Heavy breaths were heard as footsteps moved lightly and swiftly through the forest of Joo.

“Kim Han, you are dead…” spoke a man with an evil grin plastered on the side of his face. He gripped tightly onto the straps of his horse and resumed to riding into the forest on the outskirt of town with dozens of soldiers following closely behind.

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Taeyeon was busy preparing dinner that night and was outside in the garden harvesting the remaining sweet potatoes. As she piled them in her wooden weaved basket, she got up and walked to their small cottage kitchen, passing her old man who was busy writing calligraphy on the front porch of their house.

He set down his brush for a moment and looked at the dim sky that emitted rays of the setting sun. Closing his eyes for a brief second, the wind caressed his long-rugged beard as he listened to the howling wind heading west and Taeyeon causing ruckus in the kitchen once again. He looked around his empty garden that seemed lifeless from the drought that ceased its ability to grow any delicious crops.

“Appa, dinner is ready!” Taeyeon said as she set down the boiled sweet potato on the wooden table and brought out the utensils.

She sighed as she looked at the scattered medicine books on the table and shot a look at her father who was sauntering through the door. She went over to help him over, “Appa…how many times do I have to tell you to pick up after yourself when your finished reading…” she said in a tired tone.

Her father chuckled softly as he sat down on a wooden stool and looked at her, “Mianhe, Taeyeon-ah…I’ll remember to do it next time,” he replied.

She let out a breath before bending over to pick up the scattered books and placing them back on the shelf.

Her father grinned and huffed heavily as he looked at shelves of medicine he had displayed at the corner of the room. “ It been five years already, huh?”

Taeyeon sat down quietly across the table and picked a sweet potato over to her father’s bowl. “Sorry for not making much, but the crops haven’t been blooming ever since the drought,” she said in a calm tone.

Her father looked at the sweet potato lingering in the plate, “Thank You, Taeyeon-ah.”

Taeyeon nodded and grabbed one for herself as she meticulously peeled the sweet potato and proceeded the consume the sweet flavored substance. Her father smiled as he did the same and bit into the substance with a smile. He then looked up at Taeyeon who was busy glancing at the wooden table with no emotions present on her face.

“Mmmmm…the sweet potato is delicious,” he said, munching on the sweet potato while smiling from ear to ear. Taeyeon looked up and saw her father attempting to start his usual exaggerated comments just to cheer her up.

“Eat up, we have a lot left in the kitchen…” Like always she would smile faintly at him and continue eating. Her father sighed and stopped munching, “Taeyeon, I know it’s been hard on you ever since your mother passed away, and to be honest I am grateful to have such a caring daughter like you, but if you continue to scowl like that you’ll never be able to get married, you know,” he teased as Taeyeon looked back up at him.

Her expression was calm as a rock, “… Don’t worry, I plan to live and take care of you for the rest of my life,” she simply stated, taking another bite out of the yellow flesh.

Her father mouth was ajar as he expected this type of answer from his robotic daughter. He cleared his throat and looked at her sternly, “Well, living in this house is lonely…don’t you think it would be better if there were a few children running around to accompany little old me,” he said.

“If you want more accompany I can fetch a pet for you,” she retorted monotonously.

“A pet is not the same as having a grandkid that is cute and lively,” he replied. “Another hand is also helpful around the house as I am turning into a crippled old man,” he added.

Taeyeon set down her food as her father stopped talking and realized he might have ticked her off again.

“I’m sorry if I haven’t been of great assistance, but I will not be marrying anyone in the future, thank you very much,” she snapped in a stern and sarcastic manner, before getting up from her seat with her bowl of potato skin in her hand.

“Taeyeon-ah, Taeyeon-ah…” her father called to her and sighed heavily. “ What are we going to do with this daughter of ours, Yu…”

Taeyeon looked emptied the skin into her compost bucket and looked out into the dark sky. After a few minutes, she entered the room with her father’s medicine and laid it out in front of him, before taking his peels and bowl.

“Your medicine, father…” she said.

“Ah…Thank you, Taeyeon,” he said as he took out the almost empty jar and popped the last pill into his mouth. He gulped it down hard and huffed before walking over to his bookshelf and flipped through his medicine book.

When he turned around he saw Taeyeon already in her black attire ready to head out for her night hunt.

 “Don’t be late…” he uttered while peering back at his collection of antidotes.

“Yes, father,” she simply stated as she tightened the cloth around .

“Oh, take this with you…” her old man said as he tossed her a small white porcelain bottle.

Taeyeon caught the small content and examine it closely. “Just in case you get poisoned by a mysterious animal again, I brewed up something that can cure any type of animal poison…” he stated.

