“One, two, go!”

They finally managed to push Chanyeol up Soojin’s horse. She was not very glad at the fact that he would have to ride with her, but Baekhyun’s reasoning that their weight would be better on the steed could not be refuted. Chanyeol was too out of it to say anything as well.

“Will you be alright?” Baekhyun murmured to Kyungsoo. Soojin pretended not to hear.

“It is better if you worry about yourselves.”

Baekhyun grabbed his arm. “I will miss you, Soo.”

“We will see each other soon. The first military test will be in two months’ time. But until then, it is goodbye.”

Soojin tried her best to look away as the two men hugged. She trained her eyes on Chanyeol, who looked like he was on the verge of fainting again. His eyes were open, but he did not even seem to process the situation around him.

“I do wish we could have met under different circumstances. It was a pleasure meeting you, Soojin.” Kyungsoo was now standing by her horse.

She tore her eyes away from Chanyeol. “Likewise, Kyungsoo.”

“We have to get going now,” Baekhyun urged, pushing himself onto his horse. “Goodbye, Kyungsoo.”

With a forlorn smile, he waved back and began his journey to the army base. Soojin had to stop herself from staring at his back and get on her own steed. She adjusted herself to sit sideways with Chanyeol held the reigns after much insistence that he take charge of the horse. It felt awkward to have a man in such close proximity.

Shaking her head, she followed behind Baekhyun who was strangely quiet. However, she could not help but notice that Chanyeol was not at all awkward as a horseback rider and she mentioned that to him.

“My body somehow knows how to do this. It is as if my muscles have memorised the movement and skill,” he said after some thought.

Soojin gasped. “Then, this must mean you come from a noble family. Only those in the upper class can afford to ride horses.”

“It must be so. I truly do not remember which family I was from. In fact, I cannot even remember my surname.”

“This forest is part of the outskirts of four kingdoms,” Baekhyun piped up, still facing the front. “There is Bucheon, Daegu, Busan and Jeonju. It would be safe to assume that you might have come from one of these places.”

“Are you familiar with any of those kingdoms?” asked Soojin, tightening her arms around the man when the horse stumbled over a fallen tree branch.

“No, I am not,” he answered after a pause. He still looked a little out of it. “But it is no matter. I do not particularly wish to find my past. I must have isolated myself for a reason. In fact, I could bring the both of you danger.”

“It is too late to back out now. We have arrived.”

-

“My mischievousness is finally of use! I knew my running around the castle would come to me in handy one day,” Baekhyun declared proudly as Chanyeol fell into a heap on the ground.

It had taken the two of them to support Chanyeol all the way to the small chamber, which looked more like a cellar, which was located somewhere in the kitchens. It was abandoned, and Baekhyun came across it on one of his ‘adventures’.

“Should we get a physician to come take a look at him?” Soojin asked as Chanyeol shut his eyes in pain.

“No,” he immediately grunted out. “I do not want anyone to see me.”

Baekhyun reached to pull Chanyeol’s tunic, revealing the bloodied bandage. “Do not worry, I will have one of my people to come check on you. He will not be one to let anyone else know of my deeds.”

“But I-”

“Just put down your pride and listen to him,” Soojin chided. “It will do you some good.”

“Fine,” Chanyeol sighed before pausing. “Wait. What is that noise? It is getting louder.”

Baekhyun stood up, dusting the dirt off his pants. “I will go check. Someone must be approaching from the kitchen. You two, please stay quiet.”

He promptly left the room to seek out the newcomer. Soojin could hear Baekhyun greeting the person respectfully before his voice faded, meaning that he had strayed the person away from their hiding spot. Who would be down in the kitchens in the middle of the night? She hoped it was one of ‘Baekhyun’s people’. She very well knew that every kingdom had their own political strife and she did not want to risk exposing Chanyeol as a dragon.

“You know, Prince Baekhyun does not seem all that bad,” Chanyeol spoke suddenly, his eyes still shut. “I still do not understand why you do not wish to marry him.”

Soojin cast him a glare, but it was useless as he could not even see it. “Other than the fact that he has another lover, you mean?”

“And here he is, running around saving dragons with you.”

She realised a little too late that he had not seen Baekhyun and Kyungsoo’s interactions, being so tired. He did not even have his eyes open most of the time after the ambush. She wondered how he was able to ride the horse without much difficulty. Shaking her head, she shot back. “Shouldn’t he be saving me from dragons instead of saving the dragon?”

“The dragon saves the princess out of a sticky situation; the prince and a knight save the dragon. This should be a bedtime tale.”

She coughed awkwardly. “Oh yes, I never really got the chance to thank you for helping me earlier today. I do not know what I would have done if you had not thought of bringing me to Bucheon. I am very grateful.”

