Third POV

 

Kyungsoo could easily see the hostility Taeyeon now harbours for him after his stupid actions before she ran away. It was merely by chance that he had been touring the villages and had chosen that particular inn only to be given a key to the same room Taeyeon had been given by mistake. Well maybe not entirely by chance as Kyungsoo felt deeply that he was led by some strange voice that led him to that particular inn. But he shook those thoughts away as he thanked the Gods for the opportunity that was presented to him to have the chance to get Taeyeon back and try to explain what had happened. But her open hostility towards him hurt more than he had expected. Her once warm and caring eyes that she had for him was no where to be seen in her now ragingly cold eyes that now stared at him as she held his sword against his neck.

 

"I'll ask one more time, what am I doing here?" Taeyeon asked icily as she put more pressure on the sword against Kyungsoos neck, piercing him enough to see blood. However, instead of feeling the pain of the sword that had made a cut on his neck he could only feel the pain she was inflicting on his heart.

 

He clutched his heart to steady himself as he then looked at Taeyeon with determined eyes, grabbing hold of the sword causing his hand to bleed and much to Taeyeons horror as he gripped the blade tightly, directing the blade to his heart. Closing his eyes, letting go of the blade, opening himself up wide for her to pierce his heart. 

 

Seeing this Taeyeon couldn't keep up her cold facade anymore and dropped the sword in her hand and dropped to her knees crying. Why does he make her feel so despicable? Why does he hurt so much even though he was the one who betrayed me? Why does he keep on making me care about him? Seeing Kyungsoo so vulnerable in front of her, she just couldn't hurt him anymore.

 

Hearing the clang of the sword hitting the ground Kyungsoo opened his eyes to see Taeyeon on the ground crying to herself. He immediately rushed towards her and enveloped her in his embrace, unable to comprehend the current situation but he could at least understand that Taeyeon still cared for him. "Shhhh, don't cry anymore Taeyeon. I never know what to do when I see you cry." Kyungsoo said as he caressed her hair, holding her in his arms carefully as if she were a fragile piece of glass.

 

To this however, Taeyeon pulled out one of her hidden daggers from her pants and put it against Kyungsoos neck once more saying venomously "Don't get ahead of yourself Kyungsoo. Don't think that just because I spared your life means that I would allow you to lay your traitorous hands on me." 

 

Kyungsoo moved away from Taeyeon, satisfied with the knowledge that regardless of her harsh words, she still cared for him. Taeyeon saw the childish and innocent smile that now adorned Kyungsoos face and couldn't help but sigh as she felt herself wavering in her anger. 

 

Taeyeon stood up from her spot and ripped a piece of cloth from her cloak and wrapped the cloth tightly around Kyungsoos bleeding hand. She then checked on the nick that she had made on Kyungsoos neck and saw that it wasn't deep, letting out a breath of relief before moving closer to his neck and giving the cut a . This caused the dazed Kyungsoo who was silently watching Taeyeon look after his wound, to jump back at the contact, holding the place she had looked and looking at Taeyeon with a very flustered red face.

 

Taeyeon looked at him with a defiant look on her face, paying no mind to her action of Kyungsoos neck as she said "Don't think that just because I helped you, means that I forgive you for what you did." Kyungsoo was speechless and made noiseless gestures pointing at Taeyeon and then his neck back and forth with his mind in complete meltdown from her actions.

 

"What? Did it hurt? Why are you grabbing your neck like that. I mean look at you, you opened the cut and now it's bleeding again." Taeyeon responded completely misunderstanding Kyungsoos gestures, making her way towards him to once again his wound. Kyungsoo was frozen as Taeyeon made her way over, holding his breath as he felt her breath on his neck, his heart beating furiously as he felt her tongue come into contact with his neck and left as soon as it came. Taeyeon moving back from his neck and looking Kyungsoo in the eyes with worry asking if he was okay just like she did the second time they met in his treasure tent. 

 

It was then that the small thread of self control he had maintained through this whole situation had snapped as he grabbed hold of Taeyeon and lifted her towards the bed before throwing her on it with himself following shortly after her as he was now on top of her and pinning her down. "Are you showing your true colours now Kyungsoo?" Taeyeon asked as she lay there underneath him looking at him right in the eye, unwavering and unafraid. 

 

Kyungsoo scowled at her question and countered with another one asking with a devilish tone "Why did you provoke me then Taeyeon? Who knew you were such a seductress under that innocent exterior." 

 

"Huh? What are you talking about? All I did was fix up your hand and disinfect your neck wound. What do you mean I was provoking you?" Taeyeon asked innocently, totally unaware of how her actions came across and completely oblivious to the implications of her actions.

 

Kyungsoo let out a groan of frustration as he lost all his strength and was now putting his whole weight on Taeyeon with his neck buried in her neck in frustration and embarrassment. "Yah! Get off, you're heavy!" Taeyeon shouted as she shoved Kyungsoo off of her and to the side. She then faced him and saw the embarrassed look on his face and chuckled at the sight. 

