6. MAZE

“My lady!” Hayoung panted, as her voice echoed across the barbed wires.

Naeun turned back.

“My lady…” She tried to catch her breath. “Y-You were too fast, I couldn’t keep up!”

“Sorry, Hayoung. I-” She paused, before realising Krystal’s presence. “I’m fine, now. Sorry for making you worry.” Naeun smiled at Hayoung as she swept her back gently.

Naeun turned back to Krystal’s raised eyebrows. “No worries Krystal-ssi. I’m fine. Hayoung will go back with me.”

Krystal examined her briefly, then stared at her, searching through the secrets she hid. “Fine then. Take care.”

“I will. Thank you.” Naeun nodded, before they parted ways.

As the golden sun sinks across the meadows, Naeun and Hayoung trailed back to their west wing. She huffed a sigh, as Hayoung held her arm gently.

“My lady… did you see the arrows? Why did you run away so quickly?”

Naeun shook her head. She couldn’t even glimpse at the arrows - all she could see was the sword fight. It was as if the fight clenched her head and twisted her vision. Her brows drew together as silence echoed across the edges of palace walls. In her nightmares, only arrows and a silhouette appeared. Why did she react to swords as well? Was there a sword fight involved? It was as if she was twirling around a maze with no exit.

That night, she lay in bed again, with her eyes wide open. As Hayoung ruffled her sheets, she asked. “What are you going to do now?”

Naeun remained silent. She closed her eyes again, as the sight of an arrow piercing through a man’s chest appeared vividly in her mind. She had to find a way to see arrows again. She didn’t know what the swords meant, but she hasn’t solved the arrow mystery yet. She took a deep breath, reminding herself, that even if her vision spins and her head hurts, she must pay attention to the imageries that pop up in her mind.

She isn’t going to miss another hint of her nightmare again.

…..

Before Taemin ruffled his sheets for bed, he thought of Taeyong’s words weeks ago.

“7 years ago, the Sons were involved in an accident.”

Taemin raised his eyebrows.

Taeyong continued. “At that time, Count Son was favoured by the King. His majesty sent the Count on a mission - he was in charge of bringing a piece of national painting to the Alzamian borders. The King wanted to gift the painting to Alzamia, as a sign of peace, and to cool down the tension between both countries.”

“However, in the midst of the transport, assassins suddenly appeared. They injured Count Son’s men and stole away the painting. Of course, with the painting lost, the King wasn’t happy about it. Weeks later, surprisingly, Count Yoo - Count Son’s rival - found the painting.”

Taemin’s lips curled into a scorn. It was obvious who attacked Count Son.

“Some people suspected Count Yoo of sending men to attack Count Son, but there was no evidence. Count Son didn’t ask the King to investigate either, so the incident just died down. However….”

“Soon after the incident, Count Son’s eldest daughter became sick. They said her skin turned pale and her eyes became empty. It took her a few years to recover, before finally appearing in front of the public’s eyes.”

Taemin closed his eyes, as Taeyong’s report rang in his ears.

If Naeun’s nightmare was really related to Count Son’s incident, was she attacked by the burglars? Why was she there? Shouldn’t she be well protected by Count Son? Why did that remain as a trauma - that followed her for 7 years?

His brows furrowed and his forehead creased.

He told Taeyong to continue the investigations - and inform him when he has new discoveries. But Taeyong hasn’t reported her nightmares to him for weeks. He sighed as he stared at the decorated ceiling, as darkness slowly engulfs him.

……

She strode through the palace corridors again. After the hectic mission, the court allowed them a few days of rest, which gave Naeun plenty of time to gain some rest and figure out her mysteries. She kept her lips pursed as footsteps knocked on the marble floor, until she stared forward and found a man in black military uniform approaching her.

He took large strides and came forth with a warm smile.

She curtsied. “Your highness.”

“Naeun-ssi.”

She remembered that he told her to address him by his name when no one was around. She glanced around the empty corridor.

“Taemin-ssi.” Her voice squeaked.

Taemin seemed to be pleased with the drop of titles. He nodded with a corner of his mouth lifted.

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, right?”

Just less than a week, nothing much. She thought. She plastered a smile and nodded.

His eyes darted briefly and he coughed lightly, before speaking cautiously. “About… that night… when we met at the courtyard… I’m sorry.” He meant the backstabbing from lady Yoo. “I’m sorry that you got drawn into a mess from that night. I didn’t know people would misunderstood.”

Naeun widened her eyes briefly, before shaking her head. “Oh, no. Please don’t be sorry. It wasn’t really a big deal.” To be honest, she blamed herself more - she regretted leaving her room that night. But that didn’t matter anymore. She just had to be extra careful with lady Yoo, that’s all.

Despite her response, he shook his head. “I mean… the Queen even scolded you for a bit… so… of course it’s a big deal. I could do you a favour to make up for it. Do you have anything I can do for you?”

Naeun tried so hard to not open agape. The Prince - offering to do her a favour? From the lullaby till now, the prince is surely being too nice to her. She was about to open to refuse, before a thought rang in her mind.

Arrows.

She glanced at his military uniform.

Her eyes twinkled. “Do you know anyone who’s a good archer in the army?”

He raised his eyebrows. “Archery? Why?”

She paused and her pupils darted, as she thought of an excuse. “I-I…. I want to learn archery.” She blurted with an awkward smile.

To her surprise, he chuckled. “That’s a bit sudden.” He nodded and promised with a glint in his eyes. “Sure. I know someone who’s good at archery. I’ll bring him to you next time.”

…….

The guards opened the heavy doors without a word.

She faced a space that curves downward into an immense bowl, with stone benches crowd the spiral of terraces. She had her shoulders upright and straight, with hands neatly placed at the front, but her feet scuttled down the stairs onto the ground made of sand.

Her heart skipped in excitement.

She will be seeing more arrows today. If luck is on her side, and she doesn’t faint, maybe the person that the prince brings would be crucial to her nightmare.

She arrived the training ground with a widened smile, until she found one lone figure standing at the center, waving his hands at her like how he did before. Her smile froze. She still curtsied at the figure but said calmly. “Taemin-ssi.”

“You want to learn archery right? Let’s get started!”

She froze again, then forced a smile.

“Um… didn’t you say you were going to bring me someone that’s good at archery?”

His lips curled into a smirk as his eyes tinted with mischief. “Yea! Me.”

She widened her eyes and opened . “Huh?”

“I’m good at archery! I did a competition with the archers. I won!” He simpered, looking pleased with himself.

Naeun raised her brows, then felt her lips curled in amusement. Sure, she felt her heart drop slightly when she wouldn’t be able to know other archers in the army, but oh well, she was just here to see arrows. Whoever teaching it wouldn’t really matter. She thought.

“Sure. Thank you in advance, Taemin-ssi.”

“I’ll get you to become an archery expert.” He handed her the bow. “It might be a bit heavy for you.” He added.

She clutched it tightly. It was heavier than expected.