A/N: these first few chapters may be short. but i hope it somewhat still keep you readers interested.

 

 

 

 

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Misun pokes her head out the door to check if anyone is around. The area is clear, so she opens the door wide as she steps out. Closing the door behind her, she looks around again then carefully tiptoe over towards the stairs. She makes it to the bottom and sees someone coming out from the room down the hallway. Misun hides behind the bars of the stairs, ducking in a low position. She listens to the footsteps going away. The door opens and she steps out into the cooling air with the bright sunlight shining at her face. She hesitate at first, trying to think where to go.

 

“Okay. No matter where I go, I have to get out of here first. I have to avoid this wedding from happening” Misun says.

 

With a random pick, she heads toward south and down the long road. A while later, the palace becomes chao. Everyone is restlessly looking for the princess. Even the king himself is angry, yet worried at the same time. In the huge room, everyone gathers together.

 

“Did you find her?” the king asks.

 

They all look at one another, but no one speaks. The king lets out a sigh and the queen turns to him with a concerning face.

 

 

“Aish...if I knew it was going to be like this, I would’ve prepared better than this” Misun says, hugging herself due to the chilly wind.

 

Ahead of her, continues the long path that seems forever. She notices that she hasn’t seen a since car coming by. Or…is there no car? Judging the era she fell into, she didn’t remember seeing a handphone. Just then, she hears something from ahead.

 

“What’s that sound?”

 

Misun squints her eyes and sees something vivid in a distance. As it comes closer, Misun witness a young lady running right towards her with horse men gaining up on her.

 

“Help! Help!” the lady screams.

 

“What is this? Are they going to kill her?!” Misun says to herself.

 

Their eyes meet and Misun could see the lady’s eyes sparkle with hope.

 

“Miss, help me! Help me!”

 

Right before her eyes, a sword is drawn out and slashes the lady on the back. Misun covers with a gasp. The lady collapses over to the ground. The horse men turns their attention to Misun who backs away after dropping her hands from . She turns around and runs.

 

“Catch her!” a voice shouts.

 

Her heart begins to race with her as she hears herself panting. The sound of the horse shoe starts to come get closer, but she didn’t dare to look back. Instead, she is running with all her might. Back at the palace, the soldiers are gather together and order to go find the princess. Both parents are restless, especially the king.

 

“Who? Just who was in charge of looking after the princess?!” he says, angrily.

The maids in the room are quiet with their heads low as they stare at their feets. The queen averts to the maid that serves In Ryu.

 

“Joo Ah”

 

She flinches when her name is called out. She lifts her head up to meet eyes with the queen as the king also turns to look at her. A while after, Shin Woo enters the palace to find it really quiet. The servants he pass bows to him. He gets into the room where the king and queen is and finds In Ryu’s maid kneeling with a swollen face as tears streaming down her cheeks.

 

“Your majesty” Shin Woo says, and bows afterward.

 

They turn to him and the maid stands up to leave, covering her face. Shin Woo looks at In Ryu’s parents. Later, Misun finds herself hiding behind this huge tree trunk on the side of the dirt trail. Her heart is pounding wildly and her breaths are heavy.

 

“Thank goodness I took track during high school. Who knew it could be useful?” Misun says, relief at the moment.

She peeks out behind the tree and the horsemen are there, still in search for her. Misun hides again and looks around. Just where is she? If she continues on, she’ll surely get lost. No. She's already lost.

 

“Think, Misun. What should you do?”

 

Being slightly unaware, someone grabs her by the throat which startles Misun. Her eyes come across a feminine face, but she could clearly see a man. His eyes are solid and cold. Misun struggles to breath as she tries to pull his hand off. The horsemen gets off their horses and comes toward them. They bow at the feminine man and Misun becomes confuse as she averts her eyes to them. Is he someone from a high rank?

 

“I thought I said to do things quietly. But what is this?” he says in a husky voice.

 

“I’m sorry, Prince Han” one of the person says.

