Ch 13

Cinderella's Step Sister and the knight

"Run! Duke Jeon, run!" Bada stated before she sprinted forward, escaping the dark figure that was about to eat her soul. She heard it. She heard it from the back of her mind. A hoarse voice was talking to her, telling her that the strange man would eat and kill her. Bada shook her head as she continued to run, ignoring all the people that stared at her. 

"Young Miss Kang Bada! Wait for me!" Jungkook chased after the girl. She ran pretty fast for a woman. She has good running form, and she's speeding at an astonishing speed. She got an ability like those knights that had been trained for years. Jungkook turned around to look at who was actually chasing her, but he could not see anything. It was nothing. Nothing was chasing after her. 

After running for quite a while, they both arrived at the side of the small town. Bada panted for air as she sat down under a huge tree. It had been a while since she did a full-speed run with her horse, Joe. Jungkook sat down beside the lady as he looked around. Are they safe there? Jungkook could tell that Bada looked really scared. She made the same face when he put his sword on . Her wavering eyes and her pallid skin. She was indeed very terrified. Jungkook extended his hand to touch her face.

"You're-" Jungkook's hand was pushed in reflex. Bada moved away from him as she dodged his hand. Jungkook sighed as he pulled back his hand from touching her. He wanted to know what was on her mind. What did she see that causes her to run like that? Did someone really try to harm her? "You're safe with me. You don't have to worry," Jungkook whispered as he could see that Bada's anxiousness was still high. Bada turned her head abruptly to look at the man as she nodded her head. 

"Your eyes," Jungkook gasped as he stared into Bada's eyes. Her eyes changed again. This time, her iris turned completely golden, which caused Jungkook to be unable to blink his eyes. He could not believe that he saw her eyes change. "What are you talking about, Duke Jeon?" Bada moved further away from Jungkook.  The knight could tell that she was unaware of her own state. Again, Jungkook looks around, checking if anyone else is around them. He took out a small knife from his belt and gave it to Bada. 

"Look at the reflection of your eyes," Jungkook whispered as he placed the small knife on Bada's palm. With hesitation, Bada lifted up the knife to look at the reflection of her eyes on the knife's shining blade. Bada rubbed her eyes a couple of times. Did she see it wrong? Did her eyes really be golden? She looks at her reflection for a couple of moments before she threw the knife to the ground. She shook her head in denial. Did the man from the alley tell her the truth? Is she really that different from other people that it could threaten her life? Or did she really inherits these eyes from Emperor Elton? Is she really the daughter of the Northern Emperor? 

"Miss Kang Bada. Take a breather and calm down." Jungkook said softly as he put his hand on her slender shoulder. Bada nodded her head and take a few deep breaths. Seeing Bada being so anxious causes Jungkook to be worried. Ignoring all the hierarchy and ethics, Jungkook pulled the anxious woman into his warmth, embracing her in his arm while patting her gently. This time, Bada was not being repulsive of him, she accept his touch as her grip on his cloak tighten.  "Shhh~!" Jungkook hushed her from saying anything as he buried his face in the nook of her neck. It might sound wrong, but Jungkook was taking his chance to touch the woman he love. 

"Duke Jeon!?" Bada called for Jungkook who seems to be lost in his own world. They've been hugging for more than an hour now and Bada started to feel numb as his embrace tightened. His warm breath tickles her slender neck and wakes the sleeping butterfly in her stomach. "Duke Jeon?" She was about to turn her head around to look at his face before he stop her. 

"Don't look at me," Jungkook replied as he slowly let go of the lady from his sturdy arm. Bada nodded her head in embarrassment. She noticed from the tail of her eyes that his face turned red. Bada stood up as she dust off her dress. "I-i think we should go," Bada stammered as she slowly walked forward. A huge grin makes it way on Jungkook's face as he could see Bada was avoiding his gaze. He could tell that she was embarrassed. Both of them hugged each other as if it was the world was ending.

"Duke Jeon," Bada muttered Jungkook's name after a long moment of silence as they walk back to the palace. 

"Hmm?" 

"Thank you for the comfort." 

"You can call me out anytime when you needed comfort," 

"And... " 

"And?" 

"And I'm sorry for touching you. I'll assure you that this won't happen again after we go back to our country,"  Bada replied as she glance at Jungkook who never left her side since they walked back to the palace. Jungkook remain silent after listening to her words. He knew that Bada didn't want any weird rumours circling around her. He knows that when her nobility was taken away, she was unreachable to him. Too bad, Jungkook didn't care about the caste and hierarchy. All he knew was, the woman Kang Bada was the same girl who saved him in the woods when he barely survived. 

"Sure, let's touch each other more while we are here," Jungkook jokes as walked closer to her side. Bada turned her head to look at the man but abruptly, she turned her head forward again. Their eyes just clashed for a second, and she was unready to look at him in his eyes. 

"Your eyes.." 

