Early chapter, friends! Hope you like it!

Her whole body felt on fire, making her groan loudly.

“He’s awake! Hey! Doc!”

Opening her eyes, she was greeted with the ceiling of the inn they had finally been able to stay in. Cognizant about her surroundings, she was aware that she was now resting on a bedding, as opposed to the cold floor she had gone to sleep in.

Turning her head, she was able to see Sakura, who was holding her hand and smiling in relief at her. She tried smiling back, but her body still felt heavy.

“Is something wrong, Your Grace?” she asked, her voice raspy.

The girl’s smile widened at her words, as if they made her happy, but she couldn’t understand why.

“You’re finally awake,” she responded, confusing Chaeyeon.

“Did I sleep for long?”

“You slept for a very long time.” Sakura frowned. “Why didn’t you ask for a medic?”

“I told you. I’m alright,” she reassured Sakura.

“You are now that a doctor has treated you,” Sakura countered, frown still etched on her face.

“D-doctor?” Chaeyeon sputtered. Please don’t tell me she knows. “Were you here when the doctor took care of me?”

“Do you expect the Princess to be in the company of a man who is undressed?” Aoi asked, scandalized. Had she been here all the time?

Huffing, Chaeyeon answered, “Not at all. I’m sorry, Your Grace. I’m still disorientated.” Then that meant Chaeyeon had been taken care of by Yena.

In that moment, Yena entered the room, an unknown man in tow. Sakura stood up immediately. It made Chaeyeon’s hand feel cold.

Smiling at her, Sakura left the room with Aoi in tow, leaving her alone with Yena and the man.

“How are you feeling?” the man asked, sitting on the floor next to her.

“A little dizzy, my body hurts.” The man nodded.

“It is normal. After a long period of rest your body will feel strange for a little while.” Turning to Yena, he asked, “Did you give him the medicine I gave you?”

“Of course!” Yena answered. “I made him drink every single drop!”

The doctor nodded in approval before clearing his throat. “Would you mind helping me see… her sick spots?”

Yena looked at Chaeyeon sheepishly. “Uhm, the doctor has to… you need to...” Chaeyeon didn’t need any more explanations. She untied her robe, feeling a little uncomfortable in doing so in front of a stranger, but knowing it was for the better (even if she was still confused).

“Uhm,” she interjected while the doctor was revising her sore (which now had a bandage). “What happened to me?”

“You died to the world, Chaeyeon-ah!” Yena exclaimed, his hand covering his eyes. “When I woke up the day after you arrived, you were sweating and had a fever! I couldn’t wake you up no matter what I did!”

“You called the doctor?” Chaeyeon asked.

“The Princess insisted,” Yena admitted, rubbing his neck. He then grinned. “Do you know how worried she was about you?”

“I can imagine.”

‘After all, we are her ticket to the Fujiwara home,’ Chaeyeon thought dryly. Even though she already felt a measure of (sisterly, obviously) affection for the Princess, a part of her didn’t really believe it could be reciprocated (the other part of her remembered Sakura's care of Chaeyeon's cut).

“She stayed with you whenever the doctor wasn’t here. She insisted on giving you water and medicine herself, even though I could have done it just fine. I think she almost needed a doctor herself.”

“Don’t exaggerate,” Chaeyeon chastised, hissing when the doctor put some medicine on her sore. Nevertheless, she was touched at Sakura’s care, and would thank her as soon as she could. Her tone softened. “Was she alright?”

Yena snorted. “Just upset at you being sick.”

“Huh,” Chaeyeon exclaimed, not even knowing how to answer to that. “Was everything inside the carriage?”

“Yes, thankfully.” Yena grinned. “They took nothing.”

“Which means they were truly looking to kill Princess Sakura,” Chaeyeon said somberly. While a part of her was glad the entirety of Sakura’s belongings was found, she was concerned at what it meant. The Prince had known where they were.

“When you put it like that...” Yena looked concerned at the idea as well. “What do you want to do now?”

“Well,” Chaeyeon coughed, turning to see the doctor. Yena understood the gesture.

“You want to stay?”

“While I get better?” Chaeyeon turned to look at the doctor. “How well am I?”

“Although your health is better, it’ll be good for you to rest for a few days while the sores heal. If you try binding your s again, you might hurt yourself even worse than you already have. About your chin, I have already healed it. Try treating the area gently.” The man looked grave while he said it, making Chaeyeon deflate.

