“Excuse me, sir,” You called out to a man walking past you. “Do you know where I can hire a ride?”

The man pointed to your left and said, “Straight ahead. You can see some men with horses. They offer rides out of this town.”

“Thank you!” You said and quickly headed over.

After running off from Jiyong, you had quickly searched for any horse ride service that would be able to send you back home to Siwon and Yuri. You couldn’t see any and as the town was quite big, you have decided to just ask someone.

Thankfully, the crowd following the parade was thickening, allowing you to have an easier time to avoid being found by Jiyong.

When you finally saw a group of men sitting outside an inn, their horses tied to some wooden posts. You heaved a sigh of relief and headed over.

“Can I get a ride to the town of Hwangjo?” You asked them.

“Hwangjo?” One of the men replied with a laugh. “That’s awfully far, Miss.”

“How far?” You asked.

“By horse, it would be nightfall when you arrive there.” Another men said.

“I’m willing to pay.” You declared. “How much for a ride there?”

The men glanced at you and after seeing that your robes were made of expensive materials, one of them said, “Twenty gold coins.”

“What?” You stared at him. “That’s expensive!”

The man let out a sigh, “Of course, I just told you how long it takes to reach there. Do you want it or not?”

You do have more than twenty gold coins in your money pouch as you had brought as much as you could fit inside, hoping to give them all to your friends.

“Fine,” You said reluctantly. “Twenty gold coins then. Let’s go now.”

The man nodded and after saddling his horse and attaching the carriage behind it, the man pulled the horse towards you. You paid him the money and got into the carriage. With a small lurch, the horse started trotting along and for the first time in many days, you felt exhilarated as you finally felt free. You will be finally home where you belong with Siwon and Yuri.

As the horse picked up its pace, you looked out the window to see the bustling town behind. The horse carriage was now running through a forest and you grinned excitedly to yourself. Your eyes then fell to the small package on your lap and your thoughts drifted to Jiyong.

How much trouble would he get into for losing you? He is the third prince. The emperor wouldn’t give him too much trouble, right? You felt an unsettling feeling in the pit of your stomach and you quickly tried to push it away.

Don’t be ridiculous. He is greatly favoured by the emperor. Nothing would happen to him. Besides, this is the only way for you to leave the palace without implicating any of your servants. Isn’t this the best way? You get to go free and nobody would get into trouble. Well… except maybe Jiyong…

You stared at the package again on your lap and your fingers started pulling at the string. The cloth fell apart to reveal the beautiful dagger he had bought for you and you tried to swallow down the guilt building within you.

Tucking the dagger into your sock safely, you told yourself again that Jiyong would be fine. The emperor needs him. He couldn’t possibly execute his own son, right? Besides, the empress is his mother. She wouldn’t allow her son to be punished.

Feeling slightly better, you shifted your thoughts onto what you could do with the money you were bringing back. It was not much as you couldn’t bring too much which would rouse suspicions from Jiyong if he were to notice. The money should be able to let the three of you open a small business in the village. With a small business, at least you three wouldn’t have to worry about going hungry again.

It was almost an hour later when you felt a sudden jerk that made you fall to your side on the seat. The carriage had come to a halt and you opened the wooden door to see the horseman had gotten down and was inspecting his carriage.

“What’s going on?” You asked as you peered down.

“The carriage wheel broke,” He replied disgruntledly.

“Can you repair it?”

“Not now. I would need to leave the carriage here and bring my horse back to the nearest town to get a new wheel.” He replied with a sigh.

Hopping off the carriage, you stared at the broken wooden wheel in dismay.

“Well, how long will that take you?” You asked.

“I’m not even sure if the town before has a wheel maker. I guess I won’t be able to send you to Hwangjo.” He said as he started detaching the carriage from his horse.

“What?” You stared at him. “No no, I paid you!”

“The wheel broke, Miss! Do you think I want that?” He snapped angrily.

Shoving his hand into his pocket, he took out the twenty coins and handed them back to you.

“Look, I really can’t send you there. Take your money.” He growled and went back to fiddling with his horse.

“What am I supposed to do?” You asked in despair. “We’re in the middle of a forest!”

“I’ll send you back to the last town we passed on horseback, alright? You can find another horseman to send you to Hwangjo.” The man replied irritably.

“Can’t we move forward instead of backward?” You asked.

The man hoisted himself up his horse and said, “That’s the nearest town from here. The next town forward is too far away.”

You thought back to the sleepy quiet town you passed about half an hour ago and eventually nodded. You were stuck in the forest and it wasn’t like you had any other choice.

The man held out his hand and taking his offer, you got up his horse and grabbed onto his shoulders as his horse galloped back to the previous town.

=======================

Why? Why is god punishing you like this? You thought in agony as you dragged your tired and sore feet on. When the man brought you to the previous town, you were quick to realise that there was no inn at all for you to stay the night. The man had dropped you off and went ahead on his way to search for a wheel maker and you were left to your own devices. The villagers in that sleepy town were not friendly as well. When you offered them some money and asked if you could have a meal and stay for the night, all the ladies slammed their doors at your face. The only person who welcomed you was a creepy man who stayed alone and you quickly hurried off before he could pull you into the house.

With no other choice as you had nowhere to rest for the night, you decided to trudge back to the bustling town where you knew there was an inn. The town where you had separated from Jiyong. Will he still be looking for you? Has he returned to the palace?

You have decided that once you were back in the town, you would barricade yourself in a room at the inn and hide there until dawn where you would find another horseman who would fetch you to Hwangjo. This way, Jiyong will not be able to find you.

