Love Potion
Cupid at Heart
Tonight at nine, was what Cupid had said. Hyunmi had rushed back into her bedroom, summoning the head maid to see her.
“What is it?” Seulyi came running in the bedroom as soon as she got the call. Whenever she was called during such late hours, it was only for no good reason. She looked around the room to find fault, but there weren’t any. The princess seemed fine; perhaps even better that fine.
“Do not be mad at me, but tonight, we are going to escape the castle,” Hyunmi spoke with such excitement that was not reciprocated by her friend.
“Are you… Are you feeling unwell?” Seulyi questioned unsurely, stretching a hand to the princess’ forehead to measure her temperature. The princess she knew of would never do something so outrageous. At least she had a purpose when going to the marketplace the other day, but this?
“I am perfectly fine.” Hyunmi slapped her friend’s hand away. “I may have found a solution to stop the courtship with the Prince of Spade, and Cupid has agreed to help me.”
Every word spoken by the princess only made Seulyi dizzy. “Why would he even help you? I thought he was commissioned by the king to do the exact opposite.”
“Hmm, I wonder why,” a familiar voice suddenly purred inside the room. The two girls looked to the side and found Sungjong sitting on the bed in his human form. He always came and go as the silence of the wind.
“Why?” Seulyi questioned, missing the ambiguity in the cat’s tone. At times, she could be a little dense.
“Perhaps he holds a certain affection towards our dear princess and wishes to stop the courtship himself,” Sungjong answered, eyeing the princess suspiciously.
The words immediately made Hyunmi blush as she coyly dismissed the cheshire cat’s nonsense. “That couldn’t be true. He is merely helping me because I begged him for it. I can be quite convincing if I want to,” she said proudly.
“Then why are you grinning with such gleefulness at the thought alone, Mrs. Prince of Spade?” Sungjong remarked, reminding her of her status and possible future. The cat excelled in being annoying.
Hyunmi would’ve attempted to hit Sungjong again, but got stopped by a rhythmic ticking against the window of her balcony entrance. Her anger subdued into anxious jubilee as she sprinted to push the maroon curtain aside and opened the door.
Woohyun still raised his arm to continue the knocking, but smiled a greeting as soon as he saw the princess. “Your punctuality only makes you more admirable,” he spoke.
Hyunmi was cautious enough to suppress her smile. When that gossiping cat was watching, she had to be mindful of her reactions. “I have learned from the white rabbit,” she answered.
Woohyun then stared inside and saw two unfamiliar faces, one of a cat human and the other of a female servant in a white cotton nightgown. “I thought you said one additional person?”
“Oh, Sungjong is not—”
Sungjong jumped off the bed and morphed into his slightly obese purple colored cheshire cat form, “I am not a person. I am a cat.”
Hyunmi grunted in annoyance, having to be stuck with that annoying cat. She was certain he’d turn this entire escape regime into a gossip. “You can come along if you promise not to tell anyone about tonight,” she threatened him.
“Correction, Hyunmi. If I am not allowed to come, I promise this will be the only issue the entire kingdom will be talking about,” Sungjong threatened back.
Woohyun chuckled. “If you dishearten the princess, you tempt me with no choice but to leave you at the Hatter’s place,” he uttered a threat disguised behind his charming smile.
Sungjong’s yellow colored cat eyes widened in surprise. “The Hatter?” He questioned rather grimly.
“That is our destination,” Woohyun nodded. He then bowed and offered a hand to Hyunmi, which she gladly accepted as he brought her outside.
A beautiful white pegasus was waiting on the balcony. It looked like the horse of the royal stalls, except for the majestic wings that stretched out so brightly even during the night sky. The magical creature was only heard of in tales and rarely spotted. But to the son of Aphrodite, finding such creatures proved to be no problem.
“Ugh,” Seulyi slightly whimpered at the sight of yet another beast. It may be beautiful and majestic, but it was still an animal, and she hated animals.
Woohyun was the first one to get up the pegasus, and the creature kindly obeyed. Then he stretched a hand out to Hyunmi, and helped her get seated right behind him. He even led her arms to circle around his waist.
“Do not let go, if you do not wish to fall,” he told her as a precaution.
Hyunmi nodded, closing in their distance. Although, holding him so tightly made her fear a different type of falling to occur.
“Can you get up?” Woohyun then asked, looking at the head maid who was pretty much astonished and confused at the entire scene.
