A/n: Thank you so much for the reviews, everybody! Muah :*
(The Woods, Songak)
~Hyeong's POV~
I was so useless. I had one job, and I failed. I was so angry with my stupidity and negligence but also extremely worried that as I retraced my steps to look for Geolsang, tears were running down my face. This had earned me a few glares from the people around me, as they were all celebrating and making merry but here I was, crying and rudely pushing my way through the crowds. Yet I couldn't care anymore about the people on the streets. I needed to find my brother and I'd been through the streets many times, calling out his name at the top of my lungs, screaming it in fright and worry, but still he was nowhere to be found.
I was running so quickly that I fell and it hurt, but I dusted myself off and kept running. I had to. But since I couldn't find Geolsang on the streets, I better look for him somewhere else. I looked around and unexpectedly saw the 4th Prince So, the wolf dog, sprinting into the forest. He must be on the assassins' tail as well.
Hold on. What if Geolsang had gotten into trouble with the assassins? He was young and hot-headed; who's to say he wouldn't do something foolish and dangerous? I didn't have the guts to think of what would happen...I compelled myself to run again and headed straight for the woods.
Once I was in the forest and enshrouded by tall trees and darkness, the ground was covered by brittle leaves and pesky branches in messy patterns, which made it so much more difficult for me to run fast. I didn't want to slow down as I was just in a hurry to find my brother, yet I was unable to watch my step as it was so dark and my eyes hadn't adjusted to it yet. Unsurprisingly, I tripped. With a thud, I fell to the ground and yelped in pain. My knees must be bruised so badly. I rolled on my side and rubbed my knees, hissing. I already wanted to get back on my feet before the pain had quite subsided.
"Geolsang, please, where are you?!" I said to myself, wondering which direction I should go in now. It seemed like an endless path no matter which way I picked.
With some difficulty, I rose to my feet, still clutching my knees. I must be deep inside the forest as I couldn't hear the performers and the crowds out on the streets anymore. Instead, I heard rapid footsteps from behind me. Limping, I turned around, and about a dozen men came into sight, but somebody who didn't share their uniform was leading them. Before I could react, they were getting closer, and I got a better look at them. They seemed to be palace guards as they were clad in armor, and I could faintly make out that their leader was wearing a red costume, which indicated that he must be one of the Princes.
"You there!" One of the guards spotted me and pointed at me as they approached and surrounded me. "Have you seen a gang of men pass by? Dressed in black, possibly wearing masks. Tell us where they went."
"I don't...I don't know," I said feebly. "I...I haven't seen them."
"You — Hyeong-ah?" It was the 14th Prince Jung, my betrothed, who came forward, inspecting me in shock. "What are you doing here all alone? Are you hurt?" He asked, then turned to the guards he was leading and said, "keep searching. I'll catch up." And they did as they were told, splitting up and whizzing further into the woods.
"Your Highness," I said anxiously, and tried to explain what had happened in as little time as possible. My mind was a mess and I wasn't even sure if I was speaking coherently. "I need to find Geolsang."
"We need to find Geolsang," he replied urgently. "Can you still walk?"
"I'll be fine," I claimed, but once I took a few more steps, my knees gave in and I almost fell again had His Highness not grasped my arm just in time. "My Prince, you should go look for the assassins."
"There are at least a hundred guards doing that, but none searching for your brother," he argued. "Besides, there's no way I'm leaving you in the middle of nowhere to fend for yourself. It's too dangerous out here for you to be on your own," he added adamantly. "Let's go."
(Songak, Goryeo)
~Chaeryung's POV~
Because the exorcism rite was such a big deal, even we maids were allowed to go out on the streets to celebrate and pray. We were told that the louder we were, the more easily the malicious spirits would be scared away, so even though normally we'd be instructed to stay at our posts, this time we were encouraged to go out. But just for this special occasion.
I'd been out for an hour now so it was time for me to make my way back to Yeondeok Palace. Among us servants, we had agreed on taking shifts while others went out to watch the street performances. It was my turn to go back.
On the way, I almost got knocked off my feet by a girl not much older than me. I was sure she hadn't meant to push me aside. She looked to be in such a hurry but there were just too many people on the streets, and she was stuck. I got the chance to take a good look at the girl. Judging from her attire, she must be a noblewoman. Hey, hold on. She looked familiar. Wasn't that Lady An Hyeong from Hyunhui Mansion that my good friend Woljin served?
As she pushed her way through the crowds, she kept hollering, "Geolsang! Geolsang!" If my memory served me right, Geolsang was the name of the youngest member of the An family. But said lordling was nowhere to be found. In fact, I suspected he was missing as Lady Hyeong was looking around apprehensively. If it weren't for her hanbok and the accessories in her hair, there was no way I'd believe she was a noblewoman because she was not acting as an aristocrat should.
Her anxious cries were dissonant, compared to the joyous cheers everywhere. As deftly as possible, she separated herself from the crowds and ran off in the direction of the forest, out of my sight very soon. I continued to make my way back to Yeondeok Palace, but the whole time I was wondering if I ought to take another route so I could pass by Hyunhui Mansion and see if I could find Woljin there to tell her about what I'd just seen. As I was at the crossroads, hesitating, a man was coming from my right.
I whirled and turned to him, as if instinctively able to sense that he could give me some sense of direction or tell me what I ought to do. But when I saw him, there was no way I couldn't recognize his figure, even though I didn't get to see him as often as I would like to. In spite of his slight stagger, the way he walked was still familiar to me. Everything I was allowed to know about the 9th Prince Won, I learned and remembered well.
