A/N:  I don't remember the last time I posted it.  Just a reminder that I don't take credit for any of the images.  While some of them are found on copyright free sights regarding some of the images that can't be claimed for all of them and the rights strictly belong to the photographer who took them.  

3168 words

Sometime during the night while I was safely cocooned in my eldest soulmate's arms I must have received a text that was rerouted from the cell phone I use in Korea. I wasn't quite able to focus my eyes yet when I saw the icon indicating the existence of the text on my phone, and once I settled back into the mattress Jin pulled me tighter into his frame which if I am completely honest is another thing that hampers my focus. Instead of pulling away though I settle further into his arms and simply try to blink away the remaining sleep from my eyes.

Candace: I know you are on vacation but I think you should probably see this. (news link attached)

I pull open the website and peruse over what she linked me. The article has me exceptionally confused, but it's from a very reputable source so I am not questioning it's authenticity. Basically the article is a release stating that the serum injection and the fee to get on the soulmate listing have both been waived for all women making them both free now. "There has to be a reason for this." I mutter aloud which has Jin completely waking up concerned due to the stiffness in my shoulders.

"What's going on?" He asks.

I show him the article and wait until he reads through it. Then I ask him again the question that is bothering me the most. "Why would the United States suddenly make the serum injection and the soulmate listing free for women?"

"That is strange."

Before typing out a reply to Candace I double check the time in Chicago. Crap. It's late there. I'd hate to potentially bother Joshua since she is now living with him and Rebecca. But, I will probably get busy within only a few hours and forget to reply later on. I basically throw caution to the wind and type out a text to her anyway. If she is awake she probably has the notifications on vibrate or do not disturb, and if she isn't then she will get back with me when she wakes up in the morning, which will be afternoon for me.

Me: This is my phone number while we are in Europe. What do you make of all this? It strikes me as kind of odd that the country is suddenly doing this. Also, I know the last time we talked you told me how Rebecca was doing way worse, and the doctors still weren't sure of the reason. Have you heard anything new?

I wait a few minutes to see if she replies back, but when that doesn't happen I decide to go through my morning ritual of getting ready for the day. It's supposed to be 77°F(25°C) today, and I am kind of happy that the weather will be on touch on the warmer side. It's probably not enough to go swimming at the popular beach in Positano, but at least I can wear one of my warmer outfits for the day. In fact, due to Jin's penchant for appreciating me in more feminine outfits I decide to wear one of my sundresses today. I hold it up for his perusal. "What do you think?"

He visibly swallows and a part of me thrills at watching his Adam's apple go up and down in reaction to the garment I plan on wearing today. He definitely has some male fantasy running through his head right now. Or perhaps he is simply picturing me in the garment before I put it on.

"Yes, wear that one, Princess."

I nod. "I should probably still pack my cardigan and take it with me just in case I get cold." Admittedly though I really don't want to have to carry a backpack with me while wearing the sundress. It has both a halter neckline due to the two spaghetti straps that tie around the neck and the illusion of an off the shoulder dress due to the two small pieces of fabric that sit low and off the shoulders. The dress itself is white and there is a floral pattern that seems exceptionally appropriate for a hot summer day due to the floral pattern's darker shades and hues. The hem of the skirt reaches all the way to my ankles, and a slit runs up one side of it that daringly stops just above mid thigh. In fact that slit might run up higher on my leg than the hem of my shortest pair of shorts reach at.

"Why don't you ask one of us to carry the cardigan in a bag for you that way you don't have to lug one around?" Jin suggests.

It would resolve my issue of not wanting to carry a backpack with the dress at least. I nod. "I'll probably do that for today at least. I don't mind carrying one around normally, but I don't think one would work with this dress." I'll probably even put my wallet in the same soulmate's bag so I don't have to carry a shoulder bag either.

After I am finished getting ready for the morning Jin takes his turn in the bathroom. He initially offers to carry my stuff himself, but I honestly think it would be better to have everything end up with the soulmate I stay with tonight so that way I don't have to track it down later. I'm hoping it won't be difficult to decide my next bedmate this morning since I have now actually slept with all of them on the ship at this point. (Even if more than half of those nights were spent just sleeping.)

