“Chaeyeon-ah”

The young man opened his eyes as soon as he hear his name called, almost jumping on his feet.

“Wow, calm down,” Yena said, patting Chaeyeon’s shoulder.

“It’s morning already,” Chaeyeon stated, rubbing his eyes.

“Yes, the Princess is still asleep, so you can rest assured.”

“You didn’t wake me up earlier.” Chaeyeon gave Yena the stink eye.

“You didn’t wake me up early yesterday, so...”

“Fine, got it,” Chaeyeon said, clutching his chest lightly. “Hah...”

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just some pain in my chest.”

“Have you even taken your bandages off?”

“How can I, when the Princess is traveling with us?” Chaeyeon answered, taking a look at the sleeping Princess. “Moreover, what if something happens in the middle of the night and I am not ready to run off or ward people off?”

“It got to be uncomfortable in those.”

“It is,” Chaeyeon admitted. “I’ve become used to the pain, but right now it’s a bit...”

“Maybe you can take it off, and you just hide from the girls today.”

“How can I hide from them? I need to be available if they need something.”

“Alright, alright. But you feel good enough to continue?”

“Yeah, the pain will leave in a bit... or so I hope,” Chaeyeon said, whispering the last part.

It took a while for the girls to wake up, and when they did, both Chaeyeon and Yena were already eating breakfast (which was more berries they had collected around the area).

“Good morning,” Yena exclaimed at Mina, who was the first to walk towards them.

“Good morning,” Mina greeted in kind, a small frown on her face.

“Are you alright?” Chaeyeon asked, looking up from his hands.

“Sleeping in this place is quite uncomfortable,” the older woman answered, rubbing her neck.

“Your neck hurts?” At the woman’s affirmation, Chaeyeon continued talking. “There is one thing that always got me through neck pain. If you can get one of the girls to press on this particular spot,” Chaeyeon pinched her neck. “It will release some of the tension there.”

“And it works?” Mina eyed him critically.

“It worked for me,” Chaeyeon answered, shrugging his shoulders, wincing afterwards.

“Are you alright?” It was then Mina’s turn to ask.

“Yes, of course,” Chaeyeon said hurriedly. “I just had a bad posture when I was sleeping.”

“Your neck?”

“No, my... my back.” Maybe it’s for the better to hide my chest pain.

Mina hummed.

“How... How is the Princess?” Chaeyeon asked, wanting to divert the topic (it wasn’t because he worried about that ungrateful girl AT ALL). Mina smirked, as if she knew something Chaeyeon didn’t.

“She is alright, also had a tough night.”

“Is she hurt?”

“Like me, she has neck pain.”

“Oh, maybe you can tell her to do that,” Chaeyeon concluded, scratching his neck. “So, was there something you wanted to tell us?”

“Ah, yes. About our meals.”

“Sure, what about it?”

“It’s just that our food is getting scarce, so we need to arrive at our destination soon.” Mina’s words spiked Chaeyeon’s anxiety.

“Yes, of course. We will arrive soon, I promise. For now, what is it that you want us to cook?”

Mina brought with her, after a moment, the meal that the girls were supposed to eat. Yena, saluting Mina, grabbed the food and prepared to heat it.

“It’s amazing how the food hasn’t gone bad in this hot weather.”

“I know, right? It’s very convenient.”

“Well, I, for one, am happy to actually eat fresh fruit,” Yena said unconvincingly, popping a berry into his mouth.

“Yes, you sure don’t crave the meals that remind you of that welcome party,” Chaeyeon mocked.

“No, I absolutely don’t,” Yena answered, his mouth watering at the smell. After a moment, the Princess and the maids came to where they were sitting.

“Good morning,” the Princess greeted, looking straight at Chaeyeon, as if wanting to gauge his reaction.

“Good morning,” both men answered, though both were looking at different people when responding.

“I hope you had a restful sleep, Your Grace.”

“I did,” Sakura answered, her eyes still searching for Chaeyeon’s, looking for a hint of his mood.

“That’s good. Well, I think you might need to know we are about to cross a valley, so it might be harsher for all of you.”

“I see. Thank you for telling me.”

After the food was ready, Chaeyeon and Yena distributed each of the girls their fair share of food.

“D-do you want some?” Sakura said after a moment of silence. Chaeyeon turned to look at the Princess, who looked mortified.

“No, it’s alright. Please, enjoy your food,” Chaeyeon answered with a half-smile. She wasn’t quite angry at Sakura anymore, but she wasn’t quite happy with her behavior either, nor was she aware of what had caused it, so he didn’t know what to say.

