"One more day."

You look at your reflection on your sword. It is not as clear as it was when you got the sword a few days ago; the dirt and blood from the battlefield has messed with its once pristine condition. You look at your face. The once innocent face full of smiles and hope has transformed to one that has been hardened by the quest for survival and the uncertainty of facing a new day. You rub the small smudge of dirt on your right cheek. You do not know where it came from since you just got out of the bath. Maybe you missed it when you were spacing out thinking about the past few days, you are not entirely sure.

You sheathe the sword to its hilt and placed it beside your cloak on the bedside table. You look at your hands which were once silky and smooth and was foreign to any kind of hard work, now it's rough and calloused. Everything changed ever since you met Honda Hitomi.

Or Hong Dahee, the name she used when she introduced herself to you.

It was the best summer of your life. You were helping out your mother in her embroidery business when a short blonde woman came to your store looking for a peach colored scarf. 

You asked, "Why does it need to be peach?"

"Because that color suits me the best." she answered.

One question led to the other and a day with her turned into weeks, and soon months. You hit it off quite well. She introduced herself as Hong Dahee and she is only a year younger than you. You discover she also likes singing and dancing.. She also loves fried chicken and chicken feet, an acquired taste that you thought that was unique to you. Somehow, there always seemed to be more to what meets the eye with Dahee. The woman has an air of elegance around her no matter what she was doing. You pretended not to notice that she always looked over her shoulders when you were walking around town or seated at the town pub.

You felt yourself falling more and more for her.

One time she randomly asked while you were enjoying fried chicken drumsticks at a clearing near your store, "Will you fight for me?"

You look her dead in the eye and answered without hesitating, "I would, Dahee."

Suddenly, horses came out from all directions with its riders bearing the royal flag. You step in front of her to protect her, trying to make good of your promise. You were ready to do whatever it takes to protect her.

Instead, everybody dismounted their horses and knelt.

"Princess Honda Hitomi, we are here to you back to the palace. It is time."

Next thing you knew, you were riding a carriage to the palace unaware that you have been picked to be part of a spectacle you never imagined was real.

You hear the door open, but you don't turn around to see who it was. It didn't matter who walked into that room anymore. Your family is far away and the princess would never visit a quarters as tiny as this inside her own palace. 

"Chaewon, it's time for the final match," a petite girl with a ponytail quietly says. You recognize the voice to belong to your designated squire, Nako. You could not see it but she wore a face painted with worries and anxiety. Although you have worked with her for only a week, you learned Nako is a good kid. She does her job of maintaining your armor and weapons well and she does not pry whenever you are bridled with silent thoughts. She could have been a good friend, but you know there is a slim chance of that happening regardless of what happens today.

"Thanks, Nako," you turn around and you see her holding the chest plate of your armor with both hands, ready to put it on you to prepare for the final ba