A Warrior's Heart

Chapter 55; Gone

After standing there admiring the healthy view around him, Taehyun took a moment to memorize this place where he was at now. He wouldn't take the basket with him, and he didn't want to eventually forget where it stood. When he was sure he had the image imprinted into his mind, he set off walking. He had no idea where he was right now, so the most logical thing to do was to look for something familiar in the landscape. Since it was a different basket he wasn't in the wizard's cottage right now. Which was a little bit annoying - he wanted to see the blonde as soon as possible - but it gave him the opportunity to see some more of the pretty environment in this world.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and continued walking. It was a beautiful day, really. The sky a vibrant blue, with only a couple of perfectly white clouds adorning the blue canvas. The grass was as green as ever, with little patches of colorful flowers complimenting the ground. Summer was right at the corner, and he couldn't wait for it to finally arrive.

He walked past trees towards the mountain range. He didn't know the kingdom all that well, but at least he knew the mountains were pretty close to the castle. When he passed a rather familiar set of trees he looked to the side, finding the lake there. The sun cast down on it, making it sparkle and the memories of him and the warrior swimming flashed into his mind. He chuckled, and started walking the way back, knowing the castle had to be close.

It didn't take him a lot longer than two hours to have the castle grounds doom up at the horizon. A smile made its way onto his face, and he unconsciously started walking a bit faster, eventually just breaking out in an all speed run. Forcing his legs to bring him closer to the gate within a couple minutes. Eventually he came to a stop in front of the huge gate, and his smile widened before it faltered slightly.

He had no clue how to get in.

Sure, he had been inside these gates a lot, and he knew how to get out. But he had no idea how he was supposed to go inside. He could yell to the guards which were probably standing on top of the castle walls, but he wanted his visit to be a surprise. He didn't want them informing Beomgyu about his presence, he wanted it to be something special. So he did what he could think of. He stepped closer to it, lifted his hand, and knocked.

It was silly, really. Knocking on a huge wooden gate from a guarded castle and expecting it to just swing open for you and granting you access. But shockingly, that's exactly what it did. What he saw had his smile widening again.

"Warrior Taehyun!!"  A woman yelled, her daughter clapping excitedly. The guards who had opened the gate smiled at him and mentioned for him to walk in. He thanked them, a wave of pride washing over him as the people recognized him as the one who had helped them. Even though he didn't think of himself as a warrior, he took the compliment nonetheless.

After he thanked the people and spoke to a guard who had helped them prepare the horses during his last visit, he started walking towards where he knew were the training grounds. He couldn't wait to see the black haired male again. The sound of blades hitting against each other got louder and louder as he got closer, and he could see two guys sparring in the ring. When he was close enough to see their faces, he could see one of them was the warrior. He was fighting with a guy that looked older than him, more experienced, quicker and fiercer in his movements.

Taehyun grinned as he walked up to the fence, leaning on it. He cupped his hands at his mouth and yelled. "Hey Yoongi!"

The warrior knew better than to let something distract him during a fight, but upon hearing the familiar voice he could help but glance in his direction. Taehyun could see his eyes widen slightly, and then the warrior whipped his head to his opponent, ducking down and kicking his leg out. The man lost his balance and fell down, and with quick movements Yoongi had the man sitting up against his chest, an arm around his shoulders and the blade against his neck.

He smirked smugly, whispering something to the man that sounded like an 'that's 35 against 0', and then he released the man and dropped his sword. As soon as he did he turned his attention to Taehyun. "You're back!" He smiled as he came up to him in a light jog, rounding the fence and pulling him into a hug.

"I told you I would, didn't I?"  The brunette replied, hugging the warrior back tightly. He knew the older wasn't a very affectionate person, so he appreciated the gesture a lot. When they pulled back Yoongi told the man to take a break, and Taehyun watched as the older nodded and walked off. "So what've you been up to back at home?" Yoongi asked him then, looking genuinely interested. Taehyun chuckled awkwardly at that. He'd never admit that he was slowly losing his mind over a certain boy, even if he trusted the warrior. He didn't want to seem that pathetic. "Oh y'know, school and work, nothing all that interesting." He said. Yoongi looked at him with knowing eyes, not seeming to buy it but he didn't press it any further.

"Must've been pretty boring, huh?" The black haired male asked, making Taehyun nod. "Well luckily for you I'm very much not boring. But as much as I'd like to catch up with you, I got a student over there who needs more training."  He said and nodded into the direction where the man from earlier was sitting and drinking some water.  "Besides, you must be eager to see the emperor, am I right?"  He asked. Taehyun nodded and smiled.  "I'll treat you to some food tonight! I saw a woman selling something what looked like cake in front of her home on my way here."

Yoongi scoffed at those words and shook his head, lightly shoving the boy's shoulder. "And how are you gonna pay for that, with money from your world? Don't think so. But alright, I'll see you  later."  The warrior said and walked off. The younger chuckled to himself and turned around, making his way towards the castle. He was easily let through by the guards at the door, and he was so happy he memorized what way the emperor's room was. When he arrived, he softly knocked at the door. When no answer came, he knocked again, turning the doorknob. He waited for a second, but when no protest came, he pushed the door open.

He looked into the room, expecting to see the blonde at his desk in thought, or maybe asleep over some papers, maybe one of the girls standing there who would tell him he was taking a bath. But none of that was what he found. Instead, the room looked empty. He knew he was in no position to look around but curiosity got the best of him. The desk was filled with papers with bold letters up top, and they looked important. But if they looked important, why did they look abandoned?

He shook his head, not wanting to take this opportunity and go through the blonde's personal stuff. He walked back out the room and strolled down the hallways towards the kitchen. Maybe the boy had gotten hungry while working on those papers and went to get a snack. Once he reached the kitchen, the only people he saw were a couple girls and a male in his mid forties working on a meal. He smiled and bowed politely to them before he turned around. Where could he be?

The brunette was starting to get worried. He knew he didn't have to be, the soldiers were gone, Rowoon was dead, and Yoongi had been training more males for his warrior team. It was perfectly safe within these walls... right?

Even so, he couldn't help but break out in a run, his mind already clouding with the worst. All this time he was thinking about him peacefully walking around the place, but now that he was back in this world as well, why wasn't the blonde doing so? Why wasn't he in his room? Wasn't he supposed to be? The papers looked important, and Taehyun was sure they needed to be finished sooner or later, but the boy wasn't working on them.

He ran past every room he could see, peeking inside and making sure it was free of the blonde before continuing. He even went as far as opening the door's to the girl's chambers. Accidentally, of course, but he still questioned them about the blonde even if his eyes were shielded. All in vain, because they hadn't seen him either.

Eventually Taehyun sighed and ran back outside. Surely the boy hadn't left without letting the warrior know, he reasoned. He didn't stop running until he saw the training grounds, didn't stop running until he was past the fence, not until he stood next to the sparring couple.

"Yoongi!" He voiced out in a slight panic. Even though they were in the middle of a fight, the warrior still signed for the male to stop upon hearing the younger's distressed voice. He lowered his sword and turned to the boy.  "What's the matter?" He panted, running a hand through his sweaty bangs. Taehyun took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat.

"He's gone."