Warning: Really long chapter

...

"Since you were born, nothing but bad luck has come on my family!" Her stepmother hissed at her, leaning in to bare her teeth at the terrified girl like a wolf does to its' prey.

Which was more than ironic, because from what she can remember, her father's death, the recent crop failure, and the subsequent loss of their assets all happened after her father married her stepmother, which was seven years after Tiffany was born, so if anything, her stepmother was the one who had brought naught but bad luck to Tiffany's life.

But she would never say that out loud, because her stepmother had a penchant for scratching her with her long nails, sometimes drawing blood.

"I allowed you to work for us because my conscience pitied you, but you can't even do simple tasks like looking after your sister!"

Tiffany wanted to scream out, not in pain, but in indignance. Because how in the world is becoming her stepmother's slave helping her in any way? And her step sister had locked herself in her own room to change and get ready to go to town, so how was she supposed to know that she had messed up when she was painting her nail and, being the stupid girl she was, broke it somehow?

"Are you not going to explain yourself?"

Tiffany looked up at her stepmother, knowing that saying anything would result in more bruises. Her stepmother scoffed.

"This wretch. Because of your bad luck, we had to let go of the last maid because we can't afford her anymore..."

Tiffany highly suspects that truly, the only reason that they had fired the last maid, was that Sooyoung had been her only friend. Her stepmother seemed to feed on her misery, so she wouldn't be surprised if that was true.

Her stepmother continued, "...so you are to do all of her chores, plus your own from now on."

She let out an involuntary gasp, looking up into her stepmother's eyes in shock. The evil woman only sneered. 

"Consider yourself lucky. What will happen when one day, we have to let go of you too?" She threatened. "Now get up and finish the chores! And the other maid's!"

The woman stalked out of the room quickly. As the door opened, Tiffany could hear her stepsisters' light laughter from the dining room and she couldn't help but let out a bitter chuckle.

"As if being let go is a bad thing. I'd rather live alone on the streets than live here like this." Tiffany scoffed, but she stood up and dusted herself off. No matter how unfair she thought it was, she knew the punishment for escaping would be a million times worse, and she was still terrified of her stepmother.

Plus, the animals on the manor needed her. Without her, who knows what would happen to Prince? Her tall, white stallion would have been sold, or worse, killed and tanned for leather, long ago if she hadn't been there to save them. And if she leaves, they may actually do just that to him.

So Tiffany dutifully finished her chores. She went to the kitchen and started the fire for the chef, the last servant they had in the house besides her. She added more salt to the beef strips curing in the cellar and started rubbing salt into some extra pork they had, preserving the meat for winter. She had learned how to do it all in the years she had been in her stepmother's service. She then brought in the clothes she had hung out to dry in the morning as the sun started to go down, and folded them before she delivered each pantyhose, frilly dress, or pearl white glove to the step-family member that owned it. And then she returned to the kitchen to help the cook.

The kitchen was hot, sweaty work, but if she stopped, her stepmother would be on her like a hound on a deer. Sweat ran down both her and the cook's brow as the heat from the fire radiated through the small room, already hot from the warm season. She chopped and sliced vegetables, careful to not cut her own fingers.

After they were done with cooking, she served the food, bringing it out on a tray to the three waiting ladies at the tables. The girls barely gave her a glance, not wanting to incur their mother's wrath with their sympathetic expressions, and her stepmother watched her carefully, letting out a "hmph" when she couldn't find anything wrong with her work. She still complained about how Tiffany smelled like the kitchen and sweat, though that was no fault of Tiffany's.

Not allowed to eat with the girls, for she still had duties to do other than drinking tea and eating like her stepfamily spent most of their time doing, she ate in the kitchen, refreshing herself quickly before the sun went down.

Then Tiffany went back outside to wash up in the cold night air, because she was not allowed access to the girls' showers, unless it was winter- she would dirty it, her stepmother claimed, though she was the one that washed it in the morning anyways. The chef, knowing of her plight but unable to help due to his own family that he was struggling to raise, allows her to warm the water using the fire after dinner before he puts it out so at least the water was comfortable. The cool night air chilled her skin and she was thankful for the warm towels and blankets she had to keep her warm before she dashed into the house.

The lights in the house went out one by one as the girls all put out their candles and lamps. Tiffany made sure that everyone was sound asleep before she crept out of the house again, a lamp in hand.

