"Hey Seulgi, do you know where Mang is? I can't find her anywhere"

Seulgi walks into the stable and finds a rather panicked Hoseok looking around the place, scratching his head as he twists and turns.

"What are you talking about?", the female guard asks.
"Mang. My horse. She was right here, but I can't find her anymore"

Seulgi tilts her head to the side and furrows her brows.

"I swear I put her here. I didn't take her out, so...", Hoseok lets out a defeated sigh and sits down on the ground, the hay cracking under his weight.

"Why did you come here anyways?", he asks, looking up at Seulgi.
"I was looking for the princess. I thought you might've seen her"

Hoseok shakes his head.

"No I haven't. I haven't seen her this whole day..."

They stay quiet for a moment until...

"!"

The two guards run to a horse and get out of the stable with them. They get on the horses and make their way off of the castle's ground and into the world of the commoners.

__________________

"Wendy, is all of that candy?", Joohyun runs to a stand filled with various types of candy and stares at them in awe. Wendy joins her and nods.

"Uhuh, there's sweet candy and sour candy- oh! And there's chocolate--"
"Chocolate!", Joohyun gasps and turns her head a little too fast for it to be safe. She stares at the blonde baker in excitement and then back at the display of candies, searching for the chocolate.

"I need these. Right. Now", the princess aggressively points to the many types of chocolate and stares deeply into Wendy's eyes, her brows furrowed in determination.

The baker scratches her head, letting it hang low and lets out flustered chuckle.

"S-sure. Just be careful. We don't want to attract to much atten...", when Wendy raises her head, Joohyun is gone. She looks around and finds her on the other side of the candy stand giving the man on the other side a golden coin. Wendy's eyes widen and she rushes to the older woman, grabbing her by the wrist and dragging her away, while Joohyun managed to grab her bag filled chocolate just in time.

"What's wrong?", Joohyun asks.

"You can't just give someone a golden piece like that!", the blonde woman whispers harshly. "We commoners don't have any gold. We only manage to get paid in bronze coins and silver coins. Golden coins are VERY rare and are usually only owned by the rich"

The princess stares into the baker's wide eyes. The latter was worried and a little scared that they would get caught and she would be send to jail for 'kidnapping' the crown princess, when that wasn't even the case!

Joohyun gently puts her left hand on Wendy's warm cheek and smiles softly.

"I'm sorry, Wendy. I didn't mean to worry you", the princess says, her voice softer and deeper than before.

The blonde woman inhales sharply and exhales loudly. She closes her eyes and leans into the soft touch of Joohyun's hand. She doesn't know why, but the feeling of the older woman's cold hand on her cheek is very soothing and tempting.

"I think we should go back. The sun is setting", Wendy looks up at the - now - red and purple sky and scratches her head.

"Let's go then", Joohyun takes Wendy's hand in her own and the two start walking away from the market.

"You know, you're being very reckless for a princess"

Princess Joohyun chuckles at the comment.

"I'm not being reckless. I know what I'm doing", she turns to look behind her, making eye contact with the younger woman. "I'm not as innocent and ignorant as you think", the princess says teasingly.

Wendy stutters and stumbles over her words as she tries to form a sentence. Joohyun laughs and gives Wendy's hand a squeeze, holding onto it a little tighter.

The two walk side by side in a comfortable silence, their hands still intertwined with each other. Wendy and Joohyun are well aware of the warmth coming from their hands, but neither of them want to let go.

By the time they arrive at the bakery, the sky had changed from a pretty purple to a dark blue.

"I think you should go, your highness. It's getting really dark and eventually Seulgi or Hoseok is going to find out you're missing"

"Too late"

Wendy and Joohyun turn to the voice and come face to face with Seulgi and Hoseok, who didn't really look too happy seeing the two.

"Hoseok, Seulgi...", Wendy says, slowly approaching the two guards.

She turns back to Joohyun and raises her eyebrows, as if expecting the latter to say something or do something. Instead, the princess just freezes in place as she stares directly into Seulgi's sharp eyes.

_____________________

"Seulgi"

The guard stops in front of the wooden door, with her hand on the golden knob. She turns around and walks back into the bedroom of the princess.

"Yes, your highness?", Seulgi asks, a little confused.

Joohyun turns around after putting her lipstick and gazes up at her guard. She squints her eyes a little and her brows furrow for a second before relaxing.

"Do you love Wendy?", Seulgi is taken aback by the question and takes a small step back, as if she got pushed slightly and needed to get her balance back.

"Wha- why would you think that?", the royal guard asks, cringing at the way her voice cracks. She knows that her face is showing too much of the panic that she's experiencing and she curses herself for it.

The princess stands up, taking a step forward. She never breaks eye contact with Seulgi and stares at into them with her piercing dark eyes. Like a lion approaching it's prey.

"I have seen the way you look at her", Joohyun takes another step closer, until she's right infront of the other woman. "You cannot fool me, Seulgi"

Seulgi gulps and takes a small - almost minuscule - step back, increasing the space between them.

"Wendy's a good friend of mi--"
"We both know that is not the case, Seulgi"

Princess Joohyun takes another step forward, glaring up at the taller woman.

