10. AWAKEN

“HUHHHHHHH??” Kai’s voice echoed across the room.

“Well,” Taemin glanced at the clock and stood up. “I’ll go check on Naeun.”

“W-Wait— WAIT! Are you not finishing the story?” Kai raised his arms. “Why were you there? What happened? Don’t just leave me on a CLIFFHANGER!”

Taemin stifled the curl on his lips and shouted towards the door. “Guards! Lord Kim out please.”

“Hey! Lee Taemin! W-Wait!” Kai’s eyes widened like saucers as the guards shuffled to his side. “Hey! Say something before you drive me out!”

Taemin shook his head with a smile, then waved his hands with his back against him.

“Lord Kim, this way please.” The guards half-pushed, half-shuffled Kai towards the door as he cursed the Prince lowly.

As soon as the door clicked, Taemin laid his palm against the wall glass. The mirror spun as he pushed against the swinging door lightly, preventing any noise from waking the woman on his bed.

She still had her eyes sealed, but her brows furrowed and her lips were pursed, as if she was undergoing another set of nightmares.

He stared at her for a long moment. He sighed, then brought a chair and sat by her side. He thought back to the reports that Taeyong gave him weeks ago.

Your highness,

Regarding the incident of Lady Son, it began with a royal mission.

7 years ago, as an attempt to lower the tension between South Korea and Alzamia, the King picked one of our most prestigious, famous painting to be sent to Alzamia. He directed Count Son to be in charge of the whole transportation process.

Everything was all set, and the count prepared his men and carriages to the Alzamian border, through the Acadian forest. The countess and the young lady Son tagged along.

Suddenly, midway through, arrows showered the carriage. The count’s men suffered huge casualties, and the count and the countess barely made it out safely.

However, the young lady disappeared.

Luckily, hours later, the count and his wife found her on the edges of the forest. Aside from the scratches and cuts, she was unharmed. It was later, when they found 4 bodies lying on the floor. 3 of them were shot by an arrow, while the last one laid with a sword plunged on his heart.

They tried to ask the young lady what happened, but she fainted in the rain soon after meeting her parents.

When she woke up, her memory of the incident vanished.

The King sent his concern to the count and promised to investigate on the incident. But nothing was found afterwards.

No one knew what happened to lady Son, why she was there, and why the carriage was under attack.

At that time, some council members were suspicious of Count Yoo. As a well-spoken rival of Count Son, it is possible that he might have failed count Son’s mission — so he would no longer be favoured by the King. But these were all speculations. No answers were made and it was left a mystery.

Taemin stared at her eyelids that sealed to a thin line.

He didn’t know who sent the killers, and whether if Count Yoo really did it, but he knew what happened to her inside that forest.

He knew how she got out.

......

Year X707

The sky was rumbling in grey, reflective of his boiling heart.

As the young prince, the only heir to the throne, he was sick of the responsibilities thrown to him. He wanted to be like Kai, or even Krystal, to play and have fun when they could. He didn’t want to care about the country’s tension with Alzamia, the taxes and the population growth. He didn’t want to care about shooting arrows or throwing knives.

He just wanted to go out, lay on the grass and smell the air of freedom outside the walls of the palace.

And yet his father never gave him the opportunity to do so. After enduring another military drill, his father scolded his progress, knowing that he wasn’t doing things properly. With a fuming chest, he threw off his bow, walked out the yard with a quiver of arrows still on his back, and a slam on the gates.

The palace should be well protected, but the young prince knew the holes of the security. He stumbled between narrow gaps of buildings, climbed through stairs and jumped past rooftops until he reached the edges of the Northern wing. On the edge of the roof, he watched carriages drop off their guests from afar, then turn and exit through the huge golden gates. And so, when the tenth carriage turned by, he narrowed his eyes, grit his teeth, leapt through the air, landed on the back of the carriage and left his home.

His home, or maybe, his cage.

The carriage twisted and turned through valleys and hills, until he was thrown off to somewhere he has never seen before. Clouds clustered and he heard a distant rumble. A whooshing breeze flickered by, rustling leaves and breaking branches. His nearest shelter was the canopy trees. He didn’t know where he was, and he didn’t know where he was going. But he wasn’t afraid.

This was the sort of exhilarating freedom and thrilling adventure he longed for.

The chance for him to leave all the responsibilities behind, and just have sometime for himself.

He glanced around the tribe of woods, wondering if he should climb up to avoid the incoming storm.

Then, he heard the echo of a stifled scream.

Alarmed, his steps were light as he crept closer to the source of the sound. He kept himself against a tree, careful of the quiver of arrows behind his back. He widened his eyes at the image he saw.

A group of black-masked men zoomed past his vision. His eyes followed their paths and came to a halt.

A girl.

More specifically, a bare-footed child with a tangled mess across her face.

He didn’t know why the men were chasing the girl, but he knew this child definitely did not deserve violence.

He had to save her.

But he was alone, and there are 3— or maybe more men against him.

They called him a military prodigy, but now, he was only a weapon-less child.

He cursed himself inwardly. He shouldn’t have threw off the bow. Now he only has a bunch of useless arrows.

He watched the girl wince, trip, and collapse to the ground, as the men came closer and closer to her.

He gritted his teeth in darkness.

