Sometimes, Hyuna wondered how it would be like to be a normal person; one of those simple villagers, concerned about the next harvest or their family.  Her father had never been particularly tender towards her, neither did her mother.  Her brother had always taken care of her but after their departure; she felt that even him, the only person that care about her, had left her behind for some important goal such as becoming stronger and conquer something.

At her lowest, that was the time when she met the Princess, the moment that she could experience something different; her warmth and kindness easily won her over.  But she feared deeply of telling her the truth; her real identity. It might destroy her and make her lose the only person who could love her. At least as a friend.

Should she tell her that Junhyung was ready to execute the most important part of his plan?

------------------------------

Junhyung stood still, calm, unaffected by that sharp knife under his throat.  Junhyung and Jiyoon were in a silent duel until he holds her hand but not away from him.

"We are not enemies, Jiyoon. I'm your best chance of escaping Black Moon, so don't mess things up."

Jiyoon had an ironic smile. "Why do you suddenly care? Someone like you..."

"I care. But not at the point of doing stupid things!" He retorted. "And you should think about the consequences of your actions. Especially now that you care about someone! "

Jiyoon moved away as he released her hand and and sheltered her knife.

“what’s your plan then?

“you already know it" he laughed.

"When? "

Junhyung chuckled. "Come on, Jiyoon. The king is doomed. I don't even have to plot. He already has collected a lot of enemies and a lot of incompetent people around him. So..."

Jiyoon thought about Gayoon. It made her feel guilty, she could feel a tight knot in her stomach.

Junhyung.  "Even if you tell her... It's no use. I don't even know who is going to be the one doing it but for the sake of your beloved princess, you should be careful."

Jiyoon stood there, staring back at him. It was a risky move indeed, a strategy aimed to guarantee that not even the leader would know who's going to do it.

"Good luck"  he said with  a tone of mockery in his voice and he left.

It wasn't like she didn't know what was going to happen but everything had changed since she arrived; her meeting with Gayoon and those moments spent together. And she was destined to suffer.

Should she tell anyone? Even if she does, she would be suspicious, many people were already looking for conspirators and the security at palace was being strengthened. People were nervous and in the next few days she barely could see the princess or even Hyuna.

"Where have you been? " Jiyoon said in a hurry when she arrived to the base. Hyuna seemed pissed off but she merely started to check on some papers.

"You should behave"

"We need to talk. Gayoon is in danger!"

Hyuna cringed at her way of addressing her princess, without any formality. " Of course she is. There's a bunch of people trying to take over the throne"

"And what are we going to do?" Jiyoon questioned her and Hyuna looked up at her. "It seems that you know something..."

"Tonight, there's a birthday party with important people at the gardens. It's the perfect chance for an attack." Jiyoon said trying to figure it out what Junhyung had said.

"You shouldn't freak out at every event"

"I have a bad feeling. The king is an idiot and thinks that his enemies are going to be afraid of him."

"We will be near Gayoon, if something happens we can take her to a safe place, inside the castle and especially outside the castle."

"Outside?...where?"

"You gotta trust me, this time." Hyuna frowns and Jiyoon sighed. "All right, it seems you got a plan. And I got a few places we can go to, just in case."

"No one has to know about our alliance, Jiyoon."

Jiyoon smiled. "Of course. It wouldn’t be good for your "tough woman" reputation?"

"You are truly an idiot" Hyuna looked at his papers again and Jiyoon left her office.

----

As Jiyoon walked through one of the corridors that lead to the palace, lost in her thoughts, she noticed that the sky had darkened; there were dark clouds and a chilly wind breezing. It was a busy day at palace with the preparations of the dinner and she just wanted to make sure that the princess was all right. In just a few moments she heard someone calling her and she was ready for anything until she recognizes her with a blue cape, dressed in plain clothes, holding a basket. She looked like a commoner.

"Gayoon..."

She smiled and Jiyoon felt better by only seeing her. "It's going to rain...let's go."

Jiyoon followed her and at first she guessed they were going to the same place that they used to visit not long ago. But, to her surprise, this time the princess guided her to a nearby river, and by the time they arrived it had started to rain.

"Gayoon... we should go back, what if..."

She turned back to Jiyoon, raindrops falling from her cape. "Please...don't ruin this moment..." She said almost pleading and Jiyoon couldn't refuse her. Gayoon holds her hands, turning around to guide her towards their destination. Jiyoon felt her fears going away from a moment, remembering that she should enjoy these moments of freedom and calm.

Rainy days were like this, a source of comfort, to stay calm and to witness the sky. Gayoon guided her until they ended up in a cliff, from where the castle and the city could be seen, under the rain. They sat under a tree, trying to avoid the rain. Jiyoon wondered if she should tell her that she might get a cold but she didn't dare to break the moment. Especially when Gayoon was sharing her cape with her, both of them squeezed tightly under that thick robe.

"You gotta tell me how you do this" Jiyoon whispered. She felt Gayoon shivering for a moment.

She stared at Jiyoon wondering what she mean.

Jiyoon roll her eyes: “To be a ninja! No one noticed us all these times!”

She smiled mischievously. "It's a secret"

"Ah...come on..."

"We can exchange our secrets, though. So it would be fair" Gayoon asked playfully.

Jiyoon put on a thoughtful expression. "hm....like what?"

Gayoon laughed. "Suprise me."

Jiyoon felt nervous.    If she only knew...

"Well... I ...there's someone that I like"

Gayoon nodded. "Well.... I can tell. But that's not a secret, exactly..."

Jiyoon raised her eyebrows. This princess was really confident sometimes. "Oh...so you know..."

