“Hey, princess,”

Minjoo looks up from the letter she's making and fixes her gaze on Yujin who's lazing on her soft bed then hummed as a response.

“Remember the promise we sealed four years ago?” Yujin asked, her eyes still closed. Minjoo thought for a bit, she can't specifically recall it. “Which one?” She asked, leaning to her seat.

Yujin opened her eyes and lied on her back, staring at her from the bed. “The promise that I will sneak you out one day from this boring palace?” She replied, and the princess nodded, she remembers. “Yes, I do. Why?” She asked and continued to write a letter to be sent to Princess Wonyoung.

The young warrior jumped into her feet and went to the open window, sitting on the edge of it as she stared at the noisy town full of lights around. “There's a festival going on there.” She muttered, then looked at Minjoo. “Want to sneak out with me and have fun there, princess?”

Minjoo almost broke her pen.

Her eyes are wide and looked back at the smirking Yujin. She wanted so badly but it's too risky and if her Father caught them, both of them are dead meat.

“I-I must reject. Father will be in wrath if he ever finds out our little plan of escaping the palace.” Minjoo replied, trying not to look sad and went back to writing. Yujin pouted and went closer to her. “Well that is, if his Majesty caught us but what if we didn't get caught?” She said, luring the princess to give in.

Minjoo gulped and shook her head firmly, but Yujin was determined. “I promise you, we won't get caught if you listen to my instructions well. We're going to sneak out later at ten and be back before the sun wakes up.” She said and even held the princess' hand to assure her.

Yujin wanted to show Minjoo the real world, she's been caged here at this damn palace ever since she was born. Minjoo needs to discover real life. She's been looking for a good timing to ask her this, and been planning and finding the routes where they can sneak out for years already. Plus, she also got Yena and the troupe's back in this.

Minjoo sighs and gives in. “Fine. Promise we will never get caught?” She asked, staring right back at Yujin's hazelnut orbs before showing her pinky.

The young guard's gaze softened and intertwined their pinkies. “I promise. Just trust me, your Highness.”

—

It's past ten in the night already and Minjoo can still hear the happy chatters and cheers of the townspeople from her room. They were already preparing to sneak in. She can feel her heart pounding in anxiousness and excitement, it’s thrilling her to be honest, but at the same time, scaring the hell out of her.

Yujin wrapped the black cloak around her and smiled. “That should do.” She said, and wore hers, then grabbed her satchel and coin bag, also her sword.

She then opened the door of the chamber and let Minjoo step outside. The princess gulped before fully slipping out from her chamber.

The hallway is empty and a little bit dim, by this time the servants are already sleeping in their own quarters but there's a lot of royal guards roaming around the palace.

Yujin held her hand, guiding her to the corridor and instantly Minjoo felt at ease, there's magic whenever Yujin holds her, she can't explain.

“Cover your face as much as possible, alright? And don't speak. Got it, princess?” Yujin whispered to her and Minjoo gave her a wink as affirmation. “I heard you, warrior.”

They encountered a guard at the staircase. When he saw Yujin, he just bowed and excused himself, not even bothering to check Minjoo. Another one at the ground floor, and kitchen, but all of them did not question the two. Just bowing at Yujin, she has a respected reputation around the kingdom— as the daughter of the mighty general, an Ahn, and a strong young warrior.

But when they reached the garden where the escape was located, a guard called for their attention, their little escape journey halted.

“Yujin.” The royal guard called. He's bulky and tall, also intimidating and his eyes are observant, Minjoo turned her body away, trying to hide her identity as much as possible.

“Oh, Wonho! Got a nice night here, lad?” She asked with a fake happy tone. The Wonho guy just grumbles. “ off. Where are you going in this kind of time, you sly wolf?” He huffed, raising his brow as his gaze darted to the weird person. Something is odd.

“Oh, me and my friend here, will have a talk here at the garden. It's windy and it’s a great spot for a private conversation, any problem with it?” Yujin asked, a little bit annoyed now. But Wonho only scoffed, still looking at Minjoo.

