Chapter 6

Taeyeon POV

I can feel the stares of all the men around me as I rode with Tao towards the contestants tents in search of the knight who proposed to me. Luckily, since he's a knight, it's easier to find him seeing as the knights have a tent of their own. Once we got off the horse we entered the tent to see the knights inside half . I of course was not affected by this whatsoever seeing as I do live with three guys, not to mention that guys go around topless on the beaches I visited before my families over protectiveness kicked in. 

But it seems that it was not the case for these 'grown' men who actually screamed at my entrance and grabbed whatever they could find to cover themselves. Of course there were some who paid no mind to their appearance and looked at me with a smirk to which I could only describe them as flirts. Tao being courteous as he is, brought his hands up to shield my eyes from the view in front of me but I quickly swatted his hand away and looked around for the knight I was searching for.

There he was with his back faced to me in the back of the tent, focused intensely on doing something, so much so that he didn't notice our sudden presence in the tent and ignored the commotion around him. 

"Suho" I called out, much to the dismay of the flirts in the room who scowled and quickly went along with their business while the other knights watched on in amusement.

Once he heard me call out to him, his head shot up from what he was doing and he looked around to find who had called out to him. Once his eyes landed on me, he sprinted towards me, much to my surprise and knelt before me, grabbing my hand and kissing it before looking me in the eyes asking "To what do I owe this pleasure, Milady?"

I felt uncomfortable with the expectant stares I was now receiving from everyone in the tent as well as the over familiarity of the guy in front of me who continued to hold my hand. I giggled nervously before asking "Can we talk in private?" This earned a massive roar from the knights in the tent with a sudden burst of men falling through the tent flap of the entrance, probably eavesdropping on what is going on in here.

Suho smiled at me charmingly before escorting me out the other entrance to the tent saying "We can talk in the privacy of my tent. I signalled for Tao to follow me but it seems that his fellow knights were trying to support Suho and were holding him off from following us. I sighed as I thought of how troublesome the situation had become, now I have to stay alert, who knows what this guy will do to me.

His private tent was in a place where no prying eyes could see, which was to my advantage as now I don't have to hold back on my attacks since no one will be there to stop me. He opened the tent flap for me to enter but that would leave my back open for any of his attacks so instead I chose to hold his hand and walk in together. This way I can keep an eye on him and prevent him from using one of his hands. I don't know what he is planning but I sure as hell don't think it's anything good.

Third POV

Suho was flustered at Taeyeons actions as such a thing was very bold for a lady of those times to do. Although he was flustered, he enjoyed the warmth of her delicate and soft hands but it also made him worry since his hands were far too rough for Taeyeon to hold. So he tried to get his hand out of her grip but Taeyeon held on, not letting go. Suho was surprised at her strength, even if he was just gently trying to let go of her hand, he had used some force, which would usually make any other normal lady lose their grip but this lady was strong and it amused him, which was evident by the smirk on his face which Taeyeon misunderstood as a threatening smirk as if he has the upper hand rather than amusement on his part. So Taeyeon took it upon herself to execute an over the shoulder flip on Suho, pinning the shocked man down on the floor, sitting on him and holding his hands behind his back.

"What were you planning to do to me, bringing me to your private tent?" She asked coldly beside his ear, causing the man under her to shiver at her voice. He was completely overwhelmed by the situation and clueless as to what she is talking about.

"Didn't you want to talk in private? That's why I brought you here." Suho responded as he decided to just deal with all of his own questions later and to do what she says.

"Yes I did but your tent is so secluded, so no one would be able to hear or help me if you were to do something and there's also the fact that your fellow knights blocked Tao from coming with us, clearly showing an intention to make sure were alone so you can do something to me. So confess already and tell me what your planning." Taeyeon accused as she pointed out all the events which has led to her suspicions.

As Suho listened, he couldn't help but chuckle as he thought of all the things that have led to what is happening now and couldn't help but find his own and his fellow knights 'suspicious' behaviour to be funny. He just couldn't deny that Taeyeons suspicions made sense but there's no way that he or his friends had any ulterior motives. They were knights and were bound by not only their own moral code but also the Chivalric Order, which is the guideline for all knights on their treatment of others and how they live their lives, which forbids the harming of women and children.

Suho got out of Taeyeons grip and pushed her gently off himself before dusting himself off and gazing gently at Taeyeon before his face turned serious as he said "I know that your suspicions are not unfounded but believe me when I say that we knights are forbidden to harm women and children. Not only that but I would never hurt the woman I love or cause her any dishonour by defiling her purity or disrespecting her in any way. I apologise for our behaviour but do know that we mean no ill will towards you."

Taeyeon looked into his eyes, searching for any signs of lying but all she saw was pure honesty. She started to think back and now that she thought of it, Suho had been gentle to her the whole time she had been there and the other knights had been friendly and welcoming. She sighed as she thought of her misunderstanding and apologised saying "I'm sorry, it's just that I'm not familiar with this place or it's customs and people. So when I found out that I didn't have a choice when you proposed to me today and that I would have to marry you if you won the tournament. I made the assumption that we women were nothing but prizes for you and that our feelings didn't matter."