 

She then looked closely at his face and noticed the visible signs of fatigue, as he was pale with a dark circles under his eyes. Seeing this Taeyeon became worried and looked at Kyungsoo with furrowed eyebrows. Kyungsoo noticed this and looked at Taeyeon in confusion. To this Taeyeon got up and placed Kyungsoos head on her lap much to Kyungsoos confusion and bewilderment. "Sleep." Taeyeon cooed into Kyungsoos ear gently as she then began to sing a soothing lullaby while running her hand through his hair, patting him on the head.

 

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Tao entered the room out of breath and anxious as he said with much urgency "Kyungsoo, there is protests coming from Jessica's father on your imprisonment of his daughter and he threatens to no longer give support for your reign if his daughter remains imprisoned."

 

Kyungsoo groaned as Taeyeon immediately jumped at the news and hit him on the head as she shouted "You did what?!"

 

Taos eyes widened in panic as he remembered that Taeyeon was in the room and face palmed at his recklessness. "Taeyeon, don't misunderstand the situation. Kyungsoo was only punishing Jessica for her misconduct from before. Causing all of this confusion and misunderstanding in the first place." He tried to explain as he did his best to appease the now enraged Taeyeon who was now glaring at the two grown men.

 

Seeing as his explanation was failing to calm Taeyeon down, Tao decided to join his king who was now kneeling on the bed in front of Taeyeon with his head down awaiting his punishment. It was a sight to see, as the two relatively most powerful men in the kingdom were now kneeling in front of a woman helplessly and completely submissive. 

 

"We are going to the dungeon right now and releasing Jessica." Taeyeon commanded coldly while glaring at the two men in front of her. The two nodded and kept their heads down, not wanting to look at Taeyeons cold eyes, not moving from their spot. Taeyeon sighed to herself and rubbed her temples with her eyes closed before opening them and looking at Tao and Kyungsoo with an exasperated look. "Now!" She shouted with Kyungsoo and Tao scrambling to their feet at her command and made their way out of the room showing her where to go.

 

They finally made it towards the Jessica's cell, well it didn't really look like a cell like the one Taeyeon had stayed in when she had been imprisoned before. In fact it looked quite cozy and comfortable and there Jessica was sitting in a chair doing embroidery like nothing was wrong. Taeyeon was relieved to see that she was alright and skipped along grabbing the key from Taos belt and going to open the door to Jessica's cell and going to the girl who just noticed their presence. 

 

"Hey Sica, how are you? Did these idiots bully you while I was gone?" Taeyeon asked cheerfully as she went towards Jessica who had stood up and hugged her. 

 

Jessica was surprised at Taeyeons cheerfulness and friendliness especially towards herself, as she had been the one who caused the misunderstanding that led to Taeyeon being chased out of the kingdom. In fact, it was because of this that Suho had been ignoring her existence and treating her like she was some sort of plague, doing whatever he can to avoid her. And yet, here Taeyeon was treating her like a long lost friend.

 

Taeyeon saw her surprise and chuckled before caressing Jessica's face with a gentle smile saying "I know everything and I want you to know that I don't hold it against you. I consider you a friend so even if you betray me I will always welcome you as a treasured companion no matter what happens."

 

"B..but, I did something so..."

 

"Shh, it's okay, I'm already over it and more than you, I blame idiot number one over there for believing what you said and idiot number two is to blame for my anger at having imprisoned you. Now why don't we get out of here and LEAVE these two here" Taeyeon said with a smirk which took Jessica a while to understand before a wicked smile crossed her face and she nodded in agreement.

 

To this Taeyeon called Tao and Kyungsoo inside the cell to catch a supposed spider they had seen inside the cell while the girls ran out of the cell in 'fear'. What they didn't know was that Taeyeon still had the key to the cell and to their horror she had closed the cell door on them and locked it. Taeyeon and Jessica laughed at their shocked faces before Taeyeon said "I'll leave you boys there to reflect on what you did and learn from your mistakes. This place isn't so bad and it has a comfortable bed and food so Kyungsoo you should rest and Tao make sure that he does. We will come back in a bit to get you out." 

 

The two girls then left to the protest of the two men but it was to no avail. On their way out Taeyeon came across the guard that reprimanded her before Jongin and smirked as she went up to handing him the key to the cell where Tao and Kyungsoo was and said "I think you will like what you find in the cell this key opens." Before walking off quickly while holding Jessica's hand so as to not face Jongins constant badgering after he found out what they had done.

 

The two burst into laughter as they ran away. Stopping far away enough from Jongin to not get caught by him but not far enough to not hear him shouting in shock at what he found. 

 

"Dear me, he is going to be lecturing us for hours once he gets his hands on us." Jessica said as she snickered.

 

Taeyeon nodded her head in agreement with a grin on her face as she grabbed Jessica by the hand and said "Let's not stay to find out how long he can lecture us and get away while we can, I'm sure they're looking for us now." Before leading her away from the dungeons and towards her room.

 

"Won't they find us here? I mean it's your room after all." Jessica asked sceptically.

 

"Don't worry, it's because this place is so obvious that they won't check her for a while so we're safe. 

