~ Jiao Lin’s POV ~

I already knew about the arranged marriage that has been made between our kingdom and one of the greatest kingdoms in the south. I’ve even seen the letter of the arranged marriage, and they had signed it with golden ink. I eavesdropped while my father discussed this matter with my mother a few days ago. I knew that this would eventually happen…
 

Since the day of my 18^th birthday, just a couple of years ago when I finally had the chance to meet the people for the first time since birth, there have been a few people wanting to kidnap me. Being the only royalty with green eyes, made me a target that many people would die to get near. I also know that there have been people who have blackmailed my father in many different ways, wanting him to hand me over to them. They probably think I have some magical powers that they could make use of. But even if I would have any powers like that, there are probably other people who are stronger than me. But I’ve always dreamt about having powers actually, in fact, I’ve always wanted to have healing powers just like Yi Xing. So the moment I got to see him heal my father’s wound I felt really amazed and I would want him to teach me too! If it’s possible that is…

“His majesty wants to see you.” One of my father’s personal servants said while bowing politely. I sighed and got up from my desk and followed the servant. I already know what he wants to talk about. The arranged marriage…
 

“Oh there you are! I’ve been waiting for you Jiao Lin!” My father said happily and got up from his throne to hug me tightly. He ruffled my hair while letting go of me and I could only sigh.
 

“There’s something very important that I need to talk to you about…” My father said a bit nervously and scratched his neck.
 

“I know… you don’t need to tell me about it…” I calmly said, earning a confused look from my father. I raised an eyebrow at his puzzled expression. It was quiet for a short moment before he started to chuckle.
 

“What should I do with you?” He amusedly asked, still chuckling. “Have you been eavesdropping again?”
 

“I couldn’t help it! You mentioned my name…” I answered with a pout. And my father burst out laughing at me, but soon I laughed too.
 

“Why are you laughing when it’s such a serious matter?” My mother stood now at the door with a stern look on her face and my father tried his best to not let any laughter leave his mouth. He managed to say “Sorry” with a somewhat serious look, making my mother to sigh before leaving us alone again.

As soon as she left we couldn’t help but laugh out loudly again. It took quite a while before we were able to maintain calm enough to speak again. My father looked at me with a sad expression. But he then smiled slightly.
 

“I’m really sorry for doing this towards you, but we have no other choice. But you don’t have to get married straight away, you’ll have at least a few weeks to get to know him first. I promise you that he’s a really good person! I’ve known his father since we were kids. And he has told me a lot about his son.” My father said while playing with his fingers. He really looks like a kid when he does that…
 

“Mm… so… what’s his name?” I asked quietly and let out a slight smile. My father looked at me lovingly. Knowing my personality, he only smiled faintly. A sharp pain shot through my chest.
 

“His name’s Wu Li Yuan. He’s two years older than you, and he’s the crown prince.” He put his hands softly on my shoulders before continuing. “He’s known for being very intelligent and what I’ve heard he’s also very handsome. And his manners are excellent too.”
 

“Okey… when do I meet him?” I politely asked and smiled even though I felt a bit sad for not being able to choose my own husband. But I’ll listen to my parents no matter what, and if they think this is for the best then I’ll definitely listen to them. Even if it means that I have to sacrifice myself for this country…
 

“You’ll be able to meet him as soon as they send someone to you. Don’t worry, we won’t send you off without a personal bodyguard. We have a few promising choices, but they have to get passed the last test. Since you obviously chased away the last one, you better not chase the next one away…” He cleared his throat while raising his eyebrow, staring at me. I nervously smiled while playing with my hair.
 

“Not my fault that he didn’t expect me to be able to take care of myself… and the fact that I was stronger than him… well not exactly stronger but… smarter…” It came out almost as a whisper. My father only laughed at me.
 

I’ve been practicing wushu in secret since I’ve been a child, getting help from my favorite teacher: Hong Yu Kuai. Somehow my father eventually figured it out and didn’t approve of it at first but after begging him for quite some time to let me continue he agreed to it.

“If you don’t mind, you could go and see them for yourself. It’s your bodyguard that will be chosen after all. The last test will be martial arts so…” My father finally said, with a wide smile.
 

I nodded happily and made my way towards the outer ground. I wouldn’t want an old man to be my guardian so I rather look for myself which options there are. 

Without hesitation I walked outside towards the place where my new bodyguard apparently is being chosen. There were a few appointed men standing in a line, they were all standing straight, besides one who were slouching. He’s definitely out of question…
 

I observed the other chosen ones as they soon got out of the way to start the selection. Two men stood now facing each other. Both had wooden sticks as weapons to use in the fight. One of them seemed to be a bit old though, what could he be? 40? 50? Anyway, I hope he don’t get chosen…
 

The other one seemed more interesting but still a bit too stiff for my taste. I watched them as they fought each other, not really impressing me that much. Even I’m better than that… honestly… They both leave too many openings; they don’t seem that fast either… I wonder how the first rounds were like… I’m guessing they had one test for intelligence, one for personality and one for flexibility or something like that.
 

The one who was in charge of the test seemed to notice my unimpressed expression, and he stopped the fight between the two men. The men bowed politely towards one another and stepped away, letting two new guys step forward. There were a total of five chosen ones, and I glanced over at the one who stood at the side waiting for his turn. He had black hair, black clothes and seemed to be quite tall; in fact, he was taller than all the others here right now. I chuckled a bit before looking back at the two who were fighting. Somehow I felt a connection with the young man. I couldn’t help but glance over at his side again, observing his apparently good features. He seemed to be quite well built, and I could sense that he was strong. His eyes were amazing too… He had an intense stare as he looked at the men in front of him. Observing every move they took, focused on their movements to see their weaknesses. Admiringly I nodded slowly and decided to continue looking at those who were fighting.
 