He had to save the girl, no matter what. The girl was just an innocent peasant, and to him, she was just one of his father’s people.

But he never knew, that the girl was a lady.

A lady who would grow up to become a contestant.

A lady who had the chance to become his future-Queen.

……

Naeun opened her eyes to warm sunlight. The chirp of singing birds and the soft whispers of her parents.

“Naeun has been head over heels for this painting, can’t you just let her tag along?” Her mother asked.

“It isn’t safe, honey. It’s a long way from the palace to the forest and we’ll be going to the borders. I don’t know what will happen.”

Her mother sighed. “I know. But she’s been feeling down for the past weeks. After the painting is sent to Alzamia, she won’t have the chance to see it again.”

“It’s just a painting. She’ll feel better when we bring her to another gallery.”

“Honey, that’s not the point. Giving her another painting doesn’t make up for this one.”

She could tell both her parents were getting on edge, but all came to a halt when her mother raised a suggestion.

“How about I tag along with her. She’ll take a glimpse in mid-way, and I’ll bring her back straight away.”

Her father sighed in defeat, while Naeun found herself holding back a squeal with delight.

The whole scene shifted, and her carriage lurched, jouncing her shoulder to clash towards her mother’s warm embrace. Shortly after, the bumpy ride halted as Naeun sank further into the cushions. Her mother raised the curtains, pushed the door, leaving her alone.

Naeun wondered if she was allowed to take a glimpse at the painting now. Surely, after half-way through the journey, her father would let her take a small peek. She was wondering when the doors will open again, when she heard a distant mutter that was growing increasingly fierce.

“Honey, you said you would let her!”

“Take her back honey. Something doesn’t feel right. I’ve sent my men to see if there’s anyone lurking around. You both must leave now, before it gets dangerous.”

Naeun doesn’t think there’s something unsafe lurking around. It was just trees. Aside from the fact that the sky looked gloomier than usual, nothing seemed wrong. Naeun knew, that her father never agreed to her mother’s proposal, even when he sighed in defeat. But Naeun has already came this far, and this was the only chance to see the painting, before it gets lost forever.

But Naeun also didn’t want her parents to argue because of her.

How about, She thought, I’ll just sneak inside.  I’ll just take a peek, then I’ll leave right away. I’ll be brief, without my parents noticing.

She nodded to herself, then nudged the door gently. The forest before them was shrouded in mist, but that wasn’t her part of concern. She crept behind the wheels and the wooden counterparts, before reaching the velvety, golden litter. The soldiers sat on the rocks, took their sips of water, and no one noticed a young little girl reaching towards the door handles. As agile as a cat, she crept into the convoy.

Inside, she found a polished, glimmering wooden box in golden trims. She heard the loud thump against her chest, as she opened the lid gently. It was the artwork that she’s been dreaming of since she was five. The painting known as South Korea’s pride.

She un-coiled the scroll.

Beneath her eyes was a weaved masterpiece of colours, its characters contorted in mixed faces.

Her breath hitched as she glanced over every inch of the plaster.

Until she heard a shout.

Her litter teetered.

Only to strike the ground with a vicious thud.

The masterpiece slapped her face and her head smacked against the varnished wood, hurling stars across her vision.

Shaking, she forced herself up against the smashed shards of wood. With a dull roar in her ears, she placed the national treasure back in the broken box. There was a sharp pain in her arm, while her right hand pressed into a tender lump on the side of her head. She gasped into full awareness, the sound a strangled sob. Her arm pulsed sharply.

Blinking away her tears, Naeun tried to shift her head. Tried to seek her bearings. The ache near her temple throbbed, keeping time with the rapid beat of her heart.

She raised her head and found several arrowheads embedded on the wood of the carriage. She stifled a gasp, and just as she began to move, a rumble of male voices drew near. She peeked through break in the mangled screen above. All she could discern were two men dressed in black from head to toe. Their weapons glimmered against the moist, their blades oiled in red.

“Where’s the count?”

“The count and the countess fled.”

“That’s fine, we only need the painting. It’s inside, right?”

“Yes, unless the count brought it with him.”

“I don’t think he had anything with him.”

“Check once more. I’d rather not be forced to report we failed our mission.”

Panic took hold of her. She clenched her rattling teeth still. She changed position, ever so slightly, as though it might conceal her from their prying gazes.

When the man reached for the broken door, Naeun knew she couldn’t stay here longer.

With a forceful swallow, Naeun dug her fingernails into her palms, her eyes flitting about the small, shattered space. Her teeth chattered, as she glanced at the slit of wood on the other side of the carriage. The side that’s toppled over. The side that’s exposed to the grey sky.

“We could live a fortune if this goes well.”

“The client said just the painting and no witnesses. That’s easy for us.”

The men were on her opposite side. If she escapes through this slit, she might be able to stay unnoticed.

Her pulse thrilling in her fingertips, she kicked open the shards of wood. One glossy sandal fell as she struggled to heave herself through. She struck the soil with her ankle, it landed as a crack and a thump. A wince sounded from .

She froze.

“Who’s there!”

“Someone on the other side!”

Cold shock descended upon her in a sudden rush. All around her were the bodies of her father’s convoy. Her eyes began to well up.

But she had no time to lose.