“Your friend is weird.” He pointed, annoyance and suspicion laced around his tone. Yujin immediately replied. “She's ill, well now if you may excuse us, we still have important stuff to talk about.” She said and turned her body around, dragging Minjoo in a hurry, she didn't want to engage with that hard headed royal guard anymore.

They reached the garden and are already walking along the flowery pathway. After a few minutes, Yujin stopped walking, because it's a dead end already. Minjoo looked around and observed her surroundings, then stared at the high, gigantic wall. “W-Were going to climb this? It's impossible.” She asked, her brow arching.

Yujin snorted. “No.” She answered and kicked the bushes away. Minjoo's eyes widened when she saw a hole hidden by the bushes earlier, it’s big enough for a person to crawl onto. “Just crawl and follow me.” She instructed. “But who will hide the hole—”

“Nako is just around, doing her rounds, I asked her to cover it properly later. Let's go, princess.” Yujin said and kneeled, crawling over the hole and the princess hesitantly obeyed. The hole is spacious and after a few crawls, Minjoo can see Yujin trying to uncover the bushes that were placed outside.

“I discovered this three years ago. I asked Father about this, and surprisingly, his Majesty was the one who asked to put a hole here for emergency escape.” She said, and supported Minjoo to stand up and covered the hole and ran to the forest, dragging Minjoo along with her. There's also guards patrolling around, so they still need to be careful.

Yujin held her hand with a firm grip. “Hold tight. I don't want to lose you here.” She said, and started to walk through the dark forest. The action made Minjoo blush but Yujin didn't notice it as her face is covered by the hood and it's very dark.

The dark and tall intimidating trees didn't faze Minjoo because Yujin is around her, and even holding her hand so tight.

After fifteen minutes of walking through the muddy and rocky pathways, the princess can hear the cheers and music getting louder and louder, that her heart flipped in excitement. Her lips curved up into a big smile, because finally, the dream of going outside the palace came true, thanks to Yujin.

“Never let go of my hand ever, okay? The town of Beairterre is big and crowded.” The young guard said to her when they're already close to the town and even tightened her hold, Minjoo nodded with a grin. “Hmm! I heard you crystal clear, warrior.” She replied excitedly that even Yujin smiled at her excitement.

Finally, they exited the forest and took a few steps, to enter the exact area of the town.

Minjoo's eyes lit up, jumping in excitement, and her smile not fading a bit and even got bigger when she saw lots of people having fun, they all have smiles on their faces as they do their own business.

There's a lot of stalls selling different kinds of goods and jewelry. Minjoo is in awe, this is the first time she ever saw one, she wanted to check them all. She's just trying to stand still, but she's trembling in excitement, even Yujin noticed it and laughed at her.

Minjoo observed around with a dropped jaw and glimmering eyes, she's definitely liking everything she sees that she can feel tears of joy forming in her eyes.

The crowd are huddling in the center, watching an entertainer and Minjoo thinks it's a show play since she saw few people exchanging exaggerated dialogues and acting at the small wooden stage. Some are checking the stalls and roaming around with their loved ones. Some folks are playing some instrument making the atmosphere more happy and cheerful even if it's past midnight, no one can stop them from playing until morning, even the kids and few folks are dancing along with the music. The houses are just small and plain simple but it looks lively.

Everyone is just having fun. And Minjoo likes the simple life here already.

“Wanted to try the dumplings, princess?” Yujin asked her, smiling, only to fade when she saw the princess crying while smiling happily as she looked around, admiring basically everything she sees.

“Waa, don't cry…” She hushed and patted her back gently. Minjoo wiped her happy tears and smiled dorkishly at her. “I'm just overwhelmed, yes? I already love it here,” She said. “Thank you for bringing me here, young warrior. I'm so delighted.” The princess sincerely muttered and leaned closer, kissing her on the cheek then pulled away with a smile.

Yujin blushed, and coughed a bit. It became a habit to kiss her cheek whenever Minjoo is gratef