Jiae carefully the cold stone, as if it would break if she applied too much force. Placing the bouquet of white lilies on the ground, she let out the breath she had been holding in. She was finally here, together with Jiwoo again. Closing her eyes, she remembered the happy times she had with her brother.

Kyungsoo silently watched Jiae pay her respect to Jiwoo. Sujeong and Sehun were behind him. “Thank you, Sehun.” Kyungsoo said, his eyes never leaving his little canary.

Sehun bowed even though Kyungsoo could not see him.

“Did you receive my letter?” Sujeong asked Sehun and the latter nodded. He had been informed about the newest member of the White Paladins, and was glad that everything was going to his King’s plan. Needless to say, he was happy that another person had joined the Royal Guards of the White King, especially when that certain person was Jiae. Sehun had long deemed her as a worthy opponent.

“S-Sehun?” A soft voice spoke, and he looked at her. Jiae was now standing beside Kyungsoo. He noticed that she was even shorter than Sujeong. Jiae wiped her tears and gave him a small smile. “Thank you for doing this for Jiwoo and I.”

Sehun simply shook his head. “I just follow our King’s orders.”

Jiae noticed how Sehun used ‘ours’ instead of ‘my’, and there was a strange feeling stirring in her. It was like he was willing to accept her as part of them, even though she had only seen him thrice.

“The doctor will be here soon to see how your injury is healing.” Kyungsoo informed Jiae. Jiae wanted to assure him that she was perfectly fine and did not need to see a doctor. However, there was a look in Kyungsoo’s eyes that silenced her. She knew he was still worried about her, and decided to not go against his decisions, especially now that he was her King.

“Sujeong, you are following me to see the Yellow King. Sehun, stay here and protect Jiae.” Kyungsoo ordered. Sehun wanted to object and follow his King, but opted for nodding instead. He knows that whatever decisions his King made would always be the best for them.

Kyungsoo and Sujeong soon set off to the palace on their horses. As the house Kyungsoo had gotten for Jiae was at the outskirts of the town, it would only take them a few hours to reach back.

Sehun was at the table sharpening his weapons and Jiae decided to do the same while waiting for the doctor to arrive. “What exactly does the White Paladins do?” Jiae asked him.

Sehun looked at Jiae for a few seconds, before continuing what he was doing. “It’s the name of the Royal Guards for His Majesty. We live and serve to protect him. He will always be our priority.”

“And there’s only three of us so far?”

“We have no need for unskilled people that will only cost a hindrance. Look at Sujeong. Even she can handle 3 full grown man on her own.” Sehun mentally shuddered at the thought of Sujeong going all violent on her enemies. Sujeong could be scary when she wants to.

The two of them sat in silence as they finished up the job. Sehun glanced at the clock before shifting his attention to Jiae. “I think the doctor might be held up at work.”

“I will go talk to Jiwoo for a while. Please inform me when the doctor is here.” Jiae kept her weapons except a katana. Taking the sword out with her, she sat in front of Jiwoo’s grave. The area around the house was quiet. The only sounds were coming from the wind rustling through the trees and birds chirping. Leafy trees surrounded the house too, providing shade and fresh air.

A soft thumping broke Jiae out of her thoughts. The sound was so low that she would not have heard it if she was not trained. The thumping sounded like a rhythm, and it was getting louder as it continued. Jiae placed her palm on the ground and could feel the same sound. Grabbing her katana as she stood up, she strained her ears and eyes for any incoming attack. It seemed like there was only one enemy, and Jiae was confident she could get rid of the enemy without Sehun’s help.

From the sound of the footsteps, Jiae knew the enemy was near and was coming from her right. Just then, a rustle from behind some bushes caught her attention and she was immediately in front of it. Jiae expected to come face to face with an assassin from the association. Instead, a huge black wolf was staring at her with its grey orbs. The wolf was larger than the ones she had seen before and she wondered if the wolves in the Yellow Empire were always this big.

Confused, Jiae managed to stop just before she could hurt the animal. However, the wolf decided to do the opposite. There was a dangerous glint in its eyes as it bared it cuspids. Jiae saw a broken tree branch on the ground and quickly picked it up. She did not want to hurt the animal. She just wanted to scare it away. The wolf jumped in her direction and she rolled to her sides to avoid the attack. Getting on her feet, she braced herself for another attack.

The wolf was quick to react as it turned around to face Jiae once more. Jiae dashed forward and raised the branch she was holding before smacking it against the wolf’s nose. The wolf let out a loud yelp as it tumbled to the ground.

Wow, I knew a dog’s weakness was at its nose. I never knew it would work on a wolf as well.

