“Omo! I still can’t believe that we are here and we can finally meet the prince!” Naeyoung’s lively voice echoed throughout the palace library. Once the girls had arrived at Shiyen Palace, they were immediately escorted to the royal library and were told to wait there. The Prince was to meet them. 

Rows of dark wooden shelves filled with cream colored scrolls lined half of the library. The other half was the reading section - a small, barely furnished space with only a couple of flat rectangular tables. Kari and Naeyoung sat comfortably around one of the tables, their feet resting upon the tatami mats.

“I said I can’t believe we’re finally here to meet the prince!” Naeyoung excitedly shook Kari which caused the arrows to fall to the ground. Kari glared at her.

“Oops… sorry,” Naeyoung quickly apologized as she struggled to pick up the arrows.

“Ever since Yumako-san told us about our new mission last night, you have nothing to talk about but the prince, the prince, the prince. Don’t you get tired of it? Because honestly I am tired of it” Kari said as she pushed the other girl’s hands away and proceeded to pick up the arrows herself.

“You’re no fun,” Naeyong complained with a pout as she slowly slouched. “I am just wondering if the rumors about him are true. Is he really an evil person or is there something more beneath the surface? What do you think?”

“Not interested.” Kari said plainly as she resumed cleaning her arrows.

“Fine,” Naeyoung declared nonchalantly. “I’ll just talk to Zhu Li then.”

At the mention of their friend’s name, Kari began to nervously look around. She turned to Naeyoung and asked, “Where’s Zhu Li by the way?”

Naeyoung shrugged. “She said that she’s going to browse through some scrolls.”

Kari quickly put her arrows away, stood up and looked around. “What’s taking her so long?”

“Maybe… she got lost?” Naeyoung suggested, putting her arms up on the table and resting her head on her hands.

Kari narrowed her brows. “Come on, how can she get lost within these four walls?”

 

~~~

 

Zhu Li found herself surrounded by towering shelves. The black-wood panels and the old yellow parchment all looked the same. Which way should I go: this way or that way? Why is this library so big?

She was lost.

Suddenly a voice interrupted her thoughts. “Excuse me miss, do you need help?”

A tall man with a sharp nose and a piercing glare was standing in front of her. He was Zhou Mi, the palace librarian.  Zhu Li was so startled that she jumped back and accidentally toppled a tall pile of scrolls. The librarian screamed and pushed the girl out of the way.

“Oh! My precious babies…” Zhou Mi cried in despair. He immediately placed the fallen scrolls in his arms, and thoroughly checked each one of them to see if they had any wrinkles.

Naeyoung and Kari ran to the source of the commotion. They found the librarian brooding over his scrolls while Zhu Li was huddled up in one corner trying to be as far away from the man as possible.

“So these are your babies?” Naeyoung said, referring to the ancient scrolls in Zhou Mi’s hands.

The librarian ignored her and continued checking the rest of the scrolls.

A wicked idea suddenly crossed the girl’s mind. Naeyoung pointed to a random scroll. “That one is wrinkled.”

“What scroll? Where?” Zhou Mi demanded. He frantically looked for that specific scroll and because he could not find it, he decided to check them all over again.

Kari noticed an interesting looking scroll scattered on the ground. Unlike the rest, the parchment had a metallic sheen to it. Gently, she bent down and picked it up. The paper felt light in her hand and upon closer look, she realized that the shine was caused by small metallic veins that were mixed into the paper.

“Let go of that!” Zhou Mi commanded once he noticed Kari unfolding the scroll.

Kari followed his orders and immediately dropped the scroll.

Zhou Mi dove to the ground and swapped the silver scroll just as it touched the floor. “Holy Heavens! Why did you drop it?”

“Uhm… because you told me so?” was Kari’s reply.

“Argh!” Zhou Mi shouted in frustration. “Would you please get out of here?!”

Obediently, the three marched back into the reading area. As they took their seats, they all had one thing in mind. They were certain that Zhou Mi, the palace librarian, had…

“Obsessive…” Naeyoung began.

 “Compulsive…” Kari continued.

“Behavior,” Zhu Li finished.

 

~~~

 

Prince Kyuhyun  and the Royal Guards gallantly marched down the palace hallways, their footsteps making a rhythmic tap tap tap on the hollow wooden floor. To their left were white-washed walls that enclosed numerous rooms and chambers, while to their right was the palace garden which was filled with pink and purple orchids, bougainvilleas and azaleas. There were also thin bamboo trees scattered here and there. They swayed ever so slightly as a gentle breeze passed by.

Behind the Prince walked Chief of the Royal Guards, Choi Siwon. Behind the Chief were his apprentices, the brothers Lee Donghae and Lee Hyukjae. Donghae was the one with the clean, angular features while Hyukjae had fierce eyes and a well-defined jaw line.