“Have you only eaten that these days?” Sakura asked, having never thought about it, as the previous day the boys hadn’t sat with them at meal times.

“I suppose so,” Chaeyeon said, shrugging his shoulders. “It’s alright, Your Grace. That food is yours.” Although Chaeyeon definitely craved something more than berries, he felt guilt at the thought of taking the Princess’s food away, even if the woman herself had offered it. Besides, he would feel even more guilt if he got to eat, but Yena didn’t. “Seriously, don’t worry about it.”

“Alright.” But the Princess didn’t seem mollified, as if Chaeyeon not eating the same food as her made her feel guilt.

“If it’s not too much to ask,” Chaeyeon said, trying to start a conversation, finally taking the food offering as a semi-apology. Still, he didn’t know what to talk about with the Princess, so her questions were predictable (to her), if a little strange to the Princess. “What is one thing that you treasure the most?”

“What do you mean?” Sakura asked, confused by the question.

“Ah, like a charm or something alike.”

“Well,” Sakura was debating in her head if she should... “I usually take with me this belt that I used when I was younger.”

“Do you still use it?”

“No, it doesn’t fit me anymore. I... It was a gift from my sister.”

“Princess Rino?” Sakura nodded. Chaeyeon hummed, not knowing what to say next.

“I’m sorry if I seemed childish,” Sakura said, conscious about Chaeyeon’s lack of answer.

“No, not at all,” Chaeyeon answered, trying to soothe Sakura’s worries. “Uh, my mother hung a drawing my younger sister made of all of us. She never let anyone take it down,” she chuckled, remembering when a younger Chaeryeong had wanted to rip the drawing, but had been chastised by their mother. “After we moved, I would take that drawing with me everywhere.”

“Do you have it with you now?” Sakura asked, curious, her stance more relaxed after Chaeyeon told her about the drawing.

“No,” Chaeyeon said with relief. “Thankfully, I left it home before I embarked here.” And it was partially true. The day she had been thrown into the ocean by that monster was the same day she had forgotten to take the drawing with her.

“I have it with me,” Sakura confessed. “Back at the carriage. I usually pack it with my luggage. I can’t travel anywhere without it.”

Chaeyeon nodded. “And you?” she asked the rest of the maids, who, at first, looked at Sakura, as if they were verifying something with her, but started speaking when the Princess gave a minute nod.

It seemed to be what was needed to break the ice, as the rest of the girls seemed to try to keep a conversation. Different from the previous day, Sakura didn’t act in any way Chaeyeon deemed strange (in fact, she looked quite content, although Chaeyeon was getting weirded out by the stare she would often feel when she was talking to someone else). Yena was still shy, but would answer when questions were directed at him, though some of those questions were teasing questions made by Chaeyeon, who still overtly enjoyed seeing him so shy in front of Juri.

Even then, they couldn’t speak with each other for long, as they needed to get on the road as quickly as they could, so as to make use of the daylight to advance as much as they could.

Their third day walking through the bushy terrain started. This time around, the road wasn’t as forgiving as the previous day. They had to walk through a valley, which inevitably brought a small mountain, from which Chaeyeon could see even more valleys and mountains. If this was the easier road, then what was the state of the more difficult road? The mere thought made Chaeyeon’s head swim...

Fortunately for them, the sun had receded, covered by the clouds which provided some needed relief. However, the clouds didn’t bring good news. Chaeyeon just hoped that they would have already arrived at their destination when the rain comes.

It was a little after noon when Yena stopped the carriage, motioning for Chaeyeon to get closer to him. The younger man walked towards his friend, weirded out by the interruption.

“What happened?”

“Do you see that?” Yena said, pointing to a place not far from them.

“What about that...?” Chaeyeon squinted, looking at the direction Yena was pointing at. “Is that... a person?”

“It seems like it, doesn’t it? What do we do?”

“I don’t know,” Chaeyeon replied anxiously. “Do you really think it’s someone who will harm us?”

“He’s quite far from us, so I hope not.”

“You know better than I do about this, Yena. Can someone at that distance be able to shoot an arrow and hit one of us?”

“It’s a possibility. If the archer is skilled enough, then yes.” Yena’s words made Chaeyeon fret.

“There is no place to hide... Moreover, if there is more than one person, then staying put in one place might be worse than just continue walking...”

“Then? What do we do?” Yena asked.

