I will try to post another update soon. I have used Faithling's line (thank you for your contribution) in this chapter, so look for it.
Thank you guys for reviewing!
Next prompts 1) Date 2) Parents 3) Sacrifice 4) Secret.
"No!" he screamed, urging the horse on, rapidly increasing the speed, as the actor disappeared out of his line of sight when passing by the tree and reappeared again momentarily. Choi Young saw Lee Min Ho's horse rare, frightened and confused, and imagined his slender body fly tumbling to the ground, as the horse took off to the side, obviously without a rider to give the directions.
The one person he swore to keep out of harm's way was now exposed to an imminent threat. The plan to flush out the assassin worked, but backfired due to Choi Young's own incompetence. This was the first time in his entire life as Woodalchi when he called himself incompetent.
If he was back in Goryeo, he would request to be punished to the highest degree for such a thoughtless and selfish behavior – he was so mad at himself for relaxing at a time when he had to be the most vigilant. There was no excuse – even a second of waned attention, a momentarily distraction – and Lee Min Ho was alone with assassin. He was sure that it was no more than a minute, but a very long minute that could mean life and death to a person. His only hope was that the boy listened well and would not do anything stupid. Somehow, Choi Young understood that assassin was only interested in him and being a trained assassin, would not kill a bystander, focused on his one target – the General of Woodalchi.
. . .
The assassin held his sword to the neck of the man on the ground. He tried to move, but met by the sharp point of the blade, quieted.
"You are a hard man to find, my friend." The man spoke, as if familiar with his victim intimately.
"You know it is not fair. I have been watching you for a while. Why is that you get to live a decent life, while I'm a fugitive here?"
It was clearly a rhetorical question. The man chuckled darkly.
"I guess, you are not as excited to meet me as I am - you. No problem, it was expected, considering the way we parted."
Lee Min Ho held his breath. His head was hurting and the body also started to feel the pain as the shock from the fall wore off. He groaned and tried to see through the thick hair lock covering his eyes. His vision was blurry and the head was pounding.
He instantly recalled the death threat literary hanging above his neck. The warning by Daejang came true. So all he had to do play dead and after a while, he would be rescued. That sounded like a good plan in his head, but something inside of him moved and instincts kicked in. All of his training within the last week had already taken roots in his body. Muscle memory took over and despite his rational side, his body moved on its own as he rolled quickly and away from underneath the blade, managing to leave a light scrape on his neck with a few drops of blood, landing on the ground.
Choi Young had reached the tree and dismounted, running up with his sword unsheathed, but stalled behind the trunk as he witnessed the following scene:
The assassin stared at him with amusement, as Lee Min Ho got on his feet and grabbed his sword, but swayed, struggling to keep balance and lodged the sword into the ground, leaning on it. The fall was pretty hard and his head was throbbing. He rubbed the painful spot and looked up at the man in black, who simply stood there. A wave of dizziness took him by surprise and despite his best effort, he could not stand and collapsing on his knees, lost consciousness again.
"Come out", called the assassin, quite relaxed. He took off his hat, which cast a harsh shadow on his face, blocking the view.
The General stepped from behind the tree and met the cold eyes of the man, who stared at him rather calmly. It could not be!
"You?!" Choi Young narrowed his eyes and pulled his brows together, stunned.
"Long time no see, Choi Young." The coldness in his eyes replaced with bitter sadness.
. . .
He was only 17, a boy really. A boy who could hold a sword and who knew how to use it. He was a talented boy picked to be the future leader by his master. Too young to think ahead, too inexperienced to comprehend the repercussions of his decisions. And he was in love.
At first, he was not sure if he would stay. The training required too much discipline and following rules. He liked to act on his own, to do things his way. But he saw her running, fast and graceful like a gazelle, her laughter scattering through the air, making flowers open and birds follow her in the sky. She was like a forest fairy, light on her feet, friendly with the animals, kind to every living creature. What was she doing in the Red Crescent Moon squad?
"My daughter. Mae Hee." That explained it.
"Choi Young," he introduced himself. She barely gave him a glance and flew away somewhere where the grass was tall and wind roamed free. "I guess I will stick around after all."