“How long is a few days?” The doctor grimaced.

“Fifteen to twenty.” Chaeyeon gasped. The idea of staying put fifteen days was ridiculous. She couldn’t, nor she could make the Princess wait for her to get better.

“Alright,” Chaeyeon agreed, knowing there was no point in arguing with the doctor.

“Take this medicine to heal during the time to heal your sore.” He gave Yena the bottle, which the man thanked for. “Hopefully, you won’t be needing my services.” The man cleared his throat. “That is all.”

“Thank you,” Yena said. “Let me pay for your services...”

“The Young Miss has already paid, fortunately.” Chaeyeon’s eyes widened. “I’ll take my leave.”

After the doctor had left, Chaeyeon turned towards Yena. "How were you even going to pay him, doofus?" At her question, Yena looked flushed.

"Ah, uh, I kind of… stole some money?" she said, thinking that Chaeyeon would blow up.

Instead, Chaeyeon sighed, understanding that Yena was acting in desperation, but not liking the action nevertheless.

“What are we going to do?” Yena asked, deviating from the topic.

“Take the Princess, of course,” Chaeyeon answered matter-of-factly, letting Yena's actions pass.

“But you’re injured! You heard what the doctor said.”

“I know, but I can’t make the Princess wait for long.” And I don’t want to be idle again.

“Getting back is important, I know,” Yena explained. “But you can’t go around with sores on your skin!”

“I just need to take the medicine, right?”

“And rest.”

“Rest can wait.” Yena groaned.

“Why are you so stubborn?” There was a knock on the door, making Chaeyeon cover herself hurriedly, laying now on the ground and covering her body with the blanket. Yena stood up and opened the door, letting the Princess in.

“How are you?” she asked in concern. “What did the doctor say?” Before Chaeyeon was able to answer, Yena beat him to the punch.

“The doctor said he had to rest for fifteen days.”

“Yena,” Chaeyeon hissed under her breath.

“Then you should rest,” the Princess said.

“Absolutely not,” Chaeyeon announced resolutely. “Your Grace, my priority is to get you to the Fujiwara home safe and sound.” Although that was true, there was restlessness inside Chaeyeon. There was clear danger for the Princess out there, and Chaeyeon couldn’t stay idle in letting the Princess be in the midst of it. Moreover, now that she felt that there was a clue of what to do to return to her time, she wanted to follow it as soon as she could. Waiting for long wasn’t something she wanted to do anymore.

“And I’ll get there,” Sakura countered crossly. “In time.”

“How can I let you go on your own, Your Grace?” Chaeyeon asked rhetorically.

“I wouldn’t. I’d wait for your convalescence.”

“I can’t let you do that, Your Grace. You need to go on.”

“I know very well what I need to do,” she said, her tone angry. “And what I need to do is wait for you to heal. Am I clear?”

Chaeyeon lowered her head, recognizing the bossy voice. She had accepted Sakura's orders had been (justifiably) panicked about her cut, but know she felt angry at it. Wasn’t Sakura aware of the danger she was in? “Yes, Your Grace.”

Her expression softened. “Do you need food? Water?”

“Don’t concern yourself, Your Grace. Yena will aid me in whatever I might need.” She was still angry at the directive, so her answer was curt, though Sakura’s sudden expression made Chaeyeon regret her words.

“I will concern myself with what I please,” Sakura answered steely. “I’ll bring you some water.”

Sakura stood up suddenly, leaving the room in what could only described as stomping. She walked toward the innkeeper, who perked up when he saw her.

“Excuse me, could you please get me a bowl of water?” she asked sweetly, knowing he wouldn’t deny her anything, as he had basically offered his services the day she had arrived.

“Of course. Of course,” he said hurriedly. “Should I take it to your room?”

“If it isn’t too much trouble, could you please take it to the men’s room? Thank you.” She smiled at him dazzlingly, making him swoon slightly. As soon as his back was returned, however, her expression became stormy, a reflection of what she was feeling right now.

Which was frustration, a whole lot of it.

Yes, she was aware that it was important to reach the Fujiwara’s and stop her brother’s plans, but Chaeyeon was important, too. The only one who didn’t agree on that was Chaeyeon himself, and that was extremely frustrating.

