Seonghwa brought the cart to a stop in the valley they sought. While he freed the two bears to go play until they needed them for their return, Jongho rolled from the coach and planted his feet in the green grass of his home. The wind was frigid here, but the snow didn't reach the valley yet. It powdered the mountains with white tips that disappeared into the wafting dark clouds. It would snow later.

Seonghwa smoothed out his dress and looked around the valley. No settlements gave a hint about the whereabouts of the golems, and no caves in the towering mountain could hide them within the earth. Like a council of ancient gods, the lonely peaks watched over the newcomers while the wind whirled through the wild grasses.

Jongho glanced left and right, as invested in the search as Seonghwa. Could he tell golems from inanimate rocks out in the open? They were harder to spot than dryads, but perhaps they had natural receptors to recognise one another.

When Seonghwa's step halted next to Jongho and he curiously glanced over to the golem, Jongho tilted his head to call out into the barren mountain scape.

"Hello? It's me, Jongho!" He roared and his voice echoed from the cliffs.

A beat of silence passed. Seonghwa politely idled in his spot, fixing the knots in his hair the faeries put in there with their never-ending mischief. The contract was rolled up and sealed at his hip, the second to last after all the ones he already gathered.

While Jongho lured his people, Seonghwa pondered how Yunho's home country would be. Humans were two-faced creatures and though they marvelled at elves, they liked to exploit them in whatever way got them the best outcome. Their king was corrupt; his word could be bought with coin. Perhaps since he sent Yunho as the rightful winner of the tournament instead of his most favoured advisor, however, he respected the empire and its traditions.

Once Seonghwa completed that journey, he could rest. Other political events awaited him, but at least for a few days, he could think about nothing but himself and his husbands. He craved their smiles and the touch of those who dared to come near him.

Focusing on the now, Seonghwa left those thoughts to drift away. When he turned to Jongho, he found the golem rooted to the spot. Frustration shone red in his crystals.

"Nobody here to receive us?" Seonghwa guessed. He swiped his eyes through the valley, catching no movement. Only the sparse bushes and grasses waved up and down. No deer and no rabbit passed through.

"I can see them right over there; they are just too lazy to get up," Jongho huffed. Upon Seonghwa's surprised look, he pointed at one mountain.

"I understand it's difficult to move when you are that big, but all our elders do is age and lie around. They are the ones who need to sign."

No matter how he squinted, Seonghwa couldn't tell where the mountain ended and the golem began. Or perhaps the entire mountain was multiple golems leaning into each other.

"They don't move for many years?"

"Not at all. And whenever they do, they squash the younger ones."

Horrified, Seonghwa glanced back at Jongho. Now he almost wished those golems wouldn't move to come and sign his contract.

"That can happen?"

"All the time. They are too big to see where they go, and their mass is too large to estimate. It's the responsibility of us younger ones to be out of the way in time, but if we foolishly huddle too close? One step and we are no more but crumbles." Though he said it with the lament of having watched that happen before, his voice was still too level to match Seonghwa's dread. The elf sincerely hoped neither he nor Jongho would be stepped on during their visit.

"In that case, best we avoid their feet. Perhaps we could climb and meet them in the middle? Then they wouldn't wreak destruction upon the valley." Or them.

But Jongho brushed the idea off.

"Nonsense. They can move once in a millennium. Hey!" He yelled at the mountains once more.

Fascinated by the lack of social manners despite the difference in age and might, Seonghwa stuck to Jongho's side. The balance of their cultural mannerisms was more familiar to Jongho than to Seonghwa. If the elf in his endless diplomacy proceeded wrong, he might be squished under their feet like an unlucky daisy.

This time, a rumbling voice echoed back from the mountains. None of the golems blending into the landscape shifted, but this one's voice rolled like thunder and vibrated in Seonghwa's delicate bones.

"What do you want, Jongho?"

The golem stemmed his hands into his hips, how he had seen Wooyoung do it. Compared to when he first arrived, he adopted many of the others' quirks, and it was a delight to see him shape his own personality out of them.

"Remember me? How I did the damn joust everyone else was too lazy to move for? Then I left the valley to marry the elven prince? Your future emperor? Yeah, I brought him here and you all look very embarrassing in front of him right now."

The sigh that came from the mountains was like an avalanche. Nervously, Seonghwa tugged his coat tighter around his frame. Though he might rule the kingdoms in the future, compared to a golem, he was but an ant on the earth.

Many argued golems weren't people since they had no hearts and magic was their sole fuel. However, they weren't irrelevant allies. Seonghwa was glad they were cosy in their spot and wouldn't monger war.

"Greetings, future emperor. What do you require of us?" It was their lack of emotion that made him sound bored, but Seonghwa couldn't help but assume he was bothering them.

"Excuse my sudden visit. I require you to sign a peace treaty for me. After my marriage to Jongho, your leader must acknowledge our bond and promise your peace for as long as this bond ties our people together," he explained quickly, afraid to lose their attention.

