He walked in the grand hallway of the castle; his mind scattered with his own personal thoughts. Servants passed by and bowed respectfully at him, but he didn't even notice. Bet they were going to think that he was snobbish but he didn't care. Not right now.

Her eyes seemed to be imprinted in his mind, and her suprised expression was like a vivid painting that refused to be erased. The look in her eyes when she gazed at him as the carriage proceeded down the road was indecipherable, yet something about it refused to leave him alone.

What was going on? Why did he feel so miserable? Why did he feel as if he was betraying her? 

There was nothing between them, he told himself firmly. He was injured and she happened to discover him and nurtured his wounds. Nothing more, nothing less.

So then why did he still feel miserable after the rationalization? Why did she keep appearing in his mind? Why did the memory of her smiling as her red locks billowed about her face when she scared him with a frog refuse to leave him alone at night?

So much questions were flying inside his mind that he didn't even realize that he reached the royal throne room. Then he remembered what he came here for.

He opened the grand doors, and walked onto the lush red carpet towards the throne where the King and Queen were sitting. He could also see his own father standing near them.

"Your Majesty, My Lady." He bowed to the King and Queen, to which they just smiled and motioned for him to drop the formalities. He turned to his father, King Calvin.

"Why did you summon me, father?"

His father just smiled, making him wonder what was going on. At that moment, a ruckus could be heard from outside the grand throne room. He raised his brows at the King and Queen who just smiled at the commotion.

The doors bursted open, and to his disbelief, Prince Siwon stood there with a smile plastered on his face. When his gaze landed on Seunghyun, his smile widened and he walked briskly over to embrace his brother.

"How are you doing you little rascal?!" Prince Siwon asked, ruffling Seunghyun's hair as he embraced his brother tightly.

Still not recovering from surprise, Seunghyun stuttered as he answered. "Brother, what are you doing here? I thought father sent you to the north to negotiate with the East Kingdom?"

His brother laughed as he patted Seunghyun's shoulder forcefully.

"That's finished. They finally came to agreement and accept our terms. There was some hostilities though. But I'm back. You little rascal. You really think I'll miss your wedding?" Siwon said as he tackled Seunghyun in a headlock, initiating a display of affectionate brotherly fight that aroused laughter from the King and Queen and their father.

"Stop it. You two are embarrassing me." King Calvin said with an amiable smile. It was good to see his sons together after quite a while.

"It's fine King Calvin. It's good that they get along together so well." The Queen said with a smile.

"Yes indeed. Both of your sons are handsome young men who seem to be capable of great things." The King commented, to which the two brothers received with a smile. But not before they started elbowing each other.

"King Calvin, I think it would be quite lovely if Prince Seunghyun and Prince Siwon are to join the Annual Knight Competition don't you think?" The Queen suggested.

"What's the Annual Knight Competition?" Siwon asked.

"It's our kingdom's annual competition where knights and male royalties compete against each other for honor. It's basically a tournament where you battle against someone else riding on horseback with the knight spear." The King explained.

"Sounds good." King Calvin said, turning to his two sons.

"Why not? I'll have the pleasure of letting your fiancé see you falling off the horse on your posterior." Siwon said to Seungghyun with a competitive gleam in his eyes.

"Keep on talking you arrogant weasel." Seunghyun retorted, and it seemed a competition between them just started. Seunghyun forgot all about his predicament as he ran after his brother out of the throne room.

"My apology on their behalf. They're still quite childish at times." King Calvin said to the King and Queen with an amable smile.

"Oh not at all King Calvin. I think they're very dashing." The King and Queen chuckled.

---------------------------------

"Forget it!"

"No!"

"I'm not going!"

"Yes you are!"

"I don't want to!" She whined loudly like a child as she tried her best to pry her wrist away from Hyori's grip.

"You're too dense to know what you want." Hyori said matter-of-factly as she dragged Bom through the crowd of townspeople. 

"And you do?"

"Of course I do. Come on we're going to have to stand if they take all the seats!"

As Hyori pulled her through the crowd of people, she wondered how they became best friends in the first place. She was the total opposite of Hyori.

"I don't see the point in this." She complained.

"You never see the point in anything. This is the Annual Knight Competition, Bom. This is one of the most prestigious events throughout the kingdom!"

"You just want to go because you want to see the good-looking knights and royalties don't you?"

"That's part of it. But above all," Hyori turned to her dramatically. "I am a person in this kingdom. I need to attend to show my loyalty to the kingdom."

She just rolled her eyes at Hyori's speech. Her best friend just wanted to be there to see if the dreamy Prince was there or not.

He appeared in her thoughts just like that, pulling her into a trance amidst the large crowd of people. Once again she was standing there among the loud cheers of the people watching as the carriage with him and the Princess drove past. Once again she was going through the astonishing fact that he was indeed the Prince.