“O-of course!” She gulped. Despite the long skirt she fashioned and her feminine looks, Seulyi was never the damsel in distress type of lady. She possessed great agility to get up with Hyunmi’s help. Again, she shivered a little when she came in contact with the pegasus.
Lastly, the cat jumped off from certain pillars, landing right in between Hyunmi’s arms, to prevent her from being too close with cupid.
“Do not show a temperament, Hyunmi.” Sungjong warned the princess with his smirk. He was annoying, but she knew that deep inside, he prevented her from getting into any serious trouble.
“Hold on tight,” Woohyun instructed them as he softly tapped the side of the pegasus’s long neck.
The creature galloped forward and sprung up towards the starry night sky. It extended its gorgeous wings, and glided through the sky with ease.
The two female riders were squealing at everything in wonderment, amazed to see the castle resemble miniature blocks. Then they passed the familiar townsquare and the market place. Everything was deserted during night time, and yet so fascinating.
“Oh Woohyun, I forgot to ask you for another favor,” Hyunmi suddenly said.
“If I had a penny for every favor you requested of me, I would’ve been a wealthy man by now,” Woohyun spoke, and it made Hyunmi laugh as she playfully slapped his backside. As subtle as possible, and without her conscious knowledge, she continued to let her hand linger there.
“My friend Seulyi over here would like to fall in love,” Hyunmi said.
The confession would normally make a girl panic and stutter a denial, but Seulyi was different. “Yes, please. You can’t imagine the frustrations I feel when I see the faces of the men within the castle. I might end up dying as an old lonely woman,” she uttered her frustrations.
Woohyun chuckled at her blunt honesty. “Who do you wish to fall in love with?”
“Anyone would do, as long as he is outside of the castle.” Her frustration was clear.
“Wouldn’t that harden the chances of seeing him?” Sungjong remarked curiously.
“It does not matter to me. As soon as Hyunmi is married, I have the freedom to leave the castle as I please,” Seulyi said honestly, ignoring the princess’ protest.
“Unless I get married to a non royalty and remain in the castle,” Hyunmi mumbled, to which Sungjong, of course, eyed her with. She forgot that marrying the Prince of Spade allowed her stay at the Heart kingdom too.
“Very well.” Woohyun hummed a little to himself as he searched for a good way to help the head maid out. “I suppose we could try out a love potion.”
“A love potion?” Hyunmi’s eyes widened. If he was in possession of such a powerful tool that could easily manipulate a person’s feelings, why didn’t he use one on her? Unless, perhaps, Sungjong’s words weren’t so nonsensical after all.
“Sure!” Seulyi was excited for the plan. “What does it do?”
Sungjong snickered a laugh at the girl’s airiness. There was a reason the head maid and princess could become such close friends. They may seem like polar opposite at first glance, but weren’t all too different. Their trust in strangers was one common trait they shared.
“It allows you to fall in love with the first man you lay your eyes on,” Woohyun explained.
“Oh! I can hardly wait to try it,” Seulyi spoke, hitting Hyunmi’s backside out of happiness.
The princess winced, glaring at her friend who had absolutely no care for their status difference. Which maid had the audacity to hit a princess? However, it was for that reason they became friends.
“I’ll hand it to you once we have arrived,” Cupid said, steering the pegasus towards the forest right on the outskirt of the kingdom. It was a place they had never ever dared to go to. Many tales were told about the forest with the purpose of scaring the citizens away.
“I don’t think we should be here,” Hyunmi remarked, growing slightly concerned. Her grip around his waist tightened, and she bit her lips anxiously.
“But I have received your agreement to break some rules. This is one of them,” Woohyun said, slightly turning his head to watch her panic.
“Are you implying there are more to come?” The princess asked with her eyebrows frowning, but her question was only returned with cupid’s charming grin.
The pegasus slowed down its movement as Woohyun scanned the area below them. Finally he noticed the small cottage in the midst of the tall monogamous trees, and directed the pegasus to land in front of it.
It was a humble house made out of wood with a chimney attached to one side. There was a sign in front of the door that said ‘Open 18/7’ which was quite an odd number to go by. The rose windows were tinted in all sorts of wacky colors which prevented a glimpse inside.
Woohyun was the first one to hop off the pegasus, followed by Sungjong’s feathery jump as he morphed back into a human, and Seulyi who nearly fell, but picked up her balance straight away. As for the princess, she had not even attempted a move.