I must say that they were quite good. They seemed to be in the early thirties both of them. One of them was extremely flexible as he jumped around dodging his opponent’s attacks, over and over again. On the other hand, the other one seemed to be a lot stronger than the first. Hence he was a bit slower.
 

I sighed when there wasn’t that much action, as they both only blocked each other’s attacks at the most. When the fight ended and the two had left the ground it was finally the last ones turn. He walked to the center and waited patiently. Since there weren’t anyone left to fight, they wanted someone to volunteer. There were some who chuckled at him, and I could hear someone talking about him being too young and such. I only smiled and walked over to the ground, facing the young man. Everyone stared at me confused.

“I’ll be your opponent.” I said and smiled widely.
 

The young man in front of me was quietly observing me. I could hear laughs from the oldest guy, making fun of us. With a nod from the young man I took one of the wooden sticks at the side. The young man obviously acknowledged me and therefore let me be his opponent.
 

With a fast step towards him I swung the staff at him, which he dodged perfectly. Without hesitating, he swung the staff low, as to hit my legs. I jumped over it and made a split kick in the air, nearly hitting his head. But as soon as I landed, he swiftly came closer and made a side kick. I barely blocked it with the staff, as he made another shot by doing a spin kick. I stumbled backwards after being hit. Without any time to recollect my thoughts I sprang forward and jumped high, making a whirlwind kick and then landing with my body on the ground  to make a low kick. He dodged the first one but fell after being hit by the second kick. Within just seconds he was standing again, getting ready to once again make an attack.
 

He moved in to another strike which I parried swiftly, making use of my flexibility. I must say that he’s extremely good! There was a short moment of observing each other, and I took this chance to run towards the tree right behind him. The onlookers were observing the fight with surprised looks but at the same time they were getting more and more into it, cheering loudly. Using my staff and the tree as help, I made a back flip landing on the other side of my opponent that now had his back towards me. Softly I blew in his ear, making him shiver as he turned around fast as lightning. But I had already gotten to another spot, a few meters away. I stuck my tongue out at him and he stood there like a fool, shaking his head before suddenly making another move towards me… fast!
 

You could hear the bystanders whoa in amazement by every move we took. The young guy made an amazing cartwheel without hands, and landed perfectly right beside me, making me back away in surprise. He soon made a spin kick and I parried with a slapkick. Without being able to even take a small break I had to make my next move. While spinning around and around I succeeded with hitting him with my staff twice in a row. With a hurt expression he put his hands towards his shoulder that had gotten hit. But he wouldn’t give up easily. I knew that. And so he made his next move by slyly moving towards me and spun around so he was facing my back. With a straight hit towards my lower back, I stumbled forward falling on my knees. I quickly stood up and positioned myself in a defensive stance facing him.
 

I stared at him, trying as hard as I could to not let him see how tired I was. And it seemed like he too was tired. The onlookers, who just a moment ago had been cheering and watching the fight fascinated, were now totally quiet. The silence surrounded the ground as we just stood there staring at each other, sweat dripping on both of us.
 

While both of us were breathing heavily, we tried to catch our breaths. Slowly a smile spread on my face, and soon on his too. In a silent agreement we both knew we were equally good. And I knew now who my bodyguard would definitely be. He probably knew it too.

“Hereby I’ll appoint Huang Zi Tao as the princess’ bodyguard. After observing your excellent results in all of the tests, I’m sure that even though you are young you will be an exceptional bodyguard. Congratulations.” The one who held the tests said and applauded. The others also applauded, still amazed by the fight just minutes ago. Even though they didn’t seem that happy about not being chosen themselves, they gladly accepted the final winner. “Princess, Xia Jiao Lin. May I present Huang Zi Tao, your new body guard.”
 

I nodded slightly before reaching out my hand towards Zi Tao, who hesitantly took my hand in his. The onlookers were all shocked and some of them couldn’t help but drop their jaws.
 

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m princess Xia Jiao Lin, but please call me Jiao Lin. Let’s be friends.” I said happily, smiling at him.
 

It took a short moment for him to adjust at the sudden introduction of me as the princess, but soon he smiled too. The cutest smile I’ve ever seen! If it hadn’t been for the public I would’ve hugged him tightly right this moment. But somehow I managed to keep myself from doing it…
 

“What…? That’s the PRINCESS?!” One of the older men said in disbelief with his eyes wide open. “But… but… she can… fight?”  He added weakly, not believing his eyes.
 

An amused chuckle came from behind me, and I turned around to see my old teacher. He was smiling widely as he stepped forward slowly as he had hurt his leg last week and had to walk with a staff to support him. With his spare hand he grabbed my shoulder softly, and I smiled lovingly towards him.
 

“Of course she can fight. She had the best teacher you could possibly have, if I can say so myself.” He chuckled again. “I’m Hong Yu Kuai, one of the greatest masters of wushu.” He soon added while smiling proudly. I saw Zi Tao widen his eyes in amazement and bowed deeply. Yu Kuai nodded towards him and then turned towards me.
 

“I’ve been watching everything, and I must say that you keep getting better and better.” He smiled before continuing. “You better take good care of your new bodyguard. That last one was, if I can say, a bit… lame. This one seems a lot better, but you both have more things to learn.” He said to both of us. “Jiao Lin, you better go and introduce your new bodyguard to the king and queen. They’re waiting patiently for the both of you.” He patted my head before shooing us away. I smiled one last time at my teacher before walking inside of the palace again, with Zi Tao following right behind me.
 

All I have to do now is to introduce Zi Tao and then I can look for Yi Xing again. Maybe he could tell me more about his healing powers…