DragonHeart | Minsung

IV

Jisung woke up the next morning to the sun's rays shining through the cracks in his curtains and landing onto his face. He didn't remember exactly when he fell asleep. His emotions had run wild, and he'd been too out of it to remember.

He laid in bed for a few minutes, giving himself some time to fully wake up. When he did get up, he splashed some water on his face from the bathroom, to soothe his red and puffy eyes and cheeks.

He knew that breakfast would be ready soon, if not already. He didn't bother to change his clothes. His mother would often request that they dress properly for meals, but he didn't want or need to at that moment. She wasn't there anyway.

He left his room and made his way down to the dining hall, his footsteps echoing through the hallways as he walked.

When he got down there, his father was already sitting at the long dining table with a plate of food in front of him.

Jisung quietly went around the table and plated up all of the food that he wanted; meat, bread, eggs. He did that rather quickly, wanting to get out of there as soon as possible.

Once he was satisfied with the food that he had, he sat down in a seat away from his father. He basically shovelled the food into his mouth. He probably should have savoured it, considering that it would likely be one of his last good meals in while, but he didn't really think of that.

He quickly finished. Taking his dirty plate with him, he made his way to the kitchen to bring for them to the kitchen workers to be wash. He walked past his father as he did so, the two exchanging no words.

————

That would've been one of Jisung's last good meals, because he was leaving. He felt like he couldn't just sit aside while his mother was abandoned. Who knows what the dragons were doing to her.

He was going to get her back.

He was planning on leaving at night. There would still be a large amount of guards, but it would be easier to sneak away in darkness.

He had gotten clothes that were more similar to something that someone of a lower class would wear. Something that didn't scream "I'm royalty." He hoped that would help him blend in as well. He also prepared a mask he could put over his face if he ever needed to really hide his identity.

Jisung sat at his desk, ink pen in hand and paper on the wooden surface in front of him. He was thinking about writing a note to his father, letting him know that he wasn't hurt or taken by someone. That he left on his own terms.

He didn't write why he was leaving. He had just written that he was leaving, and asked that he not come looking for him.

'I'll come back when it's time.'

He knew that it was unlikely that his father would listen to him. He'd probably send a fleet after him a few hours later, after finding the letter, but he tried to get his point across.

He left Changbin a note as well, along with a new pair of clothes, some money, and a couple of his favorite pastries from the kitchen as a gift. He had felt bad for leaving Changbin. He considered him a friend, and his job was based around training him. He wasn't sure what would happen to his job status when he was no longer there to train.

Jisung spent the day making a list of what he should pack, and then putting those bags together. He would bring essentials like food, water, clothes, blankets, hunting and cooking supplies, and his weapons. He brought along some money as well, but didn't bring much so he wouldn't be a likely victim for theft.

He had to try to keep things as light as possible, so he had to part with some things that he would've liked to bring along, like nice blankets and pillows.

One thing he was sure to bring was his mother's ring, tied onto a string so he could hang it from his neck. He'd been wearing it since she left, only taking it off for showering to prevent rust. He knew it might seem cheesy, but it helped him feel closer to her, and he needed that if he was going to do this.

Once night time fell, he put on his black hooded jacket, and said goodbye to his bedroom. He knew, or hoped, he would be back soon, but it still felt strange.

He had decided to go down the stairway and exit from a window downstairs. It would be easier than getting out of any of the doors, which would be guarded.

The window creaked when he began to opened it, which alarmed him. He paused for a moment and looked around to make sure that nobody came to see what the noise was. When nobody showed up, he pushed it open the rest of the way and climbed out.

Once he was outside, he checked his surroundings again. He didn't see anyone around, and it was quite dark, so it was unlikely that anyone would see him and stop him.

He then needed to get to the stables without being seen. He walked slowly along the walls of the castle, keeping his footsteps light so they wouldn't be heard.

The stables were void of people when he got there, which he was thankful for. Sometimes there were stablehands that would stay there for the night, and he was lucky that there were none the night he chose to leave.

He grabbed his bags of supplies, which he had hidden behind the bales of hay earlier that day. He had also already tacked up his horse a few hours prior. He did that so he wouldn't have to spend so much time doing it before he left. The longer he stayed, the more likely it was that he got caught.

He secured the bags to the horse's tack. He couldn't afford to lose any of his supplies, so he made sure they were on tightly.

He took a moment to rub the horse's nose before mounting. He gave the horse a gentle kick and clicked his tongue, a cue to move forward. "Move on Bbama."

The large, white Percheron stallion moved forward. Jisung directed Bbama out of the stables at a walk, but asked for a trot and then a steady trot once they were out on the street. He wanted to get out of the kingdom walls as soon as possible, but he knew a gallop was too fast. Horses often slipped on the cobblestone at higher speeds, and the horse's heavy hooves may alarm others.

Jisung knew which gate would be least guarded. They had a guard that often slept on duty, so that was the one he was in the direction of.

He could see the gate, he was almost there, almost out. Once he was out, there wouldn't be any guards to find and stop him.

He was so close, but he had to pull back on the reins and make Bbama come to a halt. A man on a black Friesian rushed out and stopped in front of him, blocking his path.

A sense of panic set in.

"Where do you think you're going alone?" The man spoke.

Fuck.