After several weeks of not getting any information out from the tight-lipped prince, Seulgi had done as Seungwan had taught her to do. The palace maid had teased the prince by giving him the cold shoulder but appearing before him during opportune moments, like a fate’s play.

It had worked.

Seulgi had twisted her ankle intentionally while helping out in manual labour, a task which Sehun was helping to oversee. The palace maid had refused to be treated and ignored the prince concern. This had prompted the prince to whisk her away from other watchful eyes as he personally tended to her injury.

It was all an act on her part but Seulgi’s heart thumped faster when Sehun had inspected her ankle tenderly.

Focus, Kang Seulgi! 

“No swelling, that is good.”

Seulgi retracted her foot embarrassedly. “Told you it was fine. Now people are probably going to talk about how preposterous it is for a prince to be showing so much concern to a mere palace maid,” Seulgi tried to sound disgruntled.

The prince snorted. “I never knew you to be someone who was afraid of gossips. What is wrong with you and my sister lately? Why are you two so spiteful towards me?”

“You know why,” Seulgi said.

“No, I clearly don’t,” Sehun replied. “So tell me why.”

Seulgi spoke as she had practiced before Princess Seungwan. “Because you know all about Princess Seungwan and my late night misdemeanours but I know nothing about your affairs in the Bae court. I regret telling you about Princess Seungwan’s hobby, now we cannot go out and I am missing out on the fun too.”

Sehun looked thoroughly dumbfounded at Seulgi’s laments.

“I did not know that you enjoyed those late night rendezvous with dangerous merchants.”

“Why not? It is exciting.”

Sehun blew out a breath. “Why do you and my sister enjoy courting trouble so much? Don’t you know? Seungwan must tread very carefully and not invite trouble to herself?”

“Why?”

“She is not a princess of your country. She is Mongolian.”

“She grew up in the palace and is like a sibling to the princess and princes,” Seulgi argued.  

Sehun’s jaw was set, more firmly than ever.

“That is another problem. She should never have gotten that close, especially not to that Princess Joohyun of yours.”

Seulgi was appalled at the prince’s words. She reckoned that she must have really triggered something within the prince for him to have uttered those words. However, before Seulgi could have goaded the prince to spill more information, he had turned and walked away.

**

Seungwan heard rustles outside her tent. Careful not to wake Joohyun up, Seungwan crept out of their bed, took her sword before exiting her tent. She greeted the pair of guards standing by the opening of her tent before looping around and behind the tent.

An open palm struck out at her and Seungwan easily dodged it. The striker had lost her balance and nearly fell over if Seungwan had not gripped her by her wrist. It was only Yeri.

“How did you manage to sneak into the encampment?” Seungwan asked, dissatisfaction in her tone.

“Easy, I posed as a village child, offered some mulled wine to one of your soldiers and stole his clothes. I just shed out of his clothes,” Yeri spoke smugly as she pointed to the pile of discarded clothes.

Seungwan breathed in deeply and regarded the young girl with severe eyes.

“The royal guards are too lax, Seungwan, no wonder you need our protection.”  

Seungwan sighed. “Why have you come? Let’s go somewhere easier to speak.”  

“News has arrived. Jongdae and Kyungsoo’s prosecution of Minister Song in court has been successful.” Yeri said proudly.

Seungwan’s heart lurched and a wide smile surfaced on her face.

“That was quick. Give me more details.”

“If you can keep up with me,” Yeri said as she rode ahead.

Seungwan thought those words sounded vaguely familiar and realised just how much Yeri resembled her when she was little. “Hey, Yeri, slow down.”

They soon reached their organisation’s encampment and was greeted by a panic-looking Jaehyun who looked a little more relieved when he saw Seungwan.

“Seungwan, we were wondering where Yeri had ran off to.”

“I don’t even know how she managed to convince you guys to bring her along for this mission,” Seungwan said in a slightly reproachful manner.