 

Misun turns her eyes back to him as they widen. A prince? But why is a prince doing this? The man looks at her, his eyes show no emotion. Just then, she finds him pull out a small hand blade from his side waist pocket as he slowly draws it out to her. For an odd reason, Misun couldn’t speak when is moving. No words are coming out. Her eyes begin to become watery.

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you won’t feel any pain” he smirks.

 

Tears start falling off her eyes. A lot of things skim through her mind all at one time. Is this really going to be the end? The blade is held up above the man’s shoulder and it comes down without hesitation. Everything blacks out and goes into silence.

 

 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Her eyes open to find herself in an unfamiliar room. It isn’t the princess’s room, that’s what she is aware of right now. She sits up and touch herself to feel no pain, but what exactly happened. The door cracks open and Misun sits back away when the same man from earlier enters the room. The door shuts close. Again, her heart is beating rapidly as her eyes wonder about the place with just them two inside. Misun opens to say something, but nothing comes out. She touch in shock. The man goes over to her and she holds the blanket closer to her chest.

 

“What? You seem upset? Why? Is it because you didn’t die?” he says.

 

Misun just looks at him, her eyes becoming watery again. Whoever he is, a prince or what not, she definitely didn’t like this person. He grabs her wrist all of the sudden and yanks her toward him. His arm wraps around her neck as her back is against his chest. She didn’t dare to move a muscle as if she is frozen there. His breath against her ear makes her nervous.

 

“Just consider yourself lucky. But it makes me curious? What are you doing here wandering around in the south boundary, Young In Ryu gongju?”

 

Her heart heavily jumps a beat. Misun’s mind is completely blank. Did he just say Y-Young In Ryu? She could hear him chuckle behind her and the grip around her neck tightens. Misun gasps for air; her hands are shaking uncontrollably. Who is this person? Did In Ryu have enemies? But...how come she doesn’t have a clue about it? In the book, it didn’t say anything about it. She starts to feel weak, running out of breath. Her hand slowly drops from his arm as the other hand is about to collapse. The man loosen his grip and pushes Misun down to the bed. That instant, she gasps and wheezes. She listens to his footstep leaving the room as the door opens and shuts close. Misun lies there as her face is pale. She couldn’t hear anything around her except the sound of her heart beating slowly and softly as her eyes close bit by bit and finally seal completely.

 

 

It didn't take long till she finds herself conscious again later that night after hearing voices talking among her. She blinks a few time, trying to get a clear vision of who is there. There are three people in the room. Two are male and the other is a female. They appear to notice her awaken and so two of them leave, while one stays behind. Misun's vision becomes clear to see the woman approach her with a gentle smile. 

 

"You're awake? How are you feeling?" she asks.

 

Misun just blink at her and then looks around, feeling uneasy. The woman smiles again and pats Misun's head.

 

"It's okay. With me here, Minkyong won't dare lay a finger on you. You can relax" she says.

 

Minkyong? So that's his name? The woman glance over to the clock and then back to Misun as she takes her hand.

 

"You've been unconscious for a while now. You must be hungry, right?"

 

She opens to speak and yet nothing comes. The woman smiles once more.

 

"The doctor came to check you earlier. He said you were in shock, therefore words aren't coming out of your mouth. However, it won't be long till you can talk again. So don't pressure yourself into it" she says.

 

In response, Misun nods her head sleepishly. For the last time, the woman caress her head and leaves the room. The door close behind her and she comes upon Minkyong who stands there across the doorway with his hands in his pocket. The woman goes over to him.

 

"I'm having a maid bringing something for the princess to eat. While in the meantime, you should keep your distance away from the innocent girl who you've just mute" 

 

Minkyong watch her leave. He takes his hands out of his pocket and glares over to the bedroom door. Inside, Misun gets out of bed and goes over to the window. The sky is dark, impossible for her to see through anything. She touch again. What is she going to do? She's away from getting herself marry, but now she's captured by these people who she doesn't know and she's also lost her voice. Could things get any worse than this?