"Hi, Prince," She called out, opening the door of the stables carefully. She heard a faint neigh as she pulled a blanket off a hook and smiled, walking over to his pen.

The stables smelled of horse manure and hay, but she was used to worse, and she piled up some new hay to sit on, laying the blanket over it before resting her body on Prince.

"Prince?"

The horse neighed in reply.

"Mrs. Hwang," That is what she called her stepmother, "Scolded me again today for being unlucky. Can you believe it? It's not my fault if I am unlucky, it's not like I chose to be unlucky. Who would choose to be unlucky? But it's better to just let her say what she wants. She fired Sooyoung today, and I'm in charge of all the chores now, so it's not like she can get rid of me unless she wants to do all of her chores on her own."

The horse whinnied. 

"It's ridiculous, right? I could barely finish everything I had to do before, and now I have to do Soo's jobs too? And Sooyoungs's jobs were mostly to wait on them and run all their errands, so I don't even know how to schedule everything anymore. Sunny and Jessica won't be that bad, I think. They're nice most of the time, or at least they usually don't do anything mean on purpose. I don't blame them for not saying anything to Mrs. Hwang anyways, even she is their mother."

Tiffany sighed.

"At least Sooyoung did the groceries. Wait, that means I get to go to town again!"

She could just see the lights, the buildings, the children running and playing, the people talking and laughing and greeting each other, the music, oh, the things to see in town! A row of houses and buildings on each side of the street, stores lined up at the bottom, and the sun shining brightly in the blue sky over everything. It was the perfect image.

"What do you think town will be like? Do you think that it'll be loud and full of friendly people like when Daddy brought us there before?"

The thought of her late father made her smile.

"I miss Daddy, Prince. I bet you do too. Remember? He loved riding so much before I was born, it's a shame he never got to ride you."

Her father had injured his leg as a soldier before he was born. As a result, he was forced to leave the army and became a merchant, when he met her mother. Every night, he would tell her about all his adventures and she would fall asleep to his voice, dreaming of ships and princes and princesses and horses and forests. But then her mother had died of sickness when she was but five, and her father had left on a trading trip when she was nine, after he had remarried, and never came back, disappearing without a word. Months later, a messenger broke the news that his ship had sunk, and he had died saving others on the ship. And after that, she was forced to learn that those dreams did not exist, at least not for her.

"Maybe I am unlucky," Tiffany smiled bitterly. "Or perhaps I'm destined to be like Daddy. Wandering alone from place to place, passed along like Daddy's boxes and boxes of cargo."

She sighed wistfully, wishing that her father was there to see her. It was yet another reason why she could not bear to run away just yet. All of her things were here, including the little gifts and toys her father had brought back from his adventures for her.

"But there's no use dwelling on such uncertain futures. On the bright side, it seems that we will be spending a lot of time together, Prince." 

She smiled serenely and the tall horse's mane, laughing when he nudged his nose into her palm as if asking to be pet more.

"At least I stil have you."

Tiffany woke up next to Prince as the sun rose over the horizon and the cawwed out it's morning alarm. She stumbled up, rubbing her eyes, and gave Prince a gentle pat before making her way back into the house.

She made breakfast, a simple meal of corn bread, boiled eggs, and fried potatoes, serving it just before the ladies of the house came downstairs. Taking a potato, she munched on it as she went about her day, having no time to waste on sitting down for breakfast.

She did her normal duties, which consisted of mostly cleaning. She opened the shutters to let the light in, polished the mirrors, washed the windows, dusted the drawers and cabinets, and finally cleaned the carpet rugs, her least favorite task of all.

She took the thick, heavy carpets outside, taking some of the cleansing scrub and a thistle brush and scrubbed furiously. Her knuckles and fingertips would brush against the coarse rug as she scrubbed, and her hands quickly became red and raw. Done with the first rug, she left it out to dry before she went onto the second rug. She had to scrub and re-scrub the rugs several times, leaving them to dry in between scrubbings, and her hand was throbbing by the time she was done. Usually, she would be upset by these duties, but today, she was whistling as she worked, eyeing the kitchen table to encourage herself.

The cook had left her a note on the table with a list of grocery items that must be purchased from town, which meant that she must be going to town!

When she was done with her morning duties for the day, she hurried over to the table.

