a beautiful day for a festival, not a cloud in the sky. There were blue and purple banners hanging from every parapet, emblazoned with the royal crest. Cholongkkoch could hear music coming from inside the castle! She had only heard music on occasion in Shinkisoku, and she had never been able to play music of her own before.

Those who approached on foot formed a line into the castle, and those riding on horses formed a separate line. Guards from the castle went by every cart, checking off the names of those who were arriving for the festival. Taehyun had his fake identification papers all ready until the guard stopped by and he realized it was Yeonjun. Shit.

Yeonjun looked up at Taehyun. A look of recognition crossed his face. And then, "Wait, where's Soobin?"

Taehyun gaped at Yeonjun. "Not here, I'm here with my -- um --"

And it was then that Yeonjun realized that Taehyun had his arm around someone. "Oh! Well...it looks like you're preoccupied. Is he coming?"

"I don't know where he is." That was not a lie. Taehyun literally had no clue where Soobin was; he just knew where Soobin would be during the yudeung lighting.

"Suit yourself. I'll let you off the hook today. It's the Festival, after all! Have fun with your girl!" And Yeonjun checked everybody else off, and Taehyun was too flustered to realize that Yeonjun hadn't even checked Cholongkkoch's papers. They were both going to make it into the Festival unnoticed. Thank goodness.