“For a princess, you sure know how to get yourself in a lot of trouble.”

“Precisely my thoughts.” Baekhyun returned from the kitchens. He did not look agitated, which meant that the visitor did not cause any problems.

“Who was that?” Soojin asked straightaway.

“It was just my brother,” he replied. “He was down here for a midnight snack. But not to worry, he has returned to his chambers. We can return to ours as well after we change the dressing on Chanyeol’s wound.”

“You called for the physician already?”

Baekhyun nodded. “After I made sure Baekbeom hyung went back, I paid a visit to one of the junior physician’s chambers. He will be here shortly.”

Soojin went to roll up Chanyeol’s sleeve to have a better look at the bandage. It looked bad, to say the least, and she wondered if he was hurt anywhere else. Her fingers brushed the skin on his arm, somehow prompting him to suddenly open his eyes. He pulled his arm away from her as if he was struck by lightning.

They locked eyes and she felt confused. Was he not used to touching ladies? That could not be, as she had helped him as he walked and even ridden a horse with him. Perhaps it was because it was the first time she actually touched his skin, as opposed to his tunic. Not wanting him to feel uncomfortable, she awkwardly pulled away.

Baekhyun did not say anything but looked at the both of them as if they were an intriguing piece of art. Chanyeol still had not taken his eyes off Soojin.

Baekhyun cleared his throat. “Perhaps you should return to your chambers first, Soojin. I do not think it would be wise for the physician to see you here since you always berate me about being indecent. It would also be better to keep you out of this in case anything goes wrong.”

She opened to retort, but decided against it after weighing the pros and cons. He was right; it was better if she left. It was still strange to see him much more mature compared to when she was in Bucheon several months ago.

“Alright,” she conceded, pushing herself off the ground. “I will see the both of you tomorrow, and hopefully we can find a solution to this whole thing.”

“What solution? After I heal up, I will find a new place to stay and you can stay here to marry Prince Baekhyun.”

Her tone was flat. “Not happening. Like I said, I will see you in the morning with a solution. Goodnight.”

Chanyeol grunted out a goodbye while Baekhyun merely waved. It looked like he was, even now, for the idea of marrying her. Taking someone’s true love away from them was despicable. Why wasn’t anyone seeing her point of view?

As Soojin trudged up the stairs, making her way past sleeping guards and ignoring the surprised looks from the few who were awake, she suddenly felt very tired all over. She landed on her bed, pulling the blankets around her like a cocoon. Sleep had never felt so good.

-

“Princess Soojin! Your Highness!”

Soojin was awoken to two maids shaking her awake, interrupting her from her blissful slumber. She whined and pulled the blankets over her head in an attempt to go back to sleep.

“Your Highness! It is almost time for breakfast,” one of the maids said. “We have to get you ready.”

She let out a disgruntled noise.

“Your parents have also sent word that they will be arriving in the kingdom of Bucheon today, sometime in the afternoon. Please wake up, Princess. We have to get you ready.”

Soojin finally pushed herself up into a sitting position. She found that her back and legs hurt as she moved. “Yes, yes. Good morning. I am awake now.”

She did not seem to convince them as she let out a huge yawn. They looked amused. “Come Your Highness, we have drawn a bath for you and laid out a fresh change of clothes.”

Wincing at the pain her muscles were feeling, she made her way to the bathroom and allowed the maids to do everything for her. It was times like this she very much enjoyed the life of a princess. She went through the motions as thoughts began to run around in her head. The newest addition to her list of things to worry about was now the arrival of her parents. They did not pay much attention to her as the third child of the Ohs so it served as a surprise to her that they were even coming to Bucheon.

The other matters to worry about included how Chanyeol was healing up, what he would do after this, what her Daegu soldiers were doing in the forest, if the physician would leak the information out, Baekhyun troubling her with marriage, and the red mark on her arm which seemed to be a rash from the walnuts.

Soojin found herself at the dining hall minutes later, with a groggy Baekhyun and a curious Baekbeom. “Good morning,” she greeted. “How are you this fine morn?”

“This morn would be better if I were asleep,” Baekhyun mumbled.

His brother laughed. “And I am fine. Come Soojin, sit. Breakfast will be served soon. Mother and father have to attend to some business with the Foreign Affairs Minister so we will be having breakfast alone.”

She nodded, sneaking a glance at Baekhyun who had his eyes closed. She wondered if he had gone to see Chanyeol already.

“Why are you so tired?” she whispered to Baekhyun. “When did you go to sleep last night?”

“Why are you so awake?” he retorted in a similar volume. “But