CHAPTER FIVE
Is this the best you can be?
As per Sang-chul's predictions, Princess Aeri takes an absolutely uncalled for liking to the new soldier, who, unfortunately, does not return the sentiment. Not that it discourages her or anything - on the contrary, she only gets more enthused as the days go by.
The first failure involves Yona, who is on board with her plan to aggressively befriend Sun-hui for the grand total of five minutes that it takes to hunt her down. Then the redhead takes one look at her, at the scars and broad shoulders and shiny arrowheads, and bolts the other way.
Aeri heaves a dramatic sigh as she watches her sister leave, before turning back to Sun-hui with a pout on her lips. "You scared her off!"
She receives no response. (Sun-hui tilts her head inquisitively, questions tickling at the back of her throat. But her people are dying and no one cares, least of all those living at the height of luxury, so she holds her tongue and looks the other way.)
A month passes with no significant development in the relationship between the Second Princess and the soldier from the Earth Tribe. Then another. And another. It pains her to admit that all her friendly overtures collapsed within mere moments as Sun-hui, quite genuinely, didn't care.
It couldn't be helped, really, when there is practically no common ground between the two. Sang-chul and Duri are easy to get along with because of their quick wit and endless need to throw in retorts and complaints. Hyun-woo is always willing to lend an ear to anyone and Aeri simply took advantage of that fact to create a mutually beneficial relationship comprised mostly of aggravating the aforementioned duo. Hak and Soo-won see Yona's mirror image in her and are nicer than most. (Even if she doesn't like them very much. She thinks the sentiment is shared when Hak sticks his tongue out at her from behind Yona.) And Yona is... Yona.
Aeri has never had to try, not like this. Even Sang-chul was easy to win over because he... cared. Because he looked at her and saw his younger siblings, small and naive and defenceless. Sun-hui looked at her and saw nothing. Sometimes, it didn't feel like she was even looking. (Like the maids that snickered behind her back and the soldiers that looked the other way when young nobles harassed her, like those very nobles who smiled and smiled and smiled and treated her like the dust beneath their feet. Kouka's royalty incurs no respect between Hiryuu Castle and the far reaches of the Earth and Fire Tribes. Her blood boils at the thought and-
Breathe. Sun-hui isn't like that. She appears over her shoulder when the Fire Tribe General's son gets too touchy unlike the soldiers who grumble and whine about getting in trouble for opposing him, quietly threatening and even drawing her blade when that's not enough. Sun-hui doesn't care but she's not evil. The rest can come with time and effort. So she grins and tries again.)
At the very least, someone was finding enjoyment in her failures - and by someone, she means Sang-chul, who watched every encounter from start to finish and could usually be found doubled over in laughter after each one.
Burning in shame, she decides to make one final attempt. She honestly does not expect it to work, but the thought of giving up frustrates her to no end and so she compromises: one last attempt, and then she'll stop ("And leave the poor kid in peace!" is Sang-chul's very helpful contribution). As if she hadn't thought that for the entirety of the past week.
A new day begins. Like all the days before it for the past few months, she sets aside time to hunt Sun-hui down.
This time, she finds success.
Hak isn't particularly fond of Yona's sister. There is no way he'll admit it in front of Yona, though, because if nothing else she is immensely protective of Aeri. He doesn't quite understand the appeal of the girl who's constantly sending unnerving stares his way (and possibly a few glares. He's been trying to pretend those didn't happen, though he's not above retaliating just as childishly. Yona doesn't need to know).
Taking the position of Princess Yona's bodyguard, however, means he will inevitably be seeing more of her problematic twin. He pushes the thought away, and decides instead to entertain himself with the rare presence of Soo-won within the castle grounds.
"Hak!" the boy in question calls, eagerly running over to where Hak awaits, leaning casually against a pillar. "There you are! Don't just disappear like that!"
He grins, unfazed by the complaint. "My apologies, Lord Soo-won. Did you enjoy your time alone with the Princess?"
It's a bit odd, he realises out of the blue, how, in their minds, there is only one Princess. He frowns. Aeri may not make her presence as well known around them, and he may not particularly like her, but the blatant ignorance of her very existence seems... harsh.
Yona would not be pleased.
He decides to fix it.
"Princess Yona must have been pleased with your visit," he adds, ignoring Soo-won's protests. The two of them wander about the palace aimlessly, taking comfort in each other's company.
