The hope in her chest that she will not be confronted immediately by Madam Tae Hee died the moment she casted her eyes on Bon Yi. As usual, the woman was shamelessly eavesdropping behind Madam’s door. When she noticed Seryung’s presence, she turned to look at her and then smirked with satisfaction.

“Seryung is here, Madam!” the meddlesome creature shouted. Seryung groaned inwardly. Then, she glared at Bon Yi while the latter raised a brow in mockery. “The Madam is mad,” she said, smirking.

“I’m scared,” she said sarcastically when all she wanted to do was hide for the time being. Just thinking about the old woman’s stick hitting her legs again made her winced inwardly. She didn’t recover yet from her last punishment.

Bon Yi rolled her eyes as she sauntered towards the stairs.

Seryung involuntarily jumped when the door opened. Letting out a slow breath, she turned around to face Madam Tae Hee. The flare in the Madam’s eyes was enough for Seryung to pray for her quick death.

“Madam-”

“Seryung?” a voice interrupted her speech. She turned to the direction of the voice belonging to an old man behind the Madam. He was dressed simply in a peasant’s clothing but it didn’t detract the fact that he commanded attention and that his aura was menacing with authority. Seryung temporarily forgotten her dilemma as she regarded the stranger curiously. Her curiosity shot up when she noticed the mixed relief and concern on his eyes as he continued staring at her.

“Are you alright, child?” he asked.

Her brows met in a slight frown but Seryung nodded. “Ye-”

“What do you think you’re doing?” a voice snapped. Seryung blinked several times as she turned to Madam Tae Hee who looked at her menacingly, dismissing the man in her mind.

“Madam, I-”

“Do you think you have the right to bring the child here?”

At the mention of Hyo Jung, relief washed over Seryung. It meant the child was safe. “Where is he, Madam? Is he safe? Had he already eaten?” she asked incessantly.

The woman only glared at her in response, effectively closing Seryung’s mouth. Sometimes, Seryung wondered about Madam Tae Hee’s temperament. Her cold disposition seemed to have aged her, making her appear older despite her thirty and three years of age.  But despite that, the beauty etched on her face was undeniable.

If only she will learn how to smile, Seryung thought.

“Go to my room and wait for me,” Madam said with finality. Seryung groaned inwardly. She bowed to her and her companion before she slowly walked towards her place of punishment. She looked behind her. In the process, she witnessed the man handing an unusual looking norigae to the Madam who pocketed it immediately. The old man looked at Seryung which made her hastily dropped her gaze and continued walking. She wondered who the stranger was. But then, a bitter smile crept on her lips, in this house, aren’t all men strangers?

***

The crop sliced through the air and landed on her skin, eliciting another gasp from Seryung lips. She held her skirt with trembling hands, biting her lower lip as the back of her legs received another round of whipping from Madam. A while ago, she had explained everything that transpired including her contact with the Magistrate. The talk of the man brought an unexplainable expression from the Madam’s face. Her eyes reflected anger and something Seryung could not name. And for the next few minutes, she stood there, silently receiving her punishment.

“You think everything is a joke to you, Seryung?!” Madam Tae Hee bellowed as the crop hit her for the last time. Seryung went crashing down on the floor, hissing in pain.

“Pain will make you remember,” the old woman said philosophically as she observed Seryung writhing in pain. “Do you understand what I am trying to say?” When she didn’t answer, the Madam said impatiently, “Answer me!”

“Y-Yes,” Seryung whispered as she rubbed her aching legs.

“You’re dismissed.”

Seryung bit her lower lip as she stood up. She turned around to face her and bowed. “I’m going, Madam,” she said before letting herself out. Seryung stopped in midstride when she saw the same man hovering several yards away. She had no doubt that the man heard her punishment. She bowed to his direction in embarrassment and started to walk again, limping.

“She means well,” the man said, stopping Seryung in her tracks. She turned to face him and the old man smiled. “The Madam is only worried. Do not take it to heart,” he continued.

“I understand,” she said as she temporarily forgot her discomfort and observed the stranger more closely. He definitely exuded an aura of authority. The scar etched above his right eye neatly removed his right eyebrow. It should have made him pitiful and weak.  But to Seryung, it only added a sense of danger and strength in him. Uncomfortably aware of the stranger’s intense gaze, she said, “I should be going, Sir.”

“If you need a friend to talk to, I am here,” he said quietly. As if he recognized her discomfort, he added, “There’s no need to be wary of me, Seryung. I am a friend of Madam Tae Hee. My name is Suyang and you can trust me.”

“How did you know my name, Sir?” she asked curiously, though she hit herself mentally for the stupid question. If this man was Madam’s friend, she would have brought Seryung’s name to their conversation.

He smiled in answer. Like she had expected, he said, “The Madam talked about you frequently.” Seryung found it uncomfortable to be talked about but she nodded in response.

“Then, I’ll be going-”

“Are you happy here?” he interrupted.