The list read,

"Miss Hwang- Please purchase meat, venison and hare, and about five apples, potatoes, and carrots from town. The money should be more than enough- I left two silver pieces for each of the vegetables, and one gold piece for the meat. Be careful- you are new to town, they may try to fool you into paying more than you should. You should purchase three apples, five potatoes, or five carrots for each silver piece, and at least two hares for a gold piece, or one large piece of venison. Many thanks, Cook."

She took the note, along with the money that the cook had left her. Then she hurried to the stables, her first smile in too many days to be counted threatening to eclipse over her face.

The horse neighed as soon as she threw open the stable doors, lifting his saddle with a grunt. Stumbling over to his stall with the heavy saddle, she tossed it over Prince's body with a grunt.

Fixing his reins and his bit, she slipped the money and the note into the saddlebag. Then she carefully lead Prince out of the stable and into the open.

"Are you ready, Prince,?" She grinned, and the horse neighed, seemingly in excitement. Lifting herself up onto the saddle, she immediately leaned forward and kicked Prince into a gallop.

She hadn't felt this free in such a long time. Though she rode Prince every day, excusing it as an exercise for the horse for a horse without regular exercise is weak and useless, it was always only in the pen or through the small forest in the back, a forest that was thick with bushes and foliage and impossible to travel quickly through. With an exalted shout, she let the wind blow through her wavy tresses. Her thighs were locked tight around her horse as she moved up and down with him, hurtling towards their destination only a couple of miles away.

She could hear the sounds of music and gossip and haggling for prices as she approached the town, slowing down as she reached the bustling market. She hopped off of Prince and walked him through, looking at the houses and shops with amazement.

Her skin prickled as she felt a few stares as she walked by, but it was to be expected. She was a new face, not even a child, in a small town market with a beautiful white horse, certainly not of a lower class. The young boys admired Prince, the young girls admired her beauty, as did the older men. The shopkeepers eyed her money, the old ladies pushed their sons towards her. Within a few minutes, without her knowledge even, she was the talk of the town.

"Young miss! Such a beautiful young lady must have her ballgowns! And cheap, too, before the winter season!"

"I'll give a pretty lady like you a discount! Come buy some fruit, lass!"

People shouted at her from all around, but she paid them no heed. Flagging down a kind looking ahjumma, she asked, "Do you know where I can find the freshest and cheapest meat?"

The lady smiled back, nodding. "Over there," she pointed at a large building, bustling with noise and music. "That's where the hunters are right now. They may be loud and overwhelming, but they have the freshest meat. Plus," she smiled, her eyes twinkling.

"Word has it that Kim Taeyeon is in town. With the best hunter in town, the others will want to sell off their meats quickly and cheaply. After all, Taeyeon has the best meat and the most meat. The other hunters can't compete."

The woman looked absolutely gleeful sharing this piece of information, and Tiffany got the same feeling she got when one of her stepsisters bragged to her about their crushes.

"Thank you, Ma'am!" She waved as she went towards the warehouse, the building barely managing to contain the rowdy, drunk, huntsmen.

She read the list of groceries to herself as she walked. 

"Venison or hare if possible. Carrots, but I should purchase those later from the stall down the street I saw. Apples, and potatoes."

Tethering Prince carefully to a stake outside along with a row of other horses, likely the hunters' horses, she carefully poked her head inside.

The building was terrifyingly loud from the inside, full of waiters rushing to serve the loud, yelling, drunk hunters. When she walked in, a few of them saw her and grinned, pointing her out to their friends.

"Hey, miss!" she yelped as she heard someone shout from behind her. "Don't block the door!" A waiter rushed past her, beers on a tray balanced precariously in hand.

"Hello, miss!" A large, built man leered at her from the edge of one of the long picnic-like tables, his gun by his side. "I assume you're here for some meat?"

She nodded slowly, hesitantly, and he laughed. "Well, I got the best meat in town, eh boys?"

The other men laughed too, clinking their beers together and chugging them down. She looked on, confused by this kind of society. Their mannerisms couldn't be more different from the giggling, light gossip of her relatively affluent, respectable stepfamily. 

One of the men stood up to approach her. She stepped back by instinct, away from the towering man with huge, dangerous looking muscles.

"I can give you some of my meat maybe," he grinned, a predatory grin, "free of charge."

Alarm bells seemed to go off in her head and she glanced around quicky, trying to find an escape route as she thought of the best thing to say to get the man away from her. She started to think that maybe she should have never come to town.