The castle is eerily silent around them. The soldiers' training is done for the day, and only the occasional guard passes by. Hak frowns a bit; if nothing else, he was expecting to spot Sang-chul and Hyun-woo in the courtyard, bickering and accompanied by the eye-patched man whose name he couldn't quite recall, ever.
Just as the thought crosses his mind, a maid calls out to him. "Lord Hak!" she says, looking distraught enough for him to know exactly what she's about to say. "Have you seen Princess Aeri anywhere?"
"No, sorry. What did she do this time?" he asks in reply. Soo-won casts him a curious glance, but says nothing.
"She was supposed to be in her room, but no one has been able to find her since she disappeared about an hour ago. It's such a bad habit of hers, really-" The maid abruptly stops mid-tangent, noticing Soo-won's presence for the first time. "O-oh, Lord Soo-won! Pardon me, I'll leave you both alone!"
Hak resists the urge to snicker at the sudden change in demeanour, wondering what could have happened in the past to warrant such a reaction. Had Princess Yona told her off for saying something similar?
As the maid scurries off, Soo-won poses the question he was withholding. "Does this happen often?"
"Absolutely," Hak says, a laugh accompanying the words. "Princess Aeri loves giving the maids a headache, that's for sure."
"But Hak... shouldn't you look for her?" Soo-won asks, genuine concern seeping into his tone. His most vivid memory of Aeri paints a lonely picture; a child Princess and a target to enemies unknown, an attempt made on her life when there was barely anyone around.
"Sang-chul probably knows where she is. Or Sun-hui, actually."
"Sang-chul... he's the soldier from that time. Who's Sun-hui?"
"One of the castle guards, from the Earth Tribe. She's really strong. Princess Yona's absolutely terrified of her. There was this one time-"
Soo-won stops, tuning out Hak's words. He stares off to the side, into the hallway that goes on to the right. "Sun-hui," he says, interrupting Hak's storytelling. "Shoulder-length brown hair and a burgundy scarf?"
"Yeah, that's her, how-"
Hak cuts himself off as he follows Soo-won's gaze and finds the woman in question leaning casually against the wall of the rarely traversed hallway. Their eyes meet. She laughs. It's just a bit unnerving. The last time he saw her expression so open was when he lost his third consecutive match against her.
Standing near her is Sang-chul, surprisingly conscious and grinning away. Discarded on the floor between them is what looks suspiciously like a naginata. A flash of blue catches his eye, peeking out from behind the lethargic soldier, but it's gone when he blinks and he writes it off as just his imagination.
There is just something so very suspicious about the duo that stare back at him, endless amusement in their eyes that he can't understand.
"Hey, you two," Hak calls out, hurrying to follow Soo-won who wordlessly walks towards them. "Have you seen Princess Aeri? The maids lost track of her."
"What, again?" Sang-chul snickers. "Nah, haven't seen her since morning."
"...Right." For some reason, Hak doesn't quite believe him.
Unfazed, Sang-chul turns to the blonde next to him. "Good afternoon, Lord Soo-won," he greets, with the painfully polite tone he reserves for authority (excluding Hak. Sang-chul has had no respect for him since the time he took Joo-doh's side and dragged him into an endless loop of spars when he just wanted to catch a break. Hak regrets nothing). "It's rare to see you in the castle lately."
"Hello!" Soo-won says. "Yes, I've been able to visit for the first time in a while. Incidentally, what are you both doing here?" He chances a glance at Sun-hui, only to quickly look away as his blue eyes meet a dark brown pair.
"I thought you'd never ask!" Sang-chul is suspiciously forthcoming, relinquishing all signs of the exasperating annoyance he usually is. "Lord Hak, you won't believe how horrible Sun-hui is with a spear. Or anything that's not a sword, actually."
"I can use a bow just fine," the person in question interjects.
"So you admit you're awful with a spear!"
"...That's not what I said."
"Wait, are you serious?" Hak takes the bait, eagerly drawing into the conversation. "But you used my glaive just fine!"
And yet, Soo-won is silent, eyes lingering where he is certain he saw a flash of black hair and blue fabric.
"They're gone, you know."
"Finally! ...Do you think they bought it?"
"Eh, the kid's dumb. You're fine for now."
Welcome back to another episode of: I have no idea what my characters are thinking goodbye.
Thanks to the guest for your review! I was so confused when it didn't show up on the site, I thought I hallucinated the email notification... haha, I'm still a total noob here.