"My eyes?" Bada stopped walking as she look at the huge palace in front of them. 

"It's no longer golden," Jungkook muttered in confusion. Can a normal human being change their eye colour like that? Bada was absolutely not an ordinary person. Her eyes turned back to it original brown colour. Her glistening sweat didn't seem normal either; it evaporated faster than his sweat. "What are you Kang Bada?" he added as he observed the lady from top to toe. Bada just shook her head as she bit the bottom of her lips in anxiousness. She too didn't know her true self. "Don't worry. You're still the same Kang Bada I knew eight years ago," He said before he grabbed her hand and hold it tight. 

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"Jin," The man with golden eyes turns around to the sudden call of his name. He was back in his village, a secluded area deep in the woods, locked with a spell away from normal humans. He saw his mother smiling at him while calling for her son. Jin walked towards his mother. 

"Mother, remembered that you told me that one of your friends escaped from here?" 

"Yeah, everyone in this village knows about her. She was cursed after refusing to come back here," 

"Did she get married to a human like you too?" 

"Yes, she got married to a human man. But when the leader of our clan asked her to come back here, she refused Mother Dux and decided to stay with her husband. So, Mother Dux put a spell on her and her children," 

"Did you know what happened to her afterwards?" Jin asked in curiosity as he whispered slowly. He knew that the villagers always kept their eyes on each other if anyone failed to come back to the village before the curfew, Mother Dux would come out to find them. Mother Dux is no ordinary creature, she got a pair of wings on her back, and she's taller than an average human. She got golden eyes with a very structured face. She's a beauty in any way and has remained young for hundreds of years. She could change the way she looks from an old woman to a little kid when she was out in the human world. She was the guardian of their clan. 

"Mother, what if I told you, I might have met her children?" 

"Jin~! What are talking about?" 

"I was just asking.." 

"Did her children have the same eye colour as you?" 

"She got black eyes, but it will turn golden once in a while," Jin replied as he whispered slowly when his mother dragged him into their home and locked the door. 

"She's in this kingdom?" 

"I don't know if I got the right person. But looking at her, she doesn't look like a typical human."  Jin remembered that she did look a little different from a human. 

"What do you mean?" 

"She had this transparent globe around her and she looks like the royal clan," Jin added as he sat down on the small chair in his home. In his village, everyone is living in tree bark as the trees in his village are huge enough to be a house.  Jin's mother shook her head as she squatted down. 

"Can you deliver a message to her if you see her again?" 

"S-sure," 

"Tell her that she should never expose her real self to the human or else, she'll be killed. You should tell her that our blood is different than humans and it could be a weapon to harm ourselves," The mother added as she whispered slowly. Ensuring no one else is listening to their conversation. Jin nodded his head in agreement before continuing his task.

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The Emperor Elton Rafael Maverick stayed in his tower as his eyes directed to the two humans, Bada and Jungkook walking into the castle's lawn. He sighed as took out the hand mirror in his hand. The images of Delfina flashed in the mirror for a few moments before disappearing like usual.  The maid does look familiar in his eyes. His mind travelled back to the time when his daughters were born. His daughter didn't inherit his facial features at all. Her pitch-black hair was totally different from his and his wife's hair, where his hair was silver blonde while Delfina's hair was brunette. Hence, the reason why he thought the palace maid was his daughter. 

"Get a few drops of blood from that maid," Emperor Elton said to his knight who was standing beside him loyally. 

"Yes, your Highness," He nodded his head before disappearing, going down the tower to accomplish his order. 

"Your Highness, why would you be interested in that maid?" The old butler who had silently been observing the emperor finally started talking. 

"Let's see,... she might be the daughter of Delfina," He muttered as a bitter smile make its way to his face. 

The butler just nodded his head in understanding. He was the one who brought Emperor Elton back to the palace after a few years of his disappearance. At that time, Elton was determined to get away from his commoner life and decided to ditch his wife for the throne and wealth. Since Elton went back to the palace, he never mentioned his life with his commoner wife called Delfina. But after the death of the queen, Princess Aires's mother, Emperor Elton had been staring into the small hand mirror where Delfina's name is carved at the handle of the mirror. 

"If you do have another daughter, Princess Aires as the only heir of your throne will be affected," 

"She will still be the only heir to my throne. Maybe we can use Delfina's daughter to cure Aires's illness," 

"W-what do you mean?" 

"Delfina was not a regular human being. Her blood is powerful enough to cure any disease," Another bitter smile makes its way to his face. His Aires need to live longer and bare a child whilst living healthily and happily. Delfina used to cure his illness just by touching his forehead and he had seen Delfina cure a dying goat with a mere touch. 

 

 

 

 

 

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DolphinWorld
2003 streak #1
Hello there, a new reader here! I came across your story while searching for something interesting to read. And sure is this plot intriguing. But before I started, I just wanted to check if it's alright with you if I read one chapter at a time and left a comment after. Hope to hear from you soon ^^