“I… I couldn't sleep and decided to go for a little dip,” Hajin stammered in response to Myunghee’s questions.

Myunghee crossed her arms. “A little dip? You're soaked! It’s late autumn! Supposing you become terribly ill? You’ve always had weak lungs. Or what if you’d gotten hurt and drowned?”

Hajin said quickly, “I’m fine, I just got a little carried away.” Literally , she silently thinks, then straightens up and points to their makeshift kiln. “I'll just go over to the fire and dry myself and-”

Her cousin didn't let her finish. Turning to her brothers-in-law, she said, “I'm sorry but please step out for a moment.”

Hajin wasn't sure what her cousin was going to do. Punishments had been pretty severe back in the day, or so she had gathered from years of being raised by her uncle and his friends.

As they left, the princes had on different expressions: Baek Ah was looking amused, which made her indignant; Eun was looking at her with wide, fearful eyes, which didn't help… and So wasn’t looking at her at all, which was to be expected.

“What happened, hyung-nim?” Baek Ah asked their fourth brother once they were outside. “Where are the others?”

The deep frown on So’s face was not reassuring. “They were ambushed after you left. Few survived.”

Eun gasped. “Jungie? And my father-in-law?”

At this, So’s expression lightened somewhat. “They're alright. A little cut up and bruised, but alive and alert. They'll be waiting for us at the hidden fortress of Taehung, where our first brother spent years in study.”

Eun sighed in relief. “That's good. Any word on my grandfather and mother?”

Baek Ah and So exchanged the briefest of glances before the former cleared his throat, “Hyung-nim… our fourth brother has probably spent the past month looking for us…”

“I know, but he might have heard something,” Eun insisted, eyes full of hope as he looked up at So. “Did you hear anything at all, hyung-nim?”

Reluctantly, So shook his head.

The disappointment on Eun’s face and voice was palpable. “I suppose no news is good news. You'll tell me if you ever do hear something, won't you?”

So forced a small smile and a nod, but he couldn't bring himself to verbalize such an empty promise. Soon Deok had asked them all to keep silent for now… at least until they were much safely away. Knowing what they knew of Eun’s passionate and impulsive nature, the brothers had agreed to the request.

“Will we be safe at Taehung?” Baek Ah asked to steer the conversation away from Wang Gyu. “It's a long journey and it'll take us close to the capital.”

So had already considered that and determined an alternative route. “Not if we go through the mountains. It'll take longer, but safety is our utmost concern at the moment.”

“But why Taehung?” Eun asked. “I thought we were going to Hanseong… so why are we traveling north?”

So exchanged looks with Baek Ah again. “Hanseong is overrun with royal soldiers. It is no longer safe for us. We've decided to travel north to Seokyeong and seek allies there.”

When Myunghee told them it was alright to come back inside some time later, Eun did so, leaving his two brothers behind.

“Why are we really going to Seokyeong, hyung-nim?” Baek Ah asked in a low whisper, edging closer.

“Our King has left Hanseong. We don't know where he is, but he has left instructions to delay construction work on the fortress at Seokyeong as much as we can,” So replied, cricking his neck and rolling his shoulders with a sigh. He'd been traveling on horseback for weeks and was exhausted. “The monks at Taehung temple are good with medicine and loyal to our king. We’ll regroup there, spend a few days to recuperate, then be on our way.”

Prince So stared at his breakfast the next day. In the middle of the group sat a basket of apples and persimmons, and beside that was another basket of roasted mushrooms and fresh leaves. Not only did they not look appetizing… they were not enough for six people.

“Have the five of you been eating nothing but plants all this time?” he asked, already feeling sorry for them. Jung should have gone with them, if only for the fact that he was an experienced enough hunter to provide proper food for half a dozen people.

Eun and Baek Ah nodded grimly. Fowls and quails hardly had any meat on them, and they were tough.

“Ahem. Fruits, vegetables and mushrooms,” Hajin sniffed, taking the fruits and passing them around. “They're healthy!”

“I've made some small traps and caught some birds and rabbits!” Eun informed their older brother excitedly. “And I sharpened this stick to spear fish with, but they're harder to catch than I thought.”