"Of course. Especially since...that day..."   Gayoon wasn't smiling now. "But I know you are afraid, just like me."

Jiyoon was sweating "Look...it’s just..."

"No." Gayoon silenced her with a finger. "I know you care for me. You wouldn't lie to me."

Jiyoon was ashamed of herself. "You shouldn't trust people so much; you are a princess and one day...."

However, Gayoon replied to her "My feeling are the only thing that is truly mine. Not this kingdom, not this power. If I could, I would give them away, but I won't. I have the right to feel this...for you... even if it's not something that I was looking for..."

Jiyoon looked at the sky. "Even if I'm not what you are expecting?"

Gayoon nodded. "I believe in you. You have to believe in others; if not...wouldn't that be sad?"

Jiyoon smiled sadly. "Long time ago... I was taught to be careful, everyone is an enemy. The world itself is made for the strongest ones. So, we shouldn’t show any weakness."

Gayoon felt her chest aching for her.  "You can choose what to believe but..."

"I have never felt this before."  Jiyoon insisted.  "That’s why I'm scared because in the past, anything would have been a nice excuse to die but now..."

There was a pause between them, only broken by Gayoon.

"I don't plan to die...not yet. I know there's people trying to kill me, but I would tell them. That I have brave soldiers by my side and lots of reasons to stay alive.  In which, one of them is to make someone smile. "

Jiyoon:”Someone?” she was confused, wondering who is that someone

Gayoon giggle:”This person is someone that’s very brave, that I can count on, that I want to live with…”

Jiyoon slightly feel a slight of hope but at the same time jealously.

Gayoon stare at Jiyoon:” You, Jeon Jiyoon”

Jiyoon couldn't look at her eyes directly and she tried to get up but Gayoon hold her hand. Jiyoon was trying to suppress her tears.

"why?...why me?...why a...?"

"I don't know who told you all those lie, but I know you are kind. Maybe I lost my mind but I'm sure about you"

"what if I betray you?" Jiyoon barely asked, her voice choked by her tears. " what if I'm not what i seem?"

"It would be hurtful...but i know you dont do things for a reason. "

"I..."

Jiyoon thought of confessing her the truth but Gayoon pulled her towards her.

Gayoon's voice was calming her. "It’s all right..."

They were in a tight embrace that lasted for a while. When they finally let go of each other, Gayoon wiped away a couple of tears that were on Jiyoon's face. Jiyoon kissed her deeply, getting lost in the sensation of her warmth against the coldness of the rain. She felt that one of Gayoon's hands was slipping inside her robes, her entire body was burning at each touch that she made.

"You can be naughty sometimes" Jiyoon murmured. They both laughed and exchanged another kiss.

---

Jiyoon couldn't believe what had happened a few hours ago. She was still in a daze, remembering all those moments, her sweet smile, her kisses but most important, the faith she had shown to her. She had to protect her, against Junhyung and even her own family.  She could see that Hyuna was worried, she was giving orders and being extremely serious. No one was making any jokes and there was tension in the air.

"Pay attention" Hyuna murmured next to her when the others weren't watching. The old Jiyoon would want to that the princess loved her but now she had grown some sort of respect for Hyuna. She could see her as an equal and probably the only person she could trust. Thinking about it was actually weird.

The party began as expected, with a lot of important people, drinking and eating, celebrating the birthday of one of the King's cousins. Despite the problems and the current situation, they seemed to not care about it. Jiyoon heard some of the soldiers complaining that this was waste of food and money. Gayoon was sat mostly alone, not talking, visibly disapproving the excesses and the behavior of her family. Jiyoon and Hyuna were alert, close to Gayoon.  The king was drunk and he was dancing with one of the guest’s daughter, when an arrow misses him by an inch.

Suddenly, the noises and the screams of people exploded in horror. Guards were protecting the king, but some were already hurt. Jiyoon ran to Gayoon's side who was trying to reach her father. Hyuna hurried them as there were people running everywhere trying to shelter themselves from the arrows.

"Father!! We need to help him! Someone go save him!!" Gayoon screamed.  Hyuna and Jiyoon were dragging her away from the chamber.

"Gayoon. We have to trust the others. Our mission is to keep you safe!" Hyuna reminded her.

But the castle was trembling with the sounds of explosions and Hyuna thought that Junhyung was finally executing his plan. They kept running and Hyuna guided them to a route that led away from the castle and towards the river. 

"WHY DOES HE NOT LISTEN TO ME??? I TOLD HIM!!! BUT HE..NEVER…NEVER…LISTEN..TO..ME…!!!" Gayoon was shaking, crying with anger and sorrow.

"We have to be careful. We don't know what might happen now." Jiyoon said trying to softening the princess. " Should we go to the east?" as she direct her eyes to Hyuna

Hyuna looked at the sky. "Tonight is full moon. We should wait"

"Here in the forest?"

"If they are looking for us..."

Hyuna and Jiyoon were thinking the same. If Junhyung had sent another ninjas from black moon they had to wait. Suddenly, they felt that they were being watched.

"It's all right; you don't have to hide from me." 

Hyuna and Jiyoon unleashed their weapons, protecting Gayoon but both of them knew who was talking.

"After all, we are all soldiers...from the Black Moon" Junhyung said, emerging from the darkness.

TBC....

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Cutiepie_18 : "Sorry for the delay, both of us have been very busy with our works! Hope you are all staying with us! Please do comments, this is what motivate us to continue to write!!! Until next time!~

Hikaru_4M: It's actually my fault, I'm sorry I was busy saving the world (real life struggles, to be honest).

Take care and see you next chapter...