She tried not to think about it at all. Not to let the truth bother her. Why should it? Who he was didn't matter to her, did it? Yet she found herself awake at night staring at the stars thinking about it. He lied to her. He wasn't just some merchant. No, he was far from it. He was the Prince, from the prestigious neighboring kingdom that she had always heard of. He was engaged to the Princess, whose beauty captivated even her.

So why did he lie to her? Did he think it was amusing? To see what it feels like to pretend to be a commoner? To see what it feels like to turn a woman's life upside down and fluster her when he leaves? To see the pain on her face when she discover he was engaged?

If so, he messed with the wrong person. She wasn't a witch for nothing. Many times she contemplated turning him into a giant cockroach and smash him with a hammer, but she stopped herself. Why would she go to such great lengths for someone who only wanted to fluster her?

And so, discarding all the brief pleasant memories aside, she went on as if nothing happened. As if Prince Seunghyun did not enter her life and make a witch's closed heart flutter for a moment. As if he was just another stranger who happened to cross paths with her once.

Somehow, the house seemed strange now with only her in it. Although he didn't stay there for a long period of time, it felt like he have been living there for years. And now that she was alone in it once again, the silence felt deafening. Sometimes when she woke up she would even search for his presence before she stopped herself short.

Maybe something was wrong with her. Maybe she should just listened to Hyori and avoid holing up in the house by herself with her spells and concoctions. Witches needed a break sometimes, right?

"There you are!" Hyori appeared in front of her. "I thought you got lost! Come on let's hurry! It's about to start!"

She followed Hyori through the crowd and reached the royal garden that was located at the back of the gigantic castle. The royal garden stretched on for miles and the scenery there was beautiful. She have been wanting to go there to study and acquire some exotic herbs herself.

There were already massive amounts of people sitting on the wooden benches that served as seats for the audience. The benches encircled a large area that overlooked the circular field that was to be the arena for the competitors. Horses of the finest breeds could be seen lined up in the distance. And to the north direction, there were a countless number of tents set up for the competitors.

The benches were so crowded that Hyori and her had to sit in the front, swished on both sides by other townspeople. The Annual Knight Competition was a popular event throughout the kingdom, and although she didn't bother going until now, she heard that literally everyone in the kingdom was present in the audience.

The trees swayed in the breeze, and the piercing sound of the horns blared commencing the event. Excited chatters and anticipation channeled all through the audience. Even Hyori looked like she was about to start screaming anytime soon.

The royal choir started marching and playing music as the King and Queen appeared to settle in their designated seating area. The crowd applauded loudly as the King and Queen waved to the audience. No introductions were made-it was impractical and a waste of time-before the competitors started to emerged in a line.

The loud cheers were deafening as the knights and royalties appeared. It rose even louder when the audience spotted Prince Seunghyun dressed in a shiny silver armor with his helmet at his side. Hyori was already having trouble breathing next to her when she saw the Prince. Bom, on the other hand, just stared as he walked out into the field among with the other competitors. He looked dashingly manly in a body-clad armor with the sun glinting off the shiny silver surface.

"Oh my, who is that?" Hyori pointed to the male standing next to Seunghyun. The man was tall and handsome, and seemed close to Seunghyun as the two were laughing around each other. The man seemed to bear a resemblance as he stood next to Prince Seunghyun.

"Now I can't decide between the Prince and that handsome man." Hyori said as if in a great dilemma. 

The King announced the start of the event, and so the battles began. Bom had never seen something like this, but she would be lying if she wasn't captivated by the thumping sound that the horses' hooves made on the ground and the battle cry erupting from the competitors as they charged toward each other with their silver spears. She got so caught up in the moment that she would wince when someone fell harshly onto the ground. The audience was enthusiastic and loud, but she didn't really dislike it. The energetic atmosphere felt quite exhilarating.

She saw the competitors approached the audience before each match and bowed before ladies requesting something. Then the ladies would tie their hair ribbons onto the competitors' arms or spears.

"Hyori, what is he doing?" She pointed at a competitor nearby who was having a ribbon tied on his arm.

"Oh that? The competitors request ribbons from their significant others or from ladies that they're trying to impress to gain good luck and to have the ladies' favor on their side when they fight." Hyori explained. Bom stared as the ladies in the audience waved their ribbons at the competitors hoping to catch attention of the person they favored. From far away, she could see Princess Jiyeon approaching Prince Seunghyun with a red ribbon on her hand. She looked away and ignored the feeling in her stomach as she focused on the current match.

She watched when it was Seunghyun's turn, and in every match he came out the victor. His sweeping strikes seemed to move with the wind, and his fierce horse charged onwards to push the enemies to their defeat. When he won he took off his helmet to shake off his sweat and pumped his fist upwards earning loud cheers from the audience.