He was in love the way a seventeen year old finds his first love unexpectedly, struck by the lightening. He learned the rules weren't so bad and the master trained them hard, but praised them even harder. And the guys were great, most of them a little older, but still young. At first there were some trouble, but with time he had gotten along with everybody.
Choi Young used to seat and laugh with them, while truly only waiting for quick eyes to catch glimpse of him from a side. She was shy sometimes, hiding behind a curtain. If he looked, she would disappear behind the fabric, waiting till he turned away to take another peek. This hide and seek they played was fun and lasted for a few months, making him more and more intrigued and excited. He soon found out that everybody liked her and none of the men dared to love her. But he did not need permission. He never did ask for any permission from anybody.
She came to him one night and pressed her finger against his lips, telling him to follow her. He rose and went with her, as she led the way through the thick forest to an open meadow, flooded by mysterious moonlight.
"I like you, too," she said. "All the guys are secretly in love with me. I like you, too."
"Who says I like you?" his pride stirred by this girl.
"Then you don't?"
"Why should I?" He held his breath.
"Because." Her reasoning made sense as she kissed him swiftly on the lips, catching him by surprise eyes wide open, now not able to breathe, even if he wanted to.
"Still don't like me?" she laughed and ran away, intending for him to play with her.
They played like two children, barely coming out of age, youthful and free. She was actually not just a forest fairy, she was her father's daughter, not equal to Choi Young in her skill, but still pretty amazing.
"We have to keep it a secret for now," she warned. "You don't want the guys to get jealous."
The secret was out soon as Choi Young was not very good with concealing his true feelings. It was only later that he became the man of control. At 17 he just began to learn the value of that.
The master talked to them and to Choi Young's surprise accepted them as a couple. "You'll be engaged."
"Engaged?" They did not expect that, but who cares? It's not like they had to get married right away and settle somewhere in a house with children and servants and boring family obligations.
The announcement caused quite a stir. Most of the guys accepted the romantic defeat gracefully, especially when Mae Hee took the time to joke and smile with them, giving enough attention for each and every one of them to feel like they still had a special place in her heart.
There was one person, who could not lose. One of the men, harboring darkness and resentment. His best friend and his worst enemy.
. . .
"Come out with me," the boy grabbed Choi Young's arm and motioned with his head toward the exit. "We need to talk."
"Now? We are in the middle of our engagement celebration. Can't it wait?" Choi Young was smiley, relaxed with alcohol and food, his sparkling eyes looked at his best friend, who seemed too serious for the occasion.
"Come," the boy replied sternly.
"Drink with me first," Choi Young offered him a cup, but Jae Su took it out of his hand and put it down.
"Now." He grabbed Choi Young and dragged his softened by the alcohol body outside.
They came out into the yard. The half moon behind the trees did not offer much light, but was curiously watching as their grey silhouettes faced each other.
"Congratulations on your engagement," bitterly said Jae Su.
Choi Young did not catch the painful notes and just scratched the back of his head shyly and nervously chuckled, "Thank you, but you did not have to take me out for that, did you?"
Jae Su tilted forehead down, glaring unfriendly from under the knitted brows, and challenged the groom. "I love her! And you did this behind my back!"
"What?" Choi Young was startled. "I never went behind your back. She chose me, it was her choice."
"I have loved her all my life. Can you say the same?"
The boys stared at each other, it was hard to see their expressions in the dark, but they were angry and frustrated, both of them.
"So am I supposed to just give up?"
"Why should you? You are even accepted by the master. The irony of it," the young man spit underneath Choi Young's feet. "Before you showed up, I was his favorite, and now Choi Young this and Choi Young that!"
"I did not ask for this, none of it. Why are you so bitter?" The alcohol started to wear off, but Choi Young still felt hopeful that the engagement would not be totally ruined by this misunderstanding.
"Because you always get everything, always. You got the looks, the smarts, the talent and the girl! Damn you, Choi Young!" The boy was so angry, he was clenching his fists, starting to tremble.
"You know how hard it was for me. A noble, I was looked down upon, I had to work twice as hard just to prove that I can use my hands as well as the rest of you. You offered me help, you came to me first to be friends. You stood by me, when the others mocked me. Don't tell me I get everything so easily!"
