Honor and Glory | ATEEZ

011

I awoke as the morning sun rose over the tops of the trees in the clearing, letting its warm rays brighten up the cave.

I rubbed my eyes and stretched before turning over, wanting to rest for just a couple more minutes before getting up.

If I got up now, I would have to get ready to leave. And right now, that was the last thing I wanted, the strong grip of sleep still hanging tightly onto me.

I let out a little huff, wrapping my arms around my strangely sturdy pillow and tried to go back to sleep.

And then it hit me.

My eyes flew open as I sat up, looking down at Mingi who simply returned my panicked stare with a warm smile that made my heart skip a beat.

"Good morning, y/n," he said, grinning cheekily as he got up as well, "Someone sure slept well."

I cleared my throat, getting up from the ground and dusting my clothes off as I tried to look anywhere but the redhead.

Shrugging off his comment, I headed back into the cave to get my bag, feeling incredibly awake all of a sudden.

I could always sleep later.

Alone.

Definitely alone.

I rummaged around in the bag, finally finding what I was looking for as my fingers curled around the cold, smooth surface of the three gemstones before pulling them out.

I neatly arranged the dress, pushing it further down towards the bottom to make a soft place for the gems to lay, and made sure that the crown was wrapped safely inside the velvety fabric.

Out of sight for good this time.

Yunho had seen it by accident, but I wanted to make sure that no other accidents happened on the trip.

I didn't need anyone else to know.

They couldn't.

So I quickly closed the bag again and sat down beside Wooyoung with the gemstones as the man was waking up.

The Sapphire of Amanzi. I took out the blue gemstone and admired its deep royal navy colours.

The Andalusite of Dunia. The golden-brown stone almost glowed in the morning sun.

And The Amethyst of Hewa, beautiful and purple.

We were almost halfway.

"Morning," Wooyoung mumbled, getting my attention.

I carefully put the stones away again and turned to him with a smile.

"What's the next one, then?" he asked, motioning toward the bag by my feet.

"Oh," I said, giving myself a moment to think.

Ice elementals meant diamonds.

"The Diamond of Ledus," I said.

"So had anyone ever actually visited District 8?" Mingi asked as he trudged back into the cave, Yunho and Jongho following as the three plopped down in front of Wooyoung and me.

The last flames in the bonfire had long died down, the only light left being the glowing embers among the ashes.

If it hadn't been for the sun, I wouldn't have been able to make out their faces.

"I mean," I began, looking around at their curious faces, "I haven't. This is the first time I've ever left the capital, Agora."

"Really?" Wooyoung said, shuffling into a seated position instead of lounging on the ground.