I'm surprised out of my musing by a knock at my door. Namjoon takes a moment to take in my entire outfit before he clears his throat and delivers the news he came to tell me. "We are going to be dining on the top deck this morning instead of the private dining room. We will be coming in on Positano within the hour and supposedly the harbor is a very picturesque sight."

I smile. "That sounds like a wonderful idea!" I look back at the closed bathroom door. "I'll be up as soon as Jin is out of the bathroom that way I can relay the info to him."

A few minutes later and Jin is escorting me up the final sets of stairs into the briny sea air. I'm not surprised to find that breakfast this morning is simple. A tray of cornetto, Italian croissants, is sat aside along with butter and varying jams, preserves, and jellies. Aside from Tae and myself the others all have some sort of coffee drink in front of them. Tae and I both have fresh orange juice, which I wouldn't be surprised if it was bottled in Sicily.

I ask the camera operators to turn off the cameras for a few moments before I turn to my soulmates. "I thought perhaps this morning we could discuss who was going to spend the night with me tonight rather than waiting until later on in the day. Partially because I thought it would be nice to get it out of the way, but also because I thought I could store away my cardigan and wallet in his bag so I wouldn't have to carry mine."

"Oh, so you are going to use us as your very own pack mule now. Are you, Petal?" Hobi casts me a teasing smirk.

I roll my eyes at him. "I just don't think a backpack would go with my dress." I stand up and remove my cardigan so he can see it properly.

Tae once again acts selfless. "I think Jimin should spend the night with Daisy."

Hobi's smirk drifts from his face. "Yeah, I agree. I unintentionally spoiled his last night after all."

Namjoon takes over the conversation. "Okay, now that that's settled. Before the camera operators turn them back on, was there anything else we should discuss?"

I pause for a second thinking if I should bring up the text Candace sent me. Jin seems to see my expression and nods at me. "I got a text from Candace in the middle of the night, and honestly I don't know what to make of it." I take a moment to read it aloud. "Thoughts?"

I notice one of the production staff stiffens up, and luckily Namjoon does too. "It's been starting to grow on the news lately. Not many countries are implementing the same plan, but there are a few that are following suit."

He said it all in Korean and while the production team is aware I speak the language rather well, the security team is not. So, Namjoon takes a moment to translate for me. "What could this mean exactly? I mean why would countries suddenly do this?"

Namjoon shakes his head. "I really don't know." He looks over at Yoongi who covertly nods back at him. I don't know what their silent communication means, but due to their high IQ and thirst for knowledge I am sure that they are probably going to start researching it for themselves.

A few minutes later we go back to nonchalantly eating on camera and discussing what we are doing for the day. "The beach here is supposed to be beautiful, but I honestly think we should probably just stroll down it this morning and tonight before we leave." Jk suggests.

"Oh, not far from the beach are a bunch of local craftsman stalls. I am sure it is nothing like the Marsaxlokk Market in Malta, but we might find something interesting there. I'm sure it wouldn't be a loss in our time to peruse a bit." Jin suggests.

"Oh look." Tae shows off his phone. "There is a line of fashion boutiques up the road just past the stalls."

I almost shake my head at my fashion Taeger, but stop myself from doing so. I had honestly found something that might be interesting myself earlier so I pull it up on my phone again. "What about this?"

"Oh, an olive and lemon grove tour?" Namjoon exclaims.

"I saw a site that tried to say that the movie Under The Tuscan Sun was filmed near here. The site in question didn't seem very accurate, but it got me remembering a scene where they were harvesting olives. The season is wrong for it, but I thought it might be something interesting to see at least. Not to mention this is a rather small, private grove. I'm sure it wouldn't be a long tour."

One of the production team comes over and says that he will call to see if he can make arrangements sometime for this afternoon. Even though we are only going to be here for a day our next stop, Capri, isn't far and we won't be taking off until sometime in the middle of the night. So we won't have to rush between our scheduled or rather planned activities.

A minute later the harbor comes in sight and my soulmates with a penchant for taking photos and selfies are clicking away like crazy. I can see the beach in question from here, and while it isn't a long stretch of sand I do agree that it would be nice to walk along it a couple times today.

