Lean

V

BEOMGYU

The nights grew darker as they journeyed north, a stark contrast to the festive and vibrant atmosphere of Evergreen. Three days passed since Beomgyu was taken captive by Kang Seohyun's son in Evergreen. They departed that day and traveled along the long, winding roads toward the northern territories. He overheard some of the bannermen discussing Frostholm, the home of the Kang family. Beomgyu assumed that that was where they were heading.

The constant travel made him exhausted from soreness and the lack of sleep he'd get from being watched over at night by the Kang's bannermen. Luckily, he was treated as fairly as a captive could be treated. He and Jongho ate the same meals as the others, got to sleep in shelter, and traveled on horses. He knew prisoners who experienced much worse conditions, such as being tied up and forced to walk the tedious journeys without horses. He was sure that he was being treated much better than Kang Seohyun right now, who was probably locked in a dungeon with hardly any food.

Despite his fair treatment, he was still angry with the situation. He held a certain resentment toward his father for causing this situation to start with. He knew how the council was delaying the decision to crown a new king, but if only his father had waited and received a fair vote to take the throne instead of spilling blood to capture it. They could've avoided so many issues if he just had patience. Now, they were all stuck in a situation that benefitted no one.

By mid-afternoon while they were riding north, the air was already growing colder. Beomgyu noticed the way the environment shifted around them as they rode. Compared to the Lee's territory of lush forests, the forest they were surrounded by was a stark contrast. The forest became cold and dark, with a swamp-like quality that hung heavily in the air.

Beomgyu knew that the territory the Kangs held produced some crops for Mirage, but he didn't know how many. It had to be less than the Park and Lee families. What the Kangs and their territory produced for Mirage was typically lumber, fur, and stone. His father told him once that one of the Kangs had stumbled on a silver mine decades ago. Even with the amount they produced for the realm, they weren't nearly as wealthy as his family.

When they stop to let their horses drink from a small stream, Jongho approaches him with a curious gaze. They were split up from each other when Beomgyu was taken further to the front of the caravan while Jongho was surrounded by the Kang's bannermen.

"How are you holding up?" Jongho asked.

"I've been better," Beomgyu shrugs slightly, "I've also been worse. I'd say that we can reason with them once we get to Frostholm, if that is where we're going."

"You see the bright side in every situation, don't you?" Jongho asks with a slight chuckle.

"I try to," Beomgyu admits, "I didn't see many positives when my father took the throne in the way he did, though."

Jongho nods slowly, a flicker of uneasiness passing through his reflection. It wasn't like him to openly criticize his father, but at this point, he stopped holding up his act of being Prince Choi Beomgyu. He was taken captive because of his father's actions and during this journey, he shed the facade of being Choi Minjun's perfect son. Yeonjun was much more suited for that title than him, anyway.

Jongho's voice drops just below a whisper as he tells him, "You need to get out of here. Once we get to Frostholm, we could be treated a lot differently. His son may spare you mercy now, but being surrounded by his family who are calling for your father's head is going to make him act differently."