Your heart leapt in your throat as fighting broke out. One of them who got done knocking out a guard neared your group. "Give me what you have and everyone walks out with their lives." Their face was covered by a mask so you couldn't tell if they were taking pleasure in this but you could tell by their tone.

"W-We don't have anything." Lia says, holding her hands in the air. Yeji and you copy her movements. "W-We're just maids..."

"Then should I take one of you?"

You shrunk back at his words, heart pounding within your ears. All of a sudden, there was a flash of silver and the bandit in front of you was knocked to the ground. Felix stood behind him, glaring at the person. You shivered from how malicious his eyes were compared to his gentle personality. "Are you all right?" He questioned, worry seeping into his expression.

"W-we're fine..." Yeji answers and Felix is quick to nod.

"Hide somewhere safe for now while we deal with this." Then he turns to the group, intent on fighting.

Lia doesn't hesitate to grab both you and Yeji's wrist and pulls you behind a large bush. From the gaps of the leaves, you see shining silver reflecting off swords and shouts. You're behind but adjacent to Lia on one side of her and Yeji on the other. To you, Lia almost feels like an older sister and it reminds you of Taeyeon.

If Taeyeon heard what was happening, you can't imagine her surprise.

You're not sure how long the fighting goes on but soon the sounds fade away into nothing. Finally, Lia is the brave one who peeks her head out and she sighs in relief. "It's taken care of." The three of you come out from behind the bush and you're shocked to see quite a few knocked out bandits surrounding Felix.

It looks like he didn't break a sweat at all.

And for once (okay, you're not trying to be mean but it's something new to you!) he's giving strict orders to the guards. The guards look mildly surprised at his actions but still obey them without question. Soon enough, their hands are tied together and they're all connected by a long rope.

Felix frowns. "Okay, I feel a bit bad but all of you are going to walk." Then he goes to everyone to make sure they're all okay and finally lands on your group. "I do hope you're alright?"

You all nod at his question. "Okay, good! We're almost there, so only a little longer." He smiles as an apology.

And just like that, everyone moves for the destination of the kingdom.

The sight of a castle comes into view first and the salty ocean stings your nose some more. You watch the window as various buildings pass by and you realize there's some similarities between this kingdom and the one you live in. Well except the fish. It seems like there's a lot of stalls serving fish and fish decorations.

So many fish.

The carriage rides along the streets and you see some people whisper. It must be the royal symbols on the carriage, attracting the attention of the people. Or the bandits who are walking along. Yeah, it's probably them... In a blink of an eye, you're already at the castle.

You won't lie, you're nervous. You've never traveled to another kingdom before, much less one where you're still working! You follow behind the girls as Felix is welcomed by a butler. They speak in conversation, glancing at the bandits who look nervous. The butler nods and whispers to a guard nearby. You can't really hear their conversation but the bandits get whisked away.

The butler invites you all inside and you glance around the place. It seems that kingdoms may be similar in how big and fancy they are. Since you're the personal maid of Felix, the butler allows for you three to head into the tea room. You all stand behind Felix, watching as another maid pours tea for him.

Then the waiting begins.

You wonder if it would be the king who greets Felix. Or would it be a prince or princess? Possibly the Queen? Your question is answered as someone steps through the door.

He's a prince!

You do your best not to watch him (okay, you'll admit, you almost did a double-take) as he shakes hands with Felix. "Hello Prince Felix," He smiles. "I'm the Second Prince, Hwang Hyunjin. It's nice to meet you."

"You as well."

They both take a seat. They make some general conversation; usual things like "how was the trip?" or "how are your siblings doing?" It goes on for a while and then there's a knock at the door. They swing open to reveal another person. Glasses perch on his nose and then he hits you all with an adorable smile. "Good morning, your Majesty, I'm Kim Seungmin," He introduces himself to Felix. "And I'm currently running the projects of water warfare."

Everyone (well besides Hyunjin) seemed to look at him surprised. "You're the one running it?" Felix asks, doubtful on how well dressed Seungmin was.

Seungmin nods. "I am. It's been a tedious project with some aspects going wrong but I feel that we're almost close."

Now you notice he's wearing a uniform of the highest rank. Do you know what it is? No, but you just know by the badges he wears on his uniform, you're assuming one of the top ones. Seungmin talks about how a water war would work, with actual guns and missiles built into a ship. You feel so awkward hearing about this and your mind is struggling to forget this information since this is something you shouldn't be hearing.

"I can offer that we take a stroll to the ports tomorrow and you can see one of our prototypes." Seungmin offers.

"Yes, please," Felix nods his head. "We would be most pleased."

Hyunjin smiles. "Of course! We're happy to accommodate you."

Tomorrow comes faster than expected as here you are standing on the ports.

There's some people milling about, shopping or having conversations with their neighbors. It feels fun and makes you want to browse the selections but your duty is to attend Prince Felix!

Seungmin leads you all to the deck itself where there are various ships bobbing gently on the water. He continues walking down and finally stops at a rather large ship. "And here we have a prototype." He looks so proud as he gestures to it. "Come on!" Then he steps onto it.

Felix is the next one to step on and Yeji looks at it unsure. Lia picks up on this and bows politely. "I'm sorry, Prince Felix, but would you mind having Y/N accompany you on the ship? Yeji doesn't feel comfortable with the water."

You glance over at her and of course Felix is the most understanding person ever. "Of course!" Then he turns to you with a bright smile. "Here, take my hand." And honestly, with the way his adorable smile paired with the sunny weather hitting him, your heart falters a little.

Wait, you can't have impure thoughts!

You toss the thoughts right out the window and take his hand. Then you're finally on the ship. Felix lets go at once and turns to Lia and Yeji. "While we look at this, could you two look at any books that might be in town? Then after that, you can take a little break but meet us here before sunset."

Lia and Yeji look so happy and you're thinking to yourself; you get stuck here while they get a break. Oh well, you suppose. They take off and now you get a tour of the ship. Seungmin is excitedly explaining the areas, like this would be the area for above ground guns and below are some prototype missiles. Your brain is still dumping all this information out since you're not even supposed to know what this is, let alone what the inside is and all the details.

"Guns are still fairly new, right?" Felix questions.

Seungmin nods. "Yes, they were only invented last year and there's still some apprehension about the use of them since so many kingdoms prefer swords and such." He shrugs. "I can't say that I have much of an opinion as they seem efficient for damage."

Felix nods but doesn't say anything else. It seems like he's thinking about something but you don't question or mention it. Instead, you're trailing behind them on every inch of this huge ship. And a couple of hours later, you're done! Finally.

Seungmin and Felix talk a bit with low voices and then the two of you get off the ship. Felix turns to you with a smile. "Do you think we should take a look around the city?"

You blink and glance back at the ship, to see that Seungmin had disappeared. Most likely back into the ship. "Isn't Seungmin coming with us? Or...?"

He shakes his head. "No, I told him that I want to explore. Will you accompany me?"

"Of course, Fourth Prince." You respectfully say.

A frown settles on his features. "No, no. Let's be casual or else we'll raise suspicion," Once he sees the hesitation on your face, he's quick to add. "I'll make it an order if I have to."

Oh. You mentally scream.