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- Hana

“Time for classes, you lazy, sorry excuse of a human being,” Grandma yelled, yanking away my covers.

“No Grandma,” I groaned. “I feel sick. I want to stay home. I don’t need classes.”

She smacked my hard, making me yowl in pain.

“Grandma! Why do you always hit me?” I glared at her as I slowly stood up, rubbing my stinging bottom.

“Oh stop complaining and go wash up,” she said, pushing me towards the doorway. “Daeryong will be here soon.”

Ah Daeryong… the reason why I was so tired in the first place.

I quickly washed my face in the water basin, then got dressed in a comfortable everyday dress.

“Ow, grandma, ow!” I yelped as she tightly braided my ink black hair into a French braid down my back. In response, she just smacked my head with the comb.

“Hana, ready?” Daeryong’s voice called from the door.

“Ah, almost!” I yelled back as grandma finished the braid. With a small bag in hand, I rushed out the door to meet Daeryong.

“So how’re you feeling after two hours of sleep?” Daeryong grinned at me as we made the usual route to class. “You look tired.”

I glared at him, “I look tired? I am tired. Daeryong, never again ask me to go along with you for these night adventures.”

“Oh admit it, it was cool,” Daeryong laughed. “Stop being so grumpy.”

It was pretty cool. Last night, we had gone moon watching. When Daeryong’s tutor had told him the moon was supposed to be twice as big last night, he begged me to sneak out with him to see it. Apparently it only happened once a century, so I had agreed.

“How’re you so lively after two hours of sleep?” I asked, rubbing my eyes.

“Because I, am a man,” he said.

“Please,” I laughed. “You’re still such a kid.”

“Hey now,” Daeryong’s hand came down on top of my head. “Remember that I’m older than you.”

“Only by two years,” I pointed out, shaking off his hand.

Before he could argue further, we arrived at my tutor’s place.

“See you later,” Daeryong said, heading his way to his academy, a few stone-throws away.

“Good morning Sewing Mistress,” I greeted my first tutor as I stepped into the small room I did my studies in.

“Good morning Hana,” she replied, setting down the cloth she had been working on. “You look tired. Did you not sleep well?”

“Ah… a little,” I replied, looking into the reflection glass. I sighed at my reflection. My normally pale skin looked even paler, making my red lips, dark eye bags, and pitch-black hair stand out starkly.

“You really do have a face that’s hard to get used to,” Sewing Mistress chuckled.

“I know…” I sighed.

She smiled at me, “You react like it’s a bad thing, Hana. I remember when I first saw you… when you first walked into this room, my breath was taken away at your exotic beauty. You should also thank your face for getting all this tutoring. Not anyone gets to be a princess’s lady-in-waiting.”

“But I don’t like standing out this much…” I said quietly. It was hard to just simply walk the streets without people openly staring at my unique appearance. With such extreme features: pale white skin, crimson lips, ink black hair in a country full of blondes and brunettes, and even darker eyes with spidery long lashes, there was no I way I couldn’t stand out. Even though all this supposedly equaled beauty, I would’ve preferred to look plain.

“Sewing Mistress,” I said, pausing from my work. “Do you think I’ll get along with the princess? Honestly?”

She was silent for a moment, then answered, “Hana, I know there are many bad things said about the princess, and frankly, many of them are true. Having been her tutor for a few years, I know this first hand. She demands extreme things, openly flirts with the men around her, is very jealous, throws tantrums at the age of 18, and has the patience of a hungry baby. But, but, I believe that you will be able to handle the job. You are patient, you are easily forgiving, and give a happy aura. I’m sure you’ll be fine. Worrying won't do any good, Hana.”

“But Sewing Mistress… I sometimes worry that… she won't like my… face…” I said hesitantly.

She laughed softly, “Hana, it’ll be okay. No more worrying, get back to work.”

- Daeryong

“Morning Titania,” I greeted my horse, feeding her an apple. “Ready for training today?”

She chewed the apple, observing me with intelligent eyes. I led her out of her stall, easily swinging up onto her back.

“Good morning Daeryong,” Max greeted me, coming besides me on his white stallion.

“Ready for today Max?” I grinned at him. “I heard Captain’s crazier than usual.”

“Crazier than usual?” Max laughed. “How crazy can a man get?”

“Lads, gather around!” Captain yelled from the far end of the field, his deep voice easily carrying the distance.

“He looks pretty excited to me,” I said, urging Titania forward. The dozen other men training to become the royal guard assembled around Captain.

“Mighty good day,” Captain bellowed, squinting up at the shining sun. “We will be doing mock fights today.”

A couple groaned. Mock fights were never popular. No matter how ‘mock’ they were, we would be using real swords, and everything usually just gets really messy.

“MEN WHO FIGHT FOR THE KING DO NOT COMPLAIN,” Captain roared, little drops of sweat appearing on his forehead. “Everyone get geared!”

With much effort, I put the full armor suit on, huffing from the weight. I slid my sword into its belt and stood by the other men at the side of the jesting field.

“Edmund and Zing, you two first,” Captain ordered. The two rode to the center of the field and drew their swords. Yelling, they charged each other.

Although no fatal blows were made, they did look painful, and soon, Edmund fell off his horse with a loud thump.

