Mirage ✔️

Chapter 21: Hope

"Thank you for everything that you have done for us. I wish you luck and safety on your hunt." Zahra bows to the family of warriors as they prepare to leave.

"Zahra and Akilha, you are wonderful rulers. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. I wish you both luck as well." Namjoon smiles and mounts his large stallion.

"Thank you." Zahra and Akilha bow their heads as they hold their children in their arms.

"We ride south!" Seokjin shouts with excitement as he spurs his horse in the direction of their hunt.

"You better train and surprise me with your strength next time!" Yoongi grins as he steers his horse toward the south.

"We will, tiny human!" Zahra shouts in response.

"Akilha, you are strong. Do not let anyone make you feel weak." Jungkook softly smiles at the young queen before leaving the desert city.

"Thank you," Akilha whispers as she holds the bow that she picked from the weapons room.

As the sun rises high in the desert sky, the horses of the powerful family storm through the desert. "He was last seen in the Golden City!" Namjoon tells his family as they ride to the south.

"That place is filled with corrupt royals," Seokjin mutters in disgust as he clenches the reins in his hands.

"We will arrive two days from now if we do not rest. There are four oases between us and the Golden City. We will rest our horses at the four oases, which means that it will take us three days." Jimin explains as the sun beats down on them.

"Very well. It will take us three days. He likely will no longer be there, but we will be able to find traces of him." Namjoon responds and smiles at his family.

"Hopefully, we do not run into any monsters or bandits," Yoongi mumbles with a frown.

When they arrive at the first oasis at dusk, they see a caravan of travelers. The travelers place their hands on their weapons as the family rides up to them.

"We are only here to rest up our horses. Please, do not mind us." Namjoon explains as they guide their horses to the water.

The fighters of the caravan watch the family with suspicion. They keep their hands on their weapons while the weaker travelers are kept in the middle of the group for protection.

"Some of them are injured. I am guessing that they ran into bandits." Seokjin whispers to Namjoon, who nods in agreement.

"They must be refugees. There are children and pregnant women in the group." Yoongi quietly tells the others, who all agree.

"Do you need medical aid? I am a healer." Seokjin asks the travelers as he shows them his elf ears.

The travelers mutter amongst themselves as they debate whether Seokjin can be trusted or not.

"My husband was severely injured. Will you help him?" A pregnant woman asks as her three small children cling to her legs.

"I will. Where is he?" Seokjin responds and hands his sword to Namjoon to show them that he is not a threat.

"He is in our tent." The pregnant woman responds and quickly leads Seokjin to her husband.

When Seokjin enters the tent, he sees that the man is at death's door, so he quickly begins healing the injured man. While Seokjin heals the injured man, Namjoon motions over the men who seem to be the leaders of the group.

"Where are you coming from?" Namjoon asks once they are close enough to him to hold a conversation.

"We are from a small village. We were attacked by the unruly bandits. Ever since King Namjoon disappeared over three hundred years ago, the world has been ravaged and has fallen into fragmented small kingdoms. As I am sure that you know, the desert has been ravaged the most. Our village used to be a strong city, but we are all that is left. It is hard to believe the legends from hundreds of years ago." A man responds and looks over at his fellow villagers, who are starving, injured, and exhausted.