So eyed the flimsy spear. It was long, and the tip indeed was sharp, but it was too thin. In a battle between spear and fish, he'd bet on the fish.

“We don't really have the weapons or the skills to hunt down larger prey,” Myunghee said apologetically, helping Soon Deok to sit up. Eun rushed immediately to lend a hand.

So eyed his younger sister-in-law. She was looking much better than the last time he saw her, no doubt thanks to Myunghee and Hae Soo’s care. “Are you well?”

Soon Deok nodded. “By next week, I hoped I would be able to hunt for the group.”

“Rest up for now. You'll need to heal as much as you can before we leave. We'll give it another two weeks. That should be enough time,” he said firmly, making Soon Deok pout. To the rest of their companions, So said, “I'll be in charge of food from now on.”

With that, he got up and left, hiding a smile at the look of excitement on his brothers’ faces.

“I'm coming!”

He sighed and told Hae Soo firmly to be a good girl and get back inside.

Indignant but determined, she fell into step beside him, doubling her strides to match his pace. “I'm not a child. I can look after myself.”

“Of course,” he muttered under his breath.

“What did you say?”

“Why are you really coming?”

“To pick more fruits.”

He pointed to a nearby tree. “That tree has fruits. Happy picking.” He reached his horse and took his bow and arrow, finding to his dismay that she was still behind him. He could hear her tapping feet and forced slow, heavy breathing.

“Ginkgos are healthy, yes, but they smell foul and I'm not confident in my tree scaling abilities. I would prefer to have a pair of gloves while dealing with them, or else some soap to wash off the stench afterwards.”

“Some what?”

She shook her head and stammered, “Bathing aid.”

He had no idea what she was talking about, but they were wasting time and he knew she would be stubborn about coming. So he grabbed her without permission, making her squawk in surprise, and deposited her onto his saddle. They’d travel faster if he didn't have to watch out for her every step of the way.

“By the way…” she began as they traveled sometime later, trying not to feel too self-conscious as she stared straight ahead, grateful that he was behind her and couldn’t see her face. She found herself unconsciously biting her lips and stopped. “Last night, when you found me… was I unconscious?” She had no idea how much of her life she owed him. Did people of this time know CPR?

He evaded the question by asking her one of his own, “Last night, how did Myunghee punish you?”

“Punish? Who said anything about punish?” she forced a laugh despite feeling embarrassed and more than a little indignant at the memory of Myunghee whacking her behind with Eun’s flimsy spear. Soon Deok said she was lucky Myunghee had allowed her to keep her underdress on, which she supposed was fair as she suspected the beating was meant to humiliate rather than physically hurt. “Oh, Eun-nim says this is where he gets most of his birds.”

“A beating, maybe? That’s common.”

She wanted to snap at him to drop it, but then she saw something that made her screech, “Stop!”

Surprised, So pulled on the reins and drew his sword.

“Nettle shoots! I see nettle shoots!”

He prayed hard for patience. “What would you want with nettles?”

“Unnie’s cough is worsening because of the cold weather. Nettle tea should help,” she replied, trying to determine how to get down. She barely knew how to stay on. “I've been looking for some for weeks, but they've mostly been fully grown and starting to rot. We need to get those shoots now before it gets any colder!”

With a sigh, he got off and helped her down. “Stay here with the horse and try not to get into trouble. I'll need to go deeper.”

She nodded, already making her way towards the stinging plants. So tied the horse to a nearby tree and left, wondering if she could be relied upon to look after herself.

It took a bit of tracking, but he eventually found a healthy young boar amidst a cluster of bushes, making a meal out of what was left of a deer carcass. Checking to make sure there were no other hunters around, So aimed a shot and took it.

Returning to his horse afterwards, he was dismayed to find that he couldn’t see Hae Soo anywhere, neither could he see the shoots, which apparently had been picked. “Where did she run off to now?” he sighed, determining a course of action. He hung the boar on a branch to keep it from most predators and began to search the area.

There, leaning precariously over the bank of the river, Hae Soo stretched out an arm towards a particularly red apple hovering just inches out of reach.

He watched her for a few more seconds before determining she was getting nowhere in her attempts and reached out from behind her to pluck it himself.