"Your Highness?" I asked timidly as he approached. I was so unused to meeting with him in the open as I was too accustomed to clandestine meetups.
"Chaeryung," he said weakly. "There's been an attempt on the Crown Prince's life during the exorcism ceremony."
I gasped, not so much because of what he was telling me but because what I was seeing. Even though he was wearing red, it was still obvious. "My Prince! You're bleeding!"
I decided to bring His Highness to the Side Hall of the Damiwon since it was the nearest place available; any residence would be too far away, and His Highness needed medical attention right away. The most serious injury he has sustained was under his ribs on his right side, the source of the bleed. He must have been assaulted when he raised his arm to swing his sword at his opponent. I knew just what to do to treat his wounds. Luckily, he didn't tear any ligaments or break any bones.
Sitting him down, I crouched and used a cotton, soaked in alcohol, to clean his wounds. He hissed loudly and turned away from the source of the pain, and I flinched too. He told me that he was also kicked in the shins, and had scratches on his face, but I'd attend to these minor injuries later on. They weren't as life-threatening as the one on his torso. It must have hurt a lot, and my heart ached for him. I didn't know what kind of fight he had gotten into, but it must be really bad. He could have died, and that thought had made me shudder and bite on my lip intensely. I couldn't lose him. He was my lifesaver, my love, my world. I didn't know what I'd do without him.
I didn't realize that tears were rolling down my face when I was washing his wounds until he asked, "Chaeryung, why are you crying?" He sighed and inspected the wound. "The cut looks nasty, but it'll heal."
Sure, all the injuries that he had sustained were merely physical, and with proper rest, care, and hygiene, he would recover soon. He was young and strong and no doubt healthy and virile, even though I couldn't be there to oversee his diet and habits each day. But to see him get hurt had inflicted just as much pain on me, if not more. I would rather be the one under the blade so he wouldn't be injured. You could break my soul, take my life away, beat me, hurt me, kill me, but for the love that the gods in the heavens bear us...don't touch him.
"It's...nothing," I lied, wiping my eyes with the back of my hand. "The alcohol is just too strong," I sniffed and bandaged his wound adequately. "Please take care of yourself, Prince Won," I added. Since I won't be there to do that. I missed working for him at Okrin Palace and getting to see him every day. I wanted to be able to love him and look after him and serve him. He was all I needed.
(The Woods, Songak)
~Geolsang's POV~
My sister was running so quickly just now. Even with the intensive training I'd been receiving daily, I couldn't even catch up with her. Not to mention she was smaller in stature and could easily slip between crowds, whereas I didn't have that size advantage. I tried to call out for her so that she'd wait for me, but I didn't think she heard me. As a result I had to look for her, but while I was doing just that, I looked around myself and thought I saw the 14th Prince Jung jumping from rooftop to rooftop, among a dozen royal guards. I'd always wanted to prove myself, and I thought this could be my chance. I decided to follow His Highness and join his search.
Halfway through the chase, I realized that even though I was running as quickly as my legs would allow, I still struggled to catch up with Prince Jung and his team of guards. I saw them diving into the forest, but beyond that I couldn't see a single thing as it was dark and they were already too far away from me. Still, I threw myself into the forest and tried to locate them based on the sounds of their tracks. In order to do that, I myself had to slow down and take steady steps, and also let my breathing slow so that I wouldn't be panting so loudly that I couldn't hear anything else.
As soon as I'd caught my breath, I was able to pick up on some noises. Carefully, I treaded toward the source of the sounds. Apparently I was on the right track as I did spot a gang, about two dozen of them, still wearing the masks from the ritual. I held my breath as I approached. I was able to see that they were lining up, and a tall man, in what seemed to be a fur coat, was pacing in front of the lineup, as if inspecting them. Next, they all knelt to him. Unquestioned deference.
The man in the fur coat had a bloodied sword in his hand. I wondered if he was going to use it on the assassins at his feet, but I prayed he wouldn't. He raised his arm, but didn't look as if he was in the stance to strike. Momentarily I was confused as to what he was about to, so I squinted at him intently. However, my attention was placed on the wrong person. That gesture just now was a signal for another team of men, in dark blue clothing, to come forward to slit or stab the backs of the kneeling assassins. Blood splattered everywhere and I flinched instinctively. Taken off guard, I gasped loudly and stumbled backward. Even though I could cover my mouth, I could not cover the echoes of the noises I'd made. Crap. Was I going to end up just like them?
Immediately, the man in the fur coat snapped and whirled. I ducked as fast as I could, and kept my back to a tree trunk, trying to minimize my movement but still couldn't reduce my involuntary trembling. I did not dare move a single muscle. I did not dare breathe. I did not even dare gulp, for fear that even the slightest movement would alert him, and he'd find me and kill me. I was horrified. Deciding that I had already witnessed enough to scar me for the rest of my life, I shut my eyes in fright.
As I could see nothing, I relied on my hearing once more. I could detect footsteps, of one person only, approaching. The crackling sounds of the hard branches and soft leaves on the floor was familiar to me. It should be reminiscent of children playing and happy memories, but this time, listening to these noises had done nothing to comfort me.
The next sensation that hit me was a weird one. Some object had made contact with my neck. But there was only pressure, no pain. At first it felt like the tip of something sharp, made of a cold, hard material. But it also felt as if it was coated in something warm, a liquid of some sort. It smelled quite disgusting, ferrous. It was making my nose itch and I wanted to sneeze, so I allowed myself to open my eyes for a moment. But when I did, I found myself looking right into the haunting eyes of the man in the fur coat, pointing his blood-covered sword at me.
A/n: Is Geolsang gonna make it? What do you guys think? :O