Your mind was still calculating the seconds of conversation that happened prior when the wind was forced out of your lungs. The darkness had acted favourably but ambivalently, not only protecting you but also shrouding the identity of your attacker.

Pressed up against the wall, it was then that you realised the stranger possessed an advantage over you; as the metal of his sword ebbed into the concrete of the wall, drawing dust. A chain of swear words formed in your head and you fled along the open space through the palace. The scuffle of your attacker followed relentlessly narrowly missing the fabric of your robes.

You then realised that running was not a good idea because you had no idea where you were going. Only familiar with the route from the gates to your chambers and reverse, you had backed yourself into some corner of the vast palace, bounded by a pond and a row of cleanly pruned trees. You noticed a gazebo off in the corner and was planning on fleeing towards that when you felt (in your thinking about where to run and neglected to focus more on the situation at hand), the tip of the sword catch on the hem of your robe, pulling you back towards the figure as the fabric ripped. It was a deafening sound, even in the silent night.

You staggered to face the person, staring horridly at the rip now on your sleeve. How were you ever going to explain that? You were a few hundred steps from the gazebo which made the shadow of the tall structure veil your face in the night, and face the attacker’s features to greet the moon. It was a boy- more a man, dressed in light armour, stance belligerent and sword pointed towards you. He was smirking and the heavy bags under his eyes moulded his face to indent his features further into oblivion. Before you could assess him any further, he pounced towards you.

Without any more time, you jumped back and back, till both of you were in the gazebo. He was skilled but reckless with his swings, hacking off wood from the structure and destroying the wooden stilts that decorated the porch. You dodged and weaved between the poles and expertly managed to hit the sword out of his hand. For a split second, he looked at his empty hand and almost growled. It was clear he preferred to fight in open spaces whereas you liked weaving in the proximity. However, you got too cocky for a second and before you could praise yourself for knocking out his weapon, he retaliated and in one swift movement had his grip around your neck, pressing you into one of the poles.

You gasped and in a breath, almost writhing as he began to lift you off your toes.

“Who are you? State your purpose.” His face was inches from yours and you noticed how dark his eyes really were. It was as if he had never slept in a century.

You opened your mouth, hands now clutching his forearm and gulped incoherently. You were sweating bullets, heart thudding against your ribs puffing out in indignation. You always knew that one of these days you’d be found, but never thought that it would be so soon.

Annoyed with how things were playing out and that he still couldn’t see your face, the attacker loosened his grip on your neck, but bringing his other up, grabbed at the collar of your robe, trying to bring you to the light of the moon. But in doing so, his hands pressed up against your chest and he gasped, immediately pulling his hands back – surprised at feeling something that he thought was not supposed to there.

“A woman” his voice was full of shock and disbelief. You saw his eyebrows furrow and using his confusion, swiped at his face. It was a hard, cold sting to your palm as your hand met his cheek and the sound almost ricocheted of the trees and into the rest of the palace. Staring agape, the man held his cheek and his expression turned from that of astonishment to almost amazement. Then, using that as a distraction, sprinted off to where you thought your chambers were supposed to be – just anywhere but here.

Too stunned to move, Tao held his cheek and watched the figure disappear into the trees. “A woman,” he whispered, as if it was the first word he had learnt in a long time.

 It was a while before he regained himself. Originally planning to have a quiet night, minding the horses as always, he walked out from the main hall and towards the stables. The horses were always his priority and it kept him up at night. His used his activities to justify his lack of sleep, but the excuse didn’t fool anyone. Grabbing his gloves from the study room the brothers had been in earlier and the bow and arrow he’d left in after shooting practice, he way his way outside the buildings, across the open space of the palace to where the beasts were housed. He didn’t bother taking a lantern and as with all other nights, he didn’t see the need for it when he knew his home like the back of his hand. Kris and maybe even Xiumin, were the ones that didn’t like walking in the dark. He would light one later in the stable, just so that he could admire the beautiful brown eyes of the newborn foal and check that mane again for any dirt or bugs.

Tao was just walking past the front gates when he noticed someone hovering in front of the locking plank. They tried it once and he scoffed at the stupidity of the act; no one could just simply remove the plank, it weighed its size in lead. He guessed it would’ve been one of the new night patrol foot soldiers, too stupid to realise the foolishness of their guard, but then, out of nowhere, another figure emerged from the shadows and the two began to converse.

Opting to hide behind a corner of the main building, Tao had watched the proceedings from afar, fingers tightened on the bow, an uneasiness rising in his chest – the two, upon further observation most certainly did not resemble any foot soldier he’d seen. Part of him wanted the two to continue their conversation, but the rashness in his acted and before the two could converse any longer, he shot an arrow right between them and they split like a porcelain bowl dropped on concrete.

He sighed heavily, remembering how things went was of no concern to him now. He walked over to where his abandoned sword lied and picked it up slowly, dusted it off, before sliding it back in its sheath. He retraced his steps throughout the palace and found where he had thrown the bow down when the arrows had been used up and hung it across his chest. He just couldn’t believe it. Upon reaching the stables, his looked at his palm one last time and bit his lip in discontent. You choked a woman with this hand – he reprimanded himself, before picking up the brush and letting his thoughts stagnate so that he would never have to think of them ever again. That was one of the bad things about not sleeping, having to think- all the time. The nightmare in your thoughts running wild and taking hold.