“Son, you’re left side is wide open,” Captain said as Edmund pushed himself up. The two shook hands and went back to the lines.

“Daeryong and Noah,” Captain announced.

“Go easy on him,” Max whispered into my ear as I rode to the center. Titania shook her head uneasily.

“Easy girl,” I soothed, patting her neck. Slowly and confidently, I drew my sword, balanced perfectly in my hand. As I observed my opponent, a heavier man using a heavy sword, a slight red tint entered my vision. Everything became suddenly crystal clear. I can see the smallest details and could feel the slightest movements. I could almost even feel Noah’s heartbeat.

Letting out a savage yell, I urged Titania forward, her powerful legs carrying us.

Our swords met with a fierce clang, the vibrations running up my arm. Six months ago, my arm would’ve been numb for the rest of the day, but now, my muscles were barely affected.

Having the lighter sword, I was able to react faster. I smacked his helmet with the flat side of my sword, then striked at his blade, flicking my wrist and effectively twisting the sword out of his hand. 

Panting, I dropped my arm to my side. The whole exchange didn’t even last a minute.

“Well fought Daeryong,” Captain beamed. I gave him a weak grin as I sheathed my sword. The red was slowly fading from my vision, and the usual after effect was coming: extreme thirst.

I went to the well with Titania, fetching her a bucket, and gulping down water for myself too. Soon, Noah approached us, most of his armor off.

“That was the scariest minute of my life Daeryong,” he said, leaning against the side of the well. “People look down on you for being the youngest here, but you’re probably the best fighter here.”

I laughed, “Noah, that’s absurd.”

He shook his head, “Even captain knows. He’s even thinking of asking the queen to knight you herself.”

“The queen?” I asked, flabbergasted. To be given knighthood by the queen was considered the highest honor for men training to become a knight. Although I’d never seen her face before, she was rumored to be the most beautiful woman in all of Agonia. But then again… that was debatable in my opinion because of Hana.

I quickly shook the thought out of my head. If I ever said that out loud, it would probably get Hana into trouble.

“The queen,” Noah confirmed with a grin. He clapped me on the shoulder, “You lucky bastard.”

***

“Daeryong, your girlfriend’s here!” Amos shouted the usual tease.

“Already?” I mumbled, quickly giving Titania a stack of hay and a new bucket of water. I patted her neck, “Bye baby.”

I made my way to the entrance of our training camp where Hana and Max were laughing. I rolled my eyes as Max easily became swoon over by Hana’s beauty, his usually sharp green eyes looking a little dazed.

“Ah, hi Daeryong,” Hana laughed when she saw me. “Max was telling me about how you fell asleep on Titania while training.”

I pinched her cheek hard, “I bet you fell asleep during your classes too.”

Hana swatted my hand away, and I noticed that one of her fingers was bandaged.

Max parted ways with us and it was just us two walking the usual path back home.

“So what happened to your finger?” I asked.

Hana laughed embarrassedly, “I wasn’t paying attention while cooking and got a cut.”

“Bet you made a huge deal out of it,” I laughed.

“Did not,” Hana argued. “It wasn’t that bad. And Cooking Mistress would’ve gotten angry if she knew I wasn’t concentrating.

“Cooking Mistress sounds scary,” I commented.

“Cooking Mistress is scary,” Hana laughed. “Especially when she’s pointing a knife at you.”

When we reached Hana’s house, I said, “Get a good night’s sleep, or else you might chop off your whole finger tomorrow.”

Hana laughed, showing off her perfectly lined, white teeth, “Alright. See you tomorrow Daeryong.”

- Hana

“Good night Grandma,” I said as I changed into my night gown.

“No sneaking out tonight,” she said, not taking her eyes off her work. She was currently knitting something, although I didn’t know what.

I laughed, “You knew? Don’t worry, I won't.”

I snuggled into my bed and looked out the window. Although the moon was just its normal size tonight, its brightness was still spilling onto my bed. I fell asleep admiring its beauty.

I was floating, floating high above our kingdom, Agonia.

Agonia was burning in flames.

I opened my mouth to scream, but just ended up breathing in scorching air, making me cough.

Suddenly, everything lost its color, becoming mere shades of black and white. I looked up at the moon, now frighteningly close. It’s brightness was mesmerizing. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it.

The moon just became bigger and bigger until it filled my whole vision.

I sat up, panting, eyes wide. I looked around the room. No fire. I looked out the window. The moon was normal. But somehow, it had a harsher glare to it, and I quickly looked away.

Suddenly, painfully bright whiteness filled my eyes and I screamed as my head erupted in sudden pain.

The door burst open and Grandma ran to my side.

“Hana, what’s wrong?!” she demanded.

“The moon…” I cried. “The moon…”

I was afraid to look up. I didn’t want to see the moon.

Grandma quickly covered up the window and cradled me gently, her usual hardness gone.

“It’s okay Hana, it’s gonna be okay,” she cooed. Slowly, I fell into an uneasy sleep. 

okay wait so a quick note. i got sooo confused about how exactly they were supposed to speak cuz this is set in the 15th century.. i didnt want to try to use old english or anything... so... its just casual english.. lol. i hope that doesnt throw anyone off.