How could he act as if his life wasn’t important? Why was he so ready to head into the unknown, completely disregarding his health? It made her fume.

He had been hurting for gods know how long, maybe even before Sakura herself had realized it. Then, he got injured by that man, and tried joking about it and shrugging it off.

She huffed, walking towards Chaeyeon’s room. Although she was angry at the man, she wanted to take care of him, and not even her anger would stop her.

Knocking impatiently, it took a moment for the door to open, but when it did, Chaeyeon was still there, lying in the bedding, his cheeks more colored than when he first had woken up.

“The innkeeper will bring water in a moment,” she said shortly, sitting next to the man lying down. He seemed ashamed, since he turned his head to not face Sakura.

“I’m sorry, Your Grace. I… just… I worry that you are in danger, and being cooped up in here cannot be beneficial for you.” His apology surprised her, since he was being stubborn just a moment ago.

“This might be true,” Sakura admitted, sighing. “But you can’t disregard your health. I don’t want you to.”

“Fifteen days is a long time, Your Grace. I can’t keep you here, waiting for my health to get better,” he argued, but his voice was less combative.

“Then… what do you suggest?” Sakura said, though she preemptively knew she wouldn’t accept any option that would endanger his health.

“Just to get to the Fujiwara home. I’ll rest as much as needed then. Please, Your Grace,” he pleaded. “I can’t rest if I feel you are in danger.”

“I can’t let you go like that.” Chayeon huffed in frustration. It was in that moment that there was a knock on the door, signaling that the innkeeper had brought the water.

“I’ll go get it,” Yena said, standing up. However, he used the opportunity to leave the room.

“I can’t rest knowing you are unsafe,” Chaeyeon said after a moment.

“And I can’t be at peace knowing you are injured,” Sakura shot back, sighing when she saw Chaeyeon’s expression.

“Is there a way we can have a middle ground?” Chaeyeon asked, finally understanding that Sakura wouldn’t budge at all.

“How?”

“What if I rest for a few days? Four or five. Then we’ll leave for the Fujiwara’s.” Sakura bit her lip, thinking about accepting the proposition.

“When we get there, you’ll rest as much as needed,” she said, her tone offering no other argument.

“Alright,” Chaeyeon conceded. “Four days.”

“Five,” Sakura argued again, making Chaeyeon grimace.

“Fine, five.” Sakura smiled, though her expression was still tight with tension.

“It’s a deal.”

After a moment, Yena came back, water bowl in hand. Sensing that an agreement had been reached, he smiled and started a conversation, so as to soften both parties from their previous argument. Sakura joined hesitantly, thankful that Yena was there as a buffer, but she wished she could have a normal conversation with Chaeyeon again, just when they had been looking for the town earlier.

–

Three days have passed by extremely slowly, with either Yena, Sakura, or the maids attending to her needs. Although at first she had permitted herself to truly rest and let other people baby her, at this point she was tired, used to doing everything on her own. Not even at the temple had she been babied like this.

Nevertheless, she couldn’t convince anyone that she could try to do things on her own, with Yena claiming that the doctor had ordered her to rest, Sakura giving her a pointed look, and the maids all saying that they couldn’t disobey the Princess’s orders.

It could be worse.

After all, it gave her time to also talk to everyone, often engaging in long conversations, though that was a whole difficulty all on its own. She had to take care to never give any hint that she was out of the ordinary, barely possible as most of her memories and experiences were based in her present. So, even though she enjoyed conversation with everyone, Yena was still the person that made her feel more safe when having a casual chat, as she could mention things from her life that she could then briefly explain to Yena.

Everything was going smoothly (boring), though, if Chaeyeon had known what would happen on this night, she wouldn’t have complained as she had.

She had been sleeping, Yena next to her in another bedding. Although she was still recuperating, Chaeyeon had recovered her extreme wariness to sounds and sights, so it was no surprise when she rose up suddenly when she heard the door open.

The man looked shocked at seeing into her eyes, but the shock wore up quickly, and he jumped to attack. Rolling backwards, she pulled Yena along with her. The older man woke up, murmuring stupidly until she understood in what situation they were in.

The man tried attacking again, and both men avoided the attack.