She nodded and tucked the bottle in her cloak before grabbed her belt of daggers. “Bye, father. Don’t wait up for me,” she said as her father nodded and soothed his long white rough beard. He turned to watch his daughter proceed to head out into the deep forest alone and shook his head as he was getting ready to call it a night.

Coming across the aloof cottage were men armed in armor, deployed by a man with a clean appearance. His mustache was well groomed and trimmed as his beard was small and stubby. He narrowed his eye at the cottage that resided down the hill and grimaced.

“There you are…” he muttered maliciously, before dashing down the hill on his jet-black horse with soldiers scurrying right behind him.

Taeyeon was laying low on the cool soil, waiting patiently for her next meal to come about. As she laid there, she could hear the hoo of a night owl who was also waiting for his prey. She narrowed her eyes at her enemy and diligently scoured the area with exceptional vision along with the owl who was alert and ready to pounce on anything that made a move.

 Rustle Rustle

“There…” Taeyeon leaped out from her spot and raced to the rustling wild animal in conjunction with the owl who swooped down to the rustling bush. She grunted as she slowly pulled out her pad with a range of needles from her weapon pouch. While the owl was faster and more agile, it unfortunately, got caught in a trap and had its wing stuck in a net. It screeched as it tried to free itself, while Taeyeon cracked a small smirk, holding three needles between each finger and narrowing her sight on the wild rabbit. She launched the needles in seconds as it pierced the wild animal in one shot. Smiling with triumph she approached the paralyzed bunny and picked it up from its ears.

“Tomorrows dinner will be different for a change,” she said with a faint grin, hidden underneath her black mouth guard.

As she was about to head back, she halted from the screams of the owl, not far from where she stood. She directed her attention to the owl and let out a tired sigh. Pitying the poor thing, she approached the furious animal and took out a silver dagger from her pouch calmly. The owl was squealing and squirming in the net, trying to free itself from the confusion and turmoil that the net imposed on him.

“Calm down…” she mumbled as she grabbed his wing that was caught. Using the shark end of her dagger, she sliced the net that captivated it. With difficulty trying to pry his wings away from the net without cutting it due to its endless squirming, Taeyeon managed to release both wings from the net and free the bird. Once it was free, the owl immediately flew deep into the dark forest while Taeyeon watched silently as it disappeared into the distance.

Suddenly, she felt a weird chill running down her spine and the sudden sound of what seemed like the hooves of multiple horses and marching soldiers marching down the hill. With her quick instincts, she hid behind a bush and saw an elderly man with rusty hair and a short beard riding on a jet-black horse with his army following closely behind. She wondered why there was so much soldiers in the woods at this hour and realized that they were all heading towards her house, which was the only cottage situated in the forest of Joo. Deep down Taeyeon could feel that something was not right with the appearance of palace guards.

Grabbing her prey, she dashed down the hills and headed straight for home, taking the shortest route back hoping to make it before the soldiers do.  When she made it to the cottage she found some of her father’s medicine books scattered all over the main room and panicked. She quickly went into her father’s bedroom to check if he was there and luckily, he was and was asleep on his bed. She quickly approached him sensing the dry air now becoming quite windy and shook him awake. Her father shot his eyes open and saw his daughter with hair drenched in cold sweat and eyes trembling in fear.

He grumbled as he tried to gain focus on his worried daughter, “Taeyeon?”

“Appa, we gotta go!” she demanded helping her old man up who was dumbfounded and perplexed by the sudden statement.

“What’s going on…” he said worriedly.

“Soldiers …soldiers are here,” she stated as she looked at him with her trembling stern face.

He knew that look and instantly followed Taeyeon’s orders. When they opened their back door their eyes grew wide at the armed men surrounding the cottage. Leading them was the notorious general Lim.

He chuckled maliciously, “where are you guys going, so late at night?”

Both Taeyeon and her father halted as they came upon Lim. She slyly reached behind her back for a dagger before being stopped by her father who shook his head. She looked at him as he cleared his throat and looked the general with a calm face.

“What is the general doing out here so late in the evening?” he asked.

The general smirked as all the soldiers took out their swords and aimed it at Taeyeon and her father. Lim looked at the elderly man and his stoic daughter and sneered.

“It would be wise of you not to act so ignorant before us… Kim,” he stated coldly.

“By the orders of the King, we are here to capture the killer of our late prince,” he added.

Taeyeon’s father thought for a moment. When it finally came to him he looked back up at the lad, “Is there something wrong with Prince Tuek, again?”

Hearing his response Lim shook his head and chuckled to himself. “Is there something wrong with the prince you say…hahaha,” Taeyeon tightened her grip on her torn sleeves and narrowed her eyes at the insolent man’s response.

“Funny you mention him, cause thanks to you, he’s dead!” the general suddenly announced before bursting into his hysteric laughter again.

Taeyeon