In the stories, the damsel in distress was always given a way out of her predicament, if only she were brave enough to take it. As Chorong stood on the ship deck looking down at the Mercedian village they had docked at, she wondered if this were her moment. Should she jump overboard, and try to hide underneath the wooden docks? She wasn't that strong of a swimmer and she actually hated heights, but the thought was still tempting as she thought back to the day of sailing.

Himchan hadn't come to bother her again, to her relief. It was Daehyun she was now saddled with, Daehyun who fetched her a meal and who had sat in the corner simply watching her through the day. Finally, unable to stand the silence any more, she had begun asking him questions.

Where was he from, how did he know Himchan, simple things like that, and yet he had been reluctant to tell her. When finally the dark-eyed man had returned to fetch them, sending Daehyun out of the cabin so that Himchan could give her yet another threatening speech, Chorong had a thought cross her mind. What if Daehyun wasn't as complicit in this as he seemed?

Himchan had taken her out on deck, out into the storm that the Trinian innkeeper's wife had promised was coming, and left her as he went to see to the captain. Now, as the gangplank was being lowered, Chorong made up her mind and took a step toward that path to freedom. But Daehyun stepped in front of her, with a slight shake of his head. "He'll only be angry if he has to chase you," he said softly, and though it could have been a threat, Chorong thought she heard fear in his voice. She straightened her back and looked the hazel-eyed young man up and down.

"You could protect me," she ventured quietly. He pursed his lips and looked off to the side even as he shook his head. After a brief moment he opened his mouth to respond, but before he could say whatever he meant to say, a shadow fell over them.

"Everything okay here?" Himchan's voice was pleasant, yet Chorong could hear that slight undercurrent to it that she had heard often enough already, and she fought down a shiver. Daehyun only ducked his head in acknowledgement and turned to head down the gangplank ahead of them. A poke to her back sent Chorong following, with Himchan right behind her. A sailor followed them with a trolley laden with her trunk and two large panniers meant for a packhorse.

Daehyun led the way to what appeared to be an inn, a shady looking place that Chorong would never have stayed at even if it were the only inn in town. The red paint was peeling from the walls, a drunk leaned beside the door with a puddle of vomit just in front of him, and the balcony that stretched out over the door had a barely clad woman practically hanging off of it, an umbrella clutched in one hand. But Daehyun stepped right past the man and opened the door to hold it for his companions. Chorong's face scrunched up as she passed the drunk, and as she stepped inside the door, she heard the woman call something lewd down to Himchan that she tried her best to ignore.

"We'll be staying the night, don't you worry," Himchan called back, then closed the door behind him. Shoving Chorong toward a filthy table, he made his own way for the bar, a smile coming over his face. Chorong stumbled in the dim room, tripping over her feet as she tried to catch herself from his shrove. To her dismay, a big man at another table reached out and grabbed her wrist, yanking her toward him to force her into his lap.

"What've we got here? Did ya buy a new girl? She's a pretty little thing!" he practically shouted as he yanked her down. One hand secured itself tightly to her hip and without asking, his other started reaching for her . She did the first thing she could think of, her hand swinging up to slap the man in the face. She didn't know who was more surprised: she or him. She had never hit anyone before and the pain was a shock, but even more surprising was the fact that she had actually struck a man. As she sat there, still stunned, she watched as his pock-marked face darkened in anger and flinched as his hand tghtened on her hip. "Why you little wh-"

"Let her go," Daehyun said, stepping up close to them to level the big man with a dark look. "She's not your property, she's a free woman."

"The hit me!" was the return, and now Chorong was beginning to see exactly how much trouble she was going to be in. She began to struggle to free herself even as Daehyun's lips tightened and he took a step closer.

"Let him have her tonight, maybe it will settle her down, came Himchan's voice, and that callous remark caused Chorong to once again freeze in surprise. Daehyun's mouth actually fell open, and he turned toward the dark-eyed man to begin arguing in hushed voices. Chorong understood that he was trying to help, but as soon as his back was turned, the nasty pig who had assaulted her once more turned his full attention on her. A filthy mouth full of broken teeth opened in a lewd sneer. 

"You hear that? Your master says I get to have you tonight. You're going to pay for hitting me, I swear."

"Gi