Grabbing onto the blanket and throwing it in the attacker’s direction, she took the short period of respite to get up. Slashing the blanket into two, the man jumped towards them, but both man were able to avoid it.

In the span of a few seconds, Chaeyeon managed to look into Yena’s eyes, trying to signal that she’ll try and stop the man who was now facing only Chaeyeon. Yena looked confused at the message, given that the man had a weapon and it would be hard to retain him.

Chaeyeon sighed, feigning weakness, and fell to the floor. The man looked surprised, but rushed to kill Chaeyeon.

“Hey!” Yena threw a bowl at him, managing hit him in the shoulder. Turning towards Yena, he now started attacking Yena relentlessly.

Opening one eye, Chaeyeon could see that the man had now been totally lulled into thinking she had truly passed out, and she decided to use this opportunity. Rolling quietly towards the man, she managed to be in his way when he moved, making him trip, the weapon in his hands falling from his grip.

“Grab the weapon!” Chaeyeon screamed as she held onto the man, wrestling with him. However, she was no match for the man, who punched her in the face, sending her sprawling onto the floor.

Yena now held the weapon and brandished it at the man. The man attempted getting it back, but Yena just walked backwards.

“I’m going to cut you!” Yena yelled as the man came closer. In that moment, the man found himself being choked with the bedding, courtesy of Chaeyeon, who just gripped hard until the man fell, unconscious.

“Is he dead?” Yena asked tremulously.

“No, he just passed out,” Chaeyeon answered, able to see the quiet rise of his chest. Looking from the man to the door several times, she said gravely, “stab him in the leg.”

“Why? He’s already unconscious!”

“So that he won’t be looking for us when he wakes up,” Chaeyeon answered, feeling guilty, the memory of stabbing that man's ankle resurfacing. She didn't quite like the idea, but she couldn't deal with the alternative.

Yena nodded and did as asked.

“We need to leave."

“Should we go tell the Princess?”

“Yes, we should… just.” Chaeyeon was reminded of one tiny detail. “I need to bind.”

“What?” Yena looked at Chaeyeon as if she had grown a second head. “That is not important now! We need to tell them.”

Chaeyeon gritted her teeth, knowing that Yena was right. Forgoing her own fears of being found out, she told Yena, “you’re right. Let’s go.”

Running out of the room, Yena asked, “you think someone went to their room?”

“Hopefully not,” Chaeyeon murmured. She knew that every second they spent rushing was a valuable second that could help the girls.

Not bothering to even knock, they opened the door abruptly. Relief filled both of them when they saw the girls fast asleep.

“Your Grace! Your Grace!” Chaeyeon chanted loudly, hoping to wake the Princess up. After a moment, Juri was the one to wake up, and, upon seeing the men looking down at them, squeaked in surprise.

“Juri, we need to go,” Chaeyeon said seriously. “Wake them up quickly.”

Sensing the urgency, Juri nodded, rushing out of the bedding.

“Is there anything you have kept in this room?” Chaeyeon asked, receiving a negative in exchange. “Good.”

“Your Grace, wake up,” Juri said, shaking the woman up. Chaeyeon and Yena tried waking Aoi and Mina respectively, but Yena noticed there Mina wasn’t there.

“Where is Mina?” he whispered towards Juri, who shot a surprised look at the place where Mina was supposed to be resting.

“I don’t know,” she whispered, already fearing the worst. “Let me...”

“First let’s wake the other two,” Chaeyeon said, just as Aoi opened her eyes.

“W-what?! What are you-!”

“We need to leave, now,” Chaeyeon interrupted. “There is no time,” he interjected again when Aoi opened .

“How’s the Princess?” Aoi asked as she turned to look at Sakura, who was now rousing from sleep. “Your Grace? Get up.”

“Huh?” Sakura looked disoriented, but then blushed at the sight of a barely dressed Chaeyeon. “What are you doing here?”

“We need to leave, Your Grace,” Chaeyeon repeated. “Someone came into our room and tried to kill us.”

“How…?”

Aoi looked at the Princess with urgency. “Your Grace, it is better to reserve those questions for another time. We need to flee.” Sakura nodded, focusing on their current priority.

“If there was such man, then that means they know where we are, and would know if we are leaving,” Chaeyeon said. “We need to leave through a less known part.”

“But how?” Sakura asked. “There are only two ways to get out of here.” Juri, in that moment, gestured.