Wasting no time afterwards, Jaehyun then highlighted the details in the letter that came from Taeyong and Ten about the success of their plans. Everything had gone so smoothly that the princes could even spare concern for their royal princess and herself.

Pride swelled within Seungwan’s heart but at the same time there was a sense of foreboding which Seungwan could not quite put a finger to. Deciding to keep mum of her uneasiness, Seungwan told Jaehyun to write the princes’ letters to convey of their wellbeing, not forgetting to remind them to not become complacent.

Before Seungwan left the organisation’s camp, Yeri had whispered something into her ears that made her break into a wide grin.

“Thank you, Yeri.”

**

Joohyun woke up with a start from an ominous dream. She was about to call for Seungwan when she found out that there was no one by her side and her heart dropped. Then she fumbled around her bed in search of the protective leather vest she was making for the wildling princess.

She had often urged the princess to put on protective gears whenever she went on her mission and Seungwan sometimes followed. However, ever since bad dreams were becoming more frequent for Joohyun, she had to make sure Seungwan wore one to ease her worries even if it was just a little. This night’s dream had been exceptionally realistic.   

In her dreams, several scenes flashed by, all of which involved Seungwan. Of her falling off her stead, of a pack of wolves closing in on Seungwan, and of a barrage of arrows being fired at her. Joohyun shook her head, trying to erase her mind of all the images, and trying to calm her palpitating heart by clutching on to her unfinished vest more tightly. Whipping her head about again, Joohyun felt a strange weight settle over her chest. Where had Seungwan gone to?

Joohyun’s worry grew, especially after the dream. She could not make sense of why she had been plagued by such inauspicious dreams as of late especially when they were so far away from the palace and Seungwan’s organisation.  

After dressing promptly, Joohyun exited her tent.

Joohyun then bumped into the person she wished to see the most. Her spirits lifted a little but decided to recompose herself. Seungwan had walked steadily towards her, a bright expression on her face and held her by her shoulders.

“Where are you rushing off to, my princess?”

Joohyun pouted but held it in until they had their privacy. “Nowhere, I was looking for you.”

“I am here now. Let’s go back to the tent, we should not stay out here in the middle of the night.”

Seungwan then led Joohyun back into their tent, a small spring in her steps.

“Did something good happen?”

“No, I just took a night walk and felt refreshed,” Seungwan lied and it was too obvious for Joohyun.

“Seungwan…” Joohyun implored again and Seungwan eventually gave in.

“I met someone from the organisation.”

Unable to conceal her surprise, Joohyun exclaimed, her voice a little louder than expected, “the organisation?! Out here?!”

Seungwan winced and nodded. “Don’t worry, they are just here to ensure our safety and nothing else.”

Seungwan sighed inwardly, knowing that she must have caused Joohyun to worry again.  

“H-How many of them are there?” Joohyun asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Around… a hundred of them.” Seungwan lied a little because the figures were actually closer to nearly triple of that.   

A sigh of disbelief escaped from Joohyun’s lips. “But why…?”

Seungwan puffed out a cheek as if internally debating if she should divulge more to Joohyun. In the end, Seungwan decided to keep mum and Joohyun could not help but feel more frustrated about it.

“Joohyun, let’s just not worry about this, it is the organisation’s business. Come on, I will take you out if you cannot sleep,” Seungwan dragged Joohyun along even before the courtly princess could react to her suggestion.  

Joohyun noticed how alert Scarlet was, as if already anticipating their arrival. Despite the royal guard’s worries, Seungwan had not allowed them to follow and they could only obey for fear of angering the Mongolian princess. Even without any royal guards, Joohyun still felt safe as long as she was in Seungwan’s arms and sensing that Seungwan might be up to something that required privacy, did not argue with her about safety. Seungwan helped Joohyun up Scarlet carefully and Joohyun’s comfort grew as she leant back into Seungwan’s strong chest.

As they trotted slowly on the horse, Joohyun noticed just how peaceful the night was in the village they were in. The darkne