"You two go way back", Seulgi's eyes widen and she inhales sharply. Joohyun huffs, a smirk making it's way on her face and she scoffs. "You think I wouldn't know, but I think you have forgotten that I'm older than both of you. I have known Seungwan just as long as you and I have had my eyes set on that girl the moment she stepped into my palace", Joohyun steps even closer and almost closes the gap between their bodies.

Seulgi is breathing heavily, feeling a chill crawl up her spine as she listens to the princess's low, growly voice. The fact that she's looking at her like a lion hunting an antelope is making her very anxious.

The royal guard inhales deeply and exhales, calming herself down as much as she can before opening .

"I have sworn an oath to protect Seungwan with my life. I promised the king and queen, that I would take care of her and I am", Seulgi straightens her back and puffs out her chest slightly, making sure that the princess knows that she's serious and not scared of her.

"I'm taking care of her and- yes... I like her, but my duty as her guard is always my priority"

Joohyun stares at her blankly. She sighs, closing her eyes as if was experiencing a headache. She opens them and looks at Seulgi, tilting her head before speaking up.

"But you are not her guard anymore"

The comment leaves Seulgi speechless. Her jaw clenches and unclenches as she tries to find the right words to say, but ends up giving up, letting her shoulders slump as she stares at the floor in defeat.

Princess Joohyun stares at the younger woman, tilting her head.

"I admire you, Seulgi. I really do", she says after a long moment of silence. "But that does not mean I will let go of Wendy - Seungwan that easily"

Seulgi stares straight into the older woman's eyes, squinting as if looking for something in them.

"You will have to work hard to get what you want, Kang. Seulgi", Joohyun pokes the guard's chest softly twice and gives her a daring look.

____________________

"Your highness"

Seulgi's voice comes out stern, almost aggressive and she flinches a little after hearing herself.

"Everyone will be very worried about you. It is best that you leave before the king finds out and starts sending in the other guards to come find you", the royal guard shifts her attention from Joohyun to Wendy and the latter looks at her nervously.

"You wouldn't want Wendy to get into any trouble. Would you, your highness?"

Joohyun glares at the taller woman before looking at the nervous blonde baker, her gaze softening. She doesn't say anything and instead sighs. The princess walks over to the light brown horse that was still standing in front of the bakery and returns the horse back to Hoseok.

"Oh mang, I missed you so much my beautiful angel", Hoseok pats Mang and gives her a kiss before shifting his focus from his horse to the princess. "Your highness, we should go. It's already getting dark"

Joohyun sighs and switching between looking at the guards and Wendy several times before nodding. She approaches the baker and grabs her hands, holding them in her own.

"Let's do this again sometimes. In different circumstances", the princess tells Wendy softly, planting a light kiss on both of her hands.

The blonde baker holds her gaze and nods, a small smile present on her face.

"Yes. Let's do that"

Joohyun smiles as well and lets go of the younger woman's hands. She turns around and looks at Hoseok, who was waiting for her with their horses. She walks towards him and passes by Seulgi, following her with her eyes until she's out of sight.

"Come on. Let's go", Hoseok helps the princess onto her horse, getting onto his own horse afterwards. He gives Seulgi a single look, nodding, before turning back around and galloping away with princess Joohyun.

Seulgi sighs deeply, closing her eyes as she runs a hand through her hair. She opens her eyes and meets Wendy's, staring into them for a moment before walking towards her.

"I'm sorry", is all Seulgi could say as she gazes into Wendy's bright brown orbs before pulling her into a hug.

Wendy freezes in her hold, a little confused at the latter's reaction, but melts into the hug almost immediately. She puts her hand on the taller woman's back and buries her head in her shoulder.

"You don't have to apologize", Wendy pulls back and gives Seulgi a reassuring smile. She the guard's arm softly, in small and soft circles. "You were just doing your job"

Seulgi stares down into Wendy's eyes for a second, her breathing getting heavy as her chest heaves up and down like she just walked a marathon.

______________________

Seulgi stares down at Joohyun, her eyes dark and piercing as she takes a step forward. She uses her height to her advantage and towers over the smaller woman in the hopes to intimidate her. Even if it's just a little.

"Don't worry, your highness", she says in a low yet sharp tone, almost like a warning.

"I will"

_______________________

She takes the baker's cheeks in both her hands and leans down. Their lips meet and the blonde haired woman freezes, her eyes wide as she stares into Seulgi's equally widened eyes.

The guard pulls back.

What did I just do?

"I'm sorry"

She steps back from the blonde haired woman and takes quick steps to her horse. Seulgi gets onto it, gives Wendy one last look and leaves.

Letting the frozen with shocked baker alone in her thoughts.

___________________________

Heyyy~~

It's been a while. I have been busy with A LOT and had taken some time away from writing.

I'm not tired of the story btw, because I love writing. It's just that I have to find the time and actually make time to continue writing my stories. I'm working on a few behind the scenes, so that's a thing now too!

Sorry for keeping you waiting :((

P.S forgive my chapter titles. I'm not creative enough to make up something cool and I can't switch to numbers now ;-;