“No, I remember… There is a cellar door next to the innkeeper’s counter. There might be a way out the town there.”

“Then what?” Aoi asked, grabbing Sakura’s arm.

“Then… then we must leave sneakily, no taking the carriage.” Chaeyeon said.

“How can we leave the carriage here?” Aoi hissed.

“How can we take it with us without being seen?” Chaeyeon countered. “Moreover, we have no animal to move it, so Yena and I would have to pull it, making us go slower and become an easy target.”

“They are right, Aoi,” Sakura said gravely. “There’s no other option.”

“Then, what about Mina?” Everyone turned to look at each other for a moment.

“We’ll find her on our way out… hopefully,” Chaeyeon whispered the last part. “Then, let’s go.”

Sneaking out of the room and towards the main building, Chaeyeon looked wildly around for anyone that might be dangerous. Fortunately for them, there only seemed to be one man, which was the one who entered their room.

Finding the door quickly, they looked for the man, but were met with the harsh sight of an unconscious man behind the counter.

“,” Chaeyeon cursed under her breath, but at the same time gave her relief. At the very least, the innkeeper hadn’t told on them.

Opening the door of the cellar, all of them climbed down the wood stairs, with Yena and Chaeyeon helping the other girls get down.

Chaeyeon gestured towards a small light hanging next to some barrels, and all of them moved next to it.

“Stay here for a moment. I’ll go check outside,” Chaeyeon said, pausing when she registered the shocked reactions of the Princess and the maids at what was now visible under the dim light.

“C-chaeyeon...” Aoi stuttered. Fearing the worst, Chaeyeon tried explaining herself.

“Yes, I am a woman,” she admitted. “Please, don’t think it was my intention to fool you. I needed to take care of myself.”

“But… how…?” Even Juri looked at Chaeyeon in surprise. Sakura, on the other hand, said nothing.

Chaeyeon sighed. “I promise I’ll tell you everything you need to know. We need to flee first.” Not waiting for an answer, she roamed the cellar until she found a door leading somewhere else. Climbing up the stairs, she felt Yena following her.

“Take care of the girls,” Chaeyeon ordered.

“I already am,” Yena said sadly, having seen the shadow of heartbreak on the Princess’s face. He wanted, if for a moment, to leave Sakura as alone as she could so she could process the fact that the person she liked was a woman.

Chaeyeon huffed. “What do you… Alright,” she said, not wanting to waste more time. Opening the door, she got out of the cellar, looking out for anything suspicious. There were some unknown men she could see, which made her heart rate spike. There was no way they could sneak past them. Gesturing to Yena to return, they both entered the cellar again.

Surprised at the sadness Sakura’s face reflected, Chaeyeon rushed towards the older woman. “Are you alright, Your Grace?” All she got was a potent glare from Aoi.

“You’re a horrible person!” the short maid spit out furiously. Chaeyeon frowned.

“How am I a terrible person?!” Chaeyeon exclaimed, irritated at the accusation.

“How could you pretend to be a man?! How could you lie to all of us?!”

“It was to protect myself! Do you even understand what happens to women that roam the roads alone?” Aoi huffed in anger.

“Do you think we would hurt you?”

“No! But the Prince would.” That made Aoi pause for a moment.

“He’s right, Aoi,” Juri said, still confused about the pronouns she should be using with a person she had seen as a man for a long time.

“You’re defending him… her!” Aoi exclaimed, pointing a finger at Juri.

“I am not,” Juri answered. “Just… I cannot imagine embarking myself on an overseas trip as a woman. What would have happened to me then?”

“If what he-she says is true,” Aoi muttered.

“Why do you think I would lie to you?” Chaeyeon asked with gritted teeth. “Moreover, all I’ve done is protect you, all of you, often putting my life on the line! Why do YOU think I’d want to hurt you.”

“Well, I don’t know...” Aoi said. “Maybe you’re working with the Prince, and that’s why-”

“Stop it,” a small voice said. Aoi turned, surprised to hear Sakura speak. “Stop it, Aoi. Leave it be.” Wiping her rogue tears, she cleared , and said, “our priority is to get out of here alive.”

“Your Grace...”

“She’s has protected us ever since we left, often putting us over her own needs,” she declared. “We should… we need to trust her.”