“What do you think of the Scarlet Serpents?” Hyukjae asked Donghae when he realized that his brother was not walking beside him anymore. He turned around and found Donghae talking to a new servant-girl.

“What can I do for the royal guard Lee Donghae?” the servant asked, blushing. She kept lowering her head to avoid looking straight at Donghae’s eyes.

“You know me?” Hae asked, feigning surprise. He slowly reached out his hand and placed it against the wall – just a couple of inches away from the girl’s face.

“Of course, sir. You and your brother Lee Hyukjae are popular here in the palace,” the servant girl’s cheeks were turning as red as a tomato now.

“You are quite familiar to me. Have we met before?” Donghae said, leaning his face a little closer.

“No, this is actually the first time I’ve met you,” said the girl. She stepped back, but realized that she was already up against the wall.

“Perhaps, I have seen you in my dreams,” Donghae whispered. 

The servant almost melted upon hearing his flowery words.

Eunhyuk approached them and cleared his throat loudly, “EHEM!!! Royal Guard Lee Donghae, we still have work to do.”

Donghae raised his hand at him and said, “Just a minute, Hyukkie.” He turned again to the servant “May I know your name? I am sure that name is as wonderful as the person standing in front of me.”

Eunhyuk rolled his eyes and pulled Donghae by the ear. “I am really sorry for this. Please don’t believe him. He says that to every girl he meets.”

“Wait- OUCH! That hurts!” Donghae whined in pain as Eunhyuk pulled him away.  

 

~~~~~

 

Back at the library, Zhou Mi was busy tending to his scroll inventory at another table while the three girls were killing time by reading.

“Hahaha!!!” Out of nowhere, Naeyoung’s high pitched laugh filled the library. Zhou Mi looked up and glared at her. He muttered something about disturbing his serenity in his own territory and went back to work.

Upon seeing this, the two other girls immediately got the message. Zhu Li kicked Naeyoung’s leg under the table.

“Ow!” Naeyoung cried out.

Zhu Li bent forward and put one finger to her lips. “Shhh…This is a library”

“Sorry…” Naeyoung looked down. Once more, she unfolded the scroll she had been reading. There it was again. The girl tried to stifle her laugh but a few seconds later…

“Mwaahahaha!”

“Ehem!!!” This came from Zhou Mi, who looked as if he was about to burst. His fists were on the table, trembling.

This time, Kari nudged Naeyoung.

“I am really sorry but this is really funny,” Naeyoung said as she pointed at a line on the scroll, as if doing so might prove her point.

Kari told Naeyoung through clenched teeth, “If you laugh again, I am going to get that scroll away from you.”

“You are gonna steal from a thief? How funny!” Naeyoung chuckled to herself.

Kari finally lost her patience. “ Let’s see if you can still laugh. Kari stood up and snatched the scroll away from her and raised it out of Naeyoung’s reach.

“You are using your height advantage. I’m going to use my speed.” With that, Naeyoung scrambled through the tables and shelves, causing some scrolls to fall to the ground. She leaped on Kari’s shoulders and stole the scroll away before the latter could blink.

Witnessing this, Zhou Mi could no longer tolerate the havoc that was happening. Up until now, his life had been simple, peaceful and organized. What does the Holy Heavens have against me to place me in such despair? Without giving the fallen scrolls a glance, afraid that it might trigger his obsessive compulsive behavior, he scooped his belongings up and rushed out of the room.

Prince Kyuhyun, Most Venerable Master Siwon and the two apprentice guards Eunhyuk, and Donghae spotted Zhou Mi leave the library, his face distorted in frustration.

“Get those three out!” the librarian screamed, forgetting to bow in the Prince’s presence. Prince Kyuhyun and the others exchanged curios glances and continued walking towards the library.

Once the scroll was back in her hands, Naeyoung ran away from Kari, who immediately came after her. Naeyoung was approaching the door when she bumped into someone. She looked to see who it was and she was surprised to see a youthful man dressed in the fine blue and gold royal robes. The prince was finally standing in front of her.

He is indeed handsome. He looks a lot better in person.Naeyoung’s eyes met the Prince’s and they remained like that for a moment, absorbing each other’s glances. Hers was of amazement while his was of shock.

The three guards followed and Zhu Li’s eyes grew large when she saw Donghae. He’s that man who was getting bullied at the docks! Oh no. Out of all the places, why does he have to be here?

“Where are the Scarlet Serpents?” A very confused prince asked. Naeyoung stepped back towards Kari and Zhu Li.

“Your highness, they are the Scarlet Serpents.” Siwon said pointing at the three girls.

 

~~~~

 

Author's Note: We hope you liked this chapter! It took a lot of planning. Haha. Don't forget to subscribe and comment!