CHAPTER #9

CAUGHT

It is said that the dead of the night is the time when people with secrets thrive. Accompanied by the ominous hoot of the owl resting on the tree branches that create creepy shadows and the darkness blanketing the whole surroundings despite the bright rays of moonlight; they divulge into the things that are mostly hidden from the world. With everyone off to sleep the danger of being exposed and caught are reduced to a minimum which gives them the freedom to indulge in tasks that are normally frowned upon. Bora had such a secret too. The heavy sword in her hand being the constant reminder that yes she has some things to hide too.

It was almost past 1 AM in the morning when she has carefully slipped out of the servant wing quietly with her trusty sword in the hand. She wasn’t really breaking any rules since they were allowed to be out for as long as they wanted. There was no restriction, but still, she wanted to make sure that no one will witness her sneaking out. Being seen with a sword nowadays wasn’t a problem either. By now almost everyone in the castle knew that she has been chosen for the Geommu dance performance for the festival that was just a few days away. Most of the people have just received the news with disinterest, but Bora has noticed some of the older maids giving her a stink eye. Of course, they could have availed this chance to attract the King’s attention; something that she was going to avoid doing at any cost. Actually, it was for that very reason that she was trying to sneak out now without being seen. People practice because they want to be good at something, but she was already good enough – actually more than enough.

Bora was well aware that if she swung the sword with the ease that she usually possesses it would immediately drag Sehun’s attention to her. Not only that, she was afraid that the King would be somehow able to recognize her once again. Her being skilled with sword won’t help her in hiding her identity at all. That’s why she was going to practice how to come off as an immature. It was harder than it might seem.

“Oh, Lord! I’m so tired.” The exhausted girl mumbled under breath before placing down her sword and sitting down on the cool grass that was previously below her feet. It was a cool and pleasant night with stars filled sky. Wiping away the sweat from her forehead, she tipped her head back to gaze up at the sky lazily. Being tired was slowly becoming a routine for her. Performing her castle duties along with the practice with the other dancers and then her solo practice at the night- it all drains her completely. Letting out a silent sigh she slowly allowed her body to sag on the ground and gave out a pleased hum when her back finally rested on the cool grass. She has not been getting enough sleep these days, not because of her fatigue only, but also due to the worries that were occupying her thoughts.

Ever since the incident in the town’s main market, Bora can’t help but to feel like there was something extremely off. She can’t really pinpoint what it was, but there was something really dangerous brewing about. She can feel it. Maybe she was being paranoid, but even that conclusion didn’t help her shake the uncomfortable feeling off. The men that she has bumped into- outside of the boutique were suspicious. It was quite evident that the older man was lying. Yeah, he looked mature, but still, he wasn’t elderly enough to have a son who seemed to be almost around her age. He has addressed the other guy as royalty almost sounding like that was the most normal thing to do. He was shocked to see her – almost panicked – and then preceded on mending his address pretending that he was joking. The problem was that it didn’t seem like he was joking at all.

It is possible that she’s looking way too deep into the things, but those two men were clearly up to something. Bora was sure of that. After coming back to the castle that day, she couldn’t really seem to let go of that encounter at all. She has locked herself in isolation and tried to think whether she has met the iffy guy before or not. It turned out that she vaguely remembers him from somewhere. She has seen him around. Not only once, but twice and unsurprisingly both situations seemed to further fuel her distrust towards him.

She remembers seeing him at the fighting ground. It wasn’t a very clear memory, but she has noticed him because besides her there were only two other men who had their faces covered. Unlike her, they were using a travelling cloak and were more subtle, but she remembers noticing them. She wouldn’t really have remembered the man’s face – of course, when she didn’t even see it during the fight – but the man that she bumped into was the very person who got injured when she blindly threw the sword in her hand to maintain some distance before running into the forest. It was then when she has seen his face and felt worried that whether she has given him a serious injury. It was him. She was sure of it.

The second time that she has seen him (if her memory serves her right) was at the pub in Venzor. Bora remembers witnessing his exchange with the women in red dress and thinking that it was the most disgusting thing that she has ever witnessed; especially when the women looked twice his age. She wasn’t really aware of her surroundings that much since she has been drinking, but she was sure that the man has disappeared from the pub just in time the loud commotion has ensued by the arrival of the King. The girl has no doubt about whether he has disappeared with the women in red or not because she remembered seeing the lady flirting with another man just before Sooyoung has called out for her. His disappearance could have been coincidental, but she had a feeling that it was due to the King’s arrival.

Is someone shadowing Sehun?

Bora might have been thinking about the matter a lot, but this was the first time that thought crossed her mind. It made a lot of sense. That man and his cloaked companion have been almost everywhere she has encountered Sehun. Opening her eyes in apprehension, she quickly sat up in her place to look around. It was completely dark and silent; almost eerily. It was possible, but like mentioned before it could be just her paranoia too. Shaking her head to rid herself of troubling thoughts, the tired girl once again took hold of her sword and stood up. She can think about these matters later or maybe talk to Sooyoung or Baekhyun about it.

…………

It was another half an hour later when she was in the middle of swinging her sword in the air and turning around with it when she first heard the loud crunch of the shoes crushing the dead leaves under their weight. There was someone who has seen her and was definitely coming her way if the increase in the intensity of the sound was to suggest something. The footsteps were leisure; they were not rushed at all which suggested that whoever has seen her was in no particular hurry to reach her.

It was close to 2 in the morning. She was sure that no good company would greet her at that time. Maybe it was a drunken castle guard or soldier from the army (if she was lucky) or a thief; there was hardly any other possibility. Going completely still in her place, Bora tightened her hold around the sword and did the first thing that her instinct guided her to do. She swiftly turned around in her place and placed the sword by the intruder’s neck; ready to threaten the person with his/her life. However, the verbal threat that she was going to impose died at the tip of her tongue when she saw Sehun standing there with his hands casually tucked into the pockets of his sleeping trousers. He had one of his sharp brows raised in amusement at her impulsive act and was looking down with unconcealed indifference; as if he wasn’t afraid of the sword aimed at his neck at all.

“What are you doing here so late at night?” Bora concluded that the question was just for the sake of confrontation since her purpose of being there was rather obvious; especially if we were to consider the offending sword that she has yet to remove from the King’s neck.

“I-I…” She stumbled over her words and let out an embarrassing squeak when one of Sehun’s bigger and rougher hands completely covered hers to take the sword from her grip.

“I would pull that sword down now if I were you.” The male advised her calmly which embarrassed and scared her further. It was the second time she has dared to raise a sword against the King’s neck. Even though Sehun didn’t know that she was the same person, but still, the knowledge didn’t help her at all.

 Quickly nodding her head in agreement Bora literally ripped her hand away from the sword and out of his hold before tucking it behind her back with an awkward clear of .

“I was practising for the festival.” She finally explained in a steady voice and tried her best to avoid the eye contact with the male.

“At 2 AM in the morning?” He inquired while slowly bringing the sword away from his neck.

“I wanted to be alone.”

Sehun who was busy assessing the sword in his hand casually shifted his attention towards the maid who was now nervously fidgeting in her place. His attention then shifted down towards her white nightgown which was light enough to wildly shift in its place whenever the wind blew a little harshly. If it was not for the colour of her gown he wouldn’t even have noticed her while walking down the veranda.

“It’s dangerous to be out alone at this time.” He finally spoke up after a long moment of uncomfortable silence and brought his eyes back to her face. Unsurprisingly, she was avoiding eye contact with him again. She does that all the time; he had noticed that especially ever since he has started to unconsciously pay attention to her. The King didn’t know when it sta