“What do you think about getting to the main road? I mean... If they are already here, there is a bigger probability that a commoner watching us would deter them from hurting us, specially if the commoners see that it’s a Princess.”

“We could do that,” Yena said after thinking. “But it might take a while to get to the main road, as we actually walked deep into the wilderness.”

“I just hope it’s fast enough to keep them safe,” Chaeyeon sighed anxiously, getting back to the carriage. Yena snapped the whip, and the oxen starting their trek again.

Chaeyeon knew their change of plans was a gamble, as they had no idea what that (possible) person’s motivations were, nor what would they have to deal with when changing the trajectory of the journey. What if that person was just a person who lived in the mountains? What if that person was close to a temple? But what if that person had nefarious intentions, whether they knew or not the Princess was travelling with them?

Things didn’t get better when she felt the first drop of water fall on the tip of her nose. Instead, it made her panic, making her want to actually to go faster, but the damn animals would only move at this speed? Did horses not exist in Japan at this time?

A thunder was heard in the distance, making the ground tremble slightly. Chaeyeon heard a yelp inside the carriage, and, soon enough, the window was opened.

“What’s happening?” Aoi asked, her face half-scared, half-peeved.

“It started to rain,” Chaeyeon answered simplistically. “Are you all alright?”

“Yes, we are... Well, the Princess is a little reticent to storms,” Aoi admitted after a moment.

“Yena and I hope we can get to a safe place soon. Please, tell the Princess that.” Aoi nodded, closing the window again.

Despite Chaeyeon’s words, the storm just became worse, to the point where it had become difficult to see in front of her.

“Yena!” Chaeyeon screamed, trying to get her voice across the windy barrier. “We should look for cover!”

“Where?!” Yena yelled back, trying his best to direct the oxen. “I can’t see anything.” Chaeyeon didn’t answer, not knowing what to say. Closing her eyes, she grabbed onto the carriage.

Suddenly, she heard a bellow coming from one of the oxen, making Chaeyeon’s eyes snap open.

“Chaeyeon!” Yena screamed. “Chaeyeon! Get them out! Get them-!” Another bellow was heard and the carriage stopped.

“Yena?!” Chaeyeon asked, but stopped herself from looking for him. Instead, she opened the carriage door with force. The women, who seemed to already be on edge, jumped at her unannounced intrusion.

“We need to run, now,” Chaeyeon stated firmly, despite feeling an overwhelming surge of panic. The women wasted no time, directing the Princess to get off the carriage. While they were getting off, Yena grabbed Chaeyeon’s shoulder.

“They are throwing arrows.”

“From where?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t think they are far from us. You take the Princess. I’ll take the rest of the girls.”

“I-We can’t separate like-” An arrow managed to fly by her, grazing her cheek. Mina screamed in surprise.

Chaeyeon had the urge to touch the where her cheek stung, but knew didn’t have the time to dwell on her pain. Grabbing onto Sakura’s hand, she ran, giving no explanation to the rest of the girls, who she knew would be taken care of by Yena.

Sakura screamed in surprise. “Where are you taking me!?”

“Somewhere safe!” Chaeyeon answered, still grabbing Sakura’s hand.

The view was still foggy, so Chaeyeon had not much of an idea of where she was going. She only hoped they weren’t going in circles, to probably face the person who wanted to murder them.

It was in this moment where she wished she collided with something, anything that would guide them through the fog, but it seemed that just at this time, she was running on open ground, which made her panic even bigger. If there was a possibility of someone pursuing them, they could much more easily strike them without any obstacle.

Her whole body hit on a giant rock, making Chaeyeon growl in pain. Thankfully, it seemed she hadn’t broken her nose or anything close to it. Turning to look at her charge, Sakura look frazzled, but didn’t seem to hit the stone the way she had.

“It’s... it’s a cave... Your Grace! Here!” Chaeyeon took her through what she correctly recognized as a cave entrance. Chaeyeon breathed in relief when she could finally found herself in a dry place. “Are you alright, Your Grace?”

Sakura didn’t answer, her expression still morphed into fear, her frame frozen without Chaeyeon’s guidance. Chaeyeon felt a pang of pain go through her heart. She couldn’t imagine what Sakura was probably feeling.

“Your Grace, here,” Chaeyeon said, taking her arm and guiding her into the cave. However, she knew not to take Sakura too deep, as there was a possibility that there were other animals residing there. When the Princess had finally sat on a rock, she started trembling uncontrollably.