Chaeyeon sighed. “Thank you,” she whispered gratefully, but Sakura refused to meet her eyes, making her heart ache. “There are unknown men outside, most likely having come with the man who tried to kill me and Yena. They’ll realize sooner rather than later that their partner has lasted too long, and they might enter the inn.”

“So, we leave now?” Yena asked.

“We leave now,” Chaeyeon confirmed. Walking towards their exit, Chaeyeon continued. “Let me see if they are still outside.” Climbing up the stairs, Chaeyeon opened the door slowly, and looked around. “It’s time to go.”

Without any other words, all of them got out of the cellar. When everyone was already out, Chaeyeon got closer to Yena.

“I’ll go look for Mina. Take them to the nearest exit of this town.”

“You don’t want me to go with you?” Yena asked anxiously.

“It’s better if I go on my own. It’s more difficult to detect us that way,” Chaeyeon answered. “Most likely, the safest option is the exit at the east. It’s further from the inn. You might need to go around the town to go to the Fujiwara’s.”

Yena grimaced. “You’re talking as if you’re dying.”

“I’m talking as if there’s a possibility that I might take a while to avoid these men.” Chaeyeon turned to the Princess. “Your Grace, Yena will help you sneak out of this town while I look for Mina.”

Sakura didn’t turn to look at him, but nodded, regardless. Aoi clenched her jaw, but said nothing, only following what the Princess agreed to. Walking towards the inn’s bathroom, she first checked if there was any person roaming around, but when she finally was convinced the men had gone inside the inn, Chaeyeon walked a bit more freely.

However, when she was able to see the now abandoned carriage, she was reminded of the valuable Sakura had kept with her.

“Maybe a detour would be fine,” Chaeyeon whispered, sneaking to the carriage. However, when she tried opening the door, she saw the silhouette of a man, making her run in the opposite direction. The man, having seen her, started pursuing her.

Idiot! Idiot! Chaeyeon ran as fast as she could, abandoning all pretense of sneaking around. But she knew she couldn’t be a fool and take the assassin towards Yena and the rest, but needed to do the opposite.

Finally, she decided running towards the few houses that existed there, planning to lose the man there. Opening one of the houses’ doors, she entered in, running without caring if she stepped on someone or not. She could hear the squeals and coughs of the family she was probably running over, but she paid no heed. Opening the backdoor, she continued running.

She could still feel the man on her heels, and tried running through other houses to do the same thing. However, after the third time, she knew that wouldn’t fend the assassin off, so she’d need another strategy.

Running again towards the inn, she located the bathroom, and ran towards it. Opening the door, she entered it as fast as she could, locking the door.

Her heart pounding, her mind already aware of the consequences of her plan’s failure, she tried positioning herself at the roof of the wooden bathroom. She cursed at herself over and over as she failed climbing to the roof, hearing how the pounding of the door became more insistent.

Just in time, she was able to position herself in a way that when the man slammed the door open, Chaeyeon kicked his head into the waste hole. Jumping to the floor, she closed the door and, was ready to take off running to the cellar, but was able to distinguish a body on the floor close to the bathroom.

Knowing she had but little time to hide before the man came out, she started carrying the body, disregarding the strange protuberance that was poking her arm. Running now, she was able to hide behind the carriage before the man came out. The man, now in a rage, looked for Chaeyeon close to the bathroom, but seeing there was no one there, he took off running. This, Chaeyeon knew, was her opportunity to enter the cellar again, as she was afraid of trying to leave and leading the men towards the Princess.

Inside the cellar were the men that had first been outside, but, fortunately for her, those men hadn’t heard her open the door. Closing it as carefully as she could, she sneaked off towards the way they had entered the city first, resolute in doing anything to lead them away from the rest of the group.

Finally, a little more further away from the town, Chaeyeon was able to put the body down. She hadn’t paid much attention to the body when she was running away, but now that she was quiet, she could hear her groaning in pain.

“Mina?”

There was a surge of panic within Chaeyeon as she tried calling out to the woman, but her fears were put to rest when the woman grunted in response.

Sighing in relief, Chaeyeon wiped the sweat off her jaw. “Please, hold on.”

Carrying her in her arms again, she ran, not minding her own pain, in the direction where the rest of the group had gone. Time was of essence, if Mina was to make it.