"Does not matter. You still win at the end. And I hate you for that," Jae Su responded coldly and simply scoffed and turned away.
This cut Choi Young to the core, a pang in his heart. "Tell me what I can do to make this better. I can't lose my friend over jealousy." He was insisting, but the more he tried to be nice and understanding, the angrier his friend got.
Jae Su was shaking, blinded by rage and jealousy, he leaped, hitting Choi Young in the jaw with a fist, unexpectedly. The man recoiled, and opening his mouth, moaned, rubbing the spot, anger now surging through his veins as well.
"Have you lost your mind?" He screamed at Jae Su, who threw another punch in response, only this time around Choi Young was expecting the attack and stepped aside, making the man miss him by an inch.
Growling, Jae Su now jumped on the boy pushing him to the ground, both equally mad and equally skilled, grunting and huffing, they rolled in the dust, neither is able to free himself from the tight hold of the opponent.
"What the hell is wrong with you!" finally yelled Choi Young, managing to leverage his weight to pin Jae Su down and grabbing his fisted hands to avoid any more punches. "Enough, I don't want to fight. Stop it!"
Jae Su groaned, his eyes filled with hatred and called, "Fair fight. I want a fair fight."
Choi Young let his arms go, still sitting on top of his friend he looked confused.
"I am better than you, and you know it."
"I never thought we were competing, I thought were friends." And with sadness realization hit him that he might have been the only one truly invested wholeheartedly in this friendship.
"Coward." Jae Sun smirked and knew that he hit the right spot, judging by Choi Young's reaction.
The word felt like a slap on the face and rang in Choi Young's ears, pushing aside control and letting out the impulsive and vindictive side of him that he barely started to learn how to manage.
He freed his opponent, getting up and barked, "I will get my weapon, wait for me in our spot. I will be in an hour. Master will be insulted if I walk out from my own celebration."
"Don't be in a rush, I'll be waiting," sarcasm now oozing from Jae Su's lips. He got up himself, and wiped the blood of his face with a sleeve. "Hey, you look like a pig that just rolled in the mud." He stopped his friend, a familiar concern in his voice, hurting Choi Young even more.
Was he pretending to be his friend or his enemy? Which one was it? Who was the real Jae Su?
"Thanks," he still responded, dropping the word as carelessly as possible.
They met at midnight. The party has not finished, but everybody was so drunk by now, nobody would miss them.
"I'm here," announced Choi Young as he watched his friend come up from under the sprawled brunches of a large tree. "At least tell me what this 'fair fight' is about."
"Everything. If you win, I will accept your engagement, if you lose, you will leave the brigade and things will go back to normal."
"And abandon my fiancé?" Choi Young could not accept such terms.
"Don't want to?" smirked Jae Su. "Then how about you step aside and give me a chance to woo her."
"You are not making any sense. She is in love with me. We are engaged. If you wanted to fight for her, you should have done it earlier!" Choi Young turned around ready to walk away, but a flat of the blade held his shoulder.
"Don't you get it? What kind of a friend you are, if you don't get it?" He was bitter and sad. He wanted to give up with dignity, but the noble idiot Choi Young just did not understand anybody, but himself. "Fight with me. Just do it."
"If you insist." Choi Young sighed and turned facing his friend, whose eyes already reflect defeat and loss. He realized in that instance that it was not really about winning Mae Hee's heart, it was about Jae Su keeping his pride.
They crossed their blades. The fight was fierce, till finally Jae Su almost overpowered his opponent. Choi Young thought for a second to lose on purpose, but if Jae Su ever suspected, he would be so offended and would never forgive him. So he pressed back and managed to push Jae Su off, then stepped around swiftly, using his signature move, his sword landing at the nape of his neck.
"It is over," he said panting. "Is it enough… still?"
Jae Su's shoulders tensed and then dropped. Breathing heavily he turned, moving the sword off his neck and met Choi Young's eyes. "For now I accept this. I will give her to you. You protect her and take care of her, but if anything ever happens, I will come after you. And I will spill every drop of your blood mercilessly."
Choi Young's anger flared, even though this man had the right to say such things to him, but he calmed himself and nodded. He had to let it be this way if he wanted to keep his friend and keep the peace.