The morning light attacked the back of YongSun’s eyelids. She lifted one hand to cover them but it was too late, she was awake. She sat up in bed, slightly confused, then she remembered that she went into the spare room last night and passed out as soon as she hit it. Perhaps this is why TaeOh chose the other room, it was not facing the sun. She slid out of the bed, her feet touching the cold wood floor, her head was throbbing. It had been going non-stop since yesterday when she woke up, too many things to think about, to try and not think about. “But I asked you ONE TIME to just leave YongSun alone and make her own choice and you just did what you pleased...again.” Byul’s words echoed in her head from the memory, she shook them away, she wasn’t ready to deal with Byul’s possible feelings for her, TaeOh’s feelings for her, her feelings for them…

She wanted nothing more than to just scrub away all of theses thoughts and start new, focus on her powers now that she seemed to know what triggered them… but that in itself was something she didn’t want to face. With a large sigh she pushed up from the bed, she needed a shower, she was going to try and scrub her thoughts away, even if she knew it wasn’t going to work. 

No one was in the living room. YongSun looked to the second bedroom, the door was closed, she could hear TaeOh’s snoring through the wood. She wondered if Byul was in there as well, she stepped out last night to talk to WheeIn but YongSun fell asleep before she got back to the house. YongSun grabbed a piece of paper and scribble a note on it, in case either of the warriors woke up and she was not there. Gone to the baths, be back soon. -YS

She left it on the table where they were sure to see it and she left the house.

YongSun thought most of the village would still be asleep but she was wrong. Scents of fresh baked goods and meat wafted through the air. Groups of mothers and children were already on their way to the gardens to tend to them. She could already hear the forges of the blacksmith roar through the village, she wondered if they ever slept in this village. 

The bathing house was one of the furthest points of the village, YongSun at first wondered if it was for privacy, but then she figured it was because it was the location of the waterfall and body of water they used. The waterfall was something of magic, the beautiful cascading waters were always hot, and the outside light always shone off of it, she wondered if magic protected it from the elements. That was exactly what YongSun needed, a dip in the waterfall, it would be sure to wash away all of her worries. 

YongSun went into the woman’s side of the bathing house, she wondered why they even bothered to make sides, especially since WheeIn and HyeJin were a thing… perhaps it was just the standard thing to do. She opened the door and stepped into the bathing house, fresh scents of water washed over her, as well as a few floral ones. One thing she noticed about this building was that the smells were never the same, it changes every day to a new one. She could hear the steady rhythm of the waterfall from behind the the small wall that covered it from the door. She set her things on the hook in the hallway and slipped into a robe that hung nearby. 

She turned the corner, eyes finding the small bathing units that were offered to them. Slowly her eyes flicked over to the waterfall, her heart stopped in her chest, she was not alone. Pale, almost white skin, a slim, muscular figure. Their back was turned to YongSun, medium blonde hair falling covering almost half of her back. A mixture of scars ran along her skin, telling the story of her travels. YongSun could hear her own heart in her ears as she finally clued in to who was standing in front of her, though she kind of knew all along who the person was, afterall she had seen the body before. Byul had not noticed her yet, she was washing her hair, arms lifted up as she massaged the soap into her hair, arms muscles flexing as she did. YongSun was frozen in place, unsure of what to do. Should she make herself known, should she leave? Her eyes were too transfixed on Byul’s body, her mind was blank, she was unable to think. Slowly Byul started turning around. YongSun could not help but trail Byul’s body with her eyes, they moved along the curve of her hips, over the hint of her abs that were now showing, stopping dead at her chest. YongSun swallowed hard, Byul’s arm was covering enough of herself but YongSun noticed a good majority of the side of Byul’s , now they it was not compressed under cloth it was easier to see. “YongSun!” Byul’s shock voice rang out in the room. Startled, YongSun’s eyes darted to Byul’s wide eyes. She stood there, half turned for another moment before she squatted down in the water, everything but her shoulders covered. “I didn’t hear you come in.” Her voice waved with embarrassment. 