“Your highness, does your nimbleness not permit you to move on your own?” Woohyun asked with a grin. He faced the princess and stretched his arms out toward her.
“I was only giving sir Cupid a chance at being a gentleman,” Hyunmi replied with a coy smile. She accepted his help and easily got off the winged pegasus, slightly falling against him.
Seulyi and Sungjong looked alerted at once, both not believing the scene they were witnessing. Sungjong only smirked, but Seulyi watched with hanging agape.
“Have I not known any better, I might have mistaken this as intentional,” he spoke and let go of the girl. “You know I shall always be a gentleman to you, Your Highness.”
Seulyi was nudging Sungjong repeatedly by his arms. Thinking back of the princess’ cheery state lately, everything suddenly started to make sense. Even Sungjong was too surprised to make a sneer comment about it.
Woohyun then retrieved something from his pocket and headed to Seulyi. “One love potion for the miss,” he spoke, presenting a small crystal clear vial with a deep pink colored liquid inside.
Seulyi looked hesitant at first, and stared at Hyunmi and Sungjong before accepting the potion into her own hands. The item drifted her thoughts away toward a new issue.
“It does make me wonder,” Sungjong suddenly questioned out loud. “If Cupid is in possession of the love potion, why doesn’t he give it to the princess to consume?”
It was a question which Hyunmi had been curious about as well. For once, she did not scold the cat, and turned to Woohyun to await his reply. He was still smiling and completely unaffected by the cat’s attempt to question his intentions.
“Because it would not have worked on our princess,” he replied.
“Why is that so?” Seulyi blurted out her confusion.
“The love potion only works on those who are willing to let it affect them. Meaning, it has a success rate of zero percent if the drinker was reluctant to fall in love,” Woohyun explained.
“So it reads the drinker’s desire, and enhances the feelings of infatuation?” Hyunmi questioned.
Woohyun looked seemingly impressed at her understanding. “Precisely. Considering you have a high intolerance towards the courtship, the love potion would not have worked on you,” he spoke.
“How long does it take before an effect starts to take place?” Seulyi asked, eyeing the pink liquid inside the vial. She wondered what it would taste like. She shook it, seeing no bubbles appear. She opened the lid, and inhaled its sweet cotton candy like scent.
“As soon as you drink it and lay eyes on the next immediate person you see,” Woohyun answered. He noticed the girl in deep consideration and laughed. “As you make a decision, I shall go ahead and join the madness of the Hatter.”
“Who is this Hatter you keep speaking of?” Hyunmi asked, following Woohyun to the front door of the cozy small house.
“The one who might help you,” he answered with his signature smile. He knocked on the door four times, which was an odd pattern in itself.
Hyunmi didn’t know what to expect considering the Hatter sounded like a marvelous man with immense abilities. So when she heard the shuffling of some footsteps inside the house, she took shield behind Woohyun.
“Hmm, it’s delicious!” Seulyi’s voice suddenly exclaimed.
Hyunmi turned to her friend, seeing her throw the empty vial messily on the grass. Seulyi had consumed the love potion, which meant she would fall in love with the next person she laid her eyes on. Sungjong seemed to be aware of this and had gone back to his cat form to avoid being the first person in her line of sight.
The door clicked open with a small tinkle of bells that greeted them.
“Ah, if it isn't Cupid,” a whimsical male voice chimed. Despite the friendly words, his tone sounded as if he was hiding some treachery behind him.
Hyunmi turned to the owner of the voice and stood perplexed, not having expected a devilishly handsome man to answer the door. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve mistaken him for a god himself.
He wore the proper attire of a fine gentleman; a long black colored blazer with checkered patterns on the side extending all the way to his knees. A 3/4th length of black and white striped trousers exposed his mismatched black and white socks. He was wearing a large and oversized white bowtie that bore patterns of black top hats. But what stood out the most was the humongous black top hat on his head along with a tag that stated ‘10/6.’
“Nice to see you again, Hatter,” Woohyun greeted an old friend, it seemed.
“Please,” the Hatter sang as he wiggled his finger. “Call me Myungsoo.”
I will just tell you in advance, but i adore Myungsoo's character in this story~
Good luck Seulyi~ :3
Yay! Won the bid today! I hope you will enjoy the story~ Would love to know your thoughts, so please do leave comments too~ Thank youuu <3
Comments