Chapter 17

They did move on the next day, but they didn’t go far, partially because of her ankle and partially because they found another glade in the forest that was slightly larger than the next one and also closer to the stream, which was a nice bonus. Finding such a clean, convenient place was too rare to give up, and, given the fact that her ankle was beginning to ache slightly again, Kyungsoo called for a break and surprisingly, no one else rejected it.

Hwayoung settled down near the side of the glade, unpacking her bag before taking off her shoes again, unwrapping the gauze to let her ankle breathe.

The swelling had gone down a significant amount since the first time she’d injured it, which was a good thing, though it was still pretty bad given the amount of time that had passed and the fact that it should’ve been somewhat healed already. Still, Soyi’s herbal medicine had apparently worked wonders because the coolness of the mixture had soothed her ankle and helped the wound. The only problem with that was that in order to change the bandage and apply more of it, she would need to talk to Soyi again, the other girl had been practically unresponsive if not nearly invisible for most of the walk. The only words she said were to Baekhyun, and even those were short. If she hadn’t seen the rustle of the branches near them that signified Soyi’s presence, Hwayoung would’ve thought that she had left altogether.

To her relief, it was Baekhyun who actually asked Soyi for her. Said girl was the last one follow them into the clearing too, looking obviously reluctant to join the group as she edged closer, decided on sitting as far as she could from the rest of them (to no avail, because Baekhyun moved over slightly and Soyi either didn’t want to move again or found it too rude to do so).

“Do you have more of the poultice?” he asked, then gestured towards Hwayoung. “We should probably treat her ankle after walking for so long.”

It was definitely needed, but her first response was to shake her head. “I’m fine,” Hwayoung started, but Soyi had already pulled it out of her bag and handed it to Baekhyun to give to Hwayoung. The fact that he was such a middleman between all of them might’ve been funny if it weren’t so awkward.

“Just take this,” Soyi muttered. “I don’t need it anyway.”

Baekhyun glanced at her. “You should teach me about the herbs too. It’s useful.”

Hwayoung accepted the poultice from Baekhyun, watching Soyi. She had glanced up then, though her hood was still on, shadowing most of her face. “We’ll be out of the forest soon,” she mumbled. “If we keep up at this pace, it shouldn’t take more than another five days. There’s no point about teaching you about herbs in the forest because they’ll be gone anyway.”

Baekhyun didn’t look the least bit discouraged. “I’m sure not everything is native to the forest, right?”

Soyi hesitated. “No.”

He tilted his head. “That would also work, wouldn’t it?”

Hwayoung could see Soyi hesitating, but before she could hear the other girl’s reply, someone tapped her on the back. Hwayoung lifted her head to see Kyungsoo leaning over her.

He gestured at the forest. “Let’s go to the stream,” he suggested. “I have new gauze to wrap it with.”

Hwayoung was pretty sure that Soyi physically relaxed when she heard that they were leaving, but she’d only been watching out of her peripheral vision so there was no telling. Still, it was obvious that she spoke much more comfortably with Baekhyun (at least Hwayoung assumed that was the case) when she and Kyungsoo weren’t there, and as much as she would’ve preferred there being less awkwardness in the air between them, Soyi was even more reserved than Kyungsoo had been in the beginning and Hwayoung wasn’t confident that she’d ever get anything out of the other girl. It was as if she was practically incapable of any sort of human interaction that wasn’t defensive or aggressive.

She brushed the thought off, though, as she stood up. The pain was still there, and while she had gotten used to it, it still wasn’t pleasant having to limp.

Kyungsoo walked beside her, staying his distance, though he hovered close enough. “Are you sure you can walk?” he asked. “Baekhyun said the glade was nice and it’s close to water, so we can rest here for a while.”

She could already hear the trickle of the stream in the distance. Kyungsoo was right that it was a nice place to stay, but none of them were there for comfort. As long as she didn’t strain her ankle too much, it was already beginning to heal, and with Soyi’s poultice, it would be fine in a couple of days.

“We have to keep moving,” she replied finally. “And it’s healing. At the pace we’re going, I won’t injure it again.”

He frowned. “You could literally kill your ankle again if you tripped. Wouldn’t it be better to just leave it for a few days?”

Hwayoung glanced towards him. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly, though he wasn’t actually looking at her, and she had no idea whether or not he was genuinely concerned or picking something to argue about with her. It used to almost always be the latter, but for some reason, she found herself being more and more unsure about Kyungsoo’s intentions whenever he did anything.

“We have to keep moving,” she repeated. “You heard Soyi. A couple of days and we’re out of the forest.”

“Where it’s more dangerous, and the crown prince’s soldiers are crawling everywhere? If your ankle doesn’t heal here, you do realize that you’ll be at a much huger disadvantage out there? I know you’re impatient, Windwalker, but think for once.”

Windwalker. That always felt like a personal attack whenever he used it, and at that very moment, it definitely seemed like one. Hwayoung bristled. “You’re not one who should be talking, prince.”

Kyungsoo’s lips were set in a thin line. “We’re not talking about me here.”

Before Hwayoung could retort, he quickened his pace towards the stream. She debated for a couple of seconds—hurrying after him would show him that her ankle wasn’t injured badly enough for her to be unable to catch up just because he was walking slightly faster, but on the other hand, the last thing she wanted to do was chase after him.

She ended up staying at the speed she was going at. By the time she reached Kyungsoo again, he was sitting with his back to her on a large stone slab right next to the water, and when she approached, he didn’t even do as much as look her way. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t been expecting such treatment, and, a bit irritated with Kyungsoo, she picked another large rock that was a good distance away from him to settle onto.

Neither of them spoke, which, Hwayoung figured, was what they were used to anyway. It was back to how it was normally, and while Soyi’s silence she couldn’t stand, it was equally as uncomfortable talking to Kyungsoo at times. Acquaintances was the right word, really, and she couldn’t expect or even want anything out of it. At the end of the day, the only thing that tied all of them together—even Baekhyun—was Kyungsoo’s brother. A week later, wasn’t it the same thing? She wasn’t there looking for friends, anyway, not a shoulder to cry on or someone to turn to—every single one of them were supposed to be allies, and nothing else. In fact, thinking of it then, Hwayoung had no idea what anything else could accomplish. Kyungsoo was royalty, whether or not he liked it, and she was from a family of commoners. Without his brother, without the Blood Fever, there was virtually nothing similar between them.

Thoughts still lingering in the back of her head, she dipped her foot into the water again. Like the lower stream they’d camped at before, the water was cool, soothing to the touch, and for a while, Hwayoung sat still and let it work until her ankle had practically turned numb from the cold.

In her peripheral, she could still see Kyungsoo sitting still on the rock. He was staring at the water (or at least he seemed to be), chin in his hands, unspeaking. She wondered why he’d offered to accompany her to the stream anyway if they were only going to end up arguing about her ankle and whether or not she was fit to walk again. It seemed drastically different compared to the last, anyway, and Hwayoung still couldn’t decide if it were a good or bad thing.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter