Prompt: The Queen and Her favorite thief~

Twas the Royal Guard’s duty to direct himself to the Queen with the utmost respect and follow all procedures. But tonight he was to ignore everything he heard coming from inside the dungeon, at her personal request. 

Kang Seulgi sauntered inside the dungeon and waltzed ever elegantly across the large hallway, her royal dress stalking just above the dirty ground. Chin leveled, back straight, hands ever elegantly holding each other as she walked and walked to the very end of the hallway. The feared room, one teeming with most dangerous criminals awaiting execution or trial. Tonight, it was empty, save for one little pesky thief.

A pesky thief found inside of the castle.

Just behind the door laid Bae Joohyun methodically sprawled on the small bed, resting without a care in the world, like she wasn’t going to be put on trial for breaking and entering a royal palace without the guards knowing – putting then, unknowingly, the guards’ on the line. There she laid, ethereal beauty with smudged dirt and a small open cut just above her eyebrow, but largely unscathed even with seven guards all attacking her and surrounding her. Remarkable abilities to fight, with only bravery clutched in her fist and a dagger on the other. It took for the Queen herself to step in and stop the thief. 

But now, the Queen walked into the dungeon with that mighty poise, eyes looking down at the thief with an air of arrogance while the door behind her closed. Now, in privacy, she looks at the Thief with some semblance of… fondness?

“You know, you stalk through the hallway without a sound,” Bae Joohyun said, eyes still closed, hands still holding each other, but not an ounce of movement in her body.

“You’re as light as I am, no one heard you come in,” Queen Seulgi said, composed and simple. 

Joohyun finally opened her eyes, nice and easy, looking at the Queen and not regarding her with neither disdain nor respect. Her eyes were neutral, ever impassive, fixed onto hers without any fear. “I’m glad you took note of my skills.”

“Hard not to when you’ve made the best guards in the kingdom flustered,” Seulgi approached a little, finding a stool and setting it near the thief. Her big dress hid the stool behind the opulent fabric, the garish design bothersome even to the queen, but she sat down with relative ease. “I’ve never seen that kind of light footwork in any thief.”

Joohyun had the vaguest hint of a smile. “I’m not just any thief.”

“That I know,” Seulgi smirked a little.

Joohyun’s own smirk slowly came on as well. 

In this fatal moment of connection, a moment where no guards could see, Joohyun and Seulgi communicated far beyond words. Words were fickle, prone to misunderstanding, but above all words traveled fast in echoes. The closest guard heard the reverberating of each word clearly, amused at the tension he could hear even in the distance. It made the guard wonder what was the occasion, what had been so different this time for the Queen to directly talk to this lowly cur. After all, the moment the sun showed face, the execution would begin. And many didn’t even get to see the Queen up until a few seconds before the executioner ended their life in one abrupt swing.

What was so different about this damn thief? What was the whole commotion about her? Why did the Queen insist on him ignoring the conversation? So many questions. The guards who encountered her were afraid at how fast they were bested by a peasant, so the Guard foolishly thought that he could take this thief. And the Queen seemed to even mock her as well!

But what he didn’t know was that the echoes in the wall gave privacy to a quiet, simple kiss between the thief and the Queen. A yearning hand grasping the Queen’s hips, a heart thumping madly and vulnerable like any other human. A kiss too quick to be witnessed, but soothing enough to give the tired thief the energy she needed.

Queen Kang Seulgi looked into Bae Joohyun’s eyes and saw a childhood romance grown and matured, but separated by the circumstances in life.

“Your royal guard,” Bae Joohyun started, smirking. “They could use some work, they don’t train them like they used to train you and the others.”

And Seulgi couldn’t help a smirk and a nod in agreement. The Royal Guards were all but the best, loyal and confident but they still needed the iron fist of Joohyun’s father – a boisterous and superb fighter – and the fatherly command of Seulgi’s father – the deceased King. 

“Perhaps, your husband needs a firmer fist,” Joohyun teased.

Seulgi silently agreed, as her husband had so much to learn from her father, may he rest in peace. Without a noise, Seulgi gently slipped into Joohyun’s hand a little object, her little salvation. With eyes locked, in total secrecy, she gave her her blessing to break out of the dungeon.

“You will be executed the moment the sun greets the kingdom,” Seulgi said pointedly, her royal persona coming in. Slowly but surely, her posture straightened up and her eyes turned fierce. “You will not live to see another day.”

And implicitly, she warned. Tacitly caring for the woman before her. However, it sounded so much like a threat that even the guard winced a bit. What she was saying was for Joohyun to make haste, for she would not be able to stop the execution, should she still be inside the castle and its grounds by the first ray of sunlight.

“The guards are on watch and you cannot escape. You should’ve thought twice when you walked in.”

In reality, she reminded Joohyun that the guards were not on her side no matter how much they respected Joohyun’s father, may he rest in peace. It was a tease and a reminder that theirs was a secret so well kept that not even the servants or the guards caught wind of anything. Despite their history.

So, nothing would help Joohyun.

With one last longing look in honor of their passionate past, Kang Seulgi turned around and walked out, leaving behind the thief, trusting that if anyone knew a way out of these dungeons and the castle that was the elusive queen of thieves.

Bae Joohyun.