Seungwan felt agonising pain tear through her body. The little princess tried to keep her mind awake as she recalled the details.

It was night time when they had spotted paw prints in the soft, loamy soil and knew they were after the trail of a wolf. The thrill of the hunt had just begun.

Prince Jongdae was riding by her side and they were flanked by the royal hunting guards which had always annoyed Seungwan slightly. The princess did not like to be protected however she had to admit that hunting in the dark and in the woods was vastly different as compared to that of the great plains. Princess Taeyeon was back in their camping ground because she was not too fond of hunting in the night. That did not bother Seungwan as long as the princes were as enthusiastic as herself. She could show her sister her kill later. Seungwan had hunted in woods before but she had been familiar with the forests in her homeland, not this forest, so she should be a good child that was expected of her and stick close to the pack.

They had been tracking the wolf for slightly more than an hour and was beginning to grow impatient.

“Exciting isn’t it?” Prince Jongdae asked in that honey-dripping voice of his to lift her moods up and Seungwan rolled her eyes.

“Very… if only the wolf would show itself right now,” Seungwan said sarcastically.

“Oooh… you never know… it might suddenly pounce on one of us,” the prince said scarily and Seungwan gave another roll of her eyes.

“Then we will really be in trouble. We are in the inner circle so the chances of it pouncing of one of us is near impossible.”

“Then shall we lead our group instead?” Prince Jongdae goaded.

The idea enticed Seungwan slightly but she knew best to not be influenced. Especially not when she would risk her elder sister’s scolding when she had found out about it.

Then suddenly Prince Jongdae jerked to attention. His eyes had widened and a huge grin spread across his face as he looked towards Seungwan.

Oh no…

Seungwan realised what the prince’s eyes or ears had picked up that none of the rest except herself had. The wolf was near. Then before she could cry out a warning, Prince Jongdae had turned his steed to give chase after the wolf. Seungwan groaned and went after him. The hunting party was alarmed and tossed into a disarray at the sudden break in their formation.

“Prince Jongdae! Stop! Wait for the rest!” Seungwan cried.          

Her heart thundered and she heard blood roaring in her ears. However, the prince was too focused on controlling his steed and drawing his bow at the same time. His second arrow found its mark in the wolf’s hindlegs and Seungwan heard the animal yowl in distress. There were panicked shouts coming from behind them.

Seungwan slowed her steed, if Jongdae had successfully shot the animal then maybe they would be safe after all. The little princess never knew how wrong she was and realised it too late when she saw the gleaming eyes from the beasts that emerged from the thick bushes. Their padded feet had allowed them to move so noiselessly that Seungwan had not even noticed their presence. Then she found out that the wolf the prince had shot was just a juvenile wolf and it had led them to an entire wolf pack.

Her heart picked up speed again.

“Jongdae, wolf pack! Run!”   

Too late, one of the wolves was coming for Prince Jongdae’s stallion. Seungwan drew her bow and shot at the animal. She had missed but the arrow had made the beast retreat. Then she heard a howl from behind her. She whirled and drew her bow again, releasing the arrow just in time for the arrow to catch the beast in its abdomen.

The shouts from the hunting party grew louder as they tried to pinpoint Prince Jongdae and her location.

“We are here!” Prince Jongdae shouted.

The first of their hunting party had burst forth from the trees. However it was also at this time when Seungwan’s steed had betrayed her and threw her from its back. In that split second, Seungwan managed to cushion her fall but never was she ready to face a vicious wolf that had its fangs bared and its giant claws ready to swipe against her. Whatever happened later was a blur as she felt pain lance through her and heard the cries from the men around her, of which, most distinct, was her own name.

“Princess Seungwan!”

Seungwan’s mind returned back to the present, where she now laid in her sister’s arms and was in a swaying carriage. She was swathed in thick silken blankets. Her sister was crying, again as she checked and rechecked the slash across the entire right side of Seungwan’s body. The little princess knew it was a slash from the claws and not a bite as she vaguely made out what the young physician who had accompanied the hunting party had said. According to the same young physician, the slash had been deep enough to reveal parts of her bone. Seungwan shuddered a little at the thought of it. She hoped there would be no lasting damage if she managed to recover from this assault, she did not want to live maimed for life.

“Seungwan, we are reaching the palace, everything will be fine once we have reached. The imperial physician will mend you, they will not let anything happen to you,” Princess Taeyeon said through her tears.

Seungwan nodded, her eyes glazing over and she felt bullets of sweat forming on her head as the white-hot pain shot through her body once again. Her sister dabbed gently on her forehead with a handkerchief and she recalled the birthday gift Princess Joohyun had given her right before her hunting trip. In her state of grogginess, Seungwan did not know why or how she was suddenly reminded of Princess Joohyun’s facial features, her glimmering eyes which looked melancholic most of the times, her prominent cheek bones and her pale yet beautiful petal-shaped lips.

Seungwan had told Joohyun that she would see her when she was back. Then Seungwan remembered that she had intended to invite Princess Joohyun into her quarters on her birthday before they were interrupted by the princes. Seungwan would have shown Princess Joohyun some of her weapons and her hunting collections sent from her father Khan and elder brothers. Too bad she did not manage to do so on that day itself.

Her mind was becoming foggier and Seungwan decided that maybe she should let it rest.

When Seungwan had fully regained her consciousness again, she was greeted by the sight of a small figure resting her head by her bed. It took several moments to realise that this small figure was actually Princess Joohyun. She was surprised that the last thoughts she had of a person was the first sight she had woken up to.

“W-What…” Seungwan tried to say and found her