"Hey. Stay away from her," a voice firmly ordered the man, and she looked over to see... a girl. Smaller than her, with flowing blonde hair. She wore the same outfit as the men though, signifying her status as a hunter.

The hunter scowled, seeing her.

"Back off," He said. "She's mine."

"She's not yours," she replied calmly. "And unless you want to sell her some meats, which I find impossible considering you didn't kill anything today, I suggest you back off and stop harrassing this young lady."

He scoffed. "You can't stop me."

"On the contrary," she replied, her gaze hardening into a challenging glare. "I shot six of six today. What did you shoot? Zero of ten? I can shoot mice too, and if you don't back off, I may just shoot a mouse of yours..."

The large man growled as he walked back to his seat, to the jeers and shouts of the other hunters. But Tiffany didn't pay attention to them. Instead, she trained her gaze onto the small but fearless girl.

"Hello," the girl said to her, her gaze immediately softening as it was directed to the brunette. "Are you alright, miss? It's not very safe here for beautiful girls."

She couldn't help but to blush, her heart fluttering. "I-I'm fine. Thank you...are you okay?"

The other girl smiled disarmingly. "Don't worry. That man and his friends only like to prey on creatures they think are weak and easy. They're stupid, and cowards at that."

She took a step closer. "But as cowardly as they are, I wouldn't feel good letting a girl like you roam these streets alone, with these men on the loose. Would you allow me to you, miss..."

"Tiffany Hwang."

"Miss Hwang. A pleasure to meet you, my name is Kim Taeyeon." The girl smiled disarmingly. "You must have come looking for something?" Taeyeon said, gently leading the innocent girl out of the loud pub.

"Oh! I have I list of groceries I need to buy," she said, pulling out the list. "I need venison or hare."

"I have just what you need," Taeyeon smiled, leading her to the back, where the stables were, "I have a couple of hares I haven't sold yet." There were rows of horses in the stables, presumably the hunters'. They neighed and shuffled as the two entered, heading to a stall nearby.

"Hey, boy," Taeyeon smiled as she opened the door, and Tiffany saw a tall, beautiful, black horse. "This is Ginger," she introduced them, and Tiffany smiled.

"Nice to meet you, Ginger."

The horse neighed happily when Tiffany pet him, his nose. He stepped forward to nudge his nose into the girl's palm, wordlessly asking for more pets.

"What a good, beautiful boy you are." 

"It's nice to see you two getting along," Tiffany heard Taeyeon's voice come from beside her as Taeyeon fit in Ginger's bit. "There we go!"

"Why did you name him Ginger?" Tiffany asked, and Taeyeon blushed. 

"I got him for Christmas when I was a child, and I really liked gingerbread cookies..."

Tiffany laughed loudly, finding the strong, charismatic huntress Taeyeon cuter by the moment.

"So what else do you need, Miss Hwang?" Taeyeon asked, glad that Tiffany was feeling more comfortable now. Her heart fluttered at the sight of the girl's laugh, but she would never tell her that. After all, she had just been harassed by some burly hunters. The last thing she needed was another hunter, or huntress in this case, coming onto her.

"You really do not have to accompany me, Miss Kim."

"I want to get away from those hunters just as much as you do," she replied. "Had I not made myself clear about my disinterest in those men long ago, I have no doubt that they would have taken their chances on me too. As it is, they still try," she scoffed. "As if shouting vulgarities at us would make us want them."

"Then why do you stay?" Tiffany asked, genuinely curious.

"I like the freedom," Taeyeon smiled, looking up at the sky as she lead Ginger out of the stables. "I don't get much of that at home."

"Me neither," Tiffany muttered, quietly, just to herself.

"So accompanying you is just as much for me as for you," Taeyeon continued. If she had heard Tiffany, she didn't show it.

"Alright then," Tiffany smiled at the small blonde, "I also need to buy apples, potatoes, and carrots."

"Ah. Well, I'm not sure where you can find those, but I would gladly you."

"Don't you go grocery shopping around here?"

"Ah, well, I never really learned to cook," Taeyeon blushed, walking alongside the girl, making their way back to the front of the pub.

"Really?" Tiffany asked in surprise.

Taeyeon nodded. "I started hunting when I was young, and since then, I've just traded meat for any meals I may need."

