Morning came fast as Soohyun finally devised her plan on getting the pirate’s attention and more importantly, convincing him to take her along with them. She had rested on a bench at the side of the road which exactly wasn’t the best place to but she had no choice. It’s either to rest anywhere or don’t rest at all. Soohyun can’t choose the latter because it will probably cost her the failure she kept thinking about. She absolutely can’t afford to fail this one chance she has. She just can’t.

With a burning determination inside her, Soohyun stood up and started walking down the road once again. If she was to confront a pirate, she just can’t go up to them barehanded. She’d probably end herself that way before even starting to explain herself. She needed something— a weapon to be exact. She figured it doesn’t need to be something extremely deadly, she just needed something that will momentarily taunt the pirate even just for a few seconds so she can guarantee his attention. She can just call the pirate’s name because she’d probably recognize him considering how she’d practically memorized their faces with all those wanted posters she’d stare at all day but she concluded it might actually not work. So, in the end, she decided to sneakily try to taunt whoever the pirate is even if it’s just for show. Plus, Soohyun knew she cannot fight back because she absolutely have zero knowledge on fighting. She may have watched Hamin and her other brothers fight but it’s just that. She wasn’t given proper lessons on how to fight or even to properly hold a sword.

Another thing is that she needed to go to the nearest port right away. If they were coming after sunrise, then it must be anytime from now. Soohyun wasn’t sure if they’re coming exactly after sunrise or a bit later than that. The seer’s words weren’t clear after all. Soohyun wished she had the courage to ask for more because she needed exact details and that’s exactly what she doesn’t have right now.

Soohyun’s pace was starting to pick up as she neared the port. There was surprisingly a lot of people at the port even though it’s quite early in the morning. It was quite hard to distinguish who are pirates and who are not. The description for pirates in the books she had read weren’t quite specific or even detailed enough to picture them out. It was mainly because they aren’t quite often seen at land and they were fast at escaping the guard’s eyes, so it was quite given that they weren’t described in detail. The wanted posters weren’t also that detailed and showed only the pirate’s faces. Soohyun recalled that most pirates were described to be burly men— those who have thick muscles and give off this distinct dangerous aura— so she looked out for those who fit the description. She carefully walked around the port as she tried to cover her face with the hood of her coat and skimmed the people around. There were tons of men who are muscular enough to be mistaken as pirates but she wasn’t sure if they’re exactly the ones she’ve been looking.

Soohyun has looked through the wanted posters of pirates countless of times that she already have memorized their faces. She couldn’t possibly miss one if they’re really here because she’d immediately recognize them. She continued walking and searching for a few more minutes until the searching turned into hours. She was getting tired and thirsty, to be exact, but there was no one in the wanted posters that she could recognize at the port. Had she missed them? It’s possible though, because the port’s quite big and the fact that it’s only her doing all the searching, she could’ve missed the right spot. It’s already nearing noon and she could already feel the blazing hot sun outside. Her coat wasn’t helping at all because now, she feels extremely hot wearing it. She thought about taking it off but then decided not to because it’s better to keep herself hidden rather than walking with nothing covering her face.

Soohyun sat on one of the benches across a shop near the port. She was extremely thirsty and feels dry no matter how much she tries to dampen it. She needs water. Soohyun thought of buying one but then she remembered she didn’t brought anything with her besides the book and her notes meaning she has no money with her.

With a disheartened feeling, Soohyun stood up. If ever she really missed the arrival of the pirate, then maybe he already could’ve gone to town to gather supplies or do whatever he does. She can’t miss him this time. She needs to find him no matter what. Soohyun was just about to take a step forward when she heard a commotion not far from where she was. There was a man running towards her way extremely fast and there were also men running after him. People have stepped away to give way to what’s happening. Soohyun looked at the men who were running after the man and she quickly recognized who they were. She tightly clutched to her coat as she felt frozen on her spot.

She’d recognize those uniforms anytime. She’d recognize those almost blinding white sleeves with the sound of swords clashing against their metals in their boots, anywhere she went. They were palace guards. Palace guards. Palace guards. Palace guards. Soohyun chanted like a madman on her mind. They were palace guards and if she won’t move fast, they’d probably recognize her the moment they’d see her, but she can’t possibly move her feet. She felt frozen for a while, maybe because she didn’t expect to see palace guards not even a day after she left and maybe because they were already closing the distance between hers and theirs in no time. Soohyun held a breath as she stood frozen at her place. All she could do was to lower her head down as she wait for the guards to pass her.

Soohyun shut her eyes tight, awaiting for their passing but before that could even happen, she felt her whole body clash against the hard ground with full force. She looked up and saw the man who was running a while at the ground along with her. He must’ve bumped on her. Soohyun could feel the rising pain coming from her right shoulder as it was the one who took all the pain and shock from being harshly bumped into. The man was quick to get up and start running once again and Soohyun was left sitting on the ground. The guards have immediately run after the man as soon as he was back on his feet. She thanked the heavens that they didn’t bother to stop and check at her. Soohyun tried standing up but before she could even do it, she saw something on the ground.

Dagger.

A dagger was on the ground. Soohyun’s eyes widened at