A/N: don't forget, black lives matter! go to blacklivesmatter.carrd.co for more information and things you can do to contribute to the movement. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the days following the pirate incident, Olivia had become increasingly...annoying, in Chaewon's words. Yerim called it being determined or insistent, but Chaewon strongly disagreed. 

Unlike before, the girls only spent about half of the time walking. Now, Olivia was devoting the other half of their daylight hours to sword fighting practice. 

Chaewon hated it. No matter how hard she worked or didn't work, no matter what she said or did, she couldn't get out of it. Each lesson barely improved her skill either. 

This moment was no different, the trio stopped in the middle of a thicket to practice in peace. As usual Chaewon was facing Yerim, with Olivia giving her instructions, bearing down her shoulder. 

For the sixth time that afternoon Yerim wrested the sword from her grip with a loud clang. 

"Don't worry, we'll keep working on it! Yerim cheered, but her words fell on unlistening ears. 

Chaewon just sighed, her shoulders caving in. And Olivia groaned loudly, her face in her palms and she tried to determine what they should do. 

"You're not getting it," Olivia grumbled. 

"Clearly," Chaewon answered, annoyance in her voice. Why couldn't this just be over already? 

Olivia huffed and sighed. "I guess, let's go again." 

"Come on! Nothing is helping! Let's just keep moving!" Chaewon cried. 

"Well maybe something would help if you actually listened and cared," Olivia rebutted. 

Chaewon crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "I am listening. I am caring. It's just...not my thing!" 

"You shouldn't give up just because it's not your thing!" 

"But I don't want to do it!" 

Olivia sighed loudly. "Chaewon, god damn you are one prissy princess. Do you just expect everyone to defend you all the time and not learn anything for yourself?" 

Chaewon's eyes flashed as she pushed her hurt down to the bottom of her belly. "Well, at least I'm not some cruel knight lady who lacks any empathy for other people's feelings! You don't even try to understand where I'm coming from, not to mention how you treat Yerim sometimes..." 

" off," Olivia grumbled, and stalked away deeper into the woods. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Olivia had been sitting by herself on a rock for a long time when she felt a hand rubbing her back in circles. 

"Yerim?" 

"Olivia," Yerim breathed out. 

"Ugh!" Olivia groaned. "God, she's so prissy." 

"Do you really think that? Or are you just saying that to try and make yourself like her less? You know, that's not gonna work." 

Olivia gave Yerim an astounded look. "H-How did you know?" 

Yerim giggled. "Olivia, it's really obvious!" 

"," Olivia breathed out, and the smile fell off of her face quickly. "Do you think she knows?" 

"Not when you say things like that to her. She probably thinks you hate her." 

"Oh..." Olivia stared guiltily down at her feet. 

"Come on. I know you didn't mean what you said, and you know you didn't either. Go tell her how you're really feeling, or everything's gonna get messed up." 

Olivia sighed. "Fine. Just give me a few minutes." 

~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile a short distance away, Chaewon was moping alone by a river, carding her fingers through the water. Usually Chaewon didn't get so affected by things, but this argument had seriously taken a toll on her. Her heart had dropped into her stomach and she just couldn't explain why. She was beyond hurt. 

"Chaewon," a soft voice spoke, and the princess smiled when she saw Yerim. 

"She...she really can't understand anyone else's feelings..." Chaewon mumbled sadly. 

Yerim sighed. She knew that wasn't the case, but at the same time she wasn't sure how to explain what was going on to Chaewon without confessing on Olivia's behalf. "Olivia just has a hard time saying how she really feels, sometimes," she ended up saying.

"Well...how does she really feel, then?" 