“Your Grace?” Chaeyeon asked, ducking to meet her eyes. But the Princess still seemed out of herself. Chaeyeon sighed, standing up, not knowing how to comfort the panic-filled Princess. Chaeyeon debated in her head about what to do.

Despite her own reservations, she wrapped Sakura in a hug, hoping to comfort her.

“It’s alright, Your Grace. We’re going to be alright.” Sakura, to Chaeyeon’s surprise, didn’t push her, as she expected. Instead, the Princess clung to Chaeyeon tightly.

“Oh, Princess...” Chaeyeon didn’t know what to say, despite feeling her heart heavy at the Princess's anguish. She hugged her tighter, guiding the Princess head into her neck, coming to realize that Sakura, despite her previous rude behavior, had been probably hiding her own fears.

“W-where are they?” Sakura mumbled brokenly after a moment.

“They are safe,” Chaeyeon answered, wishing she felt as confident as she sounded. “We are all going to be safe.”

She felt Sakura inhale, as if she was going to answer, but then she felt her nod, feeling the embrace become tighter.

“Safe,” she whispered. “We’re going to be safe.” Chaeyeon, after hearing Sakura’s calmer words, drifted into her own mind, remembering the things that had happened in a matter of what probably was minutes (despite the fact that she had felt it last for hours).

How had the enemy managed to get close to them in a single moment? How had they managed to shoot their oxen in such a storm? They hadn’t had any time to prepare. They had just ended up running for their lives, leaving the carriage in the middle of nowhere.

Wait, the carriage.

Could their attackers be sent by the prince? Or where they normal robbers? If it was the latter, they had left the carriage unattended.

Well, no use crying over spilled milk.

(“I have it with me,” Sakura confessed. “Back at the carriage. I usually pack it with my luggage. I can’t travel anywhere without it.”)

Oh, no.

“Sakura,” Chaeyeon whispered, moving to disentangle from Sakura’s body. The woman looked at her, gasping when she finally saw her cheek.

“You got hurt,” the Princess whispered, trying to move from Chaeyeon’s embrace.

“It’s nothing,” Chaeyeon waved it off, and it was true. The pain in her cheek was nothing compared to the pain in her chest. “What’s most important is that we left the carriage alone. I need to go back for it.”

Sakura frowned. “You can’t go back there.”

“Your Grace, we can’t leave your luggage stranded in the middle of nowhere.”

“But how are you going to find your way back? And what if those people are still there?”

She was right. “But how can we leave your things back there?”

“You are much more important than those things,” Sakura interjected, but turned her head in embarrassment after she realized what she had said.

Chaeyeon babbled for a moment, baffled at Sakura’s answer. She was more important? It couldn’t be. Maybe the Princess said that because Chaeyeon was the one taking her to the Fujiwara home, and she couldn’t afford to have Chaeyeon die or get severely injured. Yeah, that had to be it.

“Alright then, I’ll wait until the rain stops,” she reassured the Princess, extricating herself from the embrace. “Let’s see if there is a drier place to stay,” she said hurriedly, trying to get away from the weird atmosphere. Walking further into the cave, she examined the place for signs of any dangerous animal, but, strangely, there seemed to be no trace.

She saw something carved on one of the walls, so she tried to get a closer look.

“What’s this?” she wondered as she touched the carving with her right hand. These were some kind of hieroglyphs, which meant there must have been people inside this cave at some point. Could they possibly still be here?

“Chaeyeon?”

“I’m fine, Your Grace,” Chaeyeon assured before following the path that hieroglyphs were leading her to. As she got farther away from the entrance of the cave, the darker it became, to the point where she couldn’t see anymore. Chaeyeon knew it was probably time to comeback to the Princess, but there was something that was pulling her further in like a magnet.

She finally bumped into another wall, which, most likely, signified the end of the cave. For a moment, there was nothing but silence, until a blue light appeared in front of her. Jumping back, Chaeyeon watched in wonder as the hieroglyphs lit up one by one. She hissed when she felt a burning pain in her abdomen. Searching through her clothes, she took the papers out, which was a more difficult task, as they burnt her hands.

“Chaeyeon!” Sakura ran at him the moment she saw the lights inside the cave, but stopped when she saw the small spectacle in front of them. “What...?”

“Ah!” Chaeyeon exclaimed as she let the papers go. She had tried holding onto them as much as she could, but they burned too much to hold them at all. Suddenly there were some color gusts that came out of the hieroglyphs, making Chaeyeon walk backwards. These gusts flew around the cave, making Chaeyeon yelp and Sakura squeak, which reminded her of the Princess. Getting closer to her, Chaeyeon hugged the Princess, trying to keep her safe from whatever was happening.