The wolf has its paws in front of it stout, as if trying to lessen the pain. Realising that the animal finally decided to stop its attack, she threw away the branch she was holding. The wolf then let out a loud bark and headed towards her while wagging its tail. It started to sniff her while she curiously watched it. It was like the wolf had a split personality.

Said wolf suddenly held the sleeves of her shirt between its teeth and started pulling her to a certain direction. Jiae’s eyes grew wide in surprise as she tried to pull back, but the wolf was too strong that it ended up dragging her instead. Swiftly grabbing her katana along with her, she tried to keep up with the wolf’s huge strides. Jiae then mentally cursed the association for making such high-quality outfit for them.

As the wolf continued its actions, Jiae noticed that they were going uphill. The air felt denser and she smelled something similar to rain. Straining her ears, the sound of water hitting rocks caught her attention and she assumed they were near a waterfall. Looking down at the wolf who seemed a bit uncomfortable walking sideways as it still had its hold on her, she reached out to poke it.

“You don’t have to drag me. I’ll follow you.”

As if the wolf understood what she had just said, it finally let go of her shirt and trotted forward. After walking for a few more minutes, she saw a cave just ahead of them and the animal hurried in. Entering the cave, she saw that it was not particularly big, but spacious enough to actually make a home out it.

“Where have you been to?” An unfamiliar voice spoke and she turned to the owner of the voice. Right at the end of the cave was a tall, young man standing beside a bed. The wolf purred as it rubbed itself against the man. The man noticed Jiae’s presence and looked up at her. “Who are you?”

“Your wolf was the one who didn’t want to let go. Is it planning to save me for supper?” Jiae asked, causing the stranger to chuckle. She wondered what was funny about her words while she studied him. He was young, maybe around her age, and he was not only tall but tanned. His hair was messy and unkept and even though he lived in a cave, he looked cleaned and refined.

“Kai,” The man said and the wolf looked at its owner. Giving him a huff, it went behind Jiae and nudged her towards the bed. Jiae then saw that there was another person present.

“What happened?” Jiae was immediately beside the unconscious man lying on the bed and checked his body. She grew worried the moment she saw a pool of blood gathered at the right side of the man’s chest.

“My father was shot by an arrow. I tried to give him some medicine to stop the bleeding but it does not seem to be working. I guess Kai brought you here because it sensed you know medicine or something like that.” The man explained.

“I know nothing of that sort.” Jiae spoke as she examined the wound. “But I can stop something like this.” The moment she said that, she headed out of the cave, searching for the different herbs she would need as medicine for the injured man. Jiae had her fair bit of injuries when she was out on a mission and they were taught how to take care of themselves in the case where there were no medicine.

The wolf, Kai, trotted towards her with a bowl in its mouth. Jiae smiled at the smart animal before instructing it to get some water from the waterfall nearby. She then started searching high and low for the medicine she would need. Her wound started throbbing a little and wondered if it was due to the incident with Kai just now. Jiae ignored the pain. She promised herself to start saving lives. The wound could wait.

After 20 minutes, she came back with the herbs she needed and started making the medicine.

“Apply this directly on his wound.” She passed the young man a bowl of paste before chopping up the remaining plants. The cave had everything one would need and she guessed this place was their home. Jiae then took the water that Kai had went to fetch and started boiling the herbs.

“Here.” The man passed her a handkerchief and she gratefully took it to wipe her sweat. “Sorry for not being a help at all. I’m Kim Jongin, by the way. And thank you for saving my father.”

“It’s nothing. I guess I was just fated to meet Kai.” She sat down in front of the fire pit and stirred the pot.

After a few minutes, she stopped stirring and got up. “I’m Yoo Jiae. Here, let him drink this.” She passed him the medicine and he quickly went to feed his unconscious father. The pain from her wound grew stronger but she brushed it aside. “This will only help him relief some of his pain. It’s better to see a real doctor.”

Jongin kept quiet as he fed his father. Jiae noticed the silence in the man and looked at him. He tried to ignore her but it felt like her stare was going to burn a hole through his body. Jiae expected him to reply but he looked at Kai instead. The wolf was staring back at the man and it seemed like they were actually having a silent conversation. Kai then got up and headed out of the cave.

“You can communicate with Kai?” She asked in disbelief.

“There are men chasing father down.” Jongin ignored her question.

Jiae abruptly got up, startling Jongin. Grabbing her katana, she faced Jongin. “I got to go. I hope your father feels better.”

“Thanks for helping us.” He gave her a small smile. He knew that she would not want to get into trouble.

Jiae gave him a short nod and headed towards the entrance. She too had people hot on her trails. She could not afford to lead them here and harm innocent people. She could not drag anymore people into her mess.

