“Get on”

I looked at Kyuhyun like he had six heads.

“You’re kidding, right?” I snorted, eyeing the big black horse that pawed the snow in his impatience. 

Kyuhyun rolled his eyes,

“You’ve already ridden him before.  What’s the big issue?”

I scoffed,

“The last time I rode him I thought I was going to die!  I swear you made him go faster just to be an !”

He smirked evilly and my suspicions were confirmed.  I shot him another glare and began walking towards the archery field.  Before long, the black horse caught up to me and trotted at my side.  I stubbornly ignored it, keeping my eyes straight ahead of me.

“Oh stop being such a baby” Kyuhyun groaned from his position on the massive creature’s back.

I stopped and crossed my arms, looking up at him critically.

“The only reason you want me to ride with you is so you can piss of my master”

He nodded in agreement, not looking even the least bit ashamed.

“Well duh, now hurry up and get on already”

I shook my head in disbelief and started to walk again, mumbling obscenities under my breath.  I smiled triumphantly when I didn’t hear hoof beats coming up beside me.  I dared to hope that Kyuhyun would just let me be.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.  All off the sudden arms circled my waist and I was lifted and thrown over my assailant’s shoulder.  There was a split second of paralyzing fear, but that quickly turned to anger when I realized it was Kyuhyun.

“Put me down you idiot!” I hissed, thrashing around violently.

I almost managed to get away, but he was able to maintain his hold.  I continued to struggle, but he was stronger than me and he walked in the direction of his horse.

He threw me onto the saddle and I let out a quiet groan when the air was forced out of my lungs.  I tried to hop down, but Kyuhyun was fast and he had already pulled himself up behind me.

He reached around my body and grabbed the horse’s reigns, trapping me between his body and the creature’s neck. 

He immediately set the horse a brisk gallop and there was nothing I could do but hold on to the saddle horn for dear life.

“I hate you” I snarled at him, closing my eyes in fear.

He chuckled and I could feel the vibrations in his chest. 

“Oh this is going to be fun.  When we enter the range sit up and make yourself look pretty.  I want to give that damn prince of yours an eyeful”

I jabbed my elbow into his stomach, taking some satisfaction when I heard him grunt in pain.

“You’re such a ” I commented as we began to slow.

He didn’t respond, but he nudged me, making me open my eyes.  We were at the edge of the clearing and I cringed when I saw that hundreds of people were already there.  I mentally cursed Kyuhyun knowing he had planned this.  He wanted to make an entrance to mock Yesung.

“Stop looking like you want to shoot me” he whispered as he sat straighter than before.

I made a sarcastic sound, but quickly hid my irritation, not wanting to anger him.  I knew if I ruined his little head game I would have to endure his complaints for the next 48 hours.

As the horse made its way through the throngs of people, I felt myself flush as the crowd’s eyes were trained on me.  Kyuhyun seemed indifferent to their stares and kept his eyes locked in a particular spot.  I shifted my head so I could follow his line of sight and wasn’t surprised to see him staring Yesung down.

My master glared right back and even though we were pretty far away, I could see the vein in his neck popping out in fury.  I quickly looked down, not wanting to meet his eyes even for a second.

Kyuhyun urged his horse on at a leisurely pace and I knew he was doing it just to show Yesung he wasn’t worried at all.  I discreetly kicked his shin, telling him to speed the creature up.  After several rather hard kicks he finally complied, making the horse trot over to his station.

“Damn it!” he griped, rubbing his shin ruefully, “I’m gonna have a giant bruise there”

He glared at me, but I ignored him, quickly dismounting from the horse.  I breathed a sigh of relief as my feet touched the solid ground, I really wasn’t a fan of horseback riding.

I walked over to the stone table and bench that served as Kyuhyun’s private section.  I sat down on the chair and watched as he unpacked his bow and arrows, examining each of them carefully.  I watched as he tested the bow’s tension, occasionally making adjustments and retesting as he went.

“Having fun watching the military god?” he asked, never taking his eyes off his weapon.

I snorted through my nose in response and he chuckled lightly.  I was about to say something snarky when the head general entered the area.

I immediately stood and bowed deeply, showing my respect.  The imposing man nodded in my direction before turning to eyes Kyuhyun critically.  If Kyuhyun was aware of his father’s presence, he didn’t show it.  He didn’t even acknowledge him as he went on with his preparations.

“What do you think you’re doing!?” his father asked with barely concealed hostility.

Kyuhyun carefully placed his bow on the table before turning to face his father.

“I’m preparing for the archery tournament” he answered, his voice taking on a cold, hard quality.

“What the hell are you preparing for!?  You’re not supposed to win!” the general hissed with such venom that I found myself flinching back.

However, Kyuhyun seemed unruffled as always and he answered in a monotone voice,

“I can’t lose, that would only bring shame to your name.  We couldn’t have something as precious as that soiled now can we?”

There was a passive aggressive quality to Kyuhyun’s words that made me wonder just what kind of father-son dynamic existed between the two.

“Don’t give me that you brat!” his father raged, his eyes turning black.  “Do as I told you!”

Kyuhyun looked the frightening man straight in the eyes and simply said,

“No”

The general looked like he was ready to hit Kyuhyun, and his fists shook violently.  His face grew red as more anger seeped into his blood.  Kyuhyun remained stoic and he simply ignored his father and the possible threat he posted.

Just when it seemed like the general was going to explode, King Hangeng walked into the area.  Again, I bowed deeply, expressing my respect.  The king smiled at me and nodded in recognition.  Kyuhyun bowed to the king as well, earning himself a pat on the back.

Kyuhyun’s father gave a stiff bow before excusing himself, obviously not wanting to lash out in front of the king.  The king watched Kyuhyun’s father walk off, but he made no attempts to question the situation, instead, he turned his attention back to Kyuhyun.

“Now I assume you will do your best to make our kingdom proud” the king chuckled, his eyes knowing.

Kyuhyun gave the king a genuine smile as he replied,

“Of course, I would never let disgrace fall on your majesty”

The king ruffled Kyuhyun’s hair affectionately as he grinned,

“I know you’ll do us proud”

With that, he turned to leave.  I bowed once again, watching him walk away.  When I turned to observe Kyuhyun, he was still working meticulously, his eyes serious.

As the hateful words of his father ran through my head, I couldn’t help but hope Kyuhyun wasn’t bragging about his skills.

I couldn’t help but hope he would win.

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Meh, another boring update... sorry...

Music: "Hello" by Nu'est