Seryung found his question odd but she answered almost hastily, “Yes, I am Sir…thank you for asking.” She bowed for the last time and said, “I’ll be going, Sir.” When he bowed in return, Seryung immediately turned around and walked away, limping in every step. She didn’t want to be rude but the stranger simply gave her that uncomfortable feeling. She heard a door opened and glancing behind her, she saw the man entered the Madam’s door. She hastily averted her eyes and went to the direction of her room.

***

  That night when Seryung positioned her tired body in her bed, she cannot help but think about a pair of deep brown eyes. She bit her lower lip and wondered if he was arrested and what form of punishment awaited him. Despite their bickering, Seryung wanted Seung Yu to be safe and sound. Despite the fact that he was a criminal, Seryung knew that he was not an evil man. She remembered the way he carried Hyo Jung tenderly and the way he protected her from the soldiers. She knew that he was not a bad man and that thought was carried to her sleep, a sleep wherein she felt the wind on her face as she and Seung Yu rode his stallion, his arms encasing her protectively.

Unbelievably, Seryung felt safe in the arms of a man with a questionable life, a criminal. An unconscious smile touched her lips in her sleep when she heard him say, “How many times do I have to say it? I am not a criminal!”

***

“I will not forget you.” Seryung’s words kept on repeating in his mind. Holding the horse’s reign on one hand, his free hand reached for the norigae. He cannot help the smile on his lips as he gazed at the ornament. It was a simple ornament with a single flower of Edelweiss as decoration. But that single bloom told him and reminded him a lot of its owner.

Seryung was like the flower, wild and…rare.

She was a conventional woman with twisted forms of principles and discipline. She believed that women should not be bound by the Book of Filial Piety. She cursed a person that irritated her even if the object of her profanities was in front of her. She ate like the hungry Hun army. She would pay her debt even if it meant undressing her hanbok in front of a grown man. She carelessly insulted the Royal Family before a stranger. She delivered insults even when complimenting others. She would steal or borrow a horse to escape the army. She trusted a criminal even if she repeatedly pointed it out. She saved the weak even if it will endanger her life. She stood up with others even if the adversaries were far bigger than her. For barely two days, Seung Yu knew that she was fiery yet soft-hearted, naive yet witty, an angel yet a spitfire.

She was a woman of exciting contrasts. And that made her resemble the flower in the ornament.

“For weeks, everyone wondered where you’ve been, your highness,” Maru broke his train of thoughts. Seung Yu pocketed the norigae silently. He stared ahead of him. When he remained silent, Maru nudged his horse forward so that he was beside him. He continued, “His Majesty was worried about you.”

At the mention of his father, Seung Yu remembered once again the old man’s last words before he ran away from the palace. “Do you really think you can escape your duties? When will you grow up? I am growing weak but do you really think I would let death take my soul when I know I’ll pass the dynasty in your incapable hands?”

His lips twitched. For years, he had lived inside the palace, more like a prisoner than a crown prince. He was only twelve then when their family took over the throne and he could still remember the way his once supporting father transformed into a stranger. He remembered the way his father turned to him the day he was crowned as king and said that Seung Yu was now the crown prince and that as such, he should act like one.

That he should grow up.

He watched his father walked away from him as he attended his duties as the new king of the country. Seung Yu watched from a distance as his father immersed himself more in overlooking the country, rather than his young son that secretly needed him. There were times in his naïve years that Seung Yu would cry himself in his sleep. He would call out for his father. He missed the father who had always been his friend, his companion, his ally…but now, he was only a stranger. To Seung Yu, he was the king of the dynasty, no longer the father that he once knew.

The sight of the huge walls snapped him back to reality. He slowed down his horse and gazed at the outer structure.  Weeks had already passed since he last casted his eyes on the old palace. But to Seung Yu, it still looked the same.

It was the same prison.

Palanquins aligned in front of the entrance being intercepted by the guards. The uniformed men recognized Magistrate Kang and they bowed to his direction. Their horses entered the gate without any hassles. Seung Yu impatiently went down from his horse and began leading the animal to the stable. After making sure that he had given the horse some hay and petting, he proceeded inside without waiting for the others.

He met several court ladies whose eyes widened at the sudden sight of him. They bowed as he went passed them. The last thing Seung Yu wanted was a confrontation with his father. He was tired, bone-weary and he needed to rest. At the same time, he knew that conversation with the king was pointless. But his hope died when he noticed an entourage several yards ahead of him.

Seung Yu stopped in midstride as his gaze landed on the old man dressed richly in his red colored robe. The large, round embroidered emblems of the golden five-toed dragons in the king's robe seemed to mock Seung Yu, smirking at his predicament. 

When the king noticed his presence, he halted in his tracks. All of the members of the king’s entourage bowed at Seung Yu’s direction.

Tension cracked in the air as father and son continued staring at one another. Seung Yu recognized the hint of anger in his father’s voice before he hid it in an unreadable mask. Absently, Seung Yu thought that the king looked older with the weeks that passed. Or it was just a very long time ago when he last casted his eyes on him.

It seemed like minutes passed before the king broke the silence. Seung Yu mentally prepared himself for another lecture but the king’s words had stilled him.

“The final selection of princess consort had ended. A month from now, the crown prince will get married.”