Chapter 2 - Irresistible Love

Nine years later

Laughter filled the air. Grown up Princess Irene and her warrior rode their horses inside the woods. She led at the front with her white horse, the soft wind blowing against her long honey brown hair. The sun casted its ray, making her tiara glisten.

"Come on, Sehun!" She glanced back over her shoulder at the young man riding the black horse behind her, laughing.

Sehun smirked, following his princess. Years had passed since he was assigned to be her warrior. He had grown up into a dauntless one who always fulfilled his duty, and whom nobody would dare to pick as an enemy.

"I hate you. You let me win so easily." She halted and put a cute pout on her face, turning around.

He laughed. "How would I watch out for you, Princess, if I were to leave you behind?"

"You're no fun." She rode off again.

He shook his head in disbelief.

"Now catch me if you can. You'll be sorry to underestimate me."

"I will catch you even if you don't order me to," he joked, but he meant every word.

She laughed, feeling him catching up behind. They stopped at a river.

"I think I'll definitely have some time here for a while. The water is calling me." She sighed, gazing at the scenery before her. The ride was tiring, she had to admit it. And although she never wanted to show it to him, he knew her more than anyone else.

He already stood beside her before she could step off from her horse, offering his hand to help her down.

"Thanks," she said.

He smiled at her.

"And of course, you don't forget that today is my birthday, do you?" she scrutinized him. "The day when I finally turn 17," she crowed with joy.

He tried hard not to chuckle. Even though she was 17, she was still acting like a kid. Of course he didn't forget about the big day, but it was a rhetorical question so that he didn't have to answer.

"Just because you're three years older than me, it doesn't mean that you can stop me from having what I want today," she stated.

He raised a brow. "It depends on what you want to do. If it's something dangerous, I'm sorry to say that I will stop you," he said matter-of-factly.

She glared at him. "Fine. We'll see." She turned around and walked to the edge of the river.

To his surprise, she took off her clothes and threw them onto the ground while going for the water.

She stepped into the river, feeling the cool water, her feet touching the bottom. Half her body in the water, she glanced back over her shoulder at him. "What, you can't stop me?" she teased.

Her intense eyes penetrated him, and he was lost for words. The fact that she was facing him half didn't help.

"You can't." She smiled in victory.

His jaw tightened. Here he was, worried about her. "Get out of the water and get dressed," he ordered.

She blurted out a laugh. "Sorry. You can't order me." She stuck out her tongue.

"Yes, I can."

"No, you can't."

"Yes, I can, because it is your father's, the King's order for me to protect you."

"No," came her stubborn response.

He sighed. "Why are you making this hard for me?"

Silence fell. She didn't respond to his question. But instead, a hurt look crossed her eyes.

"I'm sorry that my father's order had become such a trouble for you," she said.

Sehun froze. The moment he told her it was an honor to protect her was still fresh in his mind, yet she accused him of such a thing.

And moreover, was he having a fight with her over such a situation? Silly.

Clenching his fist, he walked off. He knew more than well that he couldn't drag her out from the water unless it was her own wish.

She stared at him, dumbfounded. "Sehun?" she called, but he walked off further, heading into the woods. "Sehun!" she called again but received no answer. Was he leaving her alone? She stumbled in the water and knocked herself on one of the stones in the edge. "Ouch!" she whimpered.

He stopped and glanced back.

"My foot. It's cramp--" She fell into the water and gasped.

"What—" He immediately rushed back to her and got into the water, not even bothering to take off his clothes and shoes. He held her body up, worries written all over his face. "What happened? Which one hurts?" he urged, examining her feet. Yet at the same time, he was afraid to touch her, as if her body was a fragile thing and that his touch would break her.

When she noticed the look on his face, she couldn't help but laugh. "You got me." She chuckled.

When he found her eyes, he knew that she had been faking it. She continued to laugh that she had tears in her eyes.

"It's not funny."

"Sorry, what is it?" She could barely hear it, because he spoke so low.

"It’s not funny!” he snapped that her heart beat twice. Never in her life had she heard him spoke like that. "Did you enjoy that?" he hissed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mea—"

"Did you enjoy that?" he repeated, raising his voice.

Her heart sank.

"Do you think that it's funny to fool around like that? Did you enjoy pretending hurting yourself?"

"But it was only—"

"Don't you ever think? Does the princess ever think what would ever happen to her?"

"Please, Sehun—"

"Answer me!" he growled.

She jumped at hearing his tone.

"Answer me—" he stopped as tears formed in her eyes. He almost accused her of faking it, but the look on her face showed how terrified she was.

"I'm sorry—" she broke into tears. "I thought you were going to leave me alone." She held back sobs, her voice shaky. She never thought that he would be so angry. "I'm sorry. Will you forgive me? I really didn't mean to make you mad. Please, don't hate me." The last sentence was barely a whisper.

"Shhh…" His eyes softened, locking her broken ones. "It's okay," he soothed, wiping her tears away. "Here." He took off his shirt and covered her body with it. It was too big for her that it could cover her upper body and thighs. "Forgive me. I was too harsh on you." He pulled her to him, feeling her hot tears on his chest. "Just don't ever do that again next time, okay?" he warned, caressing her hair.

She just nodded quietly.

"Let's get you out of here." He helped her walk out of the water to the ground. After they walked out from the river, he sat on the grass and wrapped his arms around her, who was still crying on his chest. "Shhh… It's okay."

How long had she stayed there? It felt so peaceful and safe in his arms that she fell asleep. She was tired as well.

It was at dusk when he decided to go back to the castle before dark. As he didn't want to wake her up, he collected her clothes and carried her in his arms. He then jumped onto his horse, placed her in front, and rode off.

The following day

"Good morning, Ye Ryung." Irene popped up at the door, smiling sweetly before walking up to the woman, her princess dress flowing gracefully. "Thank you for yesterday."

"You’re most welcome, my Princess." Ye Ryung smiled, approaching her. The day before, her son had showed up in her room carrying the princess, who was only wearing his shirt. It was shocking, yet nothing had happened between them. "I have dried your clothes too,” she informed, but Irene was busy looking for something. "Anything, my dear?" Ye Ryung and Sehun were one of the few people close to the King and Irene, other than the King's brother, that they could speak and address each other rather casually.

"Do you know where Sehun is?" Irene asked. She had been looking for him in his room but received no answer when she knocked.

"He's been practicing with Chanyeol outside," Ye Ryung answered.

Irene nodded. "I see. Thank you." She beamed and walked off.

"Anytime, my Princess." Ye Ryung smiled back and let out a soft sigh, watching her figu