The man who was laughing with Seunghyun was also a mighty fighter. Unlike Seunghyun, he seemed to strike with grace and agility. He avoided the enemies' attack with such lightness that it looked like he was dancing instead of fighting. But when the enemies were off-guard by his defense, he delivered a decisive and emerged victorious.

Excitement rose by the minute when it was the final match-the battle that would decide the champion. Seunghyun was to duke it out with the man whose name she couldn't catch. She watched as the two of them mounted their horses. She saw a red ribbon fluttered on Seunghyun's arm.

The ladies waved their ribbons vigorously at the other man who was trotting along the audience line on his horse. His face couldn't be seen through his helmet as he scanned the audience for the lady who he was hoping to impress.

Her eyes widened in astonishment when the man's horse stopped in front of her. The man dismounted, and bowed down to her gentlemanly. She could hear the loud whistles and shouts from the audience, and she could feel the envious glares of the other ladies on her. Flustered, she took the green ribbon that she used to tie her bright red locks and tied a bow on his arm. The man suddenly caught her wrist and bowed his head to kiss her hand through his armor. Her cheeks reddened as he mounted on his horse and entered the arena with her green ribbon on his arm.

"Kyaaaa! Did you see that?! He asked for your ribbon!" Hyori shook her excitedly. "I wish he would ask me for one." She said dreamily.

Bom watched as the two men prepared to engage. Somehow she thought she saw a hint of agitation on Seunghyun's face before he put his helmet on.

The match started, and the two circled each other, assessing the other carefully. Seunghyun struck to the left, to which his opponent evade gracefully. Another jab to the right, again he wasn't successful. After moments of circling his opponent delivered an attack that was way too easy to dodge, and Seunghyun retaliated with a powerful counter that almost knock his opponent off his horse. The audience was silent. The man regained his balance on the horse and charged towards Seunghyun, to which the latter got out of the way. Seunghyun delivered a cut towards his opponent's left arm, which surprised some people because he should be aiming at the chest. Another strike at the left arm, to which the man just avoided by jerking his arm out of the way. Attempts after attempts by Seunghyun to strike the man's left arm made the audience confused as to why the Prince was aiming for that. 

Seunghyun charged, delivering a decisive that she was sure would knock the man off his horse. But the man gracefully maneuvered, avoiding the attack and to everybody's suprise, knocked Seunghyun off his horse effortlessly instead with a light blow. The audience cheered, everybody standing up to congratulate the champion. Bom herself was surprised at the outcome, and she smiled as she stood up to clap for the man who took his helmet off to reveal his handsome face and pumped his left arm-where her ribbon was tied-upwards into the air with a victorious smile.

She darted a look to Seunghyun to find that he got up irritatedly. He yanked his helmet off and ruffled his hair in great frustration as he stalked away to the area with the tents. She could see the side of his head bleeding from a light scratch and wondered if he was hurt.

--------------------------------

He angrily sat down inside the tent, his hair ruffled and his sweat rolling down. He bit on his lips harshly and groaned in frustration.

He didn't know why he was like that. He didn't know why he kept aiming for Siwon's left arm at the green ribbon instead of his chest. He didn't know why he was acting like a fool out there for everyone to see. He didn't know why he could have win but he didn't. He didn't know why he felt a burning sensation when he saw her tying her ribbon onto Siwon's arm.

He heard footsteps outside his tent, and looked up to see Jiyeon standing there. Great, he thought.

"What do you want?" He asked irritatedly.

"What happened out there?" She asked in a taunting voice that annoyed him even further.

"You have eyes. You saw what happened." He replied, staring with clenched jaw at the ground. Jiyeon sat down beside him with a cunning smile.

"I saw it all right. Why were you looking so....agitated?" She whispered to his ear, her hand traveling down his arm. "Was something bothering you?" 

"Nothing. Nothing at all. Get away from me." He answered coldly, the muscles in his jaw flexing.

Suddenly, Jiyeon turned his face to hers and landed her lips on his.

Bom stood outside the tent, listening into the conversation and promptly walked away when she saw them kissing out of the corner of her eye. What on earth was she doing? Why was she concerned? That's right, he had a fiancé now; she shouldn't act so inappropriately.

Why was she even worried about him in the first place? It's not like he didn't have someone to dote on him, she thought bitterly.

Walking, she lifted her head up and bumped into the man from earlier. 

"Sorry." She apologized politely before walking away.

"Wait!" She turned when she heard the man's call. 

"Thank you. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have won." He smiled charmingly at her, flashing her green ribbon on his arm.

"Oh." She smiled politely. "You won because of your own abilities. I really had nothing to do with it."

"You gave me luck with your ribbon." He grinned. "Do you want it back?" 

She looked at him for a moment.

"You can keep it if you want." Then she bowed and walked away briskly, her red hair fluttering lightly with the breeze.

"Hey! Wait!" He called to no avail as he watched her retreating figure.

"What's your name?" Siwon mumbled.

-----------------------------------