Luckily, it isn't terribly busy this morning. Of course there are a few people here and there that are most definitely curious about us and the camera crew following. I even notice a few Army trying their best not to have complete fangirl moments. They are struggling, but at least somewhat succeeding. A couple of them even smile and wave at me, which I try to only offer a smile in return. I hope they understand that since we are filming I can't offer anything more than that as much as I might want to.

Before we ever make it to the umbrellas and awnings of the local craftsman stalls we come across a few artists set up with easels trying to capture the morning rays as they cast over the water. I try not to stare so I don't bother them, but it is quite interesting to watch the paintings come to life. Suddenly Jk is insisting I take my sandals off and go down near the water. "I want to capture you facing the water. Maybe I can recreate my own painting of the moment when we get home."

Tae adds to his suggestion. "I think we should take a photo also when we visit the water tonight. Just at sunset. Then maybe we can create one morning scene and one early evening scene."

The artist that is situated closest to my bunny stands. "Excusie please. I couldn't help but overhear. If you send me these photos. I will happily work on the paintings myself. For a commission of course."

My soulmates deliberate for a moment. "Would you mind if we see some of your work first?" Namjoon asks.

"Oh, but of course." He pulls out his portfolio, which he happens to have with him. Honestly, I'm guessing he has come across a similar, if not identical, opportunity before and monopolizes on it often with tourists.

They all end up agreeing and he hands them his card with his email address where they can send the copies of the photos to. I know the paintings will be delivered to the company rather than the house. Honestly, the only mail we get sent directly to us is from my soulmate's families and exceptionally close friends.

We peruse the market stalls, but unlike the Marsaxlokk Market we really don't find much that we feel that we can't live without. Jimin, Yoongi, Jin, and Tae each end up purchasing a bracelet. And I can't help but tease Jin about his 'hand necklace.'

"I have these rascals tease me all the time. Now you too, Princess?" He acts affronted but there is a loving gleam in his eye that makes my heart exceptionally happy and a chuckle pours from my mouth.

The boutiques along the street are all high fashion, and while I do have to dress the part of being their soulmate on occasion. I just honestly am not feeling any of the garments we come across.

Soon enough it's lunchtime and we all begin to search for somewhere to eat. We all decide on a place simply called Café Positano. Our thoughts being that the restaurant in question will potentially have a simple menu that we won't have to peruse over long for lunch because unfortunately the website has no menu. Our assumptions regarding the menu are unfortunately wrong, because the listing is actually quite extensive, but I push that worry aside when the waiter guides us to a veranda outside that looks out above the city and the beach.

Jin orders a pasta that has varying mollusks and also squid and octopus. (No oysters though since he isn't a fan of that particular mollusk.) He asks me if I am going to want a bite and I venomously shake my head no which he can't help but let out his windshield wiper laugh at. Jimin and Namjoon both order steak served with mushroom risotto and green beans. Jk orders the fish of the day. Yoongi orders a pasta dish that I had considered myself with light garlic and herb sauce, cherry tomatoes, and lobster. Tae orders a seafood risotto, another dish I had considered. Hobi orders carbonara, mostly because Jimin had debated on 'lagibolala' himself. I decide on spaghetti with a light tomato and olive oil sauce covered with cherry tomatoes, ripe olives, and fresh herbs. Per normal of course everyone ends up basically eating off each other's plates for the most part. Yoongi even gives me one of his lobster claws and he only has two of them.

After we are all full we sit for a few minutes simply enjoying the atmosphere. I notice a couple of my soulmates glancing briefly at the sky, but I pay it no mind. The spying drones haven't been seen for days now, and while I do not think the people behind them have given up, I have instead decided to stop worrying about it and try to enjoy myself.

We are sharing slices of limoncello cake when the notification of my phone goes off alerting to a new text message. I had all but forgotten about the text message I sent this morning to Candace.

Candace: I honestly don't know what is going on. It seems like suddenly women are being greatly encouraged to get the serum injection if they haven't already. States that had upped the minimum age to 21 are now overwriting that law. I really don't know what to make of it all.

Me: Well, feel