The mountains were silent for so long that Seonghwa feared they had gone back to sleep.

Then, however, a yawn rustled through the bushes.

"You sign it for me, Jongho."

Seonghwa gasped, mortified.

"No, Jongho's sign is required elsewhere, so this one has to be of one of your highest. Do you need me to come up? I can move the ink to your hand." Though those hands would be far too massive and clumsy to use it as intended.

Uncaring, the golem made the earth shudder beneath their feet when he burrowed deeper into his spot.

"Just pretend; you have my blessing." With that, his booming voice fell quiet, and the valley returned to its peaceful rest.

Jongho sighed.

"I'm sorry, Seonghwa. You had to travel so far, and this is all you receive."

Though frazzled by their nonchalance about peace and official documents, Seonghwa shook his head.

"At least I witnessed them giving you their blessing. Come on, let's comply with his wish and leave them in peace."

While they wandered to the cart to have a flat surface to write on, Jongho glanced at the darkening skies.

"Best we spend the night here; the inns are far. It might not be comfortable, but safe. A fire won't bother them."

Seonghwa produced the ink jar and feather and wrote his signature next to the royal stamp on his side of the treaty. In Jongho's fingers, the elegant white owl feather got ruffled, but he moved with great caution to write his name with shaky strokes that looked like those of a child. Then, he lowered his hand to the space for the eldest among the golems; the Titan, if Seonghwa recalled properly.

Instead of a name, Jongho drew the little shape of a rock. That seemed to be their humourous commentary on their heritage.

"All done," Jongho beamed when he handed the feather back to Seonghwa. Relieved though frazzled about the unofficial treaty, Seonghwa tucked it back onto his belt. He tied up the second copy of the contract and looked around with nervous eyes.

"Your people need to keep one contract for themselves in case they ever want to claim it as an instrument. Is there any place we can store this to keep it safe and accessible to your folk?"

Jongho took the scroll from him.

"They will remember, for golems remember everything. But in case they ever need it, I will store it in our chest."

"A chest?" Seonghwa repeated, amused by the idea that all the golems possessed was a single trunk to put all their bothersome paperwork into. Paperwork that other races put upon them, specifically. Because golems wouldn't dare come up with that idea. They just memorised their words.

"Yes. It's overflowing because no one sorts it, but at the same time, few have business with us. I'll be back. Since it's tucked into a cave, don't worry about it getting damaged." Jongho took off across the grass while Seonghwa stayed behind. The two bears were back, curious about the golems now that they had explored the nearby forests. Seonghwa petted them and fed them some water. When he made a fire next to the cart to ward off the darkness, the two curled up by his sides, creating a space to lean into.

Jongho returned, slow as ever. He looked pleased with Seonghwa's ability to keep himself alive and the fire danced over his crystals to match the amber of Seonghwa's dress.

"How will we make our sleeping arrangements if we are under the open sky?" Seonghwa asked. His two blankets were not near enough to build a safe hideout with, and though Jongho could assist with that, it seemed impolite to ask.

The golem shrugged.

"I will just curl up over there where no one will step if they ever move. You have the fire, right?"

Seonghwa thought it couldn't get much worse than his roll in the hay with Wooyoung.

He had been wrong.

Helpless, he glanced at the cart. Perhaps if he levered it on a rock, it would make for a warmer surface than the freezing earth. The winds up here were too cold even for him, and his lithe body would ache all over after a night spent on the hard surface.

Though Jongho was right. At least he had the fire.

Not one to complain, Seonghwa gave in. While Jongho stomped off without wishing him a good night, Seonghwa gently asked the surrounding nature not to punish him with snow or a storm. His plea echoed from the stars, and soon, the clouds thinned out to give a view of a spectacular open sky.

Seonghwa stayed with the bears since they were happy to share their warmth and soft pelts with him. Though he felt lonely, swaddled into his blanket and staring at the vast sky that reflected in his eyes, it wasn't so bad to sleep outside. The fire warmed their pile of furs and blankets, lulling the bears into sighs of contentment.

When Seonghwa looked around, he couldn't tell Jongho from the many other rocks that made up the mountains.

Curling up between the two bears who slumbered with peaceful breaths and flicking ears, Seonghwa allowed sleep to overcome him. His hip already hurt from the hard ground and his neck would ache in the morning, but at least he was safe, and he succeeded with yet another contract.

Hopefully, Jongho wouldn't be a pile of crumbles tomorrow. Seonghwa wanted to hear more of his observations concerning the group and he wanted to see the development of his personality. Would he also adapt to some of Seonghwa's traits? Since he was a blank canvas, the possibilities were endless.

But those things could wait for later. For now, Seonghwa fell into a deep sleep, watched by the moon and the stars, who gazed fondly at the prince, who learned not to complain, even when he didn't get his perfect will.

After all, they were all born under a different star, all their own people. The oddity of the golems was just another aspect that made Jongho endearing to him.