 

"Anyways, I brought you here so we could have a talk. If you're willing to open up to me that is." Taeyeon explained before going to her real intention of bringing Jessica to her room. She had to know why Jessica hates Kyungsoo. Because if she was going to get caught up in between the twos quarrel then she at least had the right to know what it was about.

 

Jessica looked hesitant to divulge her secrets to Taeyeon. Her secrets could put Taeyeons life in danger, especially with how close she is to Kyungsoo. Jessica had witnessed his merciless anger towards Taeyeon at a mere misunderstanding she had created. She couldn't even imagine how he would react at having Taeyeon actually betray him by knowing and keeping her secret.

 

At Jessica's reluctance, Taeyeon chuckled and as if she had read her mind Taeyeon said "You don't have to worry about my safety. My position next to Kyungsoo is already compromised with the information I have discovered when I ran away. It turns out that I am in fact the Princess of Arcadia."

 

Jessica gasped in shock and looked at Taeyeon with wide eyes. Taeyeon went on to say "At least that's what Kris and Jaejoong said."

 

"Prince Kris and the Royal Arcadian knight Jaejoong? What are you going to do Taeyeon, those two won't stay still, learning that you were whisked away by King Kyungsoo, their sworn enemy. You would have to blind not to see the animosity that is still held between the two kingdoms, even with the truce that has been agreed upon between the two kings. What's going to happen to you if your found out? What's going to happen between the two kingdoms of you are found out? The people are not just going to sit around and do nothing when they find out. I don't want you to get hurt Taeyeon, I don't want my people to get hurt either." Jessica said gravely towards Taeyeon with worry evident in her face.

 

Taeyeon chuckled as she shook her head and smiled warmly at Jessica, reaching out her hand to smoothen out the crease that had formed on Jessica's face, "Sica, don't worry so much, I have prepared myself for every scenario you can think of, my mom taught me a lot of things." Taeyeon reassured, having a faraway expression on her face at the mention of her mother.

 

Jessica saw the look on Taeyeons face and she knew she could trust her, she knew Taeyeon could understand her because that's the look she had on her own face when she thought of her sister, Krystal. Taeyeon also noticed the look Jessica had on her face when she thought of her sister and smiled, "It's my mother for me, what about you?"

 

"My sister." Jessica said with a smile, feeling a lot better now that she was getting this off her chest. "You see, the reason I am now Kyungsoos fiancé is because of my sister. I was forced to be his fiancé with the threat of never seeing my sister again, she's being kept in a secret location. I can't see her until I've finally tied the knot with that atrocious Wolf King. Now you see why I hate that King so much, it's because of him that my sister is being held captive God knows where." Jessica continued working herself into a rage at the thought of her sister being held against her will.

 

"Wait, but do you actually know if it was really Kyungsoo who took your sister?" Taeyeon questioned, seeing that things just didn't add up in Jessica's story, not for the lack of trust in Jessica but there seems to be a strange lack of motive for Kyungsoo to actually go so far as to kidnap Jessica's sister to have the arranged marriage to go ahead. I mean this is the medieval times and Taeyeon was sure that Jessica would've had to concede to the engagement anyway since it is an engagement to the King. So why would Kyungsoo go out of his way to make his fiancée hate him?

 

"I don't know, but who else could have done it?" Jessica asked back in frustration, she just missed her sister so much and has been worried sick since her disappearance.

 

"Someone who had a plausible reason to concoct such a plan, someone who had much to gain from your marriage to the King and who could utilise your hatred in the future. Sica, I'm not totally sure but I have a hunch that your sister is safe and sound, completely oblivious to the scheme she is currently being used as a pawn in. My intuitions telling me that the culprit for your sisters disappearance may well and truly be your own family's doing." Taeyeon deducted from the information she had gathered so far from Jessica's story.

 

"I can't completely argue against your reasoning as my family is a group of schemers, now that you've put everything into perspective I can't believe how much of a fool I have been. But I'm so happy to know now that my sister is still happy and healthy and that's all that matters to me right now." Jessica said as she had decided to trust in her new loyal friend Taeyeon.

 

Taeyeon patted Jessica on the back and said, "I'm sure she is fine and don't worry, I'll have Kyungsoo find her in no time at all and bring her safely to you, but for now we have to remain vigilant. You said your family are schemers but they have yet to meet me the Queen of scheming. Let's work together to get your sister back and get back at your family."

 

Jessica smirked at Taeyeons words as they then joined hands and smiled at each other, forming a friendship pact between the two. However their smiles didn't last long as the door burst open with Jongin blazing with rage and Kyungsoo and Tao glaring at the two girls holding hands who had locked them up and left them in the dungeons.

 

Jessica shivered at the glares they were receiving but Taeyeon remained calm as she continued to hold onto Jessica's hand, walking towards the door and whispering to Tao and Kyungsoo "We need to talk." In a serious tone, completely freezing the fiery anger that was once consuming the two as they became obedient and followed Taeyeon and Jessica out of the room leaving Jongin in the room dumbfounded about what just happened.

 

'What's going on?' Jongin thought as she scratched his head before deciding to go back to his post.