Finally, the gusts seemed to rush towards the writings, disappearing as they touched them, as if the writings were a container.

Then, all the lights disappeared, as if they had never been there.

“What the hell?” Chaeyeon whispered, bewildered, crouching to pick up the writings. Opening them, her eyes widened at what she saw.

“What happened?” Sakura asked breathlessly as she tried to get close to Chaeyeon to see what he was seeing.

“I.. I don’t know.” The writings, that although still contained the old characters, had changed, adding new characters to form a new message. What does this meant?

“Your Grace, quick! What does this say?”

Sakura read from Chaeyeon’s shoulder, pausing in certain moments, as if to reaffirm what she had read, frowning when she ended.

“What is this?” the Princess asked warily, the remainders of past events too scary to relax.

“What does it say, Your Grace? Please tell me,” Chaeyeon pleaded.

Sakura recited the writing.

Never-ending waterfall

Pummels the Rocks

But the ruination

Is more tolerable

Than destruction itself.

“What does that mean?” Chaeyeon asked again.

“I’m not sure...” Sakura trailed off. “Where did you get these?”

“This... this is the shipment that I brought with me from Silla.” Both of them stayed quiet for a moment, neither knowing what to say or do. Finally, Sakura spoke.

“Was my brother aware of this writing?”

“He was,” Chaeyeon admitted. “He took it from me, but someone else gave it back.”

“I’m not sure what this is... or what this represents, but this could mean something important... something very important,” Sakura said solemnly. “Chaeyeon.” The man turned to look at her. “Please, let’s keep this between us.”

Sakura’s petition surprised Chaeyeon. “Yes... Of course, Your Grace.” After all, if someone else came to know what had happened, Chaeyeon might be in even more danger.

“Do you know anything about this?”

“I don’t,” Chaeyeon admitted. “Maybe... the person who gave these back to me told me to look for Shinfu, the rocks...”

“Shinfu,” Sakura’s eyes lit up in recognition. “Shinfu is a secret temple that is close to the city of Hyogo, only used by nobles from the Fujiwara clan.”

“Do many people go there?”

“No, the main temple that the Fujiwara go to is another.” Chaeyeon hummed, staying quiet for a moment to absorb the new information.

“Chaeyeon, let’s go back. Maybe the rain has stopped.”

The rain hadn’t stopped, so they waited for a longer time for it stop. No one said a word, both of them lost in thought. When the rain relented, and it was nothing more than a drizzle, Chaeyeon suggested they go looking for all of their respective companions.

“Were you aware of in what direction did we run to?” Sakura asked as they ventured out of the cave.

“No, the rain was blinding me, and we were being pursued, so I ran in the direction that seemed best.” Sakura breathed deeply.

“I remember seeing a broken tree while we were running. Could that be a sign that could help us return to the carriage?”

“Maybe...” Chaeyeon mumbled in uncertainty. He was torn. While their first priority was to look for the rest of the group, there was a danger of getting lost. They had no map, there were no things such as compasses, and their footsteps were erased by the heavy rain. “Could there be a possibility that we could reach the main road?”

“What are you thinking?”

“Yena and the girls had to run without visibility, so there is a possibility that they won’t know the way back to the carriage. Instead of finding them, we might end up completely missing each other. What if we go to main road, and start looking from there?”

Sakura seemed conflicted, and Chaeyeon, at some point, could understand her difficulty to make a choice. But they needed to do something, now.

“There is also the possibility that whoever attacked us has taken your things... or that the rain has destroyed them.” Chaeyeon’s words seemed to sadden Sakura, which made Chaeyeon remember that Sakura had something she treasured there.

“Sorry, Your Grace. I hadn’t considered that you might want to go for the belt.” The Princess took a deep breath.

“It’s alright. We need to find the girls first. And Yena,” she added, as an afterthought, irking Chaeyeon slightly, but the younger man knew there was no time for fights.

“Alright, then, if I’m not mistaken, we ran to the west, which means we already are close to the main road. So, if anything, we should be going to the west.” Sakura nodded.

“I trust your judgment.” Her words made Chaeyeon feel unnerved, as she already had gotten lost with Yena when they were trying to reach Gentai. Except that at that time they weren’t in the middle of the woods, while now, they had run without knowing where. They might have run in circles, for all she knew.

Hopefully they would find each other.