"Well that would be true for those wealthy nobles that enter this tournament, but for us knights, it is a sign of our sincere affection." Suho said with the utmost sincerity, making Taeyeon sigh in relief. 

"Aish, Jessica didn't explain it properly. No she probably doesn't know about the Chivalric Order, ignorant as she is." Taeyeon muttered, causing Suho to gasp as he looked at Taeyeon wide eyed, surprising her as he had a serious look on his face before.

"D...do you know P...princess Jessica?" Suho stuttered as he asked Taeyeon with a shy look on his face while blushing. It dawned on Taeyeon that he was not in love with her but rather he was in love with Jessica!

"Aha! Your in love with Jessica aren't you?" Taeyeon questioned with a superior smirk on her face as Suhos face turned a darker shade of red at the mention of his feelings.

"N...no, that w...would be the greatest dishonour to our King. T...to actually covet his fiancé is preposterous." Suho denied strongly but his stuttering have him away, as well as the fact that he couldn't look Taeyeon in the eyes. 

Taeyeon made a mental note to herself that knights were horribly bad liars as she chuckled at the stuttering knight. "It's okay Suho, your secret is safe with me, but I'm a little hurt that you would use me as a replacement for the princess. I know we look alike but....." Taeyeon assured before mischievously teasing him, acting sad and turning away from him so he couldn't see her laugh.

With Suho interrupting "No you've got it wrong Taeyeon!" Suho exclaimed as he desperately tried to cheer Taeyeon up and explain that it wasn't what she was thinking and that his feelings were genuine.

Soon the flustered Suho was too funny for Taeyeon to take as she burst out laughing taking Suho by surprise as he still believed that Taeyeon was upset. But then it clicked in his head, that she was teasing her causing him to join her, as he laughed at his own actions. It took awhile for them to calm down, with the two of them wiping away the tears that fell, from them laughing so hard.

"Suho, I came here to reject your proposal, and it's a good thing I did, since now I know your true feelings and I hope you've come to realise your feelings yourself. Or else you might propose to another girl and she may not be as easy going as I am." Taeyeon said seriously, because although she joked around and they both laughed at their situation, Taeyeon knew that other women wouldn't be so forgiving, for a woman scorned is the scariest thing on earth, she remembered her brother Heechul had once said and having been surrounded by spoiled little princesses who didn't understand the concept of 'No', she knew just how serious it could get. She always felt sorry for those unlucky guys who those little misses would get their hands on, knowing those girls, like with everything else in their life, were not up for sharing what they thought was theirs and she would hate to see such a sweet guy, not without his flaws, like Suho caught in one of those spoiled princesses webs.

Suho nodded as he understood that his actions were indeed stupid, and how lucky he is that the girl he proposed to was Taeyeon. He should know better than to play with such a sacred commitment, trying to distract himself with Taeyeons overwhelming beauty, so he wouldn't look at Jessica and see her gorgeous self, falling all over again. "I'm sorry Taeyeon, I wasn't thinking straight and I was trying to shake my feelings for the princess but now I know that what I'm doing is wrong and I just have to accept my one sided love." Suho apologised.

Taeyeon smiled at Suho saying "Don't worry about it. I came her to reject you anyway so no hard feelings and don't be so negative, who knows what the future holds for you." 

Her words brightened Suho up as he looked at her, eyes full of hope as he asked "Really? Do you really think so? What was her reaction to my proposal to you before?"

Taeyeon gave an awkward chuckle as she told Suho the truth, saying, "Uhhh, sorry, she didn't have any reaction, in fact she was the one who told me I had no choice but to marry you." This made Suho slump as his hopes were shot down by Taeyeons words much to her dismay as she continued to say "But you know, she wasn't happy either at the thought of your proposal, in fact she kept her poker face on, like she was hiding something, so don't lose hope now." Recalling the way Jessica had spoken to her about the wreath, although she smiled and chuckled as she explained, Taeyeon could see hurt and a cold feeling come from the look in her eyes, assuring her that Jessica wasn't particularly happy about the situation.

What the two didn't know was that Jessica had been glaring fiercely at Suho as he proposed to Taeyeon. She was so overwhelmed by anger that she didn't notice Taeyeons presence beside her causing her to be surprised at suddenly hearing Taeyeon next to her. She calmed herself and put on a facade as she talked to Taeyeon before watching her leave to talk to Kyungsoo. She was already in a sour mood, when she saw that great big smile on that treacherous King as Taeyeon left to go somewhere. She glared at him coldly, to which he noticed and the smile was wiped off his face as he now sat stiffly in his throne, watching the other jousting battles. Content with his reaction, she pushed the topic of Suhos proposal to the back of her mind and focused on the tournament in front of her. She knew that her personal feelings were the least of her worries right now and that she had to focus, or else she will fail to achieve her goals.

Jessica shook her head to refocus as she glared at Kyungsoo once more, whispering to herself "You won't be happy for long your highness, not after what you've done."