Hye Young struggled to open her eyes as every breath she took through stings like a thousand needles poking every inch of her inner body. She is weak. Very, very weak. Her vision started to blur as her strained neck gave way and her head leaned on the bed pole with a soft thud. 

That night, Prince Sehun walked in after his shower and silently threw himself on his bed and snored the night away. Hye Young tried to free herself that her wrists felt bruised and limp. She didn't even remember how but she'd sat on the edge of the bed and slept leaning half her body on the bed pole. When she woke up, she stood up straight away, realising the ache in her knees. Nobody was present in the room. The day turned to night and to day again, but Prince Sehun was nowhere in sight. 

Before she knows it, three days has passed since she had been detained and she haven't seen even a shadow of anybody. Prince Sehun must have warned people from entering the room. She did not hear any sounds from the corridors outside the room, but the curtains are drawn, showing her a tiny bit of sunlight with soft sounds of the birds innocently chirping away outside. Even that feels like torture. She wished to be free like those birds. 

Maybe he wants to starve me to death. He never said he wouldn't kill me. 

her dry lips, she thinks of nothing but of her own survival but nothing comes to mind that could reason with Prince Sehun. She has nothing in return for sparing her life. And he has every reason to let her die. 

After what felt like a lifetime away, the door creaked open and Prince Sehun confidently walks into the room and closed the door behind him. He walked towards her and analysed her poor condition. Pulling her chin towards him, he asked, "Are you a spy? What were your real intentions of hiding in my room?"

Hye Young gasped for air, trying to ignore his strong hold that is threatening to give tears to her poor eyes. "I was asked to clean your-"

PIAK!

Her face turned to the direction of his tight slap. She panted, feeling so tired all of a sudden. Prince Sehun smirked and asked again, "Are you a spy?" 

"No."

PIAK!

His second slap came to the other side of her cheek, making both sides of her face feel hot and swollen. She looked up into his eyes and said again in almost a whisper, "I just want money. Just.. money.." 

Prince Sehun looked into her eyes with a deep stare, his thoughts unreadable. "And what would you use the money for?" 

Her lips began to tremble, knowing that escaping the palace is a death penalty. However, at this point, where her life is already at its edge, she couldn't bother to hide anything any longer. "To buy my freedom, my prince. I will use the money to buy my way out of this palace and live as a lowly peasant at a faraway village..." 

The prince already had his right hand curled into a fist, ready to push the truth out of her tiny, innocent-looking lips, but his grip started to loosen. The soft tone of her voice that is cracking due to lack of water, along with her teary brown eyes looking straight into his eyes is slightly tugging his heart strings. He didn't have much of a chance to look at her face properly before this, staring at her every feature as if he could memorise them by heart. Though she is pale, her small nose and her almond-shaped face with those tight curls makes her so beautiful in his eyes. Though she is weak because of what he's done, he had a momentary desire to protect that fragile body from any harm, those dry lips of hers as if asking him to get closer and claim them. 

Hye Young's vision was blurring away but she realised his face that was leaning dangerously closer to hers. She turned away, but she is evidently too weak to do anything else as he claimed her lips, holding the side of her face with one hand to deepen the kiss. He pulled away, leaving his nose touching hers as he whispered, "You are beautiful..." 

She didn't hear him say that clearly. Everything was so blur. Everything was so unclear. All she knew was how her limp body seem to have stopped functioning properly and her vision darkened. 

"Guards!" 

-

Fluttering her eyes open, the sunlight from the nearby window gave a tauntingly sharp ache from the back of her head. Instantly, she closed her eyes and turned away. Her heart almost gave way when she saw Prince Sehun sitting on the edge of the very bed she is lying on. She gasped and tried to get up but he held her arms on both sides and firmly pushed her down. He cowered over her for a few seconds before releasing her small arms. 

"You are not leaving the palace." His tone was stern and full of authority. 

Hye Young's lips trembled as he made the statement. Is he planning on torturing her to death? Keeping her in his sights at all times? 

He looked at the shivering Hye Young, talking slowly as if he is counting word by word. "If money is what you sought after, then I can give you more than the petty money I gave the . I can give you all the riches in the world; the most expensive food you could buy, the most expensive clothes you can wear. I can give you more than that. I can give you everything."

Her head was still aching, every corner of her skull pressurising her. She could barely concentrate, much less than to understand what he meant. She could only wait as he took another pause in his words. He leaned forwards and caressed her cheek with the back of his hand. "Will you agree to stay by my side until the day I would not need you to be?" 

Surprised at his soft touch, Hye Young shook her head without saying a word. His soft eyes turned sharp and his fist landed on the bed beside her face. "You are a threat to my throne with what you have witnessed so far. Take this as a punishment for knowing my secrets. Being by my side will make you obliged to keep them, or I will take your head for it." 

She gasped at his question. "Spare me, my prince," she blurted out unconsciously. "All I want is to use the money to buy my freedom out of the palace. "

He smirked and leaned so close that their noses touched. "Unfortunately, I have decided and I cannot grant you the freedom that you so desire. You are now my bride and the future crown princess and then queen of our kingdom. One day you will have to call me 'my husband' rather than 'my prince'. All you have to do is be prepared. " 

Leaving a peck at the tip of her small nose, Prince Sehun stood up and walked out of the room without another word. Hye Young pushed her two aching palms against the mattress on either sides of her body and painfully sat up on the bed. Looking around, she realised that she is still in Prince Sehun's room. She looked at the door he has just walked through, wondering if everything was just a dream. 

Few minutes later, a number of servants and handmaidens ushered into the room, bringing in food, clothes and all sorts of necessities. All the familiar faces that she has grown up with in the palace are all here. Her heart warmed up as she smiled to greet them, but they've all bowed down to her. 

"Greetings to the Royal Fiance of Prince Sehun." 

-

The week passed as if the clock had been struck by lightning and refused to move at the right speed. Ever since that day, Hye Young was pampered with all the best clothes, fed with the best food and lived in a luxurious room that she could only ever imagine stepping into merely months ago. None of the maids that she knows would even talk to her, and she is usually left alone in the room, if she wasn't in the study. 

She was given lessons by the Royal Teacher everyday. Every morning, she read books on politics, music, art, and history and was tested every the end of the day. If she fails the test, or even get a question wrong, she will be asked to carry a book on top her head as she walked a hundred steps, and retake the test. She was als