Startled, Hae Soo flinched and lost her footing. She watched, as though in slow motion, the river water zooming in towards her vision, her reflection showing just how horrified she was at what was happening, but she had barely registered falling when someone grasped her by the waist and pulled her away from the water’s edge.

She found herself staring into the amused eyes of the fourth prince.

As suddenly as he held her, he let go, causing her to stumble to the ground with a thud. Wincing and groaning, she glared up at him. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”

Choosing to ignore her, he turned around, but not before she called out, “Stop right there!”

He watched with increasing amusement as she brushed herself and stood. “Being a prince, you probably think I’m just a nobody who doesn’t deserve to be treated with respect. However,” she marched up to him and jabbed his chest with her forefinger, “that does not mean you can treat me like a sack of potatoes. I am a person and would like to be treated thus!”

“Don’t you know how to be grateful? I just saved you from another beating,” he said.

Fresh memories of being hit as a result of getting unnecessarily soaked crossed through Hajin’s mind before she could stop them.

“Before you argue about that, you should thank me for saving you.” He leaned into her personal space, a malicious glint in his eyes. “Or shall I tell Myunghee you strayed off again and almost fell into the river?”

She glared at him, but found she couldn’t argue - the fate of her injured pride and bottom rested on his discretion. She had no idea he would be back so soon and had decided to check the riverside just in case there were more shoots growing there.

He must be as good a hunter as he is a fighter, which, all things considered, wasn’t surprising. She needed to stop underestimating this prince.

Swallowing a retort, she gave a curt nod and mumbled, “Thank you. Though I would have been perfectly fine if you hadn’t startled me.”

He scoffed. “Even after hearing Myunghee’s warnings, you’re not afraid of me. You would have fallen in without my help. You’re too short.”

“I know you’re someone I shouldn’t take lightly, but I’m not afraid of you,” she said firmly, drawing herself up to full height - which wasn’t much. “And I would have found a way to get the apple without falling in, so don’t you dare use my height against me.”

“Always talking back,” he shook his head and the apple into her startled but eager hands. “I still don’t trust you.” With one last suspicious look, he left.

“Well, I don’t trust you either!” she snapped. Jung, Baek Ah and Eun were such nice young men. How could they have someone so disagreeable for a brother?

She wasn’t completely ignorant about this man. She may not know who he is as a prince, but she knew exactly who he would turn out to be. Though the full details and circumstances surrounding the events of his future were unclear, the important thing was she knew he would one day become the infamous Gwangjong, Fourth King of Goryeo.Manslayer. Bloody Monarch of Goryeo. Gwangjong’s birthname had been So… and he had been the fourth son of the original King Taejo.

This was definitely him… and he would one day earn that reputation by ordering mass killings throughout his reign.

Warily, she followed him up the slope. She watched as he brought down his kill and strapped it to the side of his horse. He’s a killer, no doubt about it. But would he really kill that many people, outside of battle?

He turned to her then and silently asked her if she was coming. Tamping down the sudden fear that had arisen in her gut at the image of this man drenched in blood and surrounded by bodies, she squared her shoulders, pocketed her apple and tied the string pouch containing the nettle shoots at her waist, and raised her hands to him to be lifted.

She was curious about this prince, who would go down in history as being Goryeo’s most ruthless king. If she could get back to her time, she would have a lot to tell the professor, who had been researching on Gwangjong, trying to gleam his motives. The accounts about him, written by the nobles, had all been terrible. They portrayed him as a man verging on lunacy, who had a quick temper and an unforgiving nature. But the professor refused to believe it. He couldn’t believe a king who had ruled for so long and established so much would be crazy. There had to be a reason…

A reason for so many murders in a span of 25 years?

Hajin glanced at the strong hands holding the reins on either side of her, as they rode back towards their companions. She looked up and met his eyes, and immediately faced forward again.

The professor may have been onto something. Though So indeed had a quick temper and undeniable skills in fighting, he was also intelligent and not without a conscience or compassion. He obviously cared for his brothers and sisters-in-law… and has been responsibly watching out for the men under his wing. Including her.

So then, why?

If she couldn’t find a way to get back to her time, she was afraid she would know the answers eventually… perhaps even be witness to all of it.

Three years, Hajin-ah… she thought to herself, you have three years to figure out how to escape and get back home.