The sun was starting to set and you hurried along through the deserted forest trail that would lead back to town. Thankfully, you arrived in town just as the sky turned dark and the dim lights of the town came on.

The town was not as crowded now as it looked like most of the people had all gone home. Spotting the tall building of the inn, you dragged your tired self onward as snowflakes started to drift down from the night sky.

The entire street was quiet until you heard several footsteps around the corner. Could it be Jiyong or someone looking for you? Panicked, you turned and ran towards a dark alley, hoping that no one will be able to spot you here. Flatting yourself against the cold stone wall, you watched in terror as several patrol guards marched past you, their eyes focusing on the road before them as they paid no attention to the dark alley.

When their footsteps had finally faded, you heaved a sigh of relief. You were about to step back into the main street when you heard a laugh behind you.

“Well, well, what do we have here?”

Whipping around, you saw a group of five men making their way towards you as they leered at you. Warning bells started ringing at the back of your mind as they advanced nearer. You were about to break into a run when you felt yourself being pulled back.

“Where do you think you’re going, lady?” A gruff voice snarled mockingly beside your ear.

“Let me go!” You shouted as you struggled frantically.

The man held you easily, his left arm around your neck choking you and his other hand twisting both your hands painfully behind your back.

“What are you doing out in the dark?” Another man asked as he looked at you lecherously.

The man who was choking you tightened his hold and you felt yourself struggling to breathe.

“Hey, easy there, don’t kill her before we have had our fun.” Another laughed.

The man choking you slackened his left arm and you quickly drew in several deep breaths as your eyes watered.

“I-I’ll give you money if you let me go…” You coughed out.

“Well, she does look like she comes from a wealthy family. Look at her dress…”

“I want to see what’s underneath her dress…”

“Maybe we can sell her to a brothel after having our fun with her!”

You sickened at their words and when the man who was holding you released his grip to throw you against a wall, you held out your hands to lessen the impact. Your head still smacked a little against the stone wall but the pain was nothing compared to the panic you felt within you.

Grabbing the dagger that was concealed in your sock, you brandished it around wildly as you pressed your back against the wall.

“Oh, the is armed…” One of the men snarled.

“It’s five against one, lady. You think you can win?” Another laughed.

One of the men advanced towards you and with a forceful swipe, you swung the dagger down at his arm.

“You !” He snapped as blood started dripping onto the ground. “How dare you cut me!”

“Don’t come near me!” You screamed, hoping that the patrol officers would hear you.

“Shut and pin her against the wall. She’s too noisy.” One of the men ordered.

The men whom you had just slashed quickly grabbed your wrist that was holding the dagger and twisted it painfully, causing the dagger to drop to the ground with a clatter.

You screamed once more and then felt the man cup his hand on your mouth to muffle the sound. Tears of fear sprang into your eyes as you struggled against him with the wall pressing against your back.

“Oh look, she’s scared now…”

“Look at that scared bunny look. Don’t you just want to devour her even more?”

“We’ll treat you real nice, lady. Don’t worry, if you show us a good time, we’ll consider letting you go after.”

You let out a muffled wail as one of the men reached his hand out to grab your chin harshly. He tilted your face up as he stared down at you, a sadistic smirk on his face.

Suddenly, you heard a familiar voice speak, “Let her go now.”

Surprised at the sudden intrusion, the five men, including you turned to see a man walking out from the shadows. When the moonlight shone down on his face, your eyes widened when you realised that it was Jiyong.

“We got her first,” One of the men said. “Go find your own prey for the night.”

Jiyong’s eyes were blazing with fury and you watched him withdraw his sword.

“I said, remove your filthy hands from her right now.” Jiyong commanded.

The man who was holding you laughed, “You’re threatening us? We have killed before, you know. There’s five of us here. With weapons too. We’re not afraid of you. When we’re done with you, we’re going to show this girl a good time and kill her like that we killed two nights ago. Maybe I’ll even let you watch us do the deed.”

You watched in horror as all the five men started withdrawing their own swords as well.

Jiyong’s attention was still on the man who had his hand cupped over your mouth. Without warning, Jiyong charged and headed straight to the man in front of you and you watched as he swung his blade down at the man’s arm.

The man let out a howl and immediately released his grip on you. You felt warm blood splattered onto your face and neck as the smell of copper stung your nose.

The man who was just slashed by Jiyong grabbed onto his badly injured arm as he knelt down onto the floor in agony. The other four men charged furiously at Jiyong and you watched in shock as they surrounded him.

The loud clanging of swords rang through the silent night as you watched Jiyong swiftly cut his enemies down. One by one they fell to the ground as they grabbed on to their bleeding torso. They were all heavily wounded and you could see the snow on the ground turning a deep red. Still looking furious, Jiyong turned to the man who had held you before and without warning, he swung his sword down, dismembering the man’s hand.

The man’s cry of pain rang in your ears as you tried to swallow the bile that was threatening to rise. You felt your legs give way as you closed your eyes, trying to erase the gruesome image from your mind.

“How dare you!” One of the other men screamed. “You will be punished for this! Do you know who he is? He’s the son of the minister! You will be executed for this!”

You opened your eyes to see Jiyong turning to you and gently, he put an arm around your shoulder and hoisted you up. Your legs were still wobbly so you half leaned onto him as you shivered.

“Did they hurt you?” Jiyong asked as he eyed the rest of the men dangerously.

You could only shake your head in response as you avoi