Tiffany nodded in understanding, walking towards her own horse. He was still standing there, tethered to the post at the front of the pub, looking over the crowd regally.

"Is that your horse?" Taeyeon asked, impressed by the beauty of the pure white horse. Tiffany nodded, and Taeyeon hid her surprise. Though Tiffany didn't look poor per say, neither did she look very wealthy from the clothing she wore, though the beauty and dignity of the horse suggested that she was quite the opposite.

"Ginger, Miss Kim, meet Prince," Tiffany smiled, petting Prince.

"He's a very beautiful horse," Taeyeon praised, the two of them mounting their horses.

"That he is. Come, I think I saw a store back there with foods that aren't too expensive."

They made their way slowly through the city, tall on their horses, towering over the crowd of walking townsmen. They attracted quite a few stares, and Tiffany assumed it was because she, a new face, was riding with the Kim Taeyeon they seemed to revere.

Tiffany got off her horse as she approached a store she had passed earlier, and Taeyeon followed her.

"Hello," she greeted a storekeeper ahjumma, her eyes curving in her winning smile.

"Hello, pretty girls!" The ahjumma greeted back, smile lines crinkling. "What do you want to buy today? We have all kinds of fruits, vegetables..."

"Do you happen to have apples, potatoes, and carrots?"

"Ah. We have potatoes and carrots, but not apples. You can find those in the stall over there though," the old lady pointed across the bustling street, over the heads of those in the crowd. "Our family always buys apples from there. Very fresh."

"Thank you," Tiffany replied, smiling. "How much are the potatoes and carrots?"

"They're usually each five per silver piece, but for such young, pretty, ladies, I'll give you six." Her eyes seemed to twinkle as she smiled at the two.

"You're too kind, ahjumma."

"Ah, this is nothing. I remember when I was young and in love, like the beautiful couple you two are..."

The two blushed, but didn't disagree.

"Can I get six of each then?"

"Of course!"

She paid for them and the two left, the words running through both their heads. 

"Let's go buy the apples," Taeyeon suggested, blushing.

"Lets."

The apples went without a hitch, and they bought six of those, too, with two silver pieces.

"Now I just need the meats," Tiffany said looking down at the list.

"Oh! Yes," Taeyeon remembered, walking to the other side of Ginger. "Here you go," she said, handing Tiffany three packages.

"What are these?"

"These are hares, caught by yours truly," Taeyeon bowed jokingly. "Please take them."

"Here," Tiffany said, digging out and handing her the gold piece. 

"No, no Miss Hwang. You can have these free of charge. "

"But Miss Kim..."

"You have given me an excellent adventure and excellent company today, Miss Hwang and that's more than enough."

"Miss Kim-"

"Please, call me Taeyeon." She smiled disarmingly, and Tiffany relented.

"Then call me Tiffany. Please take these? Or I could be accused of stealing," Tiffany challenged, raising an eyebrow.

Taeyeon had to suppress a grin. Most girls would have just taken it, thanking her and fawning over her gentleness, but Tiffany genuinely did not want Taeyeon for the wealth she must earn from her talents in hunting. Tiffany was looking more and more attractive the more time she spent with her.

"You can pay me back by having dinner with me, then," Taeyeon suggested, wanting nothing more than to stay in the woman's company for just a little longer.

"Oh, I wish I could," Tiffany said apologetically, "But I'm late as it is...I have to go, my stepmother's going to be furious."

"Oh," Taeyeon said, disappointed.

"But," Tiffany said, "Please take this gold piece. Not only for the meat, but for escorting me and protecting me today. I cannot thank you enough."

"You have given me more than enough."

"Then take it as payment for escorting me again the next time I come," Tiffany offered daringly, and Taeyeon couldn't hide her excitement.

"You drive a hard bargain, Tiffany. But I accept." Her heart was leaping out of her chest, her eyes twinkling.

"Where can I find you next week to cash in on this?"

Had it not been improper for her to give the address of the inn she was staying at, Taeyeon would have done it. Instead, she told her to come by the pub, and to not worry about the men-she will be her huntress in shining armor.

Tiffany's never felt this excited to do chores.

The chef had left her another note. It's been a week since she last saw Taeyeon, and while half of her was anticipating their second meeting, the other half couldn't help but feel insecure; what if Taeyeon forgot about her? What if Taeyeon had a lover, or worse, was engaged? She was quite a catc