Kai was pacing back and forth in front of the entrance when it saw Jiae. It rubbed itself on her and gave her a bark. Jiae bent down to its height with a smile on her face while she patted it. “You know where to find me if your owners need help.”

Kai stared at her for a few seconds before her cheeks. Jiae felt the rough tongue came into contact with her cheek and grimaced at the new feeling. She quickly wiped it off, but Kai seemed to have enjoyed it. Kai suddenly tensed up and a low growl rumbled from the back of its throat.

Jiae noticed the sudden change in the animal and stood up with a tight hold of her katana. She surveyed the area while preparing for an attack. She did not know if it was from the association or it was the guys chasing Jongin’s father. All she knew was that she wanted to protect Kai and the two guys in the cave.

A dagger flew towards her from her left and she dodged it before it could hit her. Kai was already up and heading towards the source of the attack when another enemy appeared with its blade high up in the sky. Jiae blocked it with her katana and pushed him back a little before swiftly kicking him in the stomach. The enemy flew back and hit a tree. Using this chance, Jiae went to help Kai.

When she had reached where the wolf was, all she saw were parts and pieces of flesh on the floor and Kai was still ripping the enemy apart.

“Kai,” The wolf stopped its actions and wagged its tail when it saw Jiae. “Head back to the cave and protect your owners. I’ll settle them.” Kai’s ears perked up and dashed towards the cave, Jiae following behind. While the animal entered the cave, the enemy was up again and Jiae managed to slash his arm.

However, the enemy did not faze, and his accomplices showed up. Now there were three of them and Jiae mentally cursed. She worked best with her two katanas but now that she only has one, she would have to be extra careful. The enemies in front of her were highly trained but they did not wear the clothes of the association.

The attackers looked at each other, communicating silently on their next plan while Jiae tried to ignore the pain that was growing due to her wound. She was sure she had split it open.

Just then, two of the men ran towards her and she blocked them both with her katana. She saw the third guy dashing towards her and pushed the first two back while dodging the third’s attack. Before they could recover, her katana was already embedded deep into one of the enemies’ chest. While he dropped dead to the ground, the other two swung their blades in the air.

One of them managed to slash her left arm while she slashed the neck of the other. Facing the last guy, she wanted to quickly end his life when a loud crash coming from the cave broke her concentration. The enemy in front of her took this opportunity and threw several mini daggers, hitting her right shoulder. She hissed in pain but ignore it as she sliced him down.

Running into the cave, she saw there was one more enemy on the ground as Kai the blood off its paws. Jongin was in front of his father, protecting him. “Thank God you are alright.” She muttered.

“Why did you help us?” Jongin got up and went to her. She simply shrugged her shoulders and that action reminded her of the daggers that were still connected to her. Pulling the three daggers out, she saw that the tip of the daggers was black instead of red. Realizing what had happened, she went to the pile of leftover herbs she collected earlier.

However, she could feel her body getting heavier and she felt that it was harder for her to breathe. Jongin noticed that she was staggering. He quickly held his hands out to support her when she grew slack in his arms.

“Jiae!” He shook the unconscious girl. Jiae was panting hard and sweat formed on her forehead. “Kai! Where did you get her from?”

The wolf got up on its feet and grab Jiae’s katana in its mouth before heading to its destination. Jongin took Jiae in his arms and followed his wolf. He knew that his father would be safe for now since the attackers would not strike again so soon. And he did not have the necessary medicine to help Jiae.

The duo soon reached a house nearby and saw a tall man pacing around in front of the house. He seemed to have heard them arrive as he turned to their directions.

“Jiae!” He ran up to them when he saw Jiae in Jongin’s arms.

“I think she has been poisoned.” Jongin panted as he tried to catch his breath.

Sehun glared at him and took Jiae in his arms. “Never show up in front of her again. My Sire would not be happy when he knows about this.” Jongin pressed his lips into a thin line as he watched Sehun bring Jiae into the house.

“Doc!” Sehun shouted when he entered the house. The doctor who has been waiting for the girl hurried and check on her injuries.

Sehun mentally cursed. Kyungsoo had instructed him to protect Jiae. Sehun had seen how much Kyungsoo cared about Jiae. And he did not want his King to be sad because of his negligence. Well, it was not really my fault if she had left on her own, right?

The doctor had arrived 10 minutes after Jiae left the house to Jiwoo’s grave. Sehun then realised she was missing and tried searching for her but could not even find a trace.

“How is she, Doc?” Sehun asked.

“She has been poisoned but I have the antidote for it. Her old wound had reopened, though.”

Sehun ran a hand in his hair in frustration. It was already bad that her old wound had opened. And now, she was even poisoned.

Oh, I’m so gonna be dead.

Author's Note

Does anyone have tips for sleeping well? I've been having insomia.