A Warrior's Heart

Chapter 31; Home

The brunette lifted his arm and brushed his hands through his hair, pushing his bangs back and scratching at his scalp with his nails.

He couldn't believe it was over. This place became like a second home to him. And yes, even if it was mainly because he couldn't leave since the basket was broken when he first arrived, if he had the choice now he would stay. He didn't want to leave his brother all alone in the other world, in his world, but if he could just stay for a little while longer he would, just to postpone saying the inevitable goodbye.

Watching the emperor step out of the room had been hard. He knew he couldn't take the boy home with him but he wished they could stay together longer, even if it was for just a day.

A sigh left his lips as he finally proceeded to leave as well, back to the wizard's cottage. He stepped out into the hallway, going the way where he came from and then entering the throne room. He saw some warriors standing there on duty, and one of them looked up once he heard the boy leave from the emperor's room.

"He got to the emperor!" The man yelled, reaching for the hilt of his sword. The other three guards quickly caught on. "He must die!"

A whine left the back of Taehyun's throat and he sighed. "Will they ever stop..." He muttered to himself as he turned around and started running.

He ran to the left, aiming for the back door instead of the main gate he wanted to exit the palace from. He ran through the corridor and almost slipped at a sharp turn with the speed he was running at, but he managed to keep standing after holding himself off the ground with his hands.

The warriors were hot on his heels and were yelling for him to stop, which he obviously didn't. He wasn't planning on losing his head just because he saw the blonde. Besides, technically it wasn't him who had touched, or in this case, had kissed the boy. Beomgyu had initiated it himself and Taehyun hadn't mind at all.

He smiled at the memory of the boy's lips on his. They had been so soft, just like how he had thought the first time he laid eyes on them.

"Watch out!" A citizen yelled at him, snapping him out of his thoughts. Taehyun quickly apologized to the woman and swiftly avoided tripping over some items which had fallen from her basket. What went unnoticed by him were the set of eyes on him from a certain warrior at the side.

He had reached the village area of the royal grounds and of course they decided today was a good day to hold a market. People were walking all over the place, strolling past the stands and buying what they liked. It was a nice sight, really, but it made it difficult for Taehyun to get to the cottage quickly. At the same time, however, it also made it hard for the warriors and the brunette made use of that.

"Sorry!" He yelled as he jumped over a table filled with wooden carvings. He landed on his feet and moved to the middle of the road. His eyes found a man carrying long bamboo sticks on his shoulder, and Taehyun's lips curled up into a smirk. Just when the man was about to turn he reached his hands up, pushing the bamboo sticks and causing the man to turn around, trying to get his balance back.

When he was a good few meters further away Taehyun turned around, seeing two of the warriors getting hit by the sticks. He didn't have time to really celebrate the success of his plan though, as the other two were racing after him quickly.

Once he was out of the village area he forced his legs to work harder, to let him run faster and to make sure he reached the cottage on time before the warriors caught him. He liked his head, he didn't want to lose it.

The large tree in which the wizard had build his home came into view, and as soon as he reached it he barged through the door.

"Wizard?!" He frantically yelled, frowning when he didn't get a response. "Wizard?"