Yerim looked away sharply. "She'll have to tell you that. I don't know if I could say it right." 

~~~~~~~~~~

After her and Yerim's conversation, Chaewon was sitting alone again. Yerim had given both a moment to themselves while she began to set up for dinner, but soon enough Chaewon felt a tap on her shoulder. 

She looked up to see Olivia wearing a guilty expression. "Can I talk to you?" She asked, her voice softer than Chaewon thought she had ever heard. 

Chaewon nodded slowly and Olivia took a seat next to her with a sigh. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, like the words were painful. "I shouldn't have called you prissy. Yerim and I are used to living like this and you're not, but you have completely risen to the challenge and barely complained. You're not prissy, not at all." 

Chaewon sighed too. "Th-thank you. And...I know you can understand people's feelings..." 

"I'm just not good at letting people know I do. So...I'm sorry about that too." Olivia paused for a long time. "Chaewon, I just want you to be safe, okay?" She spoke, the words strained and strong and Chaewon could hear the real concern in them. "You're a princess, you know? People are jealous of you, hate you for no reason other than the circumstances you were born into. You could get hurt, and what if you can't defend yourself? What would happen if I'm not there to defend you?" 

Chaewon took in a deep breath. Olivia was almost shaking with her words and Chaewon could feel her heart just beating so hard in her chest. Maybe, she kind of understood now why Olivia wanted her to learn to use a sword so bad: for her own sake. But it was strange to think Olivia cared so, so much about her that the thought of her being defenseless made her shakey and frightened. 

"I'll learn," Chaewon finally spoke, rubbing Olivia's arm to try and calm her down. "I promise I'll learn." 

Olivia just slightly started to calm down before a scream came from a short distance away. 

"Yerim!" Chaewon cried and the two girls leapt up, running back to the clearing. When they arrived they saw Yerim, alone, facing a whole pack of coyotes. 

"," Olivia said, unsheathing her sword. With shaking fingers, Chaewon pulled her own smaller sword out of her boot. 

"Help! Oh my gosh thank god you guys came!" Yerim sobbed as the coyotes circled around her, some making off with their food and others snapping at the fourteen year old's feet. 

"We can't hurt them, the witches told us not to kill animals..." Chaewon mumbled, her hands trembling with the sword clutched between her fingertips. 

"We won't kill them. We'll just scare them off," Olivia said strongly, and just at the sound of her voice Chaewon felt her heart grow stronger. "Ready, go," the former knight mumbled, and the two girls ran forward to attack the coyotes. 

Just then, the leader of their pack reached over and bit Yerim firmly in the ankle. Screaming, the squire fell to the ground, clutching her ankle, and Chaewon dropped her sword and ran over to her. 

Olivia growled and ed her sword forward but the coyotes only backed up a little, still growling and refusing to leave them alone. As Chaewon pet Yerim's hair a strike of fear ran through her heart; if Olivia couldn't get rid of them, what would they do?

Suddenly, out of seemingly nowhere a large pack of wolves decended on them, with Olivia's familiar at the head. Olivia and Chaewon gasped as Yerim groaned, the wolves chasing the coyotes away as quickly as they arrived. 

Olivia watched them go with a massive sigh of relief, only turning her attention back to Yerim when she was sure they were gone. 

Chaewon was trying to calm Yerim down as her ankle bled. Olivia leaned down to take a look at it and grimaced; she could see the bone. Chaewon quickly tore a piece of her nightgown off and tried to put it on the wound to stop the bleeding.

"Try to find the herbs the witches told us about!" Chaewon said and Olivia nodded quickly, running around the forest looking for the right materials to heal Yerim's deep wound. Soon she returned with the right plants, lighting a fire to boil some water. 

"It'll be okay," Chaewon whispered gently to Yerim. "I'm sorry we left you alone." 

Luckily the herb concoction heated up quickly and Olivia and Chaewon did as the witches taught them, applying the mixture and speaking the words, putting all of their energy into healing their younger friend. 

Over and over they tried this, without thinking or stopping. 

"Guys, guys, guys!" Yerim said eventually, with a giggle. Olivia and Chaewon blinked their eyes open, looking around worriedly before seeing Yerim's smiling face. "It's fixed." 

The girls looked down at her ankle to see that other than a slight scar, it was completely healed. The witch magic had worked. 

"How does it feel?" Olivia hurriedly asked. 

Yerim twisted it around. "A bit sore, but otherwise fine. Just don't leave me alone again!" She cried. 

Still worried but with slowly growing relief, Chaewon and Olivia hugged their friend tightly. "We won't. We promise we won't," Chaewon mumbled back.