YongSun opened to respond but shut it quick, how was she going to explain she was watching her bathe? YongSun spun away fast. “I’ll come back later.” She called over her shoulder as she dashed out of the bath house, only stopping momentarily to grab her clothes by the door and running out. Her mind replaying that scene over and over as her face burned, still trying to get the image out her head. 

Byul was super focused on saddling up her horse. The other warriors were doing the same around her. Her face still burned from the events of the morning, how long had YongSun been standing there, how much did she see? She hadn’t seen the princess since, she couldn’t bare to face her, not yet. This hunt… whatever it was, gave her the perfect excuse to avoid YongSun for the better part of the day, it would give Byul enough time to sort through her thoughts and feelings. Not that she was eager to leave YongSun, but she thought they could both do with an afternoon of space, not to mention HyeJin would be staying behind to continue her training. 

Four members of the Knight were going with them. WheeIn was obviously going, so was Krystal, who was turning out to be a good friend, and the last two were the members of WheeIn’s team Byul have not seen much past their initial introduction, JiSun and YooRa. Byul guessed she would get to know them better on this trip. 

HyeJin walked up to Byul’s side as she slid the final strap into place. “Are you ready to go?” She asked double checking Byul’s work as if she had never saddled up a horse before. 

Byul let her check, maybe she was checking if she was sending her girlfriend out with a competent person. “As ready as I can be, I am not even sure what we are doing.”

HyeJin pulled one of the straps tighter. “It is just for food, whatever kind of meat we can collect.” Her eyes looked over Byul’s shoulder, her lips going thin. “It has been a while since I have not gone on a hunt.” 

Byul assumed she was looking at WheeIn, someone Byul did not doubt could handle herself in any situation, there was added protection of the other three girls, but somehow Byul kind of understood. Byul still trusted TaeOh to protect YongSun but her not being here made it harder. “I’ll keep a second eye if you do.” 

HyeJin leveled her with a look, almost glaring for a moment before nodding. “Don’t tell her I said anything.”

Byul laughed a bit. “I’d rather not be skinned alive.” HyeJin laughed as well. “Make sure she doesn’t push herself too much, I know how important this is to everyone, and her but it is not worth getting hurt over.” 

“I think you underestimate the control she may already have on her power.” She mused. 

Byul tilted her head a bit. “You mean yesterday when she used her power for the second time, did she say what she was feeling?”

She shook her head. “No but I have a feeling she knows and I am going to get to the bottom of it, the sooner she admits it, the easier it will be for her to access them.” 

Byul really wanted to spend more time talking to HyeJin, she had an idea that the girl knew way more than she was telling Byul, but then again this was YongSun’s business not hers, which means it was YongSun’s to tell. WheeIn walked over to them. Without a word she planted a very deep kiss on HyeJin, she pulled away and moved some of HyeJin’s hair out of her face. “Stay safe.” HyeJin whispered to her. Byul felt like she shouldn’t be hearing this conversation.

WheeIn touched HyeJin’s forehead with her own. “You too.” She stepped away from HyeJin, face automatically going into leader mode. “Okay let move out!” She hollered at them as she mounted her horse. Byul had no one to say goodbye too, TaeOh had not come to see her off. Byul mounted her own horse and followed WheeIn and her gang through the boundary and into the surrounding forest. 

HyeJin lived alone. She was one of the kids from Byul’s old village, her parents died on that day. YongSun sat in her living room, on the couch, waiting for her to finish boiling the tea. It was from HyeJin that she learned that Byul left the village for the day, she was sure Byul would have told YongSun herself, had YongSun not been hiding from her all morning. There was just no way she could face the warrior after getting caught gawking at her in the bathing room. Her face still felt hot from the encounter. 

HyeJin set the cup in front of YongSun, making her look up. “Why is your face so red?” She said with a teasing tone as she sat down next to her. 

“Nothing.” YongSun said quickly as she picked up her cup, taking a large gulp. The tea tasted like flower petals and lemon, and it kind of burned on the way down.