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.

Also WARNING in this chapter there are a few mentions/imagery of blood but it's really not that bad just wanted to let everyone know!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~It was not too much later when Chaewon and Yerim were completely drunk. 

Yerim had gone off to chat with other people around the tavern, as she did, so Chaewon and Olivia were left alone. Olivia made sure to keep her eye on young Yerim, making sure she was okay and that none of the other drunks guests did anything to her. 

But most of her attention was on the princess, who had gone from sitting up straight, to leaning over, to putting her entire weight on Olivia. It was weird to see Chaewon like this; normally she was so reserved and not a touchy-feely person at all. But after just some beer she was slurring her words and all over Olivia. It made the former knight flustered, but she couldn't show it. She didn't want Chaewon thinking something was up. 

Chaewon had been rambling about her mother and sisters and castle life, head on Olivia's chest when she looked up at her, freezing completely. 

Despite the noise in the tavern it all seemed to fall silent around Olivia and Chaewon, watching each other with wide, curious eyes. Slowly, Chaewon blinked. 

"Olivia...you're so beautiful, Olivia..." 

Olivia spluttered and looked away shyly. "Chaewon, I dunno, you're drunk..." 

"You're pretty Olivia!" Chaewon drunkenly whined, pushing Olivia's head back to face her. 

The former knight hummed and desperately tried not to read too much into it, to gain too much hope from the princess's words. 

"You know..." Chaewon started, more quietly this time. Olivia nodded down at her and, self indulgently, began to run her fingers through Chaewon's blonde hair. The princess didn't seem to mind though, not reacting in any way. "You know...if I had a choice...it would be you." 

Olivia froze and gasped. 

"JIWOO IS MINE!" a very masculine voice yelled from the other side of the room, followed by loud growls and crashing. Chaewon and Olivia forced their attention away from each other to see what was going on. 

Two loud and very drunk men had begun to brawl over Jiwoo, based on the shouts coming from their fight. Some people were trying to hold them back but more and more began to join in the fighting. 

"Wasn't Yerim over there?" Chaewon slurred. 

Olivia paused. "," she mumbled. "You stay here," she said to a swaying Chaewon before pushing the girl off of her and making her way to the other side of the tavern. 

Quickly she found Yerim but she was relieved; the fourteen year old squire was totally safe. In fact she was holding back most of the patrons, using her sword to battle them into submission. Looking down at the ground Olivia also spotted poor Jiwoo crouched in the corner, clutching her arm. Some blood was spilling out onto the barmaid's fingers. Olivia gasped; she must have gotten hurt in the ensuing fight. It was sad that the girl who they were fighting over ended up getting hurt. 

But Olivia was more of a fighter than a healer so she too pulled out her sword, helping Yerim out. 

"Everyone! Break it up break it up!" she yelled over the din and with her long sword out, more and more of the patrons sat back down in their seat or backed up against the wall.

Olivia spotted a shattered mug with blood on it and grimaced, about to go see if Jiwoo was okay when everything froze. 

"What the hell is going on here?" A voice yelled. Everyone turned to see a woman with dark brown shoulder length hair standing in front of the door to the back of the bar. She was pretty and average height but standing there with her arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed, she looked unbelievably intimidating. 

Suddenly, her eyes widened and she looked frightened, running over to Jiwoo and sitting next to her. 

"Oh god are you okay? What happened?" 

Jiwoo sniffled. "Some people got...drunk, and then they started fighting over me...like usual, and then there was a big fight and some broke a glass and threw it at someone but it hit me by accident." Jiwoo showed the woman her arm and she growled. 

"Everyone out!" She yelled to all of the customers. "Out, now!" 

With a grumble, slowly everyone began to file out of the tavern, watching Jiwoo and this woman uncomfortably. 

"But wait!" Jiwoo cried. "Then these two girls came and helped me and made the fighting stop." 

"Who?" The woman asked. 

Jiwoo then pointed to Olivia and Yerim, who were trying to get Chaewon up to leave. 

"You three!" The woman shouted. Hoisting Chaewon's arms over their shoulders, Yerim and Olivia came over. "Thank you for your assistance. Now-" 

"Can I see your cut, Jiwoo?" Yerim interrupted. With a frown, the barmaid lifted her hand to show the wound. All five of them grimaced, even Chaewon who had almost passed out. It was very deep.

"We can heal that," Olivia spoke. 

"Yeah, we can," Yerim added. "Easy peasy." 

The woman looked suspicious but Jiwoo smiled brightly and nodded. "That would be so nice!" 

"What are you doing this for?" The woman asked. 

"We have no alterior motive, I promise you," Olivia answered. "Having beer and a hot meal was gift enough. Only...don't let anyone know we were here, alright?" 

Slowly, the woman nodded. "Fine. What do you need to heal her wound?" 

Yerim listed off the ingredients necessary and the woman went to the back, setting on a pot of water to boil and grabbing what she had. Olivia ran out of the tavern to grab what she didn't have and soon enough, it was ready. 

Yerim and Olivia rubbed it on Jiwoo's arm and soon enough, the wound completely healed, in minutes. 

"It might be sore for a while after but you'll be as good as new in a few days," Yerim said. 

Both Jiwoo and the woman grinned. "Thank you so much!" Jiwoo said. 

"Who...who are you girls?" The woman asked. 

"We are...travelers," Olivia answered. 

"Well, travelers need a place to stay, right? As a thank you, you can spend one night with us in our quarters." 

Olivia and Yerim gasped and smiled while Chaewon slept on the floor beside them. "Really? Thank you so much! We are so weary and could really use a rest on a nice real bed." 

"It's no problem," the woman answered. 

The woman and Jiwoo showed them to their spare rooms, bringing a little more food, drink, and spare night clothes and putting Chaewon into bed. They lingered a little longer, curiosity compelling them to stay. 

"Well, who are you?" Olivia asked first. 

"I am Ha Sooyoung. I am the owner of the Burgundy Swan; it's been in my family for many generations. This is my wife Jiwoo. We run this whole tavern together," the woman answered. 

"How is it?" Yerim asked. 

"There's good and bad. Jiwoo is very...popular with our patrons, which I don't like sometimes. But we live well," Sooyoung explained as Jiwoo giggled. "But what about you all? Three very young girls, traveling alone, skilled in both weilding a blade and healing...you are a very strange trio, I must say. And I am still curious as to why you don't want anyone to know you were here. Where are you traveling to?" 

"The true question is, where are we traveling from?" Olivia answered.

"What do you mean?" Jiwoo asked.

Yerim and Olivia shared a look, debating whether or not they could trust these women. But after a quick nod they decided it was safe, and Yerim proceeded to tell their whole story along with Chaewon's. By the end, both Sooyoung and Jiwoo's mouths were agape in shock. 

"My goodness...what a story," Sooyoung spoke. 

"It's so amazing! I'm jealous," Jiwoo whined, rubbing her arm. "I wanna go on an adventure. It sounds so fun." 

"Scary, but fun. Aren't you worried you're going to get caught soon? The castle has scouts all over the kingdom in the hunt for Chaewon," Sooyoung explained. 

"Of course," Olivia answered. 

"But we've made it this far, right?" Yerim added. 

"That's true," Sooyoung answered with a sigh. 

"And we won't snitch on you now, that's for sure. You three have been such a help to us today," Jiwoo said.

Both Yerim and Olivia smiled. Jiwoo and Sooyoung shared a smile and held onto each other's hands, making their way back to the door. 

"Thank you again for everything!" Jiwoo cried cheerfully. 

"No, thank you all. Tonight's been lovely," Olivia answered. 

"We'll lay out some food for you tomorrow and then you can be on your way!" Jiwoo said. 

"I would reccommend getting out of here early; someone might have realized your identities at the tavern tonight," Sooyoung explained. 

"Good idea," Olivia answered. 

"But if we don't see you tomorrow, good luck